#JIsjajsjebdhsjjOSnsa.mKSjdjsnsnJjsbakdklamakems <- kung-fu panda enjoyer

[rockintapper]

Rockin tapper

did you know that everybody was kung fu fighting

wow.................. ididnt knwo...tbhank you Octo Woman 2419

[ladyheger]

The weird thing about Shifu, from Kung Fu Panda, is that I don't know why I like him so much, I don't know how to explain why his dynamic with Po is so enjoyful for me, why the whole movie is so good.

Of course that, with some time and focused anaylising I could understand better, but I just really see this as a deep thing about him and the movie, something very profound that the writers understood and used so well to create such enjoyful movie.

[fakeloveaskblog]

I think you. should ask Janus to "slither" over to your house! But also give him options! Like, "would you like to join me for dinner at my house? Or do you prefer to just go on a walk? How about we go to a fancy restaurant~ My treat~. Or maybe just enjoy each other's company at a park? You don't have to of course!"

(Words: 2095)

Logan: "Ah yes wonderful tactics stranger! This will surely be useless in my upcoming attempt!"

It was nearing the end of the day. Janus was closing up. Meanwhile Logan was trying to calm his nerves by reminding himself that he was objectivly very cool. He had on one of his best sweaters to look extra good (it had the tardis on it!).

"Alright. Looks like we can go home and have an existential crisis about the passage of time" Janus said motioning towards the exit.

Logan took a deep breathe before grabbing onto the sleeve of his crush' shirt "Please wait just a moment. How long have we known each other?"

"I guess since I started working here...so around 6 months? Please don't tell me you’re quitting! Work would just become soooo much more enjoyable"

"I was actually wondering if you mayhaps would like to accompany me on a so called 'hang out' during our leisure time...Today...Or some other day! If you want to! You don't have t-"

"No! No I would hate to!- Love! I mean I would love to!" Janus couldn't stop himself from grinning.

Logan flapped his hands in happiness "Good! So would you maybe like to go to the park nearby or-"

"No! Yes! Yes!"

"Great!"

Logan walked out of the library and held the door open for Janus. After quickly locking they walked towards the park. It was a simple small one. Just some trees, lots of grass, lots of people smoking grass, a pond, angry ducks, even angrier swans and exactly 1 ice cream shop.

All Logan wanted to do was take his crush' hand. It would be hard to do even if he tried to because Janus was constantly fiddling with his gloves. He was barely even looking at where he was walking.

"....I'm sorry for the weird way I talk sometimes" Janus quietly confessed "With the backwards talk. I kind of lie when I get nervous? I think?"

"Oh I know" Logan replied.

"You kNOw?" Janus' voice went up a tone.

"It is very noticeable but it is also quite charming if I may say so myself" It took a moment before he carefully added "Besides I have read that compulsive lying and also vitiligo can come from great stress or bad...events so even if I did not find it charming I wouldn't hold it against you either"

A small smile played on the edges of Janus' lips "Thanks"

"No need"

He took an impressively deep breathe before he stopped in the middle of the road and dramatically grabbed onto both of Logan's shoulders to stop him. He stood on his toes to make himself taller and stared into his love's eyes.

"I do not think you are also charming at all!!!" Janus very loudly announced.

Logan let up into a chuckle. He forced himself to keep eye contact "Well thank you"

Janus let go of him and kept walking very very quickly to try and distract from his red cheeks and heavy breathing. That was flirting right??? He had flirted??? He had done it??? He'd flirted??? The little voice in his head that he was starting to think was his self confidence trying to break through to him would be so proud!!!

“So would you perhaps like an ice cream in these trying times?” Logan asked. He was walking with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Oh right I would definitely love something high calorie that would just make me even more gross”

“Somehow your thick layer of sarcasm was the part of that sentence with the least falsehood in it. We can share one? Or if you get uncomfortable eating desserts in front of other people we don’t have-”

“SNAKE!” Janus interrupted him. 

He ran out into the grass of the park and hunched down to gently pick up a slippery snake. It was small enough to keep in one hand. He was repeatedly hitting his other arm against his leg and putting his fingers in uncomfortable positions.

Logan happily sat down next to him. Janus ungraciously shoved the snake right up near his face.

“It’s a baby northern watersnake! It’s not venomous I promise. It hunts fishes in the water. Isn’t that cool? It’s also one of the few species that doesn’t lay eggs! It can even put out musk to protect itself!! It’s so-”

He realized how much he was ranting and immediately forced himself to stop. He stopped his arm as well. He was so annoying.

“I apologize. Sometimes I just run my mouth and I do these stupid motions”

Logan boped his nose “The only stupid thing about that is you assuming I wouldn’t want to hear you rant. Or see you....stim...? I literally flapped my hands 5 minutes ago. I do not judge”

Janus shrugged at the stim question “My mother did always say that my father has adhd but that was in an insulting way. When I have done research on adhd I relate to a lot of it but it’s not like I have a diagnosis or anything”

“Bitchass mother” Logan mumbled under his breathe “I do not have diagnosed autism either but I do still now I have it.....Besides....Not to brag but I have both a deegre in both psychology and medicine so I can basically diagnose myself anyway”

Jan was already too overwhlemed to ask how the hell he had had the time for 2 bachelors deegre only to end up at a library.

