Commentary by John Krisfalusi on Sinbad The Sailor

[mikematei]

As soon at the commentary starts you hear a bunch of idiotic giggling. Nobody said anything funny. And its constant giggling. So that's John K's girlfriend I assume? Well, that's nice. But why is she allowed in the room when they are recording commentary for a DVD? Supposedly she's an eager young cartoonist. Well, so are about 3 million other people on the internet and they don't get to be on the DVD. It's a disgrace that the commentary for one of the greatest cartoons ever made is destroyed by moronic giggling by a complete nobody. You know how they recall discs to replace incorrect title cards? Here's a good reason for a recall.

[thornhill]

I don't think there's a greater disgrace on a DVD release of any kind than this commentary. Period.

[Leviathan]

The commentary was so bad that they had to get FOUR different Fleischer experts to redo Sindbad on the Academy Award set.

Until recently there was a really funny comic that parodied the whole situation, but it seems to have descended into Internet Hell.

[mikematei]

I wasn't aware anyone else even thought about it before. Sorry. I just popped in the disc and started listening tonight and got really mad. Sorry if it's old news.

[Daffysleftfoot]

Until recently there was a really funny comic that parodied the whole situation, but it seems to have descended into Internet Hell.

It's still online. You can find it here (http://crackedanim.blogspot.com/2008/02/seriously.html). :D

[FleischerFan]

What is a shame is that Kali appears to be a cartoonist of some promise. A while back someone posted a link to some of her drawings and she was pretty good. However, I'm afraid her reputation has already been sullied by her appearances on those commentary tracks.

You did notice there were no further commentaries by John K. on Volume 2?

[Nelson]

I think that John K. and especially Kali should be "BANNED" from doing any future commentaries on further WHV releases.John "Two Faced" K. simply bashes the restorations that Warners has done and he SUCKS UP to the company and Kali can't seem to shut the hell up and do a serious commentary for a cartoon.When the first volume of Popeye came out, there was no doubt that Ray Pointer should has been asked from WHV to do commentaries for several of the Popeye shorts.

[Studio Toledo]

The commentary was so bad that they had to get FOUR different Fleischer experts to redo Sindbad on the Academy Award set.

Until recently there was a really funny comic that parodied the whole situation, but it seems to have descended into Internet Hell.
Love to see what that looked like!

The whole thing had this normal "friends & family" quality to it that is akin to what you can expect out of giggling, drunk guys at a party watching this sort of thing, but that's my opinion.

[CueBallCat79]

Love to see what that looked like!


You must have missed Daffyleftfoot's link a few posts ago.

[Tom Stathes]

Anyone who would disagree that Ray Pointer, Bob Jaques and others should have replaced half of the individuals doing commentaries and the documentaries is clearly not dealing with a full deck :)

[Leviathan]

John "Two Faced" K. simply bashes the restorations that Warners has done and he SUCKS UP to the company and Kali can't seem to shut the hell up and do a serious commentary for a cartoon.

There's also the microscopic fact that those "UNCUT" Ren and Stimpy DVD's were riddled with edits and DVNR, and the irritating hot potato game that occured after the fact.. And he wants to talk trash about how Warner is screwing up the Looney Tunes and Popeyes?

[Tom Stathes]

Why in the world would R&S films need DVNR? I can't imagine them having visual artifacts that film prints 50 years their senior might have.

[Speedy Boris]

There's also the microscopic fact that those "UNCUT" Ren and Stimpy DVD's were riddled with edits and DVNR, and the irritating hot potato game that occured after the fact.. And he wants to talk trash about how Warner is screwing up the Looney Tunes and Popeyes? Indeed. The Ren & Stimpy sets were botched, while LTGC are quality. I don't care what John K. says.

What we need for that long-delayed ultimate set is someone who knows every episode (even the Games) in and out to know what's edited and can help with correct restoration. Like Lyris.

[Daws Butler Jr.]

