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amorrice80
Reviews
Avenger Penguins (1993)
And to think they said that I was MAD!
What can I say about the last great cartoon to emerge from th doors of Cosgrove-Hall? I'll section it into bits:
ANIMATION: Fantastic. Full of expressive actions and memorable character designs. Lots of good use of full and limited animation and various instances of the 'smear' effect. Not above taking the mickey out of themselves either (ie. The deliberately scruffy-looking Badly Drawn Brothers)Unfortunately the last time Cosgrove-Hall used cel which always looks 100 times better than computer in my humble opinion.
WRITING: What you've come to expect from CH. Sharp, satirical and funny. Probably the chief reason CH hasn't had many intelligent top-rated shows in recent years. There is too much dumbing down these days that has made clever series like this suffer. Good solid characterisation makes these cartoon characters really seem real.
VOICES: Incredible when you consider there are only three men and a woman doing ALL the voices. They all sound individual and even though there are numerous instances of doubling-up, one never notices it. Great delivery derives comedy from lines that aren't necessarily funny on paper. Another thing that's good about the soundtrack is the use of sound effects to enhance the mood. For example if a character speaks about a dog one can hear a bark sound in the background or if we see a close-up of something horrible we hear a scream coming from nowhere.
Overall a great show, half parodic and half serious. If you liked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Danger Mouse then you'll like this healthy mixture of the two.
Never Bug an Ant (1969)
Everyone's entitled to an opinion.
But in my view, what the previous commentator described are what made the series (in particular this episode) so entertaining! I love the backgrounds, and would love to know how Dick Ung and Tom O'Loughlin did that thing with the spots and paint crease effects. I would love to be able to get that music on CD. I also like the way that some of the guide-lines are left in on this short, gives the film a rough, primitive feel to it which adds to the nature of the hunger chase idea. I like the voices too. i'd like to track down more of John Byners's work.
"What do you think of that? (BOOM) I know what I think of that, but I shouldn't say it in public."
Victor & Hugo: Bunglers in Crime (1991)
A much-ignored gem
What can I add that The Adster hasn't already said! Top show all round. Wacth out for Gaston & Pierre who appear in several episodes of Count Duckula, upon whom V&H are based. FUNNY. If only the monkeys at freemantle would do a decent job with their DVD releases and let us see this show again (or for the first time for many fans), after all there are so many obscure shows making it onto DVD nowadays so why not? Avenger Penguins was pretty decent too, in a different way.
Catch this show if you can, it is excellent and worthy of a rerun. Maybe Boomerang or someone could pick it up and give us a break from Spongebob and Scooby Doo? Thishful winking...and that IS what I said you brain of a banana!
Mumbo Jumbo (1970)
Mumbo Jumbo
After his 'Brother's of the Forest' lodge meeting, the Ant befriends an elephant named Tiny who rushes to his aid whenever the Ant shouts the keyword 'Zimbalazumbala!' Ultimately the Aardverk joins the lodge to avoid getting pachedermic pummelings.