Help with crazy TLM crossover

[1luckyunicorn]

I'm planning/daydreaming about a epic (epic as in adventure) crossover between TLM and some other fictional properties. Basically, several villains assemble to conquer the multiverse. The villains (all canon ones, as is the rest of the cast) are pretty powerful, and there are only couple of major good guys who can physically stand a chance against them. I intend on highlight the other skills of the heroes like Ariel and Eric, but I was wondering if it'd be a copout to give the less-physical heroes more of an edge? Like some sort of special artifact or weapon they can use in battle?

Also, is it possible to use too many characters in a story? I just counted the cast: twenty-nine heroes and five villains (not counting henchman). I actually considered adding two more fandoms, but is that overkill?

[Coral]

Two more would be overkill. The more characters you have to juggle the harder it is to write and stay true to each character. It also can get so confusing for the reader that they give up.

[fridamoonbeam]

Apr 29, 2010 12:11:38 GMT -5 Coral said:

Two more would be overkill. The more characters you have to juggle the harder it is to write and stay true to each character. It also can get so confusing for the reader that they give up.

*points to Rachel* I agree, and it can be a bit confusing to decide who does what task too. Just what characters d you have lined up and from which fandoms?

[WickedElphie]

One other way to have the less physically-able heroescontribute would be to have them come up with strategies and ideas. But I am curious as to what faandoms you're using. Also as a way to give people more 'screen-time' so to speak, I suggest splitting up the heroes into a few subgroups to accomplish separate goals before the final Epic Battle.

[1luckyunicorn]

Sorry guys, I was meaning to reply earlier but did not have the time to. Anyways, good point about the cast getting to be too unwieldy with two more fandoms tossed in. I guess I just really wanted to have certain characters meet up and interact, and this xover seemed like a good venue to try it out.

Here's the current cast list (just the major characters)....

Heroes:

DISNEY:

ADV. OF THE GUMMI BEARS
Gruffi
Grammi
Zummi
Sunni
Tummi
Cubbi
Gusto

PATF
Tiana
Naveen
Louis

ALADDIN
Aladdin
Jasmine
Abu
Iago
Carpet
Genie

TLM
Ariel
Prince Eric
Max

HERCULES
Hercules
Pegasus
Phil (I'd like to give this guy a decent role, since I get the feeling he's not as popular as Hades or even Herc are)
Meg

NON-DISNEY:

BALTO
Balto
Boris
Muk
Luk
Jenna (cameo?)

KUNG FU PANDA
Po
Viper
Mantis

DISNEY:

ADV. OF THE GUMMI BEARS
Lady Bane

PATF
Dr. Facilier

ALADDIN


TLM
Ursula

HERCULES
Hades
Panic
Pain

NON-DISNEY:

KUNG FU PANDA
Tai Lung

I warned you guys it was crazy. XD But I will put a ton of thought and care into it so it won't read like some fangirl's sugar-induced fantasy.

You read my mind Jess. I was intending on having the heroes spilt up into subgroups to accomplish a different task. Also, the heroes who are better at strategy and mental work were who I had in mind when I mentioned the less-physical sorts would get a chance to show off their stuff.

[Coral]

Wow! That's a big cast. If there's any character you think you could cut and not lose anything in the plot by all means consider doing it.

You also probably need to keep the plot as simple as you can. A complicated plot, while fun to do, is a pain to keep track of with that many characters.

[WickedElphie]

Agreed. I say cut anybody who either A) you're not that jazzed about writing about or B) has a skill set that overlaps with somebody else's. I'd cut a few comic-relief sidekick types too-limit it to just your faves. I say try and get the heroes down to 20 or so (5 groups of 4 or 4 groups of 5), which would end up being more manageable.

For an Aladdin villain Mirage would be a good choice. She's a cosmic evil after all, and pretty vindictive.

[1luckyunicorn]

*nods* I'll tinker around with the cast lineup some more. As for the plot, it isn't concrete yet, but I'm leaning towards "the villains team up to take over the multiverse, and the heroes must sop them" type of thing. How's that?

I thought about using Jafar as the Aladdin villain, but we already saw a Disney crossover in Hercules And The Arabian Night. Mirage crossed my mind briefly -- I think she would be fun to use! And maybe with other villains around, she could come up with better plans for a change, lol.

[WickedElphie]

That works as a basic plot, but, to make a really terrible pun, the devil is in the details. How did the baddies get into to contact? Why was each member willing to join the group? How do they plan to take over? Etc.

You want your characters' actions to make sense.

[Coral]

You definitely need to figure out the motivation for the villains to get together in the first place. Without that, it'll fall totally flat. What's awesome about Disney villains is they have clear motivations that drive them through the movies. Our task when we write fan fiction is to stay true to that and build on it.

[1luckyunicorn]

Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize you guys were specifically asking about the nitty-gritty.

I did have that in mind as well. Well, they're assembled by Lady Bane (or rather, their spirits are), who wants their aid in defeating the Glen Gummis once and for all. After getting their flesh-and-blood bodies back courtesy of Hades (who came following the trail of the souls missing from his domain), they don't intend on working with Lady Bane for nothing, so it's decided that the best plan of action is to switch up opponents, since they figure the heroes won't be used to dealing with how new enemies operate and fight. So it'd be Mirage vs. Ariel and co., Ursula vs. the Glen Gummis, etc.

I figure revenge against the heroes would be their initial motivations.

That better?

[Coral]

That's a good starting point. And I love that you're mixing it up! That'll be fun.

[WickedElphie]

It is interesting, and I like the idea of mixing up opponents, though of course by the end you want familiar faces to have confronted their true enemies, if not necessarily in Battle, because the emotion is there in those connections. The betrayals, acts of evil against them in the past, etc.

[1luckyunicorn]

Thanks, I thought it'd be fun to have the heroes deal with different enemies too!

Oh, that will occur Jess, trust me. I can't imagine having the good guys not confront their respective mortal enemies (plus, you know that each bad guy would want an opportunity to personally deal with them themselves).

[WickedElphie]

Sounds like you have everything well planned out. I look forward to reading it!