“Anyhow we don’t have to talk about psychology...now...............maybe one day though” Logan did a little robotic evil laugh “For now maybe you can infodump about that snake, then we can get a shared ice cream and then I can infodump about glorious star trek. How’s that for a plan?”

His crush took a deep breathe before nodding. He stood up and cupped the snake in his hands. “You want to go to the pond don’t you little guy? Want to hunt and murder a few fishes don’t you?”

He turned to Logan and shuly said a few more facts while they went to the pond. He patted the snake on it’s head before carefully setting it down among the plants at the water’s edge.

The friends sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the snake as it looked for prey. (Though Logan spent most of the time adoring Janus’).

When the snake caught a small fish and swallowed it whole Janus broke out in happy flaps. He let out a happy squeal while pointing at it. Logan nodded back at him. He mimicked his flapping. 

He’d never seen Janus’ smile that brightly. Logan took his hand. Intertwining their fingers. They stimmed together until Lo pulled in his hand making his crush stumble into him. 

Jan sat with his head leaned against his chest. He looked up at Logan with blushing red cheeks. He forced himself to move back even if he didn’t want to.

“Sorry”

“No need” The nerd assured.

He stood up and held out his hand to help Janus up. They didn’t let go of each other’s hands as they walked towards the ice cream shop.

“To piss off homophobes” Janus lied up the explanation while motioning for their hand holding.

“Of course”

They ordered a scoop of lemon ice cream and sat down by the tables outside. Janus had taken off his gloves.  Their hands laid on top of each other. 

“Do you also have that experience where” Logan stopped to take a bite of ice cream “You categorize your life into what you were hyperfixated on at the time? For example I remember that when I met Patty I was into Doctor Who and right before then I was enjoying Sherlock Holmes”

Janus shrugged. He didn’t want to say that he had a hard time even remembering most of his life clearly “I can see the Doctor influence” He nodded towards his tardis sweater.

Logan’s eyes lit up “Oh have you seen it??? The ninth and fifth doctors are my favorite! Though as a bi man I can not ignore David Tennants’ everything”

“I have seen exactly 0″ 

“Well that is not a problem that can not be fixed! When I met Patty she hadn’t either- maybe because we were 12- but I show-”

Janus choked on his ice cream “12? Oh wow. For some reason I had assumed you were older”

“Oh no. She moved towns and started in my class. It was almost love at first sight. I stole flowers from my neighbor and invited her to see the movie everyone in town was talking about....Kung fu panda”

He broke out into a laugh.

“Don’t laugh at me Janny! It was an incredibly tactical decision. You see I knew she liked animals and the kung fu panda is a panda”

Janus doubled over the table while continuing to laugh “Me throwing popcorn at myself during my first hangout almost seems cool in conparison”

“Popcorn is usually hot. Not cooled down” Logan corrected. “Though to be honest the start of our relationship was sort of what you can call a ‘mess’ since as you already know both of us were foolish enough to think Patty was a guy. So suddenly I had to come to terms with liking guys. Until she told me she was a girl. So then I was straight. Until I met Thomas but that is a whole different story. It was like some people say a rollercoaster”

“Am I rude for finding that funny?”

“Yes incredibly and frankly you should be dragged to the guillotines right now”

Janus leaned closer to him with a sly smile on his face “Aw ~darling~ I didn’t know you could be sassy”

Logan did his best to hide how the nearly choked on his own spit “Yes I can indeed be if I want to. Just like how I have been able to have adequate facial expressions and voice tones and also eye contact during our whole hangout. Normally I only have a lot of expressions and tones if I am talking about hyperfixations or my wife”

“You don’t have to do that around me”

“Really? It does take a lot of energy to try and appear ‘normal’ but I was afraid of coming across as rude”

“Darling I find you lovely either way” Janus was going to pour up the biggest glass of fucking wine when he got home. He was a flirting machine!

“Oh okay” Logan relaxed his shoulders and started looking at a point right next to his shoulder instead of at his eyes. “Want to hear about Star trek the next generation? It’s the one with Data in it”

Janus squeezed his hand “I definitely have a very good idea about who that person is. Yes please tell me”

Logan went on a very very long infodump which Janus happily listened to (and did his best to reply to even though he didn’t know much). He was sure he would never get tired of hearing him talk. The ice cream nearly melted because they were both too busy with what he had to say.

“-And that is why the poetry actually have significance” Logan concluded after nearly half an hour.

“Well that sure sounds like an interesting series”

“I can show you it? Soon? I have it all on dvd”

“It’s a date- I uh I mean like planned thing not like romantic I mean-” Janus babbled out.

“I am aware of what you meant” He checked his watch “It is probably a good time for me to depart. It’s my turn on laundry today. I will get to categorize socks!”

