Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2010
It was in 1843 that celebrated writer Charles Dickens created one of the most iconic symbols of Christmas with his publication of A Christmas Carol. It was a cautionary tale for an industrial revolution that was getting caught up in its material worship. Dickens intended the story both to entertain and to put the spotlight on what he considered already then was an over-commercialization of the Christmas season. Little did he know that his very story would become a huge part of that commercialization. While the writer gave us many memorable characters like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Little Nell, perhaps none have become so well known as Scrooge and Tiny Tim. It's certainly true that no other story has been used as much in film, television and on the stage.
For most modern folks it all started in 1951, almost 100 years after the story's publication, with the definitive film staring Alastair Sim. That movie has captured the hearts of several generations. But it didn't begin nor did it stop there. The three Christmas ghosts have haunted over 100 film and television versions over the years. Even Fred Sanford was visited by the specters, resulting in at least a temporary temperance of his biting grouchiness. With such a classic tale, it was only a matter of time before the computer-animated genre and the motion-capture technology were used to deliver a new movie for the holiday masses. Thank our lucky stars, my gentle reader, that it was Walt Disney Studios that took up the task. The results could have been rather unfortunate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 4th, 2010
"The Toys Are Back In Town"
That's right. All of your favorite toys are back in Pixar's latest great film Toy Story 3. This time the toys are dealing with the inevitable. Andy (Morris) is about to go off to college. It's been a long time since he's played with his friends, and they are getting desperate and worried they will get tossed away. Although Andy bags them to be stored in the attic, a misunderstanding sends them to the curb and a date with the garbage truck. After that close call they decide to get themselves donated to Sunnyside Daycare, where they hope to live out their lives with tons of children to play with them. But things aren't all that sunny at Sunnyside. The place is ruled by the iron paw of Lotso Bear (Beatty) and his cronies. The bad guys include Big Baby. He and Big Baby once were accidentally abandoned by their owner and Lotso was replaced, making him bitter. Now the toys have to escape the armed camp of Sunnyside.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
Jumping Jellybeans! Scooby Doo deserves mention in any article that discusses the best and most-loved animated television series in history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 3rd, 2010
Apparently, animated shows created by Seth McFarlane are in high demand. He has had considerable success with Family Guy and American Dad. It was only a matter of time before Fox would try their luck with a Family Guy spinoff. The subject would be one of Peter’s friends. No, not Quagmire. That will be reserved for Cinemax late night. Giggity giggity. Actually, the subject would be Cleveland. Let us see how this one plays out.
It is another late night at the Drunken Clam, Cleveland is sitting with Peter, Joe and Quagmire. It seems that Cleveland has lost his house to his ex-wife, Loretta. He does have custody of Cleveland Jr. who is now fourteen years old and very overweight. As a result, he is going to leave Quahog and head to California to pursue his dream of becoming a minor league scout for a professional baseball organization.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 14th, 2010
It is always a different experience to watch a show in reverse. But that is exactly what happened when I watched the final three episodes of Wolverine and the X-Men on DVD. At that time, I did know there was a complete series dvd and blu-ray package coming but I wasn’t sure if I would be fortunate enough to bring that review to the loyal readers. Well, loyal readers your animated super hero guru is here and I am happy to present to you: Wolverine and the X-Men, The Complete Series on Blu-Ray.
Kitty Pride (I refuse to call her Shadowcat), Nightcrawler and Colossus are working hard in the Danger Room, the training facility of the X-Men. They are trying to last the specified amount of time to win the exercise but in the end, they all lose. Who is controlling the simulation you may ask? Why it’s Wolverine of course. It is his farewell present to the students before he embarks on another trip to destinations unknown.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2010
The legacy of Walt Disney and the studio he created requires little explanation. The studio invented the idea of a feature-length cartoon and has been on the cutting edge of animation since the 1930’s. No other studio can claim ownership of as many animated classics as Disney. From Mickey Mouse to Pixar, the studio has churned out one masterpiece after another for over 60 years. What tends to get lost in this great body of feature-length classics is that the studio was also producing some very high-quality shorts over these years. Whether it’s Disney favorites like Mickey, Donald, Minnie, or Goofy or it’s strictly one-off characters gathered to tell a wonderfully animated story, Disney has a record that simply hasn’t been and likely will never be matched.