As soon at the commentary starts you hear a bunch of idiotic giggling. Nobody said anything funny. And its constant giggling. So that's John K's girlfriend I assume? Well, that's nice. But why is she allowed in the room when they are recording commentary for a DVD? Supposedly she's an eager young cartoonist. Well, so are about 3 million other people on the internet and they don't get to be on the DVD. It's a disgrace that the commentary for one of the greatest cartoons ever made is destroyed by moronic giggling by a complete nobody. You know how they recall discs to replace incorrect title cards? Here's a good reason for a recall.

You're preaching to the choir, son. I railed about this months ago. It is a disgrace and just because they were recorded didn't mean Warners had to use them. It would have been better to have no commentary than what they gave us. Even Eddie Fitzgerald, who I like personally, came off as a blithering idiot. It's apparant that not only didn't they do any homework beforehand, they didn't even prescreen the cartoons. I couldn't even listen to the other ones they did. As soon as their giggling voices came on again, I bailed.

[CueBallCat79]

What we need for that long-delayed ultimate set is someone who knows every episode (even the Games) in and out to know what's edited and can help with correct restoration. Like Lyris.

I have everyGames episode taped from their original SNICK airings. Aside from the long banned "Sammy and Me/Last Temptation of Ren" episode. Every single one.

And I'm familiar enough with the original versions of the SPUMCO episodes to notice edits as well.

[J Lee]

Aside from the giggling, the difference between the John K commentaries on the LTGC and the ones on Popeye Vol. 1 were that at least with the Warners shorts, he did know his subject -- he might be a little (OK a lot) too worshipful of Bob Clampett vs. the other WB directors for most people's taste, but he had enough knowledge of the cartoons in general to bring something to the table. With the commentary on "Sindbad" and "Ali Baba", you might as well have just gone to ComicCon, grabbed three people out of the aisle and just recorded them watching the Popeye shorts and you would have gotten just as much out of it.

[Brandon Panther]

The only thing that really annoys me about John K. is he refeuses to discuss working on The Catillac Cats. Come on, he's got to have some priceless behind the scenes stories about that cartoon, and he won't share them! Selfish egomaniac...

[Matthew Hunter]

The only thing that really annoys me about John K. is he refeuses to discuss working on The Catillac Cats. Come on, he's got to have some priceless behind the scenes stories about that cartoon, and he won't share them! Selfish egomaniac...

As in...from the "Heathcliff" show? I liked that series, though I haven't seen much of it since I saw it as a kid in Nickelodeon. I don't know why someone who worked on it would refuse to discuss it. Not a classic, but not a bad show.

[Brandon Panther]

As in...from the "Heathcliff" show? I liked that series, though I haven't seen much of it since I saw it as a kid in Nickelodeon. I don't know why someone who worked on it would refuse to discuss it. Not a classic, but not a bad show.
Well, John K. doesn't think too highly of that series, because to him it was just another SatAM series. Personally I disagree strongly with him. While "Heathcliff" was for the most part 'kiddie fodder", Catillac Cats was more edgier and even did have several subtle adult-aimed jokes.

I mostly have been trying to get John K. to confirm my theory that he wrote or directed the episode "Lucky's Unlucky Day", because that episode looks like he was heavily involved in it. The style, pace, and design of the characters is very John K-ish.

[Ray Pointer]

Well, John K. doesn't think too highly of that series, because to him it was just another SatAM series. Personally I disagree strongly with him. While "Heathcliff" was for the most part 'kiddie fodder", Catillac Cats was more edgier and even did have several subtle adult-aimed jokes.

I mostly have been trying to get John K. to confirm my theory that he wrote or directed the episode "Lucky's Unlucky Day", because that episode looks like he was heavily involved in it. The style, pace, and design of the characters is very John K-ish.

Regarding the "style and pace," it seems Bob Jaques has a different view on where the credit may belong. But all this has nothing to do with the subject of the tread.

[Jack G.]

I'm not sure why the John K did commentaries for the the color two-reelers. Mr K seems to the the b&w are better.

