This is a cartoon about a boy named Timmy, and how he was lucky enough to obtain a pair of fairy god parents who grant him wishes. Timmy lives the unfortunate life of a 10- year old boy. His parents don't pay him much attention, his babysitter is the spawn of Satan who's only pleasure in life comes from making people's life miserable and making a buck, both of which she achieves when she babysits Timmy. He also receives the hateful attention of his teacher at school who seems to take great pleasure in giving F's, and who is obsessed with the idea that Timmy has fairy god parents that he must discover. Because of how unpleasant his life is, Timmy was granted fairy god parents to make his life better by granting him almost any wish he makes. The only catch is that if anyone discovers his fairy god parents, Timmy will lose them forever.
This is a really fun, imaginative show. The fairies, Cosmo and Wanda, are funny and the scrapes Timmy gets him into are engaging. Timmy makes a lot of small wishes, but the big wishes he makes either changes the life he's living in some way, or the entire world he's living in. Time and time again, Timmy is initially happy with the wish he made, but eventually comes to regret messing with reality, and tries to make everything the way it was before the wish. Teaching that no matter how bad your situation seems, it could always be much worse, and also that you should be careful of what you wish for because you just might get it... and it may not be what you expected.
The show incorporates several side stories into the plot, such as the fairy obsessed teacher trying to out his secret, Vicky and her evilness, an alien from another planet that he interacts with, comic book heroes, etc. and the cool thing they did with this show is to make these side stories recurring. Ordinarily, we may meet a side character just for one or two episodes, and then never hear of them again, but this show keeps all of the smaller story lines continuously running, making the entire show more intricate than it seems on the surface. They have a lot of room to play with (to stop the storyline from stagnating or repeating) and they make good use of it. Also, as a fan of the original Batman tv show, I appreciated the character of Catman, voiced by Adam West.
It's really a fun show to watch. Mostly for children, but an older audience can also find something to enjoy. It makes fun of itself, it's funny, sarcastic, romantic, dramatic, suspenseful, and more. But still for kids. Good show.
This is a great show. It's a cartoon about two brothers and what they do over their summer vacation. We aren't talking scouts and basketball here though, these two boys are brilliant engineers in the making and build outrageous creations. Roller coasters, time machines, pet translators are only the tip of the ice burg, a running joke in the show is that the delivery person who delivers the parts they order asks 'Aren't you a little young to be ...' And they always answer, 'Yes, yes I am.'
Phineas and Ferb also have a sister named Candace. All siblings take a perverse pleasure in telling on each other, but Candace takes this to the extreme, especially because her brothers are doing extremely outrageous things. However, she never seems to be quite able to complete this task, because whenever she gets her mother to come see what her brothers have created, it mysteriously disappears.
This brings us to the other portion of the show. Phineas and Ferb have a pet platypus named Perry. Little do they know however, that Perry is a secret agent working for the government! Every day he disappears and gets his mission to go stop the evil Dr. Doofensmirtz from doing... Whatever it is he's doing. As with all evil villains, Doofensmirtz wants to take over the world, or more specifically, the Tri-State area, but he tries to do this in wacky ways, most involving some 'tragic' back story, like how his parents made him be a lawn gnome. He also creates a machine for every episode and ends it with -inator. He also feels it necessary to explain how and why he's doing what he's doing to Perry after he captures him, and if he cannot do that he can't go through with his evil scheme. He's just a really hilarious villain with a chivalrous heart and a burning desire to rule the world because of his past disappointments.
One thing I don't really like about the show is that every episode there is this really bad song scene. I know this is Disney... but that doesn't necessarily mean a requirement for bad music. Other than that however, one of the better shows on tv!
I bought this show for a dollar on a whim, thinking it would be the worst thing I've ever seen. It was however shockingly close to par in terms of 80's cartoon goodness.
