Couchbound/Continued #370 - Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet: Episode 1, "Some people say 'Déjà Vu.' Others, 'SS;DD.'"

I might be suffering some form of entertainment burnout.

There comes a point in time in any rabid couch potato's life, make that several times, when they (namely me) reach a saturation point and begin to feel like they've seen everything a soap or procedural or genre series can offer, that it's all been done before with only minor variations in era, themes, or conceptualization.

Gargantia is kind of like that.

From the very moment I started watching this first episode, I instantly had visions of Martian Successor Nadesico, Vandread, and so many others. Giant robots piloted by teens in space, fighting an alien menace that has a vaguely familiar look but is definitely non-human until, oh no, maybe that's just a misdirect and they're really human after all. Gasp!

I have no idea if that's the case here, as I have no clue to the overall plot of the series, but it would not at all surprise me, based on the space combat shenanigans that take up the first half of this series opener. It just bears all the hallmarks of a generic mech actioner. Extremely dedicated child soldier amping up his heroics but thrust into an unwinnable situation, incomprehensible technobabble jargon thrown out left and right, the sacrifice of a superior for the greater good and a cliffhanger that leads directly into part B.

And, from there, it just gets even more generic. Insert landing in a salvage yard on Earth that is populated by buxom stereotypes, dudes with pompadours, and a cute flying squirrel pet with obvious intelligence. Seriously it's like watching Nadia crossed with Eureka 7. The squirrel even chirps like it's talking (I'm having Samurai Champloo flashbacks here, just without the cool music and style). Oiy.

Still, that said, it's pretty gorgeous, so far. While I'm not a huge fan of the mech design, the human ships and their strange weapons (especially that pinwheel thing) and the vague references we get to their space-faring society are engaging, once you get past the jargon and obvious jingoism. Plus, the one glimpse we get of the floating salvage yard at the end of the episode is pretty tantalizing. I just wish the character designs weren't so clean and Ghibli-riffic.


Honestly, I think I would prefer to have seen a full episode establishing Avalon instead of having its sole mentions be those of propaganda and the like... but I understand that the point of the episode is to establish a fish out of water story on Earth, not go into depth on a place we'll probably never see. I also really like that, even though main character Ledo comes from an obviously fascist society, he cares quite a bit about both his comrades and the potential innocent humans of this strange place he's trapped in. Sure, he takes a girl hostage to put off direct attacks against him, but no one is ever in any real danger as he uses avoidance and intimidation instead of force to get these humans he cannot communicate with to back off, however temporarily.

I think I'm going to give Gargantia a couple of episodes to prove itself, despite my initial reservations concerning its predictability. One of my favorite authors has very blatantly pointed out in his own works that there are no new stories under the sun. The least I can do is see which particular rabbit hole this one will lead me down, especially since it has some decent merits right out of the gate.

Until later, Potatoes~



***

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Season 1 is available on Netflix as of this posting.

Day Three Hundred and Sixty-three - Samurai Champloo: Episode 15, "Ow, my back!"

Samurai Champloo was an intriguing experiment. I mentioned, way back when I reviewed its pilot, that it was a tremendously good mix of style, music, and action... and its English dub was fairly superior to most other anime. That recommendation still holds most of its water, I think, though it's a little shaky this time around.

I say that because this particular episode, Bogus Booty, has a sing-song intro that doesn't translate well in the English dub. The style that they try and emulate from the original just can't be done with our sentence structure and pronunciation, so it ends up being a somewhat sad and definitely pale imitation. Luckily, it's only the first minute or so of the episode, so its quickly dismissed, but I can see where someone just randomly coming to it might be turned off from the whole thing. Not high odds that it would happen that way as Bogus Booty is the fifteenth episode of the series, but it might happen.

Anyways, once that terrible intro is over, the plot for this stand-alone episode kicks into immediate gear as a lone figure tries to escape his ninja pursuers but ends up captured. He throws a bundle into a pond to save it from the ninja and the scene fades... directly into the series' main characters Jin, Mugen, and Fuu fishing the very next day at that same spot. In a fit of fishing-related frustration, Jin finds the bundle and the three discover its full of gold koban coins, which they take directly to the next town and live it up. Fuu gets fat on vittles and the boys ditch her to visit a brothel, where Mugen wins a game of Jan-Ken-Pon (Rock-Paper-Scissors) and gets to spend the night with the cute Yatsuha, who is more than she seems.

