Jul 5, 2015

-Bart Killa Animation Trailer - Pushing the Bart Killa Meme to the Next Level

How far can a parody go? The answer to the question, "How far can a parody go?" is this "Bartkira Animated Trailer".

Watch now:

Bartkira began several years ago when artist Ryan Humphrey thought it would be fun to draw a mash-up of The Simpsons and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" manga. This led to an ambitious group project in which hundreds of artists re-drew Katsuhiro Otomo's manga "AKIRA" in their own styles, replacing the original characters with figures from The Simpsons.

Now, "Bert Kira": more than 30 animators crowdsourced a shot-for-shot remake of the original Japanese theatrical trailer for "Akira." This is an amazing effort for something that none of the participating artists can claim legal ownership of or directly profit from. For reference, here is the trailer they parodied:

The concept for the production of this trailer was proposed by artist Kate Sullivan, who also coordinated last year's Sailor Moon fan-produced episode "Moon Animate Makeover"! Click here to read Cartoon Brew's interview with Sullivan. The "story" of the Bartkila trailer is that it was a collaboration proposed between Fox and Toho in the early 1990s and recently resurrected on a long-lost VHS:

Back in the day, the "Do the Bartman" VHS dredge Deep in the bowels of the film were the trailers. In partnership with "Chicken Tonight," "Butterfinger," and "CC Lemon," Fox and Toho executives in the early '90s produced an animated short film. It was an attempt to appeal to American consumers without spending a lot of money. But they decided that kids needed more poochies, until it was lost. ...... Until today.

Here is a breakdown by production company Real Good Liars of how the typography and opening shot of the trailer was created:

Is this the end of the Akira/Simpsons mashup, or will fans find a way to expand this meme further? will they find a way to spread the meme further?