#Emploi CGI

[mias-deardens]

Finally watched The Flash movie and I absolutely hated that ending. I feel like DC has always had a healthy relationship with the concept of the multiverse and alternate universes, but this just felt like they were trying to copy marvel. If they wanna reboot the franchise with half the same actors, just do it. The Suicide Squad did it and there’s no reason The Flash couldn’t have done the same thing. They literally could’ve kept the entire movie the same but not have George Clooney at the end and it would’ve been fine, but no, they just had to keep it in one reality.

[romancelvr]

How Dead Boy Detectives is free from NG

I realize the title is a bit eyebrow raising, but I am here to lay out how Dead Boy Detectives, both the comic and TV have actually very little to do with NG. His name as of late has (rightly) been dragged through the mud, but Dead Boy Detectives in actuality does not deserve to be dragged down with him. 

To start with: the comics. Charles and Edwin made their first appearance in Sandman # 25 in 1991. They weren’t associated with the name “Dead Boy Detectives” until the Children’s Crusade arc starting in 1993. 

Starting in 2001, these characters were written exclusively by Ed Brubaker and Jill Thompson with no contributions or writing by NG. It wasn’t until 2013 they were granted their own comic series. It was ordered by Vertigo and written by Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham. They were the writers that created and introduced Crystal Palace. 

Most important THIS was the comic series the show is based off of. NG didn’t write or work on this comic series at all. When the comic series was originally published both Toby and Mark were interviewed about expanding these characters away from the Sandman comics. 

Their work is the basis of the show we’ve all grown to love. Back before the show debuted in January 2024 Toby was even interviewed about how excited he was to see Crystal on screen as she was a character HE created. 

Regarding the show, Steve Yockey was the one who approached WB/DC about the series and bought the rights to the show himself. 

Backing this up is per copyright holdings for DBD, the show is entirely owned by WB where Steve is employed with an ongoing deal that started in 2022. 

On NG’s tumblr he himself stated multiple times he had nothing to do with the show, that it is entirely Steve Yockey’s. 

In summation, despite the fact that these characters debuted and were in a few issues of Sandman, NG has had nothing to do with them since 1994. In regards to money, which I know is the hot button issue for everyone, if NG makes money it would be a very small amount, if indeed he makes any at all.

For nearly 30 years these characters have had a life of their own, and deserve to stand on their own merit. Starting with the many wonderful writers who gave them their own voices in the comics, to the writers of the show and finally the cast who brought them to life onscreen. 

Please grant them that respect and don’t drag them in with NG they do not deserve it. 

UPDATE 9/7/2024

I wanted to add further evidence my friend was kind enough to send me regarding this matter. Doing a search for NG on this site: https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First the US Copyright database verifies NG OWNS NOTHING of Dead Boy Detectives.

Not the characters, their names, anything even from the comics back in the 90s. If you want to search and check yourself feel free to on the link above. I just wanted everyone to know this as I'm not giving up on saving this show.

[gael-garcia]

SAG-AFTRA deal on AI is looking terrible, actually 😬

#SAG Actors, I want to make you aware of some of the language in the #AI portion of the tentative SAG agreement.

Though SAG leadership made much effort to protect members in AI, there are many issues you should look at. I have saved the most serious issue for the end. 1/

If a “digital double” is made of you during a film, they must get your consent and inform you of their intentions for its use, EXCEPT "when the photography or sound track remains substantially as scripted, performed and/or recorded.”2/

This is going to be left up to the studios/streamers’ interpretation. And so, any subtlety regarding how you chose to look or move for the character during the shoot could potentially be changed. Your hair, your clothes, your make-up, etc. 3/

Also, your physical placement in a scene can be changed, like your nearness or distance from another character, or even moving you from the front seat of a car "to the back seat of the car." This suggests not much agency on your part to control your character or performance. 4/

Under “(Digital Double) Use Other Than in the Motion Picture for Which the Performer Was Employed,” it says that "No additional compensation shall be required for use of an Employment-Based Digital Replica that was created in connection with employment of a performer who was… 5/

… employed under Schedule F.” It appears that if you were paid Schedule F for the first film, you don’t get paid for the sequels, where they’re just using your digital double instead of you. I suggest members get sharp clarity on this. 6/

If a “digital double” was made of you in a separate manner (on another film or privately made by you), it's referred to as an “independently created digital replica” (ICDR). There is no minimum compensation listed for studios/streamers to use an ICDR of you in… 7/

… any film they want; only consent. You will apparently need to negotiate any compensation on your own. 8/

Neither consent nor compensation is necessary to use your “digital double” if the project is "comment, criticism, scholarship, satire or parody, a docudrama, or historical or biographical work.” So, you could find yourself in a project you never consented to… 9/

…doing things you never were informed of, for no compensation at all. This is the “First Amendment” argument the #GAI tech companies are fond of trotting out. 10/

Another consent exemption is granted to "adjusting lip and/or other facial or body movement and/or the voice of the performer to a foreign language, or for purposes of changes to dialogue or photography necessary for license or sale to a particular market. 11/

The substitution of swear words is not new, but that your “body movements” would be changed suggests you’ll be used like a type of rag doll in post-production. 12/

There are still a few concerns with the Background Performers’ details, but there’s one that stands out as especially sad. "If the Producer uses a background actor’s Background Actor Digital Replica in the role of a principal performer, the background actor shall be paid… 13/

…the minimum rate for a performer… had (they) performed those scene(s) in person.” So, if an extra is “bumped up” to a principal cast member, they never get to experience that position on a set. But you get a check after the fact. 14/

And the most serious issue of them all is the inclusion in the agreement of “Synthetic Performers,” or “AI Objects,” resembling humans. This gives the studios/streamers a green-light to use human-looking AI Objects instead of hiring a human actor. 15/

It’s one thing to use GAI to make a King Kong or a flying serpent (though this displaces many VFX/CGI artists), it is another thing to have an AI Object play a human character instead of a real actor. To me, this inclusion is an anathema to a union contract at all. 16/

This is akin to SAG giving a thumbs-up for studios/streamers using non-union actors. This would be like the @Teamsters putting in their contract that it’s A-OK for the employer to utilize self-driving trucks instead of them. 17/

@Teamsters I find it baffling that a union representing human actors would give approval of those same actors being replaced by an AI Object. And don’t forget, those AI Objects are a mash-up of all actors' past performances, adding insult to injury. 18/

@Teamsters Bottomline, we are in for a very unpleasant era for actors and crew. The use of “digital doubles” alone will reduce the number of available jobs, because bigger name actors will have the opportunity to double or triple-book themselves on multiple projects at once. 19/

@Teamsters The use of these “digital doubles” will most likely preclude the need of a set or the use of many @IATSE crew and @Teamster drivers. 20/

@Teamsters @IATSE @Teamster Audition odds will change. Winning an audition could become very difficult, because you will not just be competing with the available actors who are your type, but you will now compete with every actor, dead or alive, who has made their “digital double” available for rent … 21/

@Teamsters @IATSE @Teamster … in a range of ages to suit the character. You also will be in competition with an infinite number of AI Objects that the studios/streamers can freely use. And a whole cast of AI Objects instead of human actors eliminates the need for a set or any crew at all. 22/

@Teamsters @IATSE @Teamster You are a complex & remarkable human. Don’t let the CEOs convince you otherwise. Seek out filmmakers & showrunners who value your basic worth & committed to human workers on their projects. These are the ones who will make work that matters. We’re going to be OK. Just hold on. /

[sirfrogsworth]

There is literally CGI in all 4 pictures.

