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Post by Trey_Vore on Jun 2, 2022 2:48:58 GMT -5
Hey guys! Since my last review of The Bob's Burgers Movie, I was thinking I could do a bunch of reviews for movies that were based on popular cartoons. Having already reviewed My Little Pony: the Movie (2017), DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, Beavis and Butthead Do America, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, The Simpsons Movie and The Drawn Together Movie: the Movie!, I decided maybe I could go back to the 80s to review a movie I remember seeing all the way back in the day:
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)
Distributor: The Samuel Goldwyn Company/Bagdasarian Productions Director: Janice Karman Cast: Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. (Alvin Seville, Simon Seville, David Seville), Janice Karman (Theodore Seville, Brittany Miller, Jeanette Miller, Eleanor Miller), Dody Goodman (Mrs. Miller), Anthony De Longis (Klaus Furschtein), Susan Tyrell (Claudia Furschtein), Frank Welker (Sophie, Baby Penguin, Native Chief, additional voices), Ken Sansom (Inspector Jamal), Nancy Cartwright (Arabian Prince) Runtime: 76 min. MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted)
This movie is about the three Chipmunk brothers Alvin, Simon and Theodore, who are home with Mrs. Miller while their father figure David Seville is out on a business trip to Europe to Alvin’s chagrin. After playing a video game with the Chipettes, both teams are simultaneously recruited by two wealthy siblings named Klaus and Claudia Furschtein, who claim to be bored and wager them to go around the world dropping off their dolls in various parts of the world, essentially sending them to go on a worldwide scavenger hunt with a $100,000 prize at stake. Deceiving Mrs. Miller into thinking Dave wants the boys to join him in Europe, the hot air balloon race is on, unbeknownst to both teams the dolls they are meant to be dropping off are stuffed with dollar bills or diamonds—Klaus and Claudia are international diamond smugglers. So can the Chipmunks and the Chipettes survive long enough to figure out they are in danger and bring Klaus and Claudia to justice?
I am no stranger to the world of Alvin and the Chipmunks. The brainchildren of novelty song guru Ross Bagdasarian, he introduced them to us in 1958 and became a massive hit during the 1960s. I am personally most familiar with the classic 1980s series that aired on NBC during Saturday mornings from 1983-1990. As evidence I actually wrote a very comprehensive article about the show for RetroJunk! I even own all the original drinking glasses that Hardee’s was selling as a promotion back in 1985! Even today I still have a bit of a soft spot for it being not just a 1980s junkie but also for the series’s penchant for having a good sense of humor, fun and heart. Sure it may look and feel like a very dated show, but I feel that because the series is meant to be cute with a very kind heart and friendly attitude that actually works in its favor and gives it a certain charm and lasting value, which can’t be said for a show like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
So with the 1983 cartoon series being a hit, five seasons in the can and two prime time specials that got some warm reception, the next big step was an animated feature film. However, can this truly work? You are using characters that were created for the purpose selling some novelty songs and now they are being cast in a movie people will pay money to see? You’re sure this isn’t a disaster waiting to happen?
Well having revisited this movie in the first time since the late 90s, it’s now time for me to give my input on the Chipmunks’ first venture into feature film.
I’ll start with this: in the very beginning of the movie, Dave is on his way to Europe as part of a business trip and Alvin is desperate to go wanting to travel abroad. I know exactly what this is like, as there was a time back in the early 2000s my sister was participating in a foreign study program to actually travel to France and my parents agreed to be chaperones. I wanted to go being a Francophile myself, but because it was interfering with my school schedule I was forced to stay home. I swore I’d get my revenge though…
For what the movie’s story is it makes no attempt to be art; the movie is at least aware of the crudeness of its source material and gets by on the silliness of said material along with some sort of wish fulfillment—kids like to imagine they are things that they are not, whether it would be a ninja, an actor, a professional ballplayer, a rock star, you name it—while simultaneously charming kids into wanting to enjoy some musical numbers. There is nothing wrong with this for two reasons, one being everyone can find some type of music they enjoy and the other being the fact the Chipmunks and the Chipettes get to travel abroad may give kids the desire to want to learn about foreign cultures and want to travel; they may learn there is more than just the town that they personally live in.
The story may be at a bare minimum, however the fact the movie’s pace is in no hurry to get anywhere soon actually makes it a virtue in disguise. I will admit the story goes even slower than normal when the Chipettes decide to make a detour from their travel route to return a baby penguin to its parents in Antarctica, though it does help establish the series’ heart that children of the 1980s loved it for. The story may not be A Tale of Two Cities but its execution compensates.
For the animation, maybe I should start by saying I know it’s inconsistent with the series. However there is a reason for this. When the series was in its first five seasons the animation was done by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and was their only show to last more than two seasons. Now Joe Ruby and Ken Spears were originally working at Hanna-Barbera and their influence would rub off on them; however when this movie was in production, several animators who were laid off from Disney following the financial failure of The Black Cauldron actually took the job and their work is honestly much better than the animation of the series. It makes the movie look like a mix between the typical kids’ animated film from the 80s and a cartoon you would expect to see on the Disney Afternoon block. In particular Bil Keane’s son Glen Keane actually worked on this movie; his style being very evident during one of the best parts. These laid-off Disney talent most certainly proved they are Disney material as they continued to bring their A-game even though no longer working for the company.
As the credits rolled I noticed other names, including David Feiss (Cow and Chicken) and Danny Antonucci (Ed, Edd n Eddy).
Now you probably would want me to go on a deeper and detailed explanation of the characters too, but like I said they are somewhat broadly defined. This is not a horrible aspect as they were really based on a series of novelty songs, but they do have great range and know how to be entertaining in a variety of scenarios. On the Chipmunk side you’ve got Alvin the headstrong egomaniac, Simon the brainy voice of reason and Theodore the cute, innocent gourmand. Their Distaff Counterparts the Chipettes feature Brittany the diva, Jeanette the quiet, clumsy introvert and Eleanor the athletic sweetheart. Other characters include David Seville, the boys’ doting father figure and Mrs. Miller, their elderly, scatterbrained babysitter. The movie’s villains are Klaus and Claudia, two sibling diamond smugglers who con the Chipmunks and the Chipettes into being their mules. They are just so… can I say, Euro-trashy its hilarious. Like I said, not super deep, super complicated characters but they do their job.
There is one more factor I feel I should address, that being whenever a TV station plays an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, do you wonder why despite the nostalgia filter why this movie tends to be overshadowed for the more current live-action movies or the late 90s/early 2000s movies where they meet Dr. Frankenstein’s monster or the Wolfman? There might be an explanation for this as late in the movie the Chipettes run into some stereotypical Arabic sheiks along with a spoiled prince who insists on marrying Brittany, while the Chipmunks meet some stereotypical African headhunters. Yeah. Good luck showing that on TV right now! I do feel that it would be for the best that they leave these stereotypes in the movie so if kids have any questions they can ask their parents; they would just have to explain that it was a different world back then. As such this movie might do best in private home video viewings rather than trying to air it on TV nowadays. Trying to overcensor and/or whitewash it is not going to fix anything.
Now of course the songs are the Chipmunks’ forte, so we would have to discuss them. “Ay, Yi, Yi, Yi” I don’t have any real use for, it’s only really used to help paint the Mexican atmosphere. The other songs are better, showing a range of tones and feelings meant to convey an idea. They have songs like “Off To See the World” to suggest what it’s like to proverbially spread your wings and fly, “My Mother” which is a heartfelt number that children can read, and “Diamond Dolls” which I thought made for good chase music. The score heats up with songs like “Gettin’ Lucky” and “Wooly Bully”, and the real showstopper is ”The Girls/Boys of Rock n’ Roll”, which has the Chipmunks and the Chipettes in a sing-off during their stop in Greece which has amazing backdrops and stunning dance choreography; it’s also got a retro 1980s vibe which I honestly loved. The soundtrack is definitely worth buying for these songs!
Again, for how dated The Chipmunk Adventure can look and feel, it shouldn’t hold up all that well, yet surprisingly it does? It’s hardly perfect, yet still entertaining and thankfully free of any SJW junk that one may see in later movies. Still a fun movie and well worth it if you are either a Chipmunks fan or looking for a fun 80s movie. Being a fan of both, I am happy to say this childhood favorite still speaks to me!
Side note is, this movie was devoted to Tiger Lilly, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman's dog who died. She had died in a manner not too dissimilar from that of the Chipmunks' kitten Cookie Chomper III.
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) TreyVore rates it: B
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jun 3, 2022 3:30:48 GMT -5
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
Distributor: Warner Bros. Animation/Amblin Entertainment Director: Rich Arons, Ken Boyer, Kent Butterworth, Barry Caldwell, Alfred Gimeno, Art Leonardi, Byron Vaughns Cast: Charlie Adler (Buster Bunny, Theater Usher), Tress MacNeille (Babs Bunny, Babs’ mother, Big Boo, Emily Duff, Roseanne Barr, Barbara Walters, Hotel Chef, Drive-Thru Waitress, Horatio’s girlfriend), Joe Alaskey (Plucky Duck, Tupelo Toad, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Elmer Fudd), Don Messick (Hamton J. Pig), Maurice LaMarche (Dizzy Devil, Ed McMahon, Arsenio Hall, Superman), Gail Matthius (Shirley the Loon), Kath Soucie (Fifi La Fume, L’il Sneezer, Bimbette Skunk), Frank Welker (Gogo Dodo, Furrball, Little Beeper, Byron Bassett, Uncle Stinky, Vinnie, additional voices), Rob Paulsen (Fowlmouth, Johnny Pew, Mr. Hitcher, Banjo Possum, Hotel Manager, Horatio, Parking lot attendant), Cree Summer (Elmyra Duff, Mary Melody, Oprah Winfrey), Candi Milo (Sweetie Bird), Johnathan Winters (Wade Pig), Edie McClurg (Winnie Pig) Runtime: 79 min. MPAA rating: N/A
This movie is about our Tiny Toon pals from Acme Looniversity, on the brink of the first day of summer vacation. Once the coveted moment arrives, the Tiny Toons are off for their wildest summer vacation ever. Buster and Babs Bunny (no relation!) go on a water gun fight that winds up with Huck Finning down a river on a capsized table, Plucky Duck tags along for Hamton’s family road trip to Happy World Land, Elmyra goes on a hunt for a new cat, Shirley gets a summer job and has to grapple with Fowlmouth’s insistence that she date him and Fifi La Fume goes to track down her favorite actor Johnny Pew hoping for an autograph. Thought your summer vacations were weird?
This movie is based one of the most cherished cartoon series from Warner Bros. Animation circa the early 1990s, Tiny Toon Adventures. This series was not simply another soulless clone of Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies; it received a very warm welcome from kids all over the country. Not joking, it stood toe-to-toe with the Disney Afternoon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was that popular. People loved the show; it had its own sense of style, a good sense of humor, great animation quality and it had a whole cast of memorable characters where it didn’t matter which one got the spotlight, you would have a good episode. The series was smart, funny, and always had some level of heart. As evidence, the show was always very friendly with its fans, an example of how that was is the story of how there was one episode of the series called “Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian” which was not written by the staff but by three high school girls who were really big fans of the show. It was so loved by fans that even after the show ended it still got some PlayStation 1/Game Boy Advance video games in the late 90s/early 2000s! While the series tended to get the shaft as the 90s rolled on—the WB would give even more attention to later series like Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, Freakazoid!, Road Rovers… it would always keep its fans that continues to this day. Even kids who grew up watching the Hub would find reason to love the show; it found new popularity with many people arguing it could be seen as a worthy successor to the Looney Tunes.
