#I would make a Dr. Doofenshmirtz joke but

[soapieanxiety]

Historical Iceland Ramble: Part 1 - Early Childhood

We’re actually pretty lucky to get a good look at Icelands very early childhood. Not only do we see him immediately after he was “born” but we also see more of his childhood from before Norway showed up in his life.

Interesting things I immediately notice:

- While Norway physically wasn’t there in his life his connection to Iceland is still important even before the two met

- Iceland doesn’t know that he’s a representation but he does know that he’s not human

- Iceland's loneliness is something he’s dealt with literally since he was born. He’s literally Dr. Doofenshmirtz levels of loneliness. I am not joking he’s extremely lonely.

- His hot and cold side is immediately established in these manga panels. Iceland is someone with a lot of internal fire however externally he appears to be the opposite. Sometimes people only portray one side of his personality and ignore the other, but if you truly want to understand Iceland you have to understand that there are two sides to him. They may seem contradictory but in reality both sides merge together and create Iceland. It cannot be ignored

These panels right here tell us directly that there is more to Iceland than what meets the eye. We’ve been told this in character notes, but in the actual content of Hetalia, we are shown it here. We’re shown it constantly, but this is the most in-your-face example I’ve seen. Iceland is directly getting upset at people judging him just based off first impressions. This shows us that not portraying him with these two sides is doing his character a disservice.

In some stories, I see that people make it that Norway found Iceland pretty quickly after his “birth." However I believe that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m gonna get more into timeline in the next paragraph, but the panel with Iceland contemplating if he has a brother takes place at a minimum 130 years after his “birth." Want proof? These are the next two panels that happen immediately after

It’s believed that civilization on Iceland started at around 870 AD, and it looks like that’s the date Hima went with. It’s the date I’m going to go with as well. Christianity came to Iceland at around the year 999 or 1000 AD, meaning Iceland met the God (/j but y’know what I mean) before he met his brother, the other Nordics, or Mr. Puffin. Now I can see someone arguing that maybe he’s met Mr. Puffin already; however, I believe that if he had, Mr. Puffin would be somewhere in these panels. He’s always with Iceland, and if he’s not, it’s a logical assumption to make that he just hasn’t met the bird yet.

Iceland makes a new friend! Despite the mental breakdown, I do believe meeting Mr. Puffin was an all-around positive in Iceland's life. We see them together constantly after-this, and Iceland finally gets his much needed social interaction. Even if it’s from a bird. He’s still suffering from extreme loneliness, which will affect him for the rest of his life. But it’s a good thing he has Mr. Puffin now, who does teach him a bit about the outside world.

I’d also like to note that Iceland, who knows he has a brother, believes that he’s the only island to exist and that the rest of the world is just ocean. That’s how much he’s suffering from loneliness. I can’t really pinpoint a year these panels take place but I’m fairly confident they take place after 1000, which, as stated earlier, is over 100 years after Iceland was “born.”

These are the last manga panels I’d like to go over and the ones I find the most interesting, in my opinion.

We see more of Iceland and Mr. Puffins time together in Iceland's early childhood. Mr. Puffin tells Iceland about the outside world, which Iceland doesn’t believe. I think this is probably just the loneliness getting to him. What I find really interesting in this panel is that it confirms that Norway knows Iceland exists. Now I love Norway, I’m a firm believer that he’s doing his best as a brother. But this is probably his biggest brother fumble, in my opinion. As an older sibling myself, I can understand being busy with your own life. Norway is obviously busy in this panel, but at this point, Iceland has existed for over 100 years now, and he still hasn’t gone to see him. Being busy for that long just isn’t an excuse. Now I guess I can see a point that maybe this was the first time he realized he had a little brother. However, I believe that this isn’t the first time. Iceland’s “birth” scene has a blacked-out silhouette of Norway and his voice. Now we don’t know what Norway said, but this is implying to me that Norway knows Iceland exists.

Bottom line: Iceland's loneliness in his early childhood was avoidable. Norway could’ve shown up way earlier, but he didn’t. I’m not going to bash him that much for it, but this heavily affects Iceland. I can understand that Norway was most likely a teenager at this time who was focused on being a Viking and fighting other people. However, the negative impacts of this weigh heavy, and Norway’s nosy and overbearing behavior is probably him trying to compensate for not being there for Iceland during this time in his life.

Anyways, thank you for reading Part 1 of this historical Iceland analysis. Part 2 will cover a broader history. I feel like the reason this part was so long is simply because we have so much content of Iceland’s early life. If Part 3 is needed (honestly it might), I’ll let y’all know before Part 2 is published. Expect Part 2 to be published sometime around Thanksgiving, whether that’s before or after. Again, thank you for reading this. My notes app literally started glitching because of how long this was.

Link to Part 2

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Can you do one where the Ganondorfs meet Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz?

I thought of this cause I saw you reply to another ask that refered to the Ganondorfs as 'Dorfs' and it made me think of 'Doof' like in Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb.

Yes. Yes I can.

____________________________________________________________

The Ganondorfs and Demise encountering Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb would be a scene filled with bewilderment, frustration, and unintended hilarity. Dr. Doofenshmirtz, with his quirky and often nonsensical evil schemes, would undoubtedly clash with their imposing, dark, and calculated personalities. However, his relentless optimism despite his failures might even perplex and amuse them in ways they wouldn’t expect.

Here’s how each of them might react to such a ridiculous encounter:

Wind Waker Ganondorf

Reaction: Wind Waker Ganondorf, driven by a dream to restore Hyrule, would likely find Doofenshmirtz an irritating distraction at first. However, he might grow slightly curious about the inventor's endless string of failures and convoluted inventions. Eventually, he'd lose patience with Doofenshmirtz's rambling, seeing him as nothing more than an incompetent fool.

Scene: "So, you're a fellow villain!" Doofenshmirtz says, beaming with excitement, as he adjusts his lab coat. "I can relate, you know. I've built an empire once! Kind of. Well, it was more of a 'self-help seminar,' but still!"

Ganondorf folds his arms, looming over the much shorter scientist, his expression impassive. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish with these... contraptions?" he asks, eyeing the latest -inator with suspicion.

"Oh, this? This is my 'Turn-Hyrule-Into-Desert-Inator!' It’ll really tie the whole 'villainous wasteland' vibe together! Also, I’ve always felt like sand was underutilized as a décor—" Doofenshmirtz is cut off by Ganondorf’s deep sigh.

"You’re wasting my time," Ganondorf says darkly, his voice edged with impatience. He steps forward, his hand crackling with energy. "Leave Hyrule’s fate to me, and take your childish toys elsewhere."

Doofenshmirtz holds up his hands in defense, "Okay, okay! No need to get all 'electric-wizard' on me. Sheesh, you villain types are so serious!"

Ocarina of Time Ganondorf

Reaction: Ocarina of Time Ganondorf would be infuriated by Doofenshmirtz's incompetence and constant rambling. He prides himself on being a master strategist, and Doofenshmirtz’s over-explained failures and goofy inventions would likely offend his sense of villainy. Ganondorf might even destroy one of Doofenshmirtz’s inventions just to make a point.

Scene: "Now, behold my 'Ultimate-Capture-Link-Inator'!" Doofenshmirtz declares, waving his arms wildly. The machine sputters to life, shaking and sparking, before dramatically exploding in a puff of smoke.

Ganondorf stares at the wreckage, his brow furrowing in disbelief. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asks, voice low and dangerous.

"No! I swear it was going to work this time!" Doofenshmirtz insists, adjusting his burnt lab coat. "It’s just... there's a slight, uh, miscalculation!"

"You dare call yourself a villain?" Ganondorf growls, stepping closer, his eyes glowing with malice. "You're a fool, unworthy of even being my enemy." He raises his hand, magic flaring to life in his palm.

"Wait, wait! No need for the dramatic hand-waving-of-doom!" Doofenshmirtz says, backing away nervously. "We could, uh, team up? Maybe? Just spitballing here."

Ganondorf stares him down for a moment before turning away in disgust. "Pathetic."