“Wow. Sounds like a party”

Logan excitedly nodded. He stood up. Janus did as well. They looked down at their still connected hands. Jan was about to let go and simply leave but to his surprise Logan pulled him into a hug.

He leaned down and moved his arms around Janus’ waist. In return Jan quickly stood up on his toes and buried his head into his love’s shoulder. He breathed in his scent. Coffee and strawberry jam. He closed his eyes, taking in the moment.

“Janus, You are so special to me” Logan murmured while holding onto him as hard as he could.

“I- I love- I love being around you” He whispered back. Too afraid to say the truth.

Logan tried to memorise the way it felt to have him this close before letting go and taking a step back “Well I will see you tomorrow then”

“Can’t wait!”

[flamefatalis]

Flamey’s Best of 2021

I have no idea how, but it’s that time of the year again!  I added a new category as well called “Best games played in 2021″... which isn’t many, considering I did not play a lot of new ones.

Best movies watched in 2021:

1) Spider-Man: No Way Home.  An emotional rollercoaster and nostalgia-trip of a film but boy... blew me away!  Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man films will always be my favorites, but this one definitely did our favorite web-slinger some justice.

2) Train to Busan 3) Patch Adams 4) Godzilla vs. Kong 5) Kung Fu Panda

Best shows watched in 2021:

1) Squid Game.  This was an unexpected favorite.  Every episode had me on the edge of my seat and the acting was superb!  I’m curious to what they plan on doing with season 2.

2) Jujutsu Kaisen (season 1) 3) Narcos (seasons 1-3) 4) Death Note 5) Midnight Mass

Best video games played in 2021:

1) Hades.  I died SO MANY times playing this game, but surprisingly, I didn’t get mad.  Each death was a learning experience and a chance to try a new strategy.  The characters and dialogue were extremely colorful.  For someone who doesn’t usually play rogue-like games, Hades was very enjoyable.

2) Resident Evil: Village 3) Pokemon: Shining Pearl

Best books read in 2021:

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The Seven Sisters (Book 1) by Lucinda Riley

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

[beastlyanachronism]

Movie Round-Up 2021

I watched exactly 50 movies in 2021, more than any other year, I suspect. Full list with two-word summaries under the cut.

Venom: terrific fun

Into the Spider-Verse: astounding visuals

Spirited Away: umm...what???

The Queen's Corgi: uhh yikes

Robin Hood: Men in Tights: unfunny trash

Megamind: exciting. original.

Matilda: absolute classic

Hotel Transylvania: nicely animated

Cats and Dogs: okay. watchable.

Ocean's 8: slick. tense.

Top Hat: dancing > plot

I Know Where I'm Going: endearing. atmospheric.

Pride and Prejudice (2005): too compressed

The Amazing Crichton: personally appealing

Kung Fu Panda 3: cute. amusing.

Murder Mystery: surprisingly good

The Princess and the Pirate: pretty funny

Mean Girls: vastly overrated

Calamity Jane: A+ musical

Vacation: silly. funny.

We're the Millers: funny. heartwarming???

St Jean Baptiste de la Salle: poor quality

The Mitchells vs the Machines: impressive. fun.

Ben Hur (last third): expected better

Paul: fun romp

Paddington 2: sweet, enjoyable

Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga: unexpectedly good

Murder She Wrote: South by Southwest: wrong genre

Death Becomes Her: gruesome. entertaining.

Thunder Force: delightful, funny

What a Carve Up!: simple. okay.

Deadpool: masterfully done

Sense and Sensibility (1995): polished. moving.

Murder She Wrote: The Last Free Man: strong message

Gosford Park: subplot overkill

The Death of Stalin: funny. overrated.

St Peter: sentimental propaganda

Risen: well done

Tur & Retur: subverts tropes

Around the World in 80 Days (2004): found family

Shanghai Noon (second half): entertaining fun

Howl's Moving Castle: fever dream

Ocean's Eleven (2001): amusing ridiculousness

Detective Pikachu: brilliant, adorable

The Current War (first third): not engaging

Enola Holmes: not bad

Wild Oats: dryly funny

The Lego Batman Movie: surprisingly good

Love, Actually: mostly enjoyable

The Breadwinner: evocative. important.

And my personal awards go to (drum roll please)...

Best actor (respectful): Emma Thompson

Best actor (affectionate): Mara Wilson

Best live-action movie (respectful): Deadpool

Best live-action movie (affectionate): Detective Pikachu

Best animation (respectful): Into the Spider-Verse

Best animation (affectionate): The Mitchells vs the Machines

[ja-khajay]

2020-2021 Animation Watch(ed)list

I haven’t posted about animation in a while that I remember, and I know a lot of my followers are into it as much as me so I decided to make a list of the animated movies and series I watched on the past year or so, coupled with my short, spoilerless take on them. Enjoy!

Organized by

Things I saw for the first time

Things I rewatched

Under a cut for the sake of your dashboards! PS: I have not added any images yet. If you are interested in knowing more about the visuals of these movies, I might make an old fashion ask-prompted imageset list.