And yes, I even expressed myself with a very widely adored RetroJunk article, its popularity is no lie!
Coming in during a time when the WB was preparing to end the show so they could focus on Animaniacs, this movie came around the end of Season 2 but before Season 3. It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but Steven Spielberg insisted that it be released straight to video making it the very first of its kind being a direct-to-video animated film and became one of the biggest-selling VHS tapes in the US during its release year. It is regarded as a cult classic right now. Being a major Tiny Toons fan myself, it’s now time for me to give my input on this movie.
The movie doesn’t have one strong plot, rather it’s about the Tiny Toons and their various hijinx after Acme Looniversity lets them out for summer vacation. There is the path Buster and Babs take, one that has Plucky and Hamton, another with Elmyra, one with Shirley and Fowlmouth and one with our fan favorite Fifi La Fume. Normally one would complain about how the stories are not interconnected in any way, but the movie is supposed to be about you probably are aware what it’s like when you and your friends go down your own paths for the summer. Not to mention because virtually everyone is likable and entertaining it doesn’t matter who you’re focusing on you are going to get some solid entertainment value. It does go and send some very worthwhile messages that you will learn about. The comedy does come first and it always delivers. It makes plenty of jokes about celebrities from the early 90s and they still remain recognizable and oddly enough, relevant!
I do think that it does go and quietly send some messages that kids can learn from, like heroes generally win and villains generally lose, along with rather mature concepts like how Buster insists he can’t have three wives on account that being bigamy. During Plucky’s story, he gets to go on the road trip from Hell to Happy World Land, with what I imagine would be a message about how your friend’s family is not the same as yours, with another theme of why it’s not good to pick up hitchhikers. Another one I enjoyed was how Fifi’s story has her in pursuit of an autograph from her celebrity crush Johnny Pew. I take this as it’s fine to have a crush on your favorite celebrity, but it may be advised you appreciate them from afar as for all you know you may be crushing on a total jerk.
The movie’s animation quality is very nice as they used the high-quality character models for the movie courtesy of Tokyo Movie Shinsha (and thankfully, no out-of-control Kennedy animation used here!). It does look like how you’d expect from the show, but not really better or worse. Maybe Steven had the right idea in mind as he insisted that it be released direct-to-video. You can’t complain about the animation quality it does its job just fine and even looks like it could be cut up to serve as episodes of the show. They may have done that, but like I say it’s supposed to be a movie, but Steven Spielberg made the right call.
I could go on and on about the characters too, but you’d be sitting here reading a very lengthy review. The movie doesn’t rely solely on you already being familiar with the show and while it doesn’t do much for character development, thanks to some well-defined character beats, you never once are under the impression you are watching “Looney Tunes Babies” (yes, there is Baby Looney Tunes, but that show came years later and deliberately was meant to be a Muppet Babies knock-off). Characters like Buster, Babs, Plucky, Hamton, Dizzy, Shirley, Fifi, Elmyra, Fowlmouth, Furrball and Gogo are all in the movie without missing a beat. Hamton’s parents were featured in a few episodes and they are the same kooky folks and other characters like the Southern Boo family, Mr. Hitcher and Johnny Pew are meant to be seen as antagonists and aid in painting some illustrated points. While I knew that not each and every single character was going to get a prominent role, some fans may be disappointed that the movie neglects the series’ main villain Montana Max. Still, I can’t complain too much as the character selection still works very nicely and barring an occasional moment when Elmyra threatens to become annoying (though this is not exclusive to the movie itself), everyone is appealing, likable and funny.
Now for the big question you want to know. This movie was a childhood favorite and… yes, it still holds up! Best of all, Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation leaves you with a happy feeling. You get a very funny, very satisfying animated film about a show you probably cherished as a child and still maintains its appeal. A great way to begin the summer months, Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation is a surefire crowd pleaser that you will love, kids will love and bond with you over and one of the best examples of how to make a movie based on a popular cartoon series. What else needs to be said but go see it already!
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992) TreyVore rates it: A-
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Post by Belchic on Jun 4, 2022 22:07:42 GMT -5
Hey Trey! Nice job on both of these reviews!
I will agree with you on how popular Tiny Toons was. Even my parents loved it, and they’re usually not up to speed with my generation of cartoons!
Though a couple corrections I thought I’d point out to you:
1. “Wooly Bully” was not a song written solely for The Chipmunk Adventure. It’s actually the movie’s only cover song.
2. The Tiny Toons movie wasn’t the first direct-to-video movie based on a cartoon. That honor would go to the G.I. Joe movie in 1987.
Other than that, your reviews were spot on! Have you reviewed My Little Pony: A New Generation yet?
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jul 10, 2022 0:16:59 GMT -5
Not yet. In the meantime, we are having Prime Week at Amazon. For the uninitiated, that is like Amazon's own "Christmas in July" sale. For this occasion, I give you my new review:
Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch (2018)
Distributor: Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment Director: Scott Moiser, Yarrow Cheney Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch (the Grinch), Cameron Seely (Cindy Lou-Who), Rashida Jones (Donna Who), Kenan Thompson (Bricklebaum), Tristan O’Hare (Groopert), Angela Lansbury (Mayor McGerkle), Pharrell Williams (Narrator) Runtime: 85 min. MPAA rating: PG (brief rude humor)
It’s the holiday season in Whoville, and the Whos are eagerly anticipating Christmas. Not everyone is, though, as the grumpy, cantankerous, green-furred Grinch—who lives on top of Mt. Crumpit—hates the holidays. After he runs into a kind-hearted little girl named Cindy Lou Who, who only wants to help her overworked mother, he’s reminded of his past upbringing alone and unwanted in an orphanage. He plans to steal the Whos’ Christmas and together with his dog Max, disguises himself as Santa Claus to steal every single present and decoration. Is there a chance the Grinch may learn that there may be more to Christmas than presents, lights and songs?
I’m very sure if you had any sort of childhood, you probably grew up reading the classic 1957 children’s book, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. This book was probably one of the most recognizable children’s books by the great Dr. Seuss, and it’s status was cemented in 1966 when his friend Chuck Jones (of Looney Tunes fame) directed the iconic TV special that starred Boris Karloff as the iconic Christmas curmudgeon. To this day, it remains one of four Christmas specials from the 1960s to still be played on network TV during the Christmas season, the other three being Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty the Snowman.
As time went on, we would see another adaptation in the year 2000 as a live-action film that was directed by Ron Howard and starred Jim Carrey as the Grinch, the first live adaptation of one of Dr. Seuss’s stories. Despite mixed critical reviews, it was highly profitable, being the second-highest grossing Christmas movie of all time, after Home Alone. Still having the rights to the Dr. Seuss properties (and knowing a lot of money can be made off it), the decision was made to do another film adaptation of the story. If we can have remake after remake after remake of A Christmas Carol, why not? And is there anyone more qualified than Illumination Entertainment? You know, the animation studio that does movies that will sell themselves, and with a big marketing push from Universal, can let the money roll in? You know, like what they originally did with The Lorax?
If you know me, Christmas is my time to shine. In fact I happen to have a very high opinion of the original Chuck Jones cartoon so this new version would have some high standards to live up to. Whether the reviews are nice, like how most Illumination movies tend to be or maybe a little weaker, there was bound to be an audience. Always being up for a new Christmas adventure (provided it’s not meant to be blasphemous), here we go.
Much like The Lorax before it, the team at Illumination was tasked with taking a short story and padding it a full feature. The results? Eh, about the same. For one, you probably know the story. The Whos in Whoville adore Christmas but the Grinch can’t stand it. When they go bigger, as in 3 times bigger, the Grinch schemes to jump in and steal all the presents and holiday decorations on Christmas Eve. Why does he do this? Well, in the past, he was an orphan that never had any sort of family to celebrate the holidays with and if he can’t love Christmas, no one can.
That’s pretty much it narratively. The original Chuck Jones cartoon only ran for about a half-hour but that was all it needed to work; that TV special had just enough material for one half-hour only. Narratively the story, despite having a bunch of padding, still feels lightweight, but you aren’t really left wanting anything else. The movie does have some tangents that it goes on, but it’s all pointless and adds nothing to the story you cared about in the first place; the movie does nothing to add anything you haven’t seen. Well, I guess it adds to the runtime and helps to make jokes to get the kids laughing, but that’s it. And if the wittiest joke is a syrup bottle that sounds like farting, you know who the movie is meant for.
Visually, the movie’s animation is impressive. It’s still faithful to the original book that Dr. Seuss was known for without trying to look like it’s emulating the Chuck Jones cartoon or the Jim Carrey movie. Whoville at Christmastime is truly… pardon the pun, “Illuminated”. I do love seeing a wide assortment of lights and décor on buildings and trees as it really helps put someone in a festive mood. However, I do have some things that should be discussed, as that Illumination animation does feel a bit intrusive on them. I had no trouble with how the Grinch looked save for some details you’ll hear about, but with some characters, Cindy Lou-Who ends up owing a bit of her design to Agnes from the Despicable Me movies, and Max looks like he could have been an extra on The Secret Life of Pets. Still, the movie’s best aspect is the animation.
Now, you probably know the characters, having what I imagine is your history with them. The Grinch, you know, the titular raison d’etre, is as you’d probably expect. He’s a Christmas grouch who is fed up with the holidays and wants to put an end to it. His lines, as you would expect from Benedict Cumberbatch is quite good and helps make the movie distinct, he won’t make you forget about Boris Karloff or Jim Carrey but he’s probably the best character. However, I will add that while they respected the wishes of Audrey Geisel and didn’t include any toilet jokes, some aspects of him feel off, like how the movie at one point recites the iconic “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”. I will say, he’s got some awfully nice teeth for someone who’s said to have termites in it. Cindy Lou Who was expanded on in this movie, but seems a little more obnoxious than how Taylor Momsen originally characterized her. She has a goal she wants to achieve for this holiday season, but for reasons you’ll hear about, well keep reading. Max the dog is again the Grinch’s most loyal companion, almost like he’s the Grinch’s better half, and that’s the extent of his character.
Notice I’m not saying anything about Cindy Lou Who’s mom, or Cindy Lou Who’s friends, or Bricklebaum, or the Mayor, or the fat yak, or any others. These extra characters are all cyphers and they add nothing to the narrative. As noted, their only purpose is to help pad out the runtime and/or add jokes. The only other character, I guess, would be the Narrator. Pharrell Williams, who you probably know as the singer of “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, reads his lines with the type of comical zing expected from Illumination, but still seems like he’s meant to be a hipster that is just unlike the original readings that Boris Karloff originally gave. So needless to say, the characters are a mixed bag.
The 2018 Grinch does nothing to change the idea that a short story is not the best source material to adapt into a feature film, much less one that is so cherished as the original Grinch. Still, it’s harmless and kids will dig it, being that it’s the Grinch and one that is full of Christmas cheer, which is enough of a draw for them. The original Chuck Jones cartoon will always be the definitive version, but I suppose this one turned out okay. At least I would choose this over The Lorax?
