Code Lyoko Merchandise

[Mewberries151]

No comment...although to be sure I hope they'll all be smart enough to know that just because Odd can do all those really cool flips and acrobatics and stuff...it doesn't mean they can do it too. Pokemon got into huge trouble in certain countries because kids started imitating the stunts they saw there...I hope CL doesn't run into the same problem. Heaven forbid they try to re-enact anything of the stunts in "Plagued"...Oi...

Natural selection at its finest.

*sweatdrops* Well, I just wouldn't want to see CL banned from any of the countries it plays in because of something like that. It'd be really kind of sad...

[FormicaArchonis offline]

He did say that artistic skill ran in his family. Scion of an art family, you could do worse.

That would be a pretty interesting revelation.

Would be. I doubt they'd be able to do it if real della Robbias are still extant, though.

Would give them time to build up some momentum for the holidays. Anyone care to float a theory about how it will tie in with new episodes airing?

Well...to be sure they've already tied it in with DVD sales. The insert for the first DVD had an ad that said when they'd be released. I'm not sure how they'd tie them in with the new episodes but to be sure they're going to tie them in with season 2, seeing as how Ulrich and Odd are both posed with their Lyoko vehicles as well.

Well, I suspect season 1's going to develop into the black sheep of the series anyway. I was just thinking along the lines of season 3's premiere being essentially a free boost to any CL-themed advertisements they could air.

XD No comment...although to be sure I hope they'll all be smart enough to know that just because Odd can do all those really cool flips and acrobatics and stuff...it doesn't mean they can do it too. Pokemon got into huge trouble in certain countries because kids started imitating the stunts they saw there...

I hadn't heard that. But I doubt it'll happen to Code Lyoko. I don't think CL's going to become the marketing phenomenon and money engine that Pokemon is. Thankfully, the show's not built for it. If Odd starts using a new weapon type every week to battle a new monster who only shows up again when its toy sale numbers start flagging.... THEN I'll panic. Actually, I'd probably stop watching! Not that it'd ever happen. Designing a new monster, building it in 3D, skinning it, making its skeleton, doing the basic animation cycles, etc. isn't something you can just whip up on a whim.

Most cartoons are fairly heavy on violence, simply because violence is the easiest way to represent conflict. Really, if any cartoon tried to use other, more cerebral, ways of representing conflict it would likely be deemed "to deep" for the little kiddies, even if it wasn't. Besides, CL has lots of stuff a kook could latch on to without needing a kid doing a Superman off the roof:

1) Adults as the enemy.
1a) No "good" adults. (Franz Hopper's too far offstage to be visible.)
1b) School rules that hinder the heroes. Adults enforcing said rules.
1c) XANA-possessed adults attacking and being attacked by the kids. Kids using what would be deadly force against a normal adult.
2) Children placed in life-threatening situations, sometimes from normal household objects.
3) Attempting suicide as a solution to one's problems. Though no adult - who isn't a fan of the show - would ever notice that one.

But before I scare you into hiding your VHS copies of the show in a bunker: I don't remember the Teen Titans as being considered controversial, even though it's been translated into many languages, was successful enough to run for five years, and spawned a comic book spinoff and forthcoming direct-to-video movie. Yet you had episodes like "Haunted", where an adult (Slade) beat up a youngish teenager (Robin) for basically the entire half-hour, or "Birthmark", where one of the major plot points involved a teenage girl getting most of her clothes ripped off bit by bit, again by an adult.

And a bit further afield, you have live-action programming like the new Doctor Who that features plenty of death, the occasional bit of weak profanity (along the lines of "What the hell is that?"), an openly bisexual character, and some really scary episodes. Yet the "controversy" over that was pretty mild, as I recall.

In summary, I think it would take some really amazing and horrific thing for Code Lyoko to be reviled by the "concerned parent" groups of the world.