Denis Villeneuve is proof that CGI can be done well if you prioritize and fund it properly. He is proof that marrying practical and CG elements usually gets you the best results. And he is proof that there is no "better" technique, just the right tool for the right job.

This anti-CGI crusade hurts artists and it will hurt movies. Practical effects were very limiting. And while people have very fond memories of Star Wars and Indiana Jones (which had nearly infinite funding for those days) and a handful of movies from the 70s and 80s that also had spectacular practical special effects, there were countless other films that did not employ practical effects well at all. Most movies back then had very shaky effects that were just as immersion-breaking as bad CGI in modern films.

For every E.T. you had 10 Mac & Me's.

That was basically one of two expressions that puppet could make.

Blade Runner 2049 had 1200 VFX shots and if you think that movie was "all practical" you are actually just confirming how amazing CGI can be and how vital these amazing artists are.

[yurimother]

Yuri Anime Review - Whisper Me a Love Song Series Premiere

A delightful school romance that captures unfettered joy and attraction

2023 was nothing short of an incredible year for Yuri anime, packed with an astonishing lineup of new offerings, including Yuri Is My Job!, Stardust Telepath, The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess, I’m in Love with a Villainess, my personal favorite, the runaway success that was The Magical Revolution Of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady and of course the continuation and conclusion of the surprise Yuri sci-fi Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. Whisper Me a Love Song has the unenviable task of following up and providing a cap on this unprecedented boom of Yuri anime. The adaptation of Eku Takeshima’s high school romance manga was initially announced alongside many of the aforementioned works. However, it ended up being delayed from its initial January debut for various reasons, not the least of which was the switch in directors from Xin Ya Cai to Akira Mano.

Further compounding the pressure on this series is the comparisons it will draw to Bloom Into You, one of the most beloved and well-received Yuri series of all time. Now, these comparisons are mostly unfair, as Bloom Into You had the mighty weight of Kadokawa’s marketing behind it, although, to be fair, Whisper Me a Love Song’s campaign has been no slouch. Moreover, the two series are very different, save for their shared high school setting and Yuri romance. Bloom Into You was a slow-burn romance that leaned into shounen drama, while Whisper Me a Love Song takes a noticeably lighter tone and incorporates more slice of life elements. It does not help that the Whisper Me a Love Song manga debuts the same year that Bloom Into You concluded its serialized run and would go on to replace the latter as the top Yuri series in many audiences’ eyes, and for myself, would go onto fill the same niche of an extended high school romance. All this is to say that the expectations around Whisper Me a Love Song are unreasonably mammoth. However, the anime’s debut episode assured us that we are in for a warm and harmonious display of young love.

The Welcome Concert

The show begins as Himari Kino (Hana Shimano) wakes up for her first day of high school. At a welcome ceremony for new students, she witnesses the light music club band, SSGIRLS, perform their song "Humming Love,” and the temporary lead vocalist, Yori Asanagi (Asami Seto), instantly enchants her. This scene catalyzes the series’ ongoing story and helps highlight some of the most critical aspects and features of this adaptation: the music and the animation. 

Whisper Me a Love Song does not set the world on fire visually, boasting animation that, at its best moments, can be described as “pretty good.” Yet, it does more than a serviceable job, smartly utilizing its resources and clever framing that keeps the viewer’s attention and makes the story easy to follow while saving on animation. There are some flaws, such as stiffer animation during dialogue-heavy scenes and the noticeable use of 3D CGI elements for background characters and objects, like flower petals. However, these do not distract from the narrative nor detract from one’s enjoyment. However there are positives as well to point out here.

For one, the series does a fantastic job with its lighting, applying generous highlights to characters’ faces and hair, enhancing their features, and preventing them from coming across visually as flat or simplistic. The frequent use of a light, soft background that bathes the subjects in a warm glow matches this choice, and they work together in tandem to help convey the anime’s light and happy tone. The anime occasionally employs this lighting to accentuate story beats, such as when Yori peaks through the curtain at the crowd, casting most of her body in shadow as she worries about performing in front of such a large crowd.

This welcome ceremony has noticeably different animation than the rest of the episode. Here, the members of SSGIRLS are injected with an electric sense of movement, playing their instruments with enthusiasm and energy that honestly felt jarring when compared to the more limited shorts of Himari reacting to the performance. Given its importance in the story and the fact that the anime reuses this scene for the opening theme, it is clear why the animation was given more attention and resources. However, and I am likely in the minority here, I actually dislike it for this reason. The heavily referenced footage stands out a bit too much, especially given that it is intercut with more straightforward static shots of Himari, creating a jarring effect that pulls focus away from the characters and their feelings.

The Musical Advantage

Where the series did not disappoint me is musically. In recent years, Yuri works have drawn more and more from musical-themed settings, including Hello, Melancholic!, The Moon on a Rainy Night, and Amongst Us, not to mention the myriad of “Yuri-ish” musical series. However, the apparent disconnect is that manga and webtoons are visual mediums devoid of sound and score. While some titles, such as  After Hours and The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, mitigate this flaw by releasing companion playlists or soundtracks, it is not the same as incorporating the music into the product itself.

Here, Whisper Me a Love Song’s jump to animation truly adds to the experience, elevating it above its source material. Himari’s instantaneous infatuation is so much more believable when we, the viewers, can experience the music alongside her; her “loving” obsession with Yori made that much more real because we also hear the upperclassman’s performance, provided by Kana Sasakura’s wonderful singing voice. Studios Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory are, of course, aware of music’s central role in the story and have done it justice, giving the fictitious SSGirls multiple chances to shine, not just in the episode itself but also in performing the opening theme, “Follow Your Arrows.”

Returning to the episode, after the welcome ceremony, Himari runs into Yori and begins to fangirl over her, confessing that she “fell in love at first sight.” Yori is stunned by this sudden confession and taken with Himari’s cuteness and openness. After confiding in her bandmates, she realizes that she has fallen in love, much to the other’s delight.