The plot of the episode mostly revolves around a counterfeiting operation that Yatsuha and her compatriots (including the runner from the beginning) have been sniffing out, and she uses Mugen's sex drive to convince him to beat the crap out of the rebels using the brothel as a hideout for their illegal deeds. While it's true that Mugen gets the majority of screen time, with short little asides for Fuu and Jin as chapter bookends, there's little to no character development for anyone. This is just a stand-alone action quickie that can be watched by anyone unfamiliar with the series. It's quick, comedic, and fun... though, perhaps a little too sexist.

I like the quirks of history that can be gleaned from the plotline like the yukaku (pleasure) district that Fuu is prevented from entering, the references to the Sengoku (Warring States) grudges, and koban (gold coin) smithing. Almost every episode of Samurai Champloo has little details like these that are hilarious and interesting, and I just love it.

My one regret, though, is that Yatsuha is a one-off character, especially considering her confession to her subordinate that Mugen is the man she wants to marry. It would've been nice, had the series continued past one season (technically two in Japan as their seasons run in lots of 13 and often continue one right after the other) to have Yatsuha and Fuu competing for Mugen's affections... or just nice to see Yatsuha show up again at all. I found her much more compelling in her fifteen or so minutes of screen time than Fuu had across almost the entire series, but that's just because Fuu isn't all that dynamic a character save for when the series arc chapters focus on her "search for the sunflower samurai" woes.

As always with this series, there's fun action, great music, and excellent animation. Worth the watch if you're any sort of fan of anime, samurai films, or hip hop.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

2!

Day Three Hundred and Fifty-nine - Phineas and Ferb: Season 2, Episode 21, "It's CHRISTMAS! But where's Vanessa?"

Yup, Phineas and Ferb's Christmas Vacation special (a whopping eleven minutes longer than their regular episodes) is one of my favorite holiday episodes along with Futurama's "Xmas Story." It and a third completely awesome episode from another series... that I will talk about in a bit... make up my Triumvirate of Holiday Cheer!

Set atypically for the series during Winter Vacation, Phineas and his step-brother Ferb set out to organize the town of Danville in a giant undertaking to thank Santa for all the cool presents he's given them over the years. In a giant montage of industriousness, the whole town (minus Candace) decorate the Tri-State area with all the trimmings and the boys, themselves, create a full-service rest stop for Santa to enjoy up on their roof.

Meanwhile, Agent P is snooping after Dr.Doofenshmirtz in the B-story. It seems Doof just can't get up enough apathy to ruin Christmas with his brand new Naughty-inator and has a grand musical number to relay that fact to the typically entrapped Perry. Some annoyingly persistent carolers push him over the edge, though, and he turns on the Naughty-inator, which tells the elves at the North Pole that the entire city shouldn't get any prezzies.

Booooo.

The third act of the special is all about Phineas and the gang rallying together with the help of two elves to save Christmas by creating, wrapping, and delivering every present... in a giant rocket sleigh! In the end, everybody's happy, even Doof, and things return to normal just in time for the kids' parents to arrive home with the grandparents who were flying in.

First, I should acknowledge that Phineas and Ferb is always, always cheesy, but it's a forgivable cheese. Their universe of flexible physics and convenient plot devices is so earnest and innocent, something that can't really be said in other, more Whovian universes that I've become familiar with. There's also really good comedic timing with all of the bits and musical sequences. Even if they stretch and break their own rules, it all snaps back in the end and is done in a spirit that makes the breaks not only forgivable, but hilarious.

Second, while I like the special, I do have to admit that it's not the strongest episode of Phineas and Ferb ever. For one thing, there's no Vanessa, and if you remember our previous visits to P&F for Couchbound, Vanessa is one of the main draws for me (played by Olivia Olsen who also voices Marceline on Adventure Time). For another, both the Doof story and Candace's freakouts over gifting for her boyfriend are boring as all get out, even if some of the accompanying gags (like Candace's metaphor explanations and the carolers) are fun.