[Mewberries151]

XD No comment...although to be sure I hope they'll all be smart enough to know that just because Odd can do all those really cool flips and acrobatics and stuff...it doesn't mean they can do it too. Pokemon got into huge trouble in certain countries because kids started imitating the stunts they saw there...

I hadn't heard that. But I doubt it'll happen to Code Lyoko. I don't think CL's going to become the marketing phenomenon and money engine that Pokemon is. Thankfully, the show's not built for it. If Odd starts using a new weapon type every week to battle a new monster who only shows up again when its toy sale numbers start flagging.... THEN I'll panic. Actually, I'd probably stop watching! Not that it'd ever happen. Designing a new monster, building it in 3D, skinning it, making its skeleton, doing the basic animation cycles, etc. isn't something you can just whip up on a whim.

Good point. Although I'd flip to see kids carrying around a plushie "Scyphozoa". (And it glows when you hug it! ^^; )

Most cartoons are fairly heavy on violence, simply because violence is the easiest way to represent conflict. Really, if any cartoon tried to use other, more cerebral, ways of representing conflict it would likely be deemed "to deep" for the little kiddies, even if it wasn't. Besides, CL has lots of stuff a kook could latch on to without needing a kid doing a Superman off the roof:

1) Adults as the enemy.
1a) No "good" adults. (Franz Hopper's too far offstage to be visible.)
1b) School rules that hinder the heroes. Adults enforcing said rules.
1c) XANA-possessed adults attacking and being attacked by the kids. Kids using what would be deadly force against a normal adult.
2) Children placed in life-threatening situations, sometimes from normal household objects.
3) Attempting suicide as a solution to one's problems. Though no adult - who isn't a fan of the show - would ever notice that one.

Well...I disagree a little bit there on certain things. CL is actually more "deep" in my opinion than most shows...and as for violence, it's pretty mild (most of the punches and kicks in the real world fights aren't even shown). As to a kid latching onto the idea that "Adults are the bad guys", I don't think that would happen...anyone who's seen "Code: Earth" and "False Start" would know that adults can be helpful...sometimes. Plus, most students already consider school rules a hassle...so there's no harm there. ^^;

Also...I can't understand why everyone keeps referring to Aelita's actions in "The Key" as suicide...it was really more of a sacrifice (like a martyr type action). She didn't shut off the super computer because she was tired of living; she shut it off to try and prevent something worse from happening to her friends and the world she lived in. At least that's the way I see it...

Interesting point about the life-threatening situations though...I guess that would all come down to the kids own ability to delineate fact from fiction...or the parents' ability to convey that idea to them. *shrugs*

In summary, I think it would take some really amazing and horrific thing for Code Lyoko to be reviled by the "concerned parent" groups of the world.

Another good point, too. I don't think it would gain one of those "concerned parent groups", either. It's much more low-key to begin with than Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh was.

[FormicaArchonis offline]

Actually, I'd probably stop watching! Not that it'd ever happen. Designing a new monster, building it in 3D, skinning it, making its skeleton, doing the basic animation cycles, etc. isn't something you can just whip up on a whim.

Good point. Although I'd flip to see kids carrying around a plushie "Scyphozoa". (And it glows when you hug it! ^^; )

Now that is a plush even I'd consider purchasing.

Warning: Offtopic semi-rant follows.... <A HREF="#wheeeee">Click here to skip</A>, assuming your browser doesn't go funny when it sees an A NAME tag.

As to a kid latching onto the idea that "Adults are the bad guys", I don't think that would happen...anyone who's seen "Code: Earth" and "False Start" would know that adults can be helpful...sometimes. Plus, most students already consider school rules a hassle...so there's no harm there. ^^;

True enough, but if we're looking at this from the point of view of someone seeking to cause a moral panic, being alarmist only helps the viewpoint. After all, this is a world where a videogame was blamed for a shooting when it was the victim, not the shooter, who played.

Also...I can't understand why everyone keeps referring to Aelita's actions in "The Key" as suicide...it was really more of a sacrifice (like a martyr type action).