Supporting Characters Steal the Show

These conversations are excellent, as they give us the chance to get to see more of the series’ other characters. Like the original manga, Whisper Me a Love Song has a terrific supporting cast that adds to the humor and drama. Each of the other characters has a striking, unique design and personality that helps them stand out, like the drummer Mari, who is slightly more stoic and comes from a wealthy family. She is contrasted well by the playing keyboardist, Kaori, who often flirts and teases Mari. Siblings Miki and Aki act as the best friends of the lead characters, usually providing them guidance and encouragement. Each girl excels on screen thanks to some stand-out writing and performance. While each is different from the others,, they all have one unifying characteristic: their encouragement and excitement for Yori and Himari, which is infection, making us want to root for them, too. The lone exception is Aki, who herself harbors feelings for Yori, which will come into play in future episodes.

I like these supporting characters even more than I did in the manga, thanks in no small part to Minami Yoshida's fantastic work adapting Eku Takeshima’s characters to the screen. They capture each character perfectly; Himari is cute, ditzy, and full of adoring exuberance. Yori’s appearance portrays her as cool and elegant, but her movements and posture help convey her more anxious and apprehensive nature. And, of course, each of their friends is striking and memorable, and their depiction matches their personality. For example, Mari is prim and proper, weaning her uniform and hair unadulterated from modification and maintaining a hardened, no-nonsense expression. However, Kaori has a more rounded, goofier face, complete with a dopey smile and a bright yellow hoodie, betraying her more playful personality.

Rooftop Romances

The episode's high points come in its second half, two scenes on the rooftop with Himari and Yori alone. The first begins with Yori singing as she thinks about Himari and her confusing feelings for her, while unbeknownst to Yori, Himari walks upstairs thinking about Yori’s singing. It is an excellent reflection of the central conflict these two will face in their upcoming “romance,” the fact that their feelings of love for each other are different, with Yori’s being a more mature romantic attraction and Himari’s a child-like obsession for the older girl’s singing.

Put plainly, it is beautiful, showcasing the best singing we hear from Yori, a light, melodic hum, and some of the best emotional work of the episode as she makes sense of her feelings. Unfortunately, this scene also showcases Whisper Me a Love Song’s weakest aspect, its pacing.

The rhythm of the manga was already a frustrating issue, as it both fussed about with little for extended stretches and introduced and resolved conflicts with little time for rumination or exploration. This issue is only exacerbated by the anime’s truncated story. The first episode alone covers two and a half chapters of the manga and sees Yori change her emotional state about a half dozen times, first being anxious about singing, then confused by her feelings for Himari, then realizing she might be in love, confessing that love, feeling the embarrassment of her misunderstanding, and at last confirming that she is in love with Himari and vowing to make the other girl recognize and reciprocate her feelings. It is less of an emotional rollercoaster and more of a rapid, rambling barrage of issues and feelings that have no time to breathe or create any real impact in the story. I wished they had spent a few episodes playing out this arc, letting Yori slowly come to terms with these new feelings of love for Himari and working to overcome her trepidation surrounding them.

After plotting with her friends how to make Himari fall for her, the episode ends as Yori walks up to the roof to find Himari already waiting for her, a nice flip on the previous rooftop scene. There, Himari requests Yori sing for her, which she does. It is an exceptional sequence. The characters' feelings and differing attractions for each other come across so clearly. Himari is so visibly excited to hear Yori sing, and the older girl has such a wonderful mix of cool and collected affection and awkwardness that you cannot help but smile while watching it. Both girls have such a warm, gentle, and loving disposition, perfectly matched by the soft orange sky and quiet, empty rooftop. As Yori sings, the perspective shifts and employs some scenic Yuri, focusing on the sky and indirect views of each character until finally settling back on Himari’s blushing, glowing face from Yori’s perspective, a perfect encapsulation of the adoring girl that she has fallen in love with.

Conclusion

I am so happy with Whisper Me a Love Song. The anime did everything it needed to, from maintaining the manga’s fun, light tone of young love to adding excellent music that helps you understand how these characters became drawn to one another. It has flaws, with middling animation quality and an unfortunate dedication to the poor pacing and speed of the manga. Nevertheless, these do not distract from an overall adorable and fun experience. Most importantly, the anime nails the excitement, affectionate, and intense joyfulness of its two characters and their love for each other. I cannot wait to enjoy every second of their relationship and confidently declare that this Yuri series is an easy recommendation, untainted by the usual list of qualifications or warnings I am usually required to make. Whisper Me a Love Song is just a sweet, simple, and delightful school romance that you should absolutely watch. 

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 10 Art – 6 LGBTQ – 9 Sexual Content – 0 Music – 7 Final – 8

You can stream Whisper Me a Love Song with English subtitles on HIDIVE.

This review is made possible by Avery Riehl and the rest of the YuriMother Patrons. Support the Patreon today for early access, exclusive content, and to help fund LGBTQ+ content.

[pennysperfectpolls]

Penny poll preliminary match 5

Penny Morris (Fireman Sam)

Penny Rescher (Hello From The Hallowoods)

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (Thunderbirds)

Penny (Pokémon) is automatically passing this round

Propaganda under the cut

Penny Morris (Fireman Sam) Propaganda 

Firefighter in Pontypandy who was the only female firefighter (firewoman) from 1990 to 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fireman_Sam_characters#Penny_Morris

Penny Rescher (Hello From The Hallowoods) Propaganda

She was held captive by a supernatural research group because she radiates good luck for everyone except herself, she finally escapes them by swaying her captors’ luck so they get into a fight at a casino and runs while they’re distracted. Her twin sister Friday has good luck but gives bad luck to everyone around her and together they commit arson and get revenge on the people who’ve wronged them!

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (Thunderbirds) Propaganda

To most people Lady Penelope is a famous supermodel, but she's really a secret agent working for International Rescue, an organization dedicated to saving lives. She owns a pink Rolls-Royce, "FAB 1", which has all kinds of gadgets like harpoons, oil slicks, and hidden machine guns, and it can drive over water.

——

She was created in part to appeal to the American perception of the British. She has all the signifiers of an accomplished aristocratic lady but instead engages (secretly) with the international rescues of the Thunderbirds. She doesn't live at the island but travels all over the world and reports to them, making her more relatable in many ways. The original puppet version of her was very ground breaking for what a female character on screen could be, having been treated like one of the rounded guys not like a flat characters--at least once she got a more regular role. (she was a little shortchanged in the live action version)

——

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Penelope_Creighton-Ward

Introduced in the British 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. The character also appears in the film sequels Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), the 2004 live-action film Thunderbirds and the CGI remake series Thunderbirds Are Go. In the world of Thunderbirds, Penelope is employed by the secret organisation International Rescue as its London field agent.

On the outside, Lady Penelope is just another member of the British high society, as well as a fashion icon. However, after completing her education in Buckinghamshire, she rejected the aristocracy's endless round of social engagements and became a secret agent. She takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency teapot.

