Pryde of the X-Men

This forgotten late-eighties pilot showed promise but was never picked up as a series. Although the characterizations are annoyingly overwrought (in typical Saturday morning fashion), the adaptation was very faithful to the source material. The producers chose a mid-eighties line-up (Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Dazzler, Kitty Pryde) and concisely setup the struggle between the two mutant factions while briefly outlining the comic book's continuity at that time. The only misfire was Wolverine's inexplicable Cockney accent (the character is supposed to be Canadian, not British). They even managed to include Lockheed, Kitty's ridiculous pet dragon. Not a bad job, and it proves that you *don't* have to extensively reinvent the comic (as was done with "X-Men: Evolution") in order to make it work on the small screen.

Now you have to realize this movie is 10 years old, don't listen to Kninja about this movie or Generation X, she apparently doesn't realize when Pryde of the X-Men came out it was probably one of the best cartoons out, all cartoons at that time were made just about the same especially the TV cartoons which it is. So don't listen to her and don't listen to me go out and judge it for yourself, and don't forget it's 10 years old and it isn't about fact or voices it's about having fun, and don't forget you're not supposed to read into these little kid shows it's no Gone with the Wind thing it's a cartoon so have fun "True Believers".

This one time deal left something to be desired. I remember this show coming on during the Marvel Action Hour with Robocop, Dino Riders, and something else, possibly Spiderman. X-men was made by Sunbow, the powerhouse of the 80's, so the voices were some of the same people heard in GI Joe. The story of is fast paced and reads like a comic strip with action left and right. The black bird looks better than the recent futuristic versions out there. They also stay very close to the comic unlike other versions. This one timer was probably just to promote the video game, but it should have been a series. Who knows what would've happened if it was a series, it sure would have been better than the newer versions now.

Considering how old this is, Pryde of the X-men is not too bad. Particularly, the animation and artwork are at least as good, if not better, than the 90s animated series. The style of the art is actually quite faithful to the comic books. The voice acting was okay though the voice casting was a bit liberal; many of us have simply grown so used to the voice acting of the 90s cartoon that anything different seems odd, and even more recently we've been spoiled by fantastic actors like Patrick Stewart in the movies. The only bizarre (and arguably wrong) voice was Wolverine, who for some odd reason has an Australian accent.

Otherwise, the biggest weakness is the relatively weak plot and script. The plot seems rushed and a bit ambitious(the show is only 20 minutes), though it's hard to say what the creators' intentions were since this was the only episode made. All in all, Pryde of the X-men is a good watch for X-men fans, especially fans of the 70s and 80s rosters.

Pryde of the X-Men. Not the WORST ten dollars I ever spent... but it sure wasn't X-Men the Animated Series. Putting together a good team wasn't enough to make this 25 minute cartoon a decent one. Staring, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Dazzler (yeah!), and the newcomer Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), the X-Men go off to face Magneto, and attempt to stop him and his brotherhood from allowing a comet to strike Earth. While the movie flows very well, I just didn't think it had enough... "pizazz" to make it a truley interesting cartoon. For one, the characters were way underused. Cyclops, Storm, and Dazzler (yeah!!), each had about 4 lines. At least they didn't mention Cyke's family, Storm being a goddess, or Dazzler's music career, otherwise people'd be lost.

Animation was good in this -- almost had a manga feel to it, and when Dazzler used her powers it looked very cool. The voice talents were kind of thrown... Wolverine had an AUSSIE accent *shakes head*, Dazz sounded like a schoolgirl, and Colossus just sounded funny. Another bad thing is the fact Nightcrawler's costume was the same color of his skin. Heh... not all too plesant when you think about it.

The Brotherhood fight scenes were probably the worst parts of this movie . You know what I mean, that "one person takes on one guy instead of the whole team knocking him senseless in one strike". Dazzler takes on Pyro, team goes on. Wolverine TRAPS Toad (and for some reason stays behind), team goes on. Colossus takes on Juggernaut, team goes on! See the pattern? Although the beginning scene where the White Queen takes on the soldiers was a very cool scene. Have to give credit for that.

So basically, this movie doesn't have much to offer -- except if you're a BIG Shadowcat or Dazzler (yeah!!) fan like myself. But if you're a Dazzler fan, don't expect a great performance... and if you're a Kitty fan, expect to hear her whine like Kath Souice 's (voice talent of Kitty) Phil and Lil of the Rugrats.