Suicide (n). The act or an instance of intentionally killing oneself. Strictly speaking, it counts. Also, martyrs and sacrifices usually die as the result of another's actions. It's the other who performs the killing action, not the martyr. The martyr chooses to die (refuses to renounce their faith/ideals, steps in front of the bullet meant for another, whatever), but is not the killer. But I admit that even that is a highly subjective viewpoint. One man's martyr is another man's fool.

She didn't shut off the super computer because she was tired of living; she shut it off to try and prevent something worse from happening to her friends and the world she lived in. At least that's the way I see it...

A personal preference, I suppose. In the previous scene she was raging at her father's actions and her stolen life. Since he'd presumably be wiped out with XANA, it taints her motivations - some people do kill themselves, in part, to punish someone. ("Look what you made me do!")

In contrast, her death/deletion in "Just in Time" was pure, because she was as much chess piece as she was character, a king for the knights and rooks to protect. But now, she's (thankfully) grown far more complex - more emotional, more human. (As an example of that, most striking for me was near the end of "Is Anybody Out There?" when the Carthage transport sphere drops her near the activated tower. She sees the two tarantulas, and her reaction is a clenched-teeth growl. It was the first time I remember seeing Lyoko Aelita show unvarnished anger.)

Also, saving the world is all well and good, but I don't think Jeremie stumbling on her corpse would have been very good for his mental health. For that matter, now that there's record of her in the real world, her disappearance would be noticed. She'd be missed. Records would be checked. Odd's forgery of his parents' signatures would be found. Jeremie's hacking would be either found or at least suspected. At the very least, she was dooming Odd to expulsion and a damaged home life. At the most, all of the others would suffer guilt by association (and for helping protect this person with no identity) and wind up expelled and scattered to the winds. Jeremie might have a criminal record for illegally accessing/tampering with government files, though his age would probably keep him out of jail. And leading someone to the body would be leading them to the supercomputer. XANA or no, that's still a dangerous piece of hardware. So would the kids have to lug her body to a 'neater' place for someone to die?

Her friends would be safe, but they'd be miserable. She might be jumping on a grenade, but she's taking them with her. The "I'm concerned for you and your future" doesn't fly well for me. If you leave her friends out of it and assume she's saving the world, then she's willingly sacrificing her friends without their knowledge or consent, and that's so far out of character that I don't believe it.

Interesting point about the life-threatening situations though...I guess that would all come down to the kids own ability to delineate fact from fiction...or the parents' ability to convey that idea to them. *shrugs*

It has a long history. The original Doctor Who ran into trouble for showing shop window dummies and plastic flowers as weapons. I've heard that Fox forbade Batman: The Animated Series from showing handguns (but not machine guns), children in danger, and breaking glass.

Oh, and it's the adults who often have the hard time with the fact/fiction dichotomy. Staff psychologists originally didn't want the Muppets on Sesame Street interacting with the humans because they were afraid it would confuse children's ideas about reality. That went out the window eventually, and when's the last time you saw someone try to talk to a real frog about the alphabet?

Kids are smarter than grown-ups give them credit for. (I have a friend who half-jokingly claims that there's a Stupid Gene that makes some of us forget our childhoods the instant we have kids of our own. On occasion he's asked me, "So, you're a father now?" when I'm acting a bit crazy when it comes to something aimed at kids.)

In summary, I think it would take some really amazing and horrific thing for Code Lyoko to be reviled by the "concerned parent" groups of the world.

Another good point, too. I don't think it would gain one of those "concerned parent groups", either. It's much more low-key to begin with than Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh was.

