Animation Revelation's Animation Blog

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Watching Gummi Bears and DuckTales again, I can’t help but notice that Disney Television Animation’s staff was very competent back in the 80’s. I would figure that Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, the series that was initially syndicated alongside DuckTales in 1989 and also joined both of these shows with TaleSpin as the first Disney Afternoon lineup, would hold up as well as each of these mentioned series. Although the show’s last batch of episodes aired around the time the block debuted, the series lasted on the block until it’s third season ended in 1993.

It does, but not as much, but I can’t help but admire the series, no matter what.

Around the time DuckTales and Gummi Bears were proving to be big successes for Disney, some of the creative forces at the mouse house were planning for another series to follow DuckTales in the syndication market. Initially, the idea was to have a group of small animals who solved crimes too “small” for the police to handle, similar to their own 1977 film, The Rescuers. The group would consisted of an adventure loving mouse by the name of Kit Colby, a female mechanic mouse named Gadget Hackwrench, a cheese-loving Australian mouse known as Monterey Jack, and a chameleon who fit into the group. Heads Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg liked the show idea, but wanted classic Disney characters to be used in the show instead of all originals. Creator Tad Stones suggested bringing back Chip ‘n Dale, former chipmunky pests of Donald and Pluto, which caught the attention of Eisner and Katzenberg. Obviously, two of these characters would stay and the rest, as they say, is history.

While the show did well and still has a solid cult fanbase to this day, Rescue Rangers doesn’t quite hold up as well as DuckTales does. There is plenty of good in the show, but it’s scattered around more than it should be.

One thing that rubs me the wrong way about the show is, of all things, Chip and Dale. To make the two seem more distinctive than just by their noses, Chip, the black nose, wears a fedora and jacket similar to Indiana Jones, while Dale, red nose, wears a Hawaiian shirt to make him reminiscent of Magnum, P.I. Chip is more straightforward and is very determined in his work, while Dale is laid back and plays around more. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t tend to find them as entertaining as other characters on the show. Gadget, Monterey Jack, and even Monty’s trusted fly friend Zipper get more development than either Chip or Dale do. This makes sense, since the chipmunks were last-minute additions, but there doesn’t seem to be any effort to mature the two above grating slapstick and irritating processed voices.

Gadget and Monty save the show in terms of characteristics. Gadget is as fully realized of a person as the average DuckTales character. She grew into handywork thanks to her late father, who used to be a pro at doing things. She proves her worth to the Rescue Rangers by building things for them, and while a good amount of her projects work, she often gets in the way of her own inventions. She also happens to be the group’s mother figure, and does a good job of keeping the rest of the Rangers in check, as the three boys are big over-the-top personalities who often clash, while Gadget is active but not as headstrong as the boys. Gadget means well but is also quite clumsy, and incredible insecure, which makes her an endearing non-Sue character.

Monterey Jack doesn’t have much to him, but he does tend to have some funny moments. As you can guess by his name, Monty loves him some cheese, and goes on “cheese attacks” whenever he sees some Swiss, cheddar, or gouda He also tells the gang some grand stories about past adventures that he may or may not have actually been involved in. Most of these tend to be entertaining, thanks to the delivery of voice acting legends Peter Cullen and Jim Cummings, both of which played the rat at some points on the show. His strength and intuition proves his weight to the Rangers, while his cute little chum Zipper doesn’t add as much to the show. He doesn’t communicate well with the group, and when Zipper is at the center of the episode, it tends to revolve around how the gang don’t appreciate him. As Zipper doesn’t do much worth remembering in the majority of the show’s run, it’s not hard to understand why he feels neglected.

There are two main recurring villains in the show, with a handful of other antagonists sprinkled around. One of the main baddies, Fat Cat, typically works well. He’s a feline mob boss whose main objectives typically involve stealing items of the expensive kind or attacking dogs. The Rescue Rangers often take him down, which causes his temper to rise. Fat Cat tends to be an engaging villain when he appears, thanks in part to Jim Cummings’ smooth take on the character, which makes him a bit more likable than he should be.

Professor Nimnul, however, isn’t as great. One of the details about the show that makes it different from other Disney Afternoon programs is that although animals are the main characters, humans exist in their world as well, which makes the Rangers seem small time in comparison. Nimnul is a human mad scientist who messes around with the laws of nature, usually with animals as his test subject, for his personal gain. While he’s also voiced by Cummings, Nimnul tends to be more aggravating than entertaining, as his voice is overly high pitched and his actions tend to be needlessly stupid. There are clever episodes involving him, such as “A Fly in the Ointment”, in which Nimnul and Zipper change bodies in a spoof of the then-recently remade horror classic The Fly, but the Professor is never one of the show’s better characters.

All of these characters are introduced in the five-part premier movie, “To the Rescue”, which is probably the series finest moment overall. In it, a friendly detective is accused of stealing a priceless ruby, which causes Chip and Dale to work together to put the person who actually stole it to justice, the culprit of which conveniently is the owner of Fat Cat. Along the way, they meet Monterey Jack and Zipper, who want to help the two, and suggest visiting Geegaw Hackwrench, Monty’s old inventor friend. When they arrive at Geegaw’s old work house, they run into Gadget, his daughter, who informs the four that her father isn’t with them, but she has been following in their footsteps. They follow Fat Cat and his owner to a dog pound, where a group of dogs help the gang in catching up on them. Later on, Nimnul and Fat Cat’s owner attempt to make an earthquake to open a Reserve Building vault, so they can take the gold from it, which the newly formed Rescue Rangers also foil.

A lot goes on in these five episodes, but TMS does a good job with the animation, and the writing is at it’s most clever for the series. Each of the Rangers get their own solid introduction, Monty especially gets a decent character arc as he decides if he can hold his cheese attacks long enough to help the guys, and the villains are also presented well.

Another issue with the show is the animation As mentioned, TMS did fine when they had their hands in the show, which lasted mostly for the first 13 episodes and the pilot, which you could title the Disney Channel run. Other wise, Wang and Cuckoo’s Nest, who took on DuckTales for the rest of it’s run, did the work for Chip ‘N Dale. While DuckTales suffered a bit in terms of animation without TMS, Wang tended to still have fun with DuckTales, especially when Fenton appeared on screen. In Chip ‘N Dale, however, often times it seemed as if working on the show was more like a chore for the animators, as post-TMS episodes tend to look cheap in comparison to other Disney programs from the time.

One episode that especially suffers from lazy work, despite the quality of the script, is “The Case of the Cola Cult”, in which a cult who “feel the fizz” of Koo Koo Cola try to get the Rescue Rangers to join. Gadget, whose new products had proven unsuccessful earlier in the episode, leaves the Rangers and finds safety in the cult. The Rangers go back to save her, but get stopped along the way. While this episode brings a striking point by suggesting that cults give insecure people safety and comfort while also giving it’s members stranger, higher requirements than an average religion would, while also being a good episode for Gadget’s character, it’s animation kills it.

For one, the episode relies on the need of three cola flavors, orange, grape, and cherry, as well as the need for these drinks to be poured on it’s cult members, but orange tends to be the overwhelming favorite, which is what Chip, Dale, and Monty are sprayed with when they reenter the base, or when Gadget becomes accepted into the cult. Since Gadget’s jump suit is purple, why not use grape in favor of orange? You can even notice in some instances when cherry flavor is used that the person being soaked will be turned into orange instead of red. Then there are the cola ninjas, who fight off the Rangers when they enter the base unwelcome. They move embarrassingly choppy, like if someone left their PS2 with Prince of Persia in it over night, and fall even more awkwardly. Ninjas should move smoothly and look cool, which these absolutely fail to do.

This is merely one example of how bad animation can ruin a good show, but even at it’s worse, Chip ‘N Dale looked better than many of the cartoons airing at the time of it’s airing.

And at it’s dumbest, the show was also better written than many of the animated series that were airing at the time, as well as most of what Disney has put out in the past few years. For example, I watched an episode of Phineas & Ferb, Disney’s latest money-making cartoon, not too long ago, and I found it to be disposable garbage, highly derivative of other cartoons you can find on other channel, in terms of writing and animation. While Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers could be considered to look similar to DuckTales or Gummi Bears, mainly in terms of color and fluid character designs, at least these series had a distinctive style of artwork that can be easily traced to Disney, while Phineas & Ferb looks like all the other series currently out there. Even then, Rescue Rangers had it’s own, authentic modern American look which contrasted from DuckTales‘ lavish Duckburg or Gummi Bears’ renaissance revival.

Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers was the lesser of the block’s first three series, but had enough strong points to make it it’s own, unique show that was worth sitting through the whole block for to see the other shows.

Two volumes of the show have been put on DVD. While only 14 episodes ramain to be released, Disney has stalled finishing this show’s release as well as Gummi Bears and DuckTales‘ releases. Perhaps if you buy these sets if you haven’t already will give Disney the initative to put the rest of the series out.

Originally posted on Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

A wise man who goes by the name of Jerry Seinfeld once said that the older that you get, the funnier the Looney Tunes become. This is undisputable.

As I’ve been getting older and have been looking back on the shows that I grew up with, I notice that when I come back to DuckTales, arguably Disney’s most beloved animated series of all time, that I find it to be fresher each time I see one of it’s 100 episodes. I don’t think it would be crazy to say the same about the Looneys towards DuckTales, but I’m not sure if everyone would agree with me.

