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Ain't that a kick in the nads. I did something good for him and he chickens out.

On another topic...



Thank you very much babclayman. I was waiting until I posted my pic to see it but this is great! Hope I wasn't making you feel like you were left out in the cold, but you probably knew of my situation.

Merry Christmas to you my man.

Sing 2 (2021)

Distributor: Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Matthew McConaughey (Buster Moon), Reese Witherspoon (Rosita), Scarlett Johansson (Ash), Taron Egerton (Johnny), Bobby Cannavale (Jimmy Crystal), Tori Kelly (Meena), Nick Kroll (Gunter), Halsey (Porsha Crystal), Pharell Williams (Alfonso), Nick Offerman (Norman), Letitia Wright (Nooshy), Eric Andre (Darius), Chelsea Peretti (Suki Lane), Adam Buxton (Klaus Kickenklober), Garth Jennings (Ms. Crawly), Peter Serafinowicz (Big Daddy), Bono (Clay Calloway), Spike Jonze (Jerry)
Runtime: 110 min.
MPAA rating: PG (mild peril/violence, some rude humor)

Set some time after the events of the first movie, Buster Moon’s theater has been newly rebuilt and is thriving in Calatonia. His original singers had been reworked into an ensemble theater group, now consisting of Johnny, Rosita, Gunther, Meena and Ms. Crawly while Ash performs as a soloist. Failing to impress Crystal Entertainment talent scout Suki Lane, Nana Noodleman encourages Buster to take his crew out to Redshore City to make an impression. Sneaking into the Crystal Entertainment building, media mogul Jimmy Crystal is about to bounce them from the building when Gunter pitches his idea for a sci-fi musical show featuring songs from legendary rocker Clay Calloway who has not been seen in person since his wife’s passing. After Jimmy Crystal gives it the green light, Buster has a lot of talent to juggle. He sends Ms. Crawly to find Clay Calloway, Johnny develops a rivalry with his dance instructor Klaus and a friendship with street dancer Nooshy, Meena is assigned a romantic act with the egocentric Darius but develops a crush on ice cream vendor Alfonso, and after Rosita develops a fear of heights, Jimmy Crystal insists that Buster give the leading role to his materialistic daughter Porsha. As all this is going on, Buster finds himself on the run after he insists on giving the lead role back to Rosita leading Porsha to reading that as she’s fired and tells her father. Will this show ever get off the ground?

After spending 2020 forced to stay home due to a global pandemic and the world essentially had to shut down, 2021 began to see our lives getting back on track. Thankfully, we saw some entertaining movies during that year. Disney had two movies in the forms of Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto, together with Pixar they gave us another good animated film in Luca, and Sony Pictures Animation had another great entry in The Mitchells vs. the Machines and a good one in Vivo.

However, it felt like 2021 was not the year of the sequel. I did like Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park, but no other part 2s seemed to be all that great. For one, we had another Spirit that was more than a decade late, another Boss Baby that I wasn’t anticipating, and another Addams Family that was coming only 2 years after the original bored me to sleep (no joke)!

This being the last major animated film of the year gave me some hope though. I did enjoy the first Sing and felt it was one of the better animated films of 2016. Maybe it wasn’t enough to crack my Top 5 Best (it had some steep competition to be fair) but I did like it and would give it a recommendation. With Despicable Me having pretty much run its course and I admit that I wasn’t clamoring for another Secret Life of Pets, I just have to say Illumination would need to do something new or try another continuation. Since I did enjoy Sing, I had no complaints about it getting an encore.

Now that this movie has a second go, it’s time for me to go and give my input on Buster Moon and his troupe for their new show.

I’ll start by saying under Buster Moon’s new theater, his team is performing their spin on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. This is most definitely appropriate as for all the out-of-whack life in Wonderland, they would have no idea of all the technical issues one would have of putting on a live show. It would make Wonderland seem tame by contrast!

Now, for the story, you have something a little different this time. The first movie was built around a singing competition with a deceptive prize being offered, while the sequel has a theater group getting a stage show off the ground under a little white lie spun by the main character. Same, yet different. What I liked was the fact that while they don’t completely rehash the first movie and since the characters were so well-defined in the original, here they could work on the story. And boy is there a lot! You have more than enough characters to flesh out in addition to having some new ones, and I like how this movie could give kids some insight on how show business is supposed to work. We all want to be famous stars, but there is a lot of crazy stuff that goes on behind the scenes! In fact Redshore City reminds me a lot of what Las Vegas would be like and you know what often has to go down in Sin City. The downside might be you have Buster Moon again trying to get by on an act of deception and the trouble he could find himself in. It is true that some sketchiness is necessary to be a star, but for reasons you’ll learn, I did find it a bit… unscrupulous to say the least. All the movie’s threads for a make for the big machine being metaphorically built, and it’s well worth the wait.

The movie’s animation? Well being that this is Illumination we are talking about, they don’t have the best type of animation—don’t get me wrong, the animation is nice and well done, it’s just when not used right a distinctive animation style can feel intrusive, like what they did on their prior Dr. Seuss adaptations. Here though, it feels natural. We have plenty of inventive sets to see, being a theater, a major metropolis, a quiet countryside, fancy hotels, the 1%-er’s mansion, even the stage show set in outer space. The movie gives a lot to look at and it’s very much a treat for your personal viewing experience.

