The BEST Animated Movies of 2024

So... I'm gonna be honest, 2024 sucked for animated movies. I have made my opinions clear on the matter, but let me state, now that the year is over, Two-Thousand-Twenty-Four Common Era absolutely SUCKED for animated movies, that isn't to say this was a totally bad year for animation entirely though, animation critics who, y'know actually do this for a living, or are just better than me, might be able to point you in directions I couldn't for things like TV animation, Anime, Indie Animation, Hell they might even be able to point you into directions to movies I haven't, couldn't, or wouldn't see. Basically what I'm saying is just because one area of the year wasn't great, doesn't mean the whole year was bad, and also please support other animation reviewers, we're a small community we need attention.

That all being said, this year wasn't a completely barren wasteland for movies either, it's just that... well, you're less likely to see them in theatres, I think. Most of the movies I heard of this year, were not theatrically released, The Tiger's Apprentice, the Megamind sequel, at least half of my worst list, all went directly to streaming in one form or another. This is a problem because it means accessibility to thee movies is very limited, so while really big movies might get a theatrical release, others that are still fairly notable might not. I'm not entirely convinced their isn't some other motive to putting movies directly on a streaming service, like other than a studio having full control over something, but it is kind of concerning.

Anyway, here are the movies that didn't completely suck.

5. Kung Fu Panda 4

I know not everybody has positive feelings for this movie, but I gotta be honest, I had a good time with it. I am always in awe about how well each Kung Fu Panda sequels feels like a natural step in the story being told, going from Po learning to become the Dragon Warrior and ending with Po having to pass on the title. Sure, it isn't as good as Kung Fu Panda 2 or 3, but those are immensely tough acts to follow, so the fact that it is good in general is good enough.

A lot of people also criticize the villain's backstory, saying that it makes no sense, I have wanted to talk about this for a while, but it does make a lot of sense that Po, a person who faced discrimination and prejudice in the Kung Fu circle due to his body, is facing a villain who also faced discrimination and prejudice in the Kung Fu circle against them due to their body, again, it's these links that make the Kung Fu Panda villains great.

No, the movie isn't perfect, I do miss the Furious Five as much as everyone else, the Mr. Beast cameo was kind of dumb, then again most YouTuber cameos in movies tend to age poorly, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Awkwafina as an actress, but over all, I had more positives with the movie than not, and James Hong and Bryan Cranston were easily the highlights of this movie, so that has to be worth something.

4. Piece By Piece

It might seem crazy what I'm about to say, but I never really got into Pharrell's music. It isn't all bad, but when you tend to gravitate more towards Alt. Rock and Metal, you do tend to miss out on some good stuff. That all being said, the idea of doing this documentary in Lego style intrigued me, not that animated documentaries haven't been done before, but doing it in Lego, why not?

I was ultimately more interested in how the story was told instead of what story was being told, but that isn't to say I don't think Pharrell is an interesting person, I'm just stating my biases as someone who isn't really into this kind of music. Still, the way a lot of the things were visualized, like the different beats that were produced and how they're stored, a lot of it really is complimented by the Lego visuals, and I don't think you could really do scenes like that in a traditional style. I think this is one of movies that does still make me hold onto hope that there are still unique animated movies out there, and I won't say this is one of the most unique or risky movies, but this was an idea, and not a bad one at that. I can't really say more about it, this was just a good movie.

3. The Wild Robot

I can hear it now, "The Wild Robot at Number Three? It should be Number One!" and yeah, I see why, this was a really beautifully done movie, easily one of DreamWorks' best in recent years. It's these kinds of movies that really do show how different DreamWorks is from studios like Disney or Illumination, and why they are my favourite of the big three.

That all being said, I am a little disappointed in this movie. I never read the book this movie was based on, though I might give it a shot in the future, my disappointment comes from one thing; from the initial trailer, I thought this movie was gonna be a really powerful movie told with zero dialogue, imagine DreamWorks taking a risk like that, making a movie with zero spoken dialogue with such a grand scale that their best movies have, that would be so cool. I'm not going to say that this movie failed to live up to my expectations in terms of quality, if anything, when I learned it was going to have dialogue I grew a bit worried, so the movie exceeded my expectations. Still, I think it would have been cool if this movie had no spoken dialogue.

2. Flow

Flow is the movie I thought I was going to get out of The Wild Robot, a truly unique and risky animated feature. Flow was such an interesting movie, there is zero spoken dialogue, not even subtitles, and yet you can still infer what the characters are thinking, feeling, in some cases even saying. I love moments in movies and cartoons where the imagery tells the story more than the dialogue does, how the body language and facial expressions speak about the characters thoughts more so than can be put into words. Flow is entirely that, it's just reading the animals' body language.

On top of that, this movie got really tense at points, there were several moments I thought this poor cat was gonna drown or get eaten by something, and it always kept me on edge, it was fantastic. I also have to applaud the fact that the team used the open-source Blender to render this movie, which really does prove you can do fantastic things with available tools. Now we just have to wait for the animated movie where each and every frame was hand drawn in Microsoft Paint.

So, if this is my choice for the most unique animated movie of the year, why isn't it number one? Well... Maybe I didn't actually want The Wild Robot to have zero dialogue, because I think this movie is more fascinating than it is entertaining, and don't get me wrong, I think it's a great movie, but in the same way I think Fight Club or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are great movies, where there is just something fascinating about them, that keeps them in my mind, but very rarely do I ever think about actually watching them that often. I would love to re-watch Flow with friends, but it might not be one I watch that often. What movie would I watch more often?

1. Transformers One

If you were to tell me that a Transformers movie would top my list of best animated movies any year, I'd be open to the possibility. Even though I'm not huge into Transformers, I have a fondness for the franchise, the original Michael Bay movie completely blew my mind when I was a kid, and I'm not completely shocked that Transformers is still a popular franchise, but at the same time I was not a huge fan of the original 1980s Transformers movie, even putting it on the list of the worst animated movies I reviewed. So this is still a little bit of a shock.

It's also shocking because, is this movie unique? Not particularly. Is it groundbreaking? I don't think so. Is it a risky movie? Not in the slightest. You know what this movie is though? This movie is damn good, and in 2024, I needed a Damn Good movie, I love when a movie is unique and takes a risk, but I don't think 2024 needed that, I think 2024 needed movies that were good before they were risky or groundbreaking. 2024 needed a Transformers One, because everything else before it... No, not all of it was bad, but very few of it was better than "Okay", I know a lot of people like Ultraman Rising, and it wasn't bad, but it just felt pretty standard. Transformers One was the first movie of the year that I watched as thought, "Yeah, that was pretty good". What does that say about this year as a whole...