[kataraavatara]

“but the whole point of the dance was that everyone was unlikable 🥺🥺 why won’t they show the derogatory way Rhaenyra was portrayed in fire and blood on the big screen, why isn’t she fat with no redeeming qualities so i can hate her 🥺🥺”

because those cgi dragons are EXPENSIVE. this is a million dollar production that employs thousands of people. HBO is a company.

unfortunately, the corporate heads at HBO aren’t renaissance era aristocratic patrons, funding art for the sake of art. they are businesspeople, they are expecting the millions of dollars they put into the show to come back to them and then some. general audiences like protagonists they can root for. you can criticize them for how they did it but acting scandalized they did it in the first place is, dare i say, stupid?

and weep and wail all you want, but Daenerys Targaryen keeps the lights on and the bills paid at HBO headquarters and they know it. There’s a reason the Targaryen spinoff got greenlit instead of the Jon Snow one. There’s a reason house of the dragon opens with “172 years before daenerys targaryen” and not “172 years before Jon Snow aka Aegon Targaryen” “172 years before Stannis Baratheon” “172 years before Tyrion Lannister”

and the absolute lack of critical thinking towards book rhaenyra truly astounds me. if you were paying attention, maester Gyldan is a sexist FREAK. He talks about how “nubile” six year old girls are. I’m not saying book rhaenyra was a saint and it was a smear campaign, but come on. you’re convinced she had zero redeeming qualities and spent all day either eating or having sex. everyone talked big talk about how they understand how George is ✨criticizing the patriarchy✨ and then proceeded to swallow rhaenyra’s portrayal hook line and sinker with zero critical thinking involved.

oh no, did HBO try to turn an unlikable figure into a likable one general audiences can root for after the reception to their last “women be crazy” episode crashed and burned? i’m shocked. shocked, i tell you.

[dogcodedcatboy]

rrandom roman headcanons / traits / inane rambling cause im thinkin about him. some of these r supported by canon, some are literally just me playing toys. i have probably mentioned this all before. but. dont caare.

- roman likes sci-fi/space media. robots, ai, aliens. big fan. this is all of course written off by him as nerd shit but he secretly enjoys it. definitely more of a star Wars guy instead of a Star trek guy (who gives a fuck abt space diplomacy??? therr better be explosions + shitty cgi spaceship fights or hes getting bored and walking away from the tv). alien is one of his favorite horror movies. probably watched westworld.

- ik its like a throwaway in the show that he's given the rocket launch to be in charge of but i think itd be cute if he actually liked space. not that he knows anything about the science i just think he thinks its neat. has definitely fallen asleep on the couch to some space documentaries

- other media tastes include whodunits/mysteries. not necessarily for the murder part (i think he prefers heists bc they are less gory and more silly). he really likes the interactive aspect of bothering his boyfriend getting to guess how the story will end

- i think he is v v squeamish abt blood/gore irl and with media. less so his own but others. not very helpful if someone nearby is injured, the most he can offer is some mild reassurances but could never, like, provide any helpful first aid. he hides his face in aarons shoulder when a movie is particularly gory.

- roman has adhd (among other things) and has a hard time focusing on certain tasks. he gets bored easily and just kind jumps from thing to thing. he also loses his stuff frequently and benefits immensely from having a type-a lunatic following him around and keeping track of where he leaves his keys and wallet.

-he's not /messy/ per say. he likes his spaces immaculately neat (because,. hes always had housekeepers...) in absence of that he is Kinda bad at keeping things under control and is woefully unprepared to be a human due to the chronic and incurable rich dandyboy disease. grossed out by washing dishes. has definitely fucked up somehow and flooded aarons apartment while trying to use the washing machine.

- he cannot cook to save his life. again. personal chef, never had to do it for himself. obviously knows how to like. boil pasta and stuff but is so horrifically bad at it. he only needs to employ the tiniest bit of weaponized incompetence and aaron will take over anyway

- roman likes crunchy salty snacks (chips/pretzels/popcorn/etc) but also has a sweet tooth :3c he likes mostly fruity sweets, sour candy, baked goods with berries + lemons and stuff like that. i think he likes mocha, or really any use of espresso in desserts. BIG fan of salty sweet combo ... salted caramel is a favorite. also anything w nuts. he loves hazelnut in particular (nutella right out of the jar in moments of weakness) ... also floral flavors

- he's not a picky eater per say. he's open to eating a lot of different stuff bc he grew up traveling. but his tastes are /expensive/. aaron can easily get him to try weird foods if they're somewhere fancy, but had to literally bribe him in to trying fuckin panda express (even tho he loves noodles. the chain restaurant for commoners is too scary)

[magnetic-rose]

okay it’s been a few days since willow came out and i need people to talk about it with so here’s some scattered thoughts:

i really like that jade/kit was established as wlw right off the bat and we got a kiss in the first episode. i love me a good slowburn but it’s also nice to have a lesbian couple who are very clearly and unquestionably into each other from day one.

that being said, i also like that their stories don’t revolve around each other. i like that jade wants to become a knight and she’s not gonna let her relationship with kit compromise her dreams. i feel like kit, while a good person, is pretty privileged and jade pushes her back on that.

genuinely love that both the movie and the show employ little people instead of cgi-ing average sized people. warwick is really fun to watch on screen but i wish that so much of his dialogue wasn’t exposition.

willow’s daughter, mims, is SO fucking cute. i adore her. her actress is so goddamn charming and i was smiling every time she was on screen. i wish she could have joined the adventuring party but i understand why she didn’t.

i actually really like elora/dove as a character. i like that she’s girly, falls in love fast with a pretty boy, is allowed to be attracted to people. i called the elora twist pretty fast but that’s okay. i think she’s my favorite so far tbh.

graydon my beloved. tony revolori always makes me smile when he shows up on my screen. i think he’s the most intriguing character so far. the death of his brother, the scars on his chest, his relationship with his father. i’m kind of obsessed with him.

speaking of elora and graydon, i hope they’re the surprise couple of the show. that scene where he told her how extraordinary she was was very sweet. i’m not really feeling elora/airk like, he doesn’t even know her real name. i actually like the idea of elora having a childish puppy love for airk and then as she grows, she develops a real relationship with graydon. idk, we’ll see.

all in all, i really like the dnd-esque vibe of the show of assembling a party of misfits to go on a mission. it’s kind of silly at points but that’s part of the charm tbh.

[ratsoh-writes]

We know about Marcelo Goldenfoot, but who are some other wealthy monsters in Ebbott? How'd they get their fortune and how influencial are they?

