The musical element is an absolute stand out, the casting is perfect, the episodic stories are good as well as the park vs development villain storyline that ties it together. Smooth quality animation and natural dialogue, with all the silly quirkiness you'd expect from a show animated like Bob's Burgers. It's early but I feel confident to recommend the watch.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Harley Quinn
(2019– )
Top Tier
8 May 2020
A fresh take on Gotham filled with flavour and fun. Every character has been given relatable human flaws and speak in conversational casual lending them so much more believability and dimension. The Ivy-Harley chemistry is natural and nothing about this show despite the occasional high fantasy shenanigan seems forced. Worked its way to my top animated shows of all time very quickly and I genuinely hope you love it too.
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
(2012–2019)
If only it weren't over.
27 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
From the first episode I knew this was something different, and it pains me that there was so much unexplored possibility with this story and these characters. Simply the depths it could have reached and fell short of. The show progressed so smoothly into dealing with heavier topics but their messages were so embed you would have to explain them to some. Star was fighting "the Forces of Evil" the whole time, but the evil stopped being obvious, they were the evils in the world. Lies. Injustice. Prejudice.
It was disappointed that the first good example of a close platonic male-female friendship in a watchable cartoon I'd ever seen turned into a romantic one; it was so refreshing while it lasted. But I'm sure many other fans are extremely happy.
The animation is original and flawless, the stories are so well written, and this is the first Disney cartoon to ever show a same-sex kiss. They subtly but effectively animated Star's bisexuality, and communicated Jackie's coming out and happiness with her girlfriend Chloé. Disney really are catching up.
It was wonderful watching Star grow into herself, and the show grow up with her.
It was disappointed that the first good example of a close platonic male-female friendship in a watchable cartoon I'd ever seen turned into a romantic one; it was so refreshing while it lasted. But I'm sure many other fans are extremely happy.
The animation is original and flawless, the stories are so well written, and this is the first Disney cartoon to ever show a same-sex kiss. They subtly but effectively animated Star's bisexuality, and communicated Jackie's coming out and happiness with her girlfriend Chloé. Disney really are catching up.
It was wonderful watching Star grow into herself, and the show grow up with her.
Logan
(2017)
One we talked about all the way home.
27 May 2019
It's been a while since I saw this last, the only time being in the cinema. I went with a group of friends and when we came out we spent the entire journey home talking about it - specifically things that were great about it. The worst things said were that 'x element was different to the old man Logan story', followed by "but it was so good!". I saw Avengers Endgame with these friends too, they liked it, but that same enthusiasm for having just seen something truly satisfying wasn't there. Logan delivered a wonderful story, they treated the audience as intelligent enough to fill in gaps on their own, it was beautifully composed by every person to work in any way on the film, and really delivered the emotion to stick with you.
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2018–2020)
Reserve your expectations
27 May 2019
Approach with an open heart and open mind, or expecting something that is a far departure from Ninja Turtles. Fans will likely find themselves heartbroken.
____Production____ The show is high-energy and fast-paced (almost stressfully). The animation style takes getting used to but it isn't poor, these are style choices (not to say some of those choices aren't just bad). The episodes are written well enough in narrative format and occasionally the dialogue surprises. The voice cast performances are exceptional and the show's saving feature.
These are stories about mutant ninjas created by mystical alchemy who fall over themselves when barely fighting, stories about teens behaving like 11 year-olds with a teenage girl who lives in their city, and there isn't much more to it. Parents on Facebook are calling it "inane drivel".
In the first episode the brothers share the same personality and are excessively clumsy (ninjas who cannot fight). Frankly, the debut was terrible. I nearly couldn't suffer myself to watch the second episode and I imagine many of the single star reviews came from the same seething disappointment it inspires. However, the show does not continue this terribly.
____Characters____ April: Over time, remakes have tried to develop her into something more but we all knew the deal; she was a prop in a story about fighting turtles. The April of nostalgia and the April of now have nothing in common. April is a teenage New York student who can program, works various jobs, and is really enjoyable. It seems a shame they attached her to the April name, she has more fresh substance than the brothers do and deserves her own. I'm pleased she gets her own feature episodes.
