Reviews

I grew up watching this series on TBN on Saturday mornings, and some afternoons during the week. It truly is fantastic. It is a Biblical allegory series, with humans being referred to as Lumans, who live in the kingdom of Lumia, who are overseen by the Emperor (God) and the Prince (Jesus). There is also Zordok (Satan) and his underlings, who don't like the Prince and the Emperor and try to sway the Lumans against them. They go as far as to crucify the Prince (reflecting the Crucifixion) and trying to show the Lumans that the Prince is no more. However, the Prince is alive again, and reveals himself to Pokum and Keena, who decide to help him try to prove to the other Lumans that he is alive, and that he will return in time to save every member of the kingdom. There is also a Princess who waits patiently for the Prince, protected by the Emperor and the Prince (referencing the church, I think). There is also the Bible referenced as the Book of Light, and Reagle, the right hand angel of the Prince.

This series is a puppet series mixed with animation. All of the characters are well voiced, and convey their emotions excellently. It makes the characters being very real. I also have to say that it was well composed as well, from its theme song, to its ending song and ambience. There are also a good number of songs that are scattered throughout the series, which were composed entirely for it. Song in the Wind and The Emperor's Wonderful World still make my heart happy. The lyrics, music, and they way they are sung are all really good.

This show presents Biblical material in a very entertaining way. Every episode is awesome. All are allegory of Biblical stories, that all in the end present a definite moral and biblical lesson that you can learn from. E.g. Song in Wind teaches you that once you make a decision for Jesus, and you keep your focus on him, you can avoid the fiery darts and temptation of the devil - he will always save you. It also taught you that your music should be handled with discernment. The song that is custom to this episode, Song in the Wind is very fitting as well.

If you can still find this series for viewing, check it out! You won't be disappointed. This is one of the best biblical series I have watched as a kid until now. I still enjoy watching the episodes.

This is a very long review - but given The Little Mermaid was my favorite animated movie as a kid, I think it is worth the read. :)

As a 1998 dude, I grew up on the Little Mermaid 1 and the Little Mermaid 2. Ariel is my favourite Disney Princess, and a big reason for that was her casting, Jodi Benson. So when I heard that it was the next film to get a Live Action Movie, I was a bit worried at how it would be handled. I wasn't too sold on Halle's casting at first, but I have to admit as the promos kept being released, and as she posted her attachment to the character, she grew on me. I then decided I would give this movie a go, to see what it is like, and if it is better than the original. And I have to say - I was not disappointed. The movie is not perfect by any means, but it was a very pleasant experience. I still prefer the original movie, but this movie is an okay live action adaptation.

For the cast, it was hit and miss. Melissa McCarthy was not a good Ursula to me. She felt like a cheap imitation. The original one had charm and sass, and a very eerie/commanding presence that made her entertaining. Melissa just did not deliver that. She was the best in the ending scene right before she died, and tbh her emotions were lacking there too. Daveed was not a good Sebastian. The accent sounds inauthentic and he seemed more like a nag than someone who was basically another Father figure to Ariel. Flounder and Scuttle were voiced well - but they had far too few scenes, especially Flounder. Triton was hit and miss - you don't feel the love he has for his daughter in this version, and sometimes his delivery was very monotonous. Some scenes he did deliver well though, and I loved his design. Eric was okay, the actor was a good choice, and I enjoyed his scenes. His mom was great too, and Grimsby was spectacular. He is one of my favourites in the cast.

For the CGI, the underwater scenes are beautiful. The trailers did not do the film justice in that department. The sea looked like a wonderful place to be, which is something I thought about the original as well. I was always fascinated by the undersea world, and it is still here. The only aspect of the CGI that I did not like was Triton's trident - it looked kinda dull compared to how elegant and powerful the trident looked in the animated original. The scenes on land were all beautiful too, and IMO the CGI in the movie as a whole was handled well enough. I do think the eels could have been handled a bit better though, and Sebastian could have looked better. Flounder was uncanny valley at first, but I got used to him.