Ohoho I actually had a few characters in mind I wanted to name drop a while ago~

Dogfellow: Dogfellow, a beagle like dog monster from lustfell, is a very successful investor. His main focus is businesses catering to canine type monsters and other furry monster subspecies, and ice cream businesses for some reason. He doesn’t even like ice cream, but hey it sells! Like many other lustfell big wigs, he has multiple mates, four to be exact, and has five children with them all. He fathered each child, something he loves to brag about. Dogfellow considers Marcelo goldenfoot his greatest enemy after the bunny dared to insinuate that his bunny daughter was cuter than Dogfellows German Shepard dog daughter. He’s worth nearly 200 million G

Bea Elvis: bea is a simply adorable whimsum from dancetale. She’s got an incredible movement to her, a very graceful dancer, and a brilliant mind. Bea invented a type of cgi that can mimic some of the more serpentine or tentacle like monsters movements better than other programs can. She patented her code and sold it off for a hefty profit and nowadays spends her time appearing on game shows for fun. She’s worth 4 million G. She’s also secretly married to napstablook

Mauve chiffons: mauve is a spunky shrew mouseling from farmswap who made her fortune selling insurance to farmers that covers bad crop years and broken equipment. She’s a wonderful example of simple honest work. Just a stand up gal. And her business employs many. She’s worth about 12 million G. Mauve has no relation to the farmswap boys, but does love their families beer.

Jonny Swartz: Jonny is a crocodile monster from underfell, and is a classic redemption story. Having been pardoned from a life sentence for theft and attempted murder in underfell after the crash, Jonny decided he was going to do everything he can to take advantage of this clean slate. So he made the AEP (apprenticeship employment placement), a company designed to take your application and find any available jobs or apprenticeships near you for the job you want. And they don’t accept payment until you get your first paycheck. There wasn’t anything like this in ebott until Jonny started it. Anyways he’s worth about 10 million G (but that might go down soon since he got caught in another murder)

Juliet mars: she’s a taller than average air elemental from outertale. Before the crash, she developed a special type of greenhouse that grew the few crops they had in space even better than the natural elements could. Her design now has been converted into what ebott uses for their AC and heating systems in buildings all over as it’s low cost to make and saves power. She was also a mentor to Pluto when he was still and apprentice back in their old au. He refers to her as aunty mars. Juliet is worth about 45 million G.

[rivetgoth]

A Plea for CGI

I feel like the last bastion of defense for CGI as an art form sometimes dude. CGI fascinates me so much. As a kid it felt so wondrous and unlike anything I’d ever seen. The dancing bear in Teletubbies was the first instance of CGI I ever remember seeing and it enamored me unlike anything else. It felt like genuine magic. I felt similarly about Tiny Planets, which genuinely felt like it transported me to an alien world. Later on as a kid I stumbled onto the Madagascar tech reel Easter egg on the DVD and it was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. It scared me so bad I couldn’t be in the same room and I was scared to turn off the television. I stayed in my bedroom until my dad got home because I knew he’d turn the TV off if he walked in and saw nobody watching it and I didn't want to be out there until I knew for sure the television was off and the reel wouldn't still be playing. I couldn’t sleep for days after seeing it and I was literally scared of DVD menus for fear of accidentally stumbling onto something like that again. Blooper reels for CG films absolutely terrified me, it was like genuinely nauseatingly scary. The “You’re not perfect” Courage the Cowardly Dog bit was similar.

I don’t think I’m an anomaly for finding these examples scary, a LOT of people did (the former one is full of commenters saying it scared them as a kid, the latter is literally meant to be scary). But the thing is with CGI, despite that it never stopped having this sort of wonder to me as well. When I was a kid CGI still felt uncommon enough that any time it was employed it felt really magical. It felt like I was seeing into a world that didn’t actually exist. I think its ability even in its earliest forms to be implemented into live action media, or its ability to have strange three dimensional properties when used in fully animated films, gave it this sense that it could be used to bring things to life in a way that couldn’t be done before. Like, I recognized even as a kid that the dancing bear didn’t look REAL. But it also looked three dimensional. It looked almost dreamlike to me.

I think the history of CGI as an art form is just so fascinating. I remember how fascinated I was reading about the CGI of the 80s and 90s, as it began to move beyond being an oddity that computer scientists could use to demonstrate tech and found some mainstream and wider spread usage. Tony De Peltrie (1985) was the first CGI human to express emotion and objectively he hasn’t aged well, he looks super creepy as does almost everything about his short film, but it fascinates me that he was so well received and touched people’s emotions in spite of that. The human ability to connect with something so alien in every way—stylistically, but even in terms of the art form being used, which was still absolutely brand new—is so interesting. The fact that the Canned Food International Council commissioned a commercial to be done fully in CGI in 1984 and it was referred to as so realistic you “couldn’t tell if it was animated or not” when nowadays it’s surpassed by PS1 video game graphics is so fascinating. The entire implication of that moment in the history of art, advertising, aesthetic. Maybe most fascinating to me is the short series Quarxs from the 90s utilizing CGI in one of the most bizarre ways I’ve ever seen to this day to bring to life cryptobiological organisms. Really insane looking stuff using really limited technology. The creator of Quarxs, Maurice Benayoun, writes theory on virtual reality, including some really interesting stuff about the human relationship to the material and virtual world that is most definitely reflected in Quarxs.

Nowadays I turn to Severed Heads as an example of one of the most fascinating recent uses of CGI to intentionally evoke the uncanniness of older CG and bring to life the music through a visual accompaniment. “Tiny Wounded Bird” (2016) is hard to watch even as an adult, it feels like in the best way it strikes so much uncanny fear that would've ruined my life as a child. It was the first time I saw someone fully, intentionally evoke those fears in art—I think it’s so fascinating the way CGI evokes the uncanny valley so easily for so many, and Tom Ellard was clearly aware of this. Tom Ellard, the artist behind Severed Heads, has worked on the cutting edge of technology to make unabashedly uncanny art in both visual and auditory forms since the 70s.

I see people suggest the uncanniness of CGI has to do with early or pre-textured CGI looking almost corpse-like, but I always felt like it was something else, it's not just CGI People Look Creepy. I think it’s just so, so, so foreign to the eyes. It exists in a three dimensional plane that should be similar to ours but isn’t quite ours. It can emulate the human body but also contort it in any way imaginable. The blooper reels I mentioned being scared of as a kid show these fully three dimensional beings with limbs elongated far past the physical possibility of a real body, eyes popping out of the head. Shadows having to be implemented manually, AI trying to figure out how physics work for thousands of particles of simulated hair. It's sterile and it's incomparable to really anything else. CGI is an entirely new artform, unique from any other that exists. It's literally creating a whole new plane of reality. I think it should lean into that more.