Raphael: Those whose inner child to this day still screams that Raphael should be the leader, your wish has come true. He is now an easily flustered plan-man of brute build who battles with his fear. Sadly, the Raphael whose brooding hidden depth and dissatisfaction with the world spoke directly to your kindred soul is no more.
Donatello: He was a character close to the hearts of so many because he had the almost fanatical hobby interest that people only appreciated when it was useful, and wasn't really understood. He knew he was smarter than his brothers but never (well, rarely) made a point of it. The show has reinvented him for our geek-embracing age. Welcome to smug Donnie, who speaks in techno buzz and condescends to his brothers despite their admiration and support. A tech success hipster kind of guy who won't say he's better than you but lets you know he's thinking it as he shows you his inventions that defy belief. The show could be called 'Donnie and Friends' with the amount of individual focus stories he has in season 1.
Michelangelo: He was the fun one with different perspectives and appreciations. The occasional 'idiot savant' with real stories about the experience of growing up, and love, but most people remember him as the goofball. All the brothers are the goofball now. They all seem to have been built over his template, leaving him to be merely "the young one" who is slightly more gullible.
Leonardo: Where once fans respected his dedication and leadership, or simply related to him as being "the oldest", they receive the hollowest of all on screen in this series. In the only Leonardo-focus season 1 episode (all other characters have more), he endangers them all for the sake of his ego. He is the reincarnation of the very original television version of Raphael, yes, the wannabe stand-up comedian with bad jokes, and, despite having no cause for it, he considers himself "a champion". This is his entire personality and it is the greatest shame of the reimagining next to Splinter...
Splinter: Simply should have been extracted from the series. He is known to the turtles to be "lazy", the show makes jokes using his weight, he falls over himself with his constantly cracking back because you can barely call him a martial artist according to the origin story they give (yet he will happily do a flip to hit his sons while discouraging them?). He is a dismal comedy character and he never makes a funny.
____Production____ The show is high-energy and fast-paced (almost stressfully). The animation style takes getting used to but it isn't poor, these are style choices (not to say some of those choices aren't just bad). The episodes are written well enough in narrative format and occasionally the dialogue surprises. The voice cast performances are exceptional and the show's saving feature.
These are stories about mutant ninjas created by mystical alchemy who fall over themselves when barely fighting, stories about teens behaving like 11 year-olds with a teenage girl who lives in their city, and there isn't much more to it. Parents on Facebook are calling it "inane drivel".
In the first episode the brothers share the same personality and are excessively clumsy (ninjas who cannot fight). Frankly, the debut was terrible. I nearly couldn't suffer myself to watch the second episode and I imagine many of the single star reviews came from the same seething disappointment it inspires. However, the show does not continue this terribly.
____Characters____ April: Over time, remakes have tried to develop her into something more but we all knew the deal; she was a prop in a story about fighting turtles. The April of nostalgia and the April of now have nothing in common. April is a teenage New York student who can program, works various jobs, and is really enjoyable. It seems a shame they attached her to the April name, she has more fresh substance than the brothers do and deserves her own. I'm pleased she gets her own feature episodes.
Raphael: Those whose inner child to this day still screams that Raphael should be the leader, your wish has come true. He is now an easily flustered plan-man of brute build who battles with his fear. Sadly, the Raphael whose brooding hidden depth and dissatisfaction with the world spoke directly to your kindred soul is no more.
Donatello: He was a character close to the hearts of so many because he had the almost fanatical hobby interest that people only appreciated when it was useful, and wasn't really understood. He knew he was smarter than his brothers but never (well, rarely) made a point of it. The show has reinvented him for our geek-embracing age. Welcome to smug Donnie, who speaks in techno buzz and condescends to his brothers despite their admiration and support. A tech success hipster kind of guy who won't say he's better than you but lets you know he's thinking it as he shows you his inventions that defy belief. The show could be called 'Donnie and Friends' with the amount of individual focus stories he has in season 1.