Dr. Seuss's The Grinch (2018) TreyVore rates it: C
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jul 14, 2022 23:52:11 GMT -5
To tie in to Belchic's recent retrospective, I decided to review:
The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002)
Distributor: Warner Bros./Cartoon Network Studios Director: Craig McCracken Cast: Cathy Cavadini (Blossom), Tara Strong (Bubbles), E. G. Daily (Buttercup), Roger L. Jackson (Mojo Jojo), Tom Kane (Professor Utonium, Talking Dog), Tom Kenny (Mayor of Townsville, Narrator, Mitch Mitchelson, Snake, Li’l Arturo), Jennifer Hale (Ms. Keane), Jennifer Martin (Ms. Bellum), Jeff Glen Bennett (Ace, Big Billy, Grubber) Runtime: 73 min. MPAA rating: PG (non-stop frenetic animated action)
This movie, set in the city of Townsville, is in some serious trouble. Crimes run rampant throughout the city and everyone is too scared to do much of anything. Professor Utonium hopes to change that, as he buys some ingredients to create the perfect little girl: sugar, spice and everything nice. However, during his experiment, his pet chimp Jojo bumps him breaking a vial of Chemical X that dumps into his concoction. The result is three adorable, yet superpowered, kindergarten-age girls: Blossom, who opens right up, Bubbles, who is cute and bubbly, and Buttercup because… it also begins with a B. During their first day of school, a game of tag results in them creating mass destruction and the whole town turns a hateful eye against them. Once they meet Jojo, now Mojo Jojo and also mutated as a result of the experiment, he uses them to create an army of genius monkeys who soon start vying for power. Can the Powerpuff Girls put an end to this insanity?
I am very sure if you remember growing up in the late 1990s/early 2000s, you probably remember watching the popular Cartoon Network original Cartoon Cartoon series The Powerpuff Girls. This series, which began life as a project from Craig McCracken at CalArts, was a highly popular show, and likely one of their best-known series. What probably helped with that notion was that while most of the Cartoon Cartoons were made with the intention of being art first, commerce second, this series lent itself to the idea of being a merchandising machine best. It had stuffed dolls, T-shirts, coloring books, lunch boxes, Burger King toys, music soundtracks, a standalone comic book, a Christmas special, video games… the series even had a spinoff as a Japanese anime series!
The series itself is a quality show and very notable as a late 90s cartoon; even today it holds up really well. Coming in while the fourth season of the series was still going, the decision was made to have the Powerpuff Girls headlining a major motion picture. The reviews were reasonably good, but even though the show was still very popular at the time of its release it was a box-office dud once it’s run in theaters was finished; I remember at my local Tinseltown it was only in there for just the Fourth of July weekend and then it disappeared!
There were probably a bunch of reasons for this though. For one, promotions were generally limited; without a big marketing push, it’s not going to have a major box-office draw. Second, in animated films the WB and Cartoon Network don’t exactly have Disney’s marketing strength; they can only go so far without some support and leave it in theaters for so long. Third, they did have some very stiff competition—in the time of its release in summer 2002 Spider-Man’s box-office run was either finished or just about so that wasn’t an issue, but it did have to fight for box-office cash against some other heavy-hitting summer movies like Men in Black 2 and Lilo and Stitch. Fourth, there was also the now-outdated idea that kids don’t like cel-animation and now it all has to be CGI… This would mean no more major animated film adaptations of popular Cartoon Cartoons; they would not try again until 2018 when they would give us Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.
Now that the movie just turned 20 years old, I thought it would be a good time to go and give the movie a review. So here we go.
The movie went all the way back to the beginning before the series chronologically started. The movie’s story is a prequel to the show; it details what caused Professor Utonium to want to start his experiment, how the Girls were created, how Mojo Jojo was created, how the Girls were to become heroes in the first place—it may not be as much of an issue now that time has passed, but I would be willing to think some people may have been disappointed they weren’t getting something different. Nowadays though, you’d be perfectly fine starting with this movie and then watching the series, as it would give some background to how Townsville started off and why the Girls need to be its heroes.
I will say though, some smaller kids might be a bit turned off by the tone. The series itself always had kind of a happy feel to it, as if the whole town was hopped up on Prozac. The movie, being a prequel, shows it wasn’t always like this as the town is riddled with crime and lawlessness. We do get some moments you would expect to see the three titular girls acting like little kids and just having some fun, but then a major portion of the movie as them angsting over their powers and feeling as though everyone hates them. Of course they weren’t going to be loved overnight, but some kids might be wondering why the tone seems rather dreary.
From a storytelling perspective, the movie does its job just fine as an origin story for the Powerpuff Girls. This also feels like a bit like the end of one era, as it started off as a lighthearted action/comedy series that after this movie to stay competitive with other popular shows it would become more of a crude gag comedy where it’s three heroes just happened to have superpowers. It may feel like three back-to-back episodes of the show, but it works fine, seeming to send the message of judgements should be made based on actions rather than outward appearances.
Now, for the animation. The real deal series has a minimalist style to it, which is fine for keeping the budget under control for a TV series, but as a movie? Well, it doesn’t look exactly like the show as they tried to go for an extreme look, like they knew this was going to be getting a theatrical release. However it’s newer look is really just a minor upgrade, as it does it’s job to keep the energy going for fight sequences, but still just a bit better than the series itself. Nothing is painful to look at (in a bad way, at least), but it doesn’t look like something that needed to be in theaters it still just looks like it could have just been shown on Cartoon Network as a made-for-TV movie. The animation is probably the weakest aspect.
Now, for the characters? This might be the strongest aspect. You probably have some idea of what to expect if you are a fan of the show, but for the uninitiated, the three Girls themselves can be described as superheroes that just happen to be little girls. Blossom is the smartest member who leads them and always wants to look for the most logical answer, Buttercup is the rough-and-tumble tomboy who would rather punch first and ask questions later, and Bubbles is the bubbly cute one who is the team’s gooey emotional core. They maintain their appeal and lose nothing in translation from show to movie. Professor Utonium is the Girls’ father figure who wants his creations to be role models, but he, as you’d expect, goes through some trials and tribulations about being a first-time parent. Not just as normal children but three kindergarten-aged superpowered ones that would first cause millions of dollars in damage and then potentially doom Townsville. The main villain of the movie is Mojo Jojo, probably the Girls’ most notable offender in their Rogue Gallery. He started off as Professor Utonium’s pet chimp until the accident that created the Girls mutated him as well; now an outcast he wants to make the world better—for himself anyway—and schemes to use monkeys as pawns in his plot to overthrow the humans. The movie does feature some of the series’ other notable characters—Ms. Keane, the Mayor, Ms. Bellum, Talking Dog—they just appear to do their roles as you would expect. The movie does technically need them, but you’re not left wanting them to do anything else. The only other notable appearances come from the Gangreen Gang, who menace the Girls in one sequence and do return later before the movie is over. They are not strongly characterized, but the fanservice was probably a nice touch. The only other villain to appear is Fuzzy Lumpkins, who while not getting a speaking role helps set the tone as he is seen robbing a grocery store and makes one more appearance at the end. The characters all work, some obviously in greater capacity than the others.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie may not have set the box-office on fire, but it does its job nicely and serve as a way to help get a non-fan an idea of what to expect from the show. Like the series itself, the movie does hold up well. I will say though… that cannot be said for the short cartoon that proceeds the main feature, “Chicken Scratch”. Actually no, it never was any good. This short cartoon, based on the older Cartoon Network series Dexter’s Laboratory, is about Dexter getting chickenpox and he’s warned not to scratch it. This bizarre, alien cartoon has some ideas of what you are probably expecting from that series but the zest is gone—it very much feels like it was only done due to corporate decree. At the time though, the later episodes of Dexter’s Laboratory were getting stupider and less creative, almost like Genndy Tartakovsky wanted to end Dexter but Cartoon Network just continues to order more episodes; it seemed like he was trying to get it canceled. If you get past that short cartoon though, you’ll find The Powerpuff Girls Movie is worth seeing. I guess you can say the day’s entertainment was saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!
The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002) TreyVore rates it: B-
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Post by Belchic on Jul 15, 2022 2:29:24 GMT -5
Wow! I was actually thinking of reviewing this movie next! I’m glad I inspired you though, Trey. Have you ever thought of reviewing the series as a whole like I did?
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jul 22, 2022 0:53:04 GMT -5
Maybe I could do that. I do have these new reveiws:
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Distributor: 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky Director: Steve Martino, Michael Thurmeier Cast: Ray Romano (Manny), John Leguizamo (Sid), Denis Leary (Diego), Queen Latifah (Ellie), Sean William Scott (Crash), Josh Peck (Eddie), Peter Dinklage (Captain Gutt), Keke Palmer (Peaches), Josh Gad (Louis), Wanda Sykes (Granny), Jennifer Lopez (Shira), Kunal Nayyar (Gupta), Nick Frost (Flynn), Aziz Ansari (Squint), Chris Wedge (Scrat) Runtime: 88 min. MPAA rating: PG (mild rude humor, action/peril)
Set sometime after Dawn of the Dinosaurs and the Mammoth Christmas Special, the herd is now prospering in their new home. The now-adolescent Peaches wants to go meet some new mastodons, and Ellie is happy to do so while Manny is increasingly paranoid about it, causing a rift between them. Meanwhile, Sid’s family appears but only to dump his grandmother off on him before they leave. After Scrat inadvertently causes a continental cataclysm in his efforts to bury his acorn, Manny, Sid, Diego and Sid’s grandmother are separated from the herd on an iceberg. While adrift at sea, they are captured by the cruel Captain Gutt and his ice pirate crew and are planned to be taken to their home. But when our heroes steal the ship to return home, the pirates vow to get their revenge. So can the herd be reunited before they succumb to the elements and if that doesn’t happen will they be keelhauled by Captain Gutt?
Before I begin this review, I will start with something a little more unconventional.
When this movie was playing in theaters, before it would start there would be a short Simpsons cartoon that plays which was called Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”. This 4-minute cartoon, also the second time the Simpsons would be seen in theaters after The Simpsons Movie, has Marge drop Maggie off at a daycare center, where she befriends a caterpillar and vows to keep it safe from Gerald the Uni-Brow baby. This was a very well-received short cartoon, even though it has no dialogue it has lots of humor and suspense and was a welcome throwback to the days when The Simpsons was still in its prime. It was actually nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and lost to Paperman, but the fact it was nominated is an honor.
I’m not factoring an unrelated short cartoon into this review. However, Ice Age: Continental Drift was going to need all the help it was going to get. Even though that short cartoon starred a baby and was set in a daycare facility, ironically it contained all the maturity, creativity and wit that was otherwise missing from the movie you put down money to see.
There was a time when people looked forward to seeing Ice Age. The original movie I will admit I liked and understood why it was nominated for Best Animated Feature. I will admit I did like the second and third movies but Ice Age just isn’t working as a multi-sequel franchise. One could argue that everything they could do with this franchise was done by the end of the first movie; maybe they could come back for one sequel but otherwise it’s only worth going back for the jokes. They just need to make a new movie without a lot of effort, after that release it during the dog days of summer. Next, the parents have someone volunteer to take the kids to the cineplex to get them out of the house and what do you know, easy money!
So now that I decided to go and review Ice Age as it comes, what’s in store for us now?
Maybe I should start with the story. In this movie, the herd gets involved in a cataclysmic event that threatens everyone and hopefully everyone will live to see the end of the story. But… didn’t they do this one already? You know, when they did Ice Age: the Meltdown? So what’s going on, are the continents separating again? I’m not watching this to expect a true to life re-enactment of what the actual Ice Age was like, but one can easily pick up the recycled plot.
Then you also have the subplots, which involve Manny, Sid and Diego now having to care for Sid’s cranky grandmother, Diego now being the lovelorn one, Peaches wanting to find herself a mate and looking out for her molehog friend Louis… however, all these threads really have nothing to do with the main story, which is very bare bones. It’s just the first three heroes from the original movie getting separated from the herd and now they need to find a way back. The best one still manages to be Scrat and his fruitless pursuit of his acorn. Even though Scrat has nothing to do with the main narrative and is more like a funny intermission, he’s still the best part of this movie as while not needing any dialogue to work, he still has that wacky Looney Tunes-esque slapstick to entertain people when the main story isn’t cutting it.
