#just some stills from the blu-ray extras

[exdeputysonso]

Midnight Heat (1996) Stills

[yumeka-sxf]

It's been a while since I made a merch post 🙂First items I want to share are these adorable pin+acrylic stand sets featuring the Forgers in their resort island outfits from the cruise arc ❤️

Next is some merch from the Anime Extra Mission event from June. I got a clear file (which I scanned in a previous post), a fan, and a copy of the pamphlet.

The pamphlet has some nice content, including interviews with all the voice actors, transcriptions of the live reading scripts they did at the event, and a cool chart of all the current anime episodes. Here's a few pages:

Not sure if I'll ever get around to translating all of it, but detailed summaries of the live reading stories are available on the Spy x Family Fan Wiki.

Next is some goods I got from the Nijigen no Mori collab that's been going on in Japan. I got a hat, an umbrella, a mug, a water bottle, and a clear file (which I also recently scanned).

I was thankful that the hat just about fit my fat head/thick hair!

The umbrella is really nice too! I'll definitely use it during the three days a year it rains here 😅 I could use it for sunny days too I suppose, lol.

Next is the CODE: White home video release! I liked the bonus merch that came with both the Toho deluxe version (left photo) and the Amazon JP deluxe version (right photo). So I got both.

Unfortunately, I had a mishap with my copy of the Amazon version where FedEx delivered it to the wrong house! I got the notification that it was delivered, but it wasn't at my front doorstep, plus the photo they shared was of a completely different front door, so I started freaking out. I drove around the block trying to find any neighboring houses that looked like the one in the photo. After I couldn't find it, I submitted an issue report to FedEx. They said they would try to track down the driver and figure out what happened. I wasn't too hopeful and was debating ordering it again, but decided to wait a bit. And much to my surprise, the next morning the driver found the missing package...but unfortunately the house he delivered it to had kids who opened it already. So he brought it to me in a different box with all the pieces loose. Luckily everything was in good shape and accounted for...or so I thought. The deluxe version came with a lot of extras and I didn't realize until later that day that I was actually missing a couple of things, notably the nice slipcover box for the discs and the art booklet. I was of course really mad about this, but I was able to find someone on Mercari selling a copy of the movie with these items for a good price, so I bought it.

The booklet is really cool - it has concept art, key frame sketches, and other neat info~ Here's a few pages:

By this point I had three copies of the movie on blu-ray (one of which had fingerprints on the discs from the grubby hands of the kids who opened my package 😑 At least the discs still worked) So I gave the extras away to friends.

I threw in the below little lenticular bookmark with one of my Mercari orders. It was given out at this past NatsuComi expo in Japan.

And lastly, some smaller items: postcards (which I also scanned) and a Twiyor pin~

[major-comet]

The Best Red vs Blue Watch Order Guide Ever. Of All Time.

So. You want to watch Red vs Blue, huh? Maybe you read my long post about how it's so weirdly incredible yet impossible to recommend and now you want to give it a shot. Or maybe you have seen the show before, but it's been a long time and/or you didn't watch any of the mini-series or anything and want to give it another go. Either way, looking at a show with a 21 year history is kind of daunting, and you have no idea where to start.

Well luckily for you, I've done the work for you.

This watch guide will cover all 19 seasons of the main show, most of the mini-series, and some of the PSA's and other such bonus content. There will be links provided for where you can watch everything I talk about. This Google Drive (from reddit u/Exitity, unsure if they also have a tumblr) has all of the individual episode uploads, and most of the stuff I'm going to be talking about, although I'm trying to use YouTube links wherever I can. Any links will be colored in light blue for additional visibility.

Couple of quick things before we begin.

When possible, watch the individual episode uploads rather than the "complete" editions. The "Completes", while they may provide a more streamlined viewing experience by cutting out all of the bumpers and outros and such, accomplish this by cutting out a lot of jokes. RvB has a lot of jokes that happen during the fade to black at the end of an episode, and a lot of those get lost in the edits. There's also some things that just straight up get cut for seemingly no reason. Side note, the DvD/Blu-Ray versions seem perfectly fine, and honestly are even better to watch than the individual episodes if you have them. They're like a best of both worlds - adding some extra music and such (ESPECIALLY in the first 5 seasons) that really helps make a nice presentation of the show. If that's an option available to you, I recommend it. Otherwise, stick with the individual episodes.

At the end of each entry in the list, I may present a Side Quest section. This will include anything I feel you should watch that isn't necessarily canon, but helps add some extra life to the series. This may include some behind the scenes stuff or a selection of the PSA's and the non-canon mini-series. This stuff can be really great for building out the characters in a way that doesn't necessarily affect the greater story, and can especially be good for interactions between characters that maybe don't interact much in the main show. Anything I put in a Side Quest is strictly optional, but will add to your viewing experience. Obviously, there's a lot more bonus material than what I'm putting here. I'm just putting down some of the highlights. And if you end up liking the PSAs and such then just know: there's so much more for you to explore.

Early RvB is very much a product of it's time, and sometimes you'll get hit with a line that stops you dead in your tracks. Adult-oriented comedies can always be a minefield, and RVB's roots as a show made for Halo fans in 2003 definitely don't help. However, while this is the most common in the first five seasons, it never really stops being an issue. The purpose of this guide is simply for watch order, but if you have any specific trigger-related questions about any season of rvb please feel free to shoot me an ask or even a DM - i'm more than happy to help.

Okay, let's begin, breaking it down by arc.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles

You may hear people telling you to skip the first five seasons of the show and just pick up with Season 6. Those people are lying to you and do not have your best interests at heart. The first five seasons are pretty much strictly comedy, and from Season 6 onward the show starts to explore deeper themes and stories while still falling back on that comedic foundation. Skipping straight to the deeper stuff doesn't work very well IMO, because those five seasons are spent getting to know the characters we're going to be following for the rest of the show. The stuff that happens in Blood Gulch never stops being important - whether it's side characters showing back up again later on, or laying the foundation for a lot of the moments and story lines that make some of the later seasons so special.

Anyways, the watch order.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Out of Mind - Mini-series

Season 5

Blood Gulch Side Quests

Tattoo Point/Counterpoint - Season 1 PSA

A Message to the Science Community - Season 2 PSA

Real Life VS. The Internet - Season 2 PSA

All of the deleted scenes, honestly, but This One in particular because asphodel and I quote it all the time.

The Outtakes/Bloopers - I'm not gonna put the link for these and the deleted scenes for every arc, but just know that you should watch them after every season/arc. There's some great stuff in there.

The Season 5 Alternate Endings

Either watch it Now, or after you watch the finale, but I highly recommend the 2003 Season 1 DVD Commentary. It's just Burnie (Church/Lopez/Vic) and Geoff (Grif), and it's really nice.

If you've ever watched any behind the scenes stuff for RvB or even rooster teeth as a whole, you have almost certainly seen This Clip, which is a behind the scenes of the voice recording for Grif and Simmons' lines in episode 1.

