Editorial: 10 Disney remakes I would actually go and see

 

With the whole Mulan debacle happening, I think it's safe to say that many of us do not want to support Disney's endless overmilking of their nostalgic properties while ignoring stuff we might actually want to see. However, given that Disney has an extensive catalog of releases, even before taking into account all the stuff they have acquired over the years, it's safe to say that they will be remaking their movies basically until we stop giving them money to support them. Some Disney remakes however, I did choose to see in theatres, Dumbo looked like it would be pretty good (It wasn't), Aladdin was a movie I was bad mouthing on social media so I thought I'd give it a fair shake (It wasn't... awful) and The Lion King was an animated movie so I had to see it regardless. However, this got me thinking, what Disney movies would I go see their remakes in theatres?

Let's be honest, it's not that Disney is remaking their old movies that is the problem, it's the implication of their views of animation coupled with the fact that they seem to heavily be banking on the nostalgia of these movies rather than focusing on giving some movies a second chance. Also, Disney's attempt at a monopoly on entertainment, but everyone brings that up. So, if Disney were to remake some movies, yeah I'd totally go see them in theatres, and here are a few that I would see just on concept alone.

Keep in mind, these are movies I would see if they were remade into animation or live-action, so no Song of the South or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as those movies need to have some characters and segments animated. Also, I'm not saying that all of these would be good ideas, just that I would see them and pay the fifteen or so dollars for the ticket. This is not a top ten list, this is just a list, and I'm not saying these remakes will happen, honestly I'm hoping they don't happen, but if they do, I wouldn't mind seeing them. With that said, let's begin and restate the fact that these don't have to be good ideas for me to check them out...

10. The Fox and the Hound

Case in point, The Fox and the Hound from 1981. Remaking this movie into live action would be a terrible idea, as it would just be The Lion King all over again, animated characters on a live-action setting. So, why is it on this list if I wouldn't like a live action remake, as per my own rules? Well, I want to remind you this is a list of Disney remakes I would see and... Well, I would kind of have an obligation to see a remake of this one, The Fox and the Hound is in my top three favourite of the Disney animated canon.

One part of me just wants to see how much it could be inferior to the original, but at the same time, I agree that the original movie could have been a lot stronger, and a remake would be a perfect opportunity to make the movie stronger. Of course, I don't think the movie would look as good in 3D animation, but even then, I'd still see it. I'd love to cry at how much they messed up one of my favourites.

9. Alice in Wonderland

I know that Disney already did a remake of Alice in Wonderland, in fact many will point to the 2010 film as the start of the "Live-Action Remake Trend", but is it really fair to say that was a remake? It was more akin to a sequel, and it took more from the second book, which left me confused when they announced the sequel to the sequel/remake... my head hurts.

Anyway, the point is, I think we can discount the already existing remake, I mean, Disney already did with The Jungle Book, which they did in 1994. Besides, there is so much you can do with Alice in Wonderland, I think Disney can have another go at this story, maybe make it closer to the book, or maybe have it be a feature length Fantasia segment, or do something in between. I really think that we can let the existing remake slide if another remake ends up being pretty good.

8. The Reluctant Dragon

Yeah, here's a classic Disney film right? Honestly, I'm really thinking that Disney could really make this one a proper full length feature film, like, just nix all the stuff about making a cartoon and the studio tour and just have the movie be about a dragon that's really kind and the knight who has to prove the dragon's innocence. This is the kind of movie that Disney should be remaking, as it's old enough to warrant it and has the potential to reestablish the characters to newer audiences.

7. Hercules

Hercules is one of the most visually interesting movies Disney has ever done. The visual style is a neat mix of traditional Disney art, along side Gerald Scarfe as the production designer, it is a very interesting movie in the visual sense, I'd be very interested in seeing what they could do with the visual style in 3D animation or even Live-Action.

Barring that however, the tales of Hercules are always good ones to retell, I mean, check out Overly Sarcastic Productions' video on Hercules for a good example. If Disney could do a proper retelling of Hercules, that would also be quite welcomed. This is a remake I'd see on two accounts, either the movie will be just as, or even more visually interesting, or the movie will be a more faithful telling of the Hercules legends, and I'd enjoy either honestly. Even if they don't get James Woods to do Hades again.

6. The Emperor's New Groove

Now, when I say "The Emperor's New Groove", I'm not actually talking about the early 2000s movie that I reviewed previously on this blog. You see, the movie we got is a far cry from the movie that it was intended to be. Originally planned as "Kingdom of the Sun" and more inline with "The Prince and the Pauper", the original movie seems like it would make for an interesting movie, and even one in line with the Disney Renaissance, but sadly the film had production issues and was completely overhauled into the end result which, while not bad and is really funny, not the film that could have been.

