Well, I'm stuck up at school this morning till my first class starts, so I'm just going to ramble about cartoons and animated shit for a bit because I've been ranting at random people and I should probably get my thoughts out here.

Also, to the people I owe crap too... don't worry, I'm getting tons of work done today. And if I don't, Neil's gonna punish me. I'm not sure how, seeing as I can easily kick his ass and there's little he can deprive me of that wouldn't be a loss for him as well (if ya catch my drift)... but I gave him permission to punish me SOMEHOW if I don't get work done so... yes. I'll get a harsh finger-wag, oh yes.

Anyway...

Don Bluth Movies
I like the old Don Bluth movies. Even corny-ass ones like Rock-a-Doodle. And I was trying to think of why... And I figured it out. Aside from being well-animated and lovely and such, each movie traumatized me a little, cementing them in my memory forever.

The Secret of NIMH - ... fuckin hell. Who didn't get a little bit tweaked by this movie as a kid? Especially the lab rats being injected with shit at the N.I.M.H. facility. That was terrifying, and one of those scene I watched pretty stone-faced. I don't know when I first viewed it, as it was made 5 years before I was born... it and the Little Mermaid are my earliest animated-movie memories... and I think I only remember the Little Mermaid fondly because my mom kept explaining how much I loved The Little Mermaid ... even though I can't remember being THAT fond of it, and I think she was just impressing HER love for it on me. But anyhoo...

Rock-A-Doodle - I actually recently re-watched this on Youtube. I remember watching this and, while I loved it, being EFFING TERRIFIED of the fuckin owls. Watching it as a 20-year-old, I kinda felt silly, because the owls were really funny. I never appreciated all the little things, like The Duke embroidering and employing a little frog to thread the needle back through, saving him energy. But... I can see WHY the owls scared me. For those who haven't seen Rock-a-Doodle (I'm still trying to find a good DVD copy, my old VHS went KAPUT several years ago)... the premise is that the Owls can't stand and are physically harmed by sunlight (or light in general), and in the absence of the rooster whose singing/crowing charms the sun into the sky, they descend on the farm animals with the intention of eating them. Said animals, for the majority of the movie, are trapped in the flooded farmer's house on a bed in a room filled with water, armed with a flashlight to fend off the owls... who circle a hole in the roof, singing what was actually a rather catchy song about them running out of batteries... but when you're like 5-years-old as I was (approx.), that taunting song is MORBID and TERRIFYING... but I got a huge laugh when the rabbit turned the flashlight on, abruptly ending their morbid, jaunty little song, causing them to scatter.

Course, Edmond being turned into a friggin' cat (and his apparrent death at the end) scared me. And even when I was little, the bad blue screen scene at the end bugged the hell out of me. I thought maybe Edmond HAD died and that was some friggin ghostly aura.

BUT I liked the movie. I mean, I'm a whore for Don Bluth's films in general so I'm biased... but yeah.

A Troll in Central Park - Like most of Don Bluth's films, this one is typically pretty dark, with moments of truly whimsical moments that are a great contrast. Aside from being traumatized, I think even as a little kid I liked 'darker' movies. Anyhoo, this one was a BIG FAV of mine. More than Thumbelina, at the time.

So many moments that got me emotional and freaked out as a kid. When Stanley got banished to Earth/Manhattan (accidentally), and he was so depressed about it, thinking he was in a place where 'nothing grows,' I was just all google-eyed and bawling along with him. He was just an easy character to sympathize with, I guess. Also, I thought Gnorga's(sp?) various spells were cruel (fitting I guess), like Gus almost drowning them in his tears. And then the whole turning Gus into a troll thing and forcing him to touch Stanley with his thumb and turn him to stone... and then the kids mourning this... Damnit. I was depressed every time I saw that.

Also the songs were pretty fun. I'd like to watch it again...

The Land Before Time - Everyone and their grandma has seen this movie, so there's no point elaborating too much... but you know what I mean by this movie being traumatizing. With parents dying and the constant threat of death or loneliness, and the beautiful but haunting song played in the credits... yeah.

Anastasia - Even being the most 'Disney-esque' of the lot and being alot more widely accepted... even this movie was a bit dark and traumatizing. Anyone who already knew the story of Anastasia would have been a bit somber from the start. And even still, the mood was atypically dark for a large sum of the film, and it had several of the traumatizing scenes I've come to expect. Like Rasputin's sending the nightmares/demons/whatever in the form of Anya's deceased siblings, cheerily tempting her to jump off the boat to her death. Thaaatttt was creepy and morbid (They never really explain the fate of her elder sisters and younger brother in the movie itself, I believe, but for those who knew or later became aware of the actual story of the Romanovs... then it really feels morbid and sad). But I like that about these movies, as I've said.