Another wise man who goes by the name of Doug Walker stated that the theme song to DuckTales will live on in us forever, like a virus seeping in towards death. This, however, is also undisputable.

Even if you’ve never seen DuckTales, chances are that you can instantly recognize it’s intro. It’s one of the most iconic theme songs in the past few years, on the level of The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo’s classic themes. To the kids who grew up watching it daily in syndication markets, on Disney Channel or Toon Disney, however, all you need to do is play that opening bassline and the lyrics will come right out.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. DuckTales is as brilliant by today’s standards as it was in 1987. The fact that us Americans might never have a cartoon animated by TMS, especially not one with a love of adventure, such a quick tongue, or a heart as big as this series only confirms DuckTales for legendary status, a gem so bright that age my never touch it.

DuckTales was Disney’s first series set to syndication in 1987, and lasted a long run, impressive run that capped off midway through the Disney Afternoon’s first season. While DT made it to the block’s second season, this time as the forerunner, it didn’t make it to the Disney Afternoon’s third season, but remained on Disney Channel after.

The show was based off of Carl Bark’s great Disney comics of the 40’s and 50’s. Usually, these comics starred Donald and more often than not his lovely little nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie as they go through adventures of either the ordinary or the extraordinary. While he gave Donald and the boys life that Disney’s animators wouldn’t dare try on them, but his greatest contribution to Disney lore was the creation of one particular Dickens-esque character; Scrooge McDuck, Donald’s penny pinching uncle. The richest duck in the world, Scrooge was no fool, and spent many a day earning his fortune. His contributions to his resident Duckburg, as well as the rest of the world were too mighty to ignore. Scrooge eventually became as much of a cultural hero as much as a pariah to the greedy.

Scrooge may have more money than one man could possibly imagine, but he wasn’t ashamed to earn any more, as he took Donald and the boys through some of their greatest adventures to make more cash, as well as protect his prized money bin.

In the 80’s, Disney decided to make an animated series based off of Scrooge’s tales, which have exceeded beyond Barks’ creative control and have had different writers and artists throughout the world take on the characters. One thing the staff decided to do was to cut Donald out of the stories, as to not make his character overshadow Scrooge and the nephews. Donald is a celebrity the world over, while Scrooge’s comics were and still are quite big in most parts of the world, but never quite reached that amount of success over here.

So Donald went to the Navy, while the nephews were sent to live with Scrooge. A few guest appearances aside, Donald doesn’t show up too often at all. It’s at this point that their animated adventures begin.

Taking Donald out of the equation wasn’t the only change the show did. Quite a few new characters were added to the cast, and most of them work. For one, Scrooge was given a butler in Duckworth. His character doesn’t add so much to the show, but he does tend to be quite a sarcastic character, often making his scene worth sitting through. There’s also Miss Beakley, the boy’s nanny. She gets a bit more screen time than Duckworth, but the odd episode aside, such as “Jungle Duck”, which gives us a look at one of her past jobs, she isn’t developed so much. That said, she has some nice dialogue and her animation is typically distinctive, which makes her a good enough character.

Miss Beakley has a granddaughter named Webby, a little girl duck in pink, as opposed to Huey’s red, Dewey’s blue, and Louie’s green. She’s basically treated as Scrooge’s niece, and is kept in as close of a watch as they are. She often tries to plays with them, as much as she can keep up with their boyish games, then reverts back to girl time. Webby isn’t as likable as the boys as a whole, but she has her moments when she can outshine the three of them.

The most popular new addition by far is Launchpad McQuack. Scrooge gets himself a trusted pilot with Launchpad, who may be one of the worst pilots on Earth, but is incredibly loyal to Scrooge and the boys, which is why Scrooge keeps him on staff. Launchpad is one of the wackiest characters on the show, his comic relief being a big part of the show’s appeal. His character proved to be so endearing that Launchpad would be added as a main character of the future hit show Darkwing Duck.

Later in the show’s run, two additional characters were added to the cast, both of which given five-part episodes, just as the series premiered with the five-part “Treasures of the Golden Sun”.

In “Time is Money”, Scrooge, Launchpad, and the boys go back in time thanks to Gyro Geerloose, another classic Barks creation, to claim ownership of an island. However, they go too far back in time, and go to an age where dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. They run into a caveduck named Bubba who befriends the gang and follows them back into the future. Although Scrooge and the gang try to send him back to not mess with the space time continuum, Bubba follows them back anyway and stays with them in modern times. Bubba isn’t too great of an addition., to be honest. Most of the time he’s tagged to the stories as fodder, and his personality isn’t much to make him stand out. Imagine a more persistent Bam-Bam and that’s Bubba.

However, “Super DuckTales” introduced a more entertaining character. Fenton Crackshell, your every day working duck, quits his unglamorous peanut counting job to become Scrooge’s accountant. When the Beagle Boys plan to take Scrooge’s money bin for their Ma’s birthday, Scrooge and Fenton try to protect his cash, but Fenton often gets in the way. One night, he walks into Gyro’s tool shed while he works on a new invention that will make whoever puts on the gear Gyro is working on into a collection of nuts and bolts that can fight off anything. Fenton takes over the contraption and turns into Gizmoduck, who then helps Scrooge keep his fortune.

Both of these five-parters suffer from uneven pacing, but Fenton becomes one of the show’s greatest additions. He’s a laugh riot throughout. Every scene he’s in the special, as well as many a sequence afterwards, Fenton becomes a hilarious counterpart alongside a collection of great characters. He’s also a relatable character, as he tries constantly to prove to his mother that he’s more than just trailer trash. Fenton constantly tries to prove his worth, and near the end of the series has at least guaranteed himself a position into the memories of fans of the show.

With these characters, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are given a great supporting cast to join on their riveting adventures, some of which come straight from Bark’s comics, others coming straight out of the imagination of the writers.

Two of the series best Barks adaptations are “Back to the Klondike”, in which Scrooge returns to where he earned his first fortune, and reignites an old flame, and “The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan”, where the crew goes to the artic to find the treasure mentioned in the title, and find something else entirely. While not every Bark adaptation was faithful, there was enough merit in the story retelling for that to be okay. These come from the first season, where big adventure was the focus of the show. The series had a great balance of humor and peril that is missing in most kids show’s today.

However, when the show went past the initial 65 episode order and introduced Bubba and Fenton, world-crossing adventures were toned down for more stories that took place among Duckburg . While there are still stories that take place around the world and even a few Barks adaptations to share, the show then spent more time making jokes than anything. If DuckTales didn’t have one of the most talented writing staffs in terms of humor behind it, this wouldn’t have worked, but this change in attention turned out fine. An episode that really works well because of it is “Blue Collar Scrooge”, in which Scrooge loses his memory and end up working for one of his corporations, while Fenton dresses up as Scrooge to keep morale up, while in “Scrooge‘s Last Adventure” have the two team up to regain Scrooge’s money when removed from a machine. Once again, Fenton’s character makes an odd or not as great situation hilarious.

DuckTales also has one of the richest rogue gallerys in animation who attempt to, well, become the richest. We have the Beagle Boys, a group of common thieves who team up to find ways to take Scrooge’s money, to justify their crooked ways. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of Beagle Boys out there, while our attention typically goes to three or four of them, as well as Ma Beagle, the brains of the outlet.

There is Flintheart Glomgold, the second richest duck in the world. He and Scrooge have an unhealthy rivalry with each other, as Glomgold wants to become the richest duck, and will stop at nothing to do so. What makes him and Scrooge different is that Scrooge McDuck would never stoop to thieving or cheating to make his profit, while Flintheart has no standards, and does everything from calling the Beagle Boys up for help or attempting to crash a blimp he’s on to make sure Scrooge doesn’t get his way. There’s an odd chemistry between the two that can be attested only to years of rivalry, which makes Flintheart one of the most distinctive villains on the show.

And then we have Magica De Spell, an Italian witch who thieves to capture Scrooge‘s prized Number One Dime. Unlike the aforementioned villains, Magica doesn’t care much about Scrooge’s fortune, but believes that his dime is magical, and frequently tries to capture it. She has great power which helps her get close to her goal but her magic typically backfires on her if the gang isn’t too cunning to step back from her.

There are other villains who appear in the show, but these are the ones who appear the most frequently, and those who tend to have the best appearances.

DuckTales’ popularity was so big that in 1990, before the final collection of episodes aired, a feature film was released to theaters. DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp went to theaters in August 3, 1990 as the first project of DisneyToon Studios in Australia, who would later work on various other Disney animated series as well as sequels. The film didn’t make a huge profit, but it is still a fine film for fans of the show to watch.

It involves Scrooge and the gang finding the treasure of Callie Baba and his Forty Thieves, which happens early on in the movie. Webby finds an ancient lamp which Scrooge lets her keep. While playing with it one day back in Duckburg, a genie shows up, and grants wishes for her as well as the boys, while also trying to fit in with them outside of the lamp. Scrooge initially doesn’t care for this notion, until the great magician Merlock attempts to take the genie for himself.