Most of the original is still intact script wise, however, there are some scenes that are dragged out, and more scenes added to fill in the gaps. It is quite good, but the movie felt like it had weird pacing, since the main story is still intact, it's just the scenes took a far longer time to happen, haha. I did like the townspeople having a bigger role. Eric's Kingdom feels very much alive, and his mom and Grimsby were great. Loved their actors and they acted very well. I loved how Grimsby helped them out - he is probably one of the top 3 best members of the cast for me. He made the character feel real. Jodi's cameo made me very happy, it was heartfelt, even if Halle's hair looks weird being groomed with a fork.

There were a few funny moments, main one being when Ariel saw the coconut on land. Because of what Scuttle told her, she was horrified, lol. I loved that reaction from her. Vanessa was a HUGE pro in this movie. Her performance was spectacular and impactful, in spite of her screentime being short. Ursula is a lot eviller here - Triton died before being revived, and there were merskeletons in her cave too. She don't play around, lol.

Now that the pros are out of the way, it's time for some cons. I'm afraid here I have to mention the music. Some of the songs are okay - I didn't mind Wild Uncharted Waters, or the 2nd Part of your world reprise. I also don't really mind Scuttlebutt, but Under the Sea and Part of Your World were underwhelming to me. They don't hold a candle to the original songs. Part of Your World sounded overproduced and scattered - there was no central theme to the song, and the beautiful simplicity and emotion the original one had is lost here. The original one still makes my heart flutter, as you FEEL Ariel's longing for the human world. Here, it didn't convey the same emotions - Ariel sounded too excited for such a melancholic song. Halle sounds like she is showing/proving she can sing instead of singing how she should. Under the Sea was underwhelming as well - Daveed just doesn't have the energy Samuel Wright had, and it's sad. That song in the original is always gonna make me want to get up and dance and sing along, but here, it just sounds so drab and flat. The accent was also not handled well in the song here. The CGI for the scene was disappointing too - I miss the different animals playing the different roles from the original. It added a lot more life to the scene. Kiss the Girl was not great either - I miss all the leadup that the old version had. The song is just not great here, you don't get the romantic vibe of the original, at least to me.

Now for the scenes. Poor Flounder felt like an afterthought in this movie, and before the 1 hour mark Scuttle had little relevance too. Why did they change her species to a diving bird if she had one underwater scene and was only seen once for the entire first hour? As a fan of the original movie and the series, I really disliked that aspect in the live action. They focused too much on Ariel, leaving out the old context for key scenes. For one, in the original, when she goes to the ship, Scuttle goes with her, and offers good commentary there. The statue was never in focus here, so Ariel reacting to it being crushed in the grotto was nonsensical - she had no attachment to it here! Why is is that on shore, the scene involving Scuttle and Sebastian being on the shore was removed, to make them less in focus? The destruction of the grotto was not great either. In the original, you FEEL for Ariel as she has just had her whole collection destroyed. They even toned down the argument she had with her father - sigh- you don't feel the tension here are all. When she yells, 'Daddy, I love him!' in the original you think, 'Ooh, she's in trouble now!' Here, it's like - stop going to the surface, promise me - and then Ariel says no, and he destroys the grotto. CGI was VERY poor here, lol. Triton zapped like 3 spots with minimal explosions, and then zapped the statue. Ariel's crying here was non-existent. She treated it like it was nothing (which ruins the scene). OG Ariel was sobbing and chased her friends away to grieve, and was sad from that point until she went to Ursula here, it seems like it was brushed off. The wisp for her voice in both scenes should have had a little tail, it just being a glowing ball was poorly handled.

