seansohr Reviews

The Casagrandes Movie (2024)

Sleeping Pill: The Movie

[1/10 · 2 April 2024]

So The Loud House Movie (2021) is in my worst 5 movies of all time, and as you can imagine I was not happy to hear The Casagrandes spin-off was getting its own movie.

But because I'm a masochist I gave it a watch. I was cringing almost immediately with the completely gratuitous and out-of-place SpongeBob/Rocko reference. That part was so bad that it could rival the worst aspects of The Loud House Movie.

Surprisingly though, that was the only thing in the movie that actively angered me. The rest of it was just boring, bland, lifeless sludge.

And that's the thing. The 2021 Loud House Movie and everything about it fills me with rage -- its very existence makes me angry. But I'm really not feeling the same level of hatred with The Casagrandes Movie, perhaps because it's just that dull.

Don't get me wrong, The Loud House Movie was indeed boring but that was the least of its sins given how utterly mind-blowingly terrible and frustrating everything else was.

The Casagrandes Movie's biggest sin (the aforementioned SpongeBob/Rocko thing aside) is just how utterly vapid it is.

This may be the single most bland, boring, lifeless, empty and SOULLESS movie I have ever seen.

I'm not even mad at this movie, I just find it incredibly sad.

Thirteen (2003)

Bad.

[2/10 · 24 March 2024]

Reviewed by Sean Sohr.

Watched on March 21, 2024.

Reviewed on March 23, 2024.

Wanted to watch this movie for a while, but wasn't available anywhere until recently when it showed up on Hulu Plus.

THE REVIEW:

This is probably the least accurate depiction of a 13 year old I've ever seen.

No 13 year old I've ever been around looks or acts like this. This role was horribly miscast, the actress could easily pass for late teens or early 20s.

Add in the terrible pacing, stupid story, and just a general lack of anything of interest, and you have an agonizingly dull mess of the movie that is best forgotten.

Bee Movie (2007)

About as painful as a bee sting.

[1/10 · 28 October 2023]

We watched this movie at a class party in middle school and I was in shock at how bad it was.

Over a decade later, that hasn't changed. An incredibly uncomfortable "love" story about a zoophilic romance between a bee and a human lady that turns into a boring court drama full of weird in-jokes that no child would understand (I know I didn't back then). That said, the very few good jokes this movie has come from the courtroom scenes so whatever I guess.

One of the worst animated movies of the 2000s, without a doubt. I'd almost prefer Hunchback of Notre Dame II over this.

About as painful as a bee sting.

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–1997)

One of my favorite cartoons.

[9/10 · 4 September 2023]

"Twisted Tales of Felix" took a beloved cartoon icon and made him more appealing to a modern audience while still having an early 20th century feel with its charming rubber-hose style.

The first season is AMAZING and probably one of my favorite seasons of any show, period.

Unfortunately, the staff changed things up for the second season and made it to be more like the infamous Oriolo era of Felix cartoons.

For some reason, they also changed Felix's voice in season 2. Charlie Adler is certainly no Thom Adcox-Hernandez, but he does an okay job as Felix's VA, all things considered.

The second season is definitely inferior to the first for the changes mentioned, but it still has some great episodes.

Clone High (2023– )

A terrible revival.

[1/10 · 16 June 2023]

The clever jokes and timing of the original are completely absent, the new characters are flat and uninteresting and look more like Total Drama characters.

And, I know this is obvious, but it's just not the same without Ghandi. He was by far the show's funniest character and part of what made Clone High stand out so much.

Essentially the show has had its heart and soul ripped out, completely stripped of everything that made it so great to begin with.

Whereas the original shined with surreal comedy and interesting characters, the changes brought with season 2 leave the show sadly lacking in character and humor.

Middlemost Post (2021–2022)

Middlemost Post: Maddeningly Mundane

[1/10 · 16 May 2023]

At some point in the mid-2000's, cartoons took a huge nosedive in quality. And I just don't mean a particular bunch of cartoons, but animation all across the board.

Funny, innovative, clever and well-written cartoons started being replaced with cartoons that were sadly lacking in character, humor, and sharp writing, relying more on loud randomness and gross-out humor, without understanding how shows like Ren & Stimpy made it work. This wasn't only the case with TV cartoons but movies as well (such as Chicken Little).

