The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979) - An enjoyable, but outdated way to enjoy classic shorts

 

It's weird to think in the era of streaming services and independently created content that there was ever a time that you had to hope and pray that the movie or show you wanted to watch was going to air on TV that night. Home media didn't really take off until the 1980s, so what was someone supposed to do then? Well, someone at Warner Bros decided to take some of the classic Looney Tunes segments and put them into a movie. However, this wouldn't be any old compilation movie like the Fantastic Animation Festival movie from 1977, this was going to have some semblance of a narrative. Even still, in the age of Streaming and DVD boxsets, is a movie like this worth coming back to?

Much like with the Fantasia review, there really is not much else to this movie other than a collection of shorts with a few wrap-around segments. However, unlike Fantasia, the wraparounds do give this movie somewhat of a narrative. Essentially, we drop in on Bugs Bunny, as he talks to us about his life, which are shown as various Looney Tunes shorts. These range from shorts starring his cohorts, to shorts all about him. I will talk about the segments, but not as individually as I did with Fantasia. There are a lot of shorts in this movie, and I have varying opinions about them. So, other than any new segments and the ending segment, most of the Looney Tunes shorts I'll be talking about in groups.

The first segment is, from what I can tell, an original segment about the history of chases. It's told as you'd expect a joking cartoon character to tell a joking history. It's not that funny, and is rather slow. Probably due to the fact that at this point, everyone behind the Looney Tunes was much older, although I will give credit that there may be some actual true information in this segment. See, sometime in the early 2010s, researchers discovered that when lit up in certain ways, some paintings in the Chauvet Cave would actually form the illusion of movement. So, in a sense, this segment was correct that animated pictures began on cave walls. I find that kind of amusing, but then again I am a media history nerd.

After this we get out first Looney Tunes short, "Hare-way to the Stars", this short has some cute gags, but I don't think this was the best short to start off with. Thankfully, after this we get three Daffy Duck shorts in a row, starting with "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century", an all time classic short, "Robin Hood Daffy", which is funny even in this shorter state, and "Duck Amuck", one of my all time favourite animated shorts. I've talked about this one before, so if you want my detailed thought on it, here's a previous post to check out.

Next are three shorts that focus on Bugs dealing with a more intimidating adversary, starting with "Bully for Bugs", a great short, but maybe not the best way to start this stretch of shorts. The rest of the three also feature Daffy, so maybe if they reversed the order of these three, it would have worked better. Our next short is "Ali Baba Bugs", which I am skipping right past because I don't want to get into a discussion over whether this short is problematic by today's standards or not. It was never one of my favourite shorts in the first place, mostly because of its ending, I never really found it that funny. Thankfully, the next short is "Rabbit Fire", which is probably my favourite Bug and Elmer short.

Our next three shorts start off on a bad foot, because it starts with "For Scent-imental Reasons", a Pepe Le Pew short. I never liked Pepe Le Pew, I never really found him to be that funny, not that there weren't some neat gags in his shorts, but the main joke was never that amusing. Next is another shortened cartoon, "Long-Haired Hare", which is still funny in this shortened form. Along this theme, the next short is the iconic "What's Opera, Doc?" one of the most recognized, beloved and remembered Looney Tune segment out there. I like it fine.

The final Bugs Bunny short is "Operation: Rabbit" which is the perfect segue into the final portion of this movie, the Road Runner shorts, which are just played as one big segment. They include a lot of the iconic moments from many of the shorts, such as the Bat-Man's Outfit from "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z", the Earthquake Pills from "Hopalong Casualty" and a couple trampoline gags. Road Runner cartoons were always my favourite of the Looney Tunes shorts, so I do really like this big mesh of iconic and hilarious Coyote gags.

Other than all of that, there are the wraparound segments, which don't really serve to tell jokes, but more to introduce each short. All in all, these were fine, but that brings us to a very interesting point. These are the reasons you would want to watch this movie nowadays, because we can get the full version of all these shorts on multiple different DVD releases, so the question remains, are these wrap-arounds worth it? Honestly, I would say no. Though I love a lot of these shorts, a part of me just wishes I was watching the shorts separately rather than the movie. I have a couple Looney Tunes compilation DVDs, and I think I'd get just as much entertainment out of them as I did from this movie. So, how would I recommend it?