The premiss of the show is that six kids go on a Dungeons and Dragons ride at an amusement park and get magically transported to the dungeons and dragons world. When they get there they are in immediate danger, facing a huge five-headed dragon, and then the evil villain of the series, Venger. Then this little man (the dungeon master) appears out of no where and gives them all magical items that grant them special powers. The items all coincide with types of characters are in the dungeons and dragons game, so there is a ranger, acrobat, cavalier, thief, barbarian, and magician. In each episode, the dungeon master gives the gang a hint, telling them which way they should go to get home. They meet a lot of people on the way and each character is explored a bit.
It's not an amazing show by any means, but I have to say, it's a lot better than I thought it would be. And it might not be the best show of it's era, but I would watch it if it was on tv.
This is the story of a young boy named Brendan who lives with him uncle who is the head of the monastery, Kells. They are living in a time where invaders are pillaging and killing small villages and Brendan's uncle is obsessed with building a wall he thinks will keep them out. He has forbidden Brendan from ever traveling outside of the walls. Then another monk, brother Aiden, comes to Kells and he is the holder of a book that has the most amazing illuminations in it. The book is supposed to change with life of anyone who reads it, but it isn't finished yet. Brendan's uncle has also forbade Brendan and the other monks from doing any illumination because he wanted everyone to be as consumed with the building of the wall as he was. When brother Aiden came however, he inspired Brendan to want to see his illuminations. Aiden sent Brendan into the forest to find berries he needed to make ink, and he went. This was Brendan's first rebellions against his uncle and he was very nervous and got lost in the forest. There he meets a wolf who turns into a girl, named Ashley. She's a fairy and befriends and helps Brendan. On the way back to the monastery they come across an evil presence which we deal with later. So Brendan studies illumination under the tutelage of Aiden and things are progressing quite well until Aiden realized he lost a glass that helps him do the most intricate work, and the name of the glass shares the name of the evil presence Brendan and Ashley passed in the forest. So Brendan takes it upon himself to fight this beast for the sake of the book that will change the world.
This film is a visual masterpiece. Everything is geometrical. At first glance the animation looks juvenile and simple, but the scenes are so well laid out and intricate. The characters are very geometrical in nature, and when they run in a group they form a single shape. The cracks or shapes in between objects or objects themselves are all patterned.
One flaw I found in the film was that the monks were all of different nationalities and the portrayal of their different nationalities was really racist, almost offensively so. They weren't a large part of the film though, so it didn't bother me as much as they would have if they'd played a larger role.
This is a Japanese cartoon adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk. I don't know what it is about it, but I think I will always remember watching this film. It's not traumatizing or overly weird, I felt more hypnotized than anything while watching it. It's just like any other film, but I just re-watched it recently after about a 15 year gap of having no seen it and I was hit with huge wave of nostalgia, every line and song and movement was familiar. I thought it was just me of course as I am sometimes told that I have a very esoteric taste in... everything, but after browsing through some forums I discovered that almost everyone who watched this film when they were younger loved it intensely and it has affected them in someway or another. And as I re-watched it I'd have to say that I agree with the sentiment.
The story is a familiar one. A poor boy and his mother live in a little shack of a house trying to make ends meet when one day their cow stops giving milk. The mother sends the boy, Jack, to the market to get a decent price for it. On the way to the market however, the boy is intercepted by a man playing weird piano (the note from which I can always remember so clearly as they were so queer), who convinces him to take a handful of magic beans in exchange for the cow. His mother is furious and throws the beans out the window, and after disciplining Jack, goes to bed. In the night the beanstalk grows and a little mouse comes running down it. The mouse motions to Jack's dog of trouble up the beanstalk and Jack comes out of the house marvelling at what had grown in his backyard. Jack, his dog, and the mouse all climb up the beanstalk. When they get to the top they come out of an old well in the courtyard of a castle and see this girl standing there watching them with an oddly vacant expression. She is the princess of castle and she tells Jack of the joy she will have when she marries her beloved prince Tulip. Jack soon discovers that Tulip is a giant and that his mother is an evil witch who is trying become queen by enchanting the princess to want to marry her son. Jack then faces the dilemma of whether or not to help the princess or leave with his gold.
