Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2010
I grew up on the Peanuts creations of Charles M. Schulz. Most of us have, in one 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.
I'd like to be able to say that I'm a fan of all of the cartoons, but that wouldn't exactly be very honest. At some point they lost their innocence and eventually lost their charm. I never did see the live musical production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. This is actually the first time that I saw the animated version. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this animated cartoon is nothing like the production, at least I hope so. The play appears to be universally beloved. I often hear only the fondest recollections from those who have seen it. That's not the case with this particular version of the material. In cartoon form it plays out quite awkwardly. None of the numbers really combine into anything resembling a plot or story. They are all basically short vignettes with each of the major characters getting at least one moment to themselves. I can see this having far more impact on a stage with actors and sets. The traditional cartoon characters just aren't animated enough, excuse the pun, to pull this kind of thing off.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 1st, 2010
Before SpongeBob SquarePants, before The Family Guy, before South Park, before even The Simpsons, there was Mighty Mouse. This revival of the Terrytoons character was a short-lived, but creatively vital series that ran in 1987-88. It wasn't an adult show, like many of its spiritual successors would be, but it was something that hadn't been seen in the world of television animation in a long, long time: it was witty, smart, and expected its audience to be smart, too (and that includes smart kids, at whom the series was ostensibly aimed). However G-rated the show was, it also featured just the kind of manic humour and inventiveness you might expect from a collaboration between the man who brought Fritz the Cat to the screen (Ralph Bakshi) and (among others) the man who would shortly give us Ren and Stimpy (John Kricfalusi). If some of the look of the series is by now familiar (half of the offerings on Nickelodeon share its background design), this is, as Kricfalusi points out on one of the commentary tracks, where that look begins. The show might not have survived long, but creatively it cast a long shadow indeed, and having the entire wonderful series in one spot is a terrific treat. As far as the creative possibilities for TV animation are concerned, Mighty Mouse surely did save the day.
The menu features some pretty ferocious aliasing, which had me worried about the cartoons themselves. Fortunately, that concern was misplaced. The shows looks great, with only the occasional, very minor grain to deal with. The image is very sharp, and the colours equally strong. The series looks as good as, if not better than, it did on the day of its broadcast.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 24th, 2010
Nestled nicely between the appearance of two blockbuster, live-action films, Iron Man was been made into another half-hour animated show. In the past we have seen the origin and tales of the Stan Lee created Tony Stark and his amazing technology be altered in a 90s cartoon show, the Jon Favreau film(s), and a recent animated film, but the developers of these latest “adventures” take the furthest and riskiest leap from the original source material by making Stark a teenager, along with most all of his friends, and some enemies as best friends Rhodey, Pepper and arch enemy the Mandarin (!!!) are converted to high school chums.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2010
It's about time that The Simpsons has made it to Blu-ray and high definition. There's plenty of room on the couch as we welcome Homer, Bart, Marge, Maggie, and the whole town of Springfield to the brighter, more detailed world of high definition. You might be asking yourself: Why should we spend extra bucks to watch a simple cartoon on Blu-ray? That's a good question. The simple answer is that you just should. The longer answer follows.
The longest running show in prime time doesn’t feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons have existed as long as the Fox network. While the series didn’t really begin until Fox’s second year, the characters were part of The Tracey Ullman Show, which did start the first year of Fox. Who could have guessed that an animated short from an otherwise horrible and doomed variety show would explode into such a phenomenon? The Simpsons have not only dominated the pop culture; they have placed everything else into context with their show. Like Doonesbury, it could be said that the only thing worse than being made fun of on The Simpsons is not being made fun of on The Simpsons. With that said, you’ll understand my warm feelings and appreciation for this show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2010
"Have you ever felt like you were a little bit different. Like you had something unique to offer to the world, if only you could just get people to see it? Then you know exactly how it felt to be me."
The title is taken from a very short children's book written by Judi and Ron Barrett. I say the title and not the story because this movie takes only the most basic concept from the book to create the movie. Most of the characters are brand new creations, and the plot of the entire film deals with events not covered in the book. You have to credit Phil Lord and Chris Miller for pretty much everything you see happen in this film. I have only a passing familiarity with the kiddie book, but have now had the chance to see the movie in this Blu-ray high definition release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2010
"... It is a dark time for the rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the Galaxy. But, you know this story..."