Michelangelo: He was the fun one with different perspectives and appreciations. The occasional 'idiot savant' with real stories about the experience of growing up, and love, but most people remember him as the goofball. All the brothers are the goofball now. They all seem to have been built over his template, leaving him to be merely "the young one" who is slightly more gullible.
Leonardo: Where once fans respected his dedication and leadership, or simply related to him as being "the oldest", they receive the hollowest of all on screen in this series. In the only Leonardo-focus season 1 episode (all other characters have more), he endangers them all for the sake of his ego. He is the reincarnation of the very original television version of Raphael, yes, the wannabe stand-up comedian with bad jokes, and, despite having no cause for it, he considers himself "a champion". This is his entire personality and it is the greatest shame of the reimagining next to Splinter...
Splinter: Simply should have been extracted from the series. He is known to the turtles to be "lazy", the show makes jokes using his weight, he falls over himself with his constantly cracking back because you can barely call him a martial artist according to the origin story they give (yet he will happily do a flip to hit his sons while discouraging them?). He is a dismal comedy character and he never makes a funny.
Lab Rats: Elite Force
(2016)
Elite Brats. Something's got to give.
16 September 2016
The opening credits for Disney XD's first ever cross-over merger would have you believe that it has brought together the best parts of both; Lab Rats' action and Mighty Med's half decent plot for children's television shows. Unfortunately it is presently a sitcom about spoiled supers who bicker in a penthouse.
Mighty Med and Lab Rats were "bad TV" in that innocent and endearing way Disney have mastered to create shows endurable enough for mum & dad to stick with. Now with Elite Force the actors have grown (even in their craft, with some visibly muting their skills to keep it camp) and these 16-18 year old characters are constantly at odds, not with an enemy but with each other, and mum & dad are getting a headache. Entitlement seems to seep from their pores. Pausing to note that the casting has fallen to "passably whites" and anyone without the right waist-line is a joke, the most noticeable let-down is the upgraded awkward. The sweetness of "boy likes girl" is long gone, "boy films girl without her consent" has arrived, and it has got to stop. The actors deserve better and so does the audience.
It seems to have been the plan to inject the Kaz and Oliver characters into the formula where Adam and Leo would be. What they haven't counted on are trait similarities battling for space. With Skylar and Bree occupying essentially the same character, Oliver and Chase reduced to idiots in one another's world, and Kaz having his usually on-point cheek overcast by the constantly snarky dialogue, something's got to give for this merger to work.
I'm happy to see this come together, I'm glad they're giving this a go. It still has potential but I don't see it holding the attention of fans for much longer with this kind of forced character conflict replacing story and lack of plot-driving nemesis that would even call for the existence of an "Elite Force".
Mighty Med and Lab Rats were "bad TV" in that innocent and endearing way Disney have mastered to create shows endurable enough for mum & dad to stick with. Now with Elite Force the actors have grown (even in their craft, with some visibly muting their skills to keep it camp) and these 16-18 year old characters are constantly at odds, not with an enemy but with each other, and mum & dad are getting a headache. Entitlement seems to seep from their pores. Pausing to note that the casting has fallen to "passably whites" and anyone without the right waist-line is a joke, the most noticeable let-down is the upgraded awkward. The sweetness of "boy likes girl" is long gone, "boy films girl without her consent" has arrived, and it has got to stop. The actors deserve better and so does the audience.
It seems to have been the plan to inject the Kaz and Oliver characters into the formula where Adam and Leo would be. What they haven't counted on are trait similarities battling for space. With Skylar and Bree occupying essentially the same character, Oliver and Chase reduced to idiots in one another's world, and Kaz having his usually on-point cheek overcast by the constantly snarky dialogue, something's got to give for this merger to work.
I'm happy to see this come together, I'm glad they're giving this a go. It still has potential but I don't see it holding the attention of fans for much longer with this kind of forced character conflict replacing story and lack of plot-driving nemesis that would even call for the existence of an "Elite Force".