However, in the last few years, we started getting a few really good new shows: in addition to Hilda and The Cuphead Show on Netflix, Disney also gave us The Ghost & Molly McGee and Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur.

Nickelodeon, on the other hand.... hasn't improved much at all. Not long after aborting their ONLY decent show in over a decade (Glitch Techs) to Netflix and cutting it short, we got the dull and annoying Middlemost Post.

Middlemost Post is what can be best described as a series of nothingness. Middlemost Post is a show almost completely devoid of anything meaningful or fun, and only serves as a reminder of how far Nick has fallen, right down to the very concept.

Angus, a washed up fisherman befriends a sentient (and might I add obnoxious) cloud named Parker and her pet walrus, and the three start up a post office on Angus' shipwreck.

It should be no surprise that this is a complete bomb. There is no way a concept as poor as this could ever have been made into an enjoyable series, no matter whose hands it was in. This is a show that was doomed from the start.

Parker is an irritating protagonist. Imagine SpongeBob at his most obnoxious, increase that by a hundred, pitch up the voice, and you've got Parker. Beyond her being a cloud and being able to shapeshift, she has no depth. There's no point in talking about her pet walrus Russell, as she serves almost no purpose whatsoever, most of the time just sitting there with a dopey face.

Angus is really the only character with any likeability. He often serves as the voice of reason in these lame plots, and you can't help but feel bad for him sometimes, having to put up with Parker's antics all-day every-day. Still, he isn't a very interesting character, and has annoying running gag of screaming like a little girl.

Most of the other characters are bland and one-note: the mayor, his assistant, this weird grub thing that always speaks in a monotonous tone.... none of these characters are interesting or fleshed out at all.

Unsurprisingly, Middlemost Post was cancelled after only one year, with barely a season and a half's worth of content. It's a shock it didn't get canned sooner, because this is a show that is lacking in everything, from heart to originality to characters to humor.

Besides Angus being the only sane man, and a few neat character designs, I really can't think of anything positive to say about Middlemost Post. Avoid it like the plague.

Kiff (2023– )

Kiff the bucket.

[2/10 · 29 April 2023]

Disney's recent lineup of cartoons has been substantially better than in years past. There was a time several years ago where basically EVERY new cartoon on Disney Channel was awful (Fish Hooks, Pickle and Peanut, Billy Dilly, Future-Worm, DuckTales 2017) with only a small handful of watchable ones (Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Wander Over Yonder).

However, recently, things unexpectedly changed for the better. Within the last two years alone, we've gotten the amazing Ghost & Molly McGee, the creative and endearing Chibiverse, the fun and action-packed Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur.

And while I don't like The Owl House or Amphibia as much as most do, I admit I was too harsh on them in the beginning (my old Amphibia review on here is more than proof of that).

However, there is now a black sheep on Disney's line-up: Kiff.

I thought we were well past the era of the Sanjay & Craig/Breadwinners/Pickle & Peanut school of "random/grossout/weird slang = funny." But sadly, Kiff has proven me wrong. So very, very wrong.

What is Kiff about? That's not a rhetorical question... that is an ACTUAL question. Because from what I can tell, Kiff doesn't really HAVE a plot. Much in the spirit of those terrible 2010's cartoons like Sanjay & Craig or Breadwinners, Kiff doesn't so much have a premise as it is just a bunch of random shenanigans starring the obnoxious titular squirrel and her bunny friend. Not much of a premise to speak of, really. Just a series of shenanigans and sounds. Obnoxious shenanigans and sounds.

And then there's the humor. The dreadful, unbearable "stupid/gross is funny" formula that dominated cartoons for most of the 2010's. Almost every episode I watched, I had a massive headache by the end of it from rolling my eyes so much.

The characters? Either annoying or lacking in character. Kiff is just plain irritating, and would feel right at home as a third wheel to Sanjay & Craig or SwaySway & Buhdeuce. Given how few episodes are available right now, most of the tolerable characters aren't very fleshed out, at least not yet. I will say the witch character is somewhat interesting, and besides Barry, has to be the only character that I can say I occasionally like.

The episode plots? DUUUUUMB. Dumb, dumb, dumbitty dumbitty dumb dumb dumb. I couldn't tell you what some of these episodes are even about because they're so nonsensical and aimless, such as The Fourth Bath or Kiff's on a Plane. Only a few episodes have really cohesive stories, and even fewer that are interesting or fun (the ones that come closest for me thus far are Pool Party, Kiff's Mix, and Club Book).

