Here is the second of two posts for today!
This was far more entertaining than the previous entry.
Planet of the Dead is oddly listed as an Easter special, yet the holiday itself only has one brief reference in the beginning of the episode, when we first meet the Doctor as he boards a double decker bus. After that, there isn't really any mention of the holiday, or any evidence that the story/monsters have any relation.
With this aside, the special itself is still rather entertaining as the Doctor, and the passengers of the bus are transported through a portal to a planet consisting of sand. From here, we watch as the Doctor, and one passenger, Lady Christina, work together to find out how they got there, and how to get home safely before an approaching storm reaches where the bus has crashed. I'm not going to go much further into the story itself, to save on any little spoilers that there might be.
The characters themselves seem to be handled well. We have a small group of bus passengers, and we only see them enough to move the story along, and to be updated on what they are doing. Since these characters are more simple, it's a good thing we don't spend a ton of time with them, and instead get to spend more time with interesting duo of the Doctor, and Lady Christina. On the other side of the portal, back in London, we have a military officer, and her scientist working to help the Doctor, while ensuring nothing comes through the portal that would be a danger to the world. Again, these characters are only used and seen enough to move things along, and don't feel too overused.
All in all, this special is actually a great way to introduce new viewers to Doctor Who since there isn't a ton of continuity being thrown at us. We learn about who the Doctor is, and get to enjoy the character without trying to figure out who, or what, various things are in the universe, such as Daleks, or Cybermen. Well worth one watch at least.
3 1/2/ 5
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Dragonball Z: Super Saiyaman
Alrighty. This will be the first of two reviews going up today.
This review will be quite brief, I will not be able to provide a whole lot of backstory on the characters, and world. I will touch on my thoughts regarding the overall opinion I have of the show itself based off this handful of episodes.
Essentially, this story arc follows a teenage named Gohan, who is the son of Goku (from the majority of the previous Dragonball/Z series.) and how he adopts a super hero disguise, so that he can use his strength and powers to help people without anyone knowing it is him. Each episode generally involves him dealing with the villain of the week, while trying to maintain his secret, despite a fellow classmate who is determined to find out who this new super hero is.
The animation is on par with Dragonball Z standards from what I have seen, it has a late 80's/90's feeling to it. Going by tv show standards, instead of comparing it to a theater released animated film, there's nothing outstanding about the shows overall look, but nothing terribly wrong with it either. It is rather middle ground.
The show does have some flaws largely in the form of Gohan, our main character, who is almost too childish to take seriously. He has a temper tantrum when some people get his super hero name wrong, and spends a fair bit of time trying to figure out 'cool' poses to do, as well various sayings, all the while looking and sounding like a complete idiot. Not the main character that I could really root for. The rest of the characters are fairly standard, and aren't really seen enough to get a better idea of who they are, or get to see them do much outside of simply exist. Gohan does have one friend/enemy in the form of a girl named Videl, who is also quite strong and works to fight for peace in the city. She seems to be the more interesting character of the two, and would have made a far better lead.
All in all, the show is hampered too much by the flaw of a terrible main character to fully be enjoyed.
2/5
This review will be quite brief, I will not be able to provide a whole lot of backstory on the characters, and world. I will touch on my thoughts regarding the overall opinion I have of the show itself based off this handful of episodes.
Essentially, this story arc follows a teenage named Gohan, who is the son of Goku (from the majority of the previous Dragonball/Z series.) and how he adopts a super hero disguise, so that he can use his strength and powers to help people without anyone knowing it is him. Each episode generally involves him dealing with the villain of the week, while trying to maintain his secret, despite a fellow classmate who is determined to find out who this new super hero is.
The animation is on par with Dragonball Z standards from what I have seen, it has a late 80's/90's feeling to it. Going by tv show standards, instead of comparing it to a theater released animated film, there's nothing outstanding about the shows overall look, but nothing terribly wrong with it either. It is rather middle ground.
The show does have some flaws largely in the form of Gohan, our main character, who is almost too childish to take seriously. He has a temper tantrum when some people get his super hero name wrong, and spends a fair bit of time trying to figure out 'cool' poses to do, as well various sayings, all the while looking and sounding like a complete idiot. Not the main character that I could really root for. The rest of the characters are fairly standard, and aren't really seen enough to get a better idea of who they are, or get to see them do much outside of simply exist. Gohan does have one friend/enemy in the form of a girl named Videl, who is also quite strong and works to fight for peace in the city. She seems to be the more interesting character of the two, and would have made a far better lead.
All in all, the show is hampered too much by the flaw of a terrible main character to fully be enjoyed.