If I had to give a theme to the movies on this list, I would probably say... Ambitious? Each movie is taking a fairly risky step in one way or another, DreamWorks' best movies are often pretty risky in one way or another, Flow and Piece by Piece are certainly unique movies that are begging to attain a cult following, honestly, even Transformers One, the notion of making an animated Transformers movie after the Michael Bay movies, with Michael Bay as a producer, frankly I respect the gall. Was this year completely bad? I don't think so, but I also thought negative about 2022 and now I'm willingly looking back on that with rose-tinted glasses, maybe 2025 will be a different year, one with better and more interesting movies to talk about. Well, let us leave 2024 behind us, and look forward to something better... 2030! Yes, I'm talking about more than animated movies here, let's just move on to the Honourable Mentions.

1. Ultrama: Rising - I mean, it was okay, kind of predictable, but kinda cool seeing Ultraman get a fairly big push in the west.
2. Rotten: Behind the Foodfight - This doesn't count, it's a live-action documentary about an animated movie, but it is worth the mention.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - This also doesn't fully count, but if it did, it would easily be number one.

Autism Awareness Month; the characters I relate to

I think the most difficult thing about being an autistic person really is just going through life in a society that was not intended to aid those with neurodivergencies of any kind, I remember having meltdowns in classes and not being able to deal with them properly because not only did I not know how to solve the problem, nobody who worked with me did either, probably just assuming I was fussy and ill-tempered, never knowing what spurred the meltdown, never knowing how to control it, going through school like this was probably a big contributor to why I hated myself in later years. What made it harder was that it really felt like I was the only one going through these experiences, none of my friends or classmates were like me, if any of them were autistic they masked really well, and I didn't have many fictional characters that I could escape from reality with. It felt like I was alone, and it wasn't until I met my friends in Art College that I truly believed that I wasn't alone, and it was around that time that I started to really understand what autism really was, and how to better control myself, and identifying it in my favourite characters.

In recent years, I'd like to say we have been getting better. Social media has allowed people to share their experiences and that can help many people recognize neurodivergent behaviors in others, but social progress is only as fast as people are, and there is still a lot of progress to be made.

Autism is media has never been portrayed very well in my opinion, at least, not with characters that are actually stated to be neurodivergent. Rain Man is a movie I refuse to watch because of how I feel the portrayal of neurodivergent people is, Forrest Gump is another movie that, while I do like, is kind of in the same category. Then we have the stereotypical side of it, the non-verbal people, the obsessive compulsive, always making some noise and ridiculously intelligent to the point of being almost silly, and that's the better side of the stereotype. I'm not saying that people like this don't exist, but they aren't the autistic characters I want to see, honestly, I actually think the best Autism representation in media, actually comes from characters who are not even confirmed to be neurodivergent and are just heavily implied or coded to be.

For this post, I wanted to list off some characters in media that I really did relate to, even if they were never stated to be autistic or even implied to be. Feeling like there wasn't anyone else like me in the world was hard for a kid and teenager, and when you couldn't really explain those feelings because you never knew you had those feelings, it makes it harder, and I hope this post can reach out to others, to look into their favourite characters. Here are six characters, that I have found I've gelled with a lot, and have found traits of autism within them.

1. SpongeBob SquarePants

I'm gonna start with one that, most people already know is probably autistic. SpongeBob has been seen as autistic for many people, even Tom Kenny has made comments about it. I think a large reason that SpongeBob has been such a beloved icon is because so many kids related to him, and still do. SpongeBob is the Pee-Wee Herman of the 2000s, playful, childish, just loves to have fun. I think SpongeBob was also a lot of kids first exposure to autistic coded characters, I mean, SpongeBob has very defined special interests, hyperactivity, and doesn't always get social cues. I think it's partially because of SpongeBob that autism is becoming less stigmatized, lots of kids identifying with SpongeBob and learning that what they thought autism looked like, wasn't entirely accurate. When I was a kid, SpongeBob was one of my favourite characters because he was silly and full of nautical nonsense, but as an adult, he is still my favourite because I see a part of me in him, that part of him that can name every Jellyfish and knows the Krusty Krab employee guide front to back is not that different from the part of me that can name all the Muppets and knows some songs so well I can sing them without the music. SpongeBob is a reminder that it's okay to be silly with the things we love, and to that I drop on the deck, and flop like a fish.

2. Boober Fraggle and Wembley Fraggle

Really any member of the Fraggle Five can be on this list, and while I love all the characters equally, when it comes to relating to them, I find myself relating a lot to the timid Boober and the indecisive Wembley. Boober is someone who very clearly has sensory issues, disliking excessive noise, and loves the calm repetition of monotonous tasks, like doing the laundry. He too also has special interests, notably in medicine, superstitions and cooking. For a lot of autistic people, it can be tough to really come out of their shell, I know it was tough for me for a long while. Thankfully, Boober has a couple really close friends that can show him that it's not so bad outside of the comfort zone, friends like Wembley.

Wembley is almost the exact opposite of Boober, while Boober loves the quiet, it is implied the Wembley likes noise more, often singing to himself, which I also do a lot, and he's even the siren for the Fraggle Rock volunteer fire department. Wembley is a lot more active than Boober is, and it can come off like he is stimming. Where it's tough for some autistic people to come out of their shell, for others it's a bit easier, and I think having both Boober and Wembley be very autistic coded, but both very different kinds of autistic it important. Actually, Boober and Wembley remind me a lot of my friend and myself, with my friend dragging me to new experiences and pushing me to exit my comfort zone, and I much preferring to stay in calmer, quieter spaces, but also loving to share my niche interests. I also very much relate to Wembley's indecisiveness, sometimes I am just a Wembelin' fool.

3. Pretty much everyone from DuckTales 2017

I can't quite remember at what point I watched DuckTales and thought to myself "Webby is very clearly autistic", but that little thought led me to a very important realization; practically every major character in DuckTales is autistic. It was actually a fun little thing my family and I did while watching the show to ascribe character traits from the show to each other. Throughout the whole show, little things are shown that don't necessarily state the characters are autistic, but do hint at it. Pretty much everyone in the Duck family stims one way or another, Dewey does his little dance, Scrooge twirls his cane, Donald used to sing, it's all right there and all real ways that people often self-stimulate.

As an aside, I know terms like stimming and self-stimulate sound a little dirty, let us please be adult about this.

If I had to pick the characters I relate to the most, Webby is probably up there, her board of McDuck family connections is honestly not to dissimilar to a Duck Family Tree I made and posted on Tumblr. Huey is also up there, his love for learning things, and his tendency to put things in his mouth when he's stressed or angry (I have bite marks on my 3DS), Dewey does a lot of physical stimming which I also do a lot of, Donald has emotional outbursts, which I'm sure many autistic people can relate to and also relate to it getting them in trouble. Some of the side characters can be a little on the stereotype side, Violet's first impression does give off the "Emotionless and intelligent" stereotype, but as the series goes on she is shown to be a lot more excitable. Boyd is also kind of a take on character types like Data or Spock, the non-human autism representation, which I personally don't have much issue with, especially in Star Trek, but I get why others do take umbrage with the trope, however DuckTales gets away with it with the episode Astro-B.O.Y.D., which pretty much gets this story type down perfectly. One of my favourite bits is in the season one finale where, to distract Magica De Spell, Huey asks her how her magic works, and Magica does actually seem eager to explain for a little bit.