However, the main story just suffers from some odd choices that… well, you’ll hear about. I’ll just say for now that jokes seem to be the driving point of the movie, because what else can they do if the movie’s story was already told by the end of the first one. And if you have lines like how Ellie asks if anyone has any questions and a kid asks her “When you drink water through your trunk, does it taste like boogers?” you know who’s the target audience.
The animation is obviously the best part of the movie. At first, we go back to the frozen tundra that you would probably expect to see in the Ice Age movies. It doesn’t give us a lot of new stuff, and what was honestly a change of pace in the third movie where the heroes were underground to save Sid from a dinosaur world. Now, we are back to the frozen ice world you are expecting and it’s… well, more of the same. This is the fourth movie after all. You also have several moments in the movie where they have something happen like you are still watching this movie as a 3-D exhibition. It makes no sense now though. It’s still well done, I honestly liked the sequence where Manny, Sid and Diego are on an iceberg in the middle of a typhoon and that still is a very impressively animated sequence. Again, it’s more of a giant icy landscape, but at least it looks good.
Now for the characters? Boy, we have a lot here. What do we learn about them this time? Well, nothing you didn’t already know. Manny’s story came full circle by the end of the third movie—in the original movie he was a grumpy mastodon who was that way on account him losing his mate and child to hunters (what are they doing? We haven’t seen them return yet). In the second movie he got himself a new mate, and in the third movie he now has a new child. That was pretty much it for him; now we are just checking back in to see how he’s doing now that he’s a father once again and that doesn’t make for the most compelling narrative. For Diego, well, his role was seemingly used up around the same time, he spent the second and third movies not having any real role beyond being a snarker. Here he finally gets a role in that he’s now the one to get a girlfriend. I am willing to accept this primarily because I can see Diego under that type of light. And Sid… well, I’ll just say he’s still getting that same plot that you are probably expecting him to do. Because of some Flanderization, now he’s the screw-up/dummy. However, he’s already shown some development in the past, but now he’s just too dumb to live and more or less needs constant supervision. We are on the fourth movie now, it shouldn’t still be a big shock to them if they know he can pull through and do the right thing! Needless to say, Sid’s idiocy is no longer fresh or funny. Another key character is Sid’s cranky grandmother. The cranky grandparent character is potentially funny, but… for some reason she just doesn’t do much to be all that funny. Maybe it’s because this character usually needs some sort of long history of experience they can draw from and the comedy can come from that, but… one probably gets the impression her past isn’t all that different from how things are in this movie? Therefore they could probably easily relate and… well, it just isn’t funny. The running joke she has involving her pet that may or not be real isn’t all that funny either. Characters like Ellie, Crash and Eddie are only there for continuity, they have no real role otherwise. Probably the weakest character though is Peaches, Manny and Ellie’s now-adolescent daughter. She was born in Dawn of the Dinosaurs, a child in the Mammoth Christmas Special, and now she’s an adolescent. How to describe her? Well, can you name a teenage girl trope? That’s her! Her Friend Zoned-molehog pal Louis is just that, someone who will never get out of that label.
On the villains’ side of things, we have the ice pirates led by Captain Gutt. He’s a seafaring prehistoric simian who commanders a group of pirates; it’s always nice to hear from Peter Dinklage, who else would be appropriate than the actor from Game of Thrones whose iconic catchphrase is “Winter is coming”? You also have Shira, his first mate who is Diego’s new love interest and slowly is drawn to the heroes’ side, Squint, the bunny who is spoiling for a fight, Gupta the cowardly badger who doubles as their flag, Flynn the elephant seal who is just a big dumb blubberhead…
Do you want me to tell you more about them? Well there’s not really a point, simply because well, there is just no reason why they need to be pirates. Usually pirates have some sort of objective, like vying for political power or hunting for buried treasure, but… they don’t do anything of that nature; you could just as easily have had them be the prehistoric answer to a biker gang and nothing would be different. Other than giving an answer to where Diego’s new love interest originated from, the only real purpose they have is to give the movie some sort of conflict. It very much feels like to keep this franchise alive (and to keep money rolling in), they now have to start pulling stuff out of their butt.
You sensing a problem here? There is a big mess of characters but the one that seems to have much appeal at all is Scrat, and he’s not a key character in the story! Well outside of his silly antics acting as a catalyst for the disaster to occur, which is ridiculous.
For all these problems I’m finding, this is not a terrible movie. It’s not worth hating simply because it’s not bad just so relentlessly mediocre that hating it would be a waste. This movie is not supposed to be art; much like the more current Alvin and the Chipmunks movies it’s a very middle-of-the-road movie that kids will go to and get some laughs and then it will be out of sight, out of mind before you know it.
By this point, Ice Age is now just being used as a cash cow for easy money. That’s a poor state of affairs when you think about it. I can’t hate this movie but it’s safe to say this franchise is out of gas by now.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) TreyVore rates it: C-
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jul 22, 2022 0:59:36 GMT -5
Open Season: Scared Silly (2015)
Distributor: Sony Pictures Animation Director: David Feiss Cast: Donny Lucas (Boog), Will Townsend (Elliot, Mr. Weenie), Melissa Strum (Giselle), Brian Drummond (Ian, Reilly, Tree-Hugger Man), Lee Tockar (Buddy, McSquizzy, Deputy #2), Peter Kelamis (Serge), Trevor Devall (Shaw, Wailing Wampus Werewolf, Deputy #1), Lorne Cardinal (Gordy), Garry Chalk (Ed), Kathleen Barr (Bobbie, Edna, Tree Hugger Lady), Shannon Chan-Kent (Rosie, Marcia), Michelle Murdocca (Maria), Maddie Taylor (Deni) Runtime: 85 min. MPAA rating: PG (some rude humor, action)
When Elliot tells a campfire story about the Wailing Wampus Werewolf, a legend that is said to live In Timberline National Forest, Boog becomes very scared of the vicious beast. His domesticated upbringing causes him to chicken out from their camping trip until the beast is gone. Determined to help Boog overcome his fears, Elliot and all his friends band together to scare the fear out of him.
If you remember what I originally said about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I said I couldn’t fully appreciate it until I went back to Sony’s other major animated films and judge them in retrospect.
Now that I’ve made it to the most current Open Season, I can close the book on one animated film franchise, at least for the time being. So… what to say about this one? Maybe… for one, just about nobody save for Melissa Strum and Michelle Murdocca return to do their character voices. It seems like their voice cast just never stays terribly consistent. On the other hand, the director for this movie is David Feiss, the guy best known for Cartoon Network shows like Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel. Surely it can’t be that bad right?
Let’s finish this up, shall we?
For Scared Silly, this movie is not a fourth film but more like Open Season 1.5. That means it’s supposed to be set after the first movie but before the second and third. So that would mean the pets barring Mr. Weenie have not been introduced yet, Elliot is not a father and Boog doesn’t have a Soviet-accented girlfriend, we are back to making a more proper Open Season 2. We also have Shaw the hunter back in the saddle for extra points!
…that’s… really the best, unfortunately. Because with the movie’s story being what it is, it’s pretty weak. You have Boog being scared of Elliot’s ghost story and now he’s trying to scare the fear of him with the other forest animals. That’s pretty much the plot! Well not entirely, as it involves Boog, Elliot and Mr. Weenie learning that Shaw got open season back on using the werewolf as a ploy. It’s still difficult to take much of anything seriously as its another one of those movies that just feels like jokes need to come first. I suppose I could excuse that if the jokes were at least funny, but while I will admit that some of the jokes are actually somewhat witty, I just still don’t think that is really the best way to shape your movie.
I will say though, the animation is a considerable improvement. They put effort into the animation and it does look leagues better than the last two movies, almost like they had enough time to finish the rendering this time and now everything looks more like it should. It almost looked like what you probably remember seeing in the first movie. Almost, that is. There are times that it does feel bright, like we are supposed to see things as though it’s in broad daylight. The animation does stay consistent, at least with the returning characters. There are two characters in particular that look mismatched with the way the movie tried to look, as they look very much like they have that distinctive David Feiss design on them. So as a whole, the animation is a mixed bag.
Now, for the characters? I don’t know if I can say anything that hasn’t been said about them. Boog is still the main focus as he should, but his sudden phobia seems to come from nowhere. I don’t expect a lot of continuity here, but his story seems pointless as it’s not going to matter in the second or third movies. Elliot is still the same worthless friend you remember from the beginning and he just isn’t going to change. Mr. Weenie accompanies them throughout the movie and he either has two traits: starved, or neurotic. Shaw the redneck hunter is back and just as crazy as he’s ever been. He’s also got help in the forms of Ed and Edna, a pair of Canadian poutine stand owners who I swear look like they would fit right in on Cow and Chicken. All the other characters are really just there for the sake of continuity.
I wanted to say this movie would prove to actually redeem this franchise, but… I suppose I was just being unrealistic. Open Season: Scared Silly does nothing with this franchise we haven’t seen. Maybe the jokes were okay and some effort was put into it, and the animation was much better than the last two movies, but it’s still just a forgettable animated film that will go in one ear and out the other in no time. I wanted to say before this season closed and I went back to the city that they redeemed themselves. However what I can say is… at least they tried.
Open Season: Scared Silly (2015) TreyVore rates it: C-
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Post by Trey_Vore on Jul 31, 2022 0:23:46 GMT -5
The Bad Guys (2022)
Distributor: Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation Director: Pierre Perifel Cast: Sam Rockwell (Mr. Wolf), Marc Maron (Mr. Snake), Craig Robinson (Mr. Shark), Awkwafina (Ms. Tarantula), Anthony Ramos (Mr. Piranha), Richard Ayoade (Professor Rupert Marmalade IV), Zazie Beetz (Gov. Diane Foxington), Alex Borstein (Police Chief Misty Luggins) Lilly Singh (Tiffany Fluffit) Runtime: 100 min. MPAA rating: PG (action, rude humor)
This movie is about five career criminals all going by their respective geneses—pickpocket leader Mr. Wolf, safe cracker Mr. Snake, hacker Ms. Tarantula, disguise expert Mr. Shark and unhinged muscle Mr. Piranha—are all celebrating Mr. Snake’s birthday despite his distaste for it when they hear about the Good Samaritan Awards and scheme to steal the coveted Golden Dolphin Trophy, cementing their legacy as criminals. When it goes wrong and they are busted, they con their way into a second chance; philanthropist Professor Rupert Marmalade IV thinks they can be salvaged and wants to take them under his wing so they can be model citizens. So, with the plot to appease the masses underway, and Wolf being drawn to changing his ways as a new villain emerges, can this quintet of thieves make right and is Professor Marmalade as virtuous as his image projects?
In the past, I have covered movies from a bunch of different studios. Disney, Pixar, Sony, Lionsgate, Laika, the WB, Illumination, Blue Sky… but I have largely ignored DreamWorks. I don’t hate them, just… I’m not their biggest fan. So what better way that to do one based on a best-selling collection of graphic novels?
More specifically, The Bad Guys is loosely based on a series of children’s graphic novels that were written by Australian author Aaron Blabey. He’s probably also best known as the creator of Pig the Pug.