This movie is a bit familiar, as the gang have already found a genie’s lamp in “Master of Djinni” and Scrooge’s plight with Genie is reminiscent of his with Bubba in “Time as Money”, not to mention that Disney also made their own adaptation of Aladdin. Although that would not be released for another two years, it’s hard not to recognize the distinction between them. It also suffers from weak animation that jumps from fine and collected one minute, to an awkward mess that has the characters all over the place the next.

That said, this movie actually feels like a movie, and follows it’s story closer than any of the multi-parters do, possibly exempting the “Golden Goose” two-part finale, and also has a mesh of adventure and humor that would be missing in later episodes of the show. Watch out for a Zummi Gummi doll appearance in the movie, or you’ll miss it.

Overall, DuckTales is a grand experience to discover no matter what age you are. For the majority of it’s run, it’s animated as smoothly as a classic Disney cartoon would be, and it’s characters are fleshed out quite well over the show’s run, giving you plenty of choices to pick as your favorite. While the theme song is what most people remember from DuckTales, there’s too much good in it to forget anything else about it.

Woo-hoo!

Disney has released the first three quarters of the series on DVD, and while all it would take is one more volume to finish the show, Disney has stalled it’s releases. Perhaps if you buy these up Disney will realize that there is, in fact, an interest in finishing the show. The movie can be bought if you’re registered on the Disney Movie Club, but isn’t available for wide release stateside at the time. If you are interested in reading some of Carl Barks’ original Scrooge McDuck comics to compare episodes of the show to them, there are two collections out there to check out. I recommend them, as they’re great reads. If you can still find them, anyway.

Originally posted on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

Dig if you will the picture:

A small group of mythical bears, named the Gummi Bears, are the last survivors of a once-lively clan. They live together in secrecy in case they are found, as the Gummi Bears were forced out due to their technological advances. Most of their ancestors were exiled, while the few who survived live outside of the kingdom of Dunwyn, making sure they don’t become discovered.

One day Calvin, a young knight in training, discovers these mythical creatures, who in turn revel at his Gummi Medallion, an ancient artifact that means a lot to the existence of these bears. When he proves to understand the turmoil they’re going through, they allow him to keep in contact with him while he helps with the bear’s human needs.

Dunwyn isn’t necessarily going through a renaissance itself. Duke Igthorn, an official who plans to take over the throne himself, is close to maintaining his wish. When he discovers the existence of the Gummis, he doesn’t rest until he takes the kingdom for his.

This sounds rather dark for a kids show, and while Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears does tread into it’s depressing moments, the fact that this series kept itself alive lightly enough for kids to keep themselves interested while also containing enough depth for older people to watch the show without feeling ashamed is a testament to Walt Disney Animation Television’s creative ability, even at it’s infant stages.

Gummi Bears was one of two projects Disney put out for television in 1985; it was planned for NBC‘s Saturday morning lineup, while their other project, The Wuzzles, a somewhat similar series that was scheduled for CBS. Why we’re talking about Gummi Bears rather than The Wuzzles is that the Gummi’s lead an incredible six season run that ignited the interest of many newcomers in the animation industry who put their hands on the show to make further series of quality, such as DuckTales, Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and Gargoyles.

Gummi Bears was also a part of the Disney Afternoon’s first lineup, airing repeats after it’s last batch of episodes aired on ABC, where the show moved for it’s last season. Despite Gummi Bears not making it to the block’s sophomore season, as it became the first example of the block’s tradition of kicking off it’s senior most show in favor of a newly developed program at the start of each season, the show was not instantly forgotten. The series remained in repeats on the Disney Channel and was also an initial stable of the Toon Disney channel, staying on for years.

What made Adventure of the Gummi Bears all the more distinctive was that in an age of cheaply animated toy commercials with poorly schemed plots and half-baked characters, the animation on Gummi was usually of higher quality than that of Transformers, fully realized plots and rich characteristics.

Most of the show’s work was sent into animation powerhouse TMS over in Japan, who understand the art of movement. Of course, detailed animation means little without a good, distinctive art style to make the series come to life, which Gummi Bears’ artists accomplished. The basic art style of the show reflects back to the Disney studio’s earlier water color days, with attention paid towards the varying colors of the Gummi Bears, while the humans in the show are given a wavy look. The medieval setting seems equally as respective, as castles, dungeons, and nature are given life in an age where ancient attempts at cars and aeroplanes are attempted.

The Gummis are typically animated with special care, so it seems like each one has their own varying, special style. For example, young Cubbi and preteen Sunni’s mannerisms are similar to that of a child‘s, lovably chubby Tummi moves his girth as if he were care free, and tough Gruffi has subtle hints of anger and fear in his motions.

The humans don’t tend to be as lucky with their animation, at least for poor Calvin’s sake, who tends to have varying off-model experiences. He suffers from this especially in close-ups, as it seems like Calvin’s expressions were determined at the last minute.

The writers took cues from Disney’s story men as much as their animators paid attention to the nine old men and their colleagues. The stories told in the show, in either two 11 minute or one full 22 minute episode, are usually jam-packed with a love of adventure, sorcery, chivalry, and, of course, mythology. The settings tend to involve locals where the Gummis have previously located or where their undiscovered relatives are located, as well as in the grand kingdom of Dunwyn, where Duke Igthorn will typically scheme to capture the Gummis or give Calvin and Princess Calla, who discovers the secrets of the bear‘s existence shortly after Calvin does.

The humor, a key point of shows like this, also tends to work well. Despite the childish atmosphere it may seem to appear in, the jokes used by the characters aren’t as corny as you’d expect. If you can still enjoy DuckTales and Darkwing Duck, Gummi Bears shouldn’t be too hard to sit through as well. It helps that most of the humor is character based, and each of the characters have a strong enough personality for these jokes to work.

But what really sells the show is the strength of the aforementioned characters. The Gummis especially make a difference on the show, as each one deal with the tragedy of endangerment separately, while each are still given their own unique interests. Gruffi is a Gummi who’s bitter about the loss of many of his people, as well as his height, but sticks his neck out for the bears without another thought. He appears to be the stereotypical jerk but has a technical know-how and leadership skills that make him a more than affective leader of the pack. Zummi is the group’s historian who keeps records of the history of the Gummis, as well as the recent experiences the Gummis go through. He also practices sorcery to make sure that the bears have some sort of defense against enemies, but he’s a bit too clumsy to maintain everything needed for his spells. He’s the group’s father figure however, so he feels the need to practice his work until he can successfully pull off the art. Then we have Grammi, the motherly figure of the group. She has the rare skills to make Gummi Berry Juice, which only a few select bears can accomplish. She tries to train Sunni, but the girl doesn’t have as much of an interest in keeping the tradition as she should, so Grammi feels like the last of a dying breed.

Then we have the younger members of the clan. Tummi tends to go for the food, but he’s more than just a fat person sterotype. He’s also the group’s hand’s on person, since he’s great with boats and craftsmanship. His uncontrollable appetite comes from his love of the world, as he’s one of the more optimistic of the clan. Sunni is between the stages of childhood and adolescence where she wants to be recognized as more than a kid, but still acts childishly. She’s rebellious but will proudly sit down to become a princess, which is her dream. She becomes good friends with Princess Calla shortly after learning about the bears. Then we have Cubbi, who is probably the most memorable character on the show. He’s the youngest of the group and still fully embraces his childhood. His goal is to become a great knight, which he practices becoming in his downtime, sometimes with Calvin, who shares his aspirations. He does this partly out of his boyhood love of adventure and romance, while partly to fulfill his requirement for the group. One day he will become a great warrior, and will be able to save the day more than he already does.

Cubbi also gets to practice this crazy notion a little later in the show’s run when he fights crime as the Crimson Avenger, not to be confused with DC’s own hero. He puts on a costumed design which conceals his identity while making him to look more frightening than the fluffy pink teddy bear he really is. The Crimson Avenger’s appearances are few, but memorable, and I’d go as far as to call the first appearance, aptly named “The Crimson Avenger”, one of the show’s best episodes.

Other Gummis prove to be alive as the show goes along, but one of them also joins the clan. In another contender for one of the series finest, “My Gummi Lies Over the Ocean”, Tummi and Gruffi pilot a ship only to land on a deserted island and discover Augustsus Gummi, otherwise known as Gusto. He’s a suffering artist, with an equal emphasis on suffering, as in his temper tends to get the best of him, and artist, as he’s gifted in making something out of emotion with his paws. While he doesn’t live with the Gummis, he becomes a solid later addition to the show, with a distinct enough personality to make stick out from the rest of the bears, yet fit in with them.

While the show doesn’t have much in the wake of villains, Duke Ightorn has a fun enough personality to make up for that. He is a bit like Captain Hook; loud, obnoxious, cocky, with an occasional bit of fright in his voice. Mostly he plots to take over the throne, but Calvin, Calla, and the Gummis thwart him before he can suceed. Although the show may have been better with more variety in villains, Ightorn is solid enough to make the lack of rogues gallery okay.

Through 65 jam-packed episodes, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears became a fan favorite for people of all ages. It treated it’s audience like more than kids, was animated nearly as well as a feature film, and had strong enough continuity to give audiences enough reason to catch up with it. While Disney would make more, higher rated, and stronger series, Gummi Bear’s impact and entertainment value is too big to ignore.