I think DuckTales was not just the show that got me into comics, but it was also the show that made me really learn to identify autistic and neurodivergent traits in my favourite characters. Frankly, I can't thank the crew behind this show enough.

4. Dr. Julian Bashir

Star Trek and Neurodivergence representation has been... rocky, in fact most people would argue that Star Trek's disability representation has always been rough. I already talked about the trope of the non-human character being the most Autistic coded, and on some level, Dr. Bashir does fall slightly into that category. If you are not familiar with Deep Space Nine, I will give you a spoiler warning now, I am going to spoil Dr. Bashir's backstory and a some of his character arc. Honestly, if nothing else, you should take this as a sign to watch Deep Space Nine, it is arguably the best Star Trek series, The Original Series and Next Generation are the most popular, but the writing and acting of Deep Space Nine is just top notch.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Dr. Bashir is a human, but not entirely so, he was genetically engineered as a child, this enhanced his physical and mental prowess. As he himself claims, "Everything but my name was altered in some way". This gave Julian some baggage, and not just emotional either. I feel like a lot of autistic kids can relate to feeling like they're not good enough for their parents, like they're a disappointment, I think that is ultimately what I relate to the most with Bashir, but there are some other traits of his that do code him as autistic. At the start of the series, it's clear he doesn't quite get social cues, except maybe for Garak's, but that may just be wishful thinking for me (Garashir OTP), and he is very excitable. Later in the series, it's even revealed he still has his childhood teddy bear, pretty much a comfort item. A lot of his arc is about his relationships with his friends, Miles, Garak, Dax, and it does feel like this is a natural arc for this character to have.

I should mention the... other augmented characters that appear in Deep Space Nine, honestly I think Steve Shives discussed why they don't work quite as well. I don't hate them personally, but I have to admit my experiences are different from other peoples, so I can't really say much more. Though maybe most of it was the episodes they were in and not necessarily the characters themselves.

Bashir is probably the weakest representation on this list, remember this show was made in the late 90s, but I still think he is an important one for me, and if nothing else, I got to talk about my favourite Star Trek series, so win-win in my book.

SPOILERS END

5. Basil of Baker Street

Well, I should end with another very recognizably neurodivergent character. I really should get into the classic Sherlock Holmes stories, but The Great Mouse Detective is a fairly good substitution. Basil is excitable, eager to share his observations, very much not entirely comfortable with physical stimuli, and gets quite emotional, and when I say that, I want to emphasize that I don't mean he has emotional outbursts, I mean that when he feels and emotion, he feels that emotion. When he feels Ratigan has in fact got the better of him, he's not just sad, he is destroyed, when he's mad, he's enraged, when he's happy, he's practically overjoyed. I did hint at this in my original review of The Great Mouse Detective, but it does bear repeating that a lot of the way that Basil acts are heavily autistic-coded.

To add to that, I'm hearing a lot that other people are identifying autistic traits in Sherlock Holmes himself, which makes me curious, did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle know what he was doing when writing the character? When writing the original Uncle Scrooge comics, did Carl Barks know that Scrooge's hyperfixation on money gives him some autism coding? I wonder if a lot of this coding is intentional, or if they just pick character traits they associate with these kinds of characters.

To wrap this up, I want to give quick shout-outs to Ray Stantz from Ghostbusters, and Nimona. Ray Stantz would have made this list, a lot of his character is just Dan Aykroyd, but I got lazy. I also would have loved to put Nimona on this list, but Nimona is arguably more trans coded than autistic-coded, so I'm not going to argue who should have the rights to identify with Nimona. Frankly we should all stan the Gender Fluid Neurodivergent Monarch, and I hate using the word "stan".

I don't want this blog to come off like "You must identify with these characters, because I do", because I don't think all neurodivergent people need to identify with the same characters. Frankly, I don't even think they need to identify with solely neurodivergent and neurodivergent-coded characters. Having a whole spectrum of characters we like, can relate to and inspire us is a good thing to have, even if we don't look or sound or even act like the characters, but I digress. I wanted to highlight some characters I could identify with, and hopefully this will help someone identify these traits in them, and their favourite characters.

With how more widely accepted and known neurodivergencies are becoming in this world, on the one hand I am kind of bitter that I never really got a lot of the acceptance that other people now are getting, but on the other, much bigger hand, I am very happy that we are becoming more educated on this topic. We still have a long way to go, don't misunderstand me, but the fact that we're even getting there at all is amazing, and I hope I can help others on their journey in some way.

This is the part when I say that Autism Speaks is a terrible organization and you should not donate to them.

Wonder Park (2019) - A Kind of Generic and Dull Movie

 

Hey, didn't you already review this movie? Technically, I haven't, that was a First Impressions blog. Okay, truth be told, it's been four years since my initial first impressions on this movie, and time has been... well, I don't want to exaggerate, but saying "Time hasn't been kind to this movie" is an understatement. Especially since time has been unfriendly to this movie before it even released. It went through Development Hell, was critically panned, just barely made back it's budget at the box office, which means it's pretty much a flop, and nobody even really remembers this movie. To be fair, it does seem like most of the bad movies from 2019 have been forgotten, unless there is a special place in your heart for Arctic Dogs, UglyDolls and The Secret Life of Pets 2. Everything was against this movie... except for me. I didn't like this movie, but I did have some respect for it, this was the first movie I gave a First Impressions look at, and all this time later, does it still have any respect from me?

The story follows June Bailey, an imaginative young girl who loves to build an imaginary theme park with her mother. Unfortunately, her mother gets the very serious "Never-explained" disease and has to leave, and I am wording it like that for reasons. This causes June to develop some emotional issues, which her father thinks sending her to math camp will help. However, while trying to get back, she stumbled upon a magical gateway to Wonder Park... Oh wait I'm sorry, Wonder Land, yeah, this movie's title totally wasn't a last minute name change in the slightest. Anyway, she finds the park is destroyed and overrun by possessed plush toys that feed broken pieces of the park to this entity called "The Darkness", sadly not a 2000s hair metal pastiche, but just a big purple cloud. This movie is a touch more generic than I remember it being. In my first impressions, I did say that this movie's plot was predictable and followed the formula, you can kind of tell where this story is going, except for the reveal that June's mother isn't dead, which is... a choice. This movie definitely has the stench of "We don't exactly know what we're doing", is this a story like Inside Out or Where the Wild Things Are?

A big part of the story for this movie is meant to be June taking her Mother's illness hard, which causes her to develop some mental issues, and I think it's meant to be mirrored by Peanut, who she meets sorting candies by colour. The thing is, we didn't see June sorting things by colour, and we didn't see Peanut aggressively vacuuming. I am going to, really word myself carefully here, I know OCD isn't just sorting everything by colour and keeping a cleaner than clean house, I know OCD is a lot of other things, but if you're going to connect these characters, you should at least have them doing the same thing. Have Peanut aggressively cleaning his area, polishing glass and sweeping up behind June as she walks around. Have what Peanut does mirror was June was doing.