The Recollection

Recovery One - Mini-series

Season 6 - Reconstruction

Relocated - Mini-series

Season 7 - Recreation

Season 8 - Revelation

Recollection Side Quests

First! - Season 6 PSA

Small Rewards - Season 6 PSA

Rock the Vote and Rock the Veto - PSAs made to encourage RvB viewers to register to vote. Which at the time you could do on your xbox 360. These are here mostly as a "wtf" historical piece.

Halo-Ween - Season 7 PSA

Valentine's Day - Season 7 PSA

Fire Safety: Where There's Smoke... - Season 7 PSA. genuinely one of the best.

Holiday Plans - Mini-series

The Reach PSA series - Three parts total, only part one is linked.

Project Freelancer Saga

Season 9

Technically there's two mini-series that take place during Season 9 - being M.I.A. and Where There's a Will, There's a Wall. I really love them, and would recommend watching them after S9, but if you really want to roll into S10 you won't miss much. Weirdly there's a place later on that would be a great spot to circle back to these, but I'll save that for later.

Season 10

Project Freelancer Side Quests

This is a great spot to circle back to older side quests you may have skipped, btw.

The Season 10 Table Read BTS - Season 10 was the first time they ever did a full cast table read for the show, and it's cool to see a few snippets from it and hear the crew talk about it.

Matt Hullum Talks to Himself - watch this after M.I.A. it's a live table read of part of the script, with a focus on a conversation between Sarge and Doc (who have the same voice actor)

This 10 Year Retrospective that was put out around Season 10. Watching it now, knowing that they were about halfway through the lifespan of the show / company gives it a whole new perspective.

RT Oz - PSA

Remember Not to Forget and Voting Fever - PSAs made to promote the launch of Halo 4. Voting Fever is one of the Best Ever (and listen to the full version of That's How Voting Works afterwards!)

This Interview between Burnie and Trocadero talking about the music the band has done for the show. This playlist also has a bunch of other behind the scenes and other such bonus stuff from the DVDs and Blu-Rays, it's great to keep around.

The Chorus Trilogy

Season 11

The Chorus Journal Entries - Only three have fully machinimated versions, the last one is just the log entry. Bridges the gap between 11 and 12

Season 12

Season 13

Chorus Trilogy Side Quests

#1 Movie in the Galaxy - PSA

Getting Away From it All - PSA

#1 Movie in the Galaxy: 2 - PSA

Uh. I think the RvB Holiday Special goes here

Matt Hullum (Sarge) reading an excerpt from 50 Shades of Gray at a book signing.

Season 14 - Anthology

I get it: not everyone loves the Anthology format. I truly do recommend watching all of it at least once - or if you haven't in a long time. My only Side Quests are to say that this is the perfect time to go back to M.I.A. and WTAWTAW if you skipped them after season 9, and that if you skipped the #1 Movie In the Galaxy PSAs during Chorus, watch them now before the third one, which is in this season.

The Shisno Trilogy (seasons 15, 16, and 17)

Season 15

Season 16 - The Shisno Paradox

Season 17 - Singularity

Shisno Side Quests (this is taken from our survey data because it's been so long since I've watched much of any shisno-related stuff)

Hard Truths - PSA

Diversity - PSA

Cultural Appreciation - PSA

Lopez's Technical Guide to Empathy - PSA

Unreal Estate - PSA

Caboose's Guide to Finding Your Home - sequel to the Guide to Making Friends from season 14

RvB: Zero + Family Shatters

okay so here's the deal. If by this point, you're really just interested in the characters you've been watching for the past 17 seasons and not so much the story or anything - you may not get much from watching Zero. I do think it's interesting to watch, if only because I think it's got a lot of missed potential. Zero is not served well by being a season of RvB, I think I would have liked it a lot more if it were stand-alone, though that doesn't fix all of my issues with it. If you wanna jump straight to the series finale, you absolutely can. It's a pretty short watch, though, and I've heard that Family Shatters was better. I'll watch that one at some point.

Zero

Family Shatters - spinoff

Restoration

This is it! The series finale.

I'm not doing this with an other season (though I do recommend going back and watching all the teasers and trailers at some point), but before you watch the finale you should watch The First Trailer For It. I think it sets up the season really well, and helps make some of the rushed set-up exposition in Restoration make a little bit more sense. honestly this should just be considered the first scene of the finale. Then watch the finale, and then you are done with all of the main show of Red VS Blue. Go forth, and be free.

Final Side Quest

I'm putting anything that came out in the nebulous time between Zero and the finale in here. I'll come back and edit this once we find out what on earth is going to be on the Blu-Ray.

Offensive Driving

First Person Tutor

Moving Out

The Video RT Made to Announce Master Chief and Blood Gulch Were Coming To Fortnite. This played at the game awards and my soul almost left my body

This is also where I'll put QvsA, which is the Grimmons mini-series, though I haven't actually watched it myself yet. They're all on youtube.

My all-time favorite RvB fan edit - doesn't actually have any clips post-anthology, but I think the end is a great time to watch it.

If none of this makes sense, or you just have any questions at all - I am More than happy to help answer your queries. I hope this helps :) Also if any of the links are broken please let me know.

[thislovintime]

Remembering David Jones, and sending thoughts to his family and friends.

(Footage in this edit from the Blu-ray set, Getty Images, Australian TV, Extra, the 1990s documentary; audio 1 from Peter's 1999 interview with GOLD 104.5.)

“Genuine, reliable and huggable, Peter is a natural person — really gets off on talent — loves other musicians and can jam along with the best of ‘em. I saw him holding his own with Hendrix, Stills, Young. He encouraged me no end. Bought me my first guitar and my first drum kit. […] He used to walk with a swagger, swinging his arms with a confident air. He calmed hysteria, and lifted depression. ‘Dried banana, anybody? Piece of orange?’ — smiling, waving, running his hands through his hair. He knew all the crew by their first names. Kids crying at his feet he lifted and hugged like a father calming a child. […] He’s the most musically talented of us all by a mile. His songs are real. ‘For Pete’s Sake’ — which replaced the Monkees Theme at the end of some of the shows of the second season — is one of my all-time favorite songs by anybody. I’ve joked a lot about Peter giving everything away. But it was true. He was always giving his spare room to someone who needed it for the night — anyone. And he always seemed far away somewhere — in a different space. But I’m glad I know him. Of all the things he gave me, he gave me lots of laughs — and food for thought.” - Davy Jones, They Made A Monkee Out Of Me (1988) “I enjoyed [Micky] the most, respected Mike the most, and loved Davy the most.” - Peter Tork, Hartford Courant, February 26, 1982 “Davy adored performing, and adored meeting and greeting his fans. He was tireless in making himself available to sing a song, do a dance, shake a hand; whatever was asked. I had heart-to-heart moments with him that were among the best in my life. I was blessed to know and work closely with him. He was one in about 6 billion, give or take. We won’t see his like again. He left much too soon. I share your sadness. Thank you again for this chance to contribute. God bless and keep you all.” - Peter Tork in a note for a Pennsylvania memorial event for Davy, also shared via Peter’s official Facebook page, 2012 Peter Tork: “He was a master of many aspects of this kind of thing [entertaining], and, you know, and we had some very wonderful personal connections, and I’m really sad to see all that gone.” Q: “He just seemed to be a fun guy. I know he loved horses.” PT: “Sure did.” Q: “And obviously loved Peter.” PT: “Sure did. Loved him.” - 94.5 FM (Phoenix), 2013 “[Micky] and Mike and I have a very cordial relationship and share a lot of common topics. We go to lunch together when we’re all in town and have a good time. I love and respect each of these guys in their own way, although the real joys that I shared with Davy were special. At one point we had some good hard connections but as the years rolled on, those things faded away. But I am sorry to see Davy go. He was the one member in the group that I had the strongest human connection with. I still have two guys that I love and respect left from the band, but we share a different dynamic.” - Peter Tork, Review Mag, May 27, 2016

