What is Your Favorite COMIC STRIP Movie?
by dgranger | created - 13 Jan 2019 | updated - 07 Apr 2019 | PublicNothing exists in a vacuum entirely by itself. Cinema is no different. Ever since it’s beginnings, theaterical cinema drew on a variety of sources for the plots of it’s films, including plays, current real public issues, history, novels, children’s literature, myths, orginnal screenplays, comicbooks, graphic novels, newspaper/magazine comic strips, and more. In particular, in order to create films and the Saturday morning movie serials of the movie business of the 1930s through the 1950s geared to draw in a younger crowd, the film studios turned to comicbooks, comics stripes, children’s literature, and action pulp fiction stories for sources of the plots. Now with this current trend of movies based on superhero comicbooks and graphic novels, that subject is being talked to death every which way while the subject movies based on comic strip characters is being left to the way sides while not being entirely forgotten. Well, these are movies that were based on comic strips that appeared in newspapers and in magazines. And to show just how big some of these were as serials and as comics stripes double entities as an serial and a modern updated movie are listed. Which one is your favorite movie?
Discuss the topic here.
P.S. This topic was a learning curve for me too in many points. Like: 1 - learning several characters who I thought would have been comic strip characters first, like Betty Boop, weren’t. They were animated films first then adapted to comic strips. 2 - One character who I was positive that I thought was an animated character was actually a comic strip character first! That was a big one! Popeye the Sailer. 3 - several huge comic strips have yet to make their jump into feature length films: Doonsbury, The Boondocks, Andy Capp, Family Circus, Hagar The Horrible, Curtis, The Wizard Of Id, and more.
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1. Dick Tracy (1990)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Director: Warren Beatty | Stars: Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Charlie Korsmo
Votes: 65,689 | Gross: $103.74M
2. The Peanuts Movie (2015)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Snoopy embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their archnemesis, while his best pal Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest back home to win the love of his life.
Director: Steve Martino | Stars: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller, Francesca Capaldi
Votes: 49,776 | Gross: $130.18M
3. Garfield: The Movie (2004)
PG | 80 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Jon Arbuckle buys a second pet, a dog named Odie. However, Odie is then abducted and it is up to Jon's cat, Garfield, to find and rescue the canine.
Director: Peter Hewitt | Stars: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bill Murray
Votes: 93,738 | Gross: $75.37M
4. Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
PG | 82 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Jon and Garfield visit the United Kingdom, where a case of mistaken cat identity finds Garfield ruling over a castle. His reign is soon jeopardized by the nefarious Lord Dargis, who has designs on the estate.
Director: Tim Hill | Stars: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly, Bill Murray
Votes: 47,053 | Gross: $28.43M
5. The Addams Family (1991)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya
Votes: 179,737 | Gross: $113.50M
6. Addams Family Values (1993)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The Addams Family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack
Votes: 109,454 | Gross: $48.92M
7. The Phantom (1996)
PG | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Phantom, descendent of a line of African superheroes, travels to New York City to thwart a wealthy criminal genius from obtaining three magic skulls which would give him the secret to ultimate power.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Votes: 35,790 | Gross: $17.30M
8. Prince Valiant (1997)
PG-13 | 91 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
The evil sorceress Morgan le Fey teams up with the Viking Sligon to should steal Arthur's sword Excalibur. The young boy Valiant, who masquerades as Sir Gawain to be near the princess Ilene, has to save the kingdom.
Director: Anthony Hickox | Stars: Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Thomas Kretschmann, Edward Fox
Votes: 2,395
9. Prince Valiant (1954)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Viking prince strives to become a knight in King Arthur's Court and restore his exiled father to his rightful throne.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget
Votes: 2,945
10. Annie (1982)
PG | 127 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A spunky young orphan is taken in by a rich eccentric, much to the chagrin of the cantankerous woman who runs the orphanage.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking
Votes: 49,436 | Gross: $57.06M
“Little Orphan Annie” was the name of the comicstrip.
11. Annie (2014)
PG | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A foster kid who lives with her mean foster mom sees her life change when business tycoon and New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.
Director: Will Gluck | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne
Votes: 40,495 | Gross: $85.91M
“Little Orphan Annie” was the name of the comicstrip.
12. Flash Gordon (1980)
PG | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol
Votes: 61,454
13. Flash Gordon (1936)
Passed | 245 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
Directors: Frederick Stephani, Ray Taylor | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson
Votes: 2,656
This one also includes all the Saturday morning movie serials that were later made in this series of movies starring Buster Krabbe and shown on tv in the 1950s and 1960s.
14. Buck Rogers (1977)
Not Rated | 90 min | Family, Romance, Sci-Fi
A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.
