Storyboard Director Larry Houston Reflects on his iconic Intro for G I Joe The Movie!

#marvel #gijoe
Storyboard artist and Director Larry Houston (X-Men) reminisces about his experience when working on the G.I.Joe animated series and how he came up with the ideal for the movie's spectacular opening sequence!

[@jayconant3816]

One of the best animated intros ever!

[@ChrisCrazyHouse]

So true.

[@CB-ke7eq]

Toei Animation was really ahead of their time in the 80s. Their "Pryde of the X-Men" pilot is still one of my favorite Marvel things ever.

[@mrdexs]

Yes.

[@comicbooksincahoots9578]

Yo JOE!

[@diezel2kable]

Agreed, still my #1 intro!

[@BovineDesigns]

This intro is one of the greatest things in cinema. It perfectly captures what goes on in a kids head when they're playing with toys.

[@omegon88]

😊

[@00ghostcobra]

Yes indeed..

[@adriantrela]

Yes IT IS. It's EPIC but after all these years I see and it hurts me to say how many plot holes this movie opening has and how...stupid it is.

[@chrisdaugherty8265]

Absolutely, it had everything this Joe fan could ever want.

[@supamilkchanbitches3730]

@@adriantrela ngl... its posts like yours is why I wish youtube never disabled their thumbs down feature

[@spidey-67]

I hope Larry sees these comments and knows how much fun he helped make our childhood with this cartoon and how much we truly appreciate him!

[@popticnerve]

@@spidey-67 He actually thanked me for reposting this on social media. Larry more than deserves his shine!

[@CB-ke7eq]

@@spidey-67 In my head canon I've now assigned Snake Eyes the first name "Larry" in honor of both Mr Houston and of course Mr Hama. I thank both of you gentlemen greatly, you shaped so many childhood memories with your creativity.

[@AhtoNajeebRashied]

Oh, so you speak for everyone. Interesting. No thank you. I don't require anyone to speak on my behalf. It's quite rude.

[@CB-ke7eq]

@@AhtoNajeebRashied Mental illness is a helluva drug!

[@Fenrir72]

@@AhtoNajeebRashied Wha?

[@DestroyerOfWombs]

Larry Houston is a real American Hero.

[@davidw706]

This WAS the National Anthem for us kids in the 1980's

[@hthrun]

Probably the best 3 minutes of animation I've ever seen.

[@somegamer7958]

It's really remarkable. GI Joe had the best explosions, fire, and lasers ever. Those animators were incredible

[@steelman4ever]

Agreed

[@dannyhernandez1212]

I hope he knows the impact he had on millions of children and grown men. This intro was everything a kid imagined his GI Joe's doing while playing with them.

[@tonywalker2334]

Absolutely blown away This gentleman played a monstrous part of my childhood with that movie intro. Yo Joe !!!!!

[@RandomBlackGamer]

Keep in mind that this guy not only did the storyboarding for this intro. But also the 90s X-Men cartoon. And would return to do the intro to X-Men 97 with new animations.

[@MegaEmorey]

INDEED and you can tell too

[@ianbrewster8934]

Honestly I can never get tired of seeing the opening. It is a 10 out of 10 there is nothing you can say bad about this opening. I know people will say it's over the top 80s jingoism at its best. But I don't care it is freaking perfect.

[@bw2273]

Thank you Larry! Im 43 now and still remember this fondly

[@blayzej]

I think it's the best intro of all time, any cartoon, anime, manga, whatever... you can argue about the movie's story, but that intro is untouchable

[@wilcee238]

OG Thundercats is close.

[@paulholyfield]

@@wilcee238 I was just thinking that the other best intro is the original Thudercats!

[@blayzej]

@wilcee238 Yup, it's close Thundercats intro is great for sure

[@jonathandavenport5326]

Agreed

[@chrisdacosta9663]

Both were untouchable

[@creoleDJ]

On behalf of ALL the old GI Joe cartoon fans, I want to say THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR CHILDHOOD EXCITING!

[@movedbycompassion]

Yo Joe!

[@MegaEmorey]

and knowing is half the battle

[@WonderSparkPuppets1]

Larry Houston is the GOAT, what a legend

[@dieterdengler]

This opening is perfect.

