"Eternal Boy" revisited!

[ASTROBUDDY]

I ran across an old thread which Jeffbert said was better suited for the Astro Boy discussions then where it was! So, I am starting a new thread to put my two cents into the discussion! To begin when I first saw the episode known as "Eternal Boy" (although I had translated it as "Eternal Youth" as I thought that was a better title, anyway) I thought the reason it was omitted is because it had to do with children being kidnapped and I thought that maybe it would not pass most standards and practices departments of most U.S. stations! As for the copyright issue, I believe this theory has merit! Not in that Disney has the copyright to Peter Pan, they do not! Disney only has the copyright to their animated version of "Peter Pan"! What is more likely is that whoever had the copyright probably could not come to terms with SONY (or who ever released the series on DVD)! A similar situation happened with the movie, "It Ain't Hay", an Abbott & Costello movie they did for Universal and was not included in any of the boxed DVD collections of their movies! The movie in question was based on a Damon Runyon story! His heirs could not come to terms with the people releasing the DVDs and so that movie is not part of the collections! I believe a similar situation may be the reason "Eternal Boy" is not part of the "Complete Astro Boy"series! So let us discuss!

[jeffbert]

on the T in E forums, it was said that someone else has the copyright. There were several ideas why the episode was excluded, but none were definitive.

[ASTROBUDDY]

I just thought of another possibilty! It has been theorized that when Warner Bros. bought the rights to "Godzilla Raids Again" they were not sure of who had the copyright to the name "Godzilla" or rather than have to pay for the rights to Godzilla, they simply renamed the film, "Gigantis" and thus would not have to pay for the rights to "Godzilla"! Similarly when AIP bought the distribution rights to "Mosura tai Gojira" rather than pay for the rights to the name "Mothra" which was believed to be owned by Columbia (the company that distributed the original "Mothra" in the U.S.) they simply renamed the film "Godzilla vs. the Thing! (Of course, in the case of "G. vs. the Thing", there are other theories as to how it got its new name, but that's another story!) My point is that SONY rather than worry about a copright issue simply choice not to include the episode! And yes I know unless we hear from someone who worked on the project of adapting the 2003-4 "Astro Boy" series we won't know for sure the reason why "Eternal Boy" was omitted, I just thought it would be fun to speculate and since noone had added what seemed to me to be the most plausible reasons, I thought I would do that here! So, anyone else want to add their thoughts here! I would like to see them!

[cybotron]

I just thought of another possibilty! It has been theorized that when Warner Bros. bought the rights to "Godzilla Raids Again" they were not sure of who had the copyright to the name "Godzilla" or rather than have to pay for the rights to Godzilla, they simply renamed the film, "Gigantis" and thus would not have to pay for the rights to "Godzilla"! Similarly when AIP bought the distribution rights to "Mosura tai Gojira" rather than pay for the rights to the name "Mothra" which was believed to be owned by Columbia (the company that distributed the original "Mothra" in the U.S.) they simply renamed the film "Godzilla vs. the Thing! (Of course, in the case of "G. vs. the Thing", there are other theories as to how it got its new name, but that's another story!) My point is that SONY rather than worry about a copright issue simply choice not to include the episode! And yes I know unless we hear from someone who worked on the project of adapting the 2003-4 "Astro Boy" series we won't know for sure the reason why "Eternal Boy" was omitted, I just thought it would be fun to speculate and since noone had added what seemed to me to be the most plausible reasons, I thought I would do that here! So, anyone else want to add their thoughts here! I would like to see them!

Hmmm. Your idea seems most plausible. However, it could also be they needed a mystery episode. A missing or "Lost" episode.
Part of Dr.Elefun's "Hide and Seek" ops. Or even another actual Tenma device!

[DrFrag]

You're right about the copyright, Astrobuddy. Disney holds the licence for animated versions of Peter Pan. The actual story copyright belongs to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, and they enforce it for the royalties.

At the moment, Peter Pan remains under copyright in the USA and a few other countries. In most countries it's public domain, including Australia where the episode was not on the DVDs. IMO, it's probable Sony never bothered dubbing it knowing they couldn't air it or sell it in the USA.

I agree that Eternal Youth sounds like a better translation for the title.

[ASTROBUDDY]

Thank you, Dr. Frag! Always nice to hear from you! Although I kind of like Cybotron's theory about a "mystery, missing or lost episode!"

Oh, and BTW Cybotron, do you know if the 80s Astroboy aired in your area back in the eighties and if so on what channel and at what time?