I guess I should talk about the characters, but they're all pretty basic, don't really stand out too much, and just barely serve their purpose in the movie. Honestly, you can say similar things about the animation, it's bright and colourful, but nothing is really amazing, it's kind of like a basic plate of rice or pasta that's shaped like a circus tent, it looks nice, and as a meal it does its job, but it isn't really something that wows and amazes anybody. Character designs are pretty basic, not unappealing, but I feel I could see these designs in any other animated movie, and the montage songs are bland and forgettable. I can see why very few people have talked about this movie since 2019, there really isn't anything that spectacular about it. It does the basic job, and that's about it.

I do remember saying that I might have enjoyed this movie when I was a kid, because it would have triggered my imagination and make me think about what kind of fantastical and magical theme park I would build. Not an impression that holds up over time, not after playing the enormous waste of potential that is Disneyland Adventures and wanting to build my own virtual Disney park. I can imagine really little kids having their creativity sparked by this movie, but I'd probably give them Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and download the OpenRCT2 mod and let them go crazy instead. I compared it to The Greatest Showman, another movie that gave me a creative bug, making me plan my own circus, and might have been a big inspiration to a personal project I've had on the back burner for a while now. The difference is, The Greatest Showman had some really good songs and choreography, and was a movie I would actually want to come back to. Wonder Park is mostly just a bore.

Yeah, my First Impressions do not hold up to snuff. I can't say I agree with everyone, I don't think this is one of the worst animated movies I've seen, but then again, generic and boring movies don't really rate highly for me. Nothing about this movie is really worth hating, save for the ending where they decide to chicken out and have the mother live, giving this movie the perfect ending. Yes kids, your sick parents will get through just fine, and my grandmother will come back from her fatal run-in with pneumonia. I know, sometimes things turn out just fine, but things never turn out perfect, and I do think that this movie is trying to portray a perfect ending. Is it harmful to kids? I'm not going to say yes, but I think it can give them the wrong idea, but really, if this is the only thing that gets me upset about a movie, the movie is pretty boring. I'm dropping my rating from a Slight Recommendation to a Not Recommended.

The Little Bear Movie (2001) - A Perfect Movie for Young Kids

I think I was part of the last generation to have really good programming for very little kids. I mean, yeah we had Caillou, but there was also Blue's Clues, Arthur, Franklin, and of course Little Bear. While I grew up with Little Bear, it didn't really stay with me like Blue's Clues did, but then again I had Blue's Clues VHS Tapes around me for a long time, so I always had something Blue's Clues sticking around. However, a friend of mine, who also suggested another movie for this blog which I'll get to later, recommended we watch an episode of Little Bear, I went with it. It was related to what we were doing at the time, and when my friend recently suggested we watch The Little Bear Movie, I figured, why not? Even if it is not good, it will be cute, something charming to enjoy. So, we watched it on YouTube and, if I'm being one hundred percent honest, I kind of love this movie.

While on a camping trip with Father Bear, Little Bear meets a wild bear named Cub, and the two become quick friends. After learning that Cub lost his parents, Little Bear and his friends, Duck, Hen, Owl, and Cat, set out to find Cub's parents in the wilderness, encountering friends, as well as lots of troubles along the way. What I really love about this is that it doesn't shy away from any of the dangers in the wilderness. There are chances for rock slides, harsh rivers and rapids, there are even predators. We meet a Mountain Lion early on in the movie and he shows up again at the end. The great thing is though, they don't shove the Mountain Lion in the story that much, he appears like three times in the movie. They could have thrown him in and have him stalking the main cast, but no, they just keep it to the two major appearances and one minor one, and I am really happy they made that choice because nature is enough, getting separated from your group is enough, being lost is enough. Don't get me wrong, I love a good villain, but sometimes you don't need a Maleficent, a Magica De Spell or even a Lady Tremaine, sometimes the best obstacles are the ones found in the environment.

On top of that the characters are very likable. Little Bear is naïve, but optimistic. A nice contrast to Cub, who is a bit more cynical due to his circumstances. Depending on who you are you may find Duck to be a bit annoying, but to be fair I do see a little of myself in Duck, so I found her to be somewhat charming, though they maybe do have her on screen more than one would probably like. The rest of the cast aren't really in this for much, but you still get the kind of characters they are, even if you're not familiar with the original show, you get Owl's personality, Cat's personality, you do get to know most of these characters. It's kind of a shame that Emily didn't even get a cameo appearance in this movie because she is a major character in the show, but then again I don't really know where you would put her in this story. Then we have the Mountain Lion, known as Trouble. Again, he does not appear that much, but when he does it's actually kind of intimidating. I wouldn't say he's one of the scariest kids movie antagonists, but the way he speaks and his presence would probably unease some kids.

I really do want to state that this movie is meant for little kids, like preschool age, but even then this movie is actually very respectful of its audience. There is a lot of quiet moments, moments of the group just having fun, even a lot of more emotionally taxing moments. They do have some songs, but they aren't pop songs made to sell a soundtrack, they are songs that actually fit the mood and tone of Little Bear, and I think they're beautiful. Some people might not be into the pacing, it is a bit of a slow movie, but I just kind of respect that a bit more because, well this is a movie for little kids, and I like that it's not cutting away every shot to make the pacing more exciting, it is very respectful of the audience. We don't really see this in kids films anymore, they all seem to need high energy and lots of pop songs, and maybe one or two more emotional moments. I mean, there are still some recent kids movies I did enjoy, The Bad Guys and Angry Birds 2 are very high energy but I thought were still really fun, but you do kind of notice to formula. I feel like it really needs to be said, you don't need energy to be engaging, you need to be engaging to be engaging, and I found this movie to be engaging.

Is this movie perfect? No. Will you get a lot out of it as an older kid, or even an adult? Well I don't want to say no, but probably not. Again, this movie is for little kids, and if you have little kids, I would highly recommend this movie. You can find it on YouTube on the Little Bear - Official channel. Would I recommend this movie to anyone outside of that demographic though? Well, that is a tough call. I have said I recommended the Blue's Clues Movie despite the fact that it was also meant for little kids, and looking back I probably should have just kept it at a Slight Recommendation. That being said, I think this movie is too good to keep it at a Slight Recommendation. Rating movies that are really good, but also obviously not for a general audience (outside of the MPAA rating) can be tricky because giving it a Slight Recommendation puts it in the same general area of movies I don't really like, but giving it anything higher will probably give the wrong impression, as some movies are obviously made for specific audiences or have content that some audiences might not get into. It's tricky because I don't want someone to pass a movie off because my rating says "Ehh, I only slightly recommend it", which is why I'm really regretting giving that rating to Felidae, but at the same time, yeah this is a movie for little kids and if you're not a little kid or don't have little kids you're probably not going to get a lot out of it. However, this movie is very respectful to its audience, really well made and I think it's perfect for little kids. So, you know what, if you do have little kids, put this movie on. If not, well, maybe give it a look anyway. You might actually find it alright.