Directors: Ford Beebe, Saul A. Goodkind | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran, Jack Mulhall
Votes: 278
15. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
PG | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.
Director: Daniel Haller | Stars: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Pamela Hensley, Henry Silva
Votes: 6,851 | Gross: $21.67M
Here is a bit of trivia for you. In the orginnal comicstrip of Buck Rogers in the 1930’s, Flash Gordon had first appeared there and spun off into his own comic strip.
16. Li'l Abner (1959)
Approved | 114 min | Comedy, Musical, Family
As Sadie Hawkins Day approaches, Daisy Mae hopes to win the hand of Li'l Abner by catching him in the traditional race.
Director: Melvin Frank | Stars: Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Peter Palmer, Howard St. John
Votes: 1,490
17. Brenda Starr (1989)
PG | 93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Romance
A comic book artist struggling with his "Brenda Starr" strip decides to draw himself into it when his comic book character is disappointed and leaves the strip.
Director: Robert Ellis Miller | Stars: Brooke Shields, Timothy Dalton, Tony Peck, Diana Scarwid
Votes: 1,259 | Gross: $0.07M
18. Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945)
Approved | 243 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Chapter 1 finds Daily Flash newspaper reporter Brenda Starr (Joan Woodbury), and her photographer, Chuck Allen (Syd Saylor), assigned to cover a fire in an old house where they discover the... See full summary »
Director: Wallace Fox | Stars: Joan Woodbury, Kane Richmond, Ernie Adams, William 'Billy' Benedict
Votes: 91
19. Gasoline Alley (1951)
Approved | 76 min | Comedy, Romance
The popular Frank O. King comic strip characters go from newspaper page to screen in this 1951 feature film from legendary comedy director Edward Bernds (of Three Stooges and Bowery Boys ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Scotty Beckett, Jimmy Lydon, Susan Morrow, Don Beddoe
Votes: 156
20. Dennis the Menace (1993)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Family
When his parents must go out of town on business, Dennis stays with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. He is driving Mr. Wilson crazy, but he is just trying to be helpful, even to the thief who has arrived in town.
Director: Nick Castle | Stars: Walter Matthau, Mason Gamble, Joan Plowright, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 64,868 | Gross: $51.27M
21. Dondi (1961)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Six American GIs stationed in Italy befriend an orphaned boy, but the soldiers remain unaware that the lad has stowed away with them when they return to the U.S.
Director: Albert Zugsmith | Stars: David Janssen, Patti Page, Walter Winchell, Mickey Shaughnessy
Votes: 322
The movie deserves a better rating.
22. Blondie (1938)
Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Family
Dagwood loses his job on the eve of his and Blondie's fifth wedding anniversary.
Director: Frank R. Strayer | Stars: Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Daisy
Votes: 871
The first of a long series of 28 B films and two tv series about Blondie Bumstead (a former flapper whose maiden name was ‘Blondie Boopadoop‘) and Dagwood Bumstead, their two children, son Alexander (aka: ‘Baby Dumpling’ in some of the strips), and daughter Cookie (???), and their dog, Daisy. The comic strip is still in publication for over 88 years since September 8, 1930.
23. Beetle Bailey (1990 TV Movie)
47 min | Animation, Comedy
When a group of generals from the Pentagon notify General Halftrack that they want to inspect a model of the modern soldier, Beetle Bailey probably wasn't what they had in mind.
Directors: Mitch Rochon, Robert Shellhorn, Mike Svayko | Stars: Frank Welker, Bob Bergen, Mendi Segal, Greg Whalen
Votes: 71
24. Up Front (1951)
Approved | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Based on the famed World War II cartoons, lowbrow G.I.s Willie and Joe, on the Italian front, are good soldiers in combat, but meet the antics of gung-ho Captain Johnson and other military ... See full summary »
Director: Alexander Hall | Stars: David Wayne, Tom Ewell, Marina Berti, Jeffrey Lynn
Votes: 116
Based on the WW2 Willie and Joe “Up Front” cartoons by Bill Mauldin. This includes the sequel Back at the Front (1952) but with Harvey Lembeck in the role Joe instead of David Wayne who was in that role in the orginnal movie.
25. Bringing Up Father (1946)
Passed | 65 min | Action, Comedy
Maggie and her snooty society friends fool Jiggs and his buddies down at Dinty's tavern into not only signing a petition to close the bar, but they also trick them into taking the "temperaance" pledge to forsake all alcohol.
Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: Joe Yule, Renie Riano, Tim Ryan, June Harrison
Votes: 46
Based on the comic strip of the same name about husband and wife Jiggs, and Maggie Jiggs
26. Adventures of Red Ryder (1940)
Approved | 205 min | Western
Chapter One MURDER ON THE SANTA FE TRAIL - Mesquite banker Calvin Drake (Harry Worth) plans to profit from the Santa Fe Railroad's acquisition of right-of-way by gaining control of the land... See full summary »
Directors: John English, William Witney | Stars: Don 'Red' Barry, Noah Beery, Tommy Cook, Maude Allen
Votes: 161
Does the name of “Red Ryder” sound familiar to all you fans of the movie A Christmas Story (1983)? As in the (Daisy) Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun that Ralphie wants? Well Red Ryder was a western style comic strip that inspired a series of movies and a very popular tv series in the 1950s. Popular villain actor Noah Beery is in this one playing Ace Hanlon which just happens to be the same name of the card playing character that Lance Henriksen plays in The Quick and the Dead (1995). Is there a connection here, like a homage? Also this one was probably the fastest one to jump from comic strip (1939) to film serial (1940), radio show and TV show.
27. Cheyenne Wildcat (1944)
Passed | 56 min | Western
Red Ryder and Little Beaver solve a case involving a murdered banker and bank fraud in a small Western town.
Director: Lesley Selander | Stars: Bill Elliott, Robert Blake, Alice Fleming, Peggy Stewart
Votes: 84
Red Ryder again but this time with Bill Elliott as Red Ryder and Robert Blake as the Native American boy Little Beaver.
28. Popeye (1980)
PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Paul Dooley
Votes: 34,369 | Gross: $49.82M
Believe it or not, Popeye, created by Elzie Crisler Segar, was a comicstrip character that appeared in “Thimble Theatre” comic strips, on January 17, 1929, before animator, Max Fleischer, adapted the strip into animated short films for Paramount in 1933.
29. Marmaduke (2010)
PG | 87 min | Comedy, Family
A suburban family moves to a new neighborhood with their large, yet lovable Great Dane, who has a tendency to wreak havoc in his own oblivious way.
Director: Tom Dey | Stars: Owen Wilson, Judy Greer, Lee Pace, Emma Stone
Votes: 17,499 | Gross: $33.64M
30. The Smurfs (2011)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world into New York City.
Director: Raja Gosnell | Stars: Hank Azaria, Katy Perry, Jonathan Winters, Neil Patrick Harris
Votes: 96,633 | Gross: $142.61M
31. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Each night, young Nemo goes to Slumberland and has adventures and befriends the king of Slumberland, Morpheus. But one night Nemo discovers Nightmare Land, and the evil nightmare king, throwing Slumberland and Nemo himself into danger.
Directors: Masami Hata, Masanori Hata, William T. Hurtz | Stars: Gabriel Damon, Mickey Rooney, Rene Auberjonois, Danny Mann
Votes: 8,254 | Gross: $1.37M
The strip, by Winsor McCay, debuted as a character in the strip “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” spun off into it’s own strip as “Little Nemo In Slumberland” and then was later re-named as “In the Land of Wonderful Dreams”. LNIS ran as a strip from October 15, 1905 to December 26, 1926.
32. Dick Tracy (1937)
Approved | 70 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick.
Directors: Alan James, Ray Taylor | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta
Votes: 652
This is the first of 15 film appearances of the detective who had first appeared in comic strips in 1931. Along the way, there was a radio show and a television show too.
33. Over the Hedge (2006)
PG | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating...and learns a lesson about family himself.
Directors: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick | Stars: Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes
Votes: 189,255 | Gross: $155.02M
Based on the comic stripe by Michael Fry and T. Lewis that debuted (or ‘launched’) on June, 1995.
34. Skippy (1931)
Passed | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.
Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green, Jackie Searl
Votes: 995
Based on the award winning comic striip of the same name (1923 to 1945) by drawn by Percy Crosby. Eventhough this was nominated for best picture, and best adaptation and won the Oscar for best director, Norman Taurog, Percy Crosby hated the film and refused to allow Skippy to be made into other movies. But however, he was contractually forced to allow the sequel, Sooky (1931), based on another character in the strip, to be made.
35. A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Charlie Brown makes his way to the national spelling bee finals.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, Andy Pforsich
Votes: 5,631 | Gross: $13.08M
The Peanuts Movie was not the first feature length Peanuts movie to be released at the movie theaters. This was. It was nominated for an Oscar (Best music, original song score) It was followed by Snoopy Come Home (1972) (7.5 with 3742 votes) and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) (7.4, 2667 votes, and $3,223,888 USA box office gross), and a TV movie that was basically an animated version of the Tony award winning Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985) (7.6, 775 votes). I was corrected by gromit82, thank you.
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