As a movie, I'd probably put it in the Slight Recommendations category. Someone might really like seeing this laid back and more casual kind of Bugs Bunny. Then again, we don't spend much time with that Bugs Bunny, we spend a lot of time with the classic shorts, and that is the movie's biggest problem. There is no need for it anymore, we can get the entire series run on DVD now. Remember, this was made before home media really took off. In a way, it's very archaic and a relic of a bygone era where we couldn't just put on our favourite episode of our favourite show with the click of a button. If you are a collector of all thing Looney Tunes, you might have this in your collection, but even then I don't think it's worth watching. Grab a compilation DVD and enjoy.

First Impressions: Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

Hey, a new first impressions. Yeah I'm still not super comfortable going to movie theaters, so first impressions have been really slow. However, let's do another one, and let's talk about something else that is near and dear to my heart, The Muppets.

I haven't been the biggest Muppet fan as a child, which was mostly due to not having access to a lot of the material. Nowadays, The Muppets are one of the things I can point to as pushing me down the path of becoming an artist. The Muppet Movie was a life changing experience for me, and The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my all time favourite movies. That being said, I am not super fond of more modern Muppet material. A part of it is that I don't think the magic is the same, but it could also be that the writing is not as good. So, while I was interested with the new Muppets special, I'll admit, I did have some reservations. How did it all end up?

First and foremost, the original Muppet magic is, I don't want to say gone, but I don't think there is a better word for it. A lot of people would say it was all Jim Henson, but the reality is, especially for people my age, Jim was not a big part of the Muppets. Yes, he was the main guy behind it, and he did build a lot of the puppets, but he also had Jerry Juhl to write for him and a myriad of other amazing performers to bounce off of. Just like the Muppets themselves, there was no One person to make the magic happen. With most of the original team dead, Jerry Juhl having passed in 2005, or have left or been fired, there is no way the original charm of The Muppets can be recaptured. That being said, I think this one came close.

I think this special did a good job in focusing on Gonzo and Pepe, partially because I myself have a bit of trouble really jelling with Matt Vogel as Kermit, but also because it really lets us look into Gonzo's character. I think a lot of us relate to Gonzo because, even in a group like The Muppets, he is an outcast. We know that everyone is a Frog, Bear, Pig, Chicken, Rat, Eagle, Frackle or Gofer. Gonzo has always been described as a "Whatever" or a "Thing", and so when we get to look closer at our favourite Blue Weirdo, it allows us to connect better with him. This is why, while "Rainbow Connection" is my favourite song from the original Muppet Movie, "I'm Going to go Back There Someday" is my favourite scene.

I will also admit, some of the gags made me laugh. I liked the joke Uncle Deadly made regarding King Henry VIII, I think I laughed harder at that one than I was meant to. While I don't think it was as funny as Muppet Treasure Island, come on that is a high bar to reach in the first place. Actually, that is kind of the biggest issue with the special, not the only issue, but the biggest one. No matter how good it is, we will, either intentionally or not, compare it to the previous movies and shows. So, is it as funny as Treasure Island or Great Muppet Caper? No. Is it as heartful as The Muppet Movie or Muppet Christmas Carol? No. If you're expecting it to be, you're not going to enjoy this special as much.

On the topic of problems, while I enjoyed the humour of this special, I will say they did run some gags into the ground. The screaming goat especially became less funny with each use, honestly the same could be said for all the running gags. I was also expecting a bit more from the advertised cameos, I get they're cameos, but they literally just showed up for one song they don't even sing, and then show up at the end to deliver one line. If you want my advice, watch this before you watch the new UP series on Disney+, let Ed Asner's final role be that. I also kind of saw the end reveal coming, but let's be real, there weren't a lot of prominent human characters here, so the choice was pretty slim pickings.

Honestly, I kind of wish this was longer, give us more time to focus on Gonzo's fears, give us more time with the cameos, both human and Muppet kind. There were a few lesser known and forgotten Muppet cameos in this special, which was a nice touch. However, I do have to admit that as a special, it was fine. Maybe it would not have worked as a full movie, especially because, again, Jerry Juhl and a lot of the original Muppet cast are not with the series anymore. I will say that this was the best of the Muppet works done without them. I could not get into the 2011 series or Muppets Now!, but this, I could enjoy. I do recommend it for some spooky fun.