I want to give a quick shoutout to Clancy Brown, who guests as Santa Claus and another hearty "I miss you" to Olivia Olsen whom was absent from this episode. Almost everyone else makes an appearance, though, from from Meep to P&F's stalker. I just wish I could've heard Olsen's beguiling tones. Oh, well. Make sure you stick around for the credits. Like Futurama before them, the P&F crew homages A Charlie Brown Christmas in a very cute way.

Now, since it's not on Netflix (at least, this year), I think I should mention what my favorite Christmas Special of all... Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas from Community. A stop-motion favorite reminiscent of Rankin and Bass animated classics like Rudolf. It's hilarious, but also poignant, as it covers a major character's holiday nervous breakdown and his friends' attempts to snap him out of his partial psychotic break with reality. It's cute, it's funny, it's animated... and darn near perfect. Too bad I have to rely on my DVDs and can't share it with you. Still, I have all my ornaments from the episode sitting next to my TV, so it sort of works.

Happy Holidays, Potatoes~

6!

Day Three Hundred and Fifty-seven - Futurama: Season 2, Episode 8, "He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're on the can!"

I may grouse that Futurama has fallen far over the years, basically turning into a somewhat better version of Family Guy that is set in the third millenium A.D.,  but I will always owe a debt to Matt, Billy, John, Katey, et al. for all the good work they did... especially in those early seasons.

Once such example of the sweet, yet insane, adventures of the Planet Express Crew was their first Christmas episode, "Xmas Story," which starts them off on a ski trip in the first act but quickly turns into a race for survival against Robot Santa in acts two and three.

This episode happens pre-Leela's Homeworld and still predicates on the notion that she is the last of her kind, a single cyclops alien with no one to love during the holidays, a fact that Fry agitates by deciding to mope over being a man out of time, alone himself. There's never much in the way that shows things from Leela's side, and Fry's realizations concerning how he hurt her with his careless words are a little too quick, but there's only so much you can do in 22 minutes. At least, that's the excuse I want to use, but I've seen quite a few examples of better characterization from the series that would serve as a counterpoint (Luck of the Fryish, Jurassic Bark).

I think the strength of this episode lies in its many gags. The future ski vacation allows pretty much everyone to shine, from "Trees Down!" to Amy's thinly-veiled cast fetish to the Professor sleep slaloming, that first act is packed full of great one-off jokes. I think my favorite is when Hermes goes bobsledding and fails, first with Zoidberg accidentally following suit and Fry saying 'the heck with it' and doing it a third time. Great stuff.

Acts two and three lose a little bit of that momentum, thanks to the Fry/Leela melodrama, but manages to stay somewhat strong despite that. It helps that Robot Santa is voiced by John Goodman and Bender is off fleecing the poor and destitute. Tinny Tim is so cute in his misfortune and the digital clock gag is just beautiful.

This was also back before Zoidberg was the butt of every joke and even got to be the hero now and then. The fact he's the only one of the crew (possibly the world) whom Robot Santa hasn't deemed "naughty" is deliciously funny. I'm rather glad he was able to find the love of his life in the last season. Plus, I love his Apology Dance!

Xmas Story is one of my favorite Christmas episodes of any series... ranking pretty darn high up there. One of my others will be my pick for the twenty-fifth, which shall remain a mystery until then. Sadly, my absolute favorite isn't available on Netflix in the US (though, I think it is in Canada), but I'll save that for the twenty-fifth as well.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

8!

Day Three Hundred and Fifty-one - Barbie: Life in the Dream House, "This... shouldn't be possible. But it's really happening."

Holy crap... more episodes of the extremely self-aware and meta, yet still vapid in a "Clueless" sort of way, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse has shown up on Netflix... and I find myself more than willing to fall down this rabbit hole yet again.

