Pryde of the X-Men (1989 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not bad, actually

[Gambitt · 6/10 · 29 December 2004]

Considering how old this is, Pryde of the X-men is not too bad. Particularly, the animation and artwork are at least as good, if not better, than the 90s animated series. The style of the art is actually quite faithful to the comic books. The voice acting was okay though the voice casting was a bit liberal; many of us have simply grown so used to the voice acting of the 90s cartoon that anything different seems odd, and even more recently we've been spoiled by fantastic actors like Patrick Stewart in the movies. The only bizarre (and arguably wrong) voice was Wolverine, who for some odd reason has an Australian accent.

Otherwise, the biggest weakness is the relatively weak plot and script. The plot seems rushed and a bit ambitious(the show is only 20 minutes), though it's hard to say what the creators' intentions were since this was the only episode made. All in all, Pryde of the X-men is a good watch for X-men fans, especially fans of the 70s and 80s rosters.

An X-Cusable Beginning perhaps...

[sanddragon939 · 7/10 · 5 January 2010]

Had 'Pryde of the X-men' been made today, it would have been laughed out of TV screens! But as it is, it was made at a time when the X-men were virtually unknown outside of comics, before the movies, the highly successful and epic cartoon series of the 90's and the more recent series, X-men Evolution and Wolverine and the X-men. For a first attempt it did a fair job of introducing the X-men and the basic premise of their being mutant superheroes who defend humanity from evil mutant terrorists such as Magneto and his co-horts. But it was coupled with juvenile dialogue delivery and a pretty childish plot which certainly wouldn't hold up to today's sophistication (or hell, even the complexities of the X-men comics universe back then). I particularly disliked the characterization of Wolverine as a reckless thug with an over-the-top Australian accent. That apart, it was a pretty good first attempt at bringing the Children of the Atom to the small screen, where they have returned many times since, with far greater success.

Good introduction, solid story

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 10 February 2016]

"Pryde of the X-Men" is a 22-minute animated short film from over 25 years ago written by Larry Parr and directed by Ray Lee. This one did not get picked up for an own series, but it's nonetheless a pretty decent watch as a standalone film. The cast includes some really famous voice actors such as Frank Welker and Marvel legend Stan Lee comes up with the narration for this one. The story is fun to watch. Even if Kitty Pryde certainly looks and sounds a lot older than 14, it's not a problem at all. And looking at the title, they sure loved plays on words in the 1980s already. What I liked the most about this little film is the clean presentation of the characters early on, to Kitty and to us, really adds a lot for everybody who is not an expert on the X-Men. So yeah, this did not get picked up, but with all the recent Hugh Jackman live action films, fans can live with it I guess. I recommend the watch. Solid small film we have here. Thumbs up.

not THAT bad!

[Dougie B · 24 July 2003]

Why does everyone seem to hate this? Sure, the story was 100% generic, but it was definitely watchable. While the Saban cartoon that followed it around four years later was much more complex story-wise, its animation couldn't hold a candle to this one. If they were somehow able to combine this cartoon's animation with the stories of the show that came after this, we would have had a GREAT series.

This hold up pretty well

[robinhio84_ · 7/10 · 27 July 2022]

This pilot episode was made in a time where children series took out any serious topic. And it is not a bad watch. Characters are introduced and there was an interesting inclusion of Dazzler.

Some of the great things about this pilot were the animation and designs. The characters looks great. Especially Storm, Emma Frost are amazing. The Aussie accent of Wolverine is not for everyone.

It is very tailored to kids and it's probably great that it didn't get picked up in that format. Margaret Loesch is the producer behind the pilot and eventually pushed for the series to get another change in 90s and for the first movie (trilogy) to be made.

THANK YOU SO MUCH Margaret, without her this series would have not been where it is today.

I kinda liked it.

[Rectangular_businessman · 7/10 · 5 July 2012]

When I was a kid, I liked a lot the animated series of the "X-Men" done in the nineties, but I didn't know that some years before, there was another attempt to adapt the "X-Men" comics into an animated format.

This pilot episode, despite some cheesy lines and a strange voice acting, was very entertaining to watch, even if the plot was noticeably more childish and simplistic than the one from the comics (And the one from the animated series of the nineties) though this somewhat kept the essence of the original story.

For a Saturday morning cartoon, this wasn't bad at all. I actually think that it would have something interesting to see how this series could have been if more episodes have been done. The intro song was pretty awkward, anyway.

