The Magic 7

August 29, 2004 10:44 PM

What's stranger than Madeline Kahn (who passed away 5 years ago) appearing in an upcoming animated feature for TV? Her co-star is John Candy, who's been dead for a decade.
posted by RavinDave (14 comments total)

Their deaths probably explain the following imdb entry:

Production Notes/Status:

Status: Unknown
Comments:
Status Updated: 27 September 2002
Note: Since this project is categorized as being in production, the data is subject to change or could be removed completely.
posted by mischief at 12:37 AM on August 30, 2004

What a cast!

Credited cast:
Jason Aaron Baca .... Zack
Kevin Bacon .... Himself
John Candy .... Smokestack Sam (voice)
Judy Collins .... Herself
Ted Danson .... Sean's Dad
Cory Danziger .... Sean
Michael J. Fox .... Marcel Maggot (voice)
Jennifer Love Hewitt .... Erica
Ice-T .... Dr. Scratch (voice)
Jeremy Irons .... Thraxx (voice)
James Earl Jones .... 5-Toe (voice)
Madeline Kahn .... Wastra (voice)
Bette Midler .... Herself
Demi Moore .... U-Z-Onesa (voice)
Olivia Newton-John .... Herself
Meryl Streep .... Herself
Dee Wallace-Stone .... Sean's Mom (as Dee Wallace Stone)
Henry Winkler .... Himself

This can't be real. Come on now...
posted by wsg at 12:38 AM on August 30, 2004

Is this really that odd? The page says that the project was started in the 1990's. The voices are normally the first thing worked on, so it's kind of understandable.

Certainly nothing like as odd as the Ford commericals a few years ago. Watching Steve McQueen driving a Puma around San Francisco was just odd.
posted by twine42 at 1:33 AM on August 30, 2004

I don't think that ad ran in the US, twine.

I'm guessing, since I don't remember a Puma in the US car market. Also, I think maybe the McQueen icon status thingy would play differently overseas than here. Unless a Puma is a Mustang, and you are talking about scenes from Bullitt?

Nah, I guess it was a new car(said Puma) with McQueen dubbed in, in which case, yes, that would be creepy here, until the first company did it, and then people would get over it, which would be even creepier, but no one would ever mention that creepiness, which would make it truly American.

And on that note, hearing John Candy's voice coming out of an animated character here would be bizarrely appropriate. "John Candy in his last role" would be one of the marketing themes. Yes, they would sell the creepiness.

Which means of course it could generate enough buzz to do $20 Million in rentals in the US, and add in internatinional returns and it's a no-brainer. Coming to a LackLuster Video near you soon.

Seriously, cash over-rules any compunction in the US today. It'll happen if the bean-counters say go. Kids who are 5 years old today will sell a Xerox copy of their Grandma's ass cheeks from an office Cristmas party in 1988 on EBay in 2028, once the picture clears probate.
posted by dglynn at 2:43 AM on August 30, 2004

The Ford Puma was one of those 'sports cars' based on something else. It was either based on the Focus or the smaller Fiesta, I forget which.

The advert had shots of McQueen spliced into the Puma, driving it around the city, then taking it back and parking it in a garage next to the Mustang. Beautifully done.

Ford did it again with the larger Cougar (Mercury Cougar in the US if my GT3 memory serves correctly) and a guy on a motorbike who I didn't recognise.

Right... I'm feeling sickly (on a bank holiday!) so I'm going back to watching Dity Harry movies...
posted by twine42 at 3:00 AM on August 30, 2004

I don't see this as that much of an issue... Kahn and Candy both recorded their complete audio tracks while they were alive, it's not like they're splicing together dialogue from other sources. And it's just their voices that're being used, so, nothing's being "added" that would not have been there had they been living now. Although I'm no particular fan of Candy, Kahn was among my favorite performers for years and years, so I'm actually very happy to hear that this performance might finally be available...
posted by JollyWanker at 5:35 AM on August 30, 2004

I don't think that ad ran in the US, twine.

And therefore, doesn't count. Silly foreigners.
posted by majcher at 6:57 AM on August 30, 2004

Ford did it again with the larger Cougar (Mercury Cougar in the US if my GT3 memory serves correctly) and a guy on a motorbike who I didn't recognise.

Was it not Dennis Hopper, completely selling out his Easy Rider role?
posted by bwerdmuller at 7:03 AM on August 30, 2004

All the "himself" and "herself" credits are a mite suspicious, though I can't say whether it's less believable that Meryl Streep would do it or that Henry Winkler would even be asked. And (assuming the credits not specified as "voice" are live actors) Dee Wallace Stone is oh, twenty years past the point of being credible as the mom in a kid's movie, unless the video footage is as old as the voice footage.
posted by Epenthesis at 7:58 AM on August 30, 2004

The film Arabian Knight featured the voice of Vincent Price even though he'd died a few years earlier. Ironically, while the voices had been recorded before animation began, Price's was the only voice that survived to the eventual release. It's a real shame what they did to that film - it could've been great.
posted by dodgygeezer at 8:57 AM on August 30, 2004

"Dee Wallace Stone is oh, twenty years past the point of being credible"

That was pretty much my point; this project will probably never be finished, especially if the producers must pay that has-been cast more money upon release.
posted by mischief at 8:57 AM on August 30, 2004

Films that sit on the shelf this long do so for a reason. Probably will really suck.
posted by darren at 12:29 PM on August 30, 2004

majcher:I don't think that ad ran in the US, twine.

And therefore, doesn't count. Silly foreigners.

Huh? He was only making a statement that, as someone who (apparently) lives in the US, he didn't have the opportunity to see the ad in question.

Way to over-reach, majcher.
posted by davidmsc at 12:42 PM on August 30, 2004

Easy there, jumpy. Little joke.
posted by majcher at 11:09 AM on August 31, 2004