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 24-30, 2024)

A coworker asked tonight me how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire measured up to Godzilla Minus One, and I responded, "Almost as good, but in a completely different way." If you like monsters (and if you're following me I have to assume you do), see it, no questions asked. There's about a million of them and they're all delightful. The franchise has long struggled to recapture the specific charms of the Showa era, and I think this comes closer than any of them. (It's the climactic tag-team battle... also Mothra returning to knock some sense into Godzilla). Pure junk food, but you can't just watch Oppenheimer all the time.

Godzilla x Kong tore up the box office this weekend, performing well above expectations. Its $80 million opening Stateside was the second-best of the Monsterverse (after Godzilla). It added another $114 million internationally for the best overall opening of the (still-young) year. China was a big part of that with $44 million; giant monster movies are among the few Hollywood imports that still play well there. With a $135 million budget, lowest of the Monsterverse by a wide margin, it's a matter of when, not if, Legendary announces the next one.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added an entry for tokusatsu, defined as "A genre of Japanese film or television entertainment characterized by the use of practical special effects, usually featuring giant monsters, transforming robots, and masked and costumed superheroes." It's part of a group of 23 freshly-acknowledged Japanese loan words; unclear if the timing is coincidental. Oh, and if you're curious, they added kaiju in 2018. As someone who remembers when the only English-speakers who used either word were in fandom, it's pretty wild to see.

French company Extralucid Films will release Gappa on Blu-ray in June. The impressive-sounding bonus features are naturally all in French, but there's one that transcends language: 17 minutes of extra monster footage. The U.S. version of Gappa, Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, only has about 7 minutes worth of shots absent from the Japanese version, so I'm pretty curious about the other 10. It's also the first time this footage has been released in HD (Tokyo Shock blew it in 2020).

Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again is indeed receiving official English subtitles, starting the same day as the Japanese premiere, April 10. Godzilla Battle Line also added a hilariously busted joint Chibi Godzilla-Chibi Mechagodzilla unit, along with a Destoroyah variant. (Maybe Godzilla x Kong units are next month?)

A new Monsterverse movie means new books to buy. The prequel comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted is out already (not recommended), but officially you'll have to wait until April 23 for the novelization and May 14 for the art book. Chalk that up to the late release date change, maybe. Unofficially, people are already getting the novelization from Amazon, because they're a monopoly that can afford to pay the fines from publishers for breaking street date. The audiobook version also released on the same day as the film. I don't have intel on what it adds and changes yet; adding everything from the film itself to Wikizilla is all I can handle right now.

The San Francisco Giants are offering a Godzilla VIP Experience on May 17, a long-overdue acknowledgement of the savior of their city. Tickets are almost gone, though I think it's a shame that the promotion is opt-in to begin; what happened to giving these tchotchkes out to the first thousand fans? Well, figures that they'd make getting merch of the Minus One Godzilla in the States a hassle.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

While some kids must have the same mum, which is normal; because if we take only Grace Field, there are not so THAT much sisters who will complete their training in the HQ compared to all the kids in all the orphanages of GF (considering how hard is the traning, when we sees Krone's extra). Considering Isabella's words, Emma is the first she planned to propose for years. Maybe the FIRST she planned to propose. So it must not happen THAT often.

I mean in Isabella's orphanage they were 33 i think? and if there are 5 orphanages, we have 165 children for all Grace Field, with 6 new every year for every place so 30 by year. So every year 30 babies must be born.

So it's logical that some have the same mother. And i fell bad for the sisters who have to do that few times. It must be a torture.

But i wonder....the fathers must be sperm donators who doesn't know anything about the system. But I wonder how much kids have the same 'father'.

From your ask from a few months ago, we confirmed Grace Field is made up of five plants, and Ray confirms in chapter 4/episode 2 that there are 37 kids after Conny's shipment and prior to Carol's arrival.

(S1 Episode 1; Isabella also apparently reminds of their numbers every day at meal time)

(Minerva Confidential Report released with the S1 Blu-ray; 38 children accounted for on October 12, 2045)

The last chapter of the first light novel takes place around Norman's birthday in March 2045 and is also titled "The Gift from the 39th Girl" (available as a sound drama here) which further supports they keep at the very least plant no.3 supplied with 38 kids the majority of the time between shipments.

Assuming that number is applied to the other four plants, there's roughly 190 kids in the orphanages at any given time in Grace Field's current incarnation.

if we take only Grace Field, there are not so THAT much sisters who will complete their training in the HQ compared to all the kids in all the orphanages of GF (considering how hard is the training, when we sees Krone's extra). Considering Isabella's words, Emma is the first she planned to propose for years. Maybe the FIRST she planned to propose. So it must not happen THAT often.

And like I said in that earlier ask and this one, I still don't understand how the math works out for this given how brutal and unforgiving headquarters is, but we go along on Shirai's ride and chalk it up to dystopian horror magicks to explain how they kept this up for centuries.

I could believe Emma is the first sister candidate Isabella offered a recommendation for the mom position in years given the significance of them being narrative foils and Emma potentially being among the first children Isabella raised entirely by herself at plant no.3 for added poignancy, though with how she was also the only mom who had the older girls exclusively assisting her in the care of the youngest babies

(Chapter 7 | Chapter 12)

I think you could just as easily argue she recommended multiple girls before Emma with how she maximized their time for pursuits that would better equip them to become sisters/moms. (Why "waste" it on boys when their only future was to be food? Further entrenchment in rigid, traditional gender roles).

So it's logical that some have the same mother. And i fell bad for the sisters who have to do that few times. It must be a torture. But i wonder....the fathers must be sperm donators who doesn't know anything about the system. But I wonder how much kids have the same 'father'.

Shirai never ever touching this with a 20-foot pole with how icky the dehumanization of the farm system feels already in the present:

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 Q&A)

Without even getting into how they handled things prior to artificial insemination. (Though I do personally favor a member of the Ratri clan's branch family being a male relative of Norman's two to four generations back).

But yeah, the people themselves probably just think they're donating to a regular licensed sperm bank that guarantees anonymity between all parties involved, so they wouldn't know if their genetic material was being used even under regular circumstances, and with the Ratri clan's power even into the present day after WWIII when countries and borders have been abolished, they still had enough influence where they could arrange deals with these banks to provide enough genetic material to keep all the farms going without anyone really questioning it.