Part One: Things I saw for the first time

The Bear’s Famous Invasion of Sicily

Movie, 2019, Italian/French

9/10, a delightful little movie with amazing visuals. It feels like an animated picture book.

One of those “plot is in the title” media! I had never heard of this before but was heavily recommended it by my family members, who all loved it! It’s a sweet story, nothing groundbreaking but the unique colorful visual style alone makes it worth it.

The Castle of Cagliostro

Movie, 1979, Japanese

10/10. Reminded me of all the books i loved reading as a child

I assume its because it’s so old and the art style and themes are so different that it gets little to no love compared to other Ghibli movies, which is a shame! It’s fun with an endearing cast and as always, great animation and music

Mushishi

Series, 2006, Japanese

10/10 three episodes in I knew it was going to be my favorite series ever

One of the few things I’ve seen I’ll describe as life-changing. It’s absolutely lovely but never toots its own horn about it. Humble, calming, emotional and surprisingly mature. It’s pretty impossible to binge due to how intense the experience is. I just want to walk in the forest now...

FMA: Brotherhood

Series, 2009, Japanese

6/10 Dissapointing adaptation of a classic story

I read the manga for this when I was in middle school and remembered loving it. The animated version does an ok job of presenting the characters and worldbuilding and has some nice action scenes but overall looks really damn cheap and just. Not very good. Seeing I already knew most of the plot I did not have the element of discovery that made me marvel so much reading the original. It’s still a nice series but I really recommend reading it instead.

Code Lyoko (s1+2)

Series, 2003, french

3/10. 1.5 being for the opening song alone

This show sucks ass if I hadn’t been watching this with my bestie I would have dropped it two episodes in. The art style is ugly the stories are always the same and the first season has a (later removed thank fucking god) LITERAL “erase any consequences” button as a plot device in every episode. If you watch it for one thing let it be the nostalgia factor of early 00s Vidya Game Plot

The Legend of Hei

Movie, 2019, Chinese

7/10. Impressive visuals and a poor story

I finally watched this, peer pressured by the load of gifsets on my dashboard! It’s a sweet movie with really impressive animation, sometimes a bit too flashy for my taste (the action sequences go so ham they become not very readable...) but the story was just ok? The setting is barely explained and you are instead bombarded with vague epicspeech about powers and stuff that made me fondly remember Kingdom Hearts lol but that asides it’s a really good time! I need to watch more Chinese movies the few I know are just delightfully off the shits in how they approach action and I love that

Hunter x Hunter

Series, 1999, Japanese

9/10. Superior to the recent one!

I first got introduced to the series via the 2011 one. Comparatively, the 99 series focuses way less on action and way more on the characters, which I love because that fits my personal preferences! Despite mediocre filler episodes and some weird slight pointless plot changes, what it changes from the original manga doesn’t have much of an impact on the characters. The animation quality isn’t always consistent including a huge art style change for an arc (???) but it’s overall pretty nice. The series really shines in the last arc it adapts.

Oban Star-racers

Series, 2006, Japanese/french

9/10 a lovely surprise

This series is completly obscure despite having been created by people famous for their other series (Cowboy Bebop, Code Lyoko that i can name) and it’s a crime! It’s a kids show but without being stupid about it who tells the story of an inter-planetary race. If you liked that one scene in the star wars prequels you know what I mean. It’s got surprisingly nice animation for a TV series, and some truly great character design. The art style is a bit unique in a not for everyone sense, but I didn’t mind it much. It’s also THE most offensively 2000s series i’ve seen in terms of visuals. y2k kids assemble

The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

Movie, 1963, japanese

8/10. Classic fairytale format with incredible visuals

Watched this for the art style because I know it inspired Samurai Jack, and it delievered! I dont’ have much to say about this one, it’s a very simply film but it’s sweet. For my pirates out there if you want to find it in good quality with english subtitles it’s VERY hard to find. If you just want to see the looks of it, it’s on Youtube with portugese subs.

We now enter the Gobelins Shorts Zone....!

My Friend Who Glows In The Dark

10/10 makes me cry each time

Pure delight...great animation writing everything. A little short about death and friendship but not in the way you imagine!

Colza

9/10

Visual treat...homely and nice :) not far from a 10 but a 9 because nothing about it is that groundbreaking

Sundown

9/10

If you’ve ever been ten minutes from failing a group project because of a single dude you will REALLY enjoy this. Loved the colors and personality

T’as vendu mes rollers?

10/10

It’s SUCH a sweet little short I loved that one so much

Dix-huit kilomètres trois

10/10

Surprisingly well written dialog. Visuals are great but the humanity of the characters carries this to another level

Un diable dans la poche

9/10

Amazing visuals and the most tense/creepy of Gobelin shorts i’ve ever seen. Chilling

La bestia

8/10

I had some issues with the pacing. Interesting story and visuals choices but I was not fond of the art style

Goodbye Robin

5/10

Confusing but predictable. Both at once??? Yes!

