As a kid, it was pretty common for me to spend my Saturday mornings watching cartoons. But the only stuff that usually interested me were the superhero shows, and by the mid-90s I'd make sure to catch X-Men and Spider-Man, which were coincidentally the two comic book titles I usually spent my allowance on (more specifically, X-Men and The Amazing Spider-Man back in their Jim Lee/Andy Kubert and Mark Bagley days, respectively).
Just recently, thanks to the hype surrounding Superman Returns, I made it a point to try and watch all of Bruce Timm's DC animated shows on DVD, and I found myself absolutely enthralled and in love with this animated universe. From the dark mysteries and noirish atmosphere of Batman to the epic and rousing sci-fi adventures of Superman and Justice League these were shows that delivered great animation, top-notch voice acting, mature writing, and action scenes that would put most summer blockbusters to shame. Hell, even the musical scores were amazing, with great work done by composers Shirley Walker and Lolita Ritmanis.
So stoked was I by the DCAU, I made it a point to try and rewatch some of the Marvel cartoons of the 90s so I rented any available DVDs (given that most of the Marvel shows didn't have any full season releases). Alas, I was half-surprised none of these shows came close to living up to my fond memories. The writing, the animation, the voice acting, and even the music all felt shoddy compared to Bruce Timm's DCAU.
Unfortunately, X-Men happens to be one of those cartoons. Now, I can easily forgive dated animation. There's obviously no chance this series could look anywhere near as good a recent show as, say, Justice League/JLU, but it doesn't even look anywhere near as good as Superman: TAS or Batman: TAS/TNBA, its DC "competitors" at the time. It's also astonishing to make note of how terrible the voice acting was. While it's true some of the voices fit the characters well (Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine come to mind), most of the lines are delivered in an overly dramatic fashion. I just can't help by try to stifle a giggle whenever Xavier screams and shouts "Power!" every time he's mentally hit by a Psionic attack or whenever Storm (whoever did her voice provides some of the most hammy voice acting ever) makes a point of shouting something akin to "Winds!" every time she summons her powers.
The stories seemed faithful, yet that's also part of the problem. There's such a slavish devotion to the comics that the show never really developed its own identity in the way the DCAU shows did. Part of the point of doing an animated series of a popular comic book is for the writers to make their own interpretation of the series. Timm and company pulled this off time and again, whether it was through original stories (i.e. Legacy and Apokolips...Now!, Project Cadmus, Mask of the Phantasm, and really just far too many to list), original characters (Andrea Beaumont, Harley Quinn, Mercy Graves, etc.), or superior reinterpretations of old characters (Brainiac and to a lesser extent Mr. Freeze).
With the X-Men writers seemingly afraid to deviate from the comics even in terms of characters' appearances (the X-men costumes matched those in the 90s comics), the whole show just gives off this impression of playing it safe. The series is essentially a bland, lifeless adaptation of the comics where as Bruce Timm's DCAU functions as its own separate universe, one that delivered grand entertainment and epic adventures. It doesn't speak well for the show when the only thing that's on my mind while I'm watching it is wondering just how Bruce Timm and his crew would have pulled it off.
Just recently, thanks to the hype surrounding Superman Returns, I made it a point to try and watch all of Bruce Timm's DC animated shows on DVD, and I found myself absolutely enthralled and in love with this animated universe. From the dark mysteries and noirish atmosphere of Batman to the epic and rousing sci-fi adventures of Superman and Justice League these were shows that delivered great animation, top-notch voice acting, mature writing, and action scenes that would put most summer blockbusters to shame. Hell, even the musical scores were amazing, with great work done by composers Shirley Walker and Lolita Ritmanis.
So stoked was I by the DCAU, I made it a point to try and rewatch some of the Marvel cartoons of the 90s so I rented any available DVDs (given that most of the Marvel shows didn't have any full season releases). Alas, I was half-surprised none of these shows came close to living up to my fond memories. The writing, the animation, the voice acting, and even the music all felt shoddy compared to Bruce Timm's DCAU.
Unfortunately, X-Men happens to be one of those cartoons. Now, I can easily forgive dated animation. There's obviously no chance this series could look anywhere near as good a recent show as, say, Justice League/JLU, but it doesn't even look anywhere near as good as Superman: TAS or Batman: TAS/TNBA, its DC "competitors" at the time. It's also astonishing to make note of how terrible the voice acting was. While it's true some of the voices fit the characters well (Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine come to mind), most of the lines are delivered in an overly dramatic fashion. I just can't help by try to stifle a giggle whenever Xavier screams and shouts "Power!" every time he's mentally hit by a Psionic attack or whenever Storm (whoever did her voice provides some of the most hammy voice acting ever) makes a point of shouting something akin to "Winds!" every time she summons her powers.
The stories seemed faithful, yet that's also part of the problem. There's such a slavish devotion to the comics that the show never really developed its own identity in the way the DCAU shows did. Part of the point of doing an animated series of a popular comic book is for the writers to make their own interpretation of the series. Timm and company pulled this off time and again, whether it was through original stories (i.e. Legacy and Apokolips...Now!, Project Cadmus, Mask of the Phantasm, and really just far too many to list), original characters (Andrea Beaumont, Harley Quinn, Mercy Graves, etc.), or superior reinterpretations of old characters (Brainiac and to a lesser extent Mr. Freeze).
With the X-Men writers seemingly afraid to deviate from the comics even in terms of characters' appearances (the X-men costumes matched those in the 90s comics), the whole show just gives off this impression of playing it safe. The series is essentially a bland, lifeless adaptation of the comics where as Bruce Timm's DCAU functions as its own separate universe, one that delivered grand entertainment and epic adventures. It doesn't speak well for the show when the only thing that's on my mind while I'm watching it is wondering just how Bruce Timm and his crew would have pulled it off.