I like the Emma & Carol, Norman & Rossi, and Norman & Sherry are (half-biological) siblings through their moms theories, but maybe in the human world they do genetic testing and find out who they're related to among the cattle children and among people in the human world through their sperm donors.

[dunmeshistash]

Seriously where are y'all finding these extra info pages from?? Like just when I thought I found everything Ryoko Kui drew of dungeon meshi, someone pulls up with a new illustration

Depends which ones you mean LOL

There's some stuff in the new adventurer's bible (Still untranslated) that aren't in the english version, and in 2023 ryoko kui deleted a BUNCH of art from her blog that you can only find if you search for them specifically on reddit and such.

You can read my sources post for more information

There's even more stuff coming out tho, the new blu-ray set apparently has even more "what if" scenarios extras?

[stobotnikworld]

Sonic 3 - Wtf was that absolute shitshow ??

I'm sorry, but I'm sticking with what I said originally. This film was fucking awful. It was like a slightly better version of a Knuckles episode, but it felt like it had been written by some garbage fanfiction writer who had never heard of Sonic before, and directed by some amateur teenage art student who'd never read a book in their life, or learned how to film.

This is why I like writing my own fanfiction, and reading other people's, because once a franchise becomes cocky and turns on its head it's all the way down from there. Like WAY fucking down. Knuckles was just the beginning...

However fanfiction is exactly that. It's fanfiction, it stays within the fandom so it doesn't look like it's taking a shit on a franchise.

-

I'm putting this massive rant under the cut so that people can skip it if they want, but there is no way I'd see Sonic 3 again and I'm definitely not buying it when it comes out on Blu-Ray.

Sonic 4 is not going to be on my cinema views list after this. The way this franchise is going at the moment, it may not even be on my fanfiction writing list.

I am super glad that Sonic 3 smashed the box office though, the ammount of work Jim Carrey and Lee Majdoub put into the franchise. They deserve it, and the first two films were definitely worth any extra pay that will come from this film. They're wonderful people, wonderful actors, they deserve all the praise they get.

So I'm not trying to be a dick, and they have entertained us wonderfully, which I'm extremely grateful for and I know a lot of other people are too.

They are the only reasons why I still paid to see the film, even after thinking that it looked awful initially. The ammount of work and effort and time they put in, it's not asking a lot for me to support them by taking time out of my day to see their work.

In fact their work wasn't the problem. At any point.

-

I also respect that we all have our own opinions, and I don't want to keep talking about this from this point forth, so I'm not going to go out of my way to try and ruin it for others like a troll on social media etc.

But there are things that need to be said, and this is my Tumblr and my post to say it on, and that way if people want to skip it they can.

Then after this post, I won't get into conversation about it again because I don't want there to be negativity in the fandom, and tbh I really can't be arsed.

I just want to focus on enjoying what is left of Stobotnik, and salvaging what is left of my enjoyment of this fandom before I completely go off it. I feel like my brain has been sandblasted, and it's time I can't get back, and I'm dumber than before I saw the film.

From myself and the other fans who feels this way, fuck you to whoever designed this shitshow.

Whatever you did with this film, don't ever do it again.

EVER.

You are not invincible - you can fall overnight, just like any franchise can. Don't let that happen if you are actually serious about carrying on with this franchise.

The film opens with Shadow waking up in the tank and attacking all of GUN. After this point, 99% of the film had been shown (or misrepresented) in the trailers and clips to make it look a lot better than it actually was.

That was the first thing I noticed, and I mean LITERALLY 99% of the film had been shown throughout the year, almost as though it was a home-made fan film that people were funding out of their own pocket. Where the directors had never made a film before, and needed constant validation from the public that they were writing, filming and animating properly.

There was a whole different feel to this film because of that, and it was fucking weird - and not in a good way.

Everyone felt out of character (more on that later) and literally every tweet about everything Sonic related (fan suggestions and all etc) since the second film were probably staff members asking 'wtf do we do? We have no idea how to script.'

The development between Stone and Robotnik literally never happened. There were a couple of scenes (and I mean like, a couple) that had been shown in the trailers and spoiled through clips online, but literally everything you saw in the film had been put into the trailers and clips. So, watching it in the cinema felt like watching a pirated copy online because there was nothing left to see.

Every second, every scrap of film had been jammed into the trailers and clips to try and get the numbers in. It actually felt like massive scene cuts had been made, like 40 minutes had been cut PER SCENE.

It reminded me of The Last Of Us 2 where most of the game got cut because the staff weren't paid and went on strikes, so they replaced all the good content and jammed in all this budget crap instead from scraps on the cutting room floor.

The finished Sonic 3 film was super, super rushed, far too much crammed in with no depth, development or character exploration, and you could barely tell what was going on from one minute to the next. You know how long each scene was in the trailer? That is literally how long those scenes were in the film.

This film could have been split into a further three films if directed and written properly, with tons and tons of material and deleted scenes left over for the Blu-rays.

Literally 99.5% of the film had been uploaded onto YouTube through trailers, clips and 'theories' throughout the year, almost as though they were constantly checking to see what fans thought. Every tweet, every 'what if', every supposed character design right down to the last pixel, it was confirmation of what the film was going to be about...

If you took all the clips that are on YouTube and put them back to back, you have the entire film. Literally the entire film, I cannot emphasise that enough. Just.. why??? WHY?? What junior twat was responsible for this??

Even Carrey seemed wooden in many parts, and he's an amazing actor.

Everyone was super out of character, it felt like budget cuts had been made everywhere - even on the scrap toilet-newspaper the script had been written.

Tom and Maddy were complete strangers to Sonic, their lives had been cut from each others, the whole thing felt really fucking weird... It's like they had both abandoned Sonic as their child, and the look Maddie gave him in the hospital van was like serial killer eyes.

Like she had never met him before, didn't want the law to protect him, had no feeling towards him. She was cold, she had been so ready to dump Sonic at military school right there and then, just to see him be killed. Not even in a 'huge character mother/son tough-love development arc' kind of way. No, just.. fucking weird.

And WTF was with all the 2min scenes with different characters as though to go 'they're here in the film, but we're not paying them, they're purely appearing for SEO online.' I feel so bad for all the other actors who got shit on. I mean royally fucking shit on, especially the guy playing Commander Walters.

He was such a big character, his death was absolutely meaningless, was over in 2 seconds, no context, no respect, nothing. It almost felt like the other actors were volunteering unpaid. Or else they had been created from CGI and the offer of payment had never been available in the first place.

Was this a result from losing that much money from the Knuckles show because it was complete garbage that nobody wanted and didn't feel invested in?? Or was something else going on in the background? Because it felt like the only real acting going on here was to promote the film and behind the scenes to get people into the cinema to see it.

I mean.. this literally felt like the transition from beautiful watercolour handrawn Lilo & Stitch 1 to the garbage TV cartoon that destroyed the whole franchise.