Monster High: 13 Wishes (2013) - Nothing special, but harmless

Well, it's the October month, and that means spooky scary fun and also spooky silly fun. Last year I didn't end up reviewing any kind of spooky movie, I got a copy of The Thief and the Cobbler earlier and I really wanted to talk about it, and I also looked at the Recobbled Cut that same month. So, this year I thought I'd make up for the lack of a spooky review by taking a look at a Monster High movie... Goodie. Well, hey I enjoyed My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I have a soft spot for Jem and the Holograms, and I've watched Ruby Gloom growing up, so maybe this won't be so bad. Also, if you're wondering, I chose 13 Wishes because it is the one I am the most familiar with, in the sense that it was the only one I knew existed and vaguely what it was about. Thanks online internet video game reviewers!

Plotwise it is about the younger sister of Clawdeen Wolf, Howleen (As an aside, I hate these names) finding a magic lantern and summoning a Genie, who gives her thirteen wishes. You can  probably tell where this goes, but to the movie's credit, they do twist your expectations a little bit. First off, this genie has an evil shadow doppelgänger, which is not a part of genies that I have seen before, but also is that while Howleen does begin to make selfish wishes, she actually does start by trying to make others happy. It isn't until she gets bullied by others that the shadow genie begins to manipulate her into using the wishes selfishly. It's actually kind of clever, or it would be if the bullying was more than two sentences. Otherwise, you know what you're going to get with this plot, character gets ultimate power, uses it unwisely and almost puts a great evil in power. The plot is nothing that special.

I think that is my biggest problem with the movie, or should I say, special. Yeah, this would be another "Technically" review, but the movie is over an hour long. Despite that, it really is not written or edited like a movie. Most movies would hold on shots or let scenes linger to really let the weight of the scene take hold, they can do this because they have a rather lengthy time limit to really experiment with. A television show does not have this time to play around with, so emotional scenes have to be done differently. The ending conversation between Pearl and Amethyst in the Steven Universe episode "On The Run" would probably have been written differently if it was for a movie. This movie is not really written or edited like a movie and more like an extended television episode, which I'll be honest, is only a problem if that is not what you're expecting. I hear people complain that some movies based on shows are "Just an extended episode" and I usually never see that, well, now I think I know why, those movies are still written and edited like movies.

Character wise, well... I mean they aren't bad. The main cast are friendly and want to help people, which is nice, Clawdeen is very much the "Big sister", but she doesn't really remind me of my brother like the sister in "Whisper of the Heart" did, in that she doesn't come off like she's trying to be a controlling figure in her younger sibling's life. Gigi the genie is kind of bland, honestly so is the villain Whisp, she's just kind of your basic villain. Howleen is a high school girl, probably freshman, maybe sophomore, I'm sure some Monster High fan is gonna correct me on that one. I dunno, the characters to me never seem to go beyond the basic characteristics that we expect of characters like these. I will say, I do like one of the background characters, just a dude with an eyeball as his head, it's like if someone from The Residents was a cartoon character, and I adore it.

I also have a few criticisms with the voices. For the most part the actors do fine, I never heard a flat read or a bad take in there, but a few of them out on rather generic accents, and Draculaura's voice is clearly pitched up a little, like other people noticed that right? I just found it really distracting. Otherwise, again the voice acting was fine. That is also my opinion of the animation, it isn't bad, it's smooth and has some appeal to it, but television quality 3D animation is never going to look as good as it could.

Really that is the best thing to take away from this review, this is a television movie, and it feels like it. On some level I do have to admire the fact that they didn't try to emulate a theatrical experience. I think if you go into this movie knowing what you're gonna get, you might have a good time. Nothing about this movie is that special, but it isn't terrible, as a whole I can recommend this is a certain type of audience. Hey, there is nothing wrong with a movie that is made for specific audiences. If you want a silly spooky something to put on this Halloween, well I'd recommend other things first, but if you want to try something new, I don't see the harm in this one. I may only slightly recommend it, but it's still a recommendation.