I think CGI as a tool is extremely oversaturated due to all sorts of issues within the entertainment industry around the desire to rush products, the lack of unionization and worker protection, corruption from the top down causing companies to rely on it heavily in the least imaginative and most predatory ways. But that’s not the fault of CGI as an art form, which is still only a couple of decades old—Again, Tony de Peltrie, first emotive CGI human, is only about 40 years old. The first television series less than that. The first movie only about 30. This is BRAND NEW technology. We are in the earliest of earliest stages of CGI experimentation. History will look back on CGI and not view 2024 as notably distant from Toy Story’s release in ‘95. I think it’s only in the past few years that we’ve seen mainstream film really try to use CGI for something genuinely brand new—Trolls in 2016 creating an entire world comprised of textures that wouldn’t exist in such a way in real life (like felt ground, cotton ball clouds, etc), Moana (also in 2016) using computer generated blacklight and neon for the Tamatoa sequence, Into the Spider-Verse in 2018 absolutely changing the game with its use of comic book stylization that looks nothing like anything that came before it, followed by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022 implementing something similar to evoke a storybook feeling and experimenting with intentional drops in frames per second (there’s a cool video about it here that covers some of this). But these new and inventive attempts at CG, all less than a decade old, would not exist without the decades leading up to it. Terminator 2 was an extremely significant breakthrough in animating liquid. Finding Nemo over a decade later was a huge technical breakthrough for animated underwater environments. 1991 to 2003, 12 years spent learning how to make a computer animate water, and Finding Nemo looks plenty dated now. The first realistic digital fire was shown off in my all time favorite animated short, Peedee Meets the Dragon, in 1989! Only 35 years ago animating fire was in and of itself a feat! Toy Story in 1995 famously used toys as protagonists because humans were still difficult to animate—Only 29 years ago HUMANS still couldn’t be consistently animated in CGI. The Incredibles would be THE FIRST ALL HUMAN CAST that Pixar would attempt, and that was in 2004, almost a DECADE later. All the weird uncanny experimental stuff are building blocks to something so much greater than we can even imagine. I really believe that.

So like, yeah, the homogeneity of CGI in the industry right now is frustrating. The industry-standard willingness to exploit digital artists for rushed, cheap, and unregulated third party work is disgusting and genuinely abhorrent. But man, I hate seeing CGI itself shit on in the same breaths that these criticisms are made. So much fundamental misunderstanding of what it is and what it can do as an art form and such a lack of genuine desire to see it continue to evolve and progress. To be blunt a decent amount of it is just straight up nostalgia, and often very rose tinted nostalgia. “Things from my childhood looked better.” Sometimes it’s genuinely being misinformed—Tons of movies that get heralded as being traditional animation or practical effects… still utilize some form of CGI. I also think there’s something to be said about the fact that I believe the current trend of using CGI for hyper realistic effects in big budget live action films is genuinely a misusage of the medium and a complete failure to actually utilize CGI in any meaningful way (looking at you, live action Disney remakes). I love practical effects and I love traditional animation, but I don’t see why they need to be at odds with CGI. The best and most visually striking movies with the greatest visuals tend to recognize that and utilize a blend of the strengths of more than one of these mediums—Though interestingly, Courage the Cowardly Dog remains one of the only examples I can think of that uses CGI as a form of mixed media INTENTIONALLY. As in, not to look hyper-realistic or to replace/accompany practical effect or traditional animation, but to squarely be intentionally meant to be read as CGI in order to evoke a specific tone, functionally using CGI as a punchline the same way one would use live action shots in a show like Spongebob. I'm sure others have done it, but it doesn't appear particularly common.

That’s my last note: I really want to see CGI utilized more with both its strengths and weaknesses taken into account. Back to “Tiny Wounded Bird,” which makes use of the way models of the human body can be reskinned and manipulated to the point of being unrecognizable, a succinct but evocative visual theme for a song about pride and suffering. But I want to talk about another older CGI short film that does something similar, Polly Gone from 1988.

Y’all, I’m literally switching from my phone to my computer to type this out because this matters a lot to me.

EVERYONE writes Polly Gone off as absurdism. That goofy "Early CGI Was Horrifying" video writes it off as "a shitpost," which half the damn commenters on the artist's upload are quoting, annoyingly. The VintageCG Youtube account cruelly calls it "The second worst computer animation ever produced." It finds its way onto r/OddlyTerrifying and similar subreddits not unoften. You guys. Polly Gone is directed by the artist Shelley Lake, who has made this statement about her work:

"The artwork that comes from the world inside is the culmination of my mind’s eye–a fantasy world where, through my imagination, anything is possible. I enthusiastically partner with intelligent machines and together we create an artificial reality. A simulated world of superheroes, erotic men and women, wireframe meshworks, anatomical investigations, cybernetic creatures, phantasmagoric depictions of impossible people, places and things. Although these artworks often resemble our photo-real existence, these creations are utterly unreal and sometimes uncanny." (X)

She KNOWS it's uncanny. She knows it's weird. And her work is, explicitly, intentionally, and, honestly, blatantly, engaging with the weirdness of this medium to deliver messages in ways surreal, fresh, bizarre, and off-putting. I don't know what exactly her intentions are behind Polly Gone, but I would very strongly make a case for it being about women's roles in society, or at least that being a perfectly viable interpretation, especially if you do a 5 second deep dive into her body of work exploring themes about female bodies, sexuality, kink, and queerness. Her synopsis on her own Youtube page for this short is: "A day in the life of a robot." Consider watching it through a feminist lens. Consider how uncanny and dehumanized this animation is of an expressionless, mechanical humanoid--in a dress, in lipstick, with breasts--that zooms around its futuristic house doing mundane chores. Consider the name being a feminized version of the word "polygone." Consider this oddly cool OddlyTerrifying comment:

They're joking, but they're not: This is a short film from the EIGHTIES, seven years before Toy Story would be the first full-length CGI film. Shelley Lake received both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Sciences degree in the 70s. This is artistic experimenting from someone with years of experience, this is making use of the strengths and unique facets of computer generated animation that cannot be replicated through any other means, and it is not purposeless nor does it deserve to be written off as "a shitpost." And it's not asking you to look past the CGI limitations, it is wholly embracing them.

I want to see more CGI play with this. I think it was a mistake to veer CGI in the direction of trying to disguise it as something that it is not. I think it can work as an accompaniment to other effects, sure, but I don't think its sole purpose should be photorealistic lions emoting less than their real world counterparts singing covers of Elton John songs. I wish CGI wasn't devalued and I wish people would engage with it as a unique art form of its own.

[denimbex1986]

'The behind-the-scenes details of Oppenheimer’s production demonstrate the craftsmanship and commitment that went into making the film a success. Christopher Nolan’s three-hour biopic of the father of the nuclear bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer has proven a hit with critics and audiences. The film has earned over $240 million at the box office and currently sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews demonstrate a widespread appreciation for the movie’s numerous winning aspects, including its thoughtful script, powerhouse cast, and stunning visuals.

As one of the biggest directors working today, Christopher Nolan boasts a thoughtful vision, as well as the resources to pull it off. As such, the story of Oppenheimer’s production is a rich one. The ways in which Nolan chooses to challenge the conventions and standards of filmmaking demonstrate the director’s ambition and skill. However, the film also benefits from the keen insights and creative generosity of the director’s collaborators. Much like the film itself, Oppenheimer’s production paints the picture of a unique and staggering work brought to life by a creative visionary and his diligent team.