Adventure Time
(2010–2018)
High re-watch value. From laughter to tears.
9 February 2015
It is abstract and charming, a show filled with innocence and childish ambivalence in a slightly more sinister setting. It is unusual to find entertainment so absolutely fun that lends such detailed consideration to character psychology.
Reigning as one of my favorite shows and instant recommendation to anyone who will listen, I hope Adventure Time will be renewed and in production for years to come.
At the time of this review season 6 was coming to a close, and Adventure Time has long strayed from the joviality that brought it such widespread success. The sixth season contains some of the worst and best that Adventure Time has to offer. Dark and dismal, even the episodes seemingly written to lighten the mood or simply act as c- list character world-building fodder are overcast by trauma. Like a coming of age story gone awry, it is as if we are watching the slow destruction of characters as they sink in to depression while the world around them flickers in a bipolar fluorescence. Those viewers to fall for the spirit of the first seasons are unlikely to last as the heartbreak becomes ever heavier.
Reigning as one of my favorite shows and instant recommendation to anyone who will listen, I hope Adventure Time will be renewed and in production for years to come.
At the time of this review season 6 was coming to a close, and Adventure Time has long strayed from the joviality that brought it such widespread success. The sixth season contains some of the worst and best that Adventure Time has to offer. Dark and dismal, even the episodes seemingly written to lighten the mood or simply act as c- list character world-building fodder are overcast by trauma. Like a coming of age story gone awry, it is as if we are watching the slow destruction of characters as they sink in to depression while the world around them flickers in a bipolar fluorescence. Those viewers to fall for the spirit of the first seasons are unlikely to last as the heartbreak becomes ever heavier.
The 100
(2014–2020)
Pause-free entertainment
29 January 2015
It's a must-watch if you're a post-apocalypse entertainment chaser and are happy to go along with a 'Divergent' series maturity level, but those with no imagination for "science" fiction or tolerance for heavy-handed tropes are going to struggle.
There is no pause. Something is always happening in the many connected stories and to date it has grown so much from origin that it is beyond recognition. It doesn't reiterate and a missed line can mean a confusing episode.
Occasionally it will hiccup but it evolves in a very natural way and as the direction changes the characters are permitted to adapt. Wonderfully, it seems that gender is merely a detail. Leads are leads, strength is strength. It's refreshing to see so many leading female characters so active in a series that isn't preoccupied with being "about women", and to have a series observe bisexuality without the accompanying overt fixation. Unfortunately it looks as if the coming season will fall back on an egg-hunt device to propel story which may see the show in it's final days.
It is a teen coming-of-age in the apocalypse drama and is everything you would expect of something matching that description, with added blood-lust. Enjoyable and entertaining television.
There is no pause. Something is always happening in the many connected stories and to date it has grown so much from origin that it is beyond recognition. It doesn't reiterate and a missed line can mean a confusing episode.
Occasionally it will hiccup but it evolves in a very natural way and as the direction changes the characters are permitted to adapt. Wonderfully, it seems that gender is merely a detail. Leads are leads, strength is strength. It's refreshing to see so many leading female characters so active in a series that isn't preoccupied with being "about women", and to have a series observe bisexuality without the accompanying overt fixation. Unfortunately it looks as if the coming season will fall back on an egg-hunt device to propel story which may see the show in it's final days.
It is a teen coming-of-age in the apocalypse drama and is everything you would expect of something matching that description, with added blood-lust. Enjoyable and entertaining television.
A stand-out Henson.
28 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
(A synopsis style review)
A running theme in Fraggle Rock is the celebration of difference, opposites reaching understandings to exist in the same world harmoniously. At a first glance this episode is just another finding common ground story featuring Boober and Red, but it doesn't take long to recognize that the real messages here are those set so cheekily in the first lines of the episode, death and perseverance (suicide in subtext).
Boober – "On my birthday I worry about the grim reaper."
Mokey – "But Boober, the time to worry about the grim reaper is when you stop having birthdays."