Or from the fantastic Topcat 1950s show to whatever home-wrecking bullshit we have today. I cannot emphasise enough just how bad this script was, and everything in it.

I was left with more questions than answers after watching the film, and not good ones like 'hey I've got to write something or explore this situation, and I'm going to enjoy it in the process.' Just literally - WTF.

This film was so depressing and not for the supposedly emotional storyline - that it wasn't even, because the main storyline didn't exist.

Shadow had a few nice moments, but for a film that was supposed to be all about him and Maria he was barely in the film at all. They had 'Knuckled' him - which is what I'm calling it now when they take a shit on a character, like they have done all his life. For some really weird fucking reason, that's never been explained.

I mean.. I am so lucky that I watched a bit of the old Sonic cartoons before this film came out, otherwise I would have been like 'who tf is Shadow' and 'who tf is Maria' that's how little info there was.

We literally have no idea what happened to Sonic between films 2 and 3, and there were so many story errors... like with Sonic's cave. Like Tom had never seen it before - yet he and Maddy found all Sonic's shit from his cave in the first place and brought it home.

Tom and Maddy also didn't seem to give two shits whether he lived or died, and what chaos it could bring to their lives. Sonic is their KID, it's their job to protect him.

It's actually completely put me off the Sonic Live franchise now. I'm glad it kicked Disney's butt, they deserve it with all their paedophiles and rapists and nazi bullshit, but the Sonic film in itself? Completely weird, very uncomfortable, super rushed garbage.

Like a long TV episode that's been made up of 7 seasons, and then shoved together quickly so that there is no backstory and no room to explain, explore or feel. Every single thing the fans said throughout the last year or so, appeared in the film in almost exactly the words they said it. Zero creativity.

Zero, zero creativity. This is a film I would happily pay not to have to watch again. A definite straight to Blu-Ray, home film kind of thing. For £3.

The 2 seconds worth of Stobotnik (and I do say 2 seconds, because literally every tiny scene you see in the film is in the goddamn trailer or clips), was the only saving point - and I'm not saying that because I'm a Stobotnik fan. That was literally the only saving point...

That and Shadow and Maria's story that was like 2mins long, and had an ending that made no sense whatsoever...

[batmannotes]

Super Friends: The Complete Series (DVD & Blu-ray) Box Set

Super Friends: The Complete Collection Box Set comes in two different formats; standard definition DVDs and for the very first time, High-Definition Blu-rays. 

Super Friends 1973 Blu-Ray Screenshot

The Super Friends is an animated television series which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Sadly, kids today will never know the excitement of waking up early on a Saturday morning and watching wall-to-wall cartoons. Back then there was no streaming your favorite animated series on your tv or mobile devices whenever you wanted, however you did get your fill of kids programming on the weekends. 

The All-New Super Friends Hour 1977 Blu-Ray Screenshot

The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera, who was behind tons of cartoons back in the day like the Flintstones and Jetsons. The Super Friends were obviously members of the Justice League from DC Comics that were rebranded in name. Throughout the show’s 12 year run it had slight name variations like The All-New Super Friends Hour, The Challenge of the Super Friends (which was my personal favorite year), and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, among others. Here is a list of the different name changes through the years. 

Super Friends (1973–1974) 

The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977) 

Challenge of the Super Friends (1978) 

The World's Greatest Super Friends (1979) 

Super Friends (1980–1983) 

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984) 

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) 

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) 

The great news here is that you will find all 9 seasons of the 12-year run in this box set including The Lost Episodes. This release has an amazing runtime of 3142 minutes. The Blu-ray version contains 16 discs and the dvd version has 21. Upon doing a side by side comparison of my old DVDs of the show and the newly released version of DVDs, I really can’t notice any difference, however since the old DVDs are out of print and hard to find nowadays this is a great way of collecting all the episodes in one place if you simply want to collect the show on DVD. 

Comparing the original DVD (left) with the 2024 release (right)

However, my excitement for this release is definitely for the Blu-ray version. This is the first time that fans can add the high-definition version to their home library. Looking at a side-by-side comparison of the original standard defintion DVD version next to the newly released Blu-ray version you immediately notice the beautiful upgrade in color. The animation gets a boast in chroma, unfortunately, that seems to be where the upgrade ends. Little attention was given to cleaning up the film cels that make up the picture here, as spots and other insincerities are still obvious. After so many complaints about how Warner Bros. remastered Max Fleischer's Superman cartoons, the studio is a bit more careful now on how they clean up these older animated titles. Here they were a little too careful … maybe even just lazy.

Comparing the original DVD (left) with the 2024 Blu-Ray (right)

You will also notice this is a very bare-bones release. There is no accompanying booklet or physical extras and NO DIGITAL COPY. On the discs themselves you will find the same extra featurettes that were on the original DVDs such as One-Dimensional Goodness: The Super Friends and the Good Old Days, The Super Powers Collection: The Effect of the Toy Industry on the Super Friends, among a host of others. These featurettes do not receive any upgrades in picture or sound. One of the most annoying things to me is the actual box the discs are in. The discs do not pull out easily from their holder and they certainly don’t pop back into to place without some serious frustration. The bracket on my box set also broke away from the box itself within the first couple times of opening it up. The discs themselves are also extremely basic. No artwork of the characters like most of the original DVDs had on them. That said, the titles are easy to read and presented in an assorted color for each season. 

Shot of open Blu-Ray Box Set/Discs

But let’s face it, the real reason fans are grabbing this release with such delight is for the show itself. For many of us this was an introduction to the superheroes such as Batman & Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern. Long before I picked up my first comic book, I watched the Super Friends each and every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Not only was this how I discovered comic books, but it was also my entry way into superhero toys and collectibles. Last year I was really pushing to get this box set released for the Super Friends 50th anniversary, but I will say it puts a huge smile on my face to own every episode now in HD in this mega box set. The lack of extra aside, this is a must-have for Justice League fans. Check out the link here where you can grab a copy for yourself. 

Check out links below for purchase options

The greatest of the DC superheroes work together to uphold the good with the help of some young proteges. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, Super Friends is an animated TV series, featuring the Justice League of America, that ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part the Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

Blu-Ray Box Set available: https://amzn.to/4d8hfaR

DVD Box Set: https://amzn.to/3Bbi99l

Watch the video review below:

[86stagram]

🧀🐹💨brb 🙋‍♀️(Kunsei-ham's servant) Fresh fruits hamster (?)