Cute pilot

[ossie85 · 6/10 · 7 April 2023]

Pryde of the X-Men is an animated TV pilot that provides a glimpse into the world of Marvel's mighty mutants. Although it has a certain charm to it, the animation quality and voice acting are not up to par with what one would expect from the X-Men franchise.

The story follows the young Kitty Pryde, who joins the X-Men in their fight against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. The plot is fairly straightforward and is mostly used as a vehicle to showcase the different characters and their powers.

The animation quality in Pryde of the X-Men is noticeably rough, which is highlighted by the fact that the show was created in the 1980s. The animation is not as refined as later adaptations of the series, but it does have an endearing quality that adds to its overall charm.

The voice acting in the show is average at best. While some of the actors do a decent job in bringing their characters to life, the overall quality is not as high as one would expect from a Marvel production. The voice acting is passable, but does not do the characters justice.

A great effort!

[Bond007rlz · 10/10 · 6 August 2003]

This is probably one of the best comic enspired TV series ever! Sadly, the pilot was never turned into a series!! It was a great adaptation of the comic book, and was home of some of the best voice talent of the time. Sadly, the show was shelved, and several years later, when X-Men made it to TV, a weaker cartoon was devised. This is eternally regarded as the difinitive X-Men cartoon in my book, and should be seen by any X-Fan! If you are lucky enough to find the VHS copy, buy it! I did, and I've never regretted it.

Pryde of the X-Men: Was it always this bad?

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 8 December 2017]

I remember loving the X-Men television show as a kid, this though not technically part of it certainly seems to have been made by the same people.

A 1989 short film about the origins of Kitty Pryde it features all your favourite X-Men and villains but made me feel a little silly actually watching it.

Part of me questions whether I'm remembering the old television series with ruby glasses or if this was just part of the shows evolution and not on the same level.

Wolverine stands out as a particularly bad character, they clearly hadn't read the comics as he is by far the least likable and most annoying part of this short.

In establishing Kitty Pryde (Who was never part of the television series) they don't do the character any favours but how possibly could you with a character so limited.

I'd suggest even fans of the original series give this one a pass.

The Good:

Nostalgia

The Bad:

Wolverines voice is hilariously bad

A lot of changes from the comics

Things I Learnt From This Short:

The original X-Men series might not have been as good as I remember

I don't remember a dragon

Wolverine is a deeply annoying Australian

Good show...

[ZetTheLegendaryHero · 9/10 · 12 June 2017]

Pryde of the X-Men is a good show. This pilot, which aired in the 1980s, didn't get picked up for a full fledged series.

The episode starts with a pretty decent theme that reuses footage found later in the episode. Magneto is being transported by the military, when he and an officer has a battle of racism. The White Queen casts an image of the trucks sinking in quicksand, which makes the military freak out. Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde is arriving at the mutant academy. Professor X cast an image of himself to guide Kitty to him. We are introduced to the X-Men and their powers. But, it seems there is an emergency and the X-Men leave Kitty and Professor X to be attacked by the Juggernaut and Magneto. The X-Men arrive to see theit home in ruins and Kitty and Professor X knocked out. Blah Blah blah the X-Men stopped Magneto evil plans, but it seems Nightcrawler must die, only he doesn't.

The episode is very campy. Also Stan Lee stops the episode a few times to give us the exposition and act number. Wolverine is also more grumpy than angry. Kitty is whiny. The story isn't as good as the 90s or 2000s X-Men.

The voice talent is once again all stars. The animation is great. The story is interesting, and the characters aren't totally unlikeable. There are also some redeeming factors to Kitty and Wolverine. Basically, this show is a pretty fun watch.

My ears!

[plotlessviolence · 5/10 · 11 April 2006]

Tolerable if you were a fan of the seminal 1992 Fox animated X-men cartoon, but man! This tries to be a movie, but it's only 22 minutes long, which makes the pacing seem more frenetic than most of the 1992 episodes (not that that's necessarily a bad thing).

What is a bad thing is the heavy layering of cheesiness and a few inconsistencies here and there. By today's standards the plot is terrible and the action is boring.

And the voices! Man! The guys from the 1992 series came to embody their various characters, so hearing anyone different is jarring alone, but this cartoon took "picking people off the street" to a new level. Especially whoever did Wolverine...since when is our favorite Canadian some redneck Australian? I was totally shocked to see that that same voice actor had done characters in Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (my favorite Adult Swim show) and was Volgin in Metal Gear Solid 3 (both of where he did excellent jobs without that fake Aussie accent).