Titan A.E. - Let it be known that I hate the idea of being in space. Or on a space ship. Explosive decompression and ebullism are the things of my nightmares (in fact, Sunday night I had a dream about that.) ... and one of the many reasons I would never seriously entertain the ideas of space travel or deep-sea escapades (Good lord, especially not reading about the diver who friggin EXPLODED during the Byford Dolphin disaster... heeelll nooo). I've always said if Earth was being evacuated and everyone was leaving in space ships, I'd plant my happy-ass right here and accept my fate as Earth's. You'd have to drug me and keep my constantly sedated to get me onto a fuggin space ship.

ANYWAY... so I avoid movies generally that deal with space travel in a ... how to put it... realistic way? I don't mind like Star Trek or Star Wars movies because they're so 'out there' that I don't take anything that happens in them seriously. But Titan A.E. has a way more realistic approach, so... that alone was that movie's traumatizing factor for me.

Also the Drej were pretty hard ass. Fuckers.


Anyway... AND NOW

A RANT ABOUT BEING A FAN

As far as being a 'fan' goes... I can generally say I'm a fan of certain things, but never apart of the 'fandom.' I rarely if ever join forums or communities of fans. I tried briefly for Kim Possible, but I ran into the same problems as before: I'm not the same kind of fan as others.

I tend to enjoy the series I like for their duration, and actively contribute to the 'fandom' only while the series is producing new episodes. Once the series has concluded, I generally stop actively talking about it or involving myself. For example, Kim Possible. I adore this show, and before it was concluded I was drawing fan art and talking to other fans. But after the series finale, the drive to contribute faded.

It's over. What's done is done, the canon is set and closed, there's nothing left to speculate, and I'm happy with that. I have no desire to extend the story (fan fiction), nor am I inspired to do any fanart. I've proven I CAN draw the characters well. That's all I need.

Maybe that makes me out to be a 'fair-weather' fan, I guess. But I just like to appreciate the show AS IT IS. I don't want to turn it into something else -- I'm a fan of what it is, not what I want it to be. So when a show is over, I feel there's nothing that needs to be contributed. Unless the idea of Kim in a certain outfit amuses me... its hard to care about making fanart. Everything Kim was or could ever be has happened. The shows over. She didn't grow older in the show since it's over ... that window is closed. I don't care about the potential future of Kim in her fictional universe. The story was told of a certain segment of her life, and once that specific story was told, that window was shut. The rest is a completely different story. What needed to be told, was.

So, that's why I don't do a lot of fan work. It's pointless to me, because I'm a stupid canon-whore. I just feel if you have new ideas, apply them in an original way. Kim Possible is over, with its own set of rules and resolutions. I honestly don't feel a 'true fan' would or should spend their time re-inventing what they're a fan of ... that's so stupid to me. If you're a fan of something, why are you trying to change it? That makes me think you were never a fan to begin with, you just latched on to some choice concepts and discarded the rest, desiring to focus on those elements instead of the whole.

And this kinda ties into...

CARTOON RANT, YA'LL

So... that rant was inspired by my apprehension about giving my opinions on either Danny Phantom, American Dragon: Jake Long or Brandy and Mr. Whiskers.

All of those shows are over and concluded, so I feel that involving myself actively with either is a bit pointless... this is mostly because I feel the review of a cartoon is crucial when the story is still playing out. That's when you can direct the immediate attention of potential fans towards the show, so it gets the attention it deserves (or you can direct people away from it, so it doesn't get undue attention and overshadow better programs). But since both have concluded, and in one way or another they can be watched at one's leisure... it is a bit silly to be reviewing them.

BUT, I'd planned to before their various season finales, so I SHALL.

Danny Phantom
Long story short, Danny Phantom is 'okay.' I wouldn't call it terrible, but it's nothing exceptional or worth going out of your way to watch. The animation is pretty standard and minimal, so if you want nice visuals, you're out of luck. Stylistically, it could have used more detail, as the Fairly Odd Parents style doesn't really lend itself to a more serious plot -- it just looks silly. As far as characters go, it mostly recycles the various Fairly Odd Parents cast into new roles.
Danny is really just an older, more mellow, Timmy Turner with black hair and normal teeth. Chester and A.J. have been combined into Tucker. Sam, while not derivative, doesn't bring anything new to the formula to celebrate her as an original character. Danny's dad is a blissfully ignorant moron. Danny's mom, while exponentially more intelligent than Timmy's parents combined, is still ignorant and this ignorance causes problems for Danny.

As far as the plot, Danny Phantom is a watered-down Spiderman ... or, well, I could cite most super hero comics really. It brings nothing new to the genre, pounding in some of the oldest cliches and plot devices.

However, while boring for all the point mentions, Danny Phantom does win out for its rare moments of humour. Generally, the jokes were kinds forced. I feel like they should have invested more time fleshing out character interactions, like with Danny and his family, as when they got rolling with those interactions and jokes, it was genuinely engaging and funny.

This show had potential, they just focused on the most overdone aspects of the Super Hero genre, and downplayed all the things that would have made Danny Phantom memorable.

If I had to rate this show on a scale, it'd get a 5/10.