I enjoyed the characters a lot, but what I like about it is there are two stories going on at the same time, one involving people and one with animals. Jack can't understand what any of the animals say and he doesn't even pay much attention to them most of the time because he's busy with his own plot line and agenda, but there are animals throughout the movie and the all have very vibrant personalities. Even the audience can't understand what they're saying, but through movements and expressions you can tell what they're trying to say. A lot of story lines with both people and animals bridge the gap between them and let them talk to each other or let the audience understand them if the people in the film don't. The animals in this film actually have their own sub-plot.
The music in this movie is captivating. It's not an award-winning score by any means, but there is just something odd about it that catches at one's interest. It's not quite unsettling, but it doesn't fade into the background either. The music is definitely one of the aspect that will draw you into the film to make you love it. The characters are good and the plot is very interesting, but the music is what will get you. The artwork too. There's just something about the movements of the characters and the setting, especially in the castle.
As I said, this isn't the best movie I've ever seen, nor is it even the best Jack and the Beanstalk story I've heard. Despite that, this is the kind of film that you'll remember after you've grown up. I don't know what exactly it is about it, but I do know that I enjoy watching it and will probably try to obtain it at some point on dvd.
The story of Thumbelina was originally a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. It's the story of a thumb- sized girl and her adventures in life and love. The film begins with an old woman. The woman is lonely and has always wanted a child of her own, and one day a fairy grants her wish and gives her a small seed. The old woman plants the seed and kisses it when it's ready to bloom, and inside she finds a tiny girl no bigger than her thumb, whom she then calls Thumbelina. Thumbelina is quite contented with her life on the old woman's farm. She tries to help out with chores, but only seems to her herself into scrapes whenever she tries to help. She loves her mother though and is happy. One night, Thumbelina is singing to herself in her room when, as chance would have it, the prince of the fairies flies by her bedroom window and is enchanted by her voice. He takes her for a ride on his pet bumblebee and they sing and fall in love. He then returns her to her room with the promise of returning. On that romantic ride through the meadow, a frog over hears Thumbelina singing and thinks to herself that this small girl would make a great addition to their travelling show and would make her son a good wife. So she kidnaps her that very night while Thumbelina slept, before the prince could come back to marry her. When Thumbelina awakes and discovers what the frogs have planned for her she runs away from them and tries to make her way back home, but being so small she can't see above the grass. The frog whom she escaped from is hot on her tail so quickly makes her way through the company of various bugs and birds and rodents who both try to help her and try to capture her. In the end the swallow, who also is the narrator of the story, helps her find her way to the vale of the fairies, where she hopes to find her prince. They end up getting married and Thumbelina grows a pair of wings to match her prince's and they all live happily ever after.
I liked this movie a lot when I was a kid. I'd sing the songs with my cousin when we watched the movie together, though apparently according to Wikipedia the 'marry the mole' song won the worst original song award. I remember feeling kind of awkward that all of these creepy guys wanted to marry Thumbelina and I guess that sort of took away from the movie a bit for me, but overall the memories are pleasant. Thumbelina isn't a strong character by any means, she sort of just gets tossed around by fate and always needs rescuing. The prince also isn't any knight in shining armour. He acts as a boy would, shirking responsibilities and spouting idealism without having anything to back it up. The villains are also kind of one-dimensional in their drive to get Thumbelina. Besides being struck by her voice, which isn't enough to make someone fall in love, there isn't really anything substantial in their desire to marry her. Besides a few character flaws however, this really is a sweet film. The songs are catchy, I like the animation, and the story is adventurous with a kiss at the end, short, sweet, and nostalgic.
This was one of the most well-crafted, imaginative, adventurous, addicting show's I've seen in a long time. It's so well put together and the world they've created is such a fascinating place.