So, uh...late night TV only.

Not as great as you'd think -- but an interesting Team Line-Up.

[Havoc1 · 16 August 1999]

Pryde of the X-Men. Not the WORST ten dollars I ever spent... but it sure wasn't X-Men the Animated Series. Putting together a good team wasn't enough to make this 25 minute cartoon a decent one. Staring, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Dazzler (yeah!), and the newcomer Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), the X-Men go off to face Magneto, and attempt to stop him and his brotherhood from allowing a comet to strike Earth. While the movie flows very well, I just didn't think it had enough... "pizazz" to make it a truley interesting cartoon. For one, the characters were way underused. Cyclops, Storm, and Dazzler (yeah!!), each had about 4 lines. At least they didn't mention Cyke's family, Storm being a goddess, or Dazzler's music career, otherwise people'd be lost.

Animation was good in this -- almost had a manga feel to it, and when Dazzler used her powers it looked very cool. The voice talents were kind of thrown... Wolverine had an AUSSIE accent *shakes head*, Dazz sounded like a schoolgirl, and Colossus just sounded funny. Another bad thing is the fact Nightcrawler's costume was the same color of his skin. Heh... not all too plesant when you think about it.

The Brotherhood fight scenes were probably the worst parts of this movie . You know what I mean, that "one person takes on one guy instead of the whole team knocking him senseless in one strike". Dazzler takes on Pyro, team goes on. Wolverine TRAPS Toad (and for some reason stays behind), team goes on. Colossus takes on Juggernaut, team goes on! See the pattern? Although the beginning scene where the White Queen takes on the soldiers was a very cool scene. Have to give credit for that.

So basically, this movie doesn't have much to offer -- except if you're a BIG Shadowcat or Dazzler (yeah!!) fan like myself. But if you're a Dazzler fan, don't expect a great performance... and if you're a Kitty fan, expect to hear her whine like Kath Souice 's (voice talent of Kitty) Phil and Lil of the Rugrats.

Funny as hell, It's so bad it's good!

[kevageit · 10/10 · 26 April 2006]

But really you have to wonder what the writers were thinking. Magneto sending a comet slamming into the Earth to kill all the humans... That would most likely kill EVERYTHING!!! Not just humans. Mutants, humans, bugs (except cockroaches of course). Maggie is a bad ass but not retarded, even Toad would realize that would be a bad move.

If you have not seen this, then download it and watch it. It is one of the funniest things any X-Men fan could watch. Nightcrawler sounds like a pervert when he talks to kitty, Colossus has the stereo-typical broken English with the thick Russian accent, Wolverine's Austrailian, and it gets worse from there, Toad has the typical Igor voice, Juggernaut is working for Magneto for some reason (he's not even a mutant), Emma Frost is with the Brotherhood for some reason and when Juggernaut and Colossus fight they are evenly matched, and for you animal rights people out there Magneto boots around Lockheed a whole lot for no apparent reason.

I'd watch it again but I can't stop laughing.

Beh!

[WeAreLive · 2/10 · 6 April 2018]

Okay this is just trash even for a short. The only goods to be coming out of it is the animation and the voice acting.

The music is cheesy. I don't remember Kitty ever being this annoying in any other media or cartoon. Emma Frost for some reason is called The White Queen and Wolverine is Australian?

This was just a waste of time.

Pretty good

[Melodist · 9/10 · 24 June 1999]

The problem with this episode, is that most people who watch it, are used to the '92-98' series. When they watch this, they are expecting to hear the "normal" voices. If you watch with the realization that this was made as a 1 shot episode, and that at the time, the voices fit the characters, then you will be fine.

This one time deal left me wanting more.

[spock065 · 17 December 2000]

This one time deal left something to be desired. I remember this show coming on during the Marvel Action Hour with Robocop, Dino Riders, and something else, possibly Spiderman. X-men was made by Sunbow, the powerhouse of the 80's, so the voices were some of the same people heard in GI Joe. The story of is fast paced and reads like a comic strip with action left and right. The black bird looks better than the recent futuristic versions out there. They also stay very close to the comic unlike other versions. This one timer was probably just to promote the video game, but it should have been a series. Who knows what would've happened if it was a series, it sure would have been better than the newer versions now.