Now do you remember how I said the original movie’s characters were the best part of the original? Well, they don’t try to duplicate that here, as some don’t have the very deep and elaborate feel from the original. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that they were going for the story this time so while they don’t bombard you with the best-told backstories like in the first Sing, it’s seemingly balanced with the story this time. For the movie’s returning characters, everyone returns, with the only non-returning characters being Eddie Noodleman and Mike the mouse. Now, as you would expect, Buster Moon is the lead of leads and he’s still the same. He does his little white lie thing and that would snowball into a bigger conflict. I do tend to think that Buster Moon should still be seen as a questionable role model, but parents can tell their kids that his actions aren’t the best. Rosita the married pig mother now has a more expanded role where she gets the starring role she wants but her sudden fear of heights causes her to doubt herself. In order to get the fame she wants she needs to get over her fear and do the right thing. Johnny the former criminal gorilla now has a role where he’s to play a warrior on the Planet of War and he doesn’t come off well in his dance instructor’s lessons. I did like his role as not only is it seeming to tell kids to believe in yourself, there is also the idea that sometimes you just need to make your own choices rather than rely on explicit instructions. Ash also returns with some possible light shed on why she decided to get into being a guitar player as she claims to be a major fan of Clay Calloway. Meena does get the more romantic angle here as her role is on the Planet of Love, however due to here lack of a prior love life she needs to come to terms with the idea as it would be a crucial role in her act. Gunter returns and is essentially the one who comes up with their stage show. The other returning characters—Nana Noodleman, Ms. Crawly, Norman, Big Daddy—all return and are largely unchanged.

For the characters introduced in the sequel, well as stated they don’t get the exact same character depth that the first set did, but again, they tried to work more on the story so I felt that was a fair trade. Which one should I start with? Maybe with Suki, the Crystal Entertainment talent scout, since she appears first. Her role is to be the one Doubting Thomas who doesn’t think Buster and his troop have what it takes to make it in Redshore City, though it turns out to be just nothing more than her giving him a hard time as he would need to prove himself worthy. Darius and Alfonso are both just meant to be dueling suitors for Meena’s side of the story, with Darius being the egotistical actor who thinks he’s meant to be for her while Alfonso is the one who wins her over. They don’t have the best roles in the movie and they are only there just to support Meena. On Johnny’s side of the story, his support characters fare a lot better—his dance instructor Klaus Kickenklober is supposed to be a rigid teacher who thinks his way is the correct way and does everything by the book while Nooshy is a talented and visceral street dancer who is more patient and wants to help Johnny with his confidence. Clay Calloway is the aged rock legend who does not wish to be publicly seen and has been that way ever since his wife died. Through Buster Moon’s lies he does say he knows him and hopefully Ash can pull through for him. His story may come closest to what you make remember from the original movie. Now unlike the first movie, how you probably remember Mike was not a truly evil character but just probably the one character with the worst personality? Here they go for a more full-blown villain in Crystal Entertainment media mogul Jimmy Crystal. Being a stinking rich businessman he cares solely about his image placing that above anything else. Many times he does feel like he’s meant to be one big Hate Sink, however I do see this as truth in Television as chances are he probably got to where he is by being cutthroat; he didn’t succeed in his venture by being nice. His immediate associate Jerry is his loyal yes-man who obeys him without question. Not each and every single character is truly mind-blowing, but they are more hit than miss.

Now for the character I think I may have liked best? This may or may not surprise you, but I’m just going to say Porsha Crystal, Jimmy Crystal’s naïve, materialistic daughter. I’ll start by saying I was happy she wasn’t just another clone of Veruca Salt; being that she was born into this elaborate lifestyle she was raised into thinking achievements can be bought and paid for rather than something you would have to endure hardships and pain to attain. This is something you may see in how Jimmy treats her more often than not as he cares about his image and thinks he’ll look good if his offspring is in this show. When Buster tells her he thinks he needs to give the leading role to Rosita, Porsha reads this as she’s being cut from the show and this could very well have been the first time something did not go the way she wanted. When she ends up being punished for supposedly tarnishing her dad’s image, she ends up likely confused and sad as ultimately Dad was buying her love the whole time. When the true intention does come up, she finds herself in a better suited role and loves it; when I saw this movie in theaters I was honestly smiling and grooving as Porsha is telling her dad off—she’s literally on a Planet of Joy. The reason I did like Porsha’s aspect best is fitting for a Christmas release family movie, it’s not simply about how many presents kids get but whether they can understand the productive nature of life experiences, all the money in the world can’t afford each and every single critic. I give the team at Illumination props for Porsha, she’s not simply their furry bait trophy but a role model for all the kids watching the movie.

Being that I was happy with the first movie, I can say Sing 2 easily exceeded what I expected; I would even go so far as to say I enjoyed this movie more than the original Sing! I’d even say it would deserve a reputation as being one of Illumination’s best; they certainly grew their beard with this sequel! Even if Illumination-animated films are made more for the public than for critical accolades, Sing 2 left me with a happy feeling and proves once more the healing power of music. I was happy to place this movie in my Top 5 Best of 2021 List and now would like to ask: if this encore succeeded in being bigger and better, when is Sing 3 due for release?



Sing 2 (2021)
TreyVore rates it: B+

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

I did go ahead and see Puss in Boots: the Last Wish and it was amazing! So now, I give you:

TreyVore's picks for Top 5 Best and Worst Animated Films of 2022

Top 5 Best

#5: Turning Red
#4: The Bob's Burgers Movie
#3: The Bad Guys
#2: Puss in Boots: the Last Wish
#1: Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe

Top 5 Worst

#5: Strange World
#4: Luck
#3: Paws of Fury: Legend of Hank
#2: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
#1: The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild

Clearly, 2022 was not a year for Disney, but definitely one for DreamWorks!

I doubt you've seen The Bad Guys or Minions: Rise of Gru anyway, Belchic.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'll have everyone know I now have a new computer that is supposed to be able to run Photoshop and will be setting it up soon!

Hey guys, we are going to be seeing Puss in Boots: the Last Wish soon.

It looks really good! Its current RT score is a critical score of 97% and an audience score of 98%.

Looks like 2022 will have a great animated film to end on!