The Disney magic faded for a little while during the 1980's. There were still animated features, but they weren't the groundbreaking triumphs of the studio's golden age. All of that changed as we entered the 1990's. The Little Mermaid is considered the first of the new wave of Disney classics. It certainly signaled a change in the direction of animation at Disney. While the change may have begun there, I believe it was Beauty And The Beast that started a wave of productions that would peak with The Lion King. With Beauty And The Beast everything is cranked up a notch from the mediocre affairs the studio had been churning out for a time. Beauty And The Beast had the epic proportions, fluid animation, and bright colors that set the Disney Express back on track.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2010
I grew up on the Peanuts creations of Charles M. Schulz. Most of us have, in some way or another. His newspaper comic strip is one of the longest running and most successful strips of all time. The work has been translated into every language currently spoken on the planet. The images of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have appeared on just about any kind of product imaginable. Our pop culture contains too many references to the strip to mention briefly. For me, it was the television specials starting in the mid 1960’s that brought the gang into my life. The classics are running annually, still after nearly 50 years. A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown are the most mentioned and certainly beloved by generations of children and adults. I thought I never missed an airing.
He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown: Snoopy’s driving the neighborhood crazy, and they want Charlie Brown to do something about it. That means back to The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for everyone’s favorite flying-ace beagle, and obedience school. But along the way to the farm Charlie Brown discovers just how much he loves Snoopy, just the way that he is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 5th, 2010
For somebody who does a lot of the cartoon reviews on this website, I often miss many new cartoons that crop up on Saturday mornings, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, etc. One such animated show cropped up on my review slab. In the spirit of Halloween, (but not an official Nights of Terror post), it is my pleasure to take a look at Ugly Americans, the newest animation from Comedy Central.
Mark Lilly is a newcomer to Manhattan. He moves into his first apartment that he found on Craiglist, a nice two-bedroom with a roommate. One little problem, his roommate is a flesh-eating zombie named Randall Skeffington. Randall became a zombie in an attempt to win over a hot girl who was into zombies. The only issue is that the hot girl had moved on to warlocks by the time Randall had turned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2010
I often have trouble believing that South Park has been around for as long as it has. It’s not just the passing of 14 years, but the sheer brilliance in the face of an increasingly politically correct society. It’s like watching old episodes of All In The Family. Who believes that Archie Bunker would have any chance of survival in the 21st century? It’s no wonder that Norman Lear has become involved in the series. It’s the last remaining vestige of a once great freedom to be ridiculous and offend. Eric Cartman’s a lot worse than Archie ever was. We always knew that, in his heart, Archie had a soul. Cartman’s a psychopath without a conscience, and in a civilized society we would be terrified of the existence of such a demon spawn…except he’s just so dang funny. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been walking a tightrope for over 14 years now, and it just doesn’t get old. One of the reasons the show doesn’t grow stale is their ability to make such a quick turnaround on current events. Because the show takes literally days to write and produce, they are quite often the first to address an issue. They had an election-night episode on literally the next day in this season. That means the ideas stay as fresh as the headlines. Finally, you have to credit the expanding universe of good characters. The core group of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny were great for a lot of years. You have to admire how much Butters has infused himself into that core. We also have such great semi-regulars as Timmy, Jimmy, Token, and lately the Goth kids. These characters allow the stories to expand in ways the core group could not. I’ve honestly come to think of Butters as one of the core now. It looks like Paramount agrees. We now have a Butters collection called A Little Box Of Butters.
So what about the episodes themselves? Let’s play a little game called: The Good The Bad, and The Ugly, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2010
"Legend has it, in the mystic land of Prydain, there was once a king so cruel and so evil that even the gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There, his demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great Black Cauldron."
![Wolverine and the X-Men: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/wolverine-and-the-x-men-the-comple-large.jpg)