Twilight Princess Ganondorf

Reaction: Twilight Princess Ganondorf would be cold and dismissive of Doofenshmirtz. He has little patience for nonsense and would likely ignore the hapless scientist unless he became a direct nuisance. However, he might find Doofenshmirtz’s absurd plans amusing in a very dark way, watching him fail repeatedly with a twisted smirk.

Scene: Doofenshmirtz stands proudly beside his latest creation. "This is my 'Drown-the-Sun-Inator!' Guaranteed to create eternal darkness and, you know, give you that brooding atmosphere you villains love!"

Ganondorf narrows his eyes, staring down at the contraption as if it’s a bug beneath his boot. "This... machine... is what you believe will bring eternal darkness?"

"Well, I mean, there’s a 50-50 chance—maybe more like 40-60, but who's counting?" Doofenshmirtz rambles.

Ganondorf simply turns his back, walking away. "I have no time for your childish games. Darkness is something you cannot manufacture with gears and circuits."

"Hey, where are you going? I was just getting to the cool part where I—" Doofenshmirtz's protests are drowned out by the deep chuckle that escapes Ganondorf’s throat as he vanishes into the shadows.

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf

Reaction: Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf, with his grand ambitions and immense power, would initially dismiss Doofenshmirtz as inconsequential. However, given his experience with time rifts and strange occurrences, he might entertain the idea of manipulating Doofenshmirtz for amusement or experimentation, but he would have little respect for the scientist.

Scene: "And with this machine, I shall—wait, where did it go?" Doofenshmirtz asks, spinning in circles as his latest invention disappears into a time rift.

Ganondorf stands nearby, observing the chaotic scene with a bemused expression. "You play with forces beyond your comprehension," he says, his tone dry but laced with mockery.

"I-I don’t know what happened! I mean, it’s not the first time something like this has—" Doofenshmirtz waves his hands frantically, trying to explain.

"Perhaps fate has taken pity on me," Ganondorf muses, stepping toward the flustered scientist. "You were spared your latest failure." He leans down slightly, his voice a dangerous whisper. "But do not mistake this as mercy."

Doofenshmirtz gulps, nodding rapidly. "Right! No mistake! Got it."

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf

Reaction: Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf would regard Doofenshmirtz with barely contained disdain. He is not one to tolerate weakness or foolishness, and he’d see Doofenshmirtz as nothing more than a buffoon unworthy of attention. However, he might be darkly amused by the scientist’s relentless optimism, even as he fails spectacularly.

Scene: Doofenshmirtz stands proudly next to his "Desertify-Everything-Inator," gesturing dramatically. "This baby will turn everything into a wasteland in no time! You’re gonna love it!"

Ganondorf, sitting on a crumbling throne, barely glances at the invention. "You believe you can wield the power to reshape the world?" he asks, voice low and filled with contempt.

"Well, I mean, it’s got potential, right? If it doesn’t blow up, of course."

Ganondorf’s eyes flare with dark energy, and the machine crumbles to dust in an instant. He rises slowly from his throne, towering over Doofenshmirtz. "You will never understand true power," he says coldly. "Begone, before I turn my wrath upon you."

Doofenshmirtz stammers, backing away quickly. "Okay, okay! No need for... wrath-turning! I’ll just... take my dust and go!"

Demise

Reaction: Demise, being the embodiment of pure hatred and destruction, would likely regard Doofenshmirtz as an irritating insect. He has no patience for incompetence and would view the scientist’s constant failures with utter disdain. If Doofenshmirtz continued to get in his way, Demise might very well crush him without a second thought.

Scene: "And this is my—" Doofenshmirtz begins, but his words falter as he looks up at the towering figure of Demise, who glares down at him with burning eyes.

"Silence," Demise growls, his voice like thunder. "You are nothing. Your existence is a stain upon this world."

"Well, that’s... pretty harsh," Doofenshmirtz mutters, clutching his latest invention nervously. "I was just trying to, you know, do the evil thing—"

Before he can finish, Demise's hand lashes out, and with a single, dismissive flick, the machine is destroyed. "Leave now, or I will erase you from existence."

Doofenshmirtz nods rapidly, backing away. "Got it, loud and clear! No need to 'erase' anything, I’ll just... see myself out!"

In each case, the Ganondorfs and Demise would likely see Doofenshmirtz as nothing more than a nuisance—albeit an amusing one at times. His bumbling, comedic villainy is the complete opposite of their dark and serious natures, leading to interactions filled with both tension and humor.

[evilrat-sabre]

*Magically the nickels turn into 1 Brazilian Real, and you hear a Dr. Doofenshmirtz voice saying "the currency exchange rate makes my two nickels joke not really work anymore, oh well."

If I had one Real to every time currency exchange ruined a joke I would have- makes math- way too many Reais. I should ruin more jokes.

[szyszkasosnowa]

Netflix, cinema and pirated stuff wrapped

Tumblr not giving me year in review got me yearning for summaries. So have a list of the movies and shows I've seen this year.

Again, if any follower would like to make it into a kind of a tag game, please do 🥺.

Batman, 2022. Loved Robert Pattinson in a smudged makeup. Loved Paul Dano. Loved the music and the climate of Gotham. Another shameful example of the main female character being worked in the story quite sloppily, as the movie wouldn't really suffer without the Catwoman.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975. Actually good.

Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3, 2023. This is what they mean by 'marvelisation' tho I'm not sure if we can use it for the Marvel movie. I mean the fear of being genuine and serious oversaturation of jokes to the point of tastelessness. Rocket's backstory was less moving than that of Dr. Doofenshmirtz. But I absolutely fell for Cosmo the dog and have to add one star for her. Right into my Laika fells.

Blade Runner, 1982. Actually not that good. But Rutger Hauer was kinda hot.

Barbie, 2023. Oh boy. Really hilarious and fun in the first two thirds. Then the Kens' plot was so botched and filled with the shallowest ideas of womanhood and feminism, I felt as if I was watching something written by an 16-y.o. who just got on tumblr.

Oppenheimer, 2023. Wooooo the physicists, woooo the physics, wooooooo the Manhattan project!!!!! Woooo Cillian Murphy's beautiful eyes!!!! It was like seeing Blorbos from my papers come to life.

Brother Bear, 2003. Fucking amazing.

A Bug's Life, 1998. Good. But I'm afraid I will forever associate it with that one yaoi alice cooper poison comic. You know the one.

Schindler's List, 1993. Actually good.

Deadpool, 2016. Eh. Probably would like it better if I saw it when it came out.

Niebezpiecznie dżentelmeni, 2022. I appreciate the concept, but it could be better. Marcin Dorociński as Witkacy was the most memorable I think.

Chłopi, 2023. Crazy good.

The Lobster, 2015. I like a weird film, it has to be said.

Aguirre, Wrath of God, 1972. Fine.

Fitzcarraldo, 1982. I'm in love.

Emigracja xD, 2023. A good, Polish show?? A good, Polish comedy show??? More likely than you think!!! Seriously, where are all the fans?

1670, 2023. Another good Polish comedy show????? I love that it has a small tumblr fandom already.

2nd season and a half of 3rd of The Witcher Netflix. I cannot overstate how shit it was. Do not watch.

[herbirdglitter]

In the spirit of anti amatonormativity, here are a list of popular ships that I think would be better off as platonic but also I voice some very strong personal opinions and I understand if you have different ones. (don’t come for me I love you)

- Drarry (Harry Potter) in almost any way you look at it, that relationship is a toxic wasteland of twisted nothingness. Plus it’s a garbage franchise

- Yelena Belova and literally anyone. (Marvel) She’s aroace. It’s canon. what’s wrong with you.

- Shassie (Psych) You are imagining the sexual chemistry. Yes, Shawn is clearly bi but that doesn’t mean he and Lassie have any romantic or sexual chemistry at all whatsoever. Plus Woody is also canonically queer and right there so I don’t know what the hell you people are doing. (im mostly kidding about the woody bit but it’s not nearly as crazy as some of the other ships you hooligans come up with)

- Draco and Hermione. See Drarry explanation

- R2-D2 and C3PO. they are robots. as with all robot and monster characters, if you want to humanize them, having them fall in love is not the way to go. love is not what makes something human. 