Know this story, you do. It's the opening of the second, or actually the 5th in sequence, but it is the second one made, unless you count... Never mind. This is the prologue to The Empire Strikes Back, more commonly referred to the 2 hour trailer for Return Of The Jedi. Not so long ago in this Galaxy, Family Guy took a shot across the bow of those Imperial Cruisers with its extremely funny and on the spot spoof of the first Star Wars film, or actually the 4th chapter.... Star Wars: A New Hope. It was only a matter of time before Seth Mac Farlane would steer his own ship back into George Lucas's universe once again. With equal parts faithful adaptation and off the wall detours, he's done it again, delivering another very funny tour into the dark side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 12th, 2010
“Now this might be the room of any small boy, but it happens to belong to a boy named Christopher Robin, and like most small boys, Christopher Robin had toy animals to play with. And together they had many remarkable adventures in an enchanted place called The Hundred Acre Wood. But out of all of his animal friends, Christopher Robin’s very best friend was a bear called Winnie The Pooh.”
“Oh Bother”A.A. Milne was quite an eclectic writer. He wrote murder mysteries that even appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From that fertile mind would also come a place known as the Hundred Acre Wood. In that select place some of literature’s finest characters had the greatest adventures any boy could imagine. And adventures are certainly no fun on your own. Young Christopher Robin was joined by Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, and, of course, Winnie-The-Pooh. Who didn’t fall in love with that silly old bear… Winnie-The-Pooh. OK, so maybe Dahmer or Bundy might have been exceptions. Still, anyone growing up in the last 30-40 years who isn’t a psychopath has had a love affair with Winnie-The-Pooh, all stuffed with fluff.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2009
This must be tool month at Disney. I ended up watching two of the specials that were released on the first, and both have tools as a central theme. This one is apparently about tools all of the time. Handy Manny is a Spanish handyman who has a living collection of tools in his box. They all talk. The Phillips and straight edge screwdrivers bicker. There's a tape measure named Stretch, a wrench named Rusty, and a pair of pliers named Squeeze, to name a few. Together with Manny's expertise, they can tackle any repair or building job.
Manny and his tool friends are preparing to go to Manny's family reunion. It's a long trip, so they're going to take Manny's motorcycle with a sidecar for the tools. Pat, the hammer, is depressed because he doesn't seem to have any family that's just like him. Apparently, Manny's tools are special and this isn't a world where tools ordinarily talk. When Pat sees a cartoon hammer on the cover of a tool catalog, he begins to believe it's his cousin, on his Mother's side, of course. On the trip to the reunion, Pat sees a truck with the same hammer on it. He sneaks into the truck with Squeeze and Flicker, the flashlight, only to become trapped and separated from Manny and the others. Now Manny must rescue the tools and get to the family reunion in time. Of course, along the way there are plenty of things to fix.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2009
Anyone who has come here long enough to get to know my likes and dislikes probably knows what a Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse fan I am. The man and the character opened the road for so much of what we have today, from Pixar to Tom and Jerry. But, if you're looking for the kind of cartoons you and I have grown to expect, this one is bound to disappoint you. It's an episode of the current television series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's an animated Sesame Street, however, and not really a cartoon adventure.
While I use the term Sesame Street, I don't mean it literally. You'll find the traditional Disney characters, to be sure. There's Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and even Professor Von Drake. You won't find a Cookie Monster or a Big Bird anywhere. What you will find is that strictly educational style. The characters talk directly to the children watching. They ask questions geared toward teaching such basic concepts as identifying colors and shapes to basic math addition problems. There's a great deal of shouting encouragement as well. You should be prepared for your young one to answer Mickey's questions and join him in some hollering. There's a particularly annoying repetition as the gang calls for a character named Toodles. Toodles carries objects that the characters need to accomplish various tasks. Whenever they find they are in the need of one of these tools Mickey encourages everyone, including your child, to yell “Oh Toodles”, to bring the character to them with the needed item.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2009
"Hello, there. I bet you're already saying to yourself, 'Oh, I've already seen this one. Another holiday special narrated by some new teen star between takes on their oh-so-popular new sitcom series. Well, I'm here to tell you, not this time, because I'm not a star. Well, not yet at least. And, this ain't about how so and so saved Christmas for all the good boys and girls..."
I would have loved to have been in this meeting. Someone walks into a studio executive's office to pitch his idea. After describing his new Christmas special concept, he pauses, just for a second, just for the right amount of anticipation. "Here's the clincher", he says manically. "William Shatner will be the voice of Santa Claus."
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