As for the visuals, the backgrounds are somewhat well done though a bit derivative of Adventure Time's backgrounds. And this is very jarring when coupled with the flat, uninspired looking character designs that are almost down to the level of Family Guy or Sanjay & Craig (though in the latter's case, they could get creative sometimes whereas Kiff doesn't really).

I also noticed that much of the background music heard in Kiff is taken from Star vs. And Gravity Falls (it's even noted here on this very site). Would it have killed them to record some more original BGM?

At the end of the day, Kiff, while far from the worst cartoon, is a depressing reminder that the obnoxious style of the aforementioned 2010's cartoons is still very much alive. I can only hope that this is just the team finding their groove since we're only partway through the first season, but I won't get my hopes up.

Kiff sticks out like a sore thumb on Disney's lineup amidst great shows with more heart like Molly McGee and Moon Girl. It feels more like a bad Nickelodeon cartoon like the ones previously mentioned.

One can only hope that Kiff either shapes up as it goes on, or ships out.

Who Were We Running From? (2023)

Supremely disappointing.

[1/10 · 30 March 2023]

I watched the English dub of this show, but I can't imagine the Turks do it any justice.

I am not speaking on behalf of the original Turkish version, because I haven't watched it, nor do I plan on watching it after sitting through two episodes of this show.

Because the English version, at least, is awful. No, scratch that -- it's GOD awful.

It seems that all of the charm and lore that may have been present in the Turkish version was somehow lost in translation. With all due respect to these actors, they cannot act to save their lives.

It seems that whoever was the director for the English dub had no idea what they were doing with this material and just sped through the recording sessions.

The voice acting is abysmal, some of the worst I've ever heard. The whole cast sounds so bored and uninterested, as though they're just reading a script over the show.

No emotion, no inflection. Flat. Stiff. Maddeningly monotonous and dull. Like the actors are being held at gunpoint.

The bottom-of-the-barrel voice acting of the English dub turns an already slow, bland, cliché plotline into a downright unwatchable series.

I could not sit through more than two episodes of this trite trash. As soon as the credits rolled on episode 2, I checked out. Grabbing that remote and pressing EXIT has never felt so satisfying until I witnessed the sheer awfulness of "Who Were We Running From?".

My recommendation: give the original Turkish version (with subtitles) a shot if you're really that curious. I haven't seen this version for myself, and probably never will, so proceed with caution.

Don't EVER watch the English dubbed version. A dog could do better voice acting. I wouldn't wish the English version on anybody. Avoid at all costs.

Jellystone (2021– )

Mr. Ranger's not gonna like this....

[1/10 · 9 January 2023]

When I heard a few years ago that C. H. Greenblatt was working on a cartoon reviving multiple Hanna-Barbera properties and putting them all in one universe, I was both excited and a little scared.

Half of me was excited because I LOVE the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jabberjaw, Top Cat.... some of the most well-remembered toons to this day.

Their cartoons' animation may have been limited, but that was more than made up for by all of the delightfully quirky and memorable characters, and loads and loads of belly laughs.

However, the other half of me was skeptical because anyone who's a cartoon fanatic like I am knows about the boom of TERRIBLE cartoon reboots that happened in the mid-10's with the eye-gougingly bad resurrections of Teen Titans, The Powerpuff Girls, and Ben 10.

(I also think the new DuckTales and Animaniacs are pretty bad as well, but they're not nearly as ill-received as the others for reasons that escape me.)

And although Ol' C. H. did excellent work on the first four seasons of SpongeBob, and his own cartoon Chowder, I found his later effort Harvey Beaks to be lacking his signature wackiness and charm, thus it fell flat for me.

Seems like I wasn't the only one who felt this way either, as the show died a rather early death and was banished to Nicktoons late in its run. Probably for the best.

Initially intended to come out in 2020 (though for reasons you can probably gather yourself, that ended up not happening), Jellystone finally debuted on July 29, 2021 after a few delays, through the sleazy streaming service HBO Max .

Which finally leads me into my thoughts on Jellystone. And I'll preface this by saying that this review is going to be very lengthy and in-depth, and I naturally will spend a big chunk of it comparing this re-incarnation of these beloved cartoon characters to their original source material.

And now, without further ado....