It's fairly obvious by now that these are being compiled way out of order as props and characters that we've seen before in the previous three "episodes" (themselves compilations of 2-4 minute webisodes) are introduced here. There's Midge, the 50's throwback friend who appears in Malibu in black and white (only to be colorized after a modern makeover and the shoe-eating robot that we saw Barbie and Raquelle get sucked into after the shrink-ray accident last time to name the obvious ones.

Still, Life in the Dreamhouse is surreally entertaining despite the terrible puns and one-off jokes meant to cater to the tween crowd.

It helps that there are tons of nods to the fact that these characters are actual dolls, complete with articulation points (and issues revolving around them) and plenty of jokes that lampshade just how many different careers and lifestyles that Barbie has held over the years. Heck, there's even a reference to when she was molded with a bellybutton for the first time (13 years ago, apparently).

I'm also a big fan of how most of the various personalities of Barbie-dom are characterized, the exception being token black friend Nikki, who feels like a walking stereotype sometimes... although that's kind of the point of the show, most of the dolls being valley girl and surfer dude cutouts. I have to say, every time Midge short-laughs, I fall a little in love, which is disturbing when I stop to think about it.

Thankfully, apart of the jokes aimed at the target audience, the in-jokes and references are enough to make me really, REALLY enjoy this series (just like I do MLP:FiM)... and it's finally a weirdly off-age group property that I can share with my friends, since Brit and Melanie were laughing along right there with me. Kudos to Mattel for hiring folks willing to break the kid's show mold.

Definitely my only regret is that they've only added two more compilations of webisodes to the Queue. Here's hoping this series gains traction (a la MLP:FiM) and gains enough of a following to earn more content.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Fifty - Futurama: Season 10, Episode 10, "One last flashback to the year 2000."

It's pretty much a given that at least once a season Futurama will pull at the heartstrings somehow. Whether it's with Seymour the Ever-Vigilant Mutt or the Five-leaf Clover, as bad as the show can get this late in its run, it still manages to hit you right in the feels.

There's a disaster in the making, a sonic spaceship is heading straight to earth and is destroying every piece of rock in its path and it's up to Fry to figure out what they want considering the fact that he's the only one who recognizes the tune it's belting out. In order to kickstart his memories, The Professor helps Fry dive into his dreamspace where he revisits all of his haunts that last day before he was frozen in our time.

While it's not as high a quality as Life of the Fryish or Jurassic Bark, Game of Tones is pretty darn cute and touches on probably one of the last untapped mines from that period of pre-Futurama wackiness, his sports-crazy mother (voiced by Tress MacNeille). While it's a bit of a stretch to think that Fry would risk the end of the world just to spend more dreamtime with his mother, when he can still have access to the memory world after he finds the tune, but it's good to see the old family again... even that cantankerous old hawk of a father of his.

There are a couple of gags that feel like the Futurama of old, not the Family Guy, break-the-fourth-wall and every other rule while they're at it style of jokes. I love the thought-spikes and the vibrating football game, Nixon and Agnew and the Close Encounters bits. It's not on par with the stuff of old, but still pretty darn decent.

It's kind of sad to think that there are just three short episodes left before the whole shebang is done... at least for now. Sure, there's always talk of finding home on another network (especially from the cast, when asked), but I get this sinking feeling that this is it. We'll have to just wait and see, I guess, and just savor the last few as they come.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-three - Barbie: Life in the Dream House, "Wait... WHAT?!"

Three years ago, I never thought that I would ever enjoy a cartoon based on the girls' toy brand My Little Pony... then Friendship is Magic was made and it was gloriously fun, smart, and stylistic with the dual qualities of being accessible to its target audience, but chock full of references and homages for adults.

To be frank, I didn't think it was possible for lightning to strike twice... and, to a certain extent, it hasn't. Life in the Dreamhouse is shallow and decidedly lacking in comparison to MLP:FiM. That said, it is still surprisingly (and I do mean SURPRISINGLY) entertaining to a thirtysomething male adult such as myself.

First of all, let's get one thing straight, it is vapid... often painfully vapid... but the grand majority of the time it is a meta-vapid of the likes of Legally Blonde and Clueless.