Le retour des vagues

6/10

Cool animation stuff but felt pretty pointless

                                                                ***

Part Two: Things I rewatched

Ruben Brandt: Collector

Movie, 2018, Hungarian

10/10. Underrated as hell

Watched this fully blind for the first time in an animated festival and rewatched it with friends. It’s a crime I never see anyone talking about it given the amount of whining I see about the lack of both adult animation and 2D movies? This film is a unique love letter to art in the form of a weird mix of charming crime story and psychological horror with amazing visuals. I recommend watching it blind and also buying it to show appreciation for how nice it is!!! WATCH THIS MOVIE...

Mononoke

Series, 2007, Japanese

10/10 Visual/storytelling masterpiece in the weird shit departement

If you can stomach intense stuff watch this. The visuals are incredibly unique and beautiful and under the jewel tones and art direction high takes it’s a really cool horror series. My only obstacle to enjoying it the first time I saw it was how dense it is - simply put, it’s so...culturally Japanese it’s not very accessible to me who doesn’t know anything about the culture? Watching it for the second time helped understanding the stories more! 

Corto Maltese in Siberia

Movie, 2002, french

9/10 but really close to ten. A great adaptation!

I’m a huge fan of the original comic so I entered this a biiiittttt suspicious it would suck but it was a really pleasant surprise! It has all the wonder and charm of the original and the animation was surprisingly good for the little budget. If you’re not familiar with the series, it’s a sort of geopolitical action/adventure movie but with it’s own really poetic vibe to it. It’s almost impossible to find online but happens to be fully on YouTube so go ham I guess?

Redline

Movie, 2009, Japanese

10/10 cinema was invented for this, actually

Every review of this movie i’ve seen gives it five stars and starts by talking about how immensly stupid it is. I’m no different. It’s a masterpiece of escalating energy with the depth of a puddle and it fucking rules. It’s free on YouTube too so there really is no excuse to not watch it. Watched it for the first time on a huge cinema screen and despite this my second rewatch on my small laptop was as/even more enjoyable. If you watch this stoned with friends you might travel to another dimension

Spirited Away

Movie, 2001, Japan

10/10 deserves the love it gets

I watched this a single time as a kid and had little memory of it! I mean it’s Ghibli you know it’s going to be good as hell but this one rly shines in how colorful and detailed it is and in it’s world! It made me remember I had a huge crush on the dragonboy as a kid. I’m gay now

Kung-fu Panda (1&2)

Movie, Usa

10/10. KFP fucking rules

Honestly my favorite franchise of the whole disney/dreamworks/pixar hydra. It’s fun as hell, doesn’t skip a single beat and has amazing animation and character designs. If something is a good time I will not care if it’s deep or not and boy I fucking love these movies

Sinbad, Legend of the Seven Seas

Movie, 2003, Usa

5/10 Some great some really bad and overall generic

I tend to hate american cinema and this includes that era of animation I have no nostalgia for. Sinbad is in a weird place because I love adventure stories and the visuals of the movie absolutely deliver but it’s very predictable and TANKED by the addition of the female character, pushed in your face as “look we have woman!!!” despite her writing being misogynistic as hell lol. The evil goddess rules tho. This movie would have been a solid 9 if instead of the girl the two dudes had kissed

[nerdylocksandthethreebears]

43, 52, 62? :)

I literally saw these at 3am and then fell back asleep, so I completely forgot about them. Thank you so much and sorry I suck, ily

Answering them under the cut bc it got a little long

43. Hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

I am 110% on the lookout for comfort so either hoodie or cardigan, or like a jumper because that is a cross between the two and I own way too many.

52. Favourite font?

Is Arial boring? Yes. Do I still like to use it for almost everything? Also yes.

62. Seven characters you relate to?

Ooooooof that is tough.

1. Peter Parker- He is a literal super hero and he is still so unsure and lacks confidence. I feel like no matter how much I achieve I am still so hard on myself. Plus he has Daddy issues and drinks too much coffee

2. JJ Maybank (Outer banks)- He speaks first and thinks later normally meaning he puts his foot in things, something I am very guilty of. He also tries to put everyone else first and wears his emotions on his sleeve

3. Carl Grimes (TWD)- Without going into too much, the responsibility, the need to protect a parental figure

4. Mabel Pines (Gravity falls)- Just the enjoyment of the simple things in life, the unwavering loyalty and the kid like enthusiasm. I feel like everyone could do with being a little more Mabel

5. Jim (The office)- Okay so while he can be problematic, I too spend the majority of my working days just staring at an imaginary camera because how can people be so stupid? Why do people constantly test my patience? I feel that, Jim.

6. Po (Kung Fu Panda)- I too am overweight and think I don't fit in anywhere, but things just tend to work out in the end for me, and maybe it was positivity of being deluded, I don't know, but like him, I think things work out for a reason in the end

7. Cady (Mean girls)- It took me a long time to realise that being me in the best thing I can be, I used to try and mimic and copy what I thought people liked in other people, but eventually I just accepted that I was going to be happiest being who I am, and that's when things really started working out for me.

Wow, that was deep, thank you for the asks!