The first three seasons have been released in one volume back in 2007. While the rest of the show haven’t been released yet, perhaps if you can find an unbought copy around to pick up, Disney will get the notion to put the rest of the series out.

Here are the original Gummi’s that we’re introduced to; clockwise from top to bottom, Sunni, Grami, Tummi, Gruffi, Cubbi, Zummi

Originally posted on Sunday, May 30, 2010.

This September, Disney’s groundbreaking syndicated block, the Disney Afternoon, turns 20. Containing such fan favorite series as DuckTales and The Adventures of the Gummi Bears, as well as then-newly discovered favorites including as Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, and Goof Troop, the Disney Afternoon gave life to fresh animation, clever storytelling, and a great cast of characters.

To be sure that we can celebrate the block’s anniversary in time by September 10th, we’ll be posting retrospectives on some of the most popular series in the block’s 7 season run. The series we have planned to write about include:

• The Adventures of the Gummi Bears
• DuckTales
• Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers
• TaleSpin
• Darkwing Duck
• Goof Troop
• Bonkers
• Gargoyles
• Aladdin
• Timon & Pumbaa
• Quack Pack

If you’re a fan of these series, have been curious about their existance, or even just have an interest in animation despite not being familiar with these shows, this blog series will hopefully be up your alley. Our first retrospective, Gummi Bears, will be up sometime this week.

Originally posted on Sunday, May 30, 2010.

In the 90s, there was this show called the Simpsons. It was popular. Ridiculously popular. It was a show that appealed to everyone with it’s smart jokes, edgy humor, and slapstick gags. As a comedy, it had everything one could want and it was animated on top of it. So it got bigger, and naturally when something gets too popular, everyone wants a piece of the pie. Because of the Simpsons’ popularity we had a slew of shows come out that missed the entire point of it.

This frequently happens. A show will come out and be so popular that everyone will rush to copy it’s surface details without exploring why it truly succeeds.

The Simpsons was popular because it appealed to everyone and tried everything, the networks only saw a prime-time animated show and thought that was all it took for a hit. So we naturally got a lot of forgotten failures like Capital Critters, Family Dog, and Fish Police which completely missed exactly why the simple formula of the Simpsons was such a success.

However, because of the Simpsons, animation had a chance to spread it’s wings during this period and there were shows that took advantage of this door the Simpsons had opened. One such show was Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man, an adult show that pushed the boundaries of what adult animation could entail but at the same time never forgetting it’s roots in animation with frequent insane and unpredictable plots as well as gags and ideas only possible in a cartoon. This was an adult cartoon through and through, not an animated sitcom that forgets it’s a cartoon, nor a cartoon that forgets it’s a sitcom. It was truly unique for the time, and in many ways, still is today.

Now don’t get me wrong. When I say “adult”, I don’t mean humor that is offensive for the sake of being offensive nor do I mean random humor meant for potheads still awake at 2am. The show dealt with subjects as rich as spirituality, government, society, human beings, relationships, and family, and never completely dismisses them but offers a critical eye on the subjects that questions why we think the way we do about them while throwing in a nice ribbing for everyone involved. But while the show touches on material such as that, it never forgets it’s an animated comedy and throws in as much satire, slapstick, foul jokes, and wordplay that one can handle with each of it’s characters and the crazy world they live in. Duckman is truly an adult show with a brain, made simultaneously for those who like to think when they laugh and those who like to turn their brain off and laugh. It’s a balance few shows have ever gotten, but Duckman has it in spades.

The episode variety for this show is staggering. You can have a noir parody one week, followed by an episode about family squabbles the next, then an episode about the wonders of television, or instead maybe a robot invasion or maybe a Twilight Zone satire? It never lingers too long on the same subject or area, it rarely repeats itself (except for a gag or two), and is constantly on the move. Duckman is a show that is as quick as it is creative.

But, the show wouldn’t be as great as it is without the characters though, and this is where Duckman goes the extra mile to make itself work. Duckman is a lewd, loud, and totally disgusting sex pervert who cares nothing about anyone but himself (or so we think) and is the one who most of the extreme jokes come from in the show (usually followed by a mob lynching or an equivalent, though), yet while most shows would just leave him one note like that, as we learn more about his life and his past, we learn why exactly he operates the way he does. It doesn’t excuse him, but it does shed a bit of light on him that he puts on more of a front than he wants to admit. His partner is a pig named Cornfed, who could very easily by the Mary Sue (or Gary Stu for guys) of the show, and actually is one in the first few episodes. He is very quickly given personality quirks (over-thinking, over-bearing, and not as liked by others as he thinks he is) that many such characters do not. Duckman’s family is also interesting, including an overbearing and hateful against the world sister-in-law named Bernice who has a soft side for her family and is always looking for a man (though never the “right” type of guy), a teenage son that is clueless yet poetic in his ignorance of the world (he knows his limits and knows he cannot overcome them), two twin boys who are merged together and are geniuses (yet are complete social retards without any tact whatsoever) and a family line that is probably best viewed for oneself in the series without being spoiled here as it really is hard to explain in words.

Duckman ran for 4 seasons and around 70 episodes, which is probably the longest for an animated adult show at the time, and it earned every episode of it’s run. Strangely compelling in it’s surreal nature and it’s straightforwardness, it’s both simultaneous rejection and constant embracing of traditional values, it’s dumb and smart humor, and it’s complete insanity that is grounded in some form of reality. Duckman is an anomaly, as strange today as it was when it came out in the 90s. It seems almost like it was ahead of it’s time, but couldn’t actually have been made at any other point in time than the 90s when the Simpsons opened the door for shows like this and before networks truly understood how to copy the success of the Simpsons. It exists solely for that one point in time where adult animation was not yet defined nor successful, and it’s probably for the best that it came out when it did.

The show is now out on DVD all 4 seasons are spread across two DVD sets and is surprisingly affordable. If you want something truly unique in the world of adult animation, you can’t go wrong with Duckman. Just be warned that the final episode is a bit controversial and has a cliffhanger ending that was made purely to mess with viewers. It makes sense when you remember the show itself thrives on that sort of humor, however, and probably couldn’t end any other way.

I’ll leave you with this old ad for the show when it was airing on USA in order to give you an idea of what the show was truly all about:

And that’s just the beginning.

Originally posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

Earlier at the Animation Revelation boards,(hint hint), we played a vote n’ rank game entitled Greatest Animated Movie, where we’d vote for and determine what the general conscious of the board would be for the choice favorite animated movie. Our top choice was 90’s outing Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, ideal for fans of the show, while follow-ups were Disney’s beloved cash cow The Lion King, Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s cult classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, and End of Evangelion, a fitting alternate take for the anime’s finale. An honorary fifth place was given to Robert Zemeckis’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, a revolutionary live-action/animation hybrid salute to film noir and the golden age of animation.

All of these are high quality films, in this reviewer’s opinion, and I was ready to reanalyze any of the 64 movies nominated for the game. Thankfully a film I enjoy quite a bit won over the others, or I’d call blasphemy.

But just what is it about Batman: Mask of the Phantasm that we enjoy above all else?

To answer this, I should probably explain what I like about Batman: The Animated Series to begin with. In my life, many television programs have come and gone, but few have stayed or made as much of an impact as Bruce Timm’s take on the Dark Knight. Timm, Paul Dini, Eric Radomski, Alan Burnett, and crew took various aspects of all of the high points of one of comic’s most iconic and recognizable ceations and gave us poetry. Taking aspects from film noir, art deco, science-fiction, and classic horror, not to mention such nice things as source material straight from the comics, and helped to redefine the Caped Crusader’s character, mythology, supporting cast, and villains. Great things that would affect the comics in the years to come such as giving the Joker an identifiable lacky in Harley Quinn or turning Mr. Freeze from a stock b-villain into a cold, vengeful antagonist worth caring about.

As it would seem, Batman: TAS took pride in respecting it’s audience. Stories that were worth telling such as Harvey Dent questioning which half of his should stay in control of his life when given the chance to have his Two-Face half removed, Bruce Wayne debating if he is really doing Gotham or his parents good by masking up as the Dark Knight after Commissioner Gordon has been shot, or Harley Quinn leaving the Joker’s side by taking the Bat down while considering if her life in crime has been worth it have been told. Coincidentally, we’ve also been received episodes involving some of Batman’s greatest in his rogue gallery relating past fumbles with the Caped Crusader in an unsuspecting matter or Harley and Poison Ivy teaming up with each other in refuge, bonding a closer friendship than either would imagine. Batman: TAS has had an incredible track record with episodes pleasing on all levels. There is enough emotional depth in not just Batman but most of the supporting to cast to spare, and a bit of humor to be found as well.

Thinking of it’s first film, Mask of the Phantasm, brings me back to when the show was still airing on Cartoon Network. Back when the channel had some dignity, or at least enough sense to earn some, CN aired B: TAS and treated it as the big deal that it was and still is. Advertisements were made to make the show’s arrival seem as important as it was, and B: TAS had a good run on the network. Similar to the show, when CN would air Phantasm, they also tended to treat it’s airing as the big deal that it was, and my young self would go out of my way to see the movie whenever they’d dust it off. Reading over this, it seems as if the Disney method does indeed work.