2/5
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Disney Animated Classics Countdown
Finally! Now that I have finished my reviews for the Classics (Wreck-It-Ralph aside.), I can post them in order of Least Favorite, downwards to the Top 20, Top 10 etc. With that out of the way, here they are!
51) Saludos Amigos
50) Home on the Range
49) 3 Caballeros
48) The Black Cauldron
47) Dinosaur
46) The Fox and the Hound
45) Chicken Little
44) Make Mine Music
43) Melody Time
42) Bolt
41) Treasure Planet
40) The Aristocats
39) Fantasia 2000
38) Fun and Fancy Free
37) Atlantis: The Lost Empire
36) Robin Hood
35) The Sword in the Stone
34) Meet the Robinsons
33) The Rescuers Down Under
32) The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
31) Lilo and Stitch
30) The Rescuers
29) Oliver and Company
28) Winnie the Pooh (2011)
27) The Great Mouse Detective
26) Pocahontas
25) Lady and the Tramp
24) Brother Bear
23) 101 Dalmatians
22) The Jungle Book
21) The Little Mermaid
20) Tarzan
19) Alice in Wonderland
18) Tangled
17) Dumbo
16) The Emperors New Groove
15) Sleeping Beauty
14) Peter Pan
13) The Princess and the Frog
12) Hercules
11) Bambi
10) The Hunchback of Notre Dame
9) Mulan
8) The Lion King
7) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
6) Cinderella
5) Aladdin
4) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3) Fantasia
2) Beauty and the Beast
1) Pinocchio
51) Saludos Amigos
50) Home on the Range
49) 3 Caballeros
48) The Black Cauldron
47) Dinosaur
46) The Fox and the Hound
45) Chicken Little
44) Make Mine Music
43) Melody Time
42) Bolt
41) Treasure Planet
40) The Aristocats
39) Fantasia 2000
38) Fun and Fancy Free
37) Atlantis: The Lost Empire
36) Robin Hood
35) The Sword in the Stone
34) Meet the Robinsons
33) The Rescuers Down Under
32) The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
31) Lilo and Stitch
30) The Rescuers
29) Oliver and Company
28) Winnie the Pooh (2011)
27) The Great Mouse Detective
26) Pocahontas
25) Lady and the Tramp
24) Brother Bear
23) 101 Dalmatians
22) The Jungle Book
21) The Little Mermaid
20) Tarzan
19) Alice in Wonderland
18) Tangled
17) Dumbo
16) The Emperors New Groove
15) Sleeping Beauty
14) Peter Pan
13) The Princess and the Frog
12) Hercules
11) Bambi
10) The Hunchback of Notre Dame
9) Mulan
8) The Lion King
7) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
6) Cinderella
5) Aladdin
4) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3) Fantasia
2) Beauty and the Beast
1) Pinocchio
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Ok. Now that the chaotic week(s) are past, time to get this poor review blog back on track. Again. Here's the long overdue Atlantis review!
Atlantis is one of those odd Disney films for me. The year it came out, all of the kids in my year went on a trip to Vancouver for a few days, and one day we went to see this film in the big theater. Of course, everyone found it to be quite hilarious that our teacher was named Mr. Whitmore, just like the crazy gentleman in the film. I'm quite sure he didn't live that down the rest of the school year.
Anyways! Nostalgia aside, this is one of those films that takes place largely outside of Atlantis. We spend a fair portion of the film just getting to our destination, that when we do get there, it goes by all too fast. I found this to be quite the letdown. It's sort of like Christmas, when we wait all year for that one day to show up and, poof, it's all over in a matter of minutes. I would have loved to see more of the city and ruins, and to flesh out the idea of how the Atlanteans are slowly having their culture decay from its old prominence. Instead we get a very rushed feeling ending, in the form of a large action sequence. This is also worthy of note, is that for the second time in the Disney Classics, we get a PG rated film instead of the usual G rating. Another rarity for Disney, is the visual appearance of blood in one of their animated features, even if it is rather brief, and quite tame. As well, a lot of this film seems to be trying to appeal to the boys audience, and to fans of action as well. One line that also stands out to me, is when the crew are trying to escape the Leviathan machine, and one member yells "We're getting killed out here!" Not a line you might expect to hear in a Disney film.
Moving along, the animation suits the action oriented scenes with an almost comic-book like feeling to it with large blocky characters. The animation overall, however, feels kind of lacking. Our wide landscape shots of Atlantis can be pretty to look at, yet pale in comparison to similar shots from later films, such as Princess and the Frog. Meanwhile, some animation looks horribly off, one offender of this is the character Audrey, who has one scene where she almost appears to be a bit off-model, and a later scene with Cookie, where her face almost distorts into a rather weird look. Sadly, the animation here could have been up to Disney's standards in the same vein as the Lion King, or Beauty and the Beast, but winds up falling a bit flat.