The series is very much self-aware of how silly and shallow it is to only be concerned with boys and fashion, and it relishes in that fact. Sure, almost all of the conflict in this small web-series on Netflix centers around the contents of Barbie's closet, and no less than twice does her AI clothes horse go all HAL9000 on her and her friends, but it's very much winking at the audience just how obsessed her brand is with haute couture.

Then there are all the nods that seem to indicate that the characters are aware that they are dolls. There are the obvious joints, the direct references to being "articulated," and the fact all of their measurements are exactly the same... that and Barbie has had 130+ careers and over 40+ anniversaries with her beau, Ken. The food is plastic and deus ex'd in, their accessories are oversized (check out the pink Nokia that Barbie's friend, Teresa, uses), and their hips are all too big to fit on the Dreamhouse's water slide.

I think the icing on the cake are all of the references that pop up. There's Star Wars, Indiana Jones (quite a bit, actually), 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Wizard of Oz, to name the major ones. Let me tell you, inserting geek humor into a series like this can make comedy gold... and does. I especially liked when Barbie recreated the Map Room sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Genius.

While, yes, it really is just a tongue in cheek commercial for the toy line, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse has enough redeeming references and meta-humor to actually keep me (and my friends) oddly entertained. I can't even remember what we stopped watching before it, I just know I clicked on LitD as a joke and we were all blown away, laughing our asses off the entire time... you know, when we weren't in shock. Weird, irreverent, vapid fun... you should check it out.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-two - The Nightmare Before Christmas, "Life's no fun without a good scare. :)"

Well, Happy Thanksgiving, Potatoes~

I tried to hold off on holiday films till this very day due to the fact that it seems like the season starts earlier and earlier every year purely for the convenience of retailers... but you're here to read about what's fun on Netflix, not listen to me grouse about the lack of holiday spirit from corporations.

Anyways, to kick off the season, I decided to start with one of my favorite holiday movies of all time, The Nightmare Before Christmas... and boy is it worth it!

Directed by Henry Selick and executive produced by (and based on the unique art style of) Tim Burton, Nightmare follows the turbulent appropriation of the Christmas holiday by the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, Jack Skellington. It seems that he's grown bored with the same old scares and is looking for something new, which he finds after wandering into an enchanted forest with portals to every major holiday.

Falling into Christmastown and discovering the wonders of toys and elves and tinsel, Jack is enamored by the glittering sights, sounds, and all-around warmth of the holiday and aims to capture some of that magic for himself... eventually deciding to just steal the whole bloody thing for his town's inhabitants of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins. In fact, the meat of the second act is all how he and the other monsters go about trying to create Christmas with their own slant, missing the point entirely, but still with a good heart.

It's only when the world rejects Jack's horror-filled Christmas and the town's villain, Oogey Boogey (the Boogie Man), threatens the captured Santa Claus' life, that Jack realizes what a fool he's been and races to save both Saint Nick and Christmas, itself.

Storywise, it's a simple fable that relies on its unique style and art to prop up what is mostly a series of misunderstandings between human, elf, and beast, but the narrative is really helped by the almost tragic love story between Jack and Sally (the rag-doll-Frankenstein girl), who admires the Pumpkin King from afar and is the only prescient person in town, warned as she is by her visions of disaster and really the only Halloweentown resident comfortable in her stitched skin.

The music, written and produced (and often sung) by Danny Elfman, is a treat that reminds me of the Broadway stage and, despite a few moments of rushed/awkward lyricism, is a tremendously catchy series of tunes. It's worth owning the album just so you can pop it into your car's sound system and sing along on your commute home... and is really great for trips with the kiddos (so much more than any of that Kids Bop crap).


Getting back to the art and style, Tim Burton's quirky horrors and gothic designs, which also come out in his other films like Beetlegeuse and Batman, make Nightmare a really special entry into stop-motion animation. It really is the gold standard after Harryhausen for the pinnacle of the art form and, in my opinion, surpassed him. As I mentioned in this past week's blog, we owe so much debt to Harryhausen, and it shows here, but as much as we probably wouldn't have Nightmare without him, I still prefer it to all of his works combine, Nightmare is just that dear to me.