After I heard about "Kingdom of the Sun", I thought that at the very least, it would have made for an interesting stage show, but no, it seems that all we're left with is stories of what could have been, and a movie that marked the end of the Renaissance.

5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

It's odd, you would think that the film to start it all would have been an immediate pick for remaking. I know this pick may seem a bit blasphemous, but when you hear the cut content from the original pitch, you'll see my point. Apparently, there was a big subplot about the Prince that was cut from the movie, and it explains how he knew where to find Snow White and the Dwarfs. It would be pretty cool to see this in film and not just in comic, and if you want more information about what was cut from the film, I recommend this video by Colin LooksBack.

According to the Disney Wiki, a large part as to why this movie doesn't have sequels or remakes is because Bob Iger considers this movie untouchable, so this one may or may not happen, but if it does, I would happily see it.

4. Chicken Little

This movie has a nasty reputation, many calling it the worst movie, not just animated movie, that Disney has ever put out. It's been a long time since I last saw this movie, so I can't say for myself, but I can say, you can make this movie good Disney, just try again!

3. Meet the Robinsons

Personally, I think the Disney company should really consider the theme of this movie a lot more.

That really is a large part as to why I think this movie should be remade, the theme and message are just so good and very important to learn. "Keep Moving Forward" was one of Disney's philosophies, and it took him far, sadly, the company now has seemed to forget the sentiment and are churning out blatant cash grabs pandering to nostalgia... no, the irony is not lost on me.

Still though, with a movie with a good message, and a really creative setting, I think many would be willing to give this movie a second chance if it were remade.

2. Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet is a film that a lot of people my age grew up with and have a fondness for. It's a movie that has garnered a well deserved cult following since release and I think Disney would be foolish not to tap into this fanbase at least once.

I mean, it is 17th century aesthetics in a futuristic setting, immediately an interesting combination. Plus, some really good character relationships, and some pretty great action scenes, if they fixed up a few points they might have a really great movie on their hands, and that's saying something because this movie is already pretty great. Plus, if it does well, we might get to see that sequel that got shelved... wink!

1. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Come on, you knew this would be number one. Of all the movies Disney has made, it seems the one that everybody would like to see, or at least would understand being remade is this one, and for good reason, like Treasure Planet, it is a movie a lot of people have a fondness for, but also didn't do so well financially or critically. It is almost a crime that Disney hasn't considered remaking this movie, or even trying again with the concept. It seems like many people would be okay with this movie being remade, both to get the original some more attention, but also to have a second go and make the movie more than the original.

I think that is a large part as to why a movie should be remade, if it didn't do so hot or wasn't the best, it can be given a second chance. Maybe it just needed a few more rewrites, or maybe the cast wasn't well chosen, or the characters were too weak. I brought up the same point in my First Impressions of "Animal Crackers", I could see something good, but it just needed another rewrite, and that's why I hate Disney's refusal to remake anything other than movies like "Cinderella", "The Lion King" or "Beauty and the Beast", these films were well received, financial successes and are still loved to this day, they didn't need another rewrite, and yeah, not all of these movies need that rewrite either, but if they were remade, I'd still go see them, whether or not I would anticipate them is another story, but that wasn't what this post was about, this was just a small selection of movies that, if they happened to be remade, I'd watch and see how they turned out.

I don't expect many to agree with me, so I'd love to hear what you think, what Disney movie would you see in theatres if it got a remake? Feel free to leave a comment below, this has been The Entity of Darkness, and I'll see you next time at my humble Odeon.

Gulliver's Travels (1939) - A movie that feels like a theatrical short

The history of animation in cinema is almost as long as the history of cinema itself. However, to simplify matters, the first animated film that we know about dates back to the late 1800s, but the earliest surviving film dates back to 1900, it was a stop motion film titled "Humourous Phases of Funny Faces" and it's a really fascinating short. Following that, the story is pretty known by many people, Winsor McCay and Gertie the Dinosaur, Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat and in 1917 in Argentina the first ever animated movie was released titled "El Apostol", sadly it has become lost to time, and the oldest surviving animated feature dates ahead to 1926 with "The Adventures of Prince Achmed". Most of the films from this time have been lost, but a handful do survive, including one film from 1937 titled "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", a major success for Disney and an inspiration for animation in the future, in fact, one studio known as Fleischer Studios was hoping to duplicate the success of Snow White by making their own feature in 1939, a movie simply known as "Gulliver's Travels".