....HEAVENS TO MURGATROYD, is this revival TERRIBLE! Just.... so.... much.... wrong.

Before I say ANYTHING else, let me just state for the record that I know, for a FACT, that C. H. Greenblatt and co. Can do SO much better than this.

Not surprisingly, the many wonderful toons from the Hanna-Barbera library have been "revamped" for a modern-day audience. Many characters that were originally male are now inexplicably female, characters have been given new personalities, and they now interact with all the advanced technology we have today.

And I really thought this show was going to be better than this due to Greenblatt's (mostly) excellent track record, and well, it's Hanna-Barbera.... sort of.

But unfortunately, Greenblatt's natural talents do not come through here.

I'd say, after thinking it over, that there are four key areas where Jellystone fails, and the original cartoons succeed. So let's pick this apart, shall we?

______________________________________________________________ NUMBER ONE: VISUALS

Now, it goes without saying that the original Hanna-Barbera cartoons had.... far from the best animation, even for the time. Those cartoons were made on a tight budget, so of course, things had to be sacrificed.

Animation was frequently re-used, characters changed colors (sometimes even within the same shot), and the lines didn't always sync with their mouths. Yet somehow, many of these cartoons still managed to look good.

Jellystone, on the other hand, makes the aforementioned limited animation of the originals look like a Miyazaki flick, with its depressingly stiff animation and ugly character designs.

I'm almost positive that Jellystone is animated with Flash. It looks so cold, so sterile, so dead, so lifeless. Stiff. Choppy. The characters move like robots.

Now, that on its own is one thing. But it's also coupled with the characters looking absolutely hideous.

Visually speaking, Jellystone is an ugly, Picasso-esque nightmare. All of the characters look really crude, amateurish and incredibly flat. It's a harsh contrast to the original cartoons which although had limited animation, characters were still seen from multiple-angles: front, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, behind.

On the other hand, characters in Jellystone are almost ALWAYS seen at a 3/4 angle, sometimes very rarely from the front (THANKFULLY rarely, might I add, because like lots of other recent cartoons, the characters in front view are hideous). It's like Peppa Pig.

The limited but charming style of the originals has been reduced to a flat, hard-to-look-at, synthetic and ugly one, much like the Teen Titans Go! And PPG 2016 which also had severe art downgrades from their original incarnations.

And boy, is it a sad sight.

____________________________________________________________________________ NUMBER TWO: CHARACTERS

As I mentioned earlier, many characters' personalities have been changed to relate more to a modern audience.

Now, some of these changes aren't that bad (Snagglepuss hasn't changed much, nor has Captain Caveman, Wally Gator, or Huckleberry Hound), but the majority of these characters have been significantly watered down from their original counterparts.

Remember Yogi Bear? The slow-witted, yet loveable bear who always cooked up wonderfully zany schemes to get his hands on those picnic baskets? Or his funny deadpan sidekick Boo Boo, who often also served as the voice of reason during their hilarious misadventures?

Now, Yogi's just braindead and obnoxious, joining the camp of "fat and stupid because LOL" characters such as Gumball's dad, Zombie Simpsons Homer, and modern Patrick Star.

Meanwhile, Boo Boo is just a rambling joke machine. And no longer do Yogi and Boo Boo go after picnic baskets; now they just live together in some apartment building. Awful.

Also, were the gender changes really necessary? Like, I get that there were more male characters than females in the originals, but it's not like there WEREN'T female characters.

Jabberjaw and Brain are now annoying valley girls and it's every bit as as terrible as it sounds.

No offense to Augie Doggie's new voice actress (it feels so weird to even type that), but her new voice really grates on the ears. Just because she's a kid doesn't mean you have to make her sound as irritating as possible. Same goes for Yakky Doodle. Just, ugh

Magilla Gorilla has been dumbed down to a nerdy loser, and Mildew Wolf is a walking stereotype.

Oh, and for some reason, Peter Potamus is now a hardcore weeb that owns a dakimakura (which he believes to be real).

____________________________________________________________________________ NUMBER THREE: HUMOR

Jellystone rivals Cartoon Network's MAD and the aforementioned Teen Titans Go! As one of the most painfully unfunny cartoons ever made.

Greenblatt's first cartoon Chowder delivered with its absurdist humor and genius fourth-wall breaks, while his second show Harvey Beaks wasn't really comedy-driven like most of its ilk (and the sparse jokes it did offer were hit-or-miss).