[@nikolaispence4370]

That introduction is one of the best introductions to any movie ever! The popping of the fireworks always get me!

[@DrexelRivers]

hands down one of the best cartoon intros ever!! that intro still holds up today and is ingrained in every kids mind when that movie first came out. the music, the action, showcasing almost every character, etc...just incredible!! thank you Larry houston for giving me an awesome childhood memory.

[@NinjaVanish247]

Incredible work.

[@cowpuddles4851]

Imagine if the whole cartoon series was of this quality!

[@maybetoby]

A television show doesn't get that kind of budget. Especially in the 80s.

[@davezanko9051]

Or at least the whole movie. The opening blows the rest of the movie away in style and content.

[@maybetoby]

@davezanko9051 it's cuz they animated it first. It was meant to be the final battle of the movie. Then they got the script, so obviously changes had to be made. So they pushed it to the beginning of the movie instead.

[@namelessjedi2242]

Best part of the movie. Could have been the climax and no one would have been disappointed.

[@cheeseburger12]

It was the climax of the movie! Sigh.

[@hamothemagnif8529]

@@cheeseburger12haha!

[@cesarc.4230]

It still holds up.

[@dejarnettedesigns]

Awesome!...Larry is one of my mentors and a great friend!

[@aworldmadeofcardboard3692]

This is the most iconic sequence in GI Joe ARAH History! It is just beautiful! GI Joe fans of My generation stand to attention when this plays. It is the definitive showing of a PURE AMERICAN HERO!

[@XenoJehuty84]

Larry, you and your teammates made one of the BEST animated movie intros of all time, as well as your other contributions! Thank you from an 80's kid who became the man he is thanks in no small part to what you, and other story-tellers and animators did to entertain, educate, and amaze us.

[@slimthumbtak]

That intro is so incredible. CRASHING THROUGH THE SKY!

[@Medialover100]

Brother!!! This intro was mind blowing back then & still holds up to this day! Thank u 🙏🏾 for giving this amazing piece of art that will be forever burned in our childhood memories! I’m glad that with the internet, we finally get to learn who these talented men & women who gave us “After School” cartoons are. They don’t have much of any good cartoons for kids/adults around these days.

[@jgatzby7798]

One of the best animated opening scenes ever. It really draws you in from the animation to the score. Congrats Mr. Houston

[@LH74]

It was the most amazing intro to any cartoon ever.

[@JuggleHead]

Appreciate all the art and good memories you've given us, Larry!

[@samwest1097]

These kids don’t even know that intro goes so hard. Thank you sir

[@Spartanpotato117]

I watch this intro with my kids every 4th of July 😂

[@rodneyadderton1077]

That is my favorite part of the movie.

[@oneoftheskull3158]

Bruh! I never knew. That intro blew my pre teen mind. Salute. That guy is awesome.

[@TheScareglow]

Thank you! This is one of the coolest openings of all time. Top tier.

[@ryanradcliffe]

I love that intro, I would watch it over and over again. Play, rewind, repeat.

[@RM2011ish]

Dude. THIS GUY IS LEGENDARY. That Opening was one of the greatest damn things I ever seen. I wonder how he felt to see Toei Animation bring it to life?!

[@captainscomicsandcomments8079]

Man, I'd love to shake this fellow's hand! He killed that intro!

[@Rocky-or4rz]

An artist making art. I love it.

[@phillnorman]

If he did see these comments, then I would want to say thank you immensely... I love your work and was inspired by it so much that I joined the military in 89. Was in the "Rapid Deployment" unit out Ft. Benning, GA. Participated in 2 major conflicts: Operations Just Cause/Panama Invasion & Operations Desert Shield/Storm, trained with the 75th Rangers and other things. I would like to say thank you from an old soldier for being the inspiration, what for me, was my chance to be part of GI JOE, Real American Heroes 🫡🇺🇲

[@popticnerve]

@@phillnorman I also had a friend that enlisted in the Armed forces thanks to G.I.Joe. Not only have the cartoons utilized marketing for the toyline but served as a recruitment tool!😁

[@DIZeLAN]

This man, as a creative, is an American treasure!! Thank you for all you've done!