- Dr. Doofenshmirtz  and Perry the Platypus. NO. ONE IS A HUMAN, THE OTHER IS A PLATYPUS. ENOUGH SAID. 

- Anakin and Obi-wan. You know when you (25m) raise a child from the age of nine and you’re pretty much it’s sole parental figure and then when it grows up you don’t think of it as an object of physical or romantic attraction? That’s good! There is no need to change that!! why would you make it insanely creepy

- Loki/Slyvie YOU HAVE THE SAME DNA. THE SAME PARENTS. I DON’T GET IT. THEIR SIBLING DYNAMIC WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT

-anything involving real people. You already know why. except obama and harry styles of course as long as it’s always treated like a joke because that one’s just funny

- Gonff/Martin. Gonff is in love with Colombine and he and Martin’s friendship is already perfect. Gonff is definitey bi though

- Wincest. I feel like this one speaks for itself. 

- anything involving clonecest. again, they are brothers. they have the same dna. it’s creepy. 

anyway

[punny0verlord]

Man.... Don't you love it when you open any social media app you get a message. And it's from a stranger promoting a dating website that you have no interest in going there.

My FUCKING favorite...

[imdoingaokay]

Just found your blog and im SO HAPPY!!! Love all of your stuff!!!

In the mood for some flustered boys 👀 how about male companions boldly flirting with sole, but getting flustered when they reciprocate?

(A/N: I've been working on this one for AGES.)

Danse

Oh no

OH NO

BUT OH YES

He keeps reciting the words in his head, over and over again. 

It takes him ages to finally muster up the courage to use whatever pick-up line he chose.

But when Sole gives him that smile? Giggles? Purrs some response that just hits different?

Congratulations, you killed him.

He’s frozen. Absolutely frozen.

Hopefully, you aren’t joking, his heart might break if you are.

But if you’re serious? Do you feel the same way he does?

Well, please tell him, he doesn’t know.

Then he regains consciousness and gives you that sweet smile as he melts.

God, this is the best possible scenario that could’ve come from this.

Deacon

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha-

Wait, what.

“Wait, you… you…”

Deacon initially thinks you’re joking, when you give him that cheeky grin and respond to his little flirt. But when you don’t laugh along with him? When you keep that smug grin on your face while his laughter dies off.

His entire face goes red (ears too, especially his ears… they’re the reddest.)

He gives this little nervous chuckle, and is entirely confused, waiting for you to say “SIKE” or something, so when that doesn’t come. When you either walk away with that grin on your face or when you cup his face and confess? 

Oh shit.

He… he should… talk with you… about this… about you two.

Gage

It’s once the power in Nuka-World is turned back on

Gage is drunk.

He’s drunk out of his damn mind.

So when he makes some overly sexual comment to you, he expects a slap across the face.

He’s not the type of guy that would get drunk during working hours, but this is different.

“But damn, you’re different too, boss.”

When you smile and give some vague but flirtatious response? 

If he wasn’t so drunk, he’d grab you, show you what he means.

Show you what you do to him.

After all, I don’t think Gage is a man of words… more of action

But when he’s shitfaced? 

Uh… give him some water and talk about it with him in the morning.

He’s… not at the top of his game right now.

Hancock

I don’t wanna lie to any of you and say he isn’t down to pound.

But if you are flirting with him, he might ask you (respectfully) if you wanna… ya know…

This man has no shame and will flirt back, though… hard.

If you’re in a relationship by this point, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if he just-

Picks you up? And now you two are totally banging.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz's voice: “Oh fr? On god? Just like that?”

And the answer is yes. Just like that.

By the way, I feel like this man's flirts are downright, filthy.

Like, Cait would be blushing by the end of what he says.

And she has.

Once she caught a few of his lines he was spewing at you, and she just…

She sputtered. Like, actually sputtered before leaving the room at top speed.

MacCready

You’re joking, right?

No?

Oh no.

He’s is staring (respectfully)

Hopefully, you’re not in immediate danger or anything.

I mean, if you were, it would probably take a least an hour or two for him to realize that you were, in fact, flirting.

And when he does. He needs to sit you down.

Because, he won’t deny his feelings for you any longer, but he doesn’t want to get the wrong idea… so… yeah…

Preston

Please send help.

He’s dying-

He’s alive but he’s dead-

Poor minuteman baby just made some joke about how he was a “Sixty Minute Man” and you just had to say you wanted to “test it out.”

I like to think he does a spit take. Like he nearly chokes.

He’s mentally running in circles trying to figure out if you were serious or not.

And then he looks up at you while you bite your lip and look him up and down-

He is truly a “no thoughts, head horny” dude at that moment

[arabian-batboy]

Salty ask #23?

Unpopular character you love?

Boy oh boy, do I have plenty of those.

For today lets focus on Amon Tomaz AKA Osiris, he only appeared for a short while before being erased by the N52, but I absolutely love him and the family dynamic he had with Black Adam, Adrianna and their pet crocodile, I once joked that he and his sister were the Vanessa to Black Adam's Dr Doofenshmirtz and it really was the case.

I loved how innocent and excited he was to be a part of the Teen Titans and his love for his country, even though Khandaq is a racist Interpretation of the Middle East made by offensive stereotypes, but I thought the Tomaz siblings had such a good influence on Black Adam and that maybe this would make him a better person and ruler to his country to the point where Khandaq could have been like the Arabic version of Wakanda (looking back I was an idiot for believing DC of all people are capable of that)?

But as soon as it started it ended? All of the sudden all the heroes started demonizing Amon because he accidentally killed someone in self-defense, then his sister and new brother-in-law got turned into statues, his pet crocodile betrayed him and ate him alive and when he's brought back from the dead he joins a villain group? Why couldn't he have just stayed the sweet boy he was at the beginning and be the White Sheep of his not-as-problematic-as-they-used-to-be family? He's definitely one of those character that needs a reboot, I'm hoping the rumors about him appearing in the live-action Black Adam movie are true and I hope that might make DC decided to bring him back to continuity.

[starredforlife]

highkey want to know which actual villains u were thinking of for inspo when making your uquiz?

oh this is a great question!

dynamite supervillain: honestly didn't have inspiration from a person so much as from the song "fear and delight" by the correspondants lol (**EDIT**: definitely megamind, because he’s almost a perfect mix of every type you can get. )

morally dubious antihero: jason todd and harley quinn ngl. someone pointed out that jack sparrow fits this category and i would agree

gender envy: literally envy from fma: brotherhood, also some of my own ocs bc the gender i envy is mostly monster-related

doctor removed from good graces: dr. hilbert from wolf 359! hannibal and victor frankenstein as well

asshole of the first half / domesticated for the second: obviously zuko, mcu loki, suprisingly also grunkle stan

unhinged protagonist: light yagami bc i just finished watching death note, will graham, jonathan sims, but also the general social curve towards being more and more unhinged in the face of capitalism was also definitely a factor

religiously traumatized: the priest from midnight mass, minister frollo, my own experience, my oc lupa, and a general fascination with fictional cults and monsters

disney or first season villain: i think this one is pretty self explanatory

lovestruck henchman to the big bad: like it says, i put smee and captain hook as a joke. but for the mentor, the aligning response is mort (bc of him and king julian) and i was also thinking about the Boss Wolf and Lord Shen from kung fu panda 2. victor zsasz from the dc comics. ALSO my oc lupa but in an au lol

pure, delighted hubris: cruella devil (og animated), roman sionis also from dc, and though he's not a villain, peter nureyev from the penumbra podcast

you live in a society: the jonker lol

cold-blooded: a quiz taker very offended that there was nothing warm to wear and no cool weapon to hold. also darth vader, bane, and the general concept of assassins

pathetic as balls: yzma and kronk, dr doofenshmirtz, team rocket, also a genius quiztaker who inspired the idea lol

i will say though i had a general idea of what villains fit which label, i kind of molded my own definition of each answer you could get based more on a general emotion and aesthetic

[witches-in-caravans]

My thoughts on a commonly used term when discussing kids cartoons.