Jellystone, on the other hand, shares Breadwinners and Sanjay and Craig's obnoxiously low-brow style of humor.

Immature toilet and fart jokes run rampant, and they are all awful and incredibly distracting.

All of the genius humor of the original Hanna Barbera cartoons has been thrown out the window for sophomoric, juvenile humor that surely nobody over the age of 10 will find funny.

Even the jokes that aren't related to butts and flatulence are incredibly lame and groan-inducing. The simplest and most basic form of humor there is.

Even when the rare good joke DOES sneak by (and believe it or not, there actually are a few of them), it just isn't worth it amongst the sea of potty humor and flat jokes.

____________________________________________________________________________

NUMBER FOUR: PLOTS

And the muddy icing on this mudcake of a mess would definitely have to be the plotlines. The plots of these episodes are, for the most part, unbelievably dumb.

Let me just describe some of these plots to you and tell me they're not stupid....

Yogi Bear eats everybody in town and Boo Boo and Cindy have to travel inside him and get everyone out.

Yogi gets jealous of Boo Boo's cool new boots and the two buy increasingly big boots to outdo each other.

Yogi thinks he's a cat after taking a DNA test and crashes with Top Cat and co. To stupidly unfunny results.

Yogi passes Shag Rug as his kid to get into a [[Main/SuckECheeses Suck-E-Cheese]] with the Cattanooga Cats as animatronics. These characters have like, zero chemistry.

The Top Cats sell expired fish sticks to the populace of Jellystone that turn them all into fish-heads. Definitely a worst episode contender - pure, unadulterated stupidity with no rhyme or reason whatsoever.

Augie Doggie learns about corporate culture and her mind grows to the size of a giant that zaps laser beams which turn everybody into businessmen/women.

After a freak accident, Yakky Doodle gets trapped in a watermelon and Augie Doggie treats it like her baby. Easily one of the creepiest, most unsettling episodes of any cartoon I've ever seen.

The original shows had stories that were fun and made sense for their characters.

Most of Jellystone's stories are either incredibly stupid, make no sense, change plots midway through, have abrupt/forced conclusions, or sometimes even all of those in the same episode.

But thankfully, despite all of these problems, nobody has to watch this waste of a revival if they don't wish to.

____________________________________________________________________________

At the end of the day, I highly recommend the ORIGINAL Hanna-Barbera cartoons. They may be old, some of them may be a bit dated, and the animation may not be the greatest, but all that is worth it thanks to the library of fun and wonderful characters, and brilliant comedy.

Go ahead and enjoy the originals, then MAYBE give Jellystone a shot if you're curious, only to experience what is called the mind-numbing power of difference.

Ren & Stimpy 'Adult Party Cartoon' (2003)

Not as bad as everyone says.

[4/10 · 30 August 2022]

"Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon" is more just boring than offensive or disgusting. It is not the monstrosity that everyone claims it is.

Is it good? No, especially not when compared to its Nickelodeon predecessor, which is one of my favorite cartoons of all time and one of the main influences of my style.

But it is not the worst thing ever conceived like it's constantly made out to be. It's not even that bad.

Though it did give us some disturbing looks into the mind of John K. (Naked Beach Frenzy and Stimpy's Pregnant).

Of the few episodes that were produced, Stimpy's Pregnant is the worst of the bunch, definitely. None of the rest even come close.

Just so soul-crushingly awful seeing Ren and Stimpy in the roles of an abusive marriage, and the poop baby was the icing on the cake.

Because of this, Stimpy's Pregnant is the only episode of Adult Party Cartoon that I think is genuinely terrible (though Naked Beach Frenzy is pretty bad as well).

I actually kind of like Ren Seeks Help, and Onward and Upward and Fire Dogs 2 aren't all that bad either. Largely bland and poorly paced, but nothing worse than that.

Naked Beach Frenzy is vile knowing the context behind it but ignoring that, it's just more boring than anything.

Same goes for Altruists, which has absolutely no reason to be as long as it is, but even that episode has a few good jokes.

Close Enough (2020–2022)

Wasted potential, thy name is Close Enough.

[1/10 · 8 August 2022]

After hearing about Close Enough being cancelled after only three seasons last month, I out of curiosity watched the entire series on HBO Max, a few episodes at a time.