Now that I think about it, The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first DVD that I ever bought... and I did it before I even had my own player (back in the days when computers only had CD-drives and the Playstation 2 had yet to be released). I purchased it on a mall trip to Albuquerque while I was visiting friends from college. It's kind of amazing how, in just a little over a decade, we've already jumped formats again (to Blu-Ray) and things are starting to push towards completely digital downloads and streaming. But enough about that.

I would be shocked if you haven't seen Nightmare yet, but... if you haven't... I can say with the utmost confidence that it is one of the finest holiday, animated, and musical productions out in the world today and it's a blessing to have it on the Instant Stream. Check it out, alone or with family, and preferably with a warm mug of cocoa top with marshmallows and tucked under a comfy blanket.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Five - MLP:FiM: Season 3, Episode 7, "Highwaaay to the Danger Zone!"

Halloween's over, Mons(sters) are asleep... time to post Ponies!

Yes, friends, now that our Couchbound Spooktacular of a whole month of Twin Peaks (plus weekend horror flicks) has finished, two things are self-evident. First, I can watch whatever I want (WOOHOO)! Second, it's been a decent while since I've watching any My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and I think it's about time that I changed that.

Today's episode is a cute little Rainbow Dash centered episode that's a sendup to Top Gun.

It seems, after years of pining for the Wonderbolts and trying to show off at every event she could, from the Best Young Flyer Competition to the Grand Galloping Gala, she's finally of either the age or skill level (or both) to join the Wonderbolt Academy.

Of course, that doesn't mean things will go smoothly for our spunky overachiever. While she's there, she ends up playing second fiddle to another egocentric pegasus named Lightning Dust and, though Rainbow Dash is eager to excel and push her limits, Lightning Dust's antics begin to cause RD, the other cadets, and even the Mane 6 harm.

While not the most humorous of episodes, the lesson is fairly poignant and it's nice to have RD making the connections for herself without having to have it spelled out for her by Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6. In fact, it should be noted that RD has to actively push against the example given to her by her commanding officer, Spitfire, to do the right thing. Sure, it takes being knocked around a bit and a possible gruesome end for her best friends (who come to Wonderbolt Academy to hand deliver a care package), but it's still Rainbow Dash comprehending the moral herself and standing up for her principles, even if it might cost her the thing she wants most in life, being a Wonderbolt.

There a few decent moments of comedy, though, mostly centered around Pinkie Pie and her obsession with getting a letter from RD (who is obviously too busy to write). I love how insanely codependent she is, in a non-Fatal Attraction sort of way. It really is the cutest bit watching Pinkie constantly open and close her mailbox, hoping a letter will miraculously appear via quantum tunneling or some such.

I also want to make special note of a few of the other cadets and background ponies. Not only is there another appearance of the roided out pegasus, Snowflake, with his trademarked "YEAH," but there are also two cameo ponies in the form of Manerick (Maverick from Top Gun) and Whiplash who is a Tom Skerritt pony (also a Top Gun reference), if I don't miss my guess. While not as cute as the Big Lebowski ponies during the bowling bit during that Cutie Mark Crusaders episode, it's still a nice nod to the adult audience of the show.

The ending is a little weird in that Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire does a stereotypical "you've got what it takes" speech and rewards RD for doing the right thing as a leader, stripping Lightning Dust of her rank as Leadpony but not resolving things with Lightning Dust in the standard "everyone learns a lesson, even the villains" way. Instead, LD is just led off in shame and there's no hint as to whether she's been demoted or completely kicked out of the program. A bit ambiguous and that annoys me.

Still, while not the best episode, by far, it's still a decent watch in its own right... especially for Pinkie's antics and a strong show of character by Rainbow Dash.

Man, I'm glad to be done with Twin Peaks. It's been so long since I had a real, honest choice of what I wanted to watch for the blog. Sure, it's probably telling that I instantly went for Ponies as a balm for my soul, but I don't care! I mean, c'mon... PONIES!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-two - The Emperor's New Groove, "Kronk, your antics make life worth living sometimes."