One thing that often frustrates me about the argument "it's a kids show" when discussing the contents of a children show is that they don't think about why that term exists. Most kids shows back then got a somewhat fair amount of slack on criticism for a reason. A lot of it was because of the shows goals on what it wanted to be in service of.

Shows in the 80s had the purpose of action and fun, simple characters in order to sell merchandise (transformers, mlp g1). More shows back in the 90s/early 2000s had the goal on making its audience laugh or entertain if anything. Shows like dexters lab, Kim possible, spongebob or my life as a teenage robot were selling themselves on their gags or action rather than complex themes or drama. It might be fun to joke that spongebob was about communism and workers rights and shit, but we know that wasn't the creators or writers goals. So audiences tend to be gentler on criticism. And it's not like people never critic anything these shows produce. A lot of shows here dabbled or even went hogwild with homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic and sometimes even racist jokes.

If there were shows to teach lessons, they were relatively simple like ("sharing is a good thing", "don't make fun of children with 'weird habits'", ect..) in shows like Recess or Hey Arnold. Even then a lot of the "lesson" shows were set in world's with very low stakes, which was the real world in 90% of them. Many of the more dramatic kids shows weren't really high stakes, big action pieces. They were mostly mellow if anything. And they did get criticised as well.

This was probably what made avatar the last airbender so unforgettable to its young audience. It mainly had the premise and characters of your typical Saturday kids action series. Protagonist with a superpower, lots of fighting, a team of underdog kids fighting a big bad empire. It's premise was pretty trite and already flooded the cartoon market. But it was special at the time for exploring topics such as war, trauma and abuse in a way that was fun, respectful and most of all, easy for a younger audience to understand without being too overbearing with the topic. What made avatar work well for itself is that it treated the severity of most of these topics differently than the simple lesson programs at the time. Forgiving the person who personally bullied you in 1st grade is not the same as forgiving the man who caused you to see your mothers murdered corpse actually!!! The writers in avatar realised that if your gonna explore these kinds of themes in a world with larger stakes which include severe child abuse, war, trauma and mass genocide, you can't treat the people causing this as some cartoonist henchman or shitty little kid in the playground. You can give some of these characters sympathetic moments or explain the circumstances of how they were like this (azula, zuko), but you can't forget about what happened. At least you can't immediately as soon as they become the "good guy". Sadly the writers in atla seem to forget a lot of this information judging by their other shows such as lok or the dragon Prince.

I mention all this to explain why the "it's a kids show" doesn't apply as well to certain modern kids shows. Some of these shows are trying to cover pretty heavy topics such as abuse, imperialism and coloniasm, war, human experimentation and a whole list of rather dark concepts. And more so they are trying to teach lessons about them. But the creators want to have a "dark, angsty scene where the characters cry at the hands/actions of their colonizers/abusers" scene, but they don't want to actually think about how these atrocities affect the decision making of our horribly traumatised protagonists. Or how it would affect their feelings towards the antagonist. Writers usually only care about how the villain is going to get their redemption arc. And it's not like its inheritably bad that you give your antagonist a redemption story (though there's a limit to how far you can go depending on what they did). But when you give your antagonist 2 hours screentime about whatever angsty backstory you slapped onto them, and then you either completely ignore the pain and psychological state of your protagonists friends and even harshly criticise them for being angry and unforgiving at the antagonist for the miniscule actions of... Psychological or physical torture of you or loved ones, repeated attempted murder, mass genocide.... What I'm trying to say is that your message of empathising with the people around you falls a little flat in its face.

Subject matter and tone will heavily change how your audience perceives your theme.

This is why nobody complained about Dr Doofenshmirtz' rehabilitation. He was in a pure comedy show mainly focused on humour in which his eeevvviiiilllll plans includes ludicrous shit like ridding the world of mustaches cause he can't grow one. Absurd stuff. He ain't ozai or even azula. He didn't genocide a race of people, mutilate his kid and waged war against the world. He didn't travel around universes, pillaging cities or attempted to destroy the whole universe cause they were mad at one person. Stuff like that changes audience perception. He was so harmless for that his "arch nemises" often took his sweet time stopping and even indulged his ridiculous schemes.

This is why I don't criticise shows like she ra the same way I criticise kids programs like miraculous ladybug or the fucking winx club. The winx club has the rare emotional scene, but it's mostly a show about 6 fairy friends defeating a dully coloured comic book supervillain. It's conflicts are mostly simple and straightforward and it's purpose is to entertain children (and sell cheaply made plastic dolls). She ra as shown in its tone within the cartoon and by the creators intentions on twitter is different. It's clearly trying hard to explore themes of child abuse, war and imperialism. Its the font line topic of the show. And when exploring heavy themes such as this for a audience of children, you have to be careful. Because handling them poorly might have a chance of sending a wrong or muddled message to kids.

This is why the term "it's a kids show" isn't universal.

[trashyswitch]

Remus's Untitled Machine-inator

Remus created a machine that could tickle people. Amazingly, Logan walks right into his machine and becomes the guinea pig! But Remus wasn't prepared for the adorable laughter, or for Logan's confession about his laugh...

This is Tickletober Day 30: Machine

Remus was smiling to himself as he placed the dummy into place. Instead of using the automatic handcuffs like he would for a real person, Remus manually attached the comfy handcuffs to the dummy’s wrists. Then, Remus summoned a tablet in front of him and clicked the [START] button in the middle of the screen. Suddenly, the handcuffs locked to the dummy’s wrists. Remus clicked the desired spots on the tablet, and watched in growing excitement as the machine did what it was supposed to do! It works! But does it tickle? Remus walked up to the machine, pushed the dummy aside and slid his own armpit in the correct position. The mechanical fingers tickled him for only a second before Remus guffawed and started laughing and running away from the machine.

His armpit was WAY too ticklish for something like that, and he knew that all too well! And so, Remus could proudly proclaim that the contraption was a success! He felt like Dr. Doofenshmirtz with his inators. Only, Remus didn’t have a lab coat on. He was just working in his usual frilly outfit. But, it was still Dr. Doof-like!

Remus happily returned it back to its beginning state and unsummoned the tablet. Now, all he needed was a guinea pig to demonstra-

-knock knock knock-

“Remus? Is that you making all the noise?” someone asked from his room.

Remus paused his thought and gasped! PERFECT TIMING! And, perfect person! Remus ran up to the door and happily opened it. “Why Bonjour, Logan!” Remus greeted in a pretty good french accent.

Logan lifted an eyebrow. “Hello Remus. Was that you making-” Logan looked behind the man and widened his eyes at the huge contraption in his room. “...What is that?” Logan asked.

“Oh thiiiisss? It’s my latest invention! The...uh…untitled invention...so far...” Remus replied, his confidence slightly dropping as he realized he didn’t have a name for it yet.

Logan hummed and walked right by Remus to get a closer look. “Hmm...It looks like it could be anything.” Logan admitted, walking into the machine. It was a walk in-type machine, similar to a phone box. Only, it was curved into a standing, half-cylinder shape. The sides and back of the cylinder had tennis ball-sized holes for...Well, Logan didn’t quite know yet. But there were even two holes on the top of the cylinder, where the flat side was. “What is this even connected to?” Logan asked.

Remus summoned the temporarily closed tablet on the side of the cylinder. “There’s a tablet, that’s connected to it.” Remus told him, before using his magic from behind his back, to connect the headphone cable from the tablet to the back of the machine.

Logan looked at the outside of the cylinder and found the tablet. After opening it, Logan tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. “Well...I’m afraid that looking at the tablet has further confused me.” Logan told him.

Remus sniffled a laugh. “That’s a shame.” Remus said.

Logan narrowed his eyes in slight suspicion, before moving back to the cylinder area. As he inspected the holes a little further, Remus unsummoned the tablet and the cable, before resummoning it right into his own hands. Turning it on, Remus clicked the release button on a couple of the specific holes.