This is probably the oldest non-Disney animated movie in my collection, so I was interested in seeing this one. A lot of people throw heaps of praise onto Snow White, and fairly so it is a wonderful movie, and people are starting to know more about Lotte Reiniger and her movie "The Adventures of Prince Achmed", but it seems nobody acknowledges this movie. Is that fair? Yes... No... Maybe... Well, let's take a look.

Plotwise, it's a telling of the sailor Gulliver and his time in the land of Lilliput. I've never really read the full Gulliver story, so I'd have to assume this is mostly accurate. The plot doesn't have any major plot holes or massive glaring issues, but I do have to wonder, this whole conflict was started because the king's could not decide on what song to sing at the wedding of the prince and princess, why didn't either of them think to sing them both, or a medley of the two, I thought of that before Gulliver woke up. Actually that is a bit of another thing, the opening of this movie is just so padded. First we see Gulliver wash up on the shore, then we see a Lilliputian walk up to him, but we see his whole walk and get a song number. We also get a dumb bit of comedy where they walk onto Gulliver and take time finding out that they're standing on the giant they we're meant to be looking for. We also get to see every last detail of how they tie Gulliver up, load him onto a cart and pull him into the city. I guess the latter could be necessary to show, it does show how these characters solve this problem, but it's just not fun to watch. Honestly that is a big problem with this movie, a lot of the scenes just aren't fun to watch.

I almost hate to do this, since I don't think this is really fair to do, but in Snow White there is a scene which serves little to the plot. It's when the dwarfs are playing music and dancing with Snow White. It leads into the song "Someday My Prince Will Come", but other than that it could be cut, but we'd miss it because it's a really entertaining scene. I don't want to compare this movie to Snow White too much, I think every movie, even response films like this, should have the chance to stand on their own. Still, I can't help but make the comparison sometimes.

Character wise... this movie doesn't have no character, but they're just not very strong. You've got one character named Gabby who is, as his name would imply, always talking. Gulliver is your standard kind soul character, not unlike Snow White, but even then the comparison isn't too apt. While Snow White is generally kind and nice, we do see her be bossy in the film, demanding the Dwarfs wash their hands before they eat. When Gulliver is scolding the kings, his tone isn't really different from the rest of the movie. I guess that's a fault with the acting and directing, but it is a good point to bring up. Even the Princess, when she speaks it's just an offhanded remark, she doesn't even sound concerned when the Prince is going to divert the gunshot away from Gulliver. One thing I do like is that the other king, King Bombo genuinely doesn't seem like he wants to go to war. You can see it in his face that he's having second thoughts, but has to keep up appearances to his men.

Speaking of that, the animation is for the most part, really good. You can see all the small details of the tension of ropes tightening around Gulliver, or the light of lanterns seeping through the gaps between the bridge boards. The rubber hose animation of the little people is energetic and really well done. I think Gulliver was done in rotoscope, but if not you can still tell that his animation style is different from the rest. I can't say it mixes particularly well, but it's not distracting so I can give it a pass. I should note that I have this movie on VHS and the tape has most likely deteriorated a bit, even then though, looking at better resolution clips online the palette is nothing special, there aren't really any moments that impressed me with the visual beauty of the scene. That said, I think this has one of the first low angle shots in an animated feature, or one of the earliest anyway, you don't see these kind of shots in animated films at this time, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

The movie also has a few song numbers, and they aren't really special. I actually think the background score is better. With all this in mind, I can't help but get the feeling this was just a theatrical short, but with a feature length run time, like they treated this movie as just a feature length theatrical short. I mean, it looks and sounds like a theatrical short, it ends like a theatrical short, it's even kind of paced like a  theatrical short. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised but then you think about it, Snow White didn't have this same feeling, it looked and sounded like it's own movie. Don't get me wrong, I love theatrical shorts, Pink Panther and Goofy cartoons are two of my favourites, but they work best at seven to ten minutes, not feature length, some would even say not twenty-one minutes like some Disney Snowmen get.

that is kinda where my feelings towards this movie stand. Is it a good movie, kinda, but at the same time not really. If you have little kids then maybe they'll enjoy it. It is kind of the same emotional storytelling of Snow White, but it looks and feels like a theatrical short. There are lots of good theatrical shorts out there to show kids who are into cartoons, again I'm really partial to Pink Panther shorts myself, and their are lots of really good movies to show. I guess this one has just aged, which is probably the reason that this film has kind of become obscure. Snow White has aged but is still mostly timeless, you can watch it today and still find some enjoyment. Gulliver's Travels has good elements, some wonderful animation, good gags and a fairly solid plot, but it's got some flaws that did hold my enjoyment back a bit. The voice acting, the forgettable songs, the bland characters. I don't think this is a bad movie per se, but it isn't particularly great. I think it's worth checking out if your curious.