When The Emperor's New Groove came out, I remember a lot of folks lambasting it as just another example of the decline of Disney's animation studio from its heyday in the late 80's/early 90's after the Second Renaissance that included The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. Maybe it was a hostility towards all the fourth wall breaking, or just David Spade in particular... or, perhaps, it was just the general lack of awe-inspiring visuals or catchy musical sequences.

In any case, The Emperor's New Groove was a break from Disney's typical routine and, for that, got a lot of criticism. Personally, though, while I can see the validity of their complaints, there's just this bouncy humor that pervades the entirety of the film that really, really makes me happy... mostly coming at the hands of Chaotic Neutral henchmen, Kronk (Patrick Warburton).

That's not to say that David Spade, the intended star of the show as the Emperor Kuzco, isn't funny... but there are times that his self-absorbed sarcasm rubs the wrong way, whereas pretty much everything that comes out of Kronk's mouth (or, from his kitchen) is delicious.

While co-star John Goodman never really distinguishes himself as a voice actor here, playing the goody two-shoes Pacha (I think Wendi Malick does a much more interesting turn as his wife, Chicha), Eartha Kitt actually does a bangup job as the villainous Yzma, a wretched crone of an enchantress with eyes on the throne. It's actually rather sad that they didn't have her do a musical number as her voice just screams sultry and wicked.

As far as the story goes, it's just your typical buddy/chase flick as Kuzco and Pacha try and get back to civilization whilst bonding with each other and trying to avoid/thwart Yzma and Kronk. No real big surprise there. I was actually hoping that, in the absence of BOTH Kuzco and Yzma, that the people of the empire would attempt some sort of "majority rule" collective, but nope... civilization operates normally while the dueling heads of state, well, duel.

It's weird, The Emperor's New Groove really doesn't have your standard Disney polish and signaled a temporary halt to the trope of every entry being a romantic musical (a halt which led directly to the pulp adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire), but it also wasn't "nails on the chalkboard" bad like the straight-to-DVD features that Disney was pumping out in the 90's, either. It's quaint and mostly fun... just not a grand Disney Epic, like most folks were used to back then.

I particularly loved (along with Kronk) all the tiny jokes like the Jaguar cub, the rollercoaster voice over, and the map lines... but really, the star of the show was Kronk. I don't think that the movie would've survived without his offbeat humor (and metahumor). Whether it was his obsessive homemaking, arguing with his dueling consciences, or squirrel translation, Patrick Warburton created a character that transcending the possible mediocrity of the film.

The main draw was him... everything else was just a supporting bonus. I mean, they turned Earth Kitt into a freaking cat and didn't even have her purr! Sacrilege!

I can definitely recommend The Emperor's New Groove, just be advised that it's all about the humor... the story, art, and music are all just meh.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-nine - MLP:FiM: Season 3, Episode 9, "Baby Applejack? Hnnnngggghhhh!"

Wow, it's amazing how busy a day can get when you're least expecting it. I've cut dozens of shows, worked on NaNoWriMo prep, corralled two different local programs (though most of that was hands off), and still managed to find time to skip lunch *insert stomach grumbles here*. That said, I picked today to be a Free Day... anything I wanted to see, regardless of how recently I've watched just that.

The result? PONIES!

Today's episode is the season 3, Applejack-centered, story about her attempts to put on the best family reunion possible for all of her extended relations... everything from horrendously long and complicated obstacle courses to industrial sized fried food operations to extreeeeeeeeeme hayrides.

It must be hard for the writers to put together an episode, purely with Applejack in mind, that has her overcoming some personal flaw. On the whole, she's really the only member of the Mane 6 who has it all pretty much together and rarely worries about things unless she needs to. You're typical "older sister" type, she's hardworking, loyal, and honest to a fault. Heck, they had to invent an excuse to have her run away in season two by making her too ashamed that she failed to help the town all on her own.

Yeesh.

They pretty much had to do the same thing here, making her act out of character, becoming overbearing and obsessive almost overnight. But, I suppose it's all good, though, as it's a rare thing to have a completely AJ-focused episode. "You take what you can get," is what I'm saying.