The Great Mouse Detective (1986) - A cute, but also risque kids movie

The 1980s were an interesting time for kids movies. This was the era that Don Bluth was making his movies in, and Disney was also releasing a lot more movies with darker or heavier themes. This seems to have died in the nineties with the Disney Renaissance, personally I pin the blame on how bad The Black Cauldron turned out, but after that mess was released, they made The Great Mouse Detective, which didn't begin the renaissance, but did it put Disney on the right path?

The movie follows Olivia Flaversham who is found by Dr. Dawson and they both find famous detective, Basil of Baker Street to find her father, who has been kidnapped by a servant of the wicked Professor Ratigan, who has a particularly villainous scheme to become ruler of all of mousekind by replacing the Queen. Plotwise, I gotta say it was all rather tight. It flowed really well and at no point was I ever confused about where the plot was going. Every location was gone to for a purpose and the movie does explain why they're going there. I don't think there is really anything here that pads out the plot, even during a seemingly superfluous musical number, they do slip in something that is plot relevant. It is very well done, no plot holes, no confusing parts, probably one of Disney's most well written plot lines.

I do have to add though, this movie does have some moments that are... not as child friendly as kids movies today would be. There are some scarier moments and there is a scene with a character is dressed in typical showgirl attire, yes... showgirl. The movie's opening would probably be scary to some young kids who aren't expecting it. I would say to not show this movie to anyone younger than seven. It is definitely a movie for older kids and parental guidance.

Character wise, I really like the characters here. Basil is eccentric and enthusiastic, thinking about it, he kind of reminds me of something... plus it is clear he isn't very social. Could he be... oh well. Olivia is also very cute, the way she mimics Dawson occasionally is just adorable. However, the character that steals the show is absolutely Professor Ratigan, who is delightfully devilish, and skirts the line of suave and sophisticated baddie, to blood-thirsty brute. A lot of this has to do with the voice performance. Vincent Price does an absolutely delightful job as the villain, just the epitome of slime and vileness that is his voice. The rest of the cast do an excellent job as well, Barrie Ingham and Val Bettin, even some of the smaller roles had good voice work, even if I could tell one of the voices was Alan Young.

Now animation is where the movie really shines. Of course, being a Disney animated feature, it looks brilliant. I would say that some of the faces looked a bit unsettling, but I think that it was done on purpose, to show that Basil can be as crazy as Ratigan. However, I think the most impressive thing about the animation is the incorporation of CGI. While this wasn't the first of the Disney animated canon to incorporate Computer Generated Imagery, and I don't think it is the best incorporation either (Let's be real it is hard to top that one shot from Beauty and the Beast), the CG is still really well done here. It is really obvious, but the cel shaded look of it makes it blend in better than say, the cave of wonders from Aladdin. Otherwise, the rest of the animation is well done, no obvious problems and a really good colour palette.

Overall, I quite enjoyed The Great Mouse Detective. While I don't think that it is one of Disney's greatest, I can admit that it was a cute and fun little movie that had a little bit more of a risque side to it. I think I enjoyed the characters the most, they were engaging to watch and putting them into this really well woven plot and really good animation made this movie a very enjoyable. I didn't mind the darker and more adult moments, I don't think it is the most extreme in that regard, but most of the other dark kids movies of the era were more emotionally dark like An American Tail or more intense like The Secret of NIMH, so I would advise parental guidance when putting this on for kids. Still, it was an enjoyable movie, I can give it a solid recommendation rating.

Whisper of the Heart (1995) - Corny, silly and a total mood movie.

 

I've looked at animated movies from Japan before, but never from the most well known studio, Studio Ghibli, and there was a reason for that. I wanted the first Studio Ghibli film I reviewed to be one that I held close to my heart. I also wanted it to be a special occasion, and while fifty reviews may not seem special, it means a lot to me. So, I want to celebrate by looking at one of my all time favourite movies; Whisper of the Heart.

I feel like Whisper of the Heart gets overshadowed a lot by the other Studio Ghibli movies. When talking about all of them, it's always Totoro, or Spirited Away, or Kiki's Delivery Service, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, or something else. I think most animation fans have that one Studio Ghibli movie that they feel is overlooked by the big names, which is why I wanted to look at Whisper of the Heart first. A large part of why I do this is to shine a light on movies some people may not have checked out, so if you haven't looked at Whisper of the Heart directed by Yoshifumi Kondō, should you?