The story takes place in a world where certain groups of people are connected to or have an affinity with a certain element. There are 4 nations all together; fire, water, earth, and air. Some people in these four nations have a special ability to manipulate the element their nation is associated with and these people are called benders. A person can only bend one element, but there is one person called the Avatar who can bend all four elements. The Avatar is reborn into each of the nations in the order of earth, fire, air, water. On the year the avatar is born into the air nation however, he disappears and the fire nation attacks the rest of the world to expand their empire dramatically. For 100 years the avatar is nowhere to be seen until one day two adolescents from the water nation come upon something in the ice. When the girl, Katara, breaks it apart a small boy emerges from the ice with a large flying bison, the boy is the avatar. After a run in with a fire nation raid, wherein we meet the prince of the fire nation, Zuko, the two water nation kids, Saka and Katara, go with the avatar to help him learn the four elements and become a fully realized avatar. This isn't as easy as it seems however. The fire nation has become a wide-spread terror and they are looking for the avatar to kill him. They have wiped out the entire air nation in hopes of killing the avatar, but missed Aang as he was buried in an ice block. The three go around world inspiring hope in those who have lost it, and becoming stronger as they learn more about themselves and the people they come across. There are three seasons in total; Book One: Water, Book Two: Earth, Book Three: Fire, and with each season Aang works on learning a new element and someone joins the group.
I think this series is so successful because there is real danger. I've read that the creators were fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and that definitely shows, not because the story line imitates those stories, because it doesn't, but because there is a definite and real danger that follows Aang and gang (sorry I had to) around. There is the possibility that their enemies will catch up with them and if that happens, the avatar will never become fully realized and the fire nation will terrorize and enslave the rest of the world forever. The entire world is resting on their shoulders. And yet it isn't too serious or depressing. There are several really funny scenes and for the most part the series is very up beat.
The character development is great also. At the beginning of the series Aang is so carefree and fun-loving, Saka is so cautious and prejudiced, and they remain that way for the entire series but as more and more things happen to them we see them mature. They still keep their vitality and energy, Aang is always optimistic and Saka, though he's the comic relief, is always something of a buzz kill, but they grow from their experiences and become a little bit wiser with each encounter. The same thing with Katara, but her transformation isn't as apparent. In the entire series, she is the character that is the beacon of hope for all whom she meets. She always believes that any situation is possible and that the world will be saved and that all people are or can be essentially good. Many instances in the series she stops the journey to help someone who has lost hope or who is being taken advantage or abused, despite the rest of the group's urgings to push on. Their adventure began by Katara first breaking Aang out of the ice and then insisting on journeying with him. She's more practical and almost motherly compared the other characters, but she is also the gutsiest of the group and is most likely to do what is right no matter the consequences. She is also a very strong female character, which is hard to find many tv shows, for both kids and adults. If there is action the woman is either wilting and useless or hard-hearted and ruthless. There is rarely a female character that displays a quiet strength in the way Katara does. She's one of my favourite characters. Toph, a character in the later seasons, has just as much inner strength as Katara, but again displays that differently. She is a little more rough around the edges, and is blind, which I thought was great because blind people are rarely main characters, and if they are their blindness is most often seen as a weakness or a crutch. But many times Toph's blindness is a strength, as she has used that handicap to heighten other senses. Many times I forgot that she was blind. She also grows immensely, more emotionally than anything else.
The animation is good, if somewhat childish. Basically the animation is presumably targeting an elementary aged audience, and the content is appropriate for that level. However this somewhat underplays the show's potential for an older audience. Many people I've spoken to have heard of the show, but haven't watched it because it looked like a kid's show, which of course it is, but then again so is Harry Potter and that has a world-wide audience of all ages. The characters are rich and multi-faceted. I won't go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but the characters' growth as well as characters' break downs are very well done. Also, the ways the creators thought of using the bending was really ingenious and well thought out. My favourite example of this I cannot tell you, because if you're watching the show and think as I do, when you discover that part it will blow you mind with awesome a little bit. For those who have seen the show it's the part in the third season when Katara meets that old woman. This may just be my inner nerd breaking free, but it's pretty cool to say the least. So bottom line, if you haven't seen this show you should. It has adventure, romance, heart-break, combat, political intrigue, and magic. A little bit of something for everyone.