I can’t quite recall what it was that drew me into this movie when I was younger, because looking at it now, Mask of the Phantasm was written more for adults than children, even moreso than the average B: TAS episode. The action in the movie is brief and peaks at the end, a trait fine for a half-hour episode, but for an 80-minute movie, can make an action hungry 8-year-old antsy. There’s also little comic relief, a few choice lines and a typically entertaining Joker appearance aside. And the reason I like it now, the character driven story, is a bit more sophisticated and layered than what I’ve been used to.

This is probably why I love Mask of the Phantasm so. Like the show it was adapted from, Phantasm rarely, if ever, ponders down to children, and comes off as invigorating in my eyes. Here is a story of love, loss, vengeance, power, and occasionally even joy.

We find Bruce Wayne early on in his Batman days, or at least we’re lead to assume so. The movie starts with Batman interrupting a crime lord meeting the way he’s expected to, when one escapes. The gang member then runs into another masked character, warning him that his “angel of death awaits”, and causes the crime lord to crash is car into a nearby building. Batman is seen when the act is committed, leading Gotham’s finest to believe that this was his doing.

While similar crimes are committed throughout the movie, Batman’s integrity becomes questioned. However, Bruce has other thoughts on his mind when Andrea Beaumont, a former lover, is mentioned to him at a party. It turns out that Andrea is the one woman Bruce has ever truly loved. During the time ?Bruce had been practicing his various taught skills, he meets and Andrea, and finds in her a fellow soul broken by the loss of a loved one. While Bruce promised to avenge his parents by making sure no one should have to suffer the same fate they did years ago, Andrea lives up to her late mother’s expectations by enjoying life, but not without issues of her own. Throughout many of the movie’s flashbacks, we learn more about her character and her family and see a side of Bruce we typically wouldn’t in the comics.

Eventually, tragedy will strike the two. Without giving away what happens, I will say that at a certain point in the movie, the creation of Batman, Andrea’s departure from Bruce, and the Joker’s appearance in the movie all start to add up.

It’s fair to say that Phantasm takes a few cues from Casablanca. Like Rick with Ilsa, Bruce’s character goes through a transition when meeting and losing Andrea and changes again when reuniting with and losing her again. Like Rick, Bruce’s first encounter with Andrea comes from tragedy, the end of their experience comes from tragedy, and the revival comes and goes through tragedy. And like Rick, Bruce realizes that he can’t be there for Andrea at the end of the movie, as much as he hopes he can. Is Bruce and Andrea’s love as strong and touching as Rick and Ilsa’s? Well, that’s something to think on, but there isn’t as big of a roadblock in the way for them as Victor Laszlo.

Personally, the love story in the movie is a key aspect. At this point in his life, Bruce needed a reminder of why he promised to avenge his parents. We see his first attempts at fighting crime here, and in these pre-cape and cowl attempts, he gets beat, pushed, and humiliated, not to mention that he looks questionable in a stock black mask. He had the moves and mind, but not the passion to fight yey. As we should come to know about Bruce, he will never forget the day his parents were murdered in an alley by some lucky punk, but this was years ago, even in his flashbacks.

With Andrea he finds a stone that keeps him from casting off. Bruce has not had many strong relationships in his life. This is the curse of the Bat. With each passing year the line between Batman and Bruce Wayne cuts closer to each other, and with each year becomes increasingly bitter and closer to losing sanity. As you’ll see later in the show and spin-off Batman Beyond, Bats loses contact with both Robins and Batgirl, and nearly loses Terry McGinnis at various points. Besides the children Batman has put under his wing, as the Dark Knight, he has formed a strong relationship with commissioner Gordon that doesn’t exist with Bruce, and Alfred will always be there for him until the day he dies.

But Andrea tends to see the sadness in Bruce and wanted to ease the burden from him. After leaving for the first time, Bruce rediscovers the pain of losing a loved one, and then realizes that the only way to ease this pain is to become what he fears: the bat. Earlier in the movie, a romantic moment between the two is interrupted by a flock of bats, which causes them to run. When Bruce masks up for the first time in his cave, he reveals his suit which he bases off of the image of bats. When Bruce puts the mask on in front of Alfred, his eyes change in front of him from calm and concerned to dead. The score changes to full blast when Batman is born, and as he walks off, all Alfred can do is star in horror and proclaim “my god”. At this point Bruce Wayne is no more and the Batman has arrived.

Besides Bruce and Andrea’s history with each other, the Joker is given one of his best roles in the Timmverse. He out does himself with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, not to mention a few other choice episodes, but here he’s given plenty to work with. The story involves the downfall of Gotham’s leading heads of crime, which begs for an appearance from the Clown Prince of Crime. Granted the mafia in Gotham isn’t as developed as Henry Hill’s clan in Goodfellas, but Goodfellas is about amnesty for Hill’s actions as a gangster, while the Phantasm moves for vengeance. We’re expected to loathe the gangsters in this movie, and I believe the staff have done a good job at making this possible.

The Joker is introduced here at the former home of Gotham’s World Fair, a key scene from earlier in the movie. While the fair looked alive and full of energy earlier when we met with Bruce and Andrea, when we see what has become of the location with the Joker inhabiting it, the fair ground looks as horrifying and decrepit as he does. The Joker adds a bit of humor into the movie. Between the death threats and melodrama we’ve experienced earlier on and will experience later, Mark Hamill gives another a-list performance and allows us some breathing room. His suggestions towards how to stop “guano man”, or the “clown in the costume” are written with the typical ease needed to give Joker life.

He also is involved in the one true fight scene during the entire movie. Later Timmverse shows would have more proficient fight scenes than Batman: TAS would but here is one that stands among those. Batman and Joker take each other on in a toy model Gotham setting. Besides their fists, the Joker has R/C helicopters that he uses on Batman when he can, which Bats reflects with his cape. Thanks to the movie’s PG ratingm blood is finally spilled, and for a moment it looks glorious. Even then, the rest of the fight is clever and well thought out.

Another excellent aspect is Shirley Walker’s score. Her music for the show was consistently exceptional and Phantasm’s in particular stands out as amazing. Next to a full orchestra, she adds a choir to the movie’s theme, which is inserted into the film at less noticeable places. Check out the World’s Fair scene again, for example, and you can hear a nicer, 30’s radio-friendly like take on the theme, which fits in perfectly with the 30’s looking Fair. The music has always been a high point of Batman and in Phantasm, Walker outdoes herself.

If anything can be faulted of Mask of the Phantasm, it’s that it’s animation is merely that of an above-average looking episode of the series rather than theatrical quality. Granted, there are some very smooth running sequences, good fire effects near the end, and a few candid shots that look stunning(check out when Bats keeps an eye on Andrea’s dinner with Arthur and briefly removes the binoculars. I consider it reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty), and it is worth noting that Phantasm started out as a DTV, but comparing Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy’s Big Picture Show to the TV series is a world of difference in quality. Surely Warner could have offered some more money to one of their biggest cash cows, couldn’t they?

Less-than-desired for animation can’t kill an otherwise amazing movie. As you can see, I find a lot to like about Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Here is a story that’s pleasing for fans and nonfans of the popular show, as I’ve tested beforehand. If this is what my board considers the best animated movie of all time, than they could certainly go for worse.

Originally posted on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

Typically I like to start my reviews off by giving a brief history of the people behind whatever I’m reviewing, but I believe I’ll keep this particular retrospective a bit briefer than usual.

DreamWorks, Disney’s greatest rival in animation during the past 10 years, formed in 1994 as a merger between world-renowned auteur Steven Spielberg, former head of Disney’s animated feature department Jeffrey Katzenberg, and film producer David Geffen in order to continue making successful Hollywood movies. As a studio, they’ve made such well-liked and artistically successful features as Sam Mendes’ 1999 Best Picture-winning debut American Beauty, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical Almost Famous, and Spielberg’s own influential Saving Private Ryan. Along with fellow Best Picture winners Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, these movies have proven to be critic and crowd pleasing hits, reflective of our modern movie-making abilities.

However, when one thinks of DreamWorks, it’s their animated features that come to mind. While DreamWorks has been making computer generated animated movies since Antz in 1998, as well as enjoyable albeit lesser talked about hand-drawn efforts such as The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado, what really gave life to the studio’s animation department was 2001’s Shrek, a fractured fairy tale that could be interpreted as an anti-Disney stance, and given Katzenberg’s history with the house that the Mouse built, this wouldn’t be too far off. Shrek was lewd, crude, and occasionally not as clever as it thought it was, but otherwise, was an hilarious change of pace from the typical Disney and Pixar type of movie. More importantly, it was also a major critical and commercial success, making more than four times it’s budget back domestically, and beat out Pixar favorite Monsters. Inc at the Academy’s first award for Best Animated Picture.

So it’s fair to call Shrek a hit. So much so that DreamWorks has helped to make the green ogre one of the decade’s biggest cash cows, a modern cultural icon. After the first Shrek’s incredible success, other CG animated films were to follow, most of which earning at least a lean $100 million at the box office, and helping to put the studio at the top of the modern animation food chain. DreamWorks has shelled out at least one animated feature a year, each usually following an audience-approved comedic formula in which a group of eccentric goofs go on a wacky, typically pop culture and flatulence-laden adventure(Kung-Fu Panda is one of the few that cuts down no these aspects for humor, and uses character and physical comedy at the center to earn a laugh for a change. This reviewer highly recommends KFP as viewing if you haven’t given it a spin yet.)