The overall story arc isn't all that bad, it's great to see a lot of time be spent with our main characters so that we can get to know them over time. It is also nice to see how their relationship with Milo starts off rather rocky, but by the end of the film they have more than warmed up to him, and are willing to go into battle with him to help save the city. This aspect of the film works quite well, but another ten to twenty minutes exploring the city's story would have helped, in my opinion, quite a bit for fleshing out Kida's character, and that of her father.
All in all, Atlantis still remains one of those odd films for me. I love it for the nostalgia, for the fact it's about Atlantis, and for having a princess who is able to kick ass for a change. Despite these great bits, the film is still not quite in the Very Good range and earns a score of:
3/5
Atlantis is one of those odd Disney films for me. The year it came out, all of the kids in my year went on a trip to Vancouver for a few days, and one day we went to see this film in the big theater. Of course, everyone found it to be quite hilarious that our teacher was named Mr. Whitmore, just like the crazy gentleman in the film. I'm quite sure he didn't live that down the rest of the school year.
Anyways! Nostalgia aside, this is one of those films that takes place largely outside of Atlantis. We spend a fair portion of the film just getting to our destination, that when we do get there, it goes by all too fast. I found this to be quite the letdown. It's sort of like Christmas, when we wait all year for that one day to show up and, poof, it's all over in a matter of minutes. I would have loved to see more of the city and ruins, and to flesh out the idea of how the Atlanteans are slowly having their culture decay from its old prominence. Instead we get a very rushed feeling ending, in the form of a large action sequence. This is also worthy of note, is that for the second time in the Disney Classics, we get a PG rated film instead of the usual G rating. Another rarity for Disney, is the visual appearance of blood in one of their animated features, even if it is rather brief, and quite tame. As well, a lot of this film seems to be trying to appeal to the boys audience, and to fans of action as well. One line that also stands out to me, is when the crew are trying to escape the Leviathan machine, and one member yells "We're getting killed out here!" Not a line you might expect to hear in a Disney film.
Moving along, the animation suits the action oriented scenes with an almost comic-book like feeling to it with large blocky characters. The animation overall, however, feels kind of lacking. Our wide landscape shots of Atlantis can be pretty to look at, yet pale in comparison to similar shots from later films, such as Princess and the Frog. Meanwhile, some animation looks horribly off, one offender of this is the character Audrey, who has one scene where she almost appears to be a bit off-model, and a later scene with Cookie, where her face almost distorts into a rather weird look. Sadly, the animation here could have been up to Disney's standards in the same vein as the Lion King, or Beauty and the Beast, but winds up falling a bit flat.
The overall story arc isn't all that bad, it's great to see a lot of time be spent with our main characters so that we can get to know them over time. It is also nice to see how their relationship with Milo starts off rather rocky, but by the end of the film they have more than warmed up to him, and are willing to go into battle with him to help save the city. This aspect of the film works quite well, but another ten to twenty minutes exploring the city's story would have helped, in my opinion, quite a bit for fleshing out Kida's character, and that of her father.
All in all, Atlantis still remains one of those odd films for me. I love it for the nostalgia, for the fact it's about Atlantis, and for having a princess who is able to kick ass for a change. Despite these great bits, the film is still not quite in the Very Good range and earns a score of:
3/5
Friday, January 4, 2013
Top 10 Disney Heroes and Top 10 Disney Villains
Hello again! Here is the third part of the Top 10 countdowns. I'm hoping to review Atlantis tomorrow, and then on Sunday do the full ranking of all 51 classics. As an aside, narrowing down the villains was very, very hard. For now, here are the Heroes and Villains!
Top 10 Disney Heroes:
10) Merlin (Sword in the Stone)
9) Prince Naveen (Princess and the Frog)
8) Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty)
7) Stitch (Lilo and Stitch)
6) Shang (Mulan)
5) Flynn (Tangled)
4) Phoebus (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
3) Hercules (Hercules)
2) Aladdin (Aladdin)
1) Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
Top 10 Disney Villains:
10) Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
9) Monstro (Pinocchio)
8) Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
7) Jafar (Aladdin)
6) Shan-Yu (Mulan)
5) Mother Gothel (Tangled)
4) Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
3) Ursula (Little Mermaid)
2) Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
1) Chernabog (Fantasia)
Top 10 Disney Heroes:
10) Merlin (Sword in the Stone)
9) Prince Naveen (Princess and the Frog)
8) Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty)
7) Stitch (Lilo and Stitch)
6) Shang (Mulan)
5) Flynn (Tangled)
4) Phoebus (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
3) Hercules (Hercules)
2) Aladdin (Aladdin)
1) Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
Top 10 Disney Villains:
10) Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
9) Monstro (Pinocchio)
8) Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
7) Jafar (Aladdin)
6) Shan-Yu (Mulan)
5) Mother Gothel (Tangled)
4) Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
3) Ursula (Little Mermaid)
2) Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
1) Chernabog (Fantasia)
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Top 10 Disney Heroines and Top 10 Disney Songs
Post 2 of 3! Here are my Top 10 Disney Heroines and Songs. Tomorrow will be the final set, featuring Heroes and Villains.
