#don bluth owned my entire ass as a child

[natcat5]

The Land Before Time was my absolute favourite movie as a kid. I watched it so many times. I forced every one who ever came in contact with me to watch it multiple times in a row. Any movie night with me as a child would involve the Land Before Time. This was non-negotiable. And I did like the terrible musical sequels as well, but the first, gorgeous, Don Bluth/George Lucas/Spielberg surprise teamup of the century movie was my undisputed favourite. No matter how often I watched it, I always cried when Littlefoot’s mother died. 

A couple of years ago I saw it was on Netflix. I decided to give it a nostalgic rewatch. It couldn’t hold my attention. I kept pausing to do other things. I found it a little boring, a little too silly at times. I didn’t even cry when his mother died. I figured, that’s life, that’s how it goes, it’s a shame, but that’s growing up!

On a complete whim, I just rewatched it again tonight. And. I don’t know what the difference between me of three-ish years ago and me of now, but. It had me. I was held from start to finish. I noticed how detailed the animation was, and also how unrushed it is. There are so many frames of just setting, little animated movements of bugs or unnamed creatures or bubbles floating. The main characters are animated so lovingly, their movements and their scampering and their facial expressions. The backgrounds are painted beautifully, and you get the sense that they were really trying to create a world here, really trying to immerse you.

 It’s paced very well, it breaks up the heartrending moments with moments of levity. And a lot of it again is the setting building. The main character is mourning his mother? Let’s cut to a completely unrelated family of fliers fighting over a berry with cheerful flute music, and then have them come upon our mourning protagonist. The audience gets a break from the tragedy, but it’s not abrasive or out of place.

And the music! The orchestration in this movie really is something special. It’s so playful at times, and so intense at others, and of course, the gorgeous main theme of the movie is still gorgeous. 

I really appreciated the first twenty minutes. This time, I bawled. I was crying leading up to his mother’s death and for a good ten minutes after. They really, really do a good job making it hurt. Did I mention the music?

I don’t know off the top of my head of other cartoon movies, that aren’t musicals, that use the theme for the ending song as the main musical motif throughout the movie. But honestly, there’s nothing like hearing that sad/hopeful melody throughout the movie and then hearing words to it sung by Diana Ross as the credits roll. 

I don’t really have a point. I was just really, pleasantly surprised that I rewatched my fave childhood movie and loved it again. I appreciated so much about it that I didn’t notice before. And it still really holds up. I guess, life is cyclical? Maybe in another three years I won’t be able to sit through it again. But I’m glad I watched it today. Glad I loved it. 

[thatalfredpennyworth]