My Pretty series life started with PriPara! I started watching anime first, and later started playing that game. subtitle from that time is '2014-2015 3rd live February' ; I remember getting the 'Valentine Zukyun skirt' 💖

I was familiar with PriPara than with Pretty Rhythm, but when there run I frequently used the QR codes from 'Fashionable items for use in PriPara : 1450'! I still keep both that & 2DS at home🏯 (2DS? You wanna know why? It's just little easier to scan QR codes on the 2DS than on the 3DS... and inexpensive)

The charm of clothing is what got me interested in Pretty Rhythm✨ But I didn't have much opportunity, I was very busy at the time...😢

I finished watching 'Rainbow Live' & began watch 'Dear My Future' in April! that's feel me so real & authentic anime...😭🙏(Tears of emotion and gratitude) ... some Japanese otaku use like 'real' or 'authentic' as a compliment, haha

Finally got around to watching DMF 11! There’s still a lot haha Sho... Someone Japanese said... 'ショウさん器が小(ショウ)さん' hahaha, yabai...🤣 He is small-minded. that's his one of charm. maybe🙄

and... I need to watch 'KinPri' because come the new movie in summer! I'm interested in that but I don't know past story yet. But I heard it's interesting! I haven't even finished watching all episode of the Pretty series yet, but I'm looking forward!

↓🎀Roni-ish coord (What do you think?)

Awww...

Bankrupt RONI... It's been 4 years and more since, but I still find painful emotions💔 Oh, RONI, with the brand's sleep, my PriPara dreams go to far way😭 I really hope they bring back the collaboration items from that time in adpara... no, no matter how much I wish, there are things which won't come true!

RONI's spirit lives in my heart, and I find joy in seeing Prizmmy☆'s members adorned in that designs at bonus footage👚👗🧥 kawaii✨

I'm planning to watch the DMF extras later because they're only on Blu-ray BOX. (Luckily, my family has that! Usually, I watch on streaming service. It's convenient, isn't it? Umm... That's it🐌😉)

🧡🐹🧡🐹🧡🐹🧡🐹🧡🐹🧡

( í Y ì )Gah! there are almost no SS of me wearing RONI at that time

I'm jealous!( í Y ì ) You guys have so many pic left

In case you were wondering, they are my friends(´Y｀) 🖤Xey 💜Suu 💚Refrain 🤎Netero!!! -with 3 exclamation marks

Netero!!!, her name means that 'go to sleep'💤 Her performance is incredible enough to knock out💤 : That's a setup for her character. and other name is meaningless. Umm... maybe

btw, the person who wrote this has many OCs. I've never seen anyone with more OCs than her. How many does she have❔❔❔🐹Let me see, maybe 60 over

~🎉~🎀~🔑~🐹~✨~🩰~💭

I will try challenge day by day!(日々精進) See you later!

[asktheghosthost]

Some scattered thoughts on the 2023 HM movie

Maybe I'll do something more in depth later after the wide release and when I'm not so exhausted

But for now, here's some notes. There are a couple of minor spoilers, so I'll still put this under a read more. Be warned.

I really enjoyed the Easter eggs. I'm looking forward to getting the blu ray and pausing it every five seconds to see what I spy in the background.

Our mortal crew is very likable. Ben is definitely the stand out character for me. His arc is lovely and sympathetic and he almost made me cry.

I liked how the film approaches grief and loss and love. It felt sincere. And it was handled in a way that I think most kids would get, too. If anything, it may help open up conversations for some of the younger audience.

Lots of character cameos, and multiple new ghosts created just for the film. Really appreciated the new spirits. They fit right in. The extras and supporting cast playing these quirky ghosts were great. ... Pay them. Pay them what they're worth. You couldn't have this massive menagerie of the macabre without them

I've seen a lot of reviews say the jokes can fall flat. Most of them hit for me. "It'll cost you... three dollars," still made me giggle.

Hatty... I'm so glad Disney finally made a proper outright villain again. Not a twist villain. Just a straight up murderous, power hungry, manipulative, absolute asshole. It's been way too long. Pay your writers, and pay them well so we can get more of this.

The way the Mansion would change and rearrange itself was great. I love that the house is a character all on its own. It has a backstory. It's its own entity in a way. Love that. Properly pay your animators and special effects team, because their work is the only way that kind of thing is accomplished so well.

William Gracey is a total sweetheart and I love him. His backstory is actually super similar to Edward's, so that might bug some people. But he's different enough in his demeanor, I think, that maybe it won't be really obvious if you're not thinking that hard about it. But, yeah, there are a couple of things that feel repeated from the 2003 movie. I don't know how much of that to chalk up to tropes, or if it was some intentional reworking. This isn't a remake, it's still its own thing, but it's easy to see some inspiration from the previous film.

Loved Connie. No thoughts in that head except "WHACKITY-WHACK!" She's chaotically vicious for the sake of it, and that's fun. My perfect Constance is Debbie from Adam's Family Values. Or a slightly sympathetic schemer, for a more grounded route. But I'll take maniacal seriel killer Connie, too. One moment with her actually got the biggest laugh from me.

Thinking about it, it also borrowed plot elements from the 2003 video game, too. But did those elements better. For the most part.

That's all that's coming to mind right now. Might talk more about it later. I had a good time. I do recommend it. Are there things I'd do differently? Well, yeah. I still want something where the ghosts are the focus. But I guess I'll just provide that myself. And the IDW and SLG comics also give us that.

I look forward to discussing it more with the fandom once the film has been out a while longer. I think there'll be a lot of different opinions on it.

[journalofawinchester]

Hey SPN fans!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks; I have been very busy - I have been going through all of the bonus material from the Supernatural 1-15 Blu-Ray set and I came to the conclusion that my hand made journal was too dark! In my opinion, the journal screencaps I originally took from Season 1 appeared much darker than other seasons, but in some of the bonus material I was able to see the journal's truer colour and it's much lighter than what I ended up with...

So...I just couldn't carry on without starting again...very frustrating and annoying but I couldn't stop thinking about it. This time around I went with 1.5mm thick veg leather instead of 4mm thick cowhide, just purely because it was an absolute nightmare to stitch the first time around - I didn't use a stitching pony or any power tools and was entirely by hand. I also got some better, sharper leather piercing forks which had a much more circle cut opposed to my original slanted holes.

So attempt 2 went very well; learning from mistakes from the first time around. I stayed up all night to get the stitching done and I was very pleased with the result...

The following day I tackled the dyeing process. I went straight in with a dark brown the first time; but knowing now that the journal is actually much lighter than first thought, I used saddle tan from Fiebing's. I applied a base coat in circular motion and left it for a few hours to sink in. I then used a light brown standard dye from Fiebing's and dyed just in certain places, to give the journal a slight worn/distressed look as in the show.

I also bought extra leather this time around in case I mucked up, but I am pleased to say it came out very well - here it is:

I have transferred all the content and pins to the newly finished one and I am much happier about it!

I may, at some point, when I have some time, make another one with the spare leather and put it up for sale on my Etsy shop. Maybe.

I will try my best to post more pages as soon as I can. I am still working hard on other things relating to Supernatural; I now have 19 items available on Etsy from ID cards to book covers to passport props, Journal content and more. Please check it out if you can!

I'm also offering 20% off at the moment for Christmas. Please send me a message if you'd like the discount code!

[weirdratwrites]

I like the idea of a creepy cozy setting.

You live alone ("alone") in the woods near a rocky beach. The mornings are so foggy you can't see past your porch, the days are overcast enough you'd think it was twilight, and the nights are as clear as glass. There's storms and high winds and all sorts of completely normal weather phenomena, but your normal is abnormal compared to those things.