First Impressions: Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)

Eight years for this movie to get to theatres, over a decade if we want to talk about conception years, but being announced in 2014 and finally reaching theatres in 2022, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank dares to ask one question; When can we start to assume a delayed movie is going to suck?

I'm going to be real, when I read the original title and saw the poster, I kind of thought this movie would suck, but I've been surprised by movies before so I was still somewhat optimistic. Unfortunately, as time went on things changed, I started noticing how safe recent kids films are being, I started to let myself slip into watching trailers (I blame Frozen 2 for that one, that trailer was amazing) and the movie started to be officially released, beginning with a name change. I originally wanted to title this blog "First Impressions: Blazing Samu... Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank" because for a long time, this movie was originally going under the name "Blazing Samurai", and I feel the name change was very last minute. There are a couple of jokes in this movie that would have been... well not funnier but at least more... clever is the wrong word but they would have been somewhat cute if the film kept the original title.

Speaking of humour, I mean... it is there. What can I really say about the humour of this movie? It's a generically unfunny comedy for children, it's like talking about a generically boring action movie for dudes, or a generically disgusting rom-com for moms, the demographics seem to have their generic movie types. I will say they did try to be varied with the humour, they got toilet jokes, fourth-wall jokes, anachronistic jokes, honestly I think the casting of Mel Brooks was meant as a nod to the fact that this movie was called "Blazing Samurai" and he did the movie this was inspired by, "Blazing Saddles". Oh yeah, they also have Samuel L. Jackson using fake curse words, because y'know, he swore a lot in "Snakes on a Plane"! Oh and George Takei says "Oh My!" twice because that is the meme, actually Kubo and the Two Strings had him say that too, but like, it was cute there because it was said in a situation where anyone would have said that. Once would have been fine for this movie, it would have been cute, but twice was just forcing it.

I mean, what else is there to really talk about? This movie is unfunny and has a predictable plot and character arcs. I guess it isn't devoid of character, but like, that's it. It's a generically bad kid's movie, honestly I'll give Minions 2 some credit, it was a generically okay kid's movie, so take your kids to see that. Honestly I'd call this a disappointment but like, eight years in Development Hell, that's a pretty good sign it wasn't going to be great.

From what I understand, development for this movie was a nightmare, directors came and went, the film ended up crediting three directors, companies acquired and abandoned it, some reports even stated that it was still in the animatic phase in 2019. Apparently a lot of this movie had to be worked on remotely because of the pandemic and eight different companies got production credits. Quite frankly, with the added name change, this movie had red flags all over it, and honestly, I can't think of a sadder movie release, not that I expect this movie to flop, time will tell on that one, but the fact that they clearly had some faith in this movie, despite everything going against it. It's honestly kind of sad. Especially since it doesn't even have much to show for it. The Thief and the Cobbler at least had amazing animation, and that movie was still garbage until the Recobbled Cut became a thing. Honestly, at some point someone should of scrapped this movie, I'd rather not have this movie than have a movie exist in a sad state like this. I can't really think of any reason anyone would want to watch it, outside of the movie the kids actually want to see is sold out and you're not leaving until they shut up for thirty minutes. I'm not mad, I'm not even disappointed, I'm just sad.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) - A Fun and Imaginative Sequel to an Already Fun Movie

 

Now that the Special Effects movie marathon is finished let's go back to the realm of movies that are predominately animated. Well that was the plan anyway, but then I remembered that there was a large portion of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water that was in live action. I did not anticipate this being the bridge movie between the Special Effects movies and the regular animated movies, but I guess it worked out, I must have more Gladstone luck than I thought. As a bonus, since it is still July I figured I'd treat myself to a SpongeBob movie, because while it is no longer my birthday, it is still my Birth month, so I'm gonna watch something SpongeBob. 

I actually remember the first time I watched this movie, it was on Netflix, and I enjoyed fine, but I remember all of the advertising focused on the fact that the SpongeGang would be on dry land and become superheroes. You can imagine this is one of the reasons I try not to watch trailers because I was a touch disappointed when I learned that only the last third of the movie took place on dry land. However, seven or so years can change a movie, and since we're going to be able to remove it from the expectations of the trailer, I think it is only fair to ask if this movie actually holds up.

The plot does not follow from the first movie, I think the closest thing to a direct sequel we got to the first movie was the episode Krabby Road, where Plankton tricks SpongeBob into forming a rock band. Side note, I literally JUST got that the title is a reference to Abbey Road, I am an idiot. Continuity in SpongeBob is hit or miss anyway, so if it isn't continuing from the first movie, then what direction are they going for the plot? They go in a rather interesting direction. While Plankton is making another attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, it just vanishes right before his and SpongeBob's eyes, so with Bikini Bottom in a Mad Max apocalypse, SpongeBob and Plankton must team up to find the formula. The interesting thing is that while this is happening, a pirate named Burger Beard is narrating the story and uses a magic book to steal the formula himself and become a successful food truck entrepreneur. I do realize that the summary leaves out how and why the gang becomes superheroes, but I would actually say that the superhero part is one of my big issue with the plot.

Not that the story is terrible, heaven knows I've watched worse, but like with the first one there are somethings that don't add up when you look at them with a critical lens, like for example, Sandy sees a book page land on her treedome, and then goes on to think that there are sandwich gods who want a sacrifice. It does lead to some funny jokes, but shouldn't Sandy know what a book page is? Wouldn't she try to find out what kind of book it came from? Wouldn't she try to do anything science-y? You know, because she is a scientist. I also think the movie shot itself in the foot by advertising the superhero angle of the movie since it really isn't a superhero movie, they just use a page from the book to become superheroes, which I feel would have been better if the movie built up to that and made it a reveal rather than highlight this aspect. On top of that, I don't know if they were aiming for a moral or a joke moral, but I don't think they pulled either off. I guess they were aiming for like a joke moral or a deconstruction of this moral, but I didn't really find it amusing. Still, I don't believe we were meant to take this plot seriously, it just seems like a vehicle for jokes and the superhero climax.

As a comedy, honestly I think this movie may be better than the first. There are so many different kinds of jokes that range from the "Meh, that was kind of amusing" to the "Now that was hilarious". I also loved a lot of the background jokes, like in the Chum Bucket during the apocalypse there is an iron maiden in the shape of Plankton's computer wife Karen. Of course, the plot allowed the writers to set up some really good jokes, including going into SpongeBob's mind, a bunch of fun meta gags, and some really amusing scenarios. I will say that not every joke lands, I don't think any of them were, and I apologize for the use of the overused term, cringey, but some of them were just mediocre. There are jokes in here that are definitely more for the children, the movie even ends with a Rap Battle, because kids like Epic Rap Battles of History, those guys even make a cameo in the film. That being said, I can't think of a joke that just fell dead on arrival, even the ones I wasn't fond of I know are up some people's alley. I think this movie is better as a comedy than the first one because the first one wasn't too focused on just telling joke after joke, it's kind of like the Ice Age movies in a way (Will I ever stop comparing movies to those?) where the first one had a solid mix of comedic and serious moments where the sequel is more focused on telling jokes.