[odball]

derealized while watching kung fu panda but i got back to reality before i missed out on the overall enjoyment of the movie

[bunkernine]

rank them it's for science: httyd, kung fu panda, meet the robinsons, the lion king, tangled, the aristocrats, incredibles, ratatouille, big hero 6

um okay here's my personal enjoyment:

mtr

bh6 / incredibles 1 / httyd 2

kung fu panda 2 / httyd 1

incredibles 2 / kfp 1 / tangled

kfp 3

rat movie / lion movie

cat movie (?)

in terms of like, plot / art / characters / animation (with respect to their time) / themes / meaning whatever

bh6 / kfp2 / (hesitant) incredibles 2

tangled / httyd 2

lion movie

incredibles 1 / kfp 1

mtr / kfp 3 / httyd 1

rat movie

cat movie

[oflgtfol]

kung fu panda is truly dreamworks’ best franchise. yes, even over httyd

while the first two httyd movies were phenomenal, the last one was, well. i mean. perhaps it was also phenomenal on a writing level, i couldn’t tell you, because frankly the whole experience was so upsetting lol. you get invested in hiccup and toothless’s friendship, only for the rug to be ripped right out from under you. and the fact that the instigating moment was Heterosexuality of all things is just salt in the wound

kung fu panda, however, is another franchise that deals heavily with family and friendship, yet it does not emotionally punish you for getting invested in these relationships. the third movie was also not as good as the first two, but it was not as good due to superficial reasons. i’d rather have a weaker villain drag the movie down than literally never be able to watch the movie again due to how actually upsetting it is. lol

i just cannot believe how httyd 1 and 2 were all about hiccup and toothless being the bestest of friends against all odds. they fought to stay together even when everyone and everything was against them................... only for the franchise to end with them separating, and like, never seeing each other again except for some random ass occasion years later. like what was the point of the other movies then? all that, for what? toothless to leave for some random ass Girl Dragon? it’s literally the most upsetting thing ever

like i can understand that the whole, dragons and humans don’t belong together, storyline was built up from the very first movie. it was a long time coming. but i just can’t believe that the conclusion would be “ok so let’s just go fuck off to our own world and live entirely separate and never see each other again despite the immense love between us” rather than like, “fuck you. we will MAKE this work no matter the odds against us” like what had happened in the first and second movies...?

kung fu panda, however, also had friend and family relationships set up from the very first movie, and they were never cast aside, but rather continually built up and always served a core function of each movie. the central themes were carried through naturally and consistently and never did they let the audience down emotionally like that...... the first movie introduced the idea that po is the only one of his kind in this area, the second movie explained that it’s because he lost his bio family due to genocide, the third movie then had him reconnect with the remaining members of his community. it wasn’t that like, the second movie showed the panda genocide, and then the third movie was just like, oh well fuck the other pandas then. like it was the natural progression that po would reconnect with his community, the story didn’t take that away from him. nor did it take everything he had already established away from him either, like yes he’s meeting and befriending all these new people, but his core relationships are still important to him, and it’s actually the B plot of the movie how his adoptive father doesnt want to be left behind and the conclusion is that he wasn’t, and that he no less important to po just bc he’s not po’s bio dad. the conclusion to the franchise was emotionally rewarding because it followed everything that had been set up earlier in the previous movies

like imagine if we saw kfp 1 and 2 and saw how important ping is for po and then the third movie was just like, oh lol he isn’t po’s real dad so fuck ping. and po went off to live with li shan as his Only Father? imagine how unsatisfying and upsetting that would be. but no! instead the movie says that po now has TWO dads, and they are both just as important to him

i get that plot-wise these two situations (toothless leaving vs ping raising po) have nothing in common but im comparing them in terms of the narrative set up and emotional reward (or lack thereof) at the end

IDK like yes i love httyd as much as the next person but im lowkey so sick of ppl acting like kfp is less than httyd all because it seems silly at the surface level...... but kung fu panda is genuinely so good and so few people acknowledge that and it’s especially annoying considering that i legit cannot even ever rewatch httyd 3 meanwhile kfp 3, while it has its flaws, is a much more enjoyable experience.... like i am SICK OF IT..... APPRECIATE KUNG FU PANDA OR ELSE!!!

and i can’t deny that i am probably hurt by the ending of httyd more so than the average person.. like, not to bring my aromanticism into a random conversation, but like. i really appreciate both these franchises specifically because of their emphasis on friends and family as opposed to romance. which is why the ending of httyd feels like such a betrayal... toothless and hiccup were ENEMIES TO FRIENDS, platonic SOULMATES, they were the baddest bitches out there, and then toothless just LEAVES bc of some random ass girl?!?!?! you do a lil mating dance and are suddenly ready to leave your bestest friend?!?!?! it’s literally so upsetting LMFAOOOOOO........ kung fu panda never did me dirty like that and its exploration of friends and family is so so good in a way that i wish more media would.......

[manda-kat]

Day Sixty Four:

The kids came over again and we finished the how to train your dragon trilogy.

I think the oldest cried.