First Impressions: Animal Crackers (2020... ish)

Well, it's nice to finally see this movie, kinda sorta. Yeah, you saw that "ish" in the title, and that's because, well this movie was technically a 2017 release. The history of this movie is interesting, but I don't really know all the details myself. What I do know is that this movie was released in a film festival in 2017, and according to Wikipedia in 2018 it had a release in China, but it would become a Netflix Original this year. For sake of consistency and to make this easier on myself, I will refer to this as a 2020 release, I know that isn't technically accurate, but lots of movies get weird releases, like Norm of the North 2.

There are three things you never want your movie to be, boring, offensive and disappointing. A boring movie leaves you with nothing to talk about, an offensive movie will make viewers angry, and a disappointing movie, no matter how good it is, will never be as good as it could have been. Animal Crackers in none of those, it is another category all together, a "Film that could have been good."

I'm serious, there are good elements in this movie, the animation is wonderful, good colour palette, no obvious mistakes, some nice small details as well, I think the scene where I knew that the animation of this movie was going to be this movie's strong point was in the opening where our lead character is talking to his fiancé, you can tell by the acting and facial animation that he is not thrilled about this, in fact, the acting isn't that bad either. There are LOTS of recognizable voices in this movie, Patrick Warburton, Gilbert Gottfried, Wallace Shawn, Sir Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, but a lot of the other cast members are not too bad. Emily Blunt is of course wonderful, I think she's slowly becoming my favourite actress, John Krasinski did a good job, Tara Strong was excellent, Hell, I could barely recognize Sylvester Stallone. My props goes out to the voice director and the actors of this movie, because they did not have the best material to work with.

Honestly, when I say that this film could have been good, I do mean it. The movie has some moments that are genuinely cute. Like when the lead proposes with a clown nose, like, that was adorable. Or when he turns into a bear to protect his daughter from monsters, like there are elements of a good movie here. I've said before that good emotional scenes are the bare minimum for any movie, I think ultimately, the movie I said that about, Next Gen, another Netflix Original, had so little to offer, that even the good scenes felt lesser. With this movie, I can see some bits of quality edging through the... quite honestly awful writing.

The writing kills this movie, and not even that this movie is unfunny, though yes it is very unfunny, but there is just so much wrong with the writing. Patrick Warburton's character (Who is named Brock, making this the second Brock with monstrous pecks he's voiced), is the cringiest character I've ever seen, and a lot of that is because... well... he's kind of an... uncomfortable character, always getting up close and whispering, I felt unclean watching his scenes. Also, this movie falls under the category of "Pseudo-musicals" where, they have song numbers, but it never reaches more than three, and the two song numbers in this movie are not really good, but, I've heard worse, trust me, it's hard to top the PlayMobil movie in how bad your movie can be.

The worst thing about the writing though is, there are a lot of plot holes. I don't know if I can remember them all, but here are a couple I can remember.

1. Why is Brock trying to sabotage our lead's project? This project could literally make the company millions, and he's trying to sabotage it? Why?
2. How many people at the circus knew about the crackers? They don't appear shocked when our lead turns into animals, so they obviously knew a little about them. Why didn't they see if the blue dog and cat with the choker were the people they held the funeral for? Or was this a Dumbledore plan in the end?
3. Who the Hell is our lead's parents? He refers to the circus owners, the people that could have been his parents, as uncle and aunt, and the only relative we are aware of for either of those two that could be his parent, makes no reference to being his father, so where are they?

Honestly, the rest of the movie isn't bad, it's just the unfunny humour and sloppy story that drag this movie down. I know this movie had a troubled history, but at least one more rewrite and this movie could have been good, at least a slight recommendation. As it is, I just... I can see a good movie in here, I can see the talent that went into this movie, but as a whole, I can recommend this very much, but on the bright side, they didn't make something as bad as PlayMobil the Movie.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000) - A film that is much better than you'd think

I'll be honest, I kinda left picking a movie for this month until the last minute, so my only reason for wanting to review this movie is because it is one of my favourite animated movies ever. In my list of favourite films in the Disney animated canon, this is up their with Robin Hood, and Treasure Planet, top six material including The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, I must ask, why do I love this film so much? It can't just be nostalgia, even though this is a movie I watched a lot as a kid, but their got to be something that holds up right? Well, let's find out.