I had seen short snippets and clips of Close Enough in the years beforehand. From the bits and pieces I saw before deciding to actually watch the series, to me it seemed like basically Regular Show 2.0 -- TOO similar to Regular Show. Too similar to stand out on its own merits, and to have its own identity.

And after seeing each and every episode of Close Enough, I couldn't be more right. This IS just Regular Show 2.0. I completely understand why this show got the axe so soon. Bravo, HBO Max.

It's incredibly difficult to judge Close Enough on its own merits, because it's basically just Regular Show all over again, only with human characters, and not nearly as fun or enthralling either.

Because of this, Close Enough is a bland, tired, old hat, been-there-done-that affair with little to save it from the depths of mediocrity. This does not make for compelling animation in the year 2022. So it's really not hard to see why this show was canned.

There's no point in discussing most of the cast, really. Josh is dollar-store Mordecai, Emily is discount Margaret/CJ, and Alex is essentially the Great Value equivalent of Muscle Man. So what is there to talk about?

The only characters that spark any interest in me are Bridgette and Candice. Bridgette is the one character I can actually say I kind of like. She's like an older version of Miko from Glitch Techs -- the cool Japanese-American Genki Girl.

By and large, she is the sole bright spot of the series, her snarks and remarks often breathing a tiny bit of life into this dry husk of a show.

One thing Regular Snow didn't have was a child character as part of the main cast, so Candice is somewhat original. She's of the bright yet impulsive little girl variety (think Anais from The Amazing World of Gumball). Candice can also manage a decent joke or one-liner once in a while, but those are sadly few-and-far between.

It's unfortunate that J. G. Quintel and co. Had too much Regular Show on the brain during the making of Close Enough. Such a shame -- this actually did have potential to be a really good show, its own original thing, but it seems that wasn't in the interests of ol' J. G. Oh, what could have been....

At this point, it looks like J. G.'s creativity meter is all used up. I can't say I blame him though; the guy's pushing 40, and he already created one of the most iconic and well-remembered cartoons of recent times, one of the longest-running on Cartoon Network, in fact. That is an achievement in and of itself.

At the same time, though, it's sad acknowledging what Close Enough could have been if it was different enough; had it not been so derivative of Regular Show, it most likely would not have been cancelled and could have even lasted as long as Regular Show.

But ultimately, this depressing plateau of rehashed ideas will most likely be forgotten by the masses in the coming years. Shame.

I think the most feasible option for J. G. is to step down from cartooning -- he's already done a great service to the animation industry with Regular Show, and continuing to produce hackneyed claptrap like Close Enough will only damage his legacy.

Or at the very least, a long break is in order to allow his creativity banks to refill. Because for now, they're all used up, if Close Enough is any indication.

It's no Regular Show, but it's Close Enough.... not.

My Life as a Teenage Robot (2002–2023)

One of Nick's absolute best.

[9/10 · 16 July 2022]

I love this show so much.

In fact, I think MLAATR is even better than the original SpongeBobs. Come to think of it, the only Nicktoon I rank above Teenage Robot is probably Ren and Stimpy.

My Life as a Teenage Robot was an amazing show just about all the way through, but that first season especially.... just absolutely god-tier.

Seasons 2 and 3 have some weaker storylines but overall still pretty sharp. But season 1 was pretty much stellar writing all the way through.

The first season did a very good job of capturing the life of a crime-fighting robot girl who also just wants to be a normal teen, with well-written gems such as Class Action, See No Evil, The Return of Raggedy Android, Hostile Makeover, Daydream Believer and This Time With Feeling.

Seasons 2 and 3 didn't do quite as great a job in this regard, often focusing either more on the crime-fighting aspect, or more on the slice-of-life aspect instead of excelling at combining both elements like the first season did.

But we still got bangers such as Teen Team Time and Weapons of Mass Distraction that did a good job at recapturing the series premise of Jenny having to protect the world and try to fit in with other teens at the same time.

Frozen (I) (2013)

Frozen stinks on ice.

[1/10 · 30 June 2022]

I will never understand why Frozen was such a big success, because it's objectively a very flawed movie. Predictable, by the numbers, and unimaginative.

And that's just scratching the surface.

It's not only my least favorite Disney movie, but my least favorite animated movie as well, and might even be my least favorite movie I've seen.

Just so mind-numbingly awful in my opinion. And it goes way beyond just being bland and predictable.