[@aaronmarshall5694]

Possibly the greatest intro to an animated film ever made; it certainly fit the theme of the show itself. I definitely have mixed feelings about the rest of G.I. JOE: The Movie, though, like Snake-Eyes getting quickly KOed by the Cobra-La Guard (he NEVER got the respect he did in the comics), the whole Duke/Falcon "half-brothers" subplot, the same usurping of established characters by newcomers (one of which...Big Lob...was never even in the toy line or comics) as in Transformers: The Movie, the awkward "death/coma" of Duke, and so on. It did have its fun moments as well as some that transcended the mostly bloodless nature of the animated series, but just like Transformers I personally feel the writers made a mistake by not making the core characters we fans were already familiar with central to the plot as opposed to shoved out of the way in order to promote the next wave of consumer products.

[@sportjames23]

Well said.

[@oneoftheskull3158]

Nah man, that's what made those movies great. The core characters had their run, it was time for some fresh meat. That's what made those movies cool, seeing new, fresh characters. What would those movies be without those characters? Nothing. We were introduced to Unicron, Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, etc.. And on the GI Joe side, we were introduce to The Slaughterhouse, Cobra La, Nemesis Enforcer, Pythona, Jinx, those characters and more were awesome. Snake Eyes, Prime and them had like 2 whole seasons to show out, it was new characters turn at the mic. Embrace it. 🤷🏾‍♂

[@brileyblackburn3253]

I watched the whole movie twice. Now this intro is the only thing worth rewatching

[@stephenyervasi6246]

Absolutely amazing and a Core Memory from my childhood! Thank you, sir!

[@LVMILL1156]

Was one of my "GO-TO" feel good moments from childhood that gets the blood pumping. They need to give G.I.Joe the (X-Men 97) treatment🤙🏾

[@hr1meg]

An absolutely glorious intro! I remembered it then, and still to this day!

[@oneoftheskull3158]

I just wanted to add this piece. GI Joe the Movie randomly came on one afternoon on Fox. Randomly. No warning, no commercials, no nothing. And it didn't start from the beginning, it started like 30 minutes into the movie. And then when those 30 minutes ran out, like it began at 5:30, and at 6:00 o clock that's when the intro came on. Just imagine, you're a kid sitting there expecting another cartoon or show to come on, and then randomly there's GI Joe the movie, and you have no idea what's going on, or what it is. And then 30 minutes later, the intro starts. My mind is till blown till this day. Thanks to Larry and ALL who had something to do with that movie.

[@ThisIsTrent]

Wow! Great story! He made a lot of our childhood memories!

[@RRFTube]

Thank you Larry Houston!

[@coreymcclammy1459]

Supremely great sound bite. 🙏🏾🤟🏾

[@IAmAHeater]

God bless this man for creating something so inspirational.

[@bjpalm1994]

Best animated movie intro period!🥲

[@13lake]

I sent this intro to my cousins today. Fantastic.

[@PV1230]

Brilliant work, Larry.

[@CrunchyRhombus]

Youre the man, Larry

[@bbuchmeier]

Love the movie intro. Epic.

[@tomichel1]

I always wanted to see/hear an actual US Army music collaboration for instilling THAT kind of patriotism to be proud of your country to the kids! That's as close at it could get, to my humble opinion. I am a French (bilingual) Canadian and when I saw as a young kid that intro on the Big Screen, I was Blown-Away!! Thank you ey! 🇨🇦🇺🇲

[@maximusprime3459]

Thank you Mr. Houston. To this day, the intro is still a masterpiece of animation.

[@MrCIAD]

I watch that intro constantly! Thanks for posting this!

[@Fenrir72]

Toei and Satoshi Urushihara animated this into reality. As Mr. Houston stated too.........he was floored when this was rendered. Team effort!

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

I love when people who I think might have fun jobs say they have, or had, a fun job.

[@AndrewReevesArt]

It’s amazing, Larry, thank you for making our childhoods amazing… YOOO JOE!!!! 🇺🇸

[@sportjames23]

Maaaaan, that intro was so freakin' EPIC.

[@bentonrp]

Had the honor of meeting this creative treasure of a guy at a Santa Clarita convention when away from my own booth. A true bookmark in our culture! ❤️ How he can remain so unbelievably humble, I don't know. Thank You Mr. Houston!!! 🥰

[@JoseMartinez-df2db]

One of the best movie openings ever!

