Channel Larry (EDIT: Channel Awesome renamed to just Nostalgia Critic)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I don't get why people are still making such a big deal over Mara Wilson and her minor involvement with the site. Yeah, after a small misunderstanding Doug actually got her to do a cameo appearance in one of his reviews, and I'll admit it was kind of cool to see a "former" celebrity who was actually featured in the movie Doug was reviewing make an appearance in the video. But for whatever reason people still treat it like its the biggest thing ever. Its not even like that was one of Doug's best reviews (at least IMO). I guess there's nothing wrong getting more exposure for her on the site, but for whatever reason I just don't get the continued interest others seem to have in Mara Wilson having been involved with one of the Nostalgia Critic's reviews (and also later on a Nostalgia Chick review as well).

[Avaitor]

I don't think she's really as popular with the fans as Doug wants her to be either. That scene she had in the NC review was great and sold some T-shirts, but I think that's where fans stop caring.

[Dr. Insomniac]

The appeal comes from how someone who's considered a minor embodiment of early 90s kids flicks (NC's usual forte) appeared to show the Critic (and the viewers) that perspective can change everything. And on the other side of the mirror, Mara has become a snarky blogger while Doug used to be a geeky, little kid. It demolished the idea that the Critic was just some angry caricature by showing he's just as flawed as the films he reviews, while Mara's appearance displayed a certain audacity in seeing the saccharine, little girl from Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda suddenly become deadpan and cynical.

Also, girl power. Because a girl standing up for herself automatically gains tumblr points.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That sounds awful. 

[Dr. Insomniac]

That sounds awful. 

[Spark Of Spirit]

That sounds awful. 

Just the way you wrote it made it seem a lot more depressing than it actually was. 

[Avaitor]

Oh, I fotgot to mention, this is one of my new favorite Todd reviews.

It's a little too positive for my tastes though.

[talonmalon333]

He has done Toy Story 3.

I couldn't possibly disagree with him more. Yeah, Andy acted very nostalgic in that ending. But the fact is, he really did feel that way. I guess you could say that his toys, in a way, represented his childhood to him. Added to that is the fact that the creators have supposedly even said that he's a bit of an oddball when it comes to his toys, and to me, there's simply nothing corny about that ending. And you've also gotta remember that he was talking to a little kid.

But other than that, I mostly understand his arguments. But I honestly had no problems at all with the movie. The incinerator scene and the ending were my two favorite parts.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I found the blip page.

I totally and utterly disagree about the ending of Toy Story 3. And I actually have met teenagers/college students that acted that way around kids so I really don't get his "unrealistic" remarks. Especially when you remember just how much Andy loved his toys, and this would be the last time he would ever see them and he wanted them to have a good home. So I don't get the whole "he played with them" complaint when he was playing with the girl not for himself.

That said, I agree with him that Up is probably the best Pixar film.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I don't know what it is, but NC's Disneycember this year is really irritating me more than anything else. I honestly don't mind the fact that I practically disagree with just about every opinion he has on the movies he's reviewing. Even with The Incredibles, which is a movie that I personally don't care for, my problems with it are completely different from his, and I actually felt that if anything, the family got plenty of attention in the film from the beginning, rather than it just being about Mr. Incredible. I have no idea what he's talking about there.

None of that really bothers me, though. I suppose its just the snarky way in which he expresses his opinion, as if his criticisms are something that should be so obvious to everyone and bother everyone just as much as they bother him. There's sort of an heir of ignorance to the way he goes about criticizing some of these movies, and a lot of times he'll say "I can't place my finger on it, but...." or "I don't know what it is," which really annoys me as its just a lazy way to say that he doesn't like something without coming up with a proper criticism for it.

As for his Toy Story 3 review, I completely disagree with him as well. None of this points made any sense to me. As far as the break-out scene went, that certainly did not take up nearly as much of the film as he implied, and there was a lot more going on that got plenty of focus, or at least more than what he gave it credit for. Sometimes I feel as though he just wants to be in the minority of opinion for the sake of standing out.