Exactly. It's just not sexy. The seizure incident made the papers here before Pokemon itself aired in some (Most?) English-speaking nations. It has prominence and notoriety. Same with video games. All that panic over Doom when its predecessor, successor, and contemporary (Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, and Duke Nukem 3D, respectively) avoided much scrutiny. Why? Because the name sounds scary! Because there's book spinoffs with scary covers and titles like "Knee Deep in the Dead". Because pentagrams and demons have already been part of older moral panics (Satanic abuse, Dungeons and Dragons, the Salem Witch Trials...) and are thus proven moneymakers for lawyers, news programs, and pundits. Far better than Nazis or Shub-Niggurath.
Dungeons and Dragons, but not Traveller, Shadowrun, or Unknown Armies.
H. P. Lovecraft and his Necronomicon, but not August Derleth's Celaeno Fragments or Clark Ashton Smith's Book of Eibon.
<A NAME="wheeeee"></A>
It's aura and popularity as much as anything. And while Code Lyoko is a good series, I don't think it's going to be that magical thing which alters kid culture to the point where it influences adult culture.

[Chad Rains offline]

Kids are smarter than grown-ups give them credit for. (I have a friend who half-jokingly claims that there's a Stupid Gene that makes some of us forget our childhoods the instant we have kids of our own. On occasion he's asked me, "So, you're a father now?" when I'm acting a bit crazy when it comes to something aimed at kids.)

I have to agree wholeheartedly on this one. and while not directly related to the original topic, let me explain what I mean. It used to be a case where I would consider what happens in CL and also take into consideration that they are only 13/14 years old and I would constantly think that was unreasonable because they wouldnt be capable of anything like that at that age.

But one day I stood back a bit and thought back to when I was 13 years old and it all seems perfectly logical now.

[Mewberries151]

She didn't shut off the super computer because she was tired of living; she shut it off to try and prevent something worse from happening to her friends and the world she lived in. At least that's the way I see it...

A personal preference, I suppose. In the previous scene she was raging at her father's actions and her stolen life. Since he'd presumably be wiped out with XANA, it taints her motivations - some people do kill themselves, in part, to punish someone. ("Look what you made me do!")

A good point about suicides as opposed to martyrs, but it still rings of more of a sacrifice to me...she didn't look angry or spiteful when she actually flipped the switch off...thus why I don't think Franz Hopper played any part really in her decision. She just looked tired and resigned (and mildly mournful because she knew what her sacrifice would spell for her). I don't think "revenge" is a concept that Aelita really adheres to (even with her experiences in the real world). Doing anything to harm an individual, even if she'd been wronged isn't really in her character, as she doesn't even treat Sissi badly though Sissi has been cruel to her at times. The idea of Aelita taking "revenge" just seems so out of character for her, to me.

In contrast, her death/deletion in "Just in Time" was pure, because she was as much chess piece as she was character, a king for the knights and rooks to protect. But now, she's (thankfully) grown far more complex - more emotional, more human. (As an example of that, most striking for me was near the end of "Is Anybody Out There?" when the Carthage transport sphere drops her near the activated tower. She sees the two tarantulas, and her reaction is a clenched-teeth growl. It was the first time I remember seeing Lyoko Aelita show unvarnished anger.)

She's shown some levels of frustration before...usually during the season 1 episodes where she was faced with that Mountain region tower that involves that moving procession of plateaus to get to it. I remember seeing her give a small cry of determination (with what looks like a "I'm going to bring it" type of snarl) every time she'd go to jump those.

Also, saving the world is all well and good, but I don't think Jeremie stumbling on her corpse would have been very good for his mental health. For that matter, now that there's record of her in the real world, her disappearance would be noticed. She'd be missed. Records would be checked. Odd's forgery of his parents' signatures would be found. Jeremie's hacking would be either found or at least suspected. At the very least, she was dooming Odd to expulsion and a damaged home life. At the most, all of the others would suffer guilt by association (and for helping protect this person with no identity) and wind up expelled and scattered to the winds. Jeremie might have a criminal record for illegally accessing/tampering with government files, though his age would probably keep him out of jail. And leading someone to the body would be leading them to the supercomputer. XANA or no, that's still a dangerous piece of hardware. So would the kids have to lug her body to a 'neater' place for someone to die?