Poor Max had little to no presence here. He was such a better character in the original. From first meeting Ariel, to knowing she was the one who saved Eric - he felt more like the town mutt than the Royal Prince's dog. Not giving Flotsam and Jetsam a voice was a very bad choice. It gave them far less character, and they were not entertaining to watch. It also made their attachment to Ursula weaker - her reacting as she did at the end did not feel impactful here as a result of that. They even removed my favourite line from the section! It's been changed from: 'BABIES! My poor little poopsies. ARGH!' to 'Gasp! My Babies!' That was a huge letdown. Her dying was also weird with the CGI too. In the original lightning zaps here, and she thrashes about, then falls over and dies, then bubbles and foam appear as she sinks. Here she gets stabbed, tries to grab Ariel and then she just sinks with a big splash. Very anticlimactic.

ATLANTICA - is sadly not present here at all. We never see the beautiful kingdom of Atlantica here. All we see is Triton sitting on a rock with his trident....with seven seats around it for his daughters. As a kid I wanted to live underwater when I saw Atlantica. The shimmering, golden, beautiful palace, all the merfolk swimming about, all the different sea creature interactions - none of that was present except for Under the Sea. The only time you see additional merfolk that is not the royal family is at the end of the movie - making the underwater realm seem rather flat. Ariel's sisters all have beautiful designs - too bad they are only seen twice, and their scenes are less than 5 minutes. For a 2 and a 1/4 hour movie, that is just sad. The screenwriters from the OG film deserve more credit here, the scene writer they name literally just dragged out their scenes and added in a few new ones.

The Ending - What can I say here? Just disappointing. Ariel and Eric are engaged, after Ariel kills Ursula. Ariel killing Ursula makes NO sense. Triton isn't given a reason here to change how he feels about the humans. Instead he just says whatever and sends her to the surface. Eric killing Ursula, therefore saving Ariel and the ENTIRE sea from Ursula was way more impactful, and it gave Eric more presence and personality. Here it just feels flat. The rest of the ending bothered me so much - this is the only point where we see other mermaids besides Ariel, her sisters and Triton, which is disappointing.

I watched this movie SO many times as a kid, and now as an adult, it still holds up exceptionally well. It is beautifully animated, and well voice acted. Lots of good star power here - Mark Hamill, Ben Affleck, Jodi Benson...everyone is voiced very well. The Biblical story is kept intact, as the little additions they made here and there do not deflect from the intended story.

You really feel for Joseph in this film. He goes through so much, and even though his faith had begun to falter a bit, after the song, 'You Know Better Than I,' he is back to his old self. Speaking of which, that song is a lyrical and musical masterpiece. It is quite the powerful song, with very meaningful lyrics, about placing all your hope and faith in God - because he knows better, you just have to let Him take control. All these years later, the song still gives me goosebumps and still makes me cry. It is that effective.

The emotions in this film are so excellently conveyed. In the sad moments you really feel for the characters, and in the heartwarming moments, you have to fight back tears. For instance, near the end of the film, when Joseph reunites with his father and family, you feel that in your soul.

This is one of the best animated films of all time, about one of the most endearing stories from the Bible. The story of Joseph is a beautiful one of keeping your faith strong in the midst of trials, knowing that God knows better than you do, and is ALWAYS by your side. I wish DreamWorks made more films like this, would have loved to see how they would handle other stories from the Bible.

I cannot recommend it enough. I think it is better than Prince of Egypt.

Jessie was one of the shows I watched on Disney Channel from its first episode to its last episode. Debby Ryan brought an excellent character to life - Jessie was the perfect balance between very funny lead and mother figure to the children she was looking after with Bertram. Speaking of Bertram, his character was very funny as well.

The Ross kids are hilarious - Zuri and Emma in particular brought the most laughs to me. Luke and Ravi had great moments as well - which made the entire cast very endearing. I love how they executed in their plots a group of kids who could be rowdy, but still care deeply about each other, and have great love and respect for their parental figures and parents as well. The heartwarming moments in the show really hit - one that comes to mind immediately is when Zuri told Bertram how much he meant to her.