You maintain your lifestyle throughout the day, and prep for Winter, and perform the tasks of your Job. What's your Job? Something. You can't really remember. The tasks don't really clear things up. You adjust antenna in the woods, and flip switches, and filter data that collects all day and night. Not that the data's particularly telling, either. 1's and 0's, random coordinates, and soundwaves.

It earns you money, at least. Money that you mainly use to pay for extra supplies through your services app, but money all the same.

And, like clockwork, those supplies come in at the start of each week. It's one of the few ways of telling time that matters at this point. You drift from shipment to shipment in a daze, breaks in your otherwise monotonous routine only lasting in your memory long enough for the next one to come.

Your supplies come in on a boat piloted by a man that you'd forget as easily as what you had for dinner last week, if he weren't your only physical contact with the outside world.

He wears overalls and knee-high waders and a boonie hat. None of it matches and all of it is well-worn. He's always smoking on something - cigarettes, usually, but he'll show up in a better mood with a cigar on his lip - and humming a toon that sounds just familiar enough to be nostalgic but not nearly enough for you to look it up and relieve the itching in the back of your brain that that nostalgia gives you.

Your supplies are simple fair, usually: freeze-dried mashed potatoes, rice, cans of vegetables, cans of soup, the occasional hunk of meat kept in a cooler that you'll need to run to the fridge as soon as possible, and then whatever additions you ordered. You started eating less when you got here, afraid of running out before the next shipment in those early days, and set aside the fair you found most unappetizing as a last resort. You've built up a good stockpile, now, however long you've been here (five years, the cans of butter beans tell you when you count them one night).

Your home - because that's what it is by now - has become lived in after being abandoned for however long. It's been repaired and furnished anew, and it's your safe haven in these lonely woods.

There's a plush sofa that you had to lug from the dock by yourself, and a new kitchen set, and a TV with a Blu-Ray player and shelves worth of content. A fire crackles in the woodstove year-round, combating a chill that's present regardless of the season, and rugs cover the otherwise frigid hardwood floors. The house is creaky, still, and you'll sometimes think you hear footsteps from the other side of the house, but it's always just you there (except for that one time, but that was more your fault for leaving a window open than Mama Raccoon's for raiding your cabinets).

You can't stay in your isolated slice of paradise, though. You only have this place because of your work, and you must continue to work to keep it.

It's usually boring, thankfully. You wait for a ping on your computer. Then you either walk out to adjust the heading of one of the 12 antenna sitting in the woods, walk to a substation to reset a breaker, or fiddle with your data until the computer is content with it. The walk to any of the antenna or the substation is far enough to be obnoxious, but not so obnoxious to be worth ordering some kind of transport.

On rare occasions, while you're out and about, something... exciting will happen, and that excitement will be enough for a lifetime, and you'll stay locked in your home for a few days.

There's always a sense of being watched out here. Sometimes, it's bad enough for your hairs to stand on end and your hindbrain to take over, taking cover behind closed doors until it goes away.

There's instances where you see Things out there, a shadow ducking behind a tree or some Thing standing in the distance, unmoving as you approach.

You've even heard Things, Things rushing you from behind before disappearing without trace once they get right behind you, or cackling Things in the distance that slowly surround you.

You've only ever met a Thing once, though.

She didn't follow you inside after trying to get into your blindspot all day, and you didn't invite her in either. Instead, she just stood there, on the other side of your screen door, head ducked like she was guarding her throat.

You messaged your superior from your computer in the basement, and you received a reply almost instantly. "Lock the doors, don't let it inside. Help is on the way."

Hard to argue with that, and she was still standing there when you went back up. She didn't even fight it when you closed the door in her face, nor when you locked the doors. She just stared, unblinkingly

"Help" turned out to be a dozen men on a boat decked out in the kind of combat gear you'd normally only see breaking up a riot. A quick check with you, and a number of scans and injections you still don't know the purpose of, and they were off.

You were told to stay in place and keep things locked down, and you did just that. They disappeared into the woods for a week, your usual duties out there apparently being handled by them, and left on the boat with as much fanfare as the usual delivery. A part of you forget to note the extra man leaving with them...

[nozoditz]

We're two days off from the next Discotek Day, and ever since they picked up Kaitou Saint Tail in late 2022 and said that future releases in the much-neglected magical girl genre would depend on the sales of that series (and a lot of people picked it up), magical girl fans have been getting worked up in excitement about their favourite series getting rescued. I cannot possibly parse the clues in their customary clue thread, but I do know this:

-They will not be "rescuing" shows that are already, currently, licensed. Sorry if you miss the DiC/Pioneer/Cloverway dub of Sailor Moon and are mad that Viz's release doesn't have it. Viz has the Sailor Moon licence.

-Tokyo Mew Mew is asked for every single stream, but I don't think it's likely. Sentai has already expressed interest and is likely to pick it up if Tokyo Mew Mew New sells well.

-Every stream has one live-action Japanese movie, one old English-language cartoon (or, occasionally, highly altered dub), and usually one tokusatsu series.

-While they will license and release things that have never gotten translated before, if they can reuse a dub and/or sub from a previous release, they will. This is part media preservation, part practicality because they're a small company.

So, before this ages poorly, here are my guesses in order of likelihood for if they put a magical girl show on the stream on Monday:

Cutey Honey Flash

Aside from the rampant rumours that they've been planning it, they've already done other releases in the franchise, and one of the clues hinted towards a fanservice series or franchise. I'm gonna put this as highly probable.

2. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's

They've already released the movies and the spiritual successor Symphogear, and the first season has been announced as well. Why wouldn't they get the fandom's darling favourite season?

3. Wedding Peach

Previously licensed and released in full. People used to hate on this anime, but I feel the atmosphere has cooled down some, although the level of Straight Nonsense™ in the series will probably drive new viewers up the wall.

4. Fancy Lala

Previously licensed and released in full. Might also be an easy interest check to see if there's enough engagement for...

5. The '80s Pierrot Shows

Previously licensed by Anime Sols in their "crowdfund the classics" plan, and the ones that did get streaming releases have fallen off RetroCrush recently. I believe Creamy Mami is still on Tubi TV, but as we've seen from Sentai releasing Crunchyroll shows like Eizouken, GRANBELM, and Cinderella Nine on Blu-ray, physical and streaming rights are separate, so it's still plausible we could get them. Especially Persia the Magic Fairy, which never even got a streaming release.

6. Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch

Previously licensed, but sub and dub were both never released and are lost media. Sentai and affiliates probably still have the files lying around from when they were ADV, just not the licence, so it might be possible to get the work that was already done. This is higher up on the likelihood list because of its widespread popularity in the magical girl fandom in its era and the success of the anniversary merch last year. Even how disappointing the manga sequel was hasn't killed Pichi's vibe.

7. Corrector Yui

Previously licensed and released in part. Viz never finished the show, but hey, a started job is better than none. Plus its popularity in other countries could give it a boost.