As far as his comments on the ending scene goes, I think the NC forgets that this is still a kids film. That more "realistic" alternative scene he suggested where Andy just pauses for a second wouldn't be more powerful at all. It'd just seem like a really weak way to end things off of. Toy Story is still essentially a fantasy, and its not as though the previous films (including Toy Story 2) didn't have their own instances with people acting way differently than they would in reality. And as far as Andy parting with his toys go, I DO know people who have gotten sentimental about what they own before and don't want to give them away, and at the same age Andy was in TS3, no less. No, of course they wouldn't go all-out when sending off their favorite nostalgic toys to a little kid, but knowing them, they wouldn't send them off in the first place, since even if they don't play with them anymore they were an important part of their childhood and growing up. Lots of people don't want to give stuff that they've owned since they were little away. Just because the NC didn't know anyone like that growing up doesn't mean he should assume that nobody else does. Either way, that was an extremely effective scene, and it didn't come off to me as cheesy at all. If its cheesy just because it wasn't something you'd see in the real world, then just about every Pixar movie is full of cheesy moments.

At any rate, Disneycember makes me appreciate how James Rolfe does Monster Madness. He keeps his videos concise and to the point, and rather than being reviews their informative pieces on movies (usually more obscure ones, at that), which you may or may not enjoy. And unlike Doug, you can tell that James always does his research, which is something that I have only appreciated more the more I see knock-offs of Monster Madness for other months of the year.

Oh, and Also, Doug is flat-out wrong about Monsters Inc., and its still my favorite Pixar movie. I don't give a shit what he says, but as far as I'm concerned the voice acting was fine (that Billy Crystal bull-shit isn't there unless you're specifically looking for it, I suppose), their characters were not weaker than in Toy Story (if anything Mike and Sully are probably my favorite Pixar characters for their brilliant chemistry together, and actually being constantly fun to be around), and the villains weren't meant to be the focus on this movie anyways, so I didn't mind that they were goofy. And for the record, the villains in EVERY Pixar movie are pretty damn weak, when their are villains. Toy Story 2, 3, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, and especially Up (and I LOVE Up) are no exception to this rule whatsoever. I don't see why he singled out Monsters Inc. here, but either way, I completely disagree with his outlook on it.

[Avaitor]

Doug just isn't meant for serious review. He's awful at explaining detail and repeats phrases down to the ground like a third-rate hack.

That, and the way he uses the term "you" or "we" as a matter-of-factly point of view, such as "YOU can feel how they feel" or "YOU can easily sympathize with them" or "and this is why WE all like it" is equally bullshit. Maybe you, Doug Walker, can relate to the protagonists in question, but that doesn't mean we, the rest of the audience, do as well.

Synonyms, Doug. At least try.

This is why James Rolfe and Lindsay Ellis are much better at this kind of critique.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, you really have to respect how both of them take the time to research what the hell they are talking about in the first place. When James, Lindsay, or one of the better serious reviewers does a review, you can already tell that they have re-watched the film recently before doing it and have actually done their homework on the subject material before writing their review on it. I feel as though Doug just half-heartedly took what he remembered from these movies and just sloppily expressed his general opinions on them. Its just not as interesting for me to watch and ticks me off whenever he criticizes the movie without finding proper ways to elaborate on his criticism (its usually something very vague that he himself admits he can't explain, anyways). I don't mind if I disagree with him on something, but at least explain your reasoning better.

[Avaitor]

His points seem a little better in the vlog compliments to his Bum Reviews, when he just saw the movie in question, but even then, Doug doesn't really seem to be able to express his points across in an articulate manner at all.

It's kind of like talking with a friend that hated the movie you just saw and loved. It's one thing to have to be there and talk to them about why he didn't like it, but another to spend time by watching him share his views online. You can only tolerate so much of it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

My biggest issues (besides the ending) was that he seemed to imply that Woody was having the same dilemma he has had before which to me seems almost as if Doug wasn't paying attention.

In the first movie, Woody is simply jealous. In the second he's worried about the future. Here he has to make a decision of whether to find comfort for himself and leave his friends behind, or join them himself and let Andy move on. It wasn't the same dilemma at all when the first was a personal problem and the latter was (somewhat justified) paranoia, the one in TS3 was more than about just him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

He also has a bad habit of going off on tangents or over-emphasizing certain points of criticism when he clearly can't think of anything else to say at the time. It makes his videos feel longer than they need to be, and its aggravating when you have to hear him repeat one of his points (whether its good or bad) on a movie multiple times throughout his video.