On the eve of his birthday, Emperor Kuzco tells the leader of a local village, Pacha, that he will destroy his village in order to build himself a summer home, complete with waterslide! Meanwhile, his ex-advisor, an old woman named Yzma, and her henchman Kronk, devise a plot to kill him, but to save on postage go with a plan B that ends up turning the Emperor into a llama. After he gets taken from the palace and ends up with Pacha again, he tries to get help getting back to the palace, but Pacha wants him to build his summer home elsewhere. Meanwhile, Yzma and Kronk are searching for him, trying to kill him when they see him.

I'm gonna be honest, the plot kind of flies by in this movie. That isn't a bad thing, in many ways it's a good thing, as it shows how tightly woven and solid the plot is, allowing the plot to progress without filler. I think the only problem with a fast paced plot is that the movie feels shorter than it actually is. The movie is an hour and eighteen minutes, but it kind of feels like you're only sitting down for ten minutes. My dad says that's the sign of an amazing movie, so take that as you may. Personally, I do find the plot to be really solid and simple to follow, so I'll give it marks for that, even if it is a bit paint-by-numbers.

Character wise you're mostly focusing on four characters, Pacha and Kuzco, and Yzma and Kronk. Pacha is your standard kind hearted protagonist, but he does have a temper that shows when he's pushed too far. I especially like how they don't bother to hide this until the big fall out scene, they show this pretty early in the movie, it's interesting. Kuzco is the main character, and the one that goes through the big character arc. Personally, I tend to hate really arrogant brats like Kuzco, which is why, even though I love the show Archer, I do struggle to recommend it because of just how much of a prat Archer himself is. On the Arrogant Prat Meter, I'd put Kuzco in the lower-mid tier, he's not as bad as Archer or Brian Griffen, but he's not as good as say... Squidward. However, the characters that really steal the show are Yzma and Kronk. They are up their with Prince John and The Queen of Hearts as some of Disney's most entertaining bad guys. They work off each other pretty well, have lots of funny moments and are perfectly portrayed by Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton.

Speaking of humour, this movie is really funny. I don't think this is one of the cleverest comedies ever written, in fact a lot of the humour is pretty dumb, but there is some subtle humour too, like in the opening where Kuzco has a massive entry way carved into a wall, complete with engravings, patterns and gold. There is also some really interesting fourth wall breaks in this movie, I'd probably say two of most famous fourth wall breaks in any movie. I don't think it's a stretch to say this movie doesn't take itself seriously, it has it's serious moments, but even they need some silly pause or a character talking with the overhead narrator in them to lighten the mood. Even the Muppets know when to make it serious for a minute, but this is a very different movie to The Muppet Movie. I think this lack of a serious attitude benefits the film anyway, as there is a lot of modern speak in this movie. I've talked about this with Klaus, but the difference is that Klaus took itself seriously, the crew behind that movie wanted to make something fantastic, where the crew behind this film, it feels like they just wanted to make a silly movie that was entertaining, so I'll let the modern talk slide.

I think this movie's strongest point is the animation. Not that this movie is as beautiful as Treasure Planet, or as aesthetically please as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but there is a lot of subtlety in the facial animations. You get subtle facial expressions that last less than a second, and you can read the characters thoughts just by looking at their face. One of my favourite characters is the waitress at that diner, you can tell by her face she knows there is a llama in the building, but just doesn't care. She doesn't get paid enough to deal with talking llamas. That being said though, that animation is still really good, there were not obvious animation errors, and the artstyle was clean, smooth and pleasant to look at. The movie has a lot of different shades of green, which make the jungles and fields look really lush, but the lighting also really fits the tone. When Kuzco is running for his life, the sky is a vicious red and the grounds are dark and shadowy. Disney has been making animation for around seventy-seven years by this point so if any studio would know how to do animation it would be Disney.

Overall, I would totally say that The Emperor's New Groove is one of my favourite animated movies. While it isn't groundbreaking, or even that special or noteworthy, it is very, very entertaining. The plot is solid, the characters are solid and the humour is excellent. In my top five Disney Animated Canon films, I'd put this one at number four, just below Treasure Planet, I much prefer that film for it's characters and visuals, but if you want a good laugh, you're going to find it with this movie. I'd put this film just shy of a High Recommendation, but it is still one of my favourites, if you passed this movie up, it might be worth checking out.

And no, I did not order a giant trampoline!

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.