''Flash Gordon Classic'' is a 2015

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more ...

made by Robb Pratt. It is a remake of "The Tunnel of Terror", the second episode of the 1936 ''Flash Gordon'' serial.

Plot

Star quarterback

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

and his girlfriend

Dale Arden Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia and Padme Amidala in '' Star Wars''. Flash, Dale and Dr. Hans Zarkov fi ...

are kidnapped by scientist

Hans Zarkov Dr. Hans Zarkov is a fictional character appearing in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip and the following serials, films, television shows and comic books. Zarkov is a brilliant scientist who creates a rocket and forces Flash and Dale Arden to co ...

and forced to join him on an intergalactic voyage to the planet

Mongo Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributar ...

. There, the trio are quickly captured by the forces of

Ming the Merciless Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, television series and film adaptation. Ming is depicted as ...

. As Ming holds Dale captive, he sends Flash and Zarkov into the Tunnel of Terror, where they must engage in a gladiatorial battle against a giant monster. Flash uses a stone like a football to fend off the monster, but as it has him pinned to the ground with its claw,

Princess Aura Princess Aura is a fictional character in the Flash Gordon comic strips and serials. She has been portrayed by various actresses in the many ''Flash Gordon'' adaptations in film and television. Character overview Aura is the daughter of the ser ...

throws a ray gun, which Flash uses to kill the monster. Ming calmly reprimands his daughter for her actions, but she insists for him to keep Flash alive for her, as she eventually champions him to leading a rebellion against her father’s regime over Mongo.

Cast

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

Joe Whyte Joseph Walter Whyte (born April 18, 1961) is an American actor, and artist. Career Whyte started working at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1995, and worked as a modeler and voiceover artist there until 2010. He is best known for voicing Chris ...

* G. K. Bowes as

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

* Jennifer Newton as

Production

In creating ''Flash Gordon Classic'', Robb Pratt drew inspiration from the 1930s ''Flash Gordon'' serial starring

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

after learning of it as one of the major influences behind ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''. Realizing he could not replicate

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the '' Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into m ...

's elaborate artwork from the comics, Pratt based his designs on 1940s science fiction pulp magazines. Like Pratt's previous works, ''Superman Classic'' and ''Bizarro Classic'', ''Flash Gordon Classic'' uses hand-drawn animation with digital paint and effects. The soundtrack consists of Clifford Vaughan's score from the ''Flash Gordon'' serials and

Heinz Roemheld Heinz Roemheld (May 1, 1901 – February 11, 1985) was an American composer. Early life and career Born Heinz Eric Roemheld in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was one of four children of German immigrant Heinrich Roemheld and his wife Fanny Rauterberg ...

's score from the 1934 film '' The Black Cat''.

, who played the title character in the 2007 ''Flash Gordon'' TV series, loosely reprises his role in this short film. This also marks Pratt's third consecutive collaboration with

and wife Jennifer, who play Ming the Merciless and Princess Aura, respectively.

References

External links

*
Filmmaker's website
2010s American animated films 2010s science fiction films 2015 short films American animated science fiction films Flash Gordon American animated short films 2010s English-language films {{short-animation-film-stub