True, Jeremie's health would likely have taken the most heavy of blows, but everything else is conjecture...and a worst case scenario. Quite likely, if turning the super back on (as Jeremie would have done regardless to try and revive her), had failed to bring her back to life, his next move would likely have been to try and activate an RTTP (in the faint hope it would bring her back).

With that tactic failing (rules are rules), I think the Team might have then just decided to set an RTTP big enough to set them back to before Aelita was signed up at the school in order to avoid all of the trouble you mentioned above. Though it would completely erase the events of season 2, it would be possible since I believe it was mentioned that Franz Hopper once made a 7 year length RTTP, so surely it could handle one school year. It wouldn't solve all of the problems they'd face (mostly with Aelita still dead, and Jeremie's health to consider), but it would solve the biggest ones of keeping Lyoko, Aelita, and XANA a secret, and keep the kids out of government and school trouble. They then could shut off XANA, and then decide as a group how to best find Aelita a final resting place.

True this would be morbid beyond reason, but it wouldn't lead to all of the disasters you mentioned in your post.

Her friends would be safe, but they'd be miserable. She might be jumping on a grenade, but she's taking them with her. The "I'm concerned for you and your future" doesn't fly well for me. If you leave her friends out of it and assume she's saving the world, then she's willingly sacrificing her friends without their knowledge or consent, and that's so far out of character that I don't believe it.

But that's more or less what happened in "Just In Time". It doesn't matter in what way she were to sacrifice herself (even if you want to say that "Just In Time"'s sacrifice was pure because she was viewing it as "the right thing to do"). No matter what, any loss of her, either in season 1 or season 2 would have affected her friends.

Her friends would have been just as devastated by her death in season 1 as they would have been in season 2, so the idea that her attempted sacrifice in "Just in Time" is different from her other attempted sacrifice in "The Key" is rendered rather untrue. Her friends would be affected either way, and thus it's not out of character for her to not count their feelings as well on her actions. Of course she considered their feelings, but she knew there'd be no way they'd tell her "Sure, shut off the super computer" and give her their approval. It's likely she figured that they'd be strong (for her sake or for their own) and find a way around it in both scenarios and move on. To say that it was selfish of her to not consider her friends feelings would render just about any sacrifice ever made a selfish action.

No one wants to see their friend die. But hers would have been a sacrifice for the good of the many, instead of the needs of the few. That's not out of character for Aelita, who always puts others' needs before hers.

Good point. Although I'd flip to see kids carrying around a plushie "Scyphozoa". (And it glows when you hug it! ^^; )

Now that is a plush even I'd consider purchasing.

For the sake of ending this post on a happy note...I agree full-heartedly. Just don't put it anywhere near your Aelita action figure.

[Taelia offline]

Or any of the others, for their energy might get sucked dry! =O

[Darkborn offline]

Oh! a plushie Scyphozoa! I would love to have that and a plush Kankrelat

[Taelia offline]

That's funny. Oh, wait, a plush Crab!

[Overcaffeinated Sloth offline]

Plushie Mantas!

yay, plush potatoe bugs and calamari, and crustaceans.

[Odd675 offline]

Plushie Mantas!

yay, plush potatoe bugs and calamari, and crustaceans.

!!!!

[FormicaArchonis offline]

A good point about suicides as opposed to martyrs, but it still rings of more of a sacrifice to me...she didn't look angry or spiteful when she actually flipped the switch off...thus why I don't think Franz Hopper played any part really in her decision.

You make a compelling argument, but I think on some points we're both fairly immovable. The nature of the romantic meeting the cynic, perhaps. Still, a good read.

And we now return you to our regularly scheduled thread.

PLUSHIES!

[Stephen (x1)]

How exactly is this about Merchandise? Please stay on topic.

[Mewberries151]

How exactly is this about Merchandise? Please stay on topic.