All right for a 1989 one shot

[Astro_silver · 9/10 · 20 July 2000]

i bought this before the movie came out it wasn't so good i mean what do you want from old 20$ cartoon one shot? Well at least the x-men movie was great

More faithful than "X-Men: Evolution"

[balkaster · 30 August 2003]

This forgotten late-eighties pilot showed promise but was never picked up as a series. Although the characterizations are annoyingly overwrought (in typical Saturday morning fashion), the adaptation was very faithful to the source material. The producers chose a mid-eighties line-up (Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Dazzler, Kitty Pryde) and concisely setup the struggle between the two mutant factions while briefly outlining the comic book's continuity at that time. The only misfire was Wolverine's inexplicable Cockney accent (the character is supposed to be Canadian, not British). They even managed to include Lockheed, Kitty's ridiculous pet dragon. Not a bad job, and it proves that you *don't* have to extensively reinvent the comic (as was done with "X-Men: Evolution") in order to make it work on the small screen.

If you don't care if cartoons make sense or not . . .

[whamontree · 18 November 2001]

Pryde of the X-Men is an interesting failure. On one hand, the animation is outstanding for its time. On the other hand, unless you already read the comic you wouldn't know what the heck was going on. And it's pretty gosh-darn stupid.

The animation, particularly the use of shadows and the particle effects, are impressive. I suspect Marvel had this animated in Japan, the style shows through. If not, the animators did a good job of emulating the efforts of most anime studios at the time. The characters all look cool and Wolvie has his brown costume (my favorite).

Unfortunately, nobody put much effort into cohering all those awesome battle scenes into a story. I mean, they didn't even try. There isn't a plot, things happen. Magneto escapes from the back of a tanker truck. Professor X introduces Kitty Pryde to the X-Men. Magneto and Juggernaut attack the X-Mansion. Not an X-Men fan? What I've typed got you a bit confused? Don't know who these people are or their relationships to one another? The cartoon won't help.

The script of a children's cartoon needn't be outstanding literature but it should at least put forth a minimum of effort into expounding on who everyone is, what they're doing, and why they're doing it. Take the more recent Fox X-Men series as an example. In the first episode, the X-Men save a little girl from the robots trying to capture her. You get to know everyone's name, their respective powers, and that they're the good guys. You get good action scenes and good exposition. Here, in Pryde of the X-Men, you get the X-Men yelling at a little girl and some other guys knocking over stuff while particle effects flash and swirl about the screen. Sure, it'll pique a kid's attention but after two or three episodes he's going to quit watching because he won't know what's going on. Yes, that does matter to children.

Perhaps the biggest failure of Pryde of the X-Men is the "subplot" (I wince at using any form of the word 'plot' in reference to this show) regarding Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler is one ugly dude, he looks about like a cathedral gargoyle. Kitty is scared of him but later comes to realize that just because he's ugly doesn't mean he's evil. That's all fine and good IF HE WASN'T A TOTAL PERV! When he meets Kitty he reaches out to her (and I really hope this was unintentional on the animator's part) like he's going to grab at her breasts. He practically drools on her. Later, when he rescues a little girl from a fiery inferno (more particle effects!) he, well, puts his hands about her bum and her crotch. I remember that from when I was a kid, too. I wasn't scared of how he looked, I was afraid he grab me and talk soothingly to me while fondling my private parts. The way he acts, he's the last person you'd want your kids watching on a weekly basis. And his costume is apparently a red, v-shaped vest with nothing underneath. Brrrr.

All in all, good eye candy for its time but it lacks enough direction and coherence to keep even small children watching. That's probably why no one picked it up as a series. That and Wolverine's Aussie accent was really bad.

more praise

[rockinghorse · 21 July 2004]

This cartoon is in keeping with X-Men continuity and characters other than Wolverine (wrong accent, too tall).

If you like the Evolution cartoon, which has nothing to do with either the comic books or the 90s cartoon, you probably won't like this.

If you follow the X-Men somewhat faithfully and like the 80s cartoon, and can ignore Wolverine's height and Australian accent, you'll probably like this.

I do. It is not perfect -- I miss Rogue from the later cartoon -- but it is fun and the animation is traditional, not lampoonish like the Evolution mess.

Has it's ups and downs...

[drunk_chicken90 · 1 April 2003]

"Pryde of the X-Men" was obviously an attempt to stay within the spirit of 1980s cartoons rather than bring the X-Men to life.