8. Sky Dancers

The requisite English retro cartoon guess. Sky Dancers edged out Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic because the live-action footage and connection to the Princess Tenko brand might require extra negotiations, but I could be wrong. Either way, it's cheesy and silly and very much in line with some of their other cartoons like Street Fighter or Street Sharks.

9. Aikatsu or Shugo Chara

Yes, I know Aikatsu isn't really a magical girl series... or is it? It's one of those edge cases on the Corrector Yui line, where a series conforms to the magical girl genre but explains it all with sufficiently advanced technology.

Both received streaming-only releases, and with Aikatsu it's no longer available anywhere since the downfall of Daisuki, but they lose points for being made up of multiple four-cour seasons. Who has the resources for that?

I don't know, those are my theories. What do you all think?

[adamwatchesmovies]

Bumblebee (2018)

Calling Bumblebee the best of the live-action Transformers movies is faint praise. Even if you consider the 2007 film's action sequences and special effects/character designs, the bar wasn’t high. It's a shame. This is what a movie translation of the series should’ve been from the beginning. It focuses on just a few characters (including a charismatic lead) and builds their relationship using methods that have worked before but are no less effective.

On the robotic planet Cybertron, the Autobot rebels are on the verge of defeat at the hands of the cruel Decepticons. Young Autobot scout B-127 lands on Earth to establish a new base, only to be ambushed and critically injured. Disguising himself as a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, the amnesiac "Bumblebee" is discovered and repaired by Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), an 18-year-old music lover and car enthusiast.

The obvious comparison is to both E.T. the Extra-terrestrial and The Iron Giant. A lonely child befriends an alien who must be kept hidden from the authorities. Shenanigans ensue when it’s left unsupervised because it acts more like a child than a member of an advanced species. There are a few times when entire scenes in Bumblebee feel like they’ve been copied and pasted from those other stories with only the names swapped out. This means the best it can get is a bronze medal while Spielberg and Brad Byrd’s movies duke it out for a combined gold. That’s ok. This movie is miles ahead of the next contestant and the Autobots/Decepticons bring some new ingredients to the mix.

It’s a prequel, which means the plot’s set in the ‘80s. Rather than feeling like a cheap bid to exploit nostalgia, it really works here. The Transformers is an ‘80s franchise and setting things in the past allows us to get back to its roots in multiple ways. Aside from Bumblebee and the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), all the characters are new. We’re not trying to tie up the innumerable loose ends created by the "previous" movies. We’re just telling one effective story centered around friendship and personal growth. The big threats are Bumblebee being discovered by U.S. Army Colonel Jack Burns (John Cena, a great choice for this role) and a pair of villainous Decepticons (voiced by Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux). Charlie’s summer job at the carnival - though crappy - also makes you recall simpler times. Gone are the bathroom jokes, the dubious roles for women and visual minorities and the cacophony of shredded metal while entire cities are laid to ruin.

Then there’s the music. Throughout, we hear great tunes - and not simply the usual “best ofs”. This soundtrack feels like it belongs to Charlie. They help flesh out her character and her relationship with the alien robot. It helps that Hailee Steinfeld is a gem. You just want to walk up to her and give her a big hug, particularly when she’s lamenting the death of her father (a subplot that’s nicely handled by the director and the actress alike).

The action scenes we do get are clearly shot and remain tense because we care about the characters. You want Charlie to survive. You also want her to overcome her grief, make friends, maybe even fall in love with her shy neighbor, Memo (Jorge Lendeborg). You like Bumblebee because the amnesic robot is funny and because he's kind of cuddly in a "child-like giant metal man that can inexplicably understand English" sort of way. Yes, the bulk of the times we saw the yellow 'bot he was in some bad stories but you still have a bond with him, one not unlike Charlie’s.

Upon initial release, Bumblebee was merely billed as a prequel to the franchise. I say ditch those other stories and keep going with this route. While it may be slightly derivative of other projects and the mechanical villains could’ve been developed further, this is solid ground on which you could start a franchise… for real this time. (On Blu-ray, September 18, 2020)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

ELEMENTAL Still Climbs

Surpassing $400m worldwide, surpassing 5x for its multiplier (an exemplary result for a summer release film), and still hanging on weekend-to-weekend... ELEMENTAL is the "comeback" everyone has called it in the recent weeks. From Pixar's lowest unadjusted opened of $29m to leggy sensation...

Even if it doesn't make 2 1/2x its ridiculous $200m budget, that's quite something... Even Disney themselves are acknowledging that, because legs - as I often say - speak VOLUMES.

The digital home media release and physical releases have been set (mid-to-late September), the Disney+ debut date is presumably right around the time of the latter. Disney did the same for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, while their LITTLE MERMAID remake releases on D+ before the Blu-ray comes out... Though, maybe Disney holds off on ELEMENTAL's D+ release. It being absent from the recent home release announcements makes me wonder... Keep that thing 'til Christmas, I say. Give it time to slowly putter out domestically, give it time to make decent money in digital rentals/sales and disc sales... Demand for those who won't rent/buy the movie would only increase if they hold out 'til December.

But, I have a feeling they'll just debut it on Disney+ in September...

Anyways, I'm happy to see it doing well, especially for director Peter Sohn. His debut feature-length picture, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, was Pixar's first money-loser. I chalk it up to the movie being a little too bizarre for audiences (a.k.a. it's a movie for ME), the troubled production no doubt ballooning its budget (if the hyperrealistic visuals already didn't), and Disney quietly putting it out a month before STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Bah. Who knows how it would've done if released at another time, or if it were the original version that Bob Peterson conceived and was directing. ELEMENTAL definitely appealed to audiences more, even if the trailers seemed to not communicate that.

It's like a small hope spot for theatrical Disney-released animation.

Of course, WISH is a bit up in the air at the moment because of the ongoing strikes. That we might not get a new WDAS movie in the studio and company's goddamn centennial... because Diz executives and the other dingus companies just can't do the right thing and pay their writers/actors... Absurd how they just keep picking the worst possible option, prolonging all of this.

But whenever it does arrive, hopefully with those who were paid well giving the movie some extra promotional push (not the sorry state of affairs we saw with HAUNTED MANSION's premiere, and for a non-Disney example, Sony's GRAN TURISMO relying on random people tweeting about the movie), I hope that also does well... We haven't had a Disney-released animated movie that was a "box office success" (as in, made 2 1/2x its production budget) since FROZEN II... All the way back in 2019. ELEMENTAL has to make it to $500m to clear that, and it's out now in Japan, where it opened spectacularly... Maybe it could make it? Maybe not. It'll come very close if it doesn't.

If the conglomerate heads keep being fools, I expect some more animated movie delays. Sony moved back a ton of pictures, and undated BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE (which was always going to move to begin with, strike or no strike). I won't be surprised if Disney, Universal, et al. follow suit. Like, could ELIO end up being a summer 2024 release that pushes INSIDE OUT 2 to summer 2025? Could titles like GARFIELD and DESPICABLE ME 4 also be affected?

We shall see...