This is one of my favourite cartoons ever! It's hilarious! The greatest metal band of all time!!! With all of the metal stereotypes. I'm guaranteed at least one chuckle per episode. If I had to pick a favourite character it'd be a toss up between Toki and Murderface, but I kind of like them all. The stream of consciousness aspects of the dialog are amusing.
The show is about a metal band named Dethklok, and the situations the members of the band get into. It's stereotypically 'metal'. They live in a Gothic castle, there are scenes with gratuitous gore, crazy guitar solos, etc. It's very tongue in cheek, if you're a metal fan. If not it might just be weirdly morbid. They even have an album out, and the songs are somewhat comical also.
Invader Zim has to be one of my favourite shows. It's one of those things that has an almost cultish effect on people, well the people who get into it anyways. There are so many awesome quotes in this show... like classic, change you're life-funny quotes. Me and my brother sometimes have Zim quote battles and see who can come up with the most quotes. And we say them to each other in everyday conversation, or even if we aren't talking, a quote from Zim will break the silence. It's like this when I find other people into Zim too. When I find out they love it too I'll say a quote and they'll say one back to me... it's like finding a long lost sibling, I love it.
The show itself seems like it's going to be slow-paced when you start watching it, and I guess it can be a bit. It also has a kind of dark atmosphere, so it is to be watched in moderation. I wouldn't recommend watching a whole season in one go unless you're in the mood for it. If you watch too much at once the atmosphere will get to you a bit and the pacing can be depressing, which is an odd contrast to the comedic aspect of the show. The characters are amazing. Zim is introduced as an idiot, an outcast, and really bad at what he was meant to do, but I don't think he is the failure we would think he is. Zim reminds me of how geniuses are thought to be crazy be those around them and only later are they appreciated. Zim is not a genius, but I do think that he's under estimated by everyone on the show. He is successful if some of what he sets out to do, but he's like the coyote from the roadrunner show, he's just got bad luck. Dib, Zim's nemesis, is most relatable because he is the second main character of the show and we get to see his personality the most of all the characters. Even though Zim is the main character we don't really relate to him and get inside his head but almost see him through the eyes of someone else. In the episodes focusing on Dib, maybe it's because he complains out loud a lot or because he's always searching for something, but it feels more like we are going on the adventure with Dib rather than watching from a distance like with Zim. Dib is also unappreciated by the other characters, but like zim he's actually really smart and not crazy at all. Gaz, Dib's sister, is a great character and I wish there were more episodes focused on her. She's really irritable, but she's not like any other person on the show in that she has this inner strength, which sets her apart as the odd one out. An example of this would be the episode where Pustulio (Zim's pimple) was hypnotizing everyone, but it didn't get Gaz because she didn't give it the time of day. She is shown in this way in a lot of episodes. I guess the fact that the show's focus isn't really on her, even though she is one of the main characters is almost an example of her character. Her reluctance to engage in anything makes her a really interesting, and though we'd like to see more of her, maybe the fact that we can't is evidence of her personality. And of course there's Gir, Zim's robot. ... Little need be said of Gir other than the fact that Gir is awesome. If there was no Gir the show wouldn't be what it is and a lot of the comedy is because of Gir, not all, but a lot. Unlike the other characters, it seems Gir's only purpose is for comedic effect. Gir lightens the dark atmosphere of the show.
Invader Zim is like metal (the music) in that it has a core of die hard fans, but the rest of the world kind of does really know about it. It's a hugely funny show. The comedy is kind of dry and satirical, and slightly over the top and... awesome. Just awesome. The pants command me! Don't ignore my veins!!
