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Pac-Man (hardback): The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video Game
156 pages, Hardcover
Published September 25, 2022
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March 2, 2023
Pac-Man: The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video Game…
It’s a wordy title that at least serves its purpose, warning readers of the shallow journey waiting within. The scant 125 pages that follow hearken to the eponymous hero’s early-‘80s heyday where being round, yellow, and hungry was all the rage. After his hit arcade game led to a maelstrom of merchandise ranging from bed sheets to canned pasta, the mascot managed the ultimate score—his own Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Indeed, it was the first of its kind, a show that would inspire plenty of other game-to-toon adaptations in future years. Had the book embraced this particular premise, using Pac-Man to explore early-gaming’s influences on the greater media and cross-cultural landscape, this could have been an intriguing read. Instead, author Mark Arnold settles on a dry, “just-the-facts”-style of retrospective that offers a decent surface-level sweep of that initial TV series, but little more.
At least the book begins well, with Arnold introducing himself and explaining, if somewhat vaguely, that the book is something of a lark—a friend’s funny dare that the author decided to entertain. Normally, Arnold states, his books run about 700 pages long, but this one has been kept “short and fun.” Well, it’s definitely short.
What immediately follows is a brief “history” of Hanna-Barbera’s animated output from the 1940s onward, although it’s more akin to a series of lists forced into paragraph form—a filmography cut and pasted from a spreadsheet. Fortunately, the next chapter, A Brief History of Arcade Video Games, proves more palatable, offering some cute anecdotes into the industry’s founding. Only the factual inaccuracies disappoint (one, for example, states that the game Breakout was developed in 1972 by Steve Wozniak, but his involvement was closer to the 1975/1976 timeframe). The third chapter then moves to Pac-Man himself, offering a breezy telling of the mascot’s origin. Too breezy, really, as it reads a bit like a Wikipedia entry with its own factual error or two. (The Ms. Pac-Man IP, for instance, is not wholly-owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment despite what the text suggests. It’s shared, in part, by AtGames).
The rest of the book—the remaining 100 pages or so—lists the extensive filmographies of the cartoon’s voice cast before providing a synopsis of the show’s every episode. While appreciated, these sections would have been better left to an appendix versus being foisted as the main focus—they smack of filler hiding the lack of a plan or greater purpose. Where are the interviews with the animators, development team, voice actors, and so on? The per-episode screenshots and freeze-frame analysis? The insightful commentary on how Hanna-Barbera took an abstract, non-descript disc and transformed it, this “character,” into a walking, talking, somehow sympathetic being? Where are the pinpointed correlations that link the cartoon to the Pac-Land video game, one of gaming’s first-scrolling platformers? Why not delve into the marriage dynamics shared between Pac-Man and his winsome wife, studying the complimentary (and loving) relationship the two heroes share? For such a “pivotal” cartoon show, it’s a mystery why these deeper themes were left undiscussed. Outright ignored, in fact.
Which is to say, in a different way, that the book is as hollow as a ghost monster, an airy husk marked with only the faintest spark of insight. Those not looking for such lofty ponderings might be more forgiving, appreciating the quirky book’s custom art work, vintage pictures, and, really, that the tome exists at all. Redesigned as a coffee table book showcasing classic Pac-Man memorabilia, this superficial approach could have merit. It’s just that, as is, the effort seems unfinished. More quirk than content. A missed opportunity lacking an obvious audience. A mere prelude, or pretense, to something more.
Mr. Arnold, you might be on the verge of something very special here. A 2nd edition would be a great way to try again.
Check out www.lostnostalgia.com for more gripes and insights into everything niche and vintage.
It’s a wordy title that at least serves its purpose, warning readers of the shallow journey waiting within. The scant 125 pages that follow hearken to the eponymous hero’s early-‘80s heyday where being round, yellow, and hungry was all the rage. After his hit arcade game led to a maelstrom of merchandise ranging from bed sheets to canned pasta, the mascot managed the ultimate score—his own Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Indeed, it was the first of its kind, a show that would inspire plenty of other game-to-toon adaptations in future years. Had the book embraced this particular premise, using Pac-Man to explore early-gaming’s influences on the greater media and cross-cultural landscape, this could have been an intriguing read. Instead, author Mark Arnold settles on a dry, “just-the-facts”-style of retrospective that offers a decent surface-level sweep of that initial TV series, but little more.
At least the book begins well, with Arnold introducing himself and explaining, if somewhat vaguely, that the book is something of a lark—a friend’s funny dare that the author decided to entertain. Normally, Arnold states, his books run about 700 pages long, but this one has been kept “short and fun.” Well, it’s definitely short.
What immediately follows is a brief “history” of Hanna-Barbera’s animated output from the 1940s onward, although it’s more akin to a series of lists forced into paragraph form—a filmography cut and pasted from a spreadsheet. Fortunately, the next chapter, A Brief History of Arcade Video Games, proves more palatable, offering some cute anecdotes into the industry’s founding. Only the factual inaccuracies disappoint (one, for example, states that the game Breakout was developed in 1972 by Steve Wozniak, but his involvement was closer to the 1975/1976 timeframe). The third chapter then moves to Pac-Man himself, offering a breezy telling of the mascot’s origin. Too breezy, really, as it reads a bit like a Wikipedia entry with its own factual error or two. (The Ms. Pac-Man IP, for instance, is not wholly-owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment despite what the text suggests. It’s shared, in part, by AtGames).
The rest of the book—the remaining 100 pages or so—lists the extensive filmographies of the cartoon’s voice cast before providing a synopsis of the show’s every episode. While appreciated, these sections would have been better left to an appendix versus being foisted as the main focus—they smack of filler hiding the lack of a plan or greater purpose. Where are the interviews with the animators, development team, voice actors, and so on? The per-episode screenshots and freeze-frame analysis? The insightful commentary on how Hanna-Barbera took an abstract, non-descript disc and transformed it, this “character,” into a walking, talking, somehow sympathetic being? Where are the pinpointed correlations that link the cartoon to the Pac-Land video game, one of gaming’s first-scrolling platformers? Why not delve into the marriage dynamics shared between Pac-Man and his winsome wife, studying the complimentary (and loving) relationship the two heroes share? For such a “pivotal” cartoon show, it’s a mystery why these deeper themes were left undiscussed. Outright ignored, in fact.
Which is to say, in a different way, that the book is as hollow as a ghost monster, an airy husk marked with only the faintest spark of insight. Those not looking for such lofty ponderings might be more forgiving, appreciating the quirky book’s custom art work, vintage pictures, and, really, that the tome exists at all. Redesigned as a coffee table book showcasing classic Pac-Man memorabilia, this superficial approach could have merit. It’s just that, as is, the effort seems unfinished. More quirk than content. A missed opportunity lacking an obvious audience. A mere prelude, or pretense, to something more.
Mr. Arnold, you might be on the verge of something very special here. A 2nd edition would be a great way to try again.
Check out www.lostnostalgia.com for more gripes and insights into everything niche and vintage.
Displaying 1 of 1 review