They will be so happy when I tell them there's a TV show where Stoic is still alive

I think I'll introduce them to Kung Fu Panda next so they can experience both of the DreamWorks greats.

These kids do not get movie streaming at their house and mostly just watch DVDs that their parents have, so I have taken it upon myself that they witness the best of animation and movies.

I'm just... Actually glad to know irl people who find animated movies as awesome as I do.

Even if their enjoyment of it only goes so far as 'Dragons are cool' and 'Hiccup and Astrid are in love' right now.

They'll get to the stage of obsessing over characters and lore.

Someday...

[miss-bvnny]

@gosalynmallardlockdown​ tagged me to talk about 10 favs from 10 different fandoms and while I don’t...EXACTLY participate in a whole lotta fandom stuff this is a chance to rant about my babys so guess what mother trucker!!!! Gonna try and pull out a few ‘’Unexpected’’ ones that I don’t usually rant about!!!

Captain Holly (WSD 2018) - Okay so I’m Big Nasty into WSD as most of yall know. I’ve read the book, seen the movie, seen the 90s kids series, and now the 2018 version. And like...it’s HARD to pick a favorite iteration among all of them. Like of course the book is king above all and I love EACH for their own strengths but like...2018 Holly hits different. Seeing them do just THAT much more with his character and really make him POP in some very unexpected ways was refreshing and interesting. I know we all talk about how Blackavar’s death in the movie was out of nowhere and really sad AND IT WAS, but like...Holly dying in front of Hyzenthlay??? After admitting he loves her????? Nah man that hits too different.

Kylo Ren (Star Wars) - Yknow considering how hard they fucked up his character in 8 and 9, and also considering my refusal to acknowledge TROS, he’s kind of a hard one to defend, but....Yeah. Sometimes we just love villains, ladies. TBH tho I think this one comes mostly from how I’ve written a LOT for Ren in the past, especially during Quarantine this year. I kinda...got attached to him through writing for him, if that makes sense??? Like I KNOW he’s kind of weak as far as SW villains go but He’s Still My Boy. But yeah I lvoe Ren pry him from my hands and also in an ideal SW canon he would have been able to do a Battouga end of lecture Alexa play Zero by Imaigne Dragons.

Walter Beckett (Spies in Disguise)- Hey remember when a Funnee movie about a talking Will Smith Pigeon did better than SW and Cats??? Walter is....such a great character. I think he’s my favorite Tom Holland character (This is not a diss on Spiderman, don't read it that way) I love the idea that a character who’s still grieving and healing from his mother’s death was so affected by her being killed in the line of action that it inspires him to invent non violent ways to fight crime is...so sweet. He’s kinda like Varian from TBEA in a sort of ‘’adorable inventor boy’’ niche??? IDK hes my son dont be mean to him.

Rabbit (Winnie the Pooh) - Yall ever seen the New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh??? Yall ever seen the Find Her Keep Her episode?? I dont think I need to say more. I know not a lot of people like Rabbit because he’s the cranky and slightly mean impatient grouch but like...Find Her Keep Her changed me.

Master Shifu (Kung Fu Panda) - I! Love! Emotionally! Constipated! Old! Men! I love those....hardened by trauma but still loving and kind beneath a strict exterior characters. Show me a character who is perceived as unbreakable, and then show me something can break them, and I WILL love them. Kung Fu Panda as a series is a hidden gem in Dreamworks history and it has a lot of really deep moments in it that really touch me, and seeing the flashback with Tai Lung’s backstory always gets me.

Judge Claude Frollo (HBOND)- Yeah. Yeah. Controversial one in this day and age, huh? Look, I....have a really serious attachment to him. First of all, in an age where every other Disney villain just wanted money or power, his motives were...a welcome and also really fucked up change of pace. I respect that. Secondly...ten years ago this month I met someone so important because we were both a couple of scene girls on Deviantart hyperfixating on him. If anything had changed in him, if he had been just a LITTLE different, or if he hadn’t happened at all...I might not have met them. And I think that terrifies me more than anything. So yeah, REALLY evil guy, but I love him for what he did in my life.

Yondu (GOTG) - ‘’He may have been your father, but he wasn’t your daddy’’ Like...what more do you need??? I love??? Frenemies??? And also Frenemies who are attached to the main character in a familial sense??? 

Cantus (Fraggle Rock) - I think I’ve seen exactly three episodes of Fraggle Rock in my entire life and one of them was Cantus’s episode but anyway yeah I love him a whole awful lot. He’s just so....chill and wise, he’s got this real ‘Jedi Master’ vibe and there’s always something about the characters voiced by Jim Henson himself. Plus his design is just *Kisses*

Mavis Dracula (Hotel Transylvania) - God..the FIRST HT movie is like...my favorite Halloween movie. What a cool concept. Too back 2 and 3 were fucking awful and now the trilogy is super badly aged. Characters played by Selena Gomez are usually so annoying and schlocky, but like...Mavis has this incredibly strong charm to her, a very vibrant character, honestly. 

