When it comes to movies I've often wrestled with the idea of inducting to Tooncrap, one has been the 1990 film adaptation of The Jetsons. But when I looked back at the film, I found that it wasn't a particularly bad film. Not a particularly good one either, but compared to a lot of animated franchises getting the big screen treatment, it probably fared better than expected. That said, there are things about it that do bother me about it, so at least with this quick review I can air those grievances.
The Jetsons have been around since the early 60's. Hell, it only lasted a season, yet those 13 episodes aired ad nauseam on Saturday mornings for over 20 plus years. However, in the 80's Hanna Barbera decided to bring the franchise back with new episodes. There were also plans since the mid 80's to bring the Jetsons to the big screen. Including that seemingly impossible hope of a live action version. But in 1990, Universal pictures finally gave us a Jetsons movie.
The plot of the film takes us to an asteroid that's being mined by Spacely Sprockets. However the drilling is constantly being sabotaged. With every vice president quitting the job, and Spacely hell bent on his one millionth sprocket, he sends the only man stupid and loyal enough to take the job. That man, of course, is George Jetson, who moves the family (His boy Elroy, Daughter Judy, Jane his Wife, Astro, and Rosie the Robot) to the apartment complex near the asteroid. Where they meet new friends, new loves, and learn that the sabotage is caused by the creatures living on the asteroid.
In terms of story, it's really nothing amazing. Your standard mix of "temporary moving" story with sprinkles of an environmental message throughout. In terms of comedy, it's pretty basic and bland, kinda like the Jetsons has always been. But it's harmless writing that little kids would still find entertaining. And at the end of the day, this really is a movie made more for kids, though with better offerings, especially in 1990, this can look kinda corny in comparison.
On an animation standpoint, this movie looks great, especially for the Jetsons. The use of CGI for many of the shots in space, and of the asteroid are really well done, and still hold up much better than most early uses of the style. The soundtrack is pretty decent as well, mainly containing music by Tiffany, which will come into play when I get into voice acting. Also, this is another early 90's movie that has a rap ending, though this one does do it a lot better than most.
On the voice acting side of things, that's where things start to get a bit depressing. During production, both George O'Hanlon (George Jetson) and Mel Blanc (Cosmo Spacely) passed away. And if that wasn't enough, Janet Waldo, the original voice actor for Judy Jetson, completed her lines for Judy, only for her entire role to be replaced by Tiffany. I don't blame Tiffany for it, I doubt she intentionally wanted to just steal the role. This felt entirely like a case of Universal Executives trying to get the most from Tiffany's involvement with the movie and felt having her star in it would be a bigger incentive for people to go see. And I don't even think Tiffany is that bad as Judy, it's just that this whole situation is really disgusting, and kind of a spit in the face of longtime fans and the longtime cast of the cartoon.
But if you can overlook that damning situation, then the Jetsons Movie is an okay at best little film. It's not the best animation to film adaptation, but it is watchable, has a good message, some decent music, and some great early 90's animation that still looks really well done. There are far better alternatives that didn't involve disgusting acts by executives, but if you're a fan of the Jetsons, and want to see the final performance of Mel Blanc, then this is still a must watch.