The first musical number is Boober receiving his Birthday Wisdom from the Trash Heap as is Fraggle tradition. "Listen, some things are worth worrying about, impending doom is not one of them, life is for living." She says, and sings "When every dream you've had has gone from good to bad, get a move on. When everything's goodbye, and you're ready to die, you wouldn't give a nickel for a hot apple pie, get a move on, go with the flow." Sometimes, little Fraggle, you are going to feel bad, but you can't allow your life to just stop, because if you stop you're never going to move from the awful place you are. Being on auto- pilot is okay and going just going through the motions can help get you through the tough times. Possibly the soundest advice the Trash Heap ever gave. This was no ordinary script.
Red reluctantly agrees to go on an "Adventure hike" down to the Spiral Caverns (which Boober ominously calls "the downward spiral") with Boober on Mokey's recommendation and they find themselves in a falling rock zone. Boober and Red become entombed by a cave-in. Boober complains of claustrophobia occasionally, and here it is revealed that Red is also claustrophobic. Known for his depressive personality type the somber optimism of "We've got to cope. If I can cope, anybody can cope." from Boober is particularly potent, and he remains the more level-headed in crisis of the pair.
Gobo, Mokey, and Wembley mount a rescue expedition. When reaching the cave-in Gobo is determined to move the cave blockage asks Wembley to give Mokey all the help he can, as " it may not have a happy ending."
(Cuts to Doc and Sprocket: At the beginning of the episode, Doc and Sprocket were trapped in by a blizzard with no power. Fluffanella the cat, whom Sprocket hates, had been stranded in the snow outside their front door but Sprocket hasn't wanted to let her in. Now their scene is of Doc translating what Sprocket is saying: "You have come to realize that no dog is a pancake ... oh, no dog is an island, and in times of great peril and shared suffering all of us set aside our differences and reach out to one another in the spirit of love and understanding." Doc lets her in and Fluffanella cuddles Sprocket to get warm.)
As the rescue attempt goes on the unstable cavern continues to collapse. Red and Boober are forced further back into the cave and sing "The Friendship Song", which with the slightest shift in context the sweet melody can be heard as a sensitive appeal to lost souls not to choose death as it will hurt the people who love them.
The Friendship Song:
Remember when now and then everything went wrong?
And then our friends would sing the friendship song?
(Remember, Red) You and I, we've nearly cried to know their love was strong
And by and by we'd start to sing along.
We sang, "Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends."
You work all night, you work all day, you still can't keep those worried blues away
"Try a little longer for your friends, Try a little stronger for your friends"
Life comes up life goes down, there's just one way to keep it going 'round,
Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends.
Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends.
Remember when now and then everything went wrong?
And then our friends would sing the friendship song.
When the cavern grows quiet, Boober and Red guess that the rescue attempt has stopped and realize they may never escape. Death is not an unusual theme for a Fraggle, particularly Boober, to talk about and the show has the unique quality of treating the issue without sugar coating. Instead this children's show grants the audience the respect of delivering a sincere and emotional scene.
Red – "We're running out of air. What do you think it's like to die?"
Boober – "I don't know, Red. I don't think anybody does. You know, I remember this one day, I was doing my laundry, and then this big soap bubble floated right up from the tub, and there is was, in front of my face, beautiful and shiny, and then it was gone. (Red cries) Red, don't be sad."
Red – "I can't help it."
Boober – "It was fun while it lasted. All the good times, and the songs, and the laughs and stuff."
There is no talk of an after-life, no religious offense or insight, it simply presents the fact that life ends and leaves it there for parents to discuss with their children. Fortunately Boober and Red don't have to wait much longer as the rescue party liberates them and all the Fraggles cheer and sing "Stay a little longer with your friends, play a little longer with your friends!"
A running theme in Fraggle Rock is the celebration of difference, opposites reaching understandings to exist in the same world harmoniously. At a first glance this episode is just another finding common ground story featuring Boober and Red, but it doesn't take long to recognize that the real messages here are those set so cheekily in the first lines of the episode, death and perseverance (suicide in subtext).
