In 1989, Steven Spielberg tried very hard to enter the animation game. He had been executive producer of films like “An American Tail” by Don Bluth and Robert Zemeckis “who led Roger Rabbit,” leading them both to great success. He also founded his own animation studio, ablimation, that year, hoping to continue his history of making striking, original and successful animated features. In 1989, however, Spielberg and Bluth had a fall and new projects did not come easily. Consequently, Ablimation has never made only three characteristics: “An American tail: Fievel goes to the west”, “We are back! A story of dinosaur” and “Balto”.

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Spielberg has a better success on television, supervising a new wave of animated programs that have inaugurated a new generation of entertainment. 1990 saw the beginnings of “Tiny Toon Adventures”, a series of fourth wall comedy with a new collection of “Kid” counterparts to well -known characters from Warner Bros. This show was popular enough to justify the creation of “animaniacs” in free wheel in 1993, as well as The masterpiece which is “Freakazoid!” In 1996. Spielberg also supervised the animated programs “Histeria!” and “Toonsylvania”, as well as prime time series like “Family Dog” and Berkley breathed “Bloom County” TV special “A Wish for Wings that work”. In terms of animation, Spielberg struck his stride in the 90s. And he always goes; Man is now executive producer On “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.”

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One of the most obscure pieces of ephemeral in the animated cannon of Spielberg, however, is a television series entitled “Invasion America”, a program broadcast on WB for only 13 episodes in June and July 1998. “Invasion America”, unlike the series listed above, was not a comedy; It was a very serious science fiction program, steel and anxious about a teenager who discovers that he is half extraterrestrial. Spielberg co-created the series with Harve Bennet, the executive producer behind “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, “Star Trek III: The Search of Spock” and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”.

The intrigue of “Invasion America” ​​was very involved. It is explained that an extraterrestrial force of the planet Tyrus came to earth in the 1980s, hoping to initiate peaceful contacts. Unfortunately there is a schism within the Tyrusians. The sovereign of the planet, Cale-Oosha (Lorenzo Lamas), wishes to make peace with humans, while his uncle, the evil Dragit (Tony Jay), wants to conquer the earth. There are a crashes, a civil war broke out and hold-oosha, as well as his foreign friend Rafe (Edward Albert), must flee the earth. He disguises himself as human and continues to fall in love with a human woman named Rita (Kath Soucie). They have a child together and call him David.

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David (Mikey Kelley) is growing in his adolescence without knowing that his father is a stranger. The action of the show resumes when the dragit returns to earth to kill holding once and for all, forcing the true identity of David under the spotlight. The rest of the series follows David’s adventures while he flees the extraterrestrial spies of Dragit Evil and promotes his own extraterrestrial superpowers previously unknown. (Its capacities are improved and controlled by a widget in the shape of a power glove called Exotar.) The tone of the show was closer to “The X-Files” than anything else, presenting a version adapted to children of extraterrestrial plots.

“Invasion America” ​​presented some notable invited voice actors, including Kristy McNichol, Ronny Cox and James Sikking. Leonard Nomoy also appeared as a villain named General Konrad, probably participating because he and Bennet collaborated in three films “Star Trek”. While the series was produced in 30 -minute episodes, it broadcast two episodes at a time, presented in blocks of 60 minutes. The final of the series was also made up of a block of three 90 -minute episodes.

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The series was not very well received. The Revue du Los Angeles TimesWritten by Howard Rosenberg, argued that “Invasion America” ​​had tried to cover his thin intrigue and bad writing with splashing visuals. Indeed, the spectacle used CGI models then rare for television (for exteriors of spaceships), and its showrunners have clearly endeavored to make all rich and mechanical satisfactory. Anita Gates, writing for the New York Timeswas also impressed by the visuals – “elegant at the art point of art”, she wrote – but also noted that “Invasion America” ​​had no heart. Even in 1998, the fantastic stories “chose a” were already extremely tired, as Gates pointed out. At least, Ken Tucker’s review for Entertainment Weekly was positive. He noted, by Rotten tomatoesthat the spectacle was “derived” but that its visuals compensated.

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Exceptionally, two versions of “invasion America” ​​were broadcast in different time slots during its race. The complete iteration took place on the WB, while a truncated and less violent interpretation took place on the WB for children. The series ended with a chyron saying that it was “the end of book Un”. It is complete that 13 episodes were presented as a single arc of prolonged history, which was unknown in animation at the time and was not really common outside the soap operas. It was only in the mid -2000s that the stories of the season became of rigor. Unfortunately, there was no book two.

We cannot blame “American invasion” for a lack of ambition. It was pushed very strong at the time and even had linked novels. He was smooth and Toyetic and had some of the most talented Hollywood Bigwigs who worked there. However, it seems that “Invasion America” ​​was simply too familiar to take, and she went without much brass band. Spielberg fell back to the production of the spin-off “Animaniacs” “Pinky & The Brain”, while Bennet fell into his “Time Trax” money. “Animaniacs” was finally relaunched While “Tiny Toons” was restarted. “Invasion America”, on the other hand, remains dormant.

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