Next to be mentioned should be Chris Sanders. With fellow co-director Dean DeBlois, they made Lilo & Stitch for Disney, one of their biggest and most entertaining animated hits of the aughts. The story of an alien experiment gone horribly wrong that leaves it’s home planet to find shelter on the planet Earth and finds comfort in a fellow outcast of a girl touched the hearts of many fans of animation in an era where Disney’s all-mighty touch on the audience was starting to fade out. The little blue Stitch, who also was voiced by Sanders, became so well-liked by the people that he and his little girl partner would star in three sequels and a popular TV series together, while for years on end Stitch proved to be one of Disney’s best selling characters, with various bits of merchandise, Disney theme park attractions, and even a Japanese animated series dedicated to him. The movie’s lasting appeal still continues to shine with a long-anticipated special edition DVD making it’s way stateside, containing an over two-hour-long documentary showing us the process of making such an endeavor.

As any filmmaker who made a successful entity should, another film was already in plan for Sanders. He had another feature planned for Disney, American Dog, which in 2006 he was booted from after disagreements from newly-minted head of animation John Lasseter, who believed that the story, which supposedly took elements from future Pixar releases Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, was going nowhere. Sanders then left and joined DreamWorks’ animation department. A few tweaks and a new director in Chris Williams later and now we have the movie known as Bolt.

Here he and Lilo co-director DeBlois reunited to work on an animated movie that had similar development issues, How to Train Your Dragon. The movie was originally intended to follow the book more faithfully, but under Sanders and DeBlois’ direction, was spiced up a bit to appeal to older children and even people over the usual demographic for animated features. Usually DreamWorks animation staff doesn’t think of what someone like yours truly will think of their movies, but will instead add a risqué joke or two to keep parents from falling asleep. However, the idea of constructing a story with thought, merit, and character development like Pixar makes doesn’t always come to the studio’s mind.

It looks like that trend is broken with How to Train Your Dragon, which has entertained and even moved this reporter a bit.

The movie takes us to Berk, a village where fighting dragons is as common as making pie. We show up in the middle of a dragon invasion where our lead character, Hiccup, announces to us by narration that slaying dragons is a way of life for the Vikings of Berk. Hiccup is the son of Stoick the Vast, the chief of the village. Stoick is a big Viking, like most of the people of Berk, which Hiccup can’t admit to being at all. Compared to most of the Vikings in the village, Hiccup is a small potato. He’s also awkward and gawky, and proves to be unable to stand out among his peers.

Hiccup’s dream is to prove himself to his father and to slay a dragon. After the glorious looking opening battle, he finds a Night Fury, a dragon that is next-to-unknown to dragon researchers, in the woods and keeps an eye on him. After their secret encounter, Stoick realizes that it’s time for Hiccup to learn how to slay a dragon, and sends him to dragon fighting classes. Here, he and a group of fellow kids are taught by the stern but charming Gobbler the basics of dragon slaying. This is where most of the humor comes from in the movie, when Gobbler has the Vikings-in-training go through intense obstacles to practice the art of dragon slaying. As Gobbler, Craig Ferguson has a bit of fun with the little Vikings, staying true to his late night persona while also adding in some warmth into the story when Hiccup needs to hear a kind voice. Celebrity casting over personal actors tends to be a weakness of DreamWorks animation department but Ferguson is a highlight for the cast. The rest of the cast of Vikings are also fun, but the real bread and butter of the story comes from Hiccup’s encounters with the Night Fury.

Hiccup learns a lot about Night Furys, maintaining dragons, and about himself in general with Toothless, which he names after it hides it’s teeth while not eating. After each meeting Hiccup adds things into the official dragon manual about Night Furys, and learns some new techniques to keep himself alive in training. Hiccup eventually becomes the toast of the town and the desired student to slay his first dragon in front of an audience. However, the more time he spends with Toothless, the more Hiccup regrets the method of slaying dragons. But Hiccup still wants to appease his father.

I’m not going to say anymore on the story, or say that the movie ends in predictable form. While the ending will seem expected, Sanders and DeBlois take some liberties with Hiccup’s fate that you wouldn’t see in an average kids movie, and helps to make the movie a more powerful experience than your typical kids feature being put out.

And that’s probably why I liked Dragon so much. It’s the first computer generated DreamWorks animated feature that comes to mind that instead of bashing Disney, follows their blueprints of solid family entertainment more closely, making a family-friendly drama that also happens to have humor in it. Instead of adding goofy sidekicks that add to cheap laughs more than to actual story, the humor comes from the junior Viking’s squabbles and confused dialogue, which works more for belly laughs than harder laughs, but the humor meshes into Hiccup’s story well.

Hiccup’s relationship between Toothless feels realistic and emotional, like a kid who finds a pet he knows he can’t have but loves all the same. This effect isn’t surprising, considering that Sanders and DeBlois made us feel similarly about an oddball and their unusual pet a good eight years ago with Lilo & Stitch. Seeing Hiccup control Toothless on his first flight is a staggering piece of CG animation, which should look breathtaking on standard definition, let alone movie theater 3D. It’s also a key point of the film. Here Hiccup has learned enough about dragons and Night Furys to find a way to make it stay up in the air with him on it. Hiccup finally proves his resourcefulness and Toothless shows that it completely trusts Hiccup. The rest, with Hiccup losing his notes while up in the air and seeming to just not care, is stunning.

The animation is probably the best this reporter has seen of DreamWorks to date, and probably the best use of 3D in recent years. Effects such as a burning fire, waving water, and lifted dirt are brought to life with such attention to detail that the effects animators deserve the highest praise possible. The human’s desings keep up to DreamWorks usual look, but the designs of the dragons deserve equal praise. Toothless looks incredible, a nicely painted black fitting into a more colorful world, while the other dozen or so dragons used in the feature also have little subtlies that make them look equally as thought-out and desirable. For example, this reporter went to McDonalds to get one of the movie’s collectable toys, and came home with a Hideous Zippleback, a double-headed thing that calls to me as a cross between reptile and a less, well, hideous take on the double-headed dragon from Warner’s forgettable Quest for Camelot.

That‘s one reason why I seem to be so positive towards the .movie. Dragons happen to be a love affair for this reporter. One of the Disney sequences that called back to me when I was younger was when Maleficent transformed into a dragon with the powers of all hell in Sleeping Beauty, I had an addiction to American Dragon: Jake Long that lasted long after the show’s final episode aired, and I tend to pick dragons over other creatures when given the chance. I tend to eat these mythical creatures up with arms wide open, and seeing yet another world where humans and dragons interact touches my creativity like few others can.

This would mean nothing if the source material that these dragons come from was weak. Sleeping Beauty has a power antagonist in Maleficent that sucks up screen time whenever she appears and also has a fun bit of chemistry in the fairies, while Jake Long gave us a lead character whose hopes to be an average teenager were shattered by expectations that only his stern but loving grandfather could see in him and have us follow him on the way as he discovers his abilities and the pain of loss and heartache that he experiences because of them, and Dragon has an awkward kid find a kindred spirit in an undiscovered beauty, which eventually helps him understand the merits of a little known about species. Like Avatar without jamming the message our visual effects down our throats.

DreamWorks seems to be selling itself thin now. Between this and a hugely popular animated series based on the penguins from the Madagascar movies, we have a fourth spin into the world of Shrek, a more typical DreamWorks feature in the Will Ferell-lead Megamind, and a series based off of Kung-Fu Panda this year alone, not to mention a sequel for Panda next year. As of right now, I’m going to call How to Train Your Dragon the DreamWorks project of the year to see, and an early forerunner for the Academy’s Best Animated Picture. Maybe it’s time for another movie of theirs to win the award, so the first Shrek won’t feel so lonely. I’d give it a nomination, at least.

Originally posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

This is by far the anime medium’s magnum opus. Mars of Destruction is the best animated movie I’ve seen in years, if not ever. In terms of science-fiction related media, this blows other greats such as Heinlein’s works, Battlestar Galactica, and Neon Genesis Evangelion out of the water. Truly an experience I will never forget, and oh, what an experience it was!

Story: 10/10
This film is highly philosophical. I actually felt regret when the Big Bad Ancient Guy told Random Armored Cop Dude that the humans were the true invaders of Earth. This plot twist was stunning and, on the whole, thought-provoking. It was like something written by Kafka.

Art/Animation: 10/10
This movie is so amazing that it actually makes DEEN’s animation look like Madhouse by comparison. It gave me more appreciation for other anime titles! I love you, Mars Of Destruction!!!

Sound: 10/10
The voice acting is absolutely perfect. When the characters yell each other’s names repeatedly you will FEEL the emotion. The OST recorded by Beethoven himself is also marvelous. He did an excellent job, as always.

Characters: 10/10
The characters are all equally well-done, from Green Hair Girl to Blue Hair Girl; it’s so easy to tell them apart! I especially enjoyed the doctor’s dialogue, as I would not have known that the girl whose head exploded was dead without his helpful reminder that “she won’t make it.”