Frozen actively angers me with its painful musical numbers, and basically insulting my intelligence by making it seem like I don't know what'll happen next despite how predictable it is and every Disney movie cliche coming from a mile away (Hans being the villain, just to name one).

It's basically the cinematic equivalent of someone pulling a long, wet fart right in your face. And I cannot forgive Frozen for that.

I seriously can't comprehend how they thought such a painfully paint-by-numbers movie would be okay to release as part of the Disney animated canon, let alone it getting a sequel that really isn't much better.

Where the Dead Go to Die (2012)

It's not as bad as people say..... but yeah, pretty bad.

[2/10 · 15 June 2022]

I honestly think it's more boring than anything.

I really can't take it seriously with the crappy 90's-looking CGI.

The movie was intended to offend and disgust people. But for me, it really didn't deliver on that front.

More than anything, it's just a boring movie that makes me cringe not from the subject matter, but rather the attempt at said subject matter.

Hilda (2018–2023)

Hilda is my drug.

[10/10 · 9 March 2022]

Why, you may ask? The cozy atmosphere, relatable charming characters, brilliant storytelling and top-notch musical score really grab me like no other show does. With all of these elements, Hilda has helped me through some tough times.

In fact, Hilda is downright therapeutic. Whenever I'm angry or sad or in general just having a bad day, a little dose of Hilda is all it takes to instantly cheer me up.

There are people out there ruining their lives getting jacked up on coke and meth, but I'm perfectly content getting high on Hilda. And I have no regrets. Hilda.

The Cuphead Show! (2022)

Great!

[9/10 · 19 February 2022]

The Cuphead Show is great! Not a single bad episode in the bunch.....yet.

The art direction, the songs, the jokes, the stories....all I could have hoped for in this show!

And of course, they just had to leave us on a cliffhanger....

Hilda and the Mountain King (2021 TV Movie)

INCREDIBLE!

[9/10 · 30 December 2021]

I just watched "Hilda and the Mountain King" twice, and it was INCREDIBLE. Everything I could have asked for and then some.

From the breathtaking opening sequence to the art direction to the emotional impact to the jokes to the resolution....all just absolutely amazing. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't cry a little.

At the beginning of the month, I speculated that this would be the saving grace of 2021 for me, and it most definitely was.

Not only did it live up to all of my expectations, but it EXCEEDED them. At times, it almost felt like an apology for some of season 2's shortcomings.

If I only had one small complaint, it'd be the absence of the Great Raven once again. I discussed this in my review of season 2 last year, but again, I'm sort of bummed that the Raven didn't show up here either. He could have taken the role of the Lost Clan pigeon in the search for Hilda.

Just a little nitpick, though. Hopefully, we'll see the Raven or the Marra at least once in season 3, even just a cameo....right? Right?

The Grinch (2018)

Lesser of Two Evils

[3/10 · 18 December 2021]

Between the two theatrical remakes of The Grinch, this is certainly the lesser of two evils.

It's not the absolute dumpster fire that the 2000 Jim Carrey version was, but comparing it to the 1966 animation, this is one big coal pile of a movie.

It's visually appealing - the bright and colorful scenery really adds to the Christmas vibe, in stark contrast to the 2000 film which had a very bleak and depressing color palette. So points for that.

The Grinch himself, however, is such a bore in this remake. I hardly cared about what was going on for much of the runtime because the star of the show is so lame. Though, I will say that I prefer this incarnation of the Grinch over the psychotic, creepy and unfunny Grinch of the 2000 movie.

The songs are mostly nothing to write home about, but the only one I really hated was the rap one. I don't know what they were thinking with that.

At the end of the day, this is not as atrocious as the live-action version with Jim Carrey. There are good parts, it's pleasing to the eye, but overall, it is a lousy remake.

Even if the other Grinches didn't exist and it were its own movie, I wouldn't be a fan.

Still better than the 2000 movie, but in the end, a very unsatisfactory experience.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

The Worst Grinch.

[1/10 · 18 December 2021]

So, so terrible. A painfully unfunny performance from Jim Carrey, lame and low-brow attempts at comedy, murky color palette throughout the movie, and Cindy Lou (Taylor Momsen) is annoying.

I will say that I appreciate the effort that was put into the scenery; the Seussian town and landscape look wonderful, even with the dull color palette.