“Oh?! Oh my!” Logan reacted, widening his eyes at the sudden change:

There were robotic hands with arms that slithered and presented themselves to Logan, each arm coming from a hole in the cylinder. Logan smiled and playfully poked the hand. In retaliation, the hand poked Logan back. But this time, it was right in his ribs! Logan squeaked and put his index finger up in an attempt to signal a warning.

“No.” Logan voiced as well. After that funny occurrence, Logan turned to face Remus. “So...what is this thing? Is it…” Logan asked, hesitant to ask the last thing.

Remus caught onto what he was saying right away. “It can be.” Remus replied. “But don’t worry: It has a much more innocent setting added to it as well.” Remus explained.

Logan lowered his eyebrows and tilted his head. “...Innocent? How innocent- AAAH!” Logan tried to ask. But his words were interrupted by his own scream as he felt the arms from the ceiling holes grab Logan’s wrists and pull them up. Logan’s eyes were widened as he realized just how exposed he was in this position. “Uuuuh...A little help?” Logan asked.

Remus nodded. “Here:” Remus replied as he clicked a couple buttons on the tablet. Suddenly, a green-colored flat ray of light scanned Logan from the top of his head, down to his standing feet. When the ray shut itself off and moved away, the other hands started to move closer and closer to him! And the hands were...wiggling playfully?

WAIT-

“Remus, this is NOT what I meant!” Logan protested before turning to the hands. “Get away! Get! Shoo!” Logan ordered.

But instead of following what he said, one of the right hands struck! And clung its wiggling fingers to Logan’s hip! Logan yelped in surprise and quickly curled and wiggled to try and get the squeezing hand off his hip. But things just got higher in intensity as a left hand moved itself to Logan’s body, and struck! Right onto his armpit! This hand was skittering it’s surprisingly soft robot fingers right in Logan’s armpit! Logan bit his lip and did everything he could to cover up his armpit. But the pinned wrists above his head were...not helping matters.

“R-Remus! Hehe-HELP! Thihihis-” Logan was struggling to keep his new-found forceful giggles inside his lungs.

“This what, Logan? This...tickles? Is this ticklish for you?” Remus teased before he clicked something on the tablet.

Suddenly, another moving hand started wiggling its way to Logan’s other, untouched hip. Logan widened his eyes in horror and wiggled around more to prevent the hand from getting any further to him! But this ended up being pointless as the hand struck anyway, squeezing and drilling into his other hip relentlessly. “BAHA!” Logan guffawed before biting his lip as hard as he could to stop anything else from leaving his mouth.

“Come on, Logan! Laugh for me! I’ve been dying to hear it! I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before!” Remus told him.

Logan shook his head and hissed a “No” at him.

Remus’s cutesy, merciful voice soon dropped. “You wanna know something?” Remus asked. “These hands aren’t gonna stop tickling you until you laugh. So, if you let go and start laughing now, the tickling may not last as long.” Remus offered.

Logan’s frown softened a little as he realized the situation he was in. He wanted to get out of the tickling trap he got himself into, but he also felt the mental strain to keep his laugh secret. He’d always been embarrassed by his laughter, and he spent this long trying to keep it secret. But...The logical part of him was also telling him to let it out and shorten the tickle attack.

Suddenly, a lower hand found his sock and started removing it. Logan shrieked and desperately tried to get the foot away from the hand. But another hand that was just across, grabbed Logan’s ankle and held it in place while the 1st hand successfully removed the sock from his left foot. Logan’s giggles started coming out in titters before the hand even started tickling the bare foot! Logan tugged and tugged on the hand, but all the tugging and breath-holding ceased when his toes were only scratched:

“KAHAAAA-HAHAHA! OKAHAY, OHOHOKAHAHAHAHAHAYY! YOHOHOU- *snort* YOHOHOU BROHOHOHOKE MEHEHE!” Logan shouted, wiggling and finally letting out all the laughter that was trapped in his lungs.

Remus was staring at Logan with the biggest starry eyes even seen by man. The sound was gorgeous to hear and may he even say, absolutely adorable! Logan’s helpless state consisted of wiggling around constantly and sometimes snorting amidst his laughter! Remus could tell which spot triggered what snort, based on where he pulled away or doubled over to cover. “Your laugh...WOOOOOWWW! I LOVE IT!” Remus shouted happily.

Logan’s red cheeks turned a slightly darker color at that compliment. Come on...It’s really not worth loving. “IHIHIHI HAHAHAHATE MYHY LAHAHAUGH!” Logan admitted.

Remus gasped and quickly stopped the hands. When all the hands (but the top ones holding his wrists) retreated, Remus walked up to Logan. “Logan, I love your laugh! It’s so cute to hear! I want to enjoy your laugh more, but only if you want to be tickled by my contraption.” Remus told him.

Logan looked down at the floor. He...he wanted to be tickled, but...he didn’t want the laughter. It…

Remus gave him a small poke to the side. Logan jumped in surprise, but looked away with a smile. “Come on...I want you to laugh.” Remus told him. Logan looked up at Remus’s surprisingly convincing puppy dog eyes, and finally nodded his head.

Remus beamed further and took a step backwards before summoning the tablet once again. Remus clicked the different arms and watched as the hands got closer and closer to Logan and latched back onto him to tickle him. Logan giggled, laughed and wiggled around as the many arms on the contraption tickled his many ticklish spots. There was a hand going for each of his hips, a hand going for his armpit, a hand going for one side each, and even a hand skittering on the back of his neck! It tickled so much, and left Logan in hysterics and snorts!

“Awww! Good job Logan! Your laughing is tickling me, just listening to it! So cute!” Remus admitted.

Oh Remus...Why THAT kind of pun?! Why must he make a tickle pun while he’s being tickled?!

“THAHAHAT WAHAHAS TEHEHERRIBLEHEHE!” Logan complained.

“Hmm...Does it look like I care?” Remus asked him with a smirk.

“IHIHIHI DOHOHOHON’T KNOHOHOHOW!” Logan replied.

“Newsflash: I DON’T!” Remus declared. “Now, how many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” Remus asked with a smile.

Oh god no...Not THIS joke!

“SEHEHERIOUSLYHYHY?!” Logan shouted in slight annoyance.

“Yes! How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?!” Remus asked.

Logan shook his head and closed his mouth to slightly muffle his laughter.

Remus narrowed his eyes and walked closer to the man. “Come on, Logan! You know this one! How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” Remus repeated.

“IHIHI DOHOHON’T KNOHOHOHOHOHOW!” Logan shouted back.

Remus rolled his eyes and sighed in agitation. “Why must you fail me?” Remus asked. “How many tickles does it take...to make an octopus laugh?” Remus asked.

Logan shook his head and growled slightly. “JUHUHUHUST TEHEHEHELL MEHEHE!” Logan begged.

“Ugh! Fine. Ten-tickles! It take ten-tickles to make an octopus laugh!” Remus replied.

Suddenly, a robotic hand grabbed his ankle and lifted up the foot while a second robot hand started tickling the foot. “HEHEHEHEHEY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!” Logan screamed!

“Wow! I’m surprised at you, Logan! You never laugh at kids jokes!” Remus reacted.

Logan shook his head and tugged on his foot. “IHIHI’M LAHAHAHAUGHIHIHING BEHEHEHECAUHUHUSE YOHOHOU’RE TIHIHIHICKLIHIHING MEHEHEHEHE!” Logan shouted back.

“Tickling you?! I’m not tickling you! I’m all the way over here! There’s no way I could tickle you while I’m THIS far back!” Remus reacted.

Logan just gave up trying to reason himself out of this mess. There was no point in trying to argue his way out of a chaotically evil man’s endeavors. So, Logan took the tickling for a little longer before begging for him to turn it off.

Thankfully, the chaotically evil man was somewhat merciful when it came to tickling. Remus stopped right when Logan told him to, undid the hands’ grips, and even gave him a glass of water to help his dry throat.

