Carmen Sandiego (2019)---From Netflix, DHX Media and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

There are a couple of stories that have a Phantom Thief as a protagonist, so I personally am not too worried about her being the protagonist.

Edited by dragonfire5000 on Dec 27th 2018 at 5:50:54 AM

I am not too familiar with her but I like the style they are going for so I got my eye on this show

Ehhhhhh. I dont like her being the hero. Otherwise, it seems fine. Could be a bit less quippy, but that's just modern tv.

It looks good, but I don't use Netflix so I won't be able to see it. Nice animation, nice voice acting, nice everyth-... Wait, is that girl at the beginning also Carmen? Carmen looks so young and cute. I liked the older, suave Carmen from the previous cartoon better.

Is it still edutainment? The trailer makes it look like an action cartoon.

Edited by Pichu-kun on Jan 4th 2019 at 1:04:19 AM

Eh....not into he as a hero either, I prefer her as chaotic neutral.

Also, she looks too young. Carmen is a lady, not some sort of teenager jumping around.

The Player sounded familiar, then I looked at the description. Finn Wolfhard.

I'm here for it. Can't say I see the problem with her being the hero since she's still a thief after all. As for her looking super young, that's fair. Can't say I have a problem with it though.

Edited by Chariot on Jan 4th 2019 at 6:11:27 AM

Yeah, I still have my reservations about her being the hero, but at least we do see her engaging in actual thieving.

Making her younger makes sense, given that she's supposed to be the main character. Since she's the protagonist of this cartoon for children, that means Carmen herself has to be the Kid Hero that the kids are meant to project themselves onto. This is about as young as they can make her without becoming visibly unrecognizable as Carmen Sandiego, and is another great reason to not have her be the protagonist.

So I understand why the choice was made. But I strongly disapprove of it. It's compounding problems with more problems, and erasing a rare example of a stylish middle-aged woman from animation in the process.

I can't say one way or the other on whether the edutainment element is still in place. "Let's learn about Rome!" isn't exactly exciting trailer fodder, so it wouldn't be in there even if the show does emphasize it. We'll probably have to wait and see the final product on that one.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jan 4th 2019 at 3:48:21 AM

Agreed on making Carmen the hero being kind of an odd decision, but it doesn't look that bad to me so far.

Edited by kablammin45 on Jan 4th 2019 at 7:56:18 AM

Mostly agreeing with what everyone says here.

Though Carmen kinda is the main character in that she's the most consistent character in the franchise, kinda like Dracula from Castlevania.

But I'm keeping an open mind.

I wish they had the rights to the villains from the PBS show like Robocrook, Top Grunge, and Vic the Slick.

Eh, I don't mind. Like, the only memorable ACME character Lynn Thigpen as the Chief, and since she sadly can't be part of this, I'm glad they've gone with the coolest character as the focus.

Kinda funny how like Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, the mission control is a kid at a computer addressed as the Player and Carmen herself being appalled by violent crime. I mean, due to the target demographic, she'd never commit a violent crime across any incarnation, but that was the only adaptation I recall specifically stating she was a Badass Pacifist.

Keep in mind that the series was also pitched as an origin story for Carmen's time during ACME, so I think a younger, slightly more heroic take on the character is justified.

That detective character (the catchphrase-dropping one) is giving me Lupin the Third vibes, as if that wasn't already appropriate.

By the way, the official Twitter handle has a short new teaser with some new scenes.

Edited by XMenMutant22 on Jan 5th 2019 at 10:10:24 AM

I think its safe to say that we all see Carmen in a protagonist role a bit weird as she is usually either an antagonist the player have to stop (the games, PBS show and parts of the Di C cartoon) or just a trickster mentor who helps out (a lot of the Di C cartoon).

I guess it makes sense that she is the protagonist in the reboot as they are going the full anti hero route by taking the Di C characterization of her and expanding on it: Don’t really mind it as it pretty much gives a Lupin the Third/Pink Panther vibe with this reboot.

Speaking of Pink Panther, wouldn’t it be awesome if somebody made a crossover between Carmen Sandiego and Inspector Gadget? Man Di C dropped the ball in not doing that years ago.

She doesn't need to be young to be the protagonist of a kid's cartoon. If anything, older protagonists are more alluring to kids. They're cool and "grown up".

Like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I'm getting more a Vague Age vibe myself. She's coded younger, but her actual age is kinda difficult to determine, especially after donning the Iconic Outfit.

Edited by TheGunheart on Jan 5th 2019 at 12:43:31 PM

The animators are just not letting the brim of her hat to cover her eye(s) like they did in the original? That's odd.

The teaser image◊ kept that visual trait, so it's very likely that it'd be used sparingly during the show's run.

I recall that was Depending on the Artist. The teaser from the first post◊ has her drawn that way, so I imagine it'll still happen in the show proper.

And 'd

Edited by TheGunheart on Jan 6th 2019 at 12:10:22 PM

Making thieves into heroes is a trope as old as Robin Hood. Hell, we got four movies and a t.v. show out of the concept. And there's also Catwoman, Black Cat, Gambit etc. If anything that they didn't do this sooner with Carmen is more a surprise.

Edited by windleopard on Jan 6th 2019 at 9:51:07 AM

My problem with her being the hero was that she always came off as mysterious and nigh on untouchable. You can't really do that if she's the main character.

Also, I always enjoyed the notion of a somewhat honorable thief as villain. NOT being the hero is what made Carmen different in the first place.

Carmen was always heroic, or at least a noble sort of antagonist. She does illegal stuff by stealing things, but she doesn't hurt people, plays fair, and simply steals for kicks.

Well, "heroic" is overstating it, she just was never a killer. But she was always the opponent one could once a while team up with.