Character wise, I mean it's the characters we all know and love in an apocalypse, as superheroes, and just as they are. For whatever reason Sandy wasn't given a lot to do in the first movie, but she has a more prominent role in this movie. I guess for new characters we have Burger Beard, played by Antonio Banderas, whom I did not immediately recognize. He is an amusing one off villain, would have loved to see him and Patchy interact, but I guess that suit was deep in storage somewhere. Otherwise, we get some more minor-ish characters who do have a good sized role in the story, and were fun enough characters, but overall the movie does keep its focus where it should be, on SpongeBob.

More interesting is the animation, and I don't just mean the 2D animation, though it was really good, maybe a little bit better than the first one, but I also want to talk about the live action mixing. After watching four movies that tried to blend animation with live action in some way, I have to say, I feel like the intentionally cartoony CG was a mixed bag. On the one hand, it did mean that the characters still looked like the characters, even if they were in a different medium, but on the other hand, when the CG character and the live action character had to interact, it looked fake. That being said, the CG looked WAY better than the third movie, Sponge On The Run, which just didn't look right to me, I still can't place my finger on it, but looking at two examples side by side, I just prefer the more cartoony style they went with for this movie.

So, my thoughts seem all over the place here don't they? Well, yeah, if this were any other movie I probably would be harsher, but what does save this movie is the comedic writing. On top of that the animation is still fun for a very large majority of the film, the voice acting is still excellent, and the plot is a bit iffy, but it does deliver fun scenarios for jokes so I guess it serves its purpose. This movie is fun, and I feel like that is all it wanted to be, could it be smarter? More emotional? Probably, but I don't think that was the kind of movie they were making. This is the perfect example of a movie you just shut your brain off and let it play, sure you can put a lot of thought into it, I mean hey it's my job to, but there are movies out there where the best way to enjoy them is simply to enjoy them. Maybe that isn't your kind of movie, maybe you would rather have a Little Prince or Felidae where you can analyze the symbolism, the themes and messages, the imagery and characters, hey I liked those films to, but sometimes it is just nice to watch a movie that is meant to be enjoyed. Flaws and all, I had a good time, and I think you will too.

The Adventures of Tintin (AKA: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn) (2011) - A fine adventure for fans and newcomers alike

So, I said I was gonna try and review older movies this year. I am not backing out of my promise, I am still going to try and review movies from the 1990s and before, but I think I should be allowed some leeway here. Especially since 2011 was ten years ago, my does time fly. I figured since I had the opportunity I should give this movie a go, especially since I am a big Tintin fan. When I was a kid, there was this channel called "Teletoon Retro", it was pretty much Boomerang for you readers with Cartoon Network, it played all of the old kids shows and is where I first discovered such wonderful shows like Fraggle Rock, Rocket Robin Hood, and of course, The Adventures of Tintin. After that I read some of the comics, and I really love them. They're definitely my favourite comics and I kind of wish someone took the license and made more of them, I dunno maybe Dark Horse or IDW, but regardless, given my enjoyment of the franchise, how does the movie hold up?

The plot follows Tintin, an English reporter, as he tries to figure out what makes a model ship he purchased so alluring to others, a model ship that gets him kidnapped, introduces him to the drunkard Captain Haddock, and takes him to the Middle East to find the secret that these model ships are holding. It's kind of an amalgamation of different Tintin comics, The Secret of the Unicorn most notably, but with elements of a few others. Overall I do think that the plot moves along solidly, being an adventure/mystery movie I feel both elements are done very well and in keeping with the comics, well sort of.

Watching this movie, it really does highlight the differences in expectations between comics and cinema. Comic audiences don't typically expect long, epic chase sequences, thrilling and exciting action scenes. This is because of the fundamental differences between the comic and cinema mediums. Comic books are not very long, sure you have graphic novels and manga, but other comic books, especially the serialized ones, like the superhero and Tintin comics, are rather short affairs. For the most part (From my bare minimum of research so feel free to correct me in the comments) Tintin comics are 62 pages long, with a few exceptions, notably the first book which is 141 pages long. Even so, the amount of action you can convey is limited, so a chase scene would need to be a handful of panels, a page at most if you can get away with it. With cinema, that handful of panels to a page can be translated to two to five minutes maybe, so you can get away with some of the flowing camera work and more... outlandish elements that this film gets away with.

I am rather split on the action scenes in the movie. The chase seen in Bagghar was pretty well done, if a bit more destructive than I think would happen in a regular Tintin comic. The crane duel between Haddock and Sakharine though, that was just stupid. I'm also not a huge fan of the camera flow in the chase scenes, maybe that is just a me thing.

I think this transitions decently well into the animation which... is a mixed bag. On one hand, the movie looks incredible. The lighting and the textures almost made me think this film was shot live action, which can be a problem, you know this is animation, but I think the characters were exaggerated enough to make it not too realistic. In fact, that character design is really good, Haddock looked just like a three-dimensional, more realistic version of Haddock would look like, Thomson and Thompson looked great, but on the other hand I think they erm... well reduced Madame Castafiore's size a bit, and gave her a different nose, and as for Tintin, some of his facial expressions looked really off to me, that may just be a me thing, but some of his looks just gave an uncanny valley kind of vibe.

Character wise, they're all the same characters you know and love from the original comics. Tintin is a curious and determined fellow that tends not to go down without a fight. Captain Haddock is a drunken excitable man of action, and Thomson and Thompson are the same bumbling police officers they were in the comics. They included Madame Castafiore in the movie as a bit of fan service, personally I would have also enjoyed to see Professor Calculus as he is one of my favourite characters. Overall though, the characters have largely been unchanged, and the voice cast did a decent job as well. Andy Serkis was really good as Haddock, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg worked great as Thomson and Thompson, even if they probably only got the role because of Hot Fuzz, let's be honest. I think my only real complaint is Jamie Bell as Tintin, but that is definitely a me thing. See, I grew up with the 1990s animated series, which (if you were an English speaker like me) had voice actor Colin O'Meara as Tintin, and that obviously not at all British voice is the voice I most associate with the character. Again, totally a me thing, and Jamie Bell did an excellent performance, I'm just used to the voice I grew up with.

Over all The Adventures of Tintin was a fine movie. Unlike Coraline, it does translate what I liked about the comics to the big screen. I really should stop being so mean to Coraline. Anyway, while I do have my issues with the movie, it had some good action scenes, a solid mystery, faithful characterizations, and had some genuine moments of good humour. I think whether you're a fan of the comics, or are a newcomer to the series, you'll get something out of this movie. While I don't think it's one of my favourite movies, I am glad I saw it. Solid recommendation. Maybe I should try to find the other Tintin movies as well.