This movie, hoping to do for heist movies what Shrek did for fairy tales and Kung Fu Panda did for martial arts, had plenty of things that could have gone wrong. There was the fact that children would have to dig deeper into the characters, the questionable theme, whether the morals would stick—as well as the fact this is director Pierre Perifel’s debut for a feature film. The DreamWorks animation unit did movies based on books in the past, some were good like Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon and Captain Underpants, and others like The Boss Baby didn't turn out so good. So what was the result?
I’m happy to report this movie was even better than I anticipated.
So what’s the story? Well, the movie begins with our… heroes, you could call them… in the middle of their job. That job is committing a heist. The reason for this? Well, as Wolf explains, they are just doing what they do best because society views them as villains and it’s just the hand they were dealt. After they finally get caught mid-theft, they con their way into getting a chance to reform and the movie goes with that.
The movie has fun playing with heist movie tropes as it does remind me a bit of Ocean’s Eleven but with funny animals; if you will, Zootopia but on the other side of the law. Friendships are tested, natures are tried, and is there a bigger antagonist in the middle of everything? And maybe going good might actually have its virtues?
It isn’t completely perfect as I make it seem; for one if you read the books every single character was an anthropomorphic animal; here there are some anthropomorphized animals that happen to live in a world inhabited by humans. I just… felt that was a little weird. I understand that DreamWorks might not have the exact same production size budget width that Disney does but that’s probably expected. Due to its theme you are not supposed to be truly hoping the characters succeed, and its somewhat zippy attitude can make it teeter on being obnoxious.
The movie does go through heist movie tropes that you might expect, with the type of plot twists that these movies always go for. I do appreciate this as it keeps things interesting and forces you to invest in the story and characters, however I almost wonder if kids would have the same level of appreciation. Then again they do have some worthwhile messages that kids would understand, namely learning to share, friends always try to work things out, stereotyping hurts, people are not all bad nor all good; you shouldn’t just give a bad kid the immediate blame and the good kid is always granted privilege. Oh yeah, and even fart jokes can be worked into the plot as well!
The animation is very cool to gaze at as well. Taking their cues seemingly from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the movie does a great job setting up their take on setting up a Southern California-esque town, namely San Francisco or Los Angeles. You have a good amount of stylization in the characters and their movements that they all feel unique. I will say though, there are times when it does feel like the characters have a bit of that CalArts feel, almost like what you are probably expecting from a series on Cartoon Network. You know how many shows usually have that ¾ perspective grinning bean look? That was the impression I got. However, there is the type of stylization that almost leads me to think that this movie also could have worked in cel-animation, as they seem to not go for the realistic looking hair/fur. The animation is great as well!
The best part of the movie is easily the characters. They all have enough charm and appeal to counter their morally questionable actions; it helps that their voice actors were clearly enjoying themselves. Maybe I should start with the movie’s, can I say, hero, Mr. Wolf. He’s supposed to be a professional pickpocket/getaway driver, while seemingly doubling as a fourth wall breaking narrator. The movie’s story has him as the lead, while also flirting with the concept of doing things you would think are ideal has its merits. One of partners in crime, that being Mr. Snake, is a notably more cynical and sarcastic member who is Mr. Wolf’s best friend, and this dynamic tends to work because he would probably be the one member you would be least likely to see reform. Ms. Tarantula is the group’s sharp-tongued hacker who tends to be the smartest member of the group. I do understand this character was originally male, but was made female likely to just add another female character so the movie wouldn’t be so guy-heavy. Mr. Shark is the disguise expert who is also the group’s sensitive sweetheart. He tends to get some big laughs as well. The only member of the team that I personally thought was a bit perfunctory was Mr. Piranha. I’m not saying he was a bad character as he had a good personality and a good voice. Just… it does feel like if you’re going to be doing a heist movie, you’re going to need at least one loose-cannon/unhinged brawler that is spoiling for a fight. There are some other characters as well, the most notable being Gov. Diane Foxington, the classy political figure who seems to be flirting with Mr. Wolf but… well, we don’t know if there is more to her than we know. Her voice also adds some flavor to the movie and I felt she was another favorite amongst the group. Then there is Professor Marmalade IV, a do-gooding philanthropist who wants to give the Bad Guys a chance at redemption but… I can’t say much more about him because spoilers. Other characters include Officer Misty Luggins, the temperamental, ape-like police chief who always seems angry because she can never truly catch her villains. To my surprise, Alex Borstein did put something different into this character; I never thought at any time that she was just Lois Griffin as a police officer. Then there is Tiffany Fluffit, the news reporter who exaggerates her reports. The characters easily make the movie!
Normally, I don’t enjoy seeing villains win, but with a movie like this, I’m happy to say that I really enjoyed this one! Easily the best DreamWorks animated movie since How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World, The Bad Guys is a solid contender for one of the best animated films of the year. With lots of humor and heart, The Bad Guys should be an easy pick if you want a new animated adventure. And due to its box-office reception, they would love to do a sequel, and hopefully one that gets DreamWorks their due. I guess until next time… “So long, suckers!”
The Bad Guys (2022) TreyVore rates it: B+
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Post by Trey_Vore on Aug 9, 2022 22:09:31 GMT -5
After I did my review for The Powerpuff Girls Movie, I decided I couldn't fully appreciate it until I took a look at another movie made with girls in mind. So here we go with:
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (1985)
Distributor: Warner Bros./DIC Enterprises Director: Kimio Yabuki, Bernard Deyries Cast: Bettina Bush (Rainbow Brite), Patrick Fraley (Lurky, On-X, Buddy Blue, Guard, Dog, Spectran, sl*thrie, Glitterbot), Peter Cullen (Murky Dismal, Castle Monster, Glitterbot, Guard, Skydancer, sl*thrie), Robbie Lee (Twink, Shy Violet, Indigo, La La Orange, Spectran, Sprites), Andre Stojka (Starlite, Wizard, Spectran), David Mendenhall (Krys), Rhonda Aldrich (Dark Princess, the Creature), Les Tremayne (Orin, Bombo, TV Announcer), Mona Marshall (Red Butler, Witch, Spectran, Castle Creature, Patty O’Green, Canary Yellow), Johnathan Harris (Count Blogg), Marissa Mendenhall (Stormy), Scott Menville (Brian), Charles Adler (Popo) Runtime: 85 min. MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted)
This movie is about a magical girl named Rainbow Brite, who lives in Rainbow Land with her friends, all named after respective colors called the Color Kids. When spring arrives on Earth, she, her magical horse Starlite and sprite Twink go to start the season. Running into her human friend Brian in the process, they discover her powers are weakening and winter is staying put. Returning to Rainbow Land, she is paid a visit by On-X, a robotic horse who informs her that Orin, the leader of the diamond planet Spectra, is missing. They then learn that Spectra is dimming as a result of a massive net being weaved; it is intended to be stolen by the selfish Dark Princess so she can take it back to her home world. With the help of a Spectran boy named Krys, can they foil the Dark Princess’s plot and bring spring to Earth, thereby saving everyone who lives there?
This movie is based on the character of Rainbow Brite, a character who, like the Care Bears and Popples, started life as a series of greeting cards. She was a very popular character in her own right, having gotten some specials in 1984 and 1985; she even had a line of toys from Mattel and a breakfast cereal. I even remember my sister once had a VHS tape of the Mighty Monstromurk Menace two-part episode. Unbeknownst to me, her series did not run very long; it was a package deal series from DIC on Kideo TV, running in total for only 13 episodes before it was replaced by Lady Lovely Locks and the Pixietails. This movie came between the 5 specials from before and the 8 episodes that would otherwise fulfill a 13-episode order.
There was a time when I was with my dad at a pizza restaurant and we once were talking. I did once say I was reading about the concept of child rearing and made a point about how it can be a daunting task. If you have a son, you would have to ask yourself questions like “What kinds of grades is he getting?”, “Is he going to school?”, “What kinds of school clubs might he be involved in?”, “Are his friends a good influence?”, “Am I sending good messages?”, “Does he know it’s important to obey the law?”
My dad’s response was “You have to worry about that with girls.”
I did agree with him; however, I did make the point that if you have a son, you can only complain so much. For one, you get to care about things that feel substantial. You can care about things like sports, travel, doctors, police, military, dinosaurs, pro wrestling, action movies, cool cars, superheroes… you get the fun things in life. If you have a daughter, you’ll be caring about things that seem a bit trivial and not practical for a career; you’ll be caring about makeup, tea parties, playing dress-up, Disney Princesses, Barbie, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony… it may be instrumental for raising a child but it just doesn’t feel useful in helping land a stable job.
That said, it’s really great being a guy; your pop culture icons tend to hold up and mean something no matter how much time passes and have a strong effect on your psyche. Pretty much all my favorites from the 1980s hold a special place in my heart and continue to mean something to me.
On the other hand, there is a little thing often referred to as the “Girl Show Ghetto”. Because most writers are men, it tends to be of much stronger quality to indulge in manly activities and write in a truly effective manner, whereas there is an attitude that girl-targeted shows tend to be seen as inferior because most of the time they are about building relationships and wallowing in emotions rather than do something constructive.
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer does nothing to buck that trend.
Maybe I should start with the story. Do you know how often male-targeted shows involve action and accomplishment? Well, what do you do for a girl-minded show? Well, what is my little girl doing right now? She seems to care about coloring and riding horses. She also seems to care about cute and glitzy. And you’re also making a movie about a line of greeting cards. That already doesn’t bode well for a movie people will be paying money to see.
The movie does have some semblance of a plot in that it’s about the hero trying to save the Earth from certain doom, it’s just a lot more… girly and childish. Not to mention it’s very stereotypical; little girls are supposed to love coloring while Rainbow Brite’s human friend Brian cares about baseball. They probably knew their target audience but they don’t get what may prove to be effective in terms of writing; many times characters seem to use the phrase “just doing my job” as a way to avoid responsibility. If you want further evidence of knowing the target audience, there’s times where you have some evil monsters that sound like parents!
(Rainbow Brite and Krys are trapped on a plateau and surrounded by an alien armada) “Are you ready to come down?” “I’ll never hand my belt over to you!” “You’ll stay up there ‘til you do!”
So yeah. The story isn’t all great. It’s very flat and not written all that well. Maybe once I start describing the characters, you’ll know more.
The animation? Well, being this is a girl-minded 80s cartoon, there’s rainbows and pretty colors everywhere. However, they rarely try any sort of shading and everything looks completely flat. The designs of many characters like Rainbow Brite and the Color Kids seem weird as well; for one their faces only seem to take up the lower quarter of their heads, almost like they are meant to be aliens. Nothing about the animation feels very inspired; at times it feels like nothing ever feels truly alive. One could argue that it’s appropriate as it is technically a cog in the Rainbow Brite machine, but you could have made this as 3 more episodes of the show and it wouldn’t have made any real difference!
Now, the characters. Boy, do we have a lot of them there. The main hero of the story, Rainbow Brite, is like what you would have if you made a superhero for very little girls. She’s supposed to care about coloring and bringing happiness to Earth, but that is just stereotyping. Starlite is her talking horse that… well, he’s not a metaphor for anything, he just gives Rainbow Brite someone else to talk to as he was her horse on the earlier episodes, at least until Krys enters the picture. Krys is a same-age little boy who at first doesn’t like the idea of being paired up with a “dumb girl” but then comes around by the end, like they are making some half-assed attempt to tell boys and girls they should try to work together rather than against each other. For everyone else… well I’ll try to make it short. Twink is her “Sprite” that is like her personal assistant, the Color Kids are basically her staff, On-X is… nothing more than a messenger that is also Krys’s horse, Stormy is… a little girl’s answer about thunder and lightning? Brian seems like he’s only in the movie to remind us that there is at least some connection to the world in which we inhabit and he was a character that existed before… yeah, I’m aware this movie was built around a line of greeting cards but that doesn’t give a lot of lore to go on. The movie’s villain, or one of the villains, just called the “Dark Princess”, is nothing more than a brat that just wants presents. She has no redeeming qualities and is just avaricious and completely self-centered. Not exactly an appealing villain.