American Dragon: Jake Long
I found the first season of the show generally annoying. Partially, it was the style / character designs. They all looked very dopey, with very limited expressions. It was really hard to empathize with them, especially when the plot would get more serious but Jake still looked mildly amused by it all. Also, while I could see where the effort was made, it did nothing 'new' with the concept of mythological creatures and magic, and it struggled to be humorous. I could just tell when a joke was going to be made, and there was always this feeling of, 'ooooohh.... nice try there, bucko. Good effort.'

The second season was alot better, to the point that I'll gladly watch a season 2 episode, whereas I'll immediately change the channel during a season 1 episode. The humor suddenly became sincerely funny and charming, the infamous art style was -- not only tolerable -- but original and likable. The characters lost their dopey-eyes and catty smiles, and got streamlined; more fitting for the 'serious' aspects of the plot.

Also, the redesign of Jake's 'dragon form' was alot cooler. Him turning into that dopey looking muscular 'Western' dragon was not only lame visually, but the fact that he was of Chinese descent and turned into a European dragon? Yeah. Changing his design to a more Eastern dragon made alot more sense, and was in general more likable.

I'd rate season 1 4/10, and season 2 7/10.

Brandy and Mr. Whiskers
Nothing made me sadder than production for this show stopping during Season 2. I love this show. This, much like Dave the Barbarian, is a genuinely funny, charming and original program that just didn't get enough attention. The main characters are charming-yet-obnoxious, the humor is fresh and got actual giggles out of me, and the animation is fluid and lively. It was nice to watch, say, Brandy talk, because she was in constant motion with believable mouth movements, changing body posture and appropriate gestures. I'm really sad that there will be no more new episodes, as this has been the first animated comedy to get real laughs out of me since Futurama and Dave the Barbarian (I don't include South Park only because it's not within the realm of focus, being pretty stictly adult-oriented. Even for some adult situations and an older audience in mind, I feel Futurama is one of those shows that is never lewd, even when characters are cussing or referencing sex... there's just an innocence about it. It's hard to explain).


AND NOW, in lieu of the fact that those reviews are pointless and reviews should be used to direct attention to or away from current shows, I shall remedy this with reviews of shows that haven't concluded:

My Gym Partner's A Monkey
This is a terrible. Terrible. Terrible cartoon. I even regard seeing it Rule 34'd (porn drawn of it, for those not in the know) as not as terrible an experience as actually WATCHING the show.
The main character, Adam Lyon, is a generally intelligent, nice kid to whom NOTHING NICE ever happens. That's all well and good, and is often the way things go in cartoons... but it just gets pathetic. He can't do anything right, and mostly because his 'best friend' is the most annoying creature on the planet -- Jake the spidermonkey. Even Jake being his 'best friend' is weak, as Adam expresses displeasure in Jake's company frequently... and yet they are some how best friends.
All of the jokes for this show are forced. I have never even smiled while watching an episode. Jake is the most annoying, unlikable character I've seen in awhile... and the creators clearly think he's adorable, the way they focus on him.
And the circumstances for Adam being put in an 'animal school' and the mistake never being rectified just makes me hit my head against a wall. While there's always a suspension of belief with cartoons, the concept is just so stupid and forced. In fact, the character Windsor even references this in a joke -- but even then, it doesn't come off as witty or a self-referencing joke. It's more like the final scene in that horrible, unfunny movie 'Waiting' that all my friends recommended (I hate them forever for suggesting I waste that hour of my life on that garbage), wherein the 'new guy' who'd been silent throughout the whole movie EXPLODES in rage and points out how stupid and contrived all of the characters and scenarios are. Like the angry new kid, Windsor's observation isn't self-referencing humor as much as it is one character knowing that they're trapped in a fail-world filled with fail-people doomed to fail forever.

If it hasn't been made clear enough: I hate this show. 2/10

The Replacements
I was wary of this cartoon when I saw the commercials for it on Disney. I felt it was going to be another cartoon that's all 'Oh, look how wacky we are ... aren't we wacky? WACKY WACKY HUR HUR.' But I was surprised to find it charming and genuinely funny. The second season (albeit it very short, only 8 episodes long) has started airing, and there seems to be a style change. I'm unsure of it, I have yet to see a new episode.

Anyway, this is a fairly cute, amusing show that I'd recommend giving a chance. A 7/10.

The Emperor's New School
Like the Replacements above, this was another Disney show I was wary of. Mostly because it's a spin off of the hilarious and personal favorite movie, "The Emperor's New Groove." For one, I didn't think it could be as funny as the original movie. Secondly, I just don't like spin-off shows.

HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprised to find the show quite funny and charming. The animation is pretty okay, stylistically it's rather minimalistic and flat though, not as charming visually as the movie. But the characters move more fluidly than I expected, and I like to watch them talk and pull expressions. The humor is pretty quirky and fun, getting some real chuckles out of me.

All in all, a pretty cute show worth a little attention. 6/10



I was going to talk about more, but I feel like I've wasted enough time and dragged this journal on long enough...

Hmm. Well. That's it for now, I guess.

AWAY I GO *VROOM*

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