Blue's Big Musical Movie (2000) - A movie for young kids, but still a fun watch

Guys, just let me have this one, okay? I just need something that makes for easy viewing right now, and I don't think anything gets easier than a movie made for pre-school kids. Does this count for my blog? Well, it is a live action person interacting with an animated world, and unlike Who Framed Roger Rabbit it's the entire film. So, yeah, I think it qualifies. As a bonus for me, I have a deep connection with Blue's Clues. It was one of the first shows I ever watched as a kid, I had those bright orange VHS tapes of them, and even today there is something so... calm and relaxing about the show. Chances are, if you liked this show as a kid, you're probably going to find something you still like about it, like how every clue has a different musical jig attached to it, which is something I just noticed recently. I don't think my connection with this show is as deep as SpongeBob, but it's still a strong one, and I remember watching this movie a lot as a kid. How does it hold up?

While Steve and the gang are planning a big backyard music show, Tickety looses her voice, which is an issue because she was going to duet with Blue. After Tickety finds something else she can do, Steve decides to find another duet partner for Blue, which prompts her to start a game of Blue's Clues. To fill out the plot some more, they put in some extra side-plots, such as Periwinkle wanting to take part in the show, with the misunderstanding they were putting on a magic show, Steve wanting to find a clue on his own, and Sidetable Drawer also wanting a part in the show, but being too shy to ask. Despite the whole bunch of stuff going on, I never thought the plot became too bloated or convoluted, it was very easy to follow. I think that young kids can follow what's going on in the film.

As the title of the movie would reveal, this is a musical. I feel like Pre-school programs have a stigma about them, especially their songs. I was not the only kid that enjoyed the famous Barney Parody, and I can imagine that plenty of other songs would get on the nerves of parents. That being said, music has always been a big part of the appeal of Blue's Clues. A lot of the lessons were taught in song, and this isn't the only show to do that, Animaniacs also did similar kinds of segments. The music of Blue's Clues is actually very jazzy and it carries over into this movie. Even when the song is about having breakfast, it's still got that jazz feel to it. Of course, one of the songs is sung by the late legend Ray Charles alongside the 70s a cappella group The Persuasions, so that song was going to be great no matter what. Look, I may enjoy my share of rock and metal, but Ray Charles is awesome and I will hear no word against that!

That all being said, I'd be lying if I said that I had no issues with the score. For one, Sidetable Drawer's voice actress is... not a great singer. I get she was really young when this movie was being made, but I just think a bit more lessons might have done good. Also, some of the music cues are, actually kind of hilarious. At one point, Steve asks if we can spot "Have Breakfast" on his checklist, and the music that plays is this really suspenseful jazz cue, and it's really funny. It's like adding in a "BWOM" cue after getting a papercut, it's almost too much. Then again, I have to concede that it's respectful to the audience and takes them seriously despite being little kids. I also think some of the songs are really short, but I don't really know how you would stretch a song about wearing silly hats to more than thirty seconds.

As for the characters, they are all just as friendly and kind as they are in the show. Asking if Tickety is okay when she begins to have vocal problems. Encouraging everyone to not give up, and even the new characters played by Ray Charles and The Persuasions, I love that they are encouraging to Steve, even when he doesn't feel like he has the right tempo for his song. It's a very welcoming environment, an environment that encourages learning and trying, an environment that I feel a lot of kids are not allowed to live in reality, be it because of broken family lives, or because their families have poor income. I think that is why shows like Blue's Clues hold up even for adults, they offer this environment that encourages instead of scorns, helps instead of hinders, and does so without talking down to kids. Yes, I see the irony of me, a critic, talking about all of this.

Anyway, on the topic of characters, I really got to give it up for Steve here, he is a pretty good actor. He gets the emotions across, he is decently convincing, I think he does a great job. His interactions in the animated world can look a little unconvincing at points, but it never took me out of the experience, and I don't think young kid will really notice. I never did until I really took a critical look.

Speaking of, the visuals of this movie are great. Honestly, I think going direct-to-video actually worked in this movies favour. When a show gets a theatrical movie, the animation budget is usually increased, so we get a movie that looks like a cleaner and more cinematic version of the show, which can throw some people off. I don't think I can imagine a "cinematic" looking Blue's Clues, so I'm glad it stays with the storybook illustration aesthetic. On top of that, even though the animation is stylized, and let's be honest here, a little bit limiting, none of the expressions ever get muddled, you can still tell what the characters are thinking when they're not vocal. I'd say it's actually better than South Park in that regard. 

I'm going to be honest, as an adult, I was very much entertained by this movie. I loved the jazzy soundtrack, the welcoming environment, and the good lessons the movie taught. Honestly, if you have really young kids, I highly recommend this movie. It's gotta be better for kids than Peter Rabbit, Duck Duck Goose or any of the third generation My Little Pony movies. Now, as an adult however, would I recommend this for watching on your own. You know what? I'm actually going to say yes! A large reason I'm writing these reviews is because cartoons and animation as a whole has this stigma of being only for kids and adults who never mentally matured. I want to crush that stigma, and if that means recommending the Blue's Clues movie, than so be it. If you think that kids shows and cartoons have no value to anyone over the age of three, watch this movie and tell me it has no value. I give this a solid recommendation!

First Impressions: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run (2020)

2020 has been one Hell of a year, trust me it's been a ride for me as well, even as a non American, and honestly, I think one of the most sour things I had to accept was, well a lot of things, but relevant to this post is not being able to see the new SpongeBob movie in theatres.

Why does that hurt so much? Well, I have been a SpongeBob fan for literally my entire life. The first cartoon I remember watching was SpongeBob, and to this day SpongeBob is still one of my favourite shows and one of my favourite characters. I don't remember seeing the first SpongeBob movie in theatres (Though don't take my word on that one because I would have been six at the time), and I had no chance of seeing the second one in theatres on account of me being a broke high school student. In a way, it's kind of a Shakespearian tragedy of sorts that I have never officially been able to see one of my all time favourite franchises on the big screen. Yes, the movie is in theatres in Canada, where I live, but I'm not going to the theatre during the pandemic, so, no I have never been able to see any of the SpongeBob movies on the big screen with a crowd. It's sad, but that is what happens sometimes.

Well, the movie came to Netflix for other viewers so I was able to watch it and... I really want to like this movie.

Okay, so, it's almost the end of the year and I have a bunch of movies to watch for the end of the year, and some movies are still coming out so I don't really know how many I'll get done. I've seen some really bad animated movies like Pets United, Scoob! and the latest piece of garbage from that festering dumpster heap of a studio known as Vanguard, Fe@rLeSS_. So, with all of that under my belt, I can't be too hard on this movie, but... I'm sorry, it wasn't that good.