Would that mean there’s another villain? Well yes, in that the main antagonists from the series, Murky Dismal and Lurky are supposed to be the opposite in that while Rainbow Brite wants to color and spread joy, Murky Dismal wants to spread gloom and despair. His henchman Lurky, who looks like a large brown-colored Sprite, is a Minion with an F in Evil. What else I can say is they are just intolerable in this! They only feel like they were included for the sake of seeing them in the movie as we would have expected to see them in addition to adding some unnecessary comedy relief. They are stupid, not interesting, not funny, add nothing and just waste time; these two are impossible to take seriously as villains. They are just insufferable!
See a problem here? The movie is only about 85 minutes long, but it feels like a massive slog because there are too many characters that just feel pointless or unnecessary. Was this movie made to promote a product line yes, but it feels so unorganized and lacking in warmth that it’s impossible to be invested in anything!
Do you wonder why cartoons intended for girls tend to get such a bad rap? Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer is a concrete example of why. The Rainbow Brite enterprise feels like it was only done to fill a void in TV programming and merchandise; the boys just get so much that the girls need something! When they do, it would seem to have very little going for it; I won’t pretend to be an expert on the opposite sex but if you’re going to make a show intended for girls you’ll need more than glitter, ponies and rainbows just like how if you’re going to make a show for boys you’ll need more than boogers, farts and barfing!
Even as much as I love the 1980s and am happy to see these old favorites return, Rainbow Brite is just better left in the past. Not like Jem and the Holograms in that it just won’t translate to something workable right now, but like Garbage Pail Kids in that it’s just something you are better off without! Probably the only good aspect of Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer is the fact I didn’t have to pay for it; I just watched it for free on YouTube. Yep, YouTube. Not even any streaming service was carrying it! This movie is a disaster and just should be avoided. The little girls Rainbow Brite is meant to appeal to deserve better anyway!
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (1985) TreyVore rates it: F
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Post by Belchic on Aug 10, 2022 2:26:52 GMT -5
Wait. There was a Rainbow Brite movie?
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Post by Trey_Vore on Nov 27, 2022 0:33:35 GMT -5
In order to flush out the aftertaste of my last review, I needed a good one. So how about:
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Distributor: MGM/UA Director: Don Bluth Cast: Elizabeth Hartman (Mrs. Brisby), Dom DeLuise (Jeremy), Peter Strauss (Justin), Arthur Malet (Mr. Ages), Derek Jacobi (Nicodemus), Paul Shenar (Jenner), John Carradine (The Great Owl), Hermione Baddeley (Auntie Shrew), Aldo Ray (Sullivan), Shannon Doherty (Teresa Brisby), Wil Wheaton (Martin Brisby), Ina Fried (Timothy Brisby), Jodi Hicks (Cynthia Brisby), Tom Hatton (Farmer Fitzgibbons) Runtime: 82 min. MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted)
This movie is about a mother mouse named Mrs. Brisby who recently lost her husband and now must care for her four children in a cinder block on Fitzgibbons farm. She plans to move them out but her son Timmy has just gotten pneumonia and cannot leave his bed. Visiting the Great Owl, he advises her to meet a mysterious group of rats that live beneath a rose bush on the farm. Learning that her husband was part of an experimental group of rats that made them smarter, they agree to help Mrs. Brisby move her family out of their old home, but the evil Jenner wants to remain in the rose bush and is willing to kill to get his way. Can Mrs. Brisby and these intelligent rats move the kids out of their home safely?
This movie, based on the novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien, had quite an interesting history. It was originally pitched as a Disney movie, but they turned it down feeling it was just too dark to be a kids’ movie.
Being fed up with the lack of direction in animation during the 1970s, former Disney animator Don Bluth would, while still working in Disney’s feature animation department, do side projects to help finance this movie. Thought to be too dark for a Disney movie, it eventually went to MGM/UA and it was well-received in virtually every way. Since then, this movie has a very strong status as one of the best animated movies of all-time.
Now that it’s time for me to give my thoughts on this movie, I guess it’s time for me to take this movie to task.
So what’s the movie about? Well, the story is that this movie concerns a recently widowed mother mouse named Mrs. Brisby whose son Timmy has fallen ill and cannot be moved from his bed. In what adds some suspense to the story, her home, a cinder block on Farmer Fitzgibbons’ farm and he plans to run the thresher over it in a matter of days. Knowing she cannot move him from his bed, she plans to get the rats of NIMH to help her move her home.
Based on that description, the movie’s tone is much more mature than the average animated movie. Amazingly enough, the movie does achieve a more mature attitude by well, being mature. Having mature topics like a mother’s love and animal testing together with more serious issues like the Adult Fear aspect of potentially losing a child to an illness. A movie like this is a hard example that you can make a mature cartoon without depending so much on things like profanity or sexual innuendos.
With all that in mind though, there’s plenty of Mood Whiplashes that go throughout the movie; it can include dark fantasy, an epic adventure, and even lighthearted comedy. Clearly a lot of imagination had to go into a movie such as this one, as one might imagine you would be seeing it through the eyes of a feral mouse. On top of that, you have the more adult-minded aspects that would make it so appealing while the kids would like it for the cute animals. For all these components, the execution means it does work amazingly well, and the strong writing is what makes it stand out.
I would try not to reveal too much just so I don’t ruin the movie, but the movie’s story about the rats of NIMH—intelligent lab rats that were experienced on for pharmaceutical purposes—is one where my description won’t do it any justice. It would tell kids that animal testing is not a good practice and they should not want to abuse animals. The other theme about how the amulet is like an extension on Mrs. Brisby with its power being unleashed through the power of courage is another factor in how a mother’s courage is a truly powerful force, along with another theme being what I imagine would be a metaphor for gender roles in society.
Now, the animation—wow, there was a reason why Don Bluth’s craftsmanship was so well-enamored during the 1980s and this is a perfect example of which. There is no denying that the animation was all cel-based; probably the most “techie” movie of 1982 might have been Disney’s Tron. There are so many animation frames that look really nice on their own as well as in animation. The characters are all appealing to look at, the backgrounds are all masterfully done, and a lot of painstaking love was clearly put into everything. This movie needed their whole ass to look as great as it does and end result does not disappoint. The lighting, the colors, the characters’ designs are all flawless; Don Bluth and his team make everything look amazing. This movie simply must be seen to be believed; you could watch something this movie and say “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore!”
Now for the characters… they all seem like truly complex characters that you would probably find very difficult to accurately describe. Maybe I should start with Mrs. Brisby, our heroine. She’s a recently widowed mother who knows that her family is in grave danger and now must go through extreme lengths for the safety of her family. She does get to learn something about her late husband’s past and how the rats of NIMH came to be; and as I said before, through a mother’s courage she is capable of great things. Her, you could say co-star, Jeremy the crow, is more like a comedy relief character by contrast. For the most part, he’s only in the parts of the movie where the tone is meant to be light, but thankfully he’s always likable and never threatens to try your patience. This was also the first role Dom DeLuise had in an animated role and he truly threw himself into the character. Gene Siskel once criticized him for saying there was too much of Dom DeLuise being himself in Jeremy, but I tend to see that as a trend as a character can truly feel like an extension of their own personality. In addition to being a comedy relief, Jeremy seems to be a metaphor for a man who is learning what his role is in a romantic partnership; while not actually romantically involved with our main heroine he does learn his role to eventually find a mate. Mrs. Brisby’s four children are all typical child characters, you have one daughter that is overly trusting, a wild son and another straight-minded daughter, while her other son Timmy is Mrs. Brisby’s motive as he has pneumonia and cannot leave his bed. Auntie Shrew I imagine is probably the housewife who usually is called to help as a babysitter. Inside the rats of NIMH, the characterized ones that stand out include Mr. Ages, who I think might be their version of a doctor but just doesn’t have the title as the rats of NIMH are essentially evolving; the rats of NIMH cannot live like normal rodents and are forced to start adapting to human life. There is also Justin, the heroic Captain of the Guard who is friendly and must maintain order, and Nicodemus the wise sage who acts like everyone’s elder. The villain of the movie is Jenner, who like a rogue member of their inner circle, is hungry for power and has a beef with their current order. He plots murder to get his way and while they don’t fully explain his motives, maybe they are just leaving something to your imagination. There is not a bad character in the whole movie and everyone’s role is perfect.
Did you ever wonder why everyone seemed to have problems making animated films in the 1980s but Don Bluth was untouchable? The Secret of NIMH is a perfect testament to the fact he was king during that time. With its mature story, flawless animation, highly memorable characters and poignant themes, along with heart and a truly high respect for your intelligence, this is one movie you must see if you have any love for animation. Even if that’s not the case, this movie will most certainly make you take another look. Don Bluth knew how to make animated movies that didn’t talk down to people or simply appeal to kids, and while that may have changed in the 1990s, in addition to this movie much later getting a sequel which had no chance of touching the original, it doesn’t ruin this movie in the slightest; I’ll even say this is one of the greatest in animation. Don Bluth knew what he was doing and should consider this as a crowning movie of awesome. The Secret of NIMH is highly recommended and deserves its acclaim! You owe it to yourself to see this movie, it’s a perfect example of the iron grip Don Bluth had in animation during the 1980s!
Side note is, if you are a parental watchdog, this movie does have at least one use of the word "d**n" and one sequence where Mrs. Brisby cuts herself and her arm bleeds.
The Secret of NIMH (1982) TreyVore rates it: A+
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Post by Trey_Vore on Nov 29, 2022 21:26:21 GMT -5
The Rugrats Movie (1998)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies Director: Igor Kovalyov, Norton Virgien Cast: E. G. Daily (Tommy Pickles), Tara Strong (Dil Pickles, as Tara Charendoff), Christine Cavanaugh (Chuckie Finster), Kath Soucie (Phil DeVil, Lil DeVil, Betty DeVil), Cheryl Chase (Angelica Pickles), Jack Riley (Stu Pickles), Melanie Chartoff (Didi Pickles, Grandma Minka), Michael Bell (Drew Pickles, Chas Finster, Grandpa Boris), Tress MacNeille (Charlotte Pickles), Philip Proctor (Howard DeVil, Igor), Joe Alaskey (Grandpa Lou Pickles), David Spade (Ranger Frank), Whoopi Goldberg (Ranger Margaret), Tim Curry (Rex Pester), Hattie Winston (Dr. Lucy Carmichael), Cree Summer (Susie Carmichael), Tony Jay (Dr. Lipschitz), Busta Rhymes (Reptar Wagon) Runtime: 80 min. MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted)
This movie, based on the highly popular series Rugrats, is about a change that occurs in the Pickles family: Tommy is getting a baby brother! Named Dil, Tommy doesn’t like the idea that he’s no longer the baby but Stu tells him he’ll be happy to have Dil as a brother one day, while his older cousin Angelica warns him that now that his parents have a new baby he’s now the unfavorite. Quickly becoming irritated with Dil’s crying, Stu is still able to finish building the Reptar Wagon for a toy contest in Japan, which Phil and Lil suggest using to take Dil back to the hospital, thinking he’s broken. As Tommy and Chuckie object, the car speeds away with the babies on board; they crash into the woods and realize they are lost. Angelica initially shows no concern but changes her mind once she realizes they have her doll Cynthia and takes Spike the dog to search for them. Having to brave a horde of escaped circus monkeys in addition to a vicious wolf, can Tommy and his friends find a way to get home safely?