Rooster (The Secret Life Of Pets 2) Like the sane majority of people, I agree TSLOP was barely strong enough to even warrant a sequel, but of course its a funnee minion movie that make a shit ton of money so It got one anyway. Despite my deep personal hatred for every single Illumination movie OTHER THAN HOP, HOP IS GOD TIER, I’m glad they made TSLOP 2 because Rooster was the greatest thing to happen to the movie. Out of all the three plotlines in the movie, the farm one was the most cohesive and not just a pandering mess. Harrison Ford playing his own fursona was very enjoyable, and made the movie honestly kinda worth seeing.

Uh....I don’t....know ten people so if you see this and wanna do it, consider yourself tagged lmao

[sternbagel]

I’m sorry (I’m not) but the Kung Fu Panda movies are very enjoyable and I love them.

[shxfu]

has mun ever watched the Kung Fu Panda tv series before?

I have watched them, yes. All three seasons. I think it was quite enjoyable to see more of the adventures of Po and the company, there were few ideas that I think I liked about the stories they had. But of course there were few things I didn’t find so appealing, especially the downgrade of the graphics and the characters’ abilities, because omg Shifu is so weak in these series whilst he’s like one of the strongest kung fu masters in the world. He is the student of Oogway himself and as good as I can remember it, it was Oogway who invented Kung Fu in the movie??? I do understand why they downgraded his power and the power of the five, like to let Po shine and save everyone in the end, however I would prefer if they wouldn’t present it this way. Also I have no problems with watching the show nowadays, because I really like the russian dubbing, it seems to me that they kept the same voices as in the movie for it. And oh my god do I love the voice of russian Shifu? Yes, I do. There’s something special to it ahah.

[the-a-j-universe]

Hey aj, what do you think of Voltron legendary defenders treatment of Lotor- cause I remember watching season 5 onward wondering how the writers and producers missed the ball while it was sitting on a goddamn tee. Also Kuron execution, your thoughts- cuz everything with Keith's "leadership " arc still leaves me bitter, mostly because most of the emotional buildup for Shiro and Keith is revealed FOUR SEASONS LATER, DreamWorks your Kung Fu panda spinoff is more satisfying than this- how???

I don’t think much of Voltron at all anymore. It’s clear at this point that there was never really a plan in place, at least not one that lasted long enough to matter. I’m surprised that it remained enjoyable for as long as it did, and the fact that it crashed and burned so totally has kept me from going back and enjoying even the highlights. I just don’t like to think about it much.

[novastarlyght]

Looking for an animated movie to watch on Netflix?

Then you should see “Igor”!

This is a little French/American 3D feature film written by Chris McKenna (Community, The Lego Batman Movie and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle)! The animation itself is... not that great, due to a pretty low budget (only 25$ million USD - compare that to the movie Pixar released that year, which had a budget of 180$ million USD) but it makes up for that by being extremely imaginative and well-written! Yet for some reason it only has a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes which I do not??? Understand even slightly????? Maybe critics were harsh on it because it came out the same year as WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda which I don’t think is fair at all. It might not be quite as good as those movies but it’s still enormously enjoyable in its own right and vastly underrated, imo.

Also Netflix’s description is... not correct, there is no “village beauty Gretchen.” The movie takes place in a country of mad scientists, each with their own Igors (they’re all even named that, apparently it’s mandatory for the male children born with hunchbacks). However one Igor is much smarter than his master Dr. Glickenstein, so he wants to become a mad scientist on his own but he isn’t allowed due to being an Igor. After Dr. Glickenstein dies in the first few minutes of the movie, he now has the opportunity to prove himself by winning the upcoming Evil Science Fair.

This movie also includes:

Two very charming and funny side characters, Igor’s inventions Scamper and Brain, voiced by Steve Buscemi and Sean Hayes. The former is a zombie rabbit who can’t die again, which irritates him because he’s suicidal, while the latter is a dumb, adorable brain-in-a-jar robot. They’re both wonderful and I love them

A Frankenstein’s Monster story where the monster is a girl and she and her creator fall in love. Also she wants to be an actress. I love her too

GOOD JOKES! LIKE, LOTS OF LEGITIMATELY REALLY GOOD AND CLEVER JOKES (with unsurprisingly an emphasis on darker humor)

Excellent and varied character designs! The entire art direction is sort of Old School Tim Burton meets Psychonauts, along with many nods to classic monster movies

No third act breakup/misunderstanding! The leads try to be honest with each other but then the villains are actually the ones who go and intentionally sabotage things between them. Refreshing!

A twist you can probably see coming but is still interesting in concept and does a nice job of reinforcing the movie’s message of “You don’t have to do or be what other people want or expect from you” by adding on “especially since they could also be manipulating you to suit their own ideals”

A fantastic climax. I won’t spoil it but I’ll just say there’s never been a more badass rendition of “Tomorrow” from Annie. Yes, seriously.

Lines such as “I feel like I’m sending my kid off to school for the first time! But, yaknow, to learn how to murder.”

Eddie Izzard as one of the villains who dresses exactly like Eddie Izzard

An invisible TV host who doesn’t wear pants because he’s invisible   

NOW GO WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!