10. Oppenheimer's Atomic Bomb Explosion Was Done Practically

The defining moment of Oppenheimer is the successful detonation of the atomic bomb at the Trinity test. For Christopher Nolan, it was important that the Oppenheimer explosion was captured without CGI so that it could be “beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.” For Nolan, this effect can’t be achieved with CGI, something which “inherently is quite comfortable to look at.” Instead, the director chose to detonate a smaller real bomb, using a mixture that involved gasoline, petroleum, aluminum powder, and magnesium flares to produce the blinding light, plumes of fire, and mushrooming effect typical of an atomic bomb. Nolan used forced perspective to give the detonation a sense of scale.

9. Oppenheimer Features No CGI Shots

Oppenheimer’s dramatic explosion isn’t the only surprising use of practical effects. Christopher Nolan even made headlines in the lead-up to the film’s release by remarking that there are “No CGI shots in Oppenheimer”. However, this doesn’t mean that the film employs no CGI at all. Rather, not a single shot in the biopic is made up entirely of CGI. This is no mean feat, since some of the images, particularly the visualizations of atomic particles, would be far easier to render as fully CG creations. In the production of the film, these visualizations were created through a blend of VFX and practical filmmaking that gives the moments real, tangible weight.

8. Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer Look Was Inspired By David Bowie

Cillian Murphy strikes a vivid figure in Oppenheimer. It’s hard to express exactly what sets Oppenheimer’s look apart from the dozens of other suit-wearing physicists in the movie, but there’s certainly an ephemeral quality to the look that makes it feel distinct. Christopher Nolan used David Bowie as an influence for the scientist’s appearance. According to Murphy (via Vulture), the director would send him photos of the rock star in the 1970s, “when he was so skinny and kind of emaciated but had these wonderfully tailored suits with the trousers, that was the Oppenheimer silhouette.”

7. RDJ, Emily Blunt, & Matt Damon Took Pay Cuts To Be In Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer boasts a shockingly stacked cast, from top-tier character actors to screen veterans and even current A-listers in supporting roles. While the movie’s budget of $100 million is high for a dramatic biopic, it wouldn’t be sufficient to pay the usual salaries of some of its biggest stars. Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. are all big box office draws who could easily demand $10-20 million for a film appearance. However, Variety reports that an eagerness to work with Christopher Nolan encouraged the stars to drop their quote dramatically, although the stars all have deals for a share of the film’s backend profits.

6. Oppenheimer Required The Invention Of A New Kind Of Film Stock

One of the trademarks of the latter part of Christopher Nolan’s career has been the director’s employment of IMAX technology. The director meets the scale of his work by suiting its presentation to the largest screen possible. This commitment created a challenge with the black-and-white sequences of Oppenheimer since black-and-white IMAX film stock did not exist when Nolan began developing the film. Instead of compromising on his use of IMAX or the use of grayscale sequences in the film, Nolan had film stock manufacturer Kodak develop the first-ever black-and-white film stock for IMAX (via Collider).

5. Oppenheimer Is (Almost) Too Big For IMAX

Black-and-white stock isn’t the only new IMAX ground Christopher Nolan broke with Oppenheimer. Around the time of the film’s release, Nolan treated the internet to a look at the IMAX film print for Oppenheimer, which is the biggest ever. The reel is over 11 miles long and weighs over 600 lbs. The director is no stranger to pushing the limits of IMAX projectors; his previous IMAX epic Interstellar required a widening of the standard projector platter to accommodate the size of the 167-minute film. However, Nolan reports (via Collider) that the projector is now at its absolute limit with Oppenheimer since the projector’s arm can’t physically bear any more weight.

4. Oppenheimer's Kyoto Bombing Line Was Unscripted

For many viewers, one of the most harrowing moments in Oppenheimer isn’t a dramatic visual, but an offhanded comment made by a minor character. In the scene where US Secretary of War Stimson (James Remar) discusses which Japanese cities should be targets for the atomic bomb, he crosses Kyoto off the list, remarking that he and his wife honeymooned there. It’s a chilling moment based on actual history that powerfully skewers the calculating remoteness of those involved with the bombing. According to Nolan, the devastating Oppenheimer line was suggested by Remar himself, who had learned the fact while conducting his own research into the character.

3. Robert Pattinson Inspired Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan credits Robert Pattinson, star of his previous blockbuster Tenet, with igniting his interest in the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer. According to CBR, Pattinson gifted Nolan with a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches towards the end of production on Tenet. Nolan became fascinated with the character of Oppenheimer and began to envisage a film that would tell the story. Unfortunately, Nolan wasn’t able to fit Pattinson into Oppenheimer, explaining (via Digital Spy) that the actor is “very much in demand these days”.

2. Most Of Oppenheimer’s Script Is Written In The First Person

Christopher Nolan has long held a reputation as a director who defies conventions, from the backward chronology of Memento to the alternating timeframes of Dunkirk. The director recently revealed to THR that he broke a major screenwriting convention with his Oppenheimer script, by writing large portions in the first person. Nolan explains that, in order to help differentiate the script’s timelines, everything in the film which takes place from Oppenheimer’s own perspective is told in the first person. In the film, this distinction is shown through color grading, with everything outside of Oppenheimer’s perspective shown in stark black-and-white.

1. Cillian Murphy Nearly Played Oppenheimer In A TV Show

Cillian Murphy has rightly seen a deluge of critical praise for his performance in Oppenheimer. Not only does the actor bear a physical resemblance to the real figure, he brings a riveting sense of alienated pathos to the role that effortlessly maintains audience engagement. However, this isn’t the first time Cillian Murphy was considered to play Oppenheimer. In 2014, the series Manhattan, another dramatization of the creation of the atomic bomb, featured the nuclear scientist as a secondary character. According to the series’ creator, Sam Shaw “We wanted Oppenheimer […] to feel alien, or other, in some ways. A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list.”'

[writefullyrobin]

No spoilers past 2x10 if possible folks!

2x02 – 7.1 thoughts

This ep was relentless in its pacing. It was full on the entire way through. It was so tense. They’ve again employed one of my favourite techniques from last season’s airplane crash disaster which was the jumping back and forth in time. It was so effective at getting me invested in the people they’re trying to rescue in this type of big disaster. It worked really well, I’m glad they brought it back.

I feel like the set designers for this ep need an awesome shout out too. I know the outside of the hotel was all CGI (and looked pretty good considering the budgets they’re probably working with) but the sets they were in? That crushed restaurant and the stairwell and halls that Buck and Eddie had to walk through were brilliant.

Hen called Buck a golden retriever! I am never going to be able to unsee that! He absolutely is!

One point that nagged at me though was how close they set up their response units to the hotel that was literally leaning and looked like a strong wind would blow it over like a piece of paper! Why?

It was kinda sweet how Buck went out of his way to reassure Eddie his son will be absolutely fine at school. And this was a good test of their newfound partnership, I guess. Looking forward to seeing what they’re like going forward.  