To describe the story would be difficult, not because the story is complicated, at its core, the story follows Shizuku Tsukishima and follows her as she decides what she wants to do with her life. It is a simple story, but it is so compact and so much happens before the one hour mark. I will say that some of these things don't really get completely resolved, or at least, they're resolved in small and quiet ways. There is a character in the movie that has feelings for Shizuku, but Shizuku's friend has feelings for him, but his friend has feelings for Shizuku's friend. While this plot point does get resolved, it isn't really sent off with much fanfare, it's just kind of over in a couple sentences. Strangely, this doesn't actually make the plot rough or sloppy, and I think I know why. This is probably the best example of a slice of life movie I have ever seen. Think about it, lots of situations in life kind of just stop short at the end. This movie exceeds at that idea, and I feel like this is something that Studio Ghibli captures in a couple of films.

Speaking of which, this movie is corny. It can be corny, silly and really awkward. Normally I would be critical of these scenes, but again, that is life. Life can be awkward, corny and silly. I guess that doesn't really encourage people who hate awkward and corny moments, trust me I get it, but I don't think these scenes are unwatchable. I don't know, maybe I personally relate to the weird kid that shows off their writings to anyone even if it is... really cringey. God why didn't any of my high school teachers slap me upside the head?

Character wise, we have to start with Shizuku. Shizuku Tsukishima is, in my opinion... One of my all time favourite fictional characters. Top five hands down. There are not a lot of characters I feel I can really relate to, but I can really relate to Shizuku. I was probably a couple years older than her when I first saw this movie, but we were both students that enjoyed writing, and while we often found our work to be corny or cringey, we both tried to push ourselves, and we both were still wondering about what we wanted to do with ourselves. Even without all of that, I enjoy her cheer and optimism, but she isn't totally optimistic, she has her outbursts of anger, she gets overly emotional, she has self doubt. None of this distracts us from the fact that this is the same character that excitedly followed a cat into an antique shop though, it really does feel like we are watching a real person. Shizuku is also a total mood character for me and it is awesome.

To round out the other character, Shizuku's parents are... fine, maybe a bit unrealistically lenient, but not too bad. The old man who runs the antique shop is very warm and friendly, Shizuku's sister reminds me too much of my brother from when we were younger to really like, and Shizuku's friends are very realistic, poking some fun at her, but also being concerned for each other. You can see two of them go from playfully having some fun to being concerned for Shizuku, just by the expression of their faces. The only other character to really note is Seiji, and I'm going to be honest, I only ever came across a character like this once, and that was Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars, a character you just started off wanting to punch in his smug, git face, but by the end you actually kind of like.

I think the dubbing cast did a great job too. I know I should have watched this in the original Japanese language, but, come on The Dread Pirate Roberts himself voices the coolest cat ever! In fact, this cat was so cool, that The Cat Returns was made, and I am convinced it was entirely to give us more of Carey Elwes as the Baron.

On a technical level, this movie is beautiful. The animation, well it is Studio Ghibli animation, so it is really good. Characters are well designed and I didn't notice any errors. What is more interesting to talk about thought is the music, or the lack of music. One of my Twitter mutuals, PowerLoud Girl made a tweet a while ago calling Studio Ghibli movies a form of ASMR, and yeah I totally get it. Studio Ghibli movies do tend to be a lot quieter, and in this movie, often the only background noise you get is literal background noise. Echoing footsteps, the sounds of bugs, even some bits of dialogue, which you can make out more often than not. I think that is a really nice touch. When there is background music, it can be really good, and I think the best example is the music in the antique shop. I think it's a harpsichord, but correct me if I'm wrong, but whatever instrument it is, it really does sell this scene as being right out of a fantasy story.

On some level, I really should hate this movie. It is slow paced, corny and awkward, and has a very compact and hard to outline plot. That being said, I love the atmosphere of the settings, I love the character relationships, I love Shizuku's character, I love the animation, I love the Baron, I love a lot of this movie. Upon a critical viewing, this movie does have some flaws, but I don't think they are movie breaking. I really do think this is a movie that anyone who wants to go into an artistic field should see. This movie almost, defies being reviewed by my typical style, and I am super glad I saved it for this occasion. It is one of my all time favourite movies, and I highly recommend it.