I’m very sure if you remember growing up in the early 1990s, specifically 1991, you probably remember being introduced to Nickelodeon’s set of original programming they called “Nicktoons”. Released with warm reception, the first three Nicktoons were Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren and Stimpy Show. This was a big deal for Nickelodeon as they would now have a set of cartoon series exclusive to their channel; much like how Disney did with the Disney Afternoon and the WB and Cartoon Network would have with their Cartoon Cartoons years later.
Plans for big screen movies about the Nicktoons dated all the way back to the beginning. A deal was at one point made with 20th Century Fox but nothing happened. At one point everyone was anticipating that The Ren and Stimpy Show would be Nickelodeon’s smash and why not? It developed a massive cult that was smart, funny and full of energy; John Krisfaluci’s wild and wacky show got lots of attention, being hyped as the first major creator-driven show since the Golden Age of Looney Tunes. This was the show I had the biggest attachment to; however I have to come clean and admit it was something of a disaster. Due to censorship issues, failure to meet deadlines and going overbudget, that was not to be; it was definitely ahead of its time but John Krisfaluci was an animator born about four decades late; he may have wanted to make art but times changed since that era. It was partly his fault; however most of the blame was on Nickelodeon—they wanted the Nicktoons to be part of a bigger merchandising juggernaut and they were constantly at odds with John K. By the start of Season 2, John K. was bounced from the show and the suits at Nick offered his team the opportunity to work at their new studio called Games Animations, which would later give us series like Rocko’s Modern Life and Hey Arnold!. With this change, The Ren and Stimpy Show would lose its creativity, intelligence and eventually its fans—the show just kinda put its reputation first, hit cruise control and coasted on that until like its other two series, it was canceled in the mid-90s.
With that ship having sailed, syndication would prove to be very kind for Rugrats; the series created by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo would soon become the smash Nickelodeon wanted. The series’ repeats that would continue to play after Rugrats was canceled meant very soon kids wanted more Rugrats and even flooded Nickelodeon with letters asking them for more. In 1997, the series returned for new episodes after a three year hiatus. Rugrats would soon become iconic and be Nickelodeon’s top-rated, longest-running show, at least until that record was surpassed by SpongeBob SquarePants in 2012. At with that, plans for a Rugrats movie were back on!
How do I feel about Rugrats? Well, if you know me, I tend to go along with trends and will enjoy a hit cartoon show when it comes about. However, I will come clean and admit I never was a major fan of Rugrats. For reasons I will get into, I couldn’t necessarily develop a true attachment for this series. I’ll just start by saying this is like what happens if you took South Park and stripped it of its controversial content. Jury’s still out on whether that is good or bad.
Regardless, there was a lot of anticipation for this movie; coming in during Thanksgiving of 1998 (and with a major promotion at Burger King) it was the first major motion picture based on a Nicktoon and regardless of generally mixed critical reviews, it was also the first major non-Disney animated movie to make more than $100 million.
Now that I’ve finally sat down to watch The Rugrats Movie, it’s time for me to give my honest opinion on it.
Maybe I should start with the story. The movie, coming in after the series’ first post-revival season (Season 4, where the final episode prior to this movie ended with the idea that Didi was pregnant with Dil), has the somewhat shopworn story of a kid who ends up having to adjust to the idea of being an older sibling and the responsibility that comes with it. However, what really turned me off in regards to the story was the juxtaposition of that together with the seeming contentedness of reveling in crudeness. You have a movie about some pretty smart babies that are able to converse with each other (just not with the parents), but at the same time it deals with issues that babies would understand; for example, there is one sequence where Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil are in a maternity ward and while all the newborns are singing a musical number while simultaneously providing their own fountain water (nudge nudge, wink wink).
I’m not going to say that the movie has a problem in regards to staying grounded because the parents let the kids off on an adventure despite being babies, at least unintentionally. It does feel though, almost like it’s built on Adult Fear; what do you do if your kids were lost in the woods? To add some conflict you have some additional characters that are just there for conflict.
What was good was the movie’s underlying theme of learning responsibility and understanding that a new sibling doesn’t mean you are going to be any less loved. I can say though, this story was handled in a more mature manner and ultimately, more effectively.
Now for the characters. You sure do have a lot of them here. They are the same characters you remember from the show and you will respond depending on how you feel about them. For the Rugrats themselves, returning from the earlier seasons, you have Tommy Pickles, the fearless leader of the group who now has to be responsible and is forced to rise to the occasion not just in the fact he’s now an older sibling but when he, his brother and friends are lost in the woods. Chuckie Finster is his best friend who is timid and geeky and needs to understand that now that Tommy has a brother, family comes first. Phil and Lil DeVil are the somewhat odd twins that think Dil is just a pain until the adventure forces them to admit otherwise. The character literally born in the movie, Tommy’s baby brother Dil, is more often than not seen as problem in that now that Tommy is no longer the baby in his family, the Rugrats are now supposed to be seen as evolved next to him. Whatever, he’s a cog in the machine, meant to prolong the series when he doesn’t add much. Probably the biggest issue I have though, is the fact that Angelica feels completely wasted here. She just gets a pointless subplot where she trying to find her cousin and his friends because they have her doll. Worse, she doesn’t have much screen time with them!
Then you have the parents, who appear the way you would want to see them, a pair of park rangers that just feel extraneous, Rex Pester the obnoxious news anchor that is constantly looking like a douche on the air, Susie Carmichael who’s just doing her role as a favor for the movie… eh. Then you also have the circus monkeys, who only feel like they were added just to give the movie some kind of conflict, in addition to the obligatory Big Bad Wolf.
This movie also would have Joe Alaskey voicing Grandpa Lou Pickles rather than David Doyle because his original voice actor died before this movie so the younger Joe Alaskey had to step in and voice the character.
Now, for the elephant in the room: the animation. Ugh.
Let me just say this: I have, NEVER, liked the Klasky-Csupo animation style. Maybe I should just say that when you are trying to do a movie from a baby’s eye-view of the world, you would try to do something like make everything seem bright, or cutesy, or generally rosy-cozy. The reason for this is easy, you are seeing the world when everything was whimsical and happy and you had no responsibilities, the only worries you had were knowing where your toys were and when nap time was coming.
Guess what they don’t do here? Like what they do with the series itself, their animation aesthetic was always radically… butt-ugly. Instead of looking charming, instead it all looks crude and disgusting. The characters generally look deformed/misshapen and it just doesn’t match the tone they should be going for. What makes this feel all the more intelligence insulting is it’s being presented to make me think it’s supposed to be cute!
Now, I know that there is an upside to this, as it is more often than not easy to make a movie intended for kids and have it look and feel like a big toy commercial. It’s really easy to make a Disney Princess movie or a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and parents will be thinking “Oh boy, look at that, I can just picture that being a hot-selling toy this Christmas”. Even on classic cartoons like in Mickey’s Toontown or the Looney Tunes world that is something you can use for commerce; with the animation being what it is for the Rugrats world, I can’t say it looks very blatant that this is meant to be promoting a toyline, the Reptar Wagon notwithstanding. However, if I look at this and then think ahead about Black Friday shopping for that new Pokemon game and think “That doesn’t seem so bad”, to quote Goofy, “Somethin’ wrong here…”
I understand there are plenty of people out there who really like Rugrats and find it to be a sacred piece of their childhoods. To those people I say… you’re not wrong, it’s just I can only take so much of these ugly, screaming babies before I find myself wanting to watch something else. Fans of the series will no doubt love the movie, and if you are one go right ahead, this movie just… doesn’t do much for me.
The Rugrats Movie (1998) TreyVore rates it: C-
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Post by Trey_Vore on Dec 8, 2022 1:20:25 GMT -5
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
Distributor: Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment Director: Chris Renaud Cast: Patton Oswalt (Max), Kevin Hart (Snowball), Jenny Slate (Gidget), Lake Bell (Chloe), Eric Stonestreet (Duke), Bobby Moynihan (Mel), Hannibal Buress (Buddy), Chris Renaud (Norman), Ellie Kemper (Katie), Pete Holmes (Chuck), Henry Lynch (Liam), Nick Kroll (Sergei), Meredith Salenger (Cat Lady), Dana Carvey (Pops), Tiffany Haddish (Daisy), Harrison Ford (Rooster) Runtime: 86 min. MPAA rating: PG (some action, rude humor)
This movie, set some time after the events of the original Secret Life of Pets, has some changes occurred in Max’s home apartment, now that he lives peacefully with Duke. For one, Katie got married and she and her husband Chuck now have a son named Liam. Max and Duke soon take on the role of protective parents and the stress of it causes Max to develop an itch. A visit to the vet later, Max is wearing a vet-prescribed cone to curb his itching. Taking a trip out to Chuck’s uncle’s farm, Max meets an alpha male Welsh sheepdog named Rooster who pulls off the cone and tells Max to face his fears. Meanwhile, Max has entrusted his favorite bumblebee chew toy to his white Pomeranian neighbor Gidget, which she winds up losing inside a cat lady’s apartment and seeks aid from tabby cat Chloe to recover it. At the same time, Snowball the bunny has reformed from his days as leader of the Flushed Pets and now wants to be a superhero. He gets his chance when a Shih Tzu named Daisy asks him to help her free her friend Hu, a white Siberian tiger who is held prisoner inside a circus. Can all stories come to a happy conclusion?
Before I start this review, I’m going to ask a simple question.
Do you remember what was going on back in 2012? During that time, the prophesized apocalypse turned out to be false, Barack Obama won a second term in office against Mitt Romney, the Summer Olympics were held over in England and The Avengers was the highest-grossing movie of the year. During that time, we still had a channel which was called the Hub, and during the Fall of that year we got a cartoon series called Littlest Pet Shop. This series was based on a popular toyline from the 90s about a girl named Blythe would is capable of talking with the pets that are periodically dropped off there. The show ran for a total of four seasons and was the second Hasbro series to reach 100 episodes. I tend to think this show was good and it made my Honorable Mentions for Top 11 Nostalgic 2010s cartoons. It did attain a level of popularity, though probably a lot more modest about it unlike the loud and blatant approach taken by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
The show did not get a movie, but I felt that was not needed as when the series ended in 2016, we got an unrelated pet movie in The Secret Life of Pets. This movie, a summer release that got good reviews and made $875 million, was a major hit and the 6th highest grossing movie of the year. If we did get a hypothetical Littlest Pet Shop movie in 2016, which would be superior? We’ll never know as it never occurred, but I’ll go out on a limb and say… it’s debatable.
When I first saw the original Secret Life of Pets in 2016, I felt it was a good, but not superior, movie. I just feel that it had its flaws but still was good for some lighthearted fun. That said, I wasn’t itching for the prospect of a second movie. However, money talks, and with the amount of money it did make, the Pets returned for a second adventure.
…apparently I wasn’t alone, as it made less than half what the first movie did. Time for me to let the proverbial cat out of the bag…
So what’s the story this time? Well, we don’t have just one story, but three. There’s a Max story where he wants to be braver, a Gidget story where she needs to recover Max’s favorite toy and a Snowball story where he goes on a rescue mission. But despite my earlier plot synopsis, none of these stories take precedence over the others; it doesn’t feel like there is one important story with two side plots as they all seem to have equal focus and weight.