Also, Eddie’s son is the damn cutest and I was awing the entire way through that opening montage. He’s just way to adorable!

I feel very sorry for Maddie but I guess there’s nothing like a major disaster to prove whether you’re up to the challenge at a new job! She smashed it though. They did well with the casting for Maddie and Buck as siblings honestly. She reminded me quite a lot of him this ep. And she doesn’t get media references either? She’s a medical professional and has never heard of House? Did they not have a TV growing up?

Athena being out and about away from the hotel was nice to see how the rest of the city was coping. She managed a clever rescue with her little car theft friend. Who I hope can turn it around after this (I did love his pink signature hair but yeah, way to conspicuous!)

And another cliffhanger! Jeez! Hen’s missing, there’s a woman hanging 11 floors from a broken window, and a little girl has vanished into the rubble. On top of the crew all being scattered throughout the disaster zone.

A Bobby and Chim team up next ep could be interesting. They’re always on scenes together but I don’t remember a specific rescue they did by themselves beyond that one time in the valentines ep but that was really short.  

[leprosycock]

I've never seen a single thing from the polar express beyond the banger hot chocolate bit and I'm so curious to know what exactly it is about that weird looking movie that drives you up the wall so much because as a mental image its rlly funny

it is never once explored why the main boy (whose name is literally just HERO BOY) becomes a jaded god-hating atheist in the beginning. like he just grew up? really? nothing else to unpack there? the polar express really ran by to grab him because he just learned how to jack off and now he doesn’t believe in santa anymore? this has to happen to millions of kids every year but i guess the train only has room for bitter twelve year olds in an upper middle class neighborhood with two loving gainfully employed married parents and a little sister. and extremely hopeful kids who believe in santa too. and kids who may or may not be halfway homeless but he’s definitely poor and he sucks. and kids who are rude little autistic bitches. no defining feature to tie them together; the supporting cast just props up the main character and they seem to have no reasons for being there otherwise. and the main character is so empty that like.. who cares?

none of the kids have a personality. at all. they’re there to save the day and discover the true meaning of christmas and everything about them is condensed down into their titles, because none of them are given names: hero boy. hero girl. know-it-all. etc etc. that’s how you know this is gonna be some bullshit the whole way through because it’s just a spectacle, nothing more. the kids are all pretty fucking annoying and unlikable so that doesn’t help. they’re just dolls to participate on digital sets.

and that’s another thing. mocap movies were always meant to be these glorified tech demos for something greater and they could physically move the camera around in cgi environments, so they fill tpe with these elaborate, flashy, drawn-out scenes containing too many wide shots and too many tracking shots and they don’t feel intimate or particularly help you connect with the characters. alongside this, the main theme plays EVERY FIVE FUCKING MINUTES. it’s a whimsical faraway snowy christmas score that’s meant to feel wholesome and nostalgia and be crowd-pleasing, but the key of it is too fast-paced. and once you notice how often it plays, it starts to drive you up the goddamn wall. there’s nothing for me to look forward to as a viewer because they are trying to placate me at the end of every single scene.

everyone is just so ugly too. oh my god they’re so ugly and not remotely in a charming way. more like a very rubbery mannequin come to life and prepared to bite down on my neck way. stretched and rubbery with no life in their eyes

also josh groban is an evil man and the song that he recorded for the end credits is so saccharine that it feels like a crime

fuck this movie

[4th-make-quail]

Hi Quail! I know it's been a while, but I'm still thinking about pregnant Zamasian. Specifically a scenario in which they're both pregnant...

Like, imagine if Eric and Jo had been trying for one more kid for years and gave up, and then decades later, Eric gets pregnant! And they try to keep it on the down low because it's a high-risk geriatric pregnancy and they're afraid they might lose it.

Eric decides to tell Assad because he's anxious to tell someone and it turns out Assad is pregnant too and they're both due on the same month! And Assad hasn't told anyone about his pregnancy yet, so he's feeling very alone and he and Eric bond!!!

And then they fall in love!!! And have very awkward, giggly, exhausting pregnant sex because by then they're both pretty far along lol

(As an aside, I'd like to imagine that instead of like, cgi, clever camera angles, and close ups to avoid showing their pregnant bellies in the show, the show employs the old-fashioned sitcom tradition of conspicuously placed objects obscuring said bellies, such as furniture, shrubbery, and really large bags. I would love to watch that version of S3...)

Good morning nonny, lovely to see you here again!! 💚💚 I too am still thinking about zamasian pregnancy ahaha...

This idea is SOOO DAMN CUTE!!! I love the riskiness of Eric being pregnant even tho he's so old now, and how it'd almost force him to be more careful cos he doesn't want to lose it, but adding in Assad also being pregnant at the same time is like galaxy brain, my god....

The giggly, awkward very far along sex is absolutely killing meeee I LOVE THEMMM..... Like, lots of trying different positions until they get it right, then afterwards just flopped on the bed together soaked in sweat and each other's scents.... Help

Really large bags fucking SENT ME BTW. I know u said sitcom but it has vibes of metal gear solid 2 when ur naked Raiden and whenever u do cartwheels there's always a conveniently placed bottle of ketchup or sth in the way 😂😂 they make sure filming is late winter so they can get away with them both wearing oversized jumpers, there's a lot of suspicious chest-up only shots, god.... Cracking me UP RN

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

they invented the lamest serial plot for the movie to replace the episodic adventures of the book but then added a bunch of stuff that added nothing to the movie, did a disservice to most of the characters except maybe eustace, the production design is so cheap, they replaced eddie izzard for no reason, the acting is so wooden from everyone who isn't in the narnian crown or related to it, why are we bringing back the white witch, the dragon cgi looks like trash, where is harry gregson-williams. like prince caspian dumbed down the lion, the witch and the wardrobe's previous adaptation, but the voyage of the dawn treader was just such a downgrade it was depressing. depressing to my child soul you hear me

Completely *butchered* the original plot, switched the order of events to fit an unnecessary overarching plot revolving around the green mist, poor character development

Actively said fuck multiple parts of the book were either twisting them vastly or straight up ignoring them. And like I get the Christian allegory of the Narnia books but they really said this is too subtle let’s make it BLATANT

Animorphs:

Didn't have the budget to do literally anything the books were doing, and it shows. Also the central theme of the books wasn't even touched on.

A low-budget kids' show was absolutely the worst and most embarrassing way to adapt a semi-serialized, somewhat serious (but, y'know, in a YA way) drama about war and how it changes those who participate in it. It never goes into the ethical questions or moral issues that the original book series brings up, and the violence is toned down a lot. They just didn't have the money for the special effects you'd need for a story with so many different alien races (Taxxons, one of the main types of alien employed by the enemy yeerks, are never even mentioned!), nor for the animal training/handling for so many different species that the characters are constantly morphing into. I get that they were doing the best they could for the time and medium, but it ended up being a giant embarrassment. :(

Only one season, poorly written