From the Fanboy Q: Phantom 2040 The Ghost Who Walks

It’s no secret that I love’s me some pulp, so it was only natural that I’d get around to watching damn near anything with The Phantom in it. And while this particular title may not be pulp itself, it’s an attempt at modernizing a pulp character, and I wholeheartedly support the attempt. Unfortunately, this attempt falls short of being a worthwhile revival.

I don’t remember it, but Phantom 2040 was an animated series that lasted two seasons (1994-1995), had a comic book mini series tie-in published by Marvel Comics, and video games on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo systems.

Clocking in at roughly 95 minutes, I’m guessing this DVD was the first three episodes of the series edited together into one movie. It’s too bad that 95 minutes feels more like 95 days as the story plods along with lackluster visuals and a cast of voice actors (including Ron Perlman and Margot Kidder) that just sound bored.

From the very beginning, I had felt like I’d seen some of the characters before with their long, slender figures and narrow faces. They looked a lot like Peter Chung characters, and a glance at the credits proved me right. It’s a shame that this production has some of the lamest designs and lowest quality animation I’ve ever seen Chung’s name attached to. Characters seemed to move in slow motion with repetitive gestures, and the weak computer-generated content stuck out like a sore thumb.

Underneath all of the bland characters and weak animation is a premise that had potential to shine. Dragging a character like the Phantom into the year 2040, and forcing him to expand his “jungle” for the sake of the world’s well-being in the face of an ecological armageddon is an excellent idea that could still be explored, even today. But, can a costumed crimefighter in a black domino mask and a dark purple suit win over today’s jaded audience? Unfortunately, I doubt it.