I'm sorry. I think I might be partially to blame for joking about Scyphozoa plushies being made along with the action figures (and because of a quick debate with Formica). My apologies...And I should know better too...for shame on me.

Anyway, in the way of Merchandise news, I've found the official release date for the CL Video Game for the DS. According to Amazon.com, it will be released on November 15, 2006...just in time to kick off the holiday shopping season, I think.

[Darkborn offline]

YAY!!! I want to Pictochat with Xana! lol. oh wait. My pictochat name is Xana!

[FormicaArchonis offline]

How exactly is this about Merchandise? Please stay on topic.

My fault, gov. Sorry, won't happen again.

ObMerch: So, I wonder if anyone here will be buying a console just for the CL game playable on it. (Or, perhaps, if the game will influence their choice of console purchase.)

[Lani offline]

...I want a Kankrelot plushie D:

*cough* Anyway... as for the game... It is for the DS, right? o_o I might get my hands on it, since Tales of the Tempest is going to be for DS anyway, so yeah.

[Cassius335 offline]

Plushie Mantas!

yay, plush potatoe bugs and calamari, and crustaceans.

Ok, that's it! We need an episode involving people getting attacked by a LOT of plushie's.

[Cassius335 offline]

How exactly is this about Merchandise? Please stay on topic.

Plushies aren't merchandise?

[Mewberries151]

Plushie Mantas!

yay, plush potatoe bugs and calamari, and crustaceans.

Ok, that's it! We need an episode involving people getting attacked by a LOT of plushie's.

Um...didn't "TeddyGozilla" essentially encompass that idea? ^^; I'm not sure XANA would bother with plushies anymore seeing as how making one huge didn't work.

How exactly is this about Merchandise? Please stay on topic.

Plushies aren't merchandise?

I think X1 meant the debate Formica and myself were having about "The Key". That was off-topic, and I apologize again.

Although, in hindsight, I think it might be better if we don't overly flood this thread with random ideas for CL plushies...it'll make it hard for readers to find actual merchandise and news on said existing merchadise. Ironically...this whole plushie business was my fault...oops

[TaskForceLyoko offline]

Although, in hindsight, I think it might be better if we don't overly flood this thread with random ideas for CL plushies...it'll make it hard for readers to find actual merchandise and news on said existing merchadise. Ironically...this whole plushie business was my fault...oops

How about a locked post stuck to the top that's updated only when new merchandise is confirmed? That way, there's a thread for information, and this one for random thoughts.

[Mewberries151]

Although, in hindsight, I think it might be better if we don't overly flood this thread with random ideas for CL plushies...it'll make it hard for readers to find actual merchandise and news on said existing merchadise. Ironically...this whole plushie business was my fault...oops

How about a locked post stuck to the top that's updated only when new merchandise is confirmed? That way, there's a thread for information, and this one for random thoughts.

Well...that's sort of what the original intention of this thread was for...but something like that would be up to StarWay.

Anyway, in the way of CL Merchandise News...more Amazon CL stuff! Rejoice!

Amazon.com has finally posted a cover picture and information on the 3rd DVD entitled "XANA Possessed".

I have strong reason to believe that this DVD will contain the season 1 episodes "Code: Earth" and "False Start" and the first two episodes of season 2 ("New Order" and "Uncharted Territory"). However, this has not been made official, and I'm making this guess from the plot synopsis provided on the order page....so please don't kill me if I'm wrong. The DVD is due out March 14th.

Also, Amazon.fr has a third novelization for sale. This one is Code Earth. I'll be sure to post more details when they're available. This book is due out for May 24th.

[TB3]

Hehe - everytime I hear about another novelization I sulk a bit - I actually tried to sell myself to Moonscoop about three months ago to write CL books for them - no go. Ah well!

Hope there's plenty of juicy goodness in there Mew!

[Taelia offline]

Any new info about "XANA Posessed" yet?

[Osiris offline]

has anyone else seen they are now selling CL wall stickers?