I think Jerry Beck should invite Ray Pointer to be his guest on some future commentaries for the Popeye sets if WHV are going to pass over him.

[Studio Toledo]

As in...from the "Heathcliff" show? I liked that series, though I haven't seen much of it since I saw it as a kid in Nickelodeon. I don't know why someone who worked on it would refuse to discuss it. Not a classic, but not a bad show.
The "Catillac Cats" was a segment in the series that John K. worked on, mostly to design these extra cats in the show, but I don't think he had much input into it's production. It was just another job he took.

[Studio Toledo]

Regarding the "style and pace," it seems Bob Jaques has a different view on where the credit may belong. But all this has nothing to do with the subject of the tread.
It's funny how quickly these thnngs fall apart!

[Ray Pointer]

It's funny how quickly these thnngs fall apart!

Sew it seams!

[zavkram]

The upside to all of this is that John K. and his giggling entourage were completely left out of Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2. I don't think a list of extras is out yet for Volume 3, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mr. K and Company will be left out of that DVD set, as well! Ditto that for LTGC6!

My own complaint about John K's commentaries is the way that he constantly bashes Chuck Jones. Yes, I'm aware that John K. is an animator and a director and is therefore qualified to critique the work of another animator/director; but the problem is that, more often than not, he instead resorts to unprofessional (and infantile) name-calling.

He even once had the audacity to refer to Jones's style as "gay"; this was during one of his commentaries on the Cartoons for Victory DVD from Thunderbean Animation. The cartoon in question was one of the "Seaman Hook" shorts produced by Warner Bros. for the U.S. Navy. I forget the title now, but the short featured miniature versions of Hook (one a devil, the other an angel); who respectively try to dissuade him/persuade him on the issue of purchasing War Bonds.

[thornhill]

John K. is probably gay himself. Or a pedophile.

[Studio Toledo]

The upside to all of this is that John K. and his giggling entourage were completely left out of Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2.
Glad we don't have to go through that again on "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp". Course it would be interesting what little info they could give us we don't already know of that one. :-)

I don't think a list of extras is out yet for Volume 3, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mr. K and Company will be left out of that DVD set, as well! Ditto that for LTGC6!
Still wouldn't mind hearing his giggles on the early Famous studios gems like "Me Musical Nephews", but rather want someone highly competent anyway.

He even once had the audacity to refer to Jones's style as "gay"; this was during one of his commentaries on the Cartoons for Victory DVD from Thunderbean Animation. The cartoon in question was one of the "Seaman Hook" shorts produced by Warner Bros. for the U.S. Navy. I forget the title now, but the short featured miniature versions of Hook (one a devil, the other an angel); who respectively try to dissuade him/persuade him on the issue of purchasing War Bonds.
Kinda hard to knock Jones for that since it was made for the government anyway. I think that Mr. Hook cartoon was "The Good Egg".

[Studio Toledo]

John K. is probably gay himself. Or a pedophile.
You would think that after having subjected yourself to the "Adult Party Cartoon" episodes of Ren & Stimpy like I had. :D

[J Lee]

You would think that after having subjected yourself to the "Adult Party Cartoon" episodes of Ren & Stimpy like I had. :D

There's no animation director out there today who could benefit more from the reintroduction of the Hays Office than John K (who's free to do anything he wants with George Liquor on the Internet, but needs to be told "no" more often when he obessess with crudeness in other projects and goes 15 miles past the point of it being funny anymore).

[Matt the Y]

You would think that after having subjected yourself to the "Adult Party Cartoon" episodes of Ren & Stimpy like I had. :D

Ugggghhhhh..... can't we just pretend that show never even existed anyway?! If it were only possible, it SHOULD be erased from all history!!!!!!!!!!

[CueBallCat79]

John K. is probably gay himself. Or a pedophile.

Very mature post there.

[Jon Cooke]

Well, it seems everybody has got their John K insults out of their systems for another month or so. In the meantime, this thread is closing before the flames get too far out of hand.