Boober – "On my birthday I worry about the grim reaper."
Mokey – "But Boober, the time to worry about the grim reaper is when you stop having birthdays."
The first musical number is Boober receiving his Birthday Wisdom from the Trash Heap as is Fraggle tradition. "Listen, some things are worth worrying about, impending doom is not one of them, life is for living." She says, and sings "When every dream you've had has gone from good to bad, get a move on. When everything's goodbye, and you're ready to die, you wouldn't give a nickel for a hot apple pie, get a move on, go with the flow." Sometimes, little Fraggle, you are going to feel bad, but you can't allow your life to just stop, because if you stop you're never going to move from the awful place you are. Being on auto- pilot is okay and going just going through the motions can help get you through the tough times. Possibly the soundest advice the Trash Heap ever gave. This was no ordinary script.
Red reluctantly agrees to go on an "Adventure hike" down to the Spiral Caverns (which Boober ominously calls "the downward spiral") with Boober on Mokey's recommendation and they find themselves in a falling rock zone. Boober and Red become entombed by a cave-in. Boober complains of claustrophobia occasionally, and here it is revealed that Red is also claustrophobic. Known for his depressive personality type the somber optimism of "We've got to cope. If I can cope, anybody can cope." from Boober is particularly potent, and he remains the more level-headed in crisis of the pair.
Gobo, Mokey, and Wembley mount a rescue expedition. When reaching the cave-in Gobo is determined to move the cave blockage asks Wembley to give Mokey all the help he can, as " it may not have a happy ending."
(Cuts to Doc and Sprocket: At the beginning of the episode, Doc and Sprocket were trapped in by a blizzard with no power. Fluffanella the cat, whom Sprocket hates, had been stranded in the snow outside their front door but Sprocket hasn't wanted to let her in. Now their scene is of Doc translating what Sprocket is saying: "You have come to realize that no dog is a pancake ... oh, no dog is an island, and in times of great peril and shared suffering all of us set aside our differences and reach out to one another in the spirit of love and understanding." Doc lets her in and Fluffanella cuddles Sprocket to get warm.)
As the rescue attempt goes on the unstable cavern continues to collapse. Red and Boober are forced further back into the cave and sing "The Friendship Song", which with the slightest shift in context the sweet melody can be heard as a sensitive appeal to lost souls not to choose death as it will hurt the people who love them.
The Friendship Song:
Remember when now and then everything went wrong?
And then our friends would sing the friendship song?
(Remember, Red) You and I, we've nearly cried to know their love was strong
And by and by we'd start to sing along.
We sang, "Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends."
You work all night, you work all day, you still can't keep those worried blues away
"Try a little longer for your friends, Try a little stronger for your friends"
Life comes up life goes down, there's just one way to keep it going 'round,
Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends.
Try a little longer for your friends, try a little stronger for your friends.
Remember when now and then everything went wrong?
And then our friends would sing the friendship song.
When the cavern grows quiet, Boober and Red guess that the rescue attempt has stopped and realize they may never escape. Death is not an unusual theme for a Fraggle, particularly Boober, to talk about and the show has the unique quality of treating the issue without sugar coating. Instead this children's show grants the audience the respect of delivering a sincere and emotional scene.
Red – "We're running out of air. What do you think it's like to die?"
Boober – "I don't know, Red. I don't think anybody does. You know, I remember this one day, I was doing my laundry, and then this big soap bubble floated right up from the tub, and there is was, in front of my face, beautiful and shiny, and then it was gone. (Red cries) Red, don't be sad."
Red – "I can't help it."
Boober – "It was fun while it lasted. All the good times, and the songs, and the laughs and stuff."
There is no talk of an after-life, no religious offense or insight, it simply presents the fact that life ends and leaves it there for parents to discuss with their children. Fortunately Boober and Red don't have to wait much longer as the rescue party liberates them and all the Fraggles cheer and sing "Stay a little longer with your friends, play a little longer with your friends!"
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