Remus wasn’t sure if Logan was gonna believe him when he said “I love your laugh”. He wasn’t even sure if Logan would believe him after all that tickling. But, all that mattered now, was that Logan had fun despite his ‘embarrassing’ laugh.

[galaxina-the-pyro]

I had the weirdest fucking dream last night (and by "last night" I mean an hour ago while I was napping).

So, like, it starts off in this hotel place, and there's a musical number about these gang members outside, and they're telling ME and the Red and Yellow M&M mascots that we need to run because the mafia wants us all dead. I'm like, "RED, the fuck did you do?!"

And Red was just, "I'm out, peace" and ran away. Me and Yellow went after him and stuff, till we realized we were just...running around different areas of the hotel and not actually leaving ANYWHERE. So Yellow was like, "Why don't we just...go somewhere else?"

And I'm like, "Oh, what a BRILLIANT idea, why did I think of that."

And he was like, "...are you mocking me?"

And suddenly we're in some...Alice in Wonderland place and I'm like, "YAY, I teleported us to safety, they can't find us here!"

But Yellow was gone. I think I left him behind...may he RIP, the mafia probably ate him. And if they got Red...screw Red, this was somehow all his fault.

But yeah, I eventually got bored with THIS dream, and I "changed the channel" so to speak to a lost Phineas and Ferb episode/movie (thankfully not the creepy, Candace is crazy one), about Perry having ran away from home for...some reason. And everyone, including Dr. D, was looking for him. And I'm like, "OH YEAH, this was the movie that just came out, but I don't remember any of this...what was the movie called again?"

So while I "watched" this very fake movie, and skipped over stuff, I saw Doofenshmirtz talking to Perry and having a heart-to-heart with him (apparently something happened to Perry where he was convinced that ALL the good moments he had with Doof and even his family were nothing but a buncha lies and THATS why he left - I couldn't tell if Perry was amnesiac in this "movie", or a total moron), and Perry could actually TALK, but every time he did, it would cut to some weird black and white cartoon of a bunch of talking candy, that would be saying exactly what Perry is saying to Doofenshmirtz.

THEN I skipped to the finale song of the movie, and everyone was dancing with Doofenshmirtz, and I was laughing really hard because it looked kinda ridiculous, they were running an absolute marathon while they had this musical number, they were running through what I can ONLY assume is a sewer, and then danced on this raft, and then these yellow submarines, it was weird. Then I apparently was able to see a deleted scene, all in storyboard form, about a joke that Dan and Swampy were apparently not allowed to make in the movie for some reason, and it went down like this:

Phineas: I know, let's pass the time by telling jokes! Think of something that's low energy and low budget to make-

Buford: PINKY AND THE BRAIN!

(Everyone turns to Buford with confused expressions, as described by Dan and Swampy, who are kinda talking over each other)

Phineas:...what?

Buford, with confidence: Pinky and the Brain, duh.

Isabella: Don't you diss Pinky and the Brain in my presence, peon!

And then I woke up. And I remembered the movie was called "Candace Against the Universe" and was confused why that movie was actually all about Perry and Doof, before I realized NONE of that actually happened and I had SOMEHOW dreamt a very drug-induced sequel.

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

Dan Povenmire, co-creator of Phineas and Ferb and the voice of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, just did a zoom call for fans, and this is a link to it on Google Drive and a link to it on YouTube.

Here’s a brief overlay brought to you by my incessant live blogging, and because I was speed typing on my phone, I can guarantee not everything made the cut. If you’re interested in hearing Dan talk about growing up an artist and becoming an animator and trying to pitch Phineas and Ferb and working on the show and movies, I would definitely suggest checking out the full 75 minute video. The highlights from the call are below the cut.

They added Doof and Perry because they liked chase scenes. They realized fairly quickly that more than not, the pair led to good comedy, and found it much more interesting to see how their relationship developed. He also says that they are "the most important person to each other” and “they’re really good friends.”

They wrote the Perry theme song in an hour between meetings with Disney

They decided during the pilot that they weren't going to try to get comedy from the characters saying mean things to each other. Even Doofenshmirtz wasn't motivated by evil, he just wanted to get the attention he didn't get at home.

Doof’s backstories were not Dan and Swampy's idea. They were from Jon Barry and Chris Hendrick, who [itched the lawn gnome backstory. It was long and compliated and Dan and Swampy couldn’t stop laughing. They also provided the "it all started on the day of my birth” one the next day.

making the 2D movie while making the movie was the busiest Dan says he has ever been, and that's not even counting the PnF Take Two and Doof's web show and all the interviews. Basically, 2010ish was a very busy time in the Dwampyverse.

They decided to give each pair of writers their own section of an outline to work on, and each pair got to make up the dialogue and jokes based on it. it works well for the show, but writers kept going on their own tangents and the movie ended up like 6 hours long. Dan and Kyle Menke had to redraw 80% of the show because they had to cut gags out and rewrite it so it was still funny. Note: in the new movie, they did the opposite — they wrote a script and told the board artists that they could put brief gags in but nothing too long

He thinks the show became one of the most beloved shows bc it was innocent and the adult humor wasn't dirty so the whole family could watch it together. He also said the songs at the closest thing you get to immortality in a show. Those combined made the show as big of a hit as it was, and hopefully those things will get older people to watch the movie.

His advice if you want to follow in his footsteps are to draw (and suggest you check out Cartoon Animation by Preston Blaire and How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee) and to know that these jobs are out there

One of his favorite gags in PnF are the silent moments where something big happens and no one reacts (like something big fell in an early episode and crashed next to Phineas and co and at first they were all shocked but Dan changed it to them just kinda looking at it for a moment with no emotion)

Q: Did you ever want to quit what you were going?

A: "I don't really... do... anything else..."

He finished his new pilot today (July 2nd, 2020) and the movie is due tomorrow.

He would love to do more PnF and there's been talks of another PnF movie

He would love to do more Milo Murphy's Law, but it never got huge ratings and Disney's not too big on it but if people start watching it on Disney+ they might get to keep doing it. They did that with Family Guy, and it could happen to MML too.

The movie feels like old Phineas and Ferb and there are a lot of great songs! 

And now, the Q&A (in which he draws random characters are he talks)

How was the process of kicking the voices?

It was sometime easy but sometimes very difficult. For Phineas, they listened to maybe a thousand people. they actually recorded someone but they put it to animation and it didn't really work. He knew as soon as he heard Vincent that he loved him. They literally recasted the lead (Vincent) the day before they had to deliver the pilot.

He knew immediately that he liked Alison Stoner. She was the second Isabella he heard, and he listened to maybe 50 others afterwards, but he knew he wanted Alison Stoner

They decided on a different Candace and they sent it to the head of the channel and the guy asked if he heard Ashley Tisdale. He told Dan to have her come in and give her direction and Dan was hesitant bc he had one that he liked but he was lowkey forced to bring her in. It was his only audition that day, and after his big block of text Dan gave her like 20 notes and she wrote the notes on the big block of text and she did it again and it was perfect and obviously Candace (but he feels bad for the actress that was almost Candace bc she'll never know how close she was)

What was the most impactful episode you worked on?

Either the last (hard to watch w/o crying) or three moments that made himcey while doing them: the end of Summer Belongs To You when Phineas gives up trying to get off the island and decides to watch the sunset with Isabella which was what she always wanted and she exploded and talked him back up onto being the person he is even tho it's a sacrifice on her behalf. He later says he started crying while pitching to his wife the AYA scene of Phinabella getting together.

Do you regret any episodes?

There are some he likes more and some he likes less but he doesn't regret any of them. He was a little disappointed in an early episode without a sing but he watched it alter and decided it was actually pretty decent. None of them make him cringe or wonder why they did that.

How has social media impacted PnF?

He recently got on TikTok and found out that's where all the PnF fans are. He was thrilled to see the response everything was getting and it made him feel good about everything he accomplished. The fact that this generation knows what an aglet is is his biggest accomplishment in pop culture.

Favorite part of working on the show/movie

He likes editing, but writing the songs is the most fun bc it feels the least like work

Who is Ferb's mom?