The supporting cast was solid as well. Tony was an entertaining character to watch, and I love how he still helped out the Rosses and Jessie even after they broke up. All of the different locations they go to in this series are all executed quite well, most episodes were very enjoyable and quite hilarious.

If you haven't watched it, I can't recommend it enough.

The reviews make no sense...as someone who was in the demographic when this aired on Disney Channel and still watches it to feel nostalgic on Disney +, let me give a better review.

I grew up watching China Anne McClain act on House of Payne by Tyler Perry. I always loved her character there ( a lot more than Malik, tbh) as she brought this creative, childlike sassiness to her acting, which made her really likeable. So when I first started seeing the promos for ANT Farm, you can't imagine how excited I was.

I caught it from the very first episode to the last episode, and let me say, the show is spectacular. All of the actors were brilliantly cast, even the recurring ones. Mindy Sterling as Principal Skidmore was always entertaining, as was Finesse Mitchell as China's Dad, Darryl, and her mom was really nice too. The school setting and the ANT Farm plots circling around school life add a touch of realism to this show that is missed in other Disney Channel shows. The theme song is one of the best Disney Channel has ever aired on TV, and each episode, especially in the first 2 seasons was s funny and relatable that me and all my friends never missed an episode. Even the episodes with things that were ridiculous never felt out of place due to the quality of the acting, and the beauty of the environments.

Lexi, Cameron and Paisley were a powerful trio. They really made each episode special - the moments where they worked together with the other main and recurring cast brought about some of the most endearing and funny moments in all of Disney Channel history, imo. The show also had fantastic holiday specials - mutANT Farm, The Black History Special, and the Christmas Special are still episodes that I rewatch constantly. China has a beautiful voice, and any time she had to sing, it was beautiful. Even the comedic ones were funny and sang quite well - like Wild Card and the songs from S01E20 with the Happy Fuzzy Friends.

S03 is where the show dipped a bit in quality. Personally I did not like the new setting, as Webster High brought the realism that I liked. However, it is still a good season, albeit not as good as the 2 that came before it.

I cannot recommend it enough. It is still enjoyable to me today as an adult, and I enjoyed it when I was a teenager as well.

I had really high hopes for this series. I used to love watching Law and Order as a teenager, and I used to like Stabler's character a lot. So when I heard he was getting a Law and Order show with him as the star, I was excited. That excitement remained intact for the first 2 seasons, but now as the third season ends, I have to say it has fizzled out.

In the first 2 seasons in particular, all the main members of the cast felt like actual characters. Each of them were fleshed out enough - we heard of and saw Ayanna's family, Stabler's family got some spotlight too, as did the families/lives of the other cast members. But from S03 onward, that is just...gone. It's all about Stabler now. Some articles have mentioned that he is now an Executive Producer, and I fear that may be the reason why. The show is so shallow now - the other main cast feels like they are recurring. S03 had my favourite team members, and even though they didn't all get along with Stabler (except for Jet and Bell) I loved their interactions, especially when Stabler was not included.

Lots of odd putting things are included in S03 - random high ranking characters commenting on Stabler's behind, or diplomats calling him a Zaddy...is that really necessary? Stabler is a character that constantly breaks the rules and chain of command, and gets no repercussion. If it only happened a few times, that would be fine, but that is his WHOLE character. When the other team members try to act in a similar manner, they get reprimanded. Stabler actually slept with a sex trafficker, and it got brushed off, but Jet got flack for kissing someone who was undercover with. Poor Jamie had it the worst. He shone as a character when Stabler was nowhere in sight - when he was with Bell, Reyes or Jet, he was such an excellent character. But Stabler always tried to push him into the background as a sidekick. He got a stern reprimand when he attempted something undercover to help the case - he and the other team members even mentioned that if Stabler had done it, this conversation would not have been had.