Enjoyment: 10/10
This picture is absolutely riveting on every level! I could watch it over and over and never get bored!

Overall: 10/10
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest YouTube to catch this masterpiece as soon as possible! You won’t regret it!

Originally posted on Friday, December 30, 2009.

NOTE: This is about the anime adaptation. I like the visual novel – it’s good. Also, I wrote this over three years ago and acknowledge that it is very abrasive and kind of obnoxious. I’m only leaving it up for posterity. Please do not judge the rest of our blog on the merits of this particular piece.

Hello, everyone! Foggle here, back with another anime review! Unfortunately, there are no pictures this time, because I am far too lazy. Anyway, enjoy!

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Umineko no Naku Koro ni is a mystery with no intrigue, a romance with no soul, and a story with some of the most uninteresting characters and appalling plot twists ever created. Not since Hannibal Rising have I been so shocked by such a putrid sequel (or spiritual successor here, I suppose) to one of my favorite series. Perhaps Higurashi was just a fluke, since Rei was markedly worse. Beginner’s luck, I suppose.

Let’s start with the story. “Story.” Haha, you’re killin’ me! It starts out promisingly enough; the Ushiromiya family arrives on Rokkenjima for a family meeting, and things go very bad very fast. A few episodes of terrible animation, retarded boob jokes, creepy laughs, and mysterious yet violent incidents later, the entire family ends up dead. Sound familiar? It’s not as solid as Higurashi, but expectations run high.

And then we meet Beatrice.

The unconventional but wholly intriguing “tea party” happens. Viewers everywhere are pumped up for the next arc. “This is going to be amazing!” I remember thinking. How wrong I was.

I knew from the moment the ambiguously gay Dickens-esque urchin child randomly sprouted a laser sword with which to fight off a bunch of goat-men that things were about to go downhill. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. From this point on, the plot-points become increasingly more stupid; so much so that you’ll be actively wondering what the hell everyone was smoking when they green-lighted this catastrophe.

The mystery also completely falls off at this point in favor of inane magic fights, the worst “torture” (and I use this term VERY loosely) scenes ever put on video, and one of the most contrived and possibly most idiotic romance sub-plots I’ve ever seen in an anime series. This garbage is so rancid that I had to drop it after 16 episodes (though I did skim the rest to see what I was missing, which almost made me puke in disgust).

Next, let’s talk about the characters. After all, you can’t have a good story without good characters, and the characters in Umineko are about as good as the story. Meaning? They’re horrendous. There are so many characters it’s hard to keep track of them all. Not that it matters, as their “development” (another term I use loosely) is outclassed by the likes of Italian Spiderman and perhaps even Ninja Gaiden 2. It seems throughout much of the series that their only purpose in life is to die. This raises some thoughts of Existentialism. No, I don’t mean that the philosophy is present in the anime itself, I mean that Umineko is so bad it makes me want to kill myself.

Worse still are the characters introduced midway through the series. The Siestas and the Seven Stakes Of Purgatory would merely be a bad idea in any other anime, but here they’re just vomit-inducing. One of this series’ crowning moments of awful is the synapse-destroying scene in which the bunny girls (the former party mentioned in this paragraph) shoot one of the family members with their magic bow, a dramatic and completely-intended-to-be-serious moment in which DEEN felt like it was a good idea to parody The Terminator. My face damn near smashed my keyboard in half at this point while my accomplice with whom I watched this monstrosity proceeded to vomit on my shoes. They were pretty nice shoes, too. Fuck you, Umineko.

Of course, it is impossible to discuss the flaws of this anime without mentioning the downright horrible art and animation. DEEN does it again with this one, from giving the characters disproportionate heads to actually forgetting to fully draw and color in one of the character’s suits at one point.

The only redeeming aspect of this series is the audio. I really like all the music used in it, especially the tracks ripped straight from the VN, as they’re wonderfully atmospheric (when you can hear them). The OP and ED are also quite catchy, and perhaps my only solace during my unfortunate stint of watching this miserable pile of shit.

The voice acting is also pretty decent. Not the best in the world, but it definitely gets the job done.

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Story: 1/10
Characters: 1/10
Art/Animation: 1/10
Music: 8/10
Voice Acting: 7/10
Overall: 2/10
The Verdict: Don’t watch this show. Ever. If you really want to dive into the story, read the VN. It’s much better, but, IMO, still not all that impressive. At least I can actually see why people would like it, though.

–Foggle

Originally posted on Friday, December 25, 2009.

Rushing this in to make sure I kept with my deadline, let me say that I couldn’t wait for a movie like The Princess and the Frog more. I’m hoping to see it this Friday and post about it on the main blog. Anyway, here are the articles I mentioned in the first part.

John Musker & Ron Clements: The Legacy

The Great Mouse Detective (1986):

The beginning of a beautiful friendship, and what a beginning! Based on a series of children’s books which in turn were based off of Sir Conan Doyle’s legendary Sherlock Holmes stories, The Great Mouse Detective was a brimming change of pace, a fun, clever mystery movie given fresh animation by it’s determined staff.

When little Olivia’s tinkering toy-making father is taken away from her, she goes down to Baker Street, along with the kind doctor Dawson who follows her, where the only person who could find him lives: Basil, the great mouse detective. After presenting her case and witnessing the return of the peg-legged bat that Olivia remembers taking his father away, Basil deduces that the crime lord Ratigan must be behind her father’s capture. The three go through a traditional, albeit highly enjoyable, adventure to find him and stop Ratigan’s plot to use Olivia’s father’s craft making to create a robotic recreation of the Queen of mouse-ruled England.

While Great Mouse Detective didn’t make a killing in the box-office and is typically considered to be a part of the 70’s-late 80’s dark age, but this reviewer thinks that the movie is as enjoyable as the studio’s big 4 of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. One reason is that the animation stands above other the Disney movies. Around this time, the studio was experimenting with computer-usage. Not only were the layouts and coloring done on computers, but the intense Big Ben battle was given life thanks to early usage of CGI.

Ratigan also completely owns the movie. Starting off as a playful enemy similar to Jafar or Captain Hook, his first appearance starts off with a playful musical number giving us the mental imagery that Ratigan is the greatest criminal mind around, albeit not one to mess with. Unlike, say, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” or “Be Prepared” which rely on us to take note of how epic our villain is, “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind” gives the audience a chance to enjoy our foe as an entertaining persona. After feeding a drunk accomplice of his to his pet cat after calling him a mouse, Ratigan proves himself to be a memorable antagonist. At the end when he lets loose and takes Basil on over Big Ben he reveals himself to be as equally a frightening enemy as he is a joyful discussion. Lest we forget the charisma in Vincent Price’s acting, a timeless trait that stays true here.

The Great Mouse Detective is fun on a lot of levels, and was only the beginning of a good directorial team. It would be a bit presumptuous to call it the true start of the studio’s Renaissance, but comparing it to the studio’s most recent movies, there is a noticeable step up of quality in Detective lacking form the others.

The Little Mermaid (1989):

Now here is what most consider to be the kick start of the Renaissance Disney’s animation studio. For the first time in 3 decades audiences were treated to a princess story worth caring about made best by the House of Mouse. For the first time in over 2 decades, an animated Disney movie won an Academy Award for Best Song. And for the first time in who-knows-when, audiences of all ages fell in love with a fully animated Disney film. Girls found a lead worth idolizing, boys found a “girl” movie they could like and still be “tough”, and adults had their inner child rewarded again.

After the massive success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? gave the Disney studio the notion that animated features are still able to be enjoyed by any age, Jeffrey Katzenberg greenlit Clements’ idea for a animated portrayal of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale. Given an animation budget higher than any movie in recent years, the studio was already expecting The Little Mermaid to become a success, as it proved to be both critically and commercially.

The story is as timeless and iconic as any Disney story before it. Ariel, the youngest of King Triton’s daughters, is tired of living a dull life under the sea. Ariel is an adventurous girl; not able to sit still, she needs to go around and find her own adventures, which is what attracts her to the human world. After a glimpse of Prince Eric, a human bored of the life he’s living. Ariel goes as far as to trade her voice with the sea hag Ursula for legs so she can enjoy human life. While up on the shore she gets the chance to meet Eric for herself and the rest is better left unsaid.

There was more to The Little Mermaid that drew audiences in besides the time-honored, true-to-form story. For one, the animation was a key factor in it’s success. Given to a strong staff of 300 and adding in multiple uses of special effects, particularly for the movie’s usage of bubbles, Little Mermaid’s colorful, bouncy animation stood out in an era of dark Xeroxed or experimental CG features. Even Ursula’s purple-filled scenes looks lively, something that the studio’s movies really needed.

The characters are also necessary parts of the equation. Ariel was already mentioned earlier, but who can forget Sebastian the crab, the sea world’s greatest composer, is an outstanding character, a pompous guardian who fumbles in his attempts to protect Ariel. He really seems to care about Ariel for more than just his job, which allows his strictness to be just, and is still fun in many of his scenes. Flounder is also fun, the traditional guppy in all of us put on screen and given as a perfect foil to Ariel’s fearless, experimental character, and Scuttle’s “insights” into the human world are highly entertaining. On the darker side of things, Ursula gave us classic type of villain, a vicious sea hag jealous about Ariel’s looks, beautiful voice and importance, and jumps at the chance to mess with her life to receive beauty, vocal abilities, and power. Her eventual end is cruel but satisfying.