Never established or really thought about Ferb's mom or Phineas's dad AND IT'S NOT DOOFENSHMIRTZ THEY MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THAT TO BE TRUE STOP ASKING and Phineas and Candace are full brother and sister. The bio parents aren't interesting to them bc the family already has a mom and dad and the other ones are just out of the picture and not important.

Will there be a new character in the movie?

Super Super Big Doctor (and Disney keeps telling him what he can and can't talk about)

Are there any secrets or theories that he can tell them?

The freaking creepy pasta about schitzophrenic Candace IS NOT TRUE Phineas and Ferb do exist and are alive. There's also a theory that Candace is not based on the diary of a teen girl in Russia who killed herself, and that's not true either. He genuinely thinks they are really freaking stupid theories and they make no sense at all.

Who is your favorite guest star?

Writing a song with Slash from Guns n Roses was really cool. He also liked working with Ben Stiller, Christian Slater the delivery guy (he called and said he'd do any part in MML so they wrote him a role), Jack McBrayer (Irving/Fix It Felix), Wayne Brady (co-wrote In The Empire)

What is the motivation of Candace to bust the boys?

He's not trying to hurt them. She doesn't dislike them. She gets irritated but she's really just looking for fairness. If she built a rollercoaster in the backyard, she'd get in trouble, so they should get in trouble, too.

How did you think about hot to end the show?

Disney was starting to cool off on PnF. The merch wave had plateaued. Dan and Swampy had the next two years in the show already made, but Disney wouldn't pick up another season until they finished airing that season. They'd have to restaff for a new season and they didn't like that idea, so they turned one of their hour long specials into the finale. He wanted to be able to say goodbye and thank the fans.

[gotmilk5101520]

3Below: Tales of Arcadia Watch Episode 6 D’aja Vu (Part 1)

First time 3Below splits into 2 parts. A real deja vu feeling.

Three weeks ago? You mean the first two episodes of 3Below happened three weeks ago? Then that means episode 3 was like two weeks later cause Miss Janeth said the school science fair was due next week.

“HANG ON!”

“Just once, i’d like a troll to visit Arcadia for another reason than destroying the world” We interrupt 3Below to bring you Trollhunters.

“Take it up with the tourism board, Jimbo!” Arcadia is where all the tourists wants to be since Paris has become a place where butterflies can turn you into a super villain.

“INCOMING!”

“AH!”

And there they go. Falling like domino.

“Shiny thing. I want to be Shiny!”

“Well, that Porgon guy sure knows how to make an exist”

“Where’d he go?”

“He just... vanished”

“Perhaps the trickster caused a disturbance in the continuum” Imagine someone watching 3Below and have not watched Trollhunters and sees this. I would be confused if i did that.

“Easy peasy, lemon squeezy”

“Everything is-” We now return to your daily schedule royalty aliens on the run.

“Aja Tarron”

“Warrior Princess”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Are you”

”talking”

“to me?”

“Are you talking to me? Well say hello to my little friend”

Yeah that’s how you make pancakes.

Give the dog a pancake.

There we go.

“What’s the first lesson?”

“Jumping down from a speeding spaceship?”

“Taking down an opponent with three hands behind my back?”

“Face-kicking?”

“I really do love face-kicking” Steve loves your face kicking too.

“Aja, i need to obtain the blue ribbon of scientific excellence” Yeah well Dr. Doofenshmirtz has failed to win one every year.

“My volcano!”

Shannon’s Volcano Count: 1

They’re all volcano’s. Baking soda volcano’s. And Miss Janeth told them.

“Because if i have to grade one more baking soda volcano, i’ll explode!” Now Dr Doofenshmirtz is going to lose a baking soda volcano again.

The judges.

“This is a symposium of imbeciles” What an odd way to say “I’m surrounded by idiots”

“You sure you saw him come in here, Jimbo?”

“Trust me”

“This is where Porgon will be”

“Huh, that’s weird”

“I’ve never done that before”

“You’ve never bumped into someone before?”

“Not today” Trollhunters x 3Below.

“And the winner is...”

“Steve Palchuk”

“for his unique, uh”

“Traffic cone volcano” Curse you, Steve the Palchuk!

“How could i possibly be defeated?”

“He’s an oaf”

”and blond” How could anyone lose to some blond guy?

“You just dislodged Uranus”

“I just fixed it!” Shannon’s Volcano Count: 2

“That’s...”

“That’s new”

“Let me go!” Jim, didn’t anyone teach you to never grab someone when something different happens in a time loop?

Wait. Where have i seen this?

Oh yeah.

“Easy peasy”

“lemon squ-” We now return to your daily schedule royalty aliens on the run.

“I have the strangest feeling”

“as if i’ve done this before”

“Do you mean, like, deja vu?”

“My volcano!”

“Oh!” Shannon’s Volcano Count: 3

“Again?”

“You remember!”

“Remember what?”

“Jim”

“This isn’t the time for introductions” Was... was Claire jealous? Hmm, kinda reminds me of.

Oh, yeah. Jim and Claire get jealous easy.

Trying the same plan that succeed against Angor Rot, but it won’t work on him.

“Easy peasy-”

We now return to your daily schedule royalty aliens on the run.

Curse you, groundhog day!

“I’m going, with or without you”

“Preferably with” This is what it’s like going out alone.

“A-Aja!”

“Please be more careful”

“Sorry!”

“Volcano!” Shannon’s Volcano Count: 4

“Don’t kill me” Begging for your life i see.

“What’s a Troll?”

“The big stone guy with the anger issues”

“That’s a troll” “Oh. I thought trolls were people that tricks you only to find out it was a joke” “No those are trolls too”

“And why do you remember?”

“I’m not sure”

“but i think my Amulet protects me”

“Your omelet?” The Omelet of Eggs.

“I’ve been through today 30 times” 30? So this is the 30th loop, and the last one was the 29th, and when we see Aja was the 28th loop?

“And now we’re the only two people who remember the time loop. Kinda like Adrien in that one episode of-” “Miraculous Ladybug season 3 episode 11 aka episode 63 Desperada. Adrien gets the Snake Miraculous and becomes Aspik and goes through an endless loop where Ladybug gets captured by Desperada over and over again. He finally gives up after 25.916 loops and then Luka becomes Viperion” “Yes. Just like that. What’s your favorite side of the love square? Mine is Ladynoir” “I love all four sides, but Ladrien is my favorite”

“Jim, this isn’t the time to talk about Miraculous Ladybug. But if you want to know, my favorite side is Adrienette” “Mine is Marichat!”

To be continued.

Part 2

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream - Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe

I love Phineas and Ferb. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s funny, it’s witty, it manages to make repetition fantastic and enjoyable, it has awesome musical numbers, it has Perry the platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz… there’s something for everyone here! So of course I was excited to see what they’d do when they released a big Phineas and Ferb movie to Disney+; I mean, the TV movie Across the 2nd Dimension was an awesome movie with a pretty epic scope, so surely something released to Disney’s own streaming service ten years later would be even better, right?

Well… no. This was a good movie for sure, but it really doesn’t hold a candle to Across the 2nd Dimension.

Candace Against the Universe is a fun film for sure, bringing the gang back together for another ride as they go on a journey to rescue Candace and Vanessa from an alien planet. There’s some cute but not overdone callbacks to the rest of the series, the kids teaming up with Doof, there’s plenty of fun and funny songs that don’t overstay their welcome, and tons of meta humor and fourth wall breaks, including what may be one of the funniest fourth wall breaks in all of cinema. So, really, there’s nothing truly bad with this movie; in fact, I might even go as far to say that it’s consistently funnier than Across the 2nd Dimension. In that way, it’s a lot like Sponge Out of Water, which I thought was a much funnier film than the original SpongeBob movie…

...But it also shares that film’s biggest weakness. Sponge Out of Water is a very funny and enjoyable film, but it doesn’t have that same emotional punch the first film did. Candace Against the Universe is certainly not lacking in emotion or heartfelt moments, but it never really seems to try for that same emotional punch that the whole plotline with Perry had in the original film. Sure, Candace’s struggles and the ultimate payoff are sweet, but they seem oddly underplayed and nowhere near as hard-hitting or grand as the ending of Across the 2nd Dimension. Honestly, a lot of it leads to more jokes, which is honestly fine; I don’t mind that this is more of a fun, funny movie. But is honestly doesn’t have that grand feeling a movie based on a show should.