I think... I don't actually know what I think. It is often hard to pin-down what exactly makes SpongeBob good in the first place. For me, it's a really funny show that makes me feel like a young kid eagerly running for the TV again, even as an adult, a lot of the jokes and writing in SpongeBob is genuinely funny, and I'll admit there were some moments that made me laugh in this movie, I don't think they were as strong as the show's high points, but they were decently amusing. The problem is, those jokes were few and far between, not that any joke really fell hard or became cringey, but nothing really elicited much of a response from me.

The pros of this is that the movie doesn't really become unwatchable, but the downside is that the movie ends up being kinda boring. Let me explain with an example of the movie: The climax involves running through castle halls, SpongeBob and friends piloting a suit of armour like a Gundam, and said suit of armour falling out a window and the gang having to chase it down to catch it to save Squidward, I should not be thinking about skipping any part of that segment.

There is another weird scene where SpongeBob and Patrick are dreaming, they meet the head of Keanu Reeves inside of a tumbleweed, go into a saloon for pirate zombie cowboys who have a song number with Snoop Dogg, and they're being held prisoner by a demon played by Machete himself Danny Trejo. That was a more entertaining scene in the movie, but it still wasn't entertaining by that much.

The animation is kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is bright and colourful and pretty to look at, for the most part. The other hand is that the CG models are not the best the characters have looked in CG, I mean, they have looked worse, but they didn't look that good, I think they looked better in the previous movie, Sponge Out of Water. Still, it wasn't the worst I've seen, after a movie like Fe@rLeSS_ any CG animation looks better... from big studios anyway, but it still didn't sit right with me.

It hurts that I don't like this movie, I actually really hate having to say all this, this movie had people who worked hard on it, and I have nothing but love and admiration for the late Stephen Hillenburg, and I have faith that the team behind this movie wanted to make something that he would have loved. I just, didn't love it myself. Could it have been worse? Yes, but it most certainly could have been better. I think at the end of the day, you're either going to enjoy it, or not, but not in the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas kind of way where that is the entire point, more in the Hazbin Hotel kinda way where it's most likely just not going to be your cup of tea.

If you love SpongeBob even more than I do, or think it's something you might enjoy, or even just want to kill an hour and a half with something that's not super serious, hey, give it a watch, you might get more out of it than me, and that's great. Who knows, maybe I'll find more out of it upon repeated viewings, hey it's a SpongeBob movie, I'm still gonna buy it on DVD when it comes out, I just don't think I'll watch it as much as the first or second movies. Still, depending on who you are, you might get more out of it than me, so I'll give it a slight recommendation.

Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996) - One of the weirdest, and yet strangely entertaining movies I've ever seen

Well, it is the summer, the time of great adventures, wonderful stories and just taking time to appreciate freedom for most of us... I assume, I'm writing this review in early April thanks to the current pandemic happening, so hindsight is not exactly 20/20 right now. Hopefully, by June all of this will die down, and hopefully things will return to some state that we can call normal, hopefully one better than right now. Well, since it is the summer I think it would be a good idea to look at a wacky road trip movie... full honesty, I just wanted a road trip movie but uh... this movie is weird.

After their TV gets stolen, Beavis and Butt-head end up going on a trip across the United States on a quest, to them it's to score with a hot girl, but to everyone else involved it's to smuggle a man-made virus across the country. Once a government agency gets wind of this, they start trying to chase the two boys down, but just keep missing them at every turn. Okay, plot wise it doesn't sound too weird, in fact it might be one of the more tame plots for any movie I have ever seen. However, what makes it weird is how it just keeps escalating to the point of absurdity. The movie ends with Beavis, possibly really high, doing his cornholio bit at the White House before getting in a stand-off with the FBI, ATF and SWAT. A movie that starts with the two boys trying to find their stolen TV set ends up with them getting involved in a weapons smuggling plot, wrecking the Hoover Dam and going on a cactus induced trip with Rob Zombie visuals. The way this movie escalates is really bizarre, and kinda funny since the two are painfully unaware of everything going on. I wouldn't say the escalation is as good as the South Park movie, but that movie was all about making commentary and satire, so it's kinda like comparing an apple to a computer mouse.

Being honest, the idiocy of the two does get a little painful to watch at times. I really hate dramatic irony, the trope where the audience knows something the characters don't, think romeo and Juliet where we know that Juliet isn't dead, but Romeo doesn't. Honestly, it's mostly just a personal thing, I hate watching people be dumb when I know the reality, it's kinda like watching Trump be president, like you really just want to reach into the TV and start yelling at the characters. I think it works here because, well Beavis and Butt-head probably wouldn't understand even if they were told. They kinda just go along their way, so it is less painful to watch. In fact, the whole movie is a bit of a dramatic irony since all the characters expect Beavis and Butt-head to be, well competent at anything, and we all know that the two are complete boobs. While their idiocy does get painful, it's kind of a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas painful where it never becomes too much to watch.

Now, I am not someone who ever watched an episode of Beavis and Butt-head, so I'm coming into this movie mostly blind. That being said, the idiocy of our two leads was never aggravating. They're motivated by two things really, TV and sex. That being said, they are more like observers to the plot in this movie. They're unaware of literally anything that goes on around them, including when their names are on a sign. The side characters are more of the protagonists of this movie, they have more agency in getting the plot going, and you have a decent cast. The agent chasing them is kinda funny with how uh... intimate he can be, the smugglers are just that right amount of awful where, you don't like them, but you don't want them to get off screen to quickly, and of course, you have a whole host of colourful characters that have one or two appearances as well. I think character-wise, this movie isn't bad, they do their job decently, just not too memorable.

When it comes to the humour, it's pretty funny. I just had to laugh at how insane the end climax became, and there were some moments that made me chuckle as well. I think this would be a good movie to watch under the influence so to say. It really has that style of humour where you just sit back, mellow out and chuckle at the fact that your finger feels weird when you wiggle it in the air. Not to say this movie isn't funny for sober people, while there isn't a lot of clever wordplay and lots of awkward humour, you can be amused by some of the childish antics that go on in this movie.

While the main art style may not be appealing to some people, I do think the animation as a whole isn't bad. I am so used to shows and movies having bad art styles to get away with having bad animation, but the animation here is smooth, the lips are always in sync and I didn't see any obviously reused loops. The colour pallet is nice, not one of the best I've seen, but it always matches the mood and setting pretty well. Plus, the hallucination with Rob Zombie's artwork really is one of those segments that steals the show, it was just such an awesome scene that the movie is worth watching just for that.

That being said, this wasn't that bad of a movie. I found the escalation of the plot to be amusing, I found the two leads to be charming with their immaturity and simple mindedness, and as a whole I found the movie to be mildly funny. If you just want to sit back and check your brain at the door, maybe light up a little green if you're into that, this really is the movie for you. Even if you aren't into "Lucifer's Cabbage" there is still a mild amusement to this movie that I think you will enjoy. I give it a good recommendation... heh, heh, I said boobs in the review, heh.