[@Brinn1971]

Beautiful job! Love your sequence, and I’m glad it was picked! Such an amazing sequence and very inspiring when I was young, before I started my animation career. Thank you!

[@themightythor1974]

The best part of the movie, it's downhill after the intro. Larry Houston is a genius to include almost every GIJoe character in a 3 and a half minutes intro.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

.... nope. Research Nazi billion $ expedition to the Himalayan Mtns, expedition. They were after something. There's photographic proof that they found people to lead them to it.

[@samuelgardner8550]

Larry...you did an phenomenal job! The Gi joe the movie intro is by far, the most memorable and the most iconic! Thank you for this!

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

I haven't seen a single episode of GI Joe, but I love when creators admit that they had a lot of fun doing something. In general.

[@Frank-fh2qn]

Thank you for cutting loose.

[@ericpowell4350]

Thank you, Larry! Great Job!

[@checkityhold]

I love this intro. You can just tell by watching it was made by a true fan. The best artists who work in a franchise are almost always true fans.

[@TH0MASBR00KS]

it's on my KZbin playlist I look at it at least once a week

[@calogero2947]

When I saw the 87 movie intro as a kid I remember being absolutely blown away!!!! Best Intro still to this day!!!!

[@3Rayfire]

The sequence, the song, ingrained in our brains. It really was THAT DAMN GOOD.

[@Transfixed]

Legendary work. I think all Joe fans can agree that the movie intro was the peak of G.I Joe animation.

[@amitypredator9385]

Hat's off to you, sir. As a person who always wanted to start his own comic books, I really appreciate the effort you made for that amazing opening to the movie.

[@the4thtribe709]

Wow so this is the guy, that did that?! Excellent work great job!

[@The_Mimewar]

DUDE! LARRY EFFING HOUSTON!! Is this man aware of the effect he had on my generation!?

[@mams1701]

I'm over 50 years old and I remember seeing this the first time broadcast on a New York station. My brother and I absolutely lost our minds when this movie started. We could not believe how incredible this opening was. To this day I still watch it and hear that theme song and I still get that excitement. This was the single greatest opening of anything animated I think I've ever seen with the only things even coming close would be Wolverine and the X-Men. This was phenomenal.

[@LOKNES1]

Intro was so awesome, kudos my man. 👍🏾

[@MegaEmorey]

🥺 LARRY you made my childhood even better, THNAKS BRO

[@reedfantastik]

Larry Houston is a baaaaaad man! I hope he feels the appreciation. This is what you get when someone loves what they do.

[@chrisbent5734]

Props to the animators at Toei Animation in Japan too!

[@nightlam3419]

Toei Animation with a stacked japanese animation crew really kicked ass in that era of intros

[@omegon88]

@phillnorman: Thank you for your service, sir, and I'm glad the show was a good memory for you. It was fun to create.

[@popticnerve]

@@omegon88 For anyone attending this year's San Diego Comic Con, stop by to give Mr. Houston a personal shoutout. Thanks for stopping by to drop a comment or two, Larry! 🤜🤛

[@MildredDrones]

It was dope af. I remember the music to go with it also.

[@mike-zt8uc]

i enjoy watching this cartoon movie.....

[@jimmyju76]

Gen Hawk with that gun shell all over the place 🫡

[@R.L.Sutton]

Love the opening. It was great.

[@isaacescalera9643]

That intro is incredible!!! As a kid i was like Holy Crap THIS is just the opening!!!

[@matthewmarek1467]

All the respect in the world, that is a masterful work of cinematic art.

[@thunderchief7585]

Build a statue of this man! That intro is epic.

[@danoeel3909]

He did a fantastic job with the visuals! It holds up very well even to this day

[@LEEMAN-X]

That's awesome! Kinda reminds me of when I 1st saw Transformers the movie after watching it on TV, I was blown away at the movie animation vs TV as a kid.

[@petemarqdadon]

Bruh this scene is still fire 🔥 to this day!

[@somegamer7958]

This guy did AMAZING work

[@jayg473]

One of my greatest childhood memories!

[@SethMcFartlane]

The shot of the Cobra ship with the full moon in the background as Cobra troopers parajump down toward the screen will never cease to be epic.

[@LloydChristmas-vx2wh]

Thanks Larry!

[@hardcoreep]

The best intro to the series