Absolutely the finest version of the opening I've ever seen or heard in any medium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtNPFSz9-5c
It claims to be from the original master tape, and it sure sounds and looks like it. Amazing.
Just another comment about this intro.
I've always thought that it was a major part of the success of the show. It's so riveting, from the very first shot of Jim rising up, hand in the air, and towering over the viewer, who looks up to her from below, as if she were a living monument.
I'll never forget the first time that I saw it (on Saturday morning cartoons). It was right after Inhumanoids, and as you can imagine, I never, as a teen hetero guy, would have thought that I'd watch a show about a girl rock group. I didn't even like rock! (Only classical.)
But that shot, that opening shot, indeed the entire opening sequence, it absolutely transfixed me. I immediately fell in love with Jem herself, and with her voice (or rather, Britta's voice).
I always wondered why the animation was several leagues better than anything else in the show (not that the show's animation was bad -- it just wasn't at the same level of quality).
Now I know (from the Shout box extras): it was rotoscoped!
Someone actually hired professional dancers to act out every frame of that opening number, and the animators rotoscoped their movements.
Which makes me muse: oh, how I would LOVE to see the footage off of which that opening sequence was rotoscoped. I know the dancers wouldn't actually look like Jem, but still -- how fascinating it would be to see that intro performed.
Wow, I had no idea they rotoscoped it. How cool!
shareI totally agree with you that the intro was a huge part of the cartoon's success. It's DEFINITELY the intro that made me want to watch the show as a 5 year old boy - because like you said, there's something very riveting about it, both musically and visually. It entails a degree of sophistication not associated with cartoons ordinarily.
Jem and the Holograms were more of a pop/light rock group than an actual "rock group" of course - their "rock and roll" was more of the vintage kind. I guess the Misfits had a greater claim to being "rockers", but even they weren't an out-and-out rock group, fortunately.
I think it's almost impossible for a hetero boy not to fall in love with Jem - and yes, Britta's voice is so quintessentially FEMININE (in a non-classical way). I'm an Operatic singer myself, and even though Britta doesn't sing operatically, I LOVE how she had that phenomenal range from solid low Gs to High Cs. She could sound both melodic/musical and sensuous/seductive.
As for the animation, I never thought it was "several leagues" better than the show - although maybe the characters seem more human, because the animators rotoscoped like you said. Of course, the original 'pilot' episodes were inferior and inconsistent in quality a lot of the time, and there were a number of episodes in Season 2 that struck me as "lower budget" episodes (that were probably animated at cheaper studios). I DO prefer Synergy's design in the intro though - where she looks much more human, with black hair and light skin. She actually looks BEAUTIFUL there. Maybe that was her original design, and then they decided to turn her into a more blatantly artificial figure.
The best way to tell that the intro was rotoscoped is the Jem/Rio KISS I think - which is a very lifelike kiss, to say the least. lol.
I would LOVE to see the actual footage with the dancers they hired too!! That would be such a treat indeed.
Not bad. I'm going through the series again on DVD; like others have said, most kids (boys and girls) were hooked on the show just by the intro alone. Watching it always makes me wish the live action adaptation didnt exist and someone who gave a damn would re-do the movie after watching that intro sequence that generally tells you everything you need to know about Jem, the Holograms/Misfits and the world they inhabit.
When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.share