Oh, yes, then there’s the music. Little Mermaid was written more like a Broadway musical than anything, which explains the quality of music we got from the movie. “Part of Your World” is the perfect example of the Disney standard of letting the music tell the story when nothing else can: Ariel’s cry out to the human world, her wish to escape sea life and to experience something different sung to the movie‘s audience and can still be heard all over. The rest of the music, including the Oscar-winning “Under the Sea” are great, but here’s the movies definining moment, as it should be for Disney: a killer song.

Eventually sparking interest in more great films to come, Musker and Clements’ second film left an impression on audiences that would only develop into something even more poignant.

Aladdin (1992):

Musker and Clements commercial peak, this worldwide half-billion money maker continued to make money for the company years after impact, and in this reviewer‘s opinion at the time of writing, contains the best soundtrack out of all of their movies.

Scheherezad-ie had a thousand tales, but the general conscious’ favorite by far was the tale of Al’s genie. Poor street rat Aladdin is given a stroke of luck when he saves the princess Jasmine from learning the brakes of suburban living and meets the girl of his dreams. Unbeknownst to him, however, the sultan’s royal advisor, the crooker Jafar, sends Al off to his “death”, only to guide him the unknowing Diamond in the Rough into the mystic Cave of Wonders. Jafar’s goal is simple: get the magic lamp and return it to him for his “greatest” reward. When Aladdin’s pet monkey Abu breaks one of the established rules of the cave(do not touch anything in it but the lamp), the cave implodes upon them and their new magic carpet friend.

Waiting for a way to escape, Aladdin notices hard-to-read writing in the lamp and rubs it, and out pops Robin William’s Genie, an endlessly fun character perfect for him. Aladdin stands out from the other three movies in the big 4 thanks to the Genie’s film caricatures(made possible thanks to the magics of time travel, even if this movie takes place centuries before there was such a thing as popular culture) and visual humor. In one classic track, “Friend Like Me”, the Genie shows Al just what he can do as a wish-granter and comic genius, done entirely in showtunes.

Aladdin, who’s proven himself to be a clever and honest protagonist earlier in the movie, uses his first wish to make him appear as a majestic prince able to win Jasmine’s heart. Once again using the magic of Genie and song he attempts to win the princess’ heart and the sultan’s approval by flashing off his wealth and charm. He succeeds easily in the latter, but Jasmine isn’t initially so sure. After s night of magic and romance, though, Jasmine comes to respect the mighty Prince Ali, even if she doesn’t know that Al is only a street rat.

The Little Mermaid was a good beginning, but Aladdin takes the new-found golden standards for Disney movies to higher depths. The animation is more lively; the test work for “Friend Like Me” blowing away fellow animators, for one thing. The writing is sharper; not only is the dialogue cleverer and the characters are given better material to use with each other, but the story feels grander, even with it’s brisk pacing. And do I need to mention the music? I’ve already mentioned “Friend Like Me” and proclaimed “A Whole New Whole” the Renaissance’s theme, but props also deserve to be given to “One Jump Ahead”, Aladdin’s catchy ode to fending for oneself, and the opener “Arabian Nights”, tuned well enough to be the later animated series intro.

Until The Lion King topped it, Aladdin was the highest grossing animated movie of all time, topping itself every other week, and became yet another landmark in animation from an era full of landmarks in animation.

Hercules (1997):

The gods granted us a film adaptation of the legendary child of Zeus back in the 90‘s when Katzenberg told Musker and Clements that to be able to make the “Treasure Island in space” movie they wanted to make, they would have to comply to his wish for an animated adaptation of the Greek myths(more on that in a moment). While Jeff left before Hercules came out, and the film didn’t do as well as he would of hoped for, it’s become something of an appreciated cult favorite in recent years.

The Muses, a Gospel-like choir who narrate the story with their voices, Hades is on the search for the Titans ever since Zeus banned him to the Underworld and hid them from him. When Hercules, the son of Zeus and Hera, is born, Hades goes to the Fates who tell him that in eighteen years, a planetary alignment will reveal were the Titans are so Hades can bring his wrath to the earth again. He has his comic assistants Pain and Panic take Hercules away from the gods and onto the earth, to poison Hercules so he can be made him mortal. Being the bumbling idiots they are, though, Herc only receives half of the poison, leaving his godly powers in tact.

After spending years as the village nuisance, Hercules is told of his godly legacy. He heads off to find a statue of his father, who tells him that if he can prove himself to be a true hero, he can regain his godlike powers. Herc, along with his early gift Pegasus, head off to find Philoctetes in order to train to prove his godlike status. During training, he meets the gorgeous Megara, who gives Herc the courage to work hard enough to prove his worth. Little does he know what her purpose on Earth is, though, which draws Hades back into the story.

Hercules might be a tad formulaic at this point, but the fun gospel-inspired soundtrack saves the movie a great deal. A change of pace from the Broadway-themed tunes from the past few movies, songs like “the Gospel Truth”, on top of the playful, over-the-top humor, helped make the movie stand out from the overdramatic turns taken place in Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. James Wood’s Hades is another highlight. Merely a (good) joke at first, near the end he lets his invidious personality truly go full form at the end, when it seems like he may not win. Hades is an enjoyable villain with an obvious mean streak.

Hercules may not be Disney’s best film but for those looking for a bit of fun, and a change of pace from the Disney standard, it’s highly worth checking out.

Treasure Planet (2002):

Ever since the days of The Little Mermaid, it’s been a dream of Ron Clements to direct a space-age retelling of Treasure Island. Shot down time and time again by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Clements as well as Musker were given the chance to turn this interesting concept into a movie, as long as they agreed to make an animated feature based off of Hercules. Now that they were given the time to allow the technology needed to make the movie look as good as they imagined happen, Treasure Planet was on set to be released.

Yet it tanked.

Blamed mainly on the lack of interest in 2D animation at the time of release(attendance for Disney’s hand-drawn features were down at this point, especially in comparison to the booming Pixar studio‘s recent intakes), and the seemingly uninteresting concept in futurisizing a classic tale, Treasure Planet didn’t come close to making the studio’s money back, and is barely looked back upon at all. Which is a shame, because on second look, it’s a fine movie.

Jim Hawkins is your average trouble-making kid, with a love for adventure ever since a young age. Living with only his mother, Jim tries to keep an eye on the family inn while solar surfing around. True to the story in it’s own way, a spaceship crashes near the inn, with a dying pilot giving Jim a sphere, which after the clever Dr. Doppler has a look at, reveals a holograph that is supposedly a map to Treasure Planet.

Jim, who’s been fascinated with the fable of Treasure Planet since he was young, and Doppler head off on a mission to find the planet, with a crew of colorful characters. The obvious highlight here is, of course, John Silver, the ship’s cook who always seems to keep a close eye on Jim, partly for the map, it appears. After mutiny begins on the board, Jim, Doppler, and Captain Amelia leave with the map, continuing their expedition, unaware of who’s following them.

Treasure Planet took some obvious risks, but at the end of the day, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel can be enduring in any format, be it as a book, movie, Muppet experience, or even as a sci-fi epic. It’s not as if Musker and Clements actually raped the story; liberties are taken, but traits such as Jim’s persistent character and his relationship with Silver are what built the strengths of the story to begin with.

Treasure Planet isn’t necessarily the strongest classic but it’s a good experience all the same and worth looking into if you want the full Disney experience.

5 Lesser-Known Classics Worth Checking Out if You Haven’t:

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949):

The last of the package features and one that keeps mostly cohesive stories. The Wind in the Willows satisfies British fans with it’s illogical whimsy while The Legend of Sleepy Hollow keeps patriots happy with it’s time-honored virtues portrayed on screen on top of it’s clever, fright-filled storytelling.

The Sword and the Stone (1963):

The first animated Disney movie to feature songs by the Sherman Brothers, this retelling of the classic British legend tends to be ignored in comparison to the movies that came out between it(101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book), but Merlin’s pre-Genie slapstick magician on top of his playful chemistry with the owl Archimedes. In any form, the story of the unlucky boy becoming king is always uplifting and Disney’s rendition is no exception.

The Fox and the Hound (1981):

The last movie with involvement from the Nine Old Men and the first to kick off the work of the new blood, the innocent tale of two different species interacting with each other while being unaware of the tension going on between their masters and the type of mammals they are makes another great animal film from the studio.

The Black Cauldron (1985):

A bit underdeveloped, but still a worthy watch. Arguably one of the most controversial Disney movies, their first animated PG movie is a good beginning tale of a younger warrior. Also memorable for the awesome villain The Horned King and for being the first Disney movie to experiment with CGI in it’s animation.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996):

One of Disney’s most mature features, Hunchback took a lot of liberties from Victor Hugo’s French novel, but at the same time made a classic on par with the rest of the top 4. Quasimodo’s forgiving lead character makes his plight believable and Judge Claude Frollo’s sexual desires for the gypsy Esmeralda push the boundaries of the G rating. To keep this retrospective brief, this is a movie worth checking out, even if you’re a hardcore Hugo fan.

Originally posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009.