Dragon Ball Super Broly Review

Oh god, it's happening, BROLY NOW OFFICIALLY EXISTS IN THE DRAGON BALL UNIVERSE!...*sighs* BRING IT ON! *Spoilers DUH* For those of you who don't know a year ago I watched Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan and found it to be a hot mess. It had a weak and bland villain, over the top dialogue, even in the context of DBZ, and after it happened, I decided it was by far the worst dragon ball z movie I've ever seen...at least it was until I discovered another Broly movie that was even worse. And then came movie three which is without a doubt the worst one. Then this movie came along and it is a Broly movie once again meaning I have to review it. Now I was going to review Quest For Camelot but trust me that atrocity is coming later. This is Dragon Ball Super Broly This is without a doubt THE BEST Dragon Ball Z movie of all time! Quick Note For Families: You don't have to be a fan of Dragon Ball Z to enjoy this one. When I came into the theater, I saw a wide variety of people there and oddly enough, there were a lot of young kids in the theater that fell in love with this movie. Honestly, for a Dragon Ball Z movie, it's surprisingly something that would be pretty appealing to all age groups and even all genders. Most of the DBZ movies are definitely fans only but this one gives viewers enough backstory that you can just jump right in and enjoy it. That said though if you are considering taking any little ones with you, please keep in mind that there are some scenes and characters that sensitive viewers may be uncomfortable with but it really depends on your kid. I honestly don't believe in the Focus on the Family bullshit that if a movie has this many fight scenes or this many swears that it's (in the words of Mermaid Man) "EEEEEEEEEEVVVVVIIIIIIIILLLLLLL!" because it really depends on your kid. Most kids should enjoy it ok, all the kids in my theater loved it and most of them were little girls. I know several people on twitter who have told me that when they were kids back in the toonami days, they were afraid of Vegeta who I would say at this point is a kitten compared to some of the newer characters. Just know your kid and if they can handle all the action, they will have a great time on the adventure. Let's just say, if your kid can handle Star Wars, they can handle this fine. And Now On With the Review: Broly as a Character: When I first came into this I admittedly in some ways got what I was expecting, but in all honestly, there were plenty of surprises and interesting choices made here. In the original story, Broly was not only extremely powerful but he was a violent ball of rage who could not say anything other than his infamous "KAKAROOOOOOOT". He was pretty bland in the original story and was just kind of there to be the huge boss fight. In some ways, he was a bit of a big lipped alligator character. Here Broly is more of a Quasimodo type character, someone who could do some serious damage if pushed far enough but is a misunderstood gentle giant. Yeah, we've heard this story, it's Ferdinand the bull but with saiyans though what they do with it is surprisingly compelling and actually kind of relevant to the way some conservatives go too far when parenting children who don't necessarily fit in with social standards. In that case, the Frollo of this story is Paragus. He's a complete asshole who's constantly nitpicking and micromanaging his son because of the fact that he was born with an abnormal CP. He doesn't let Broly speak unless he's told it's ok, he calls Broly a danger to others, refuses to let Broly pursue his own interests and even hooks him up to an electrode device...I'm not kidding, that's in the movie. Gee, where have I seen this kind of parenting before...Oh yeah, the F%$king Judge Rotenberg Center treats their students EXACTLY like this! For those of you who don't know, there's a video on youtube of a news reporter visiting this place to find out if hooking mentally divergent children to shock devices is an abusive practice. In this video, she meets a young girl named Rachel wearing a shock device on her arms, neck and legs which is hooked up to her. Rachel seems to be calm but refuses to speak. The reporter asks to see the shock device remote and as soon as the aid pulls it out off a belt on her waist, Rachel tries to back away, moans and starts to cry. There's a scene in the movie that actually goes almost EXACTLY like that and for some people, it could be triggering. What's interesting about what they do with Broly is the fact that there's some animal motifs with his character being likened to domestic dogs, ,more specifically, bully breeds like pit bulls and rotties, dogs that have some of the strongest bite forces in the animal kingdom but are in general pretty gentle animals that don't attack unless seriously provoked. We even see that at one point Broly had a pet that was kind of like a space dog. Paragus of course wanted Broly to be a fighter so he considered the "dog" a distraction and shot its ear off. Broly decided that he'd keep the animal's ear pelt as a makeshift blanket to wrap on his waist in order to remember his pet. Broly is also socially awkward, shy and even a bit emotional when he finds someone he trusts, that person being Cheelai. Broly does not want to be a soldier for Paragus but would rather live a peaceful existence on Vampa, of course Paragus disapproves of this and forces him into Frieza's army to which Frieza can manipulate him more. Broly is not fighting Goku because he wants to, he's fighting because he's been provoked far enough by his father and Frieza and cannot control his suppressed emotions. He's a complex social outcast who cannot control his own power yet and just wants to have a friend or two in his life. This Broly is 1,000 times better than the original and there were moments when I was actually crying. This Broly is a reflection of real world child abuse and for a dragon ball z movie, they tackle the abuse of divergent children by parents and teachers rather realistically and thoughtfully. Cheelai is not a peer to Broly, she's a legitimate friend and what comes out of their bond is really heartwarming. I can say this, you will end up rooting for him and smiling when he gets to pursue his own life in the end. Positive Elements: The rest of the cast is also pretty well put together. We see character development from almost everyone, and yes, even Frieza has several moments of this. Goku and Vegeta are the highlights of the movie besides Broly and are just a ton of fun to watch. Goku's got some good one liners, Vegeta's got some softie moments and of course, the fight choreography BLOWS the rest of Dragon Ball Z away. This movie's fight scenes kicked ass and no expense is spared here. The animation is superb and is without a doubt, the best in the franchise. I'd even say it reminds me of Don Bluth animation, it'd gorgeous to look at and although a bunch of craziness is flying at you, it looks amazing. The backstory on our saiyans is also well thought out and executed. We meet Goku's parents, a loving saiyan couple that sense something is up with Frieza and want to save their son by sending him to Earth. We meet Vegeta III who's an ableist power hungry jerk, and we get to see plenty of other new saiyans with distinctive personalities. Everything is connected in this story and it really shows how hard they were trying to write a thoughtful and compelling piece. We get to see plenty of amazing new locations, some excellent backdrops and get more insight into what makes these characters tick. The humor in this is also some of the best in the franchise. We had people in my theater cracking up when Goku and Vegeta left Frieza to deal with Broly for an hour while doing the fusion dance. There's even a nice little message about being who you are which is really nice to see out of a dragon ball z movie. The musical score is also pretty well done. Unlike any other dragon ball z movie, the score here is more orchestral and feels theatrical. The Gogeta transformation is absolutely perfect and is everything fans of Gogeta were hoping for. The final fight is just phenomenally animated and really blew  me away on the big screen. Also, the fact that they chose to let Broly live on as a friend to the main cast with more adventures to come for him is a positive way to further the message of the movie. The way this movie is executed is near perfect and serves as an experience that both fans of the show and newcomers can go and enjoy. What can I say, this movie is a fun and emotional popcorn flick that will leave you on the edge of your seats and cheering for our main cast. Nitpicks: There are definitely problems as with any movie. I'd say the biggest one is the waist of Beerus as a gag character. This is the friggin GOD OF DESTRUCTION and they reduce him to a throwaway gag early on. They also don't do a lot with Whis and that was kind of disappointing. We do finally get to see Whis in combat but it's blink and you will miss. Also, Frieza has lost a lot of his intimidation at this point. I'd say he's more of a troll than an evil emperor and his purpose in life is now just to mess with Goku rather than blow up his planet. It gets some good laughs but it feels out of character. These are the only true problems I have with the movie and honestly, these are really just nitpicks and not true criticisms. I really can't find any real faults with this one, and that's saiyan a lot The Verdict: Rarely do I consider a movie, let alone a dragon ball z movie, in the ranks of classics like Star Wars and Close Encounters, but Dragon Ball Super Broly truly deserves to be recognized as a cinematic classic in its own right. I hate most of the dragon ball z movies with Wrath of the Dragon and Battle of Gods being the only ones I really liked. This movie BLOWS all the previous films away and for me, even surpasses the entire franchise. New risks are taken here, more challenging topics are talked about, and our characters are more grey rather than just black and white. What makes this movie truly spectacular is that it can reach an audience beyond the fanbase. I saw people of all ages in that theater and I'd say about half the theater was non fans interested in checking the movie out for a popcorn flick night. I've only ever given a standing ovation in a theater to Star Wars VII, Coco, Arrival and Black Panther. Dragon Ball Super Broly is now on that list of films I've stood up clapping for. The visuals are stunning, the characters are multi dimensional, the story is near perfect, the music gave me goosebumps, it's a masterpiece of science fiction. I'd tell you to go see it, but let's face it, you probably already have. This is one super saiyan sized flick that will leave you cheering and asking for more. Story: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 Animation: 10/10 Rating: 9.5/10