Top 10 Disney Heroines:
10) Princess Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron)
9) Tiana (Princess and the Frog)
8) Cinderella (Cinderella)
7) Jane (Tarzan)
6) Rapunzel (Tangled)
5) Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
4) Miss Bianca (The Rescuers/Down Under)
3) Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
2) Meg (Hercules)
1) Mulan (Mulan)
Top 10 Disney Songs:
10) A Dream Is A Wish (Cinderella)
9) I See The Light (Tangled)
8) Winnie the Pooh Main Theme (Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
7) Baby of Mine (Dumbo)
6) A Whole New World (Aladdin)
5) I've Got Friends On the Other Side (Princess and the Frog)
4) Mother Knows Best/Reprise (Tangled)
3) Won't Say (Hercules)
2) Poor Unfortunate Souls (Little Mermaid)
1) When You Wish Upon A Star (Pinocchio)
Top 10 Disney Heroines:
10) Princess Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron)
9) Tiana (Princess and the Frog)
8) Cinderella (Cinderella)
7) Jane (Tarzan)
6) Rapunzel (Tangled)
5) Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
4) Miss Bianca (The Rescuers/Down Under)
3) Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
2) Meg (Hercules)
1) Mulan (Mulan)
Top 10 Disney Songs:
10) A Dream Is A Wish (Cinderella)
9) I See The Light (Tangled)
8) Winnie the Pooh Main Theme (Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
7) Baby of Mine (Dumbo)
6) A Whole New World (Aladdin)
5) I've Got Friends On the Other Side (Princess and the Frog)
4) Mother Knows Best/Reprise (Tangled)
3) Won't Say (Hercules)
2) Poor Unfortunate Souls (Little Mermaid)
1) When You Wish Upon A Star (Pinocchio)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Top 10 Disney Sidekicks and Top 10 Henchmen.
Oook! First of the three Countdown posts for Disney. Today will be Sidekicks/Henchmen, tomorrow will be the second set, and Thursday will wrap it up. Onwards!
Top 10 Sidekicks (Heroes):
10) Maximus (Tangled)
9) Pegasus (Hercules)
8) Jaq and Gus (Cinderella)
7) Dr. Dawson (Great Mouse Detective)
6) Lady Cluck (Robin Hood)
5) Flora, Fauna, Merryweather (Sleeping Beauty)
4) Archimedes (Sword in the Stone)
3) Genie (Aladdin)
2) Cogsworth and Lumiere (Beauty and the Beast)
1) Kronk (Emperors New Groove)
Top 10 Henchmen (Villains):
10) Creeper (Black Cauldron)
9) Roscoe and Desoto (Oliver and Company)
8) Joanna (Rescuers Down Under)
7) Shenzi, Banzai, Ed (Lion King)
6) Lucifur (Cinderella)
5) Mr. Smee (Peter Pan)
4) Pain and Panic (Hercules)
3) Lefou (Beauty and the Beast)
2) Sir Hiss (Robin Hood)
1) Fidget (Great Mouse Detective)
Top 10 Sidekicks (Heroes):
10) Maximus (Tangled)
9) Pegasus (Hercules)
8) Jaq and Gus (Cinderella)
7) Dr. Dawson (Great Mouse Detective)
6) Lady Cluck (Robin Hood)
5) Flora, Fauna, Merryweather (Sleeping Beauty)
4) Archimedes (Sword in the Stone)
3) Genie (Aladdin)
2) Cogsworth and Lumiere (Beauty and the Beast)
1) Kronk (Emperors New Groove)
Top 10 Henchmen (Villains):
10) Creeper (Black Cauldron)
9) Roscoe and Desoto (Oliver and Company)
8) Joanna (Rescuers Down Under)
7) Shenzi, Banzai, Ed (Lion King)
6) Lucifur (Cinderella)
5) Mr. Smee (Peter Pan)
4) Pain and Panic (Hercules)
3) Lefou (Beauty and the Beast)
2) Sir Hiss (Robin Hood)
1) Fidget (Great Mouse Detective)
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