Plus, despite its main character acting a bit against type, there are some really poignant moments in the episode. We get to see two shooting stars in reference to her absent (possibly dead) parents, Granny Smith gives herself a very temporary facelift (which makes her look like a very cute filly), and there is a short flashback scene that shows an infant Applejack that is all but sure to give anyone who watches a cuteness overload heart attack.

Sure, since it's an Apple Family Reunion, Babs (along with her terrible accent) makes a guest appearance, but she's not as annoying as she was in her intro episode "Babs Seed" and there are plenty of Background Ponies around, like Fiddlesticks and Turnip Truck, to make me smile.

I guess I have two regrets. First is that the climax song is rather uninspired and boring. I was hoping for more, perhaps something breaking the country genre, but oh well... at least it was over fast. Second is that there aren't more cameos from the Mane 6 (+ Spike)... though, those that do make an appearance are pretty funny and cute. Personally, my favorite was AJ using Spike as a BIC lighter. Freaking. Hilarious.

Overall, despite its flaws, this episode of MLP:FiM is full of enough smiles and squees to make any Brony or Pegasister happy... and it certainly made my busy day end on a delightful note.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Forty-six - Adventure Time: Season 1, Episode 13, "To remain Pure while Wading in filth is a Herculean Task!"

In the interests of full disclosure (and to whine to you a little bit) I have to say that today has been a reaaaalllly sucky day. Not the parts where friends came over to hang for the past few hours, that's been great... just the rest of it.

Computer crashes, brake failure, several hundred dollars in brake repair... I suppose it could have been worse. I could've wrecked the car and ended up a in a full-body cast, the computers could've exploded instead of just losing a few hours of work, and I might not have had the small cushion of extra money in my checking account that I had been saving for moving expenses in the event that I got the Arts & Culture position in Juneau (spoiler alert: I didn't get the job).

Still, all of today's karma conflagrations haven't left me all that much in the way of time to watch something for Couchbound. As such, I cheated a bit and only saw a single episode of Adventure Time (which is, generously, about twelve minutes long).

Sue me.

Anyways, this particular episode was called City of Thieves and had Finn the Human and Jake the Dog first trying to retrieve a poor girl's basket from constantly being stolen by more and more residents of the eponymous City of Thieves, then trying to get the basket from the repository of ALL treasure in the City... the Tower of the King of Thieves. Seems that there's a magical force field that repels all thieves, making it impossible for any but the pure of heart (see: Finn) to get past it.

Of course, as we find out, it also kept the King from leaving the Tower... as evidenced by his decrepit bones lying stagnant on his throne.

So, Finn retrieved a chest that he thought held the young girl's basket (her name is Penny, btw) and wound up becoming a thief, himself, in the process... losing his pure heart... which caused him to go all Dark Knight on Penny, using Jake as his cape!

As episodes of Adventure Time go, this is almost as good as it gets. From its non sequitur opening moments to its random acid trip jokes (a horse bathing in a tub?), the only thing missing are the other show regulars like Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, and Ice King.

I also really like how there are several "lessons" over the course of the ep, but they're not really forced on the viewer in any heavy handed way. Finn tries to retain his purity by not becoming a thief, but faces the moral quandry that trying to do right by Penny actually made him one. To fix things, he resorts to becoming the worst of thieves to gather the necessary materials to get rid of the "filth"... in a quite literal matter (remember that horse taking a bath? they stole its soap... among other things).

It's hilarious how ineffective his treatment is at changing Penny, who readily tricks him again, but Finn isn't bothered. In his mind, he's regained all of their purities by cleansing them with actual soap.

It's nonsensical and naïve... but also rather sweet, and representative of the series' vibe as a whole.

Recommending Adventure Time to everyone with a sense of whimsy (both young and old) is an easy thing. I don't think it would go well with anyone who doesn't want to live in a state of wonder, but who knows, maybe the doubters can be converted. Either way, my only regret is that there's still only a single season available on Netflix.

Le sigh.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~