I do remember two years earlier, Universal and Illumination gave us Despicable Me 3. That movie, being the first Illumination-animated movie after Sing, was not perfect but I do consider it one of the better animated movies of 2017. Flaws that it had came from the fact there was not one strong story but rather it felt like a collection of subplots, a jumbled character focus, the seeming fatigue of its theme and the characters almost feeling as though they were being stretched to a breaking point. Despite all those issues, I still felt Despicable Me 3 worked well enough.
With The Secret Life of Pets 2 though… it doesn’t work quite so well.
Maybe I should use an example. I remember in the 12th Season of The Simpsons, one of my favorite episodes of that year was an episode called “Trilogy of Error”. In that episode, there are three separate stories that converge on the first day of Spring. For “Homer’s Day”, Marge winds up accidently slicing off Homer’s thumb and he needs to put it on ice until they can surgically re-attach it. During “Lisa’s Day”, Lisa needs to get her science project to school for the science fair but is constantly getting sidetracked. For “Bart’s Day”, Bart and Milhouse get caught up in a firework-smuggling ring and need to help Chief Wiggum bust the guilty party. For this episode, one of the stories would have some sort of influence on the other two and vice versa. All three stories seemed to have some level of impact and it was tons of fun seeing the perspective of the characters, like their own spin on Vantage Point.
With this story though, they don’t do that here. All three stories are just kinda self-contained, with no input on the other two, sure they come together at the end but you could just split them into their own stories and have it play as a trilogy, like movies like Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True, Tarzan and Jane or Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. And that’s kind of a bad sign if I’m comparing a theatrically-released movie to some DTV features…
It’s not all bad though. I will say the Snowball story does have the best reason for a narrative and a modern look at why circuses are no longer “in”. The Gidget plot does have some cute charm to it and some good jokes, and Max? …eh… it’s got Harrison Ford. That work? Moving on.
The animation is I would say about the same quality, but in some ways that’s not good. For one, we’ve already seen a lot of what the first movie did and this movie is giving us more of the same. There’s some differences, like a circus, a farm, an apartment full of cats… but there’s nothing here you haven’t already seen. The animation does it’s job well though, and we see solid textures and the pets still have their cute appeal. The animation is probably the strongest part of the movie.
Now, the characters. Well, not much has changed as far as writing; they still feel like they’re just pets and nothing more. Maybe I should try to give individual looks to each… with one exception, everyone comes back. First, we have Max, who is now out to conquer his fears and be more like an alpha male dog. I should mention though, that Max does have a new voice as Louis C.K. was caught up in a scandal and had to be replaced with Patton Oswalt. I admit the new voice is barely noticeable, but new voice or no, that is probably the most interesting aspect of Max. They do try to do something else with him to try to make him seem a little more dynamic than he was in the past, but it doesn’t change the fact he’s still the same boring, uncharismatic snore you remember from the first movie and have no reason to care about. Like having someone in a movie who is just not an actor and even having them die would not go anywhere. Gidget fares better in that she is a dog that tries to act like a cat; again this part of the story gives some deeper enjoyment to those of us that prefer cats to dogs. The downside though, is any sort of feeling comes solely from Gidget; she and Max never even interact very much. Snowball gets expanded on in that he’s no longer out to rebel against humanity; he’s now got the urge to act as a superhero and he’s adjusting to the job. Again, Snowball's story could stand on its own and be its own movie, Kevin Hart's performance makes it work. For the rest… well, Mel, Buddy, Chloe, Norman, Sweet Pea… all the other characters from the first movie (with Tiberius the hawk being the only hold out) return with no greater reason other than continuity. Yes, even Duke, who was a co-star with Max in the first movie, now gets pushed into the background.
Now for the new characters? Well, they don’t get so much as they are restricted to just one plotline; but they do have some development. Rooster is the alpha male sheepdog that helps mentor Max; it’s always good to hear from Harrison Ford and while he is not very prominently featured he’s pretty much the one bright part of Max’s story. There is Sergei, the stereotypical foreign circus owner (not disclosing nationality just to prevent trouble) who is just meant to be seen as wrong, Hu the Siberian tiger is the wild cat who acts like an innocent child, and Daisy the Shih Tzu can be described as Tiffany Haddish playing Tiffany Haddish. The characters may not have the strongest dispositions, but they have a charm to them that continues.
Did you wonder why I was discussing Littlest Pet Shop in the beginning? Simple, this movie didn’t need to be made, it’s really just product—only existing because the first movie made money. Like a popular toy, it probably had to be thoroughly play-tested to ensure it will not cause any trouble, but the downside to that in regards to being a movie is while the first movie can be a guilty pleasure, this movie just feels… too safe. It promises to be good and will not stir up problems, but it won’t challenge kids or make them feel any smarter for having watched it.
These pets might still have their secrets, but we’re not missing much. The Secret Life of Pets 2 is passable as a continuation of the original movie and harmless. I can recommend it if you love pets, are in need of a babysitter, or if you are a rabid fan of the first Secret Life of Pets and simply must have these particular characters in another movie.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) TreyVore rates it: C
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Post by Trey_Vore on Dec 31, 2022 1:49:06 GMT -5
To congratulate him on his recent Death Battle victory, in addition to another piece of news I had from this year, I thought I could review:
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies/United Plankton Pictures Director: Stephen Hillenburg Cast: Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary), Bill f*ggerbakke (Patrick Star), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward Tentacles), Mr. Lawrence (Sheldon J. Plankton), Alec Baldwin (Dennis), Scarlett Johansson (Princess Mindy), Jeffery Tambor (King Neptune), Jill Talley (Karen), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks), Mary Jo Catlett (Mrs. Puff), Lori Alan (Pearl Krabs), David Hasselhoff (himself) Runtime: 87 min. MPAA rating: PG (mild crude humor)
This movie is about the famous Bikini Bottom resident we know as SpongeBob SquarePants who is beyond hyped for the grand opening of the Krusty Krab 2 thinking he’ll be promoted to manager. When Mr. Krabs decides to give the honors to Squidward, he’s devastated. He goes to Goofy Goober’s to drown his sorrows with Patrick while Plankton decides to initiate “Plan Z”: he steals King Neptune’s crown and leaves false evidence everywhere in his newest plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula. When King Neptune learns of the theft, his main suspect is Mr. Krabs. Freezing him solid, King Neptune agrees to spare his life if his crown is recovered and returned to him in six days. Taking Patrick with him, the King’s daughter, Princess Mindy, warns them of the dangers of traveling to Shell City, including the “Cyclops”, a monster that kidnaps innocent sea creatures. So working with an expiring time limit and Plankton working to steal the Krabby Patty formula, can SpongeBob and Patrick find King Neptune’s crown and return it before Mr. Krabs is punished for a crime he didn’t commit?
I’m very sure unless you have been living under a rock since 1998, you probably have heard about Nickelodeon’s world famous SpongeBob SquarePants. A cartoon created by Stephen Hillenburg, who loved the ocean and had a fascination for art, this idea would go on to become Nickelodeon’s longest-running original series. Kids loved the show and it would go on to become a media franchise; in 2019 it became Nickelodeon’s most profitable property, making $13 billion in merchandising revenue. Strangely enough, this movie was originally planned to be the series finale, ending the show after three seasons. However, that would not be the case as the movie’s success and popularity of the show would see it continue for many years to come. While like other similarly long-running shows like The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy the series would endure some seasonal rot and lose the quality of the earliest seasons, this movie is widely regarded as one of the biggest points of the show’s history, if not a moment when the show had peaked in creativity. Does it live up to that title? I guess it’s time for me to give my honest opinion on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
For (literal) starters, when the movie begins, we get a clever little spin on the series intro where we have Patchy the Pirate and his crew having scored tickets to see the SpongeBob SquarePants movie and they rally to the cineplex to see the movie. Humorously enough, this would not be the last time we would see them as they do give input at the midpoint of the movie. It’s like the movie knows it’s place as a piece of children’s entertainment and runs with it, while trying to make it fun for your inner child.
The movie’s story is unlike that of what you would probably expect from the series; for one it uses some kids’ ideas of fun as metaphors for what an adult may go through, for one they use a children’s theater establishment in place of a bar and ice cream in place of beer. It goes bigger than the show as there are stakes involved as SpongeBob and Patrick have a limited amount of time to save Mr. Krabs from a horrible fate. Plankton’s plan is actually really good and the movie does have some good messages, namely don’t judge people without evidence against them and you won’t always get what you want. In the times that does happen, holding grudges against people doesn’t solve anything. Then there is the other message of not fearing the unknown as the mystery of Shell City plays a role. Best of all, the comedy still means what it used to and the characters are as appealing as ever. The movie’s story is great and works on many levels, which is what we loved about the show in the first place!
The animation is very much like what you would expect from the show. It does have a slight upgrade in quality, but still distinctive of it’s original designs. For the downside, it still does look like what you might expect from the series, however the combo of that and it’s surrealist tone do have an original look to them as it can get away with that. It may look and feel like the very show of which it was based, but does have a unique flair to it that it would feel like a movie that would belong in theaters. Best of all, it’s largely in cel-animation, proving that these types of movies can work and bring in audiences.
Now for the characters. These are the characters you would remember from the show, no denying that. The movie’s hero, SpongeBob SquarePants, is on a hunt to prove he’s not a kid but deserves to be seen as a manager. He goes through so much to prove that’s not simply a kid as he does want to help his boss at a time of need, even though Mr. Krabs does not immediately give him what he initially wants. His co-star, figuratively and literally, Patrick Star, is his traveling buddy who is the undying optimist; even if SpongeBob may momentarily have sad moments and times of doubt, Patrick largely sees things as minor setbacks; his newfound love for Princess Mindy playing a role. He still gets to be his usual dumb oafish self to match. Princess Mindy is their guide, you could say as she seems to act as a moral compass; she guides SpongeBob and Patrick to make some smart choices and wants her father to be a virtuous, noble king. King Neptune is the monarch who abuses his power, if anything he makes SpongeBob and Patrick seem mature; he would eventually learn to be a more just king. The other characters of note include Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob’s avaricious boss who loves money, Squidward, who you know as the more deadpan of SpongeBob’s neighbors who is notable more mature and thinks little of his neighbor, and Dennis, the bounty hunter who was hired by Plankton to exterminate SpongeBob and Patrick, preventing them from completing their mission. The movie’s villain, as you would expect, is Plankton. The owner of the unsuccessful Chum Bucket across the street from the Krusty Krab, in his usual over-the-top megalomania Plankton thinks he’s found the perfect way to steal the Krusty Krab formula and thereby way to usurp Bikini Bottom. He never loses sight of his personality and sense of humor. The show’s other characters do also appear in guest appearances, you’ll see Sandy, Pearl, Mrs. Puff, Larry the Lobster, Gary… yet the movie doesn’t require that you be well versed in the series’ lore to appreciate it. And of course the movie even has David Hasselhoff guest starring as himself in a humorous role as he gets to help SpongeBob and Patrick to get home. They really did well with this one!
Do you wonder why SpongeBob SquarePants always seems to have an audience? Simple, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a great example of a movie based on a cartoon series. I was really happy this movie turned out to be as great as it was back when I saw it in theaters in 2004 and it still holds up really well! This movie may not have seen as much attention and didn’t make as much money as other cel-animated movies of the 2000s like Lilo & Stitch and The Simpsons Movie, but it seems like for longevity, SpongeBob smokes them both! Best of all, this movie leaves you feeling happy; Stephen Hillenburg may not be with us anymore but he has made a lasting movie. To top things off, I even scored Tom Kenny’s autograph in 2022 and this movie was the template. Looking for a solid example of the The Way of the Sponge? You’ve found it here!
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) TreyVore rates it: A
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