When considering the cartoons of the 80s, you have to think of the following things that EVERY hero cartoon (G.I. Joe, He-Man, She-Ra, early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Superfriends, Transformers, etc.) did. The word "hordes" was used at least 400 times in each episode of each cartoon to describe the villain's army (even if the "army' only consisted of 5 people). "You'll regret this!" was shouted by each villain once or more in each episode. Every battle started with exactly ONE (1) corny line of dialogue, uninterrupted, from each participant, and the battle would continue with no further voicings except screaming when hit, or sound effects.

"Pryde of the X-Men" is the story of Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat and how she comes to join the X-Men. There's no real complaints with any of the X-Men's portrayals in the show, except for Wolverine... why, why, WHY did they have to make him Australian? Colossus sounds like a Russian stereotype, Nightcrawler is German (and seems to be rather "interested" in Kitty), Cyclops is the boy scout leader type, and Storm doesn't talk. Oh yeah, and Dazzler. "Leave this to the Dazzler!" Classic. The powers aren't consistent with the comics, at least, not entirely. White Queen throws glowing spears of some sort, Magneto seems to have super-strength, and Dazzler seems to fire a conventional laser gun.

If you like 80s cartoons, watch this, but don't expect a solid book to screen translation. Stan Lee could've done better (and did, in the 1993 cartoon on Fox.)

This is NOT related to any other x-men show

[mopykid · 2 September 2004]

It perterbs me everyone online assumes this was some kind of pilot for the 90s x-men show but how can they believe that if this aired in 1989 and the x-men series didn't start until 1992??? This was actually one of many single shot episodes marvel stuffed in its Marvel Action Hour without planning at all to continue the show in its own series. It is an excellent watch if you can find it. What's better than Wolverine, who was Canadian don't forget, speaking with the most horrible Australian accent?!?! And like the other comment on this show, it has an excellent story with good characters for a single shot show. I wasn't old enough to have seen this in its original air date along with its other Action Hour companions so it may have even been better with a taste of spiderman before and some hulk afterwards but i'll never know.

Great X-men Pilot Episode With Awesome Animation That Didn't Get Picked Up.

[Nic_hse · 26 August 2003]

This one shot X-men pilot episode had the best animation quality of any other Marvel cartoon then or since. Yes, the quality even rivals X-men Evolution. I prefer the mature look of Pryde's animation over Evolution's Disney look any day.

The Voice-Overs (Wolverine's Australian accent) have been panned quite a bit on this board. Wolverine's austrailian accent didn't bother me much at all and I collected the X-men comic for a while during the eighties. Even though Wolvie's accent was wrong, his temperment and intensity were captured perfectly by the Voice-Over. I'd Prefer Pryde's Austrailian Wolverine over Evolution's MUCH SOFTER Wolverine any day. Evolution's Wolvie just doesn't have the intensity or temperment; C'mon Wolverine as a teacher? Gimme a break. The other characters in Pryde were well portrayed.

The story line isn't that complex but it's not supposed to be. It's a pilot episode and therefore is meant to be more of an showcase of the format and characters of the cartoon than anything else. The plots surely would have gotten more complex had the series been picked up.

I can't help but think that Marvel missed an opportunity by not producing more episodes. Hmmmm... maybe the animation was too expensive because it was damn near movie quality. If the 90's series had Pryde's animation quality, we would have had a near perfect series. I've seen Pryde of the X-men several times and always wondered about what could have been. If you haven't seen Pryde of the X-men yet, don't listen to negative reviews and go check it out. It's definitely worth it.

Not Bad

[Iceman-39 · 26 April 1999]

Now you have to realize this movie is 10 years old, don't listen to Kninja about this movie or Generation X, she apparently doesn't realize when Pryde of the X-Men came out it was probably one of the best cartoons out, all cartoons at that time were made just about the same especially the TV cartoons which it is. So don't listen to her and don't listen to me go out and judge it for yourself, and don't forget it's 10 years old and it isn't about fact or voices it's about having fun, and don't forget you're not supposed to read into these little kid shows it's no Gone with the Wind thing it's a cartoon so have fun "True Believers".

PUZZLING AND WONDERING

[decepticon · 25 April 2001]

Animation was outstanding and way ahead of its time.The best x-men project to this day any other marvel related animation just dosnt come close.And i am puzzled and wondering why that wasnt turned into a weekly or video series.Stan lee definitly dropped the ball on that one.