#moom rambles

grabbed this image because i thought brain looked cute but then i remembered gadget is just casually dying in the background

Did you know that these

share DNA with these?

It's all because of the art director for both series, Ari Gibson. As far as my research tells, he worked for Blue Tongue Entertainment, the studio under THQ responsible for deBlob, before he went on to work for Team Cherry.

They seem drastically worlds apart, and tonally they are, but dB and HK aren't entirely too far from each other on the artistic genetic tree. Both series feature amorphous "critters" with big wide, blank eyes, somewhat animal traits and simple shapes as their protagonist. the cityscapes and worldbuilding, when drawn and described, are elaborate and fantastical. dB differs in being lighter, cartoonier and much more colourful, but it still shares the same core as HK in a surprising amount of points.

his teeth!!

His teeth were fixed!!

there's visible gaps in his mouth with his original design but he's got all his teeth in his new design!

so as well as his hair getting de-matted, he had dental work done too.

not to beat a thoroughly dead horse but just look at what they did to Gadget alone.

The "real" Gadget is meant to be large and imposing, but at the same time, warm and friendly. he's a big cyborg and could easily kick your ass, but he's much more interested in being loving. he has thick, dark curly hair, unusual eyes (that are often depicted with "ring" pupils), and his facial profile is quite strong but soft. his facial expressions are deeply varied, from simple to childlike wonder to stone cold, and he's more than just a clumsy, arrogant enforcer. he has his moments of dumbass arrogance, yes, but it's not his whole personality. he's got a lot more going on there, he's naturally a gentle soul who just wants to help people. he can even get his act together in the moments it's needed, and proves why he can be called a hero even on his own. hell, even in a few select scenes, Gadget is shown having his own fears and traumas and responding to them as such.

And then 2015!Gadget is almost exact antonym to this. in modernizing him, they made him small and slim with a very different silhouette. they flattened his facial profile down so far he doesn't look like the same man. they took the curls out his hair and straightened it, they made his eyes blank, glassy (to sell that he's a cyborg?? it looks weird) and expressionless, and his facial expressions aren't very varied. plus, he's kind of unlikeable. he has none of his prior charm or warmth, and most of what he does is either being an annoying prick, being a destructive prick, or being a whiny prick. Not to say his original counterpart couldn't be annoying, destructive or whiny of course, but definitely not in such parts. they tout him as being fearless, but then make him a coward who doesn't even try half the time.

they took everything that made Gadget more than just a baseline trope, and took it away. I'm not even saying the 80s show was perfect, it was FAR from perfect. but it at least had something built up, and the 2015 show came and pulled it all down again. kind of says something when your original show still reigns supreme over two modernized reboots, several failed projects, two films and any and all attempts at adding onto the lore.

And the animation is godawful so that's just more salt in the wound lol

- I open it and Sycamore is immediately at the bar

- I talk to him and he gives up after only 4 interactions

- he proceeds to gift me this.