Stabler is also one of the worst undercovers. He literally just buys a suit or casual clothes. And grows facial hair. Everything he ever does is blasted all over New York...every bad guy in the city should know who he is at this point as a result of that. His family is the only one that gets spotlight now, especially his mom. It is tragic what she is suffering from, but given Ayanna's nephew had his hand crushed by a police officer, it would be nice to see how he is doing now.

At the end of S03, Jamie dies as the result of a crossfire that happened when they were chasing an unsub. They were dealing with a psychotic homicidal maniac, with over 50 police and army personnel with 1 medic around...who was not even in close proximity to the action. As a result, Jamie got shot in the neck and was bleeding out for far too long, with only one person helping him. The other people were just standing there...watching him bleed out. This resulted in him being paralyzed, and asking for his family to disconnect him from the hospital monitors, as that is not the life he wanted to live. Jamie never portrayed himself like that, they just let it happen. When he died, everyone on the team showed grief, except for Stabler. He was probably relieved - now one less person to steal his damn screentime.

You can probably tell that I started this show liking Chris Meloni's character, and now it is something I deeply abhor. Avoid this series. Go watch the OG Law and Order, or SVU. At least in those shows the teamwork and comradery is more plainly seen, and all the characters are allowed to be fleshed out to an extent, not just the main character. I only give this 5 stars for the other characters. Stabler is so bad now he drags the show down. If you like watching shows with Gary Stu's you'll love his character - but if you don't avoid this show at all costs. It is so simple, it could simply be called Law and Order - The Elliot Stabler Show.

I had extremely high hopes for this series. Superman has always been my favorite superhero, ever since I was a kid, and I really enjoyed the animated movies based on him from the DCAU. But this series - oh boy, so many issues with it. Let me preface this by saying, I watched the whole first season and the first half of the second season, before I just could not take it anymore. Let's break it down. The characters - the casting is mostly solid, however, the emotion of Superman in the first season really isn't great - at lots of important scenes, he had the personality and emotion of cardboard.

In season 2 this kind of improved, but not by much. Lois was the best of the bunch, until Season 2, she started making weird decisions. As for the kids - I personally can't stand them. Jonathan was okay I guess, but Jordan needs a comb. The supporting cast was okay for the most part, but I can't stand the Kushings (they were so BORING). Now here is where I mention the issues I have with the show. Lots of things that happen make no sense, and have no real impact or repercussion. E.g. Jordan, a teenager has powers, likes a girl and wants to expose his entire family's secret, just so he could be with her. Lois is ENCOURAGING this, and so is his twin brother? Nonsense. Said girl also cheated on Jordan with another girl, and he just brushed it off and went back with her. There is nothing to like about his character. Jonathan was on DRUGS, and got upset with his dad because he punished him because of it, then a few episodes later he is lashing out at his family because he didn't think it was a big deal?! Who is writing this script.... You aren't given a reason to like any of these characters, too many cliche moments.

One of the major reasons why I lost interest in the show is due to Season 2. All of a sudden, no one wants to keep the secret anymore. Everyone wants to tell everyone about Superman's real identity. Can we have at least ONE superhero show where they aren't pressured to reveal their real identity to the world? Please? We already know what will happen - some evil person will find out and then hold his family for ransom. Write original scripts please. Why did he reveal who he was to Lara just for her to get upset at him like how everyone always is, when a superhero reveals who they are? (Glares at Foggy and Karen from Daredevil on Netflix)

The CGI is also not the best. Superman always flies and lands in the exact same pose, and the lasers, crystals and atmosphere could look a LOT better. The kryptonite looks like old crystals they found in a junkyard and the laser beams look like pen lights sometimes. Sometimes the fight choreography is really lackluster too. Especially when it comes to the kids.

To sum this up, don't watch this series. It is just not good. The story jumps all over the place, the characters are not likeable and the CGI is laughable. Watch the Justice League animated series from the early 2000s, or watch the movies in DCAU. Superman and Lois are characterized way better, and no annoying kids either. I even recommend Smallville - that series was far better executed than this nonsense.