Think of this: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Jungle Movie, Big Picture Show… what do all of these movies based off of cartoons have in common? The answer is they have a level of grandiose scale not usually present in their respective shows, even if they have the same basic premises. Like, yes, there are plenty of episode of Beavis and Butt-Head where they try and score, but how many have them going across America to try and score, causing problems and having heavy metal hallucinations along the way? Sure, there are Ed, Edd n Eddy episodes where their scams go awry, but where else but the movie does this lead into a cross-country race to find Eddy’s brother? Even Sponge Out Of Water manages to feel a bit grand even if the basic premise is just “someone steals the secret formula,” because superpowered space dolphins, time travel, and teamups with Plankton are not typically the direction these episodes go. With Candace Against the Universe, the plot just doesn’t really do much to make itself feel grand or epic in that movie way; nothing in this film really feels like it would be out of place in an episode of the show, honestly.

Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! The Friendship is Magic movie and Mask of the Phantasm are also both glorified TV episodes that manage to enjoy decent reputations, so it’s not like this film is in completely bad company or anything. It’s just kind of a shame that it just doesn’t really offer anything you can’t get in the show for the most part. Still, as far as Phineas and Ferb content goes, this is a really solid effort, and I honestly cant say it’s bad. It’s a perfect little extended episode for anyone who liked the show; if you’re a fan of the episodes, you’ll be a fan of this, but you have to go in with tempered expectations. If you’re expecting anything on the level of Across the 2nd Dimension, you’re gonna feel let down. Unlike that film, and much like something like Mask of the Phantasm, this ultimately feels like a very solid episode of the show that probably didn’t need to be a movie.

Still, that one fourth wall break almost makes it all worth it. You’ll know it when you see it.

[watchathon]

The 2nd Day of Christmas

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I watch a movie or TV show with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so.

Right now, I’m doing the 12 Days of Christmas, a 12-day-long Christmas special where each day is a different Christmas movie or special decided by a randomizer. And today... *clears throat*

 On the 2nd Day of Christmas, the randomizer gave to me...

Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation! Boy, between this and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer for the 1st day, we’re really starting off with a bang of nostalgia, aren’t we? Phineas and Ferb was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, and I know the same can be said for a lot of you. 

And seeing as I loved Phineas and Ferb so much, I always looked forward to the Christmas special airing on Disney Channel. It was my favorite cartoon and my favorite holiday, both rolled into one! But does Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation still hold up after all this time?

...Yes. Yes, it does. Before I even watch it again, I know the answer is yes. The rest of the series holds up, why wouldn’t the same be true for this special?

But why does it hold up? What did I miss as a kid that I’ll notice as an adult? Let’s find out as I present to you, my thoughts on Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation:

(NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I wrote this quite a while before the 1st Day of Christmas and all other Days of Christmas, as I didn’t have a copy of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer at the time. Hence why this post uses the old format of me just writing down my thoughts as I go with a separate Final Thoughts section.)

- First things first, the theme song. Oh, I just adore the normal theme song. But this festive variant just sends tingles down my spine, starting with an intro sung in the style of a Christmas carol.

- I never thought as a kid that I would end up relating to Candace so much. I mean, not in terms of gifts for romantic partners (aromantic pride!) but I’ve known my little sister all her life and even I have second thoughts about the Christmas gift I have planned for her. That’s not even getting into Christmas gifts intended for friends...

- Linda really knows how to distract Candace from gift-getting anxiety, huh?

- Aw, Candace, don’t be so mean to your little brothers! Of course they believe in Santa, they’re only... hmm... Maybe, like, ten? Eleven?

- Of course Phineas and Ferb idolize Santa. We’re talking about two little kids who can and will do stuff like building rollercoasters or traveling the entire world in just one day.

- Now I’m just wondering what was on that piece of paper...

- Even the Perry the Platypus theme song is getting into the Christmas spirit!

- D’aww, Perry’s smile is so cute when the snowman comes to life~

- I wouldn’t expect a death in this show, let alone this show’s Christmas special...

- The OWCA Christmas Party looks like a ton of fun.

- Isabella’s stolen catchphrase sense is tingling!

- What Does He Want?: This is a great song about gift-getting stress, and the perfect musical number to give to Candace in a Christmas special. I am so glad that Disney+ has the extended version of this special, ‘cause I couldn’t imagine missing out on this.

- This is just the kind of thing that I’d expect certified cinnamon roll Phineas Flynn and his brother to do for Santa.

- I like the jingle bells in the background of the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. jingle.

- I Really Don’t Hate Christmas: Boy, this is the perfect villain song for a sympathetic antagonist come the Christmas special. I mean, if he did hate Christmas, it would just be so hard to see him as at all nice. 

Especially if, say, he found himself in a position of authority where he was expected to celebrate Christmas and it was somehow revealed that he (at best) was incredibly irritated about Christmas...

Jokes aside, though, this is a nice Christmas song for Doofenshmirtz. 

-  I like that Phineas and Ferb are getting not only their friends, but the entire town of Danville involved in their plan.

- Candace Flynn, master of deception.

- Wow, that’s really quick delivery on Dr. D’s Christmas wish!

- It’s so sad to see Phineas getting the news that everyone in Danville has been counted as naughty, especially when Candace says that it was his fault for the plan to thank Santa, and that he and Ferb have been naughty all summer.

- Even Perry’s annoyed by the Christmas carols.

- Where Did We Go Wrong?: This song is the big tear jerker moment of the special, right here. Maybe one of the top saddest moments of the whole series.

- I wasn’t expecting the elves to be this small!

- I like this explanation of how the Naughty and Nice Lists work.

- Did Santa get Perry that Sal Tuscany CD just to foil Doofenshmirtz’s plot? How did he know about the plot? Why did the partridge untie the lights around Perry just as Doofenshmirtz turned up the volume, is it, like, a secret Santa agent and that was its cue?

...Okay, I’m so overthinking this.

- I don’t know how I forgot about this, but it makes so much sense: Phineas and Ferb’s solution to Santa not coming to Danville? To take over for him.

- Buford’s Christmas wish is so sweet. I would’ve expected him to wish for some big (and expensive) Christmas present, but at the end of the day, all he really wants is for his friends to think of him as nice.

- Christmas Is Starting Now: This is such a good song for the climax of the special.

- I like this scene of Phineas, Ferb and friends meeting Santa. Much as I enjoyed the idea of them taking over for Santa in Danville, it would’ve felt like there was something missing if they never actually got to meet Santa, if Santa never actually went to the rest stop or saw the giant “Thank you, Santa”.

- This scene of Jeremy and Candace exchanging gifts is so romantic. It’s reminiscent of the old “Gift of the Magi” story, but with a happier ending.

- This is a great song for the end credits. It’s just so wholesome to see everyone celebrating Christmas, even some minor characters that rarely show up like Meap, or running gag characters like the farmer and his wife.

- And we end with the revelation that the snowman didn’t die. He presumably went on to live his whole snowman existence for the rest of the winter, and all that happened before was a close call with a produce truck.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was positively right about this Christmas special holding up. It has the same laugh-out-loud sense of humor that any episode of Phineas and Ferb does, combined with a healthy dose of the wholesome Christmas spirit.

Nobody has a sad ending in this special. Even Doofenshmirtz, although he lost, got his Christmas wish: A reason to hate Christmas. And that’s something I appreciate, that everybody got what they wanted on Christmas day.

It’s just... pleasant. Watching this special, feeling the spirit of the season with the characters I know and love.

...Though, I am left wondering what’ll happen when I eventually cover Phineas and Ferb for this blog. Maybe I’ll just reblog this?