If it weren't for Frozen, this would be an easy shoe-in for my least favorite holiday/winter-themed movie. Complete and utter garbage.

In 2018, there would be another attempt to recapture the magic of the 1966 cartoon. It was another failure, but not quite to the extent of this catastrophe right here.

The Ghost and Molly McGee (2021–2024)

A breath of fresh air?

[7/10 · 11 November 2021]

After seeing the first seven half-hour episodes (each consisting of two quarter-hour stories), I think it's safe to say this show is growing on me. When it hits, it really hits and when it misses, it doesn't miss that badly.

Here are the pros and cons I have with the show thus far:

Pros: * A lot of cartoons from the past decade (at least in America) have had the same distinct style: paper-thin outlines, rounded features, bean-shaped mouths; overall a very simplified and bland look. We all know the nickname for this particular style, but I won't use it, because we know it's not accurate. All I'm going to say is I absolutely despise that ugly, simplistic, rounded, inexpressive style. And I am so glad that "The Ghost and Molly Mc Gee" didn't go down this route. The show's animation services are provided by Mercury Filmworks, the same company that brings "Hilda", one of my favorite cartoons, to life. Like "Hilda", "The Ghost and Molly Mc Gee" has very lively and fluid animation, with fun, wacky facial expressions that make the show feel alive. Hopefully animation continues in this direction.

* The titular Molly Mc Gee is bursting with positive energy and in general is a fun, likeable protagonist who reminds me of Hilda in a way. Scratch the Ghost is the source of much of my laughter while watching this show, and Dana Snyder brings so much fun to his character.

* Positive Jewish representation. We need more of that in not just animation, but television in general.

* Most of the songs are catchy, including the main theme.

* The jokes don't always land, but when they do, boy do they land!

Cons: * When the jokes don't land, they....really don't land. My palm met my face more than a few times.

* Some of the songs aren't that great...I really wasn't fond of that Abe Lincoln rap. Then again, I don't really like rap in general.

*This is minor, but the title cards are sort of bland. Many recent cartoons either have the same title card layout for each episode with minute differences each time (like this one), or just have the episode title over the screen. It makes me miss the days when most cartoons had more variety with title cards.

Overall, I have high hopes for "The Ghost and Molly Mc Gee." At first I just thought it was sort of okay, but after seeing up to episode 7, I'm liking it more and more. This show is, in my opinion, one of the only decent cartoons currently airing (along with "Hilda"), and I hope the show stays on this path, and gets even better as time goes on.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Nope.

[2/10 · 15 October 2021]

Now here's an example of how NOT to do a remake.

Virtually everything that made the book and 1971 film great, is absent here. There's no Candy Man song, the Oompa Loompas have been dumbed down to 2000's era pop singers, Willy Wonka has been body-snatched, and a very flat performance from the cast.

I felt a small part of me die inside when one of the kids said "retard" while playing a Call of Duty-esque game.

Simply one of the worst, most unfaithful, disposable and unnecessary remakes of all time.

The book and original movie will always be classic. But this just took a huge dump all over that.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

A truly wonderful experience!

[9/10 · 15 October 2021]

Fantastic musical performances from the delightfully creepy Oompa Loompas, and you can really feel the heartache of a British boy living in poverty.

Amazing scenery and effects that don't feel too dated, even 50 years later. Not to mention an excellent musical score. A never-ending source of memes and iconic quotes.

It's incredible how a movie this good was made with such a tight budget -- only three million dollars.

Truly the best incarnation of the Chocolate Factory. The book is great but this is a rare case of the film adaptation being superior. However, the same cannot be said for the 2005 remake...

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

A classic

[8/10 · 12 October 2021]

Classic sci-fi fun for all ages. Good to watch close to Halloween. Impressive effects for its time.

A textbook example of the original being superior to the sequels.

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves! (1997 TV Movie)

Another disappointing sequel

[4/10 · 12 October 2021]

Another disappointing sequel. A very tired, been-there-done-that affair with shoddy special effects. A few funny moments, such as the God bit, but a mostly unsatisfactory end to the Honey, I... Trilogy.

My advice, stick with the original and skip the sequels. The first Shrunk movie has much more going for it than either of the sequels combined.

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)

Disappointing sequel

[4/10 · 12 October 2021]

Disappointing sequel. Great animated opening, and a few choice chuckles but this was clearly produced more with the intent to make money than to entertain. Watch the original instead.