#our franchise is a joke but its so funny

[ratatatastic]

new kitties being christened and accepting their first rat like its a holy communion at the boy auction is something that tracks for this wacky franchise

NHL Draft | 6.29.24 (x)

[thankskenpenders]

At long last, the trailer for Sonic movie 3 is here, giving us our first look at Shadow! It looks like a fun time, though my excitement is probably more tempered than a lot of peoples' due to a few things I have mixed feelings on. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts about it.

Shadow

Yes, it does seem like they've really nailed Shadow here. Fowler's attachment to the character clearly shows. The action looks cool and really sells Shadow as a serious threat. He's got his bike, he's doing Chaos Control all over the place, it's great. Keanu is very much just doing his regular voice, but it fits well enough. The backstory from SA2 seems to mostly be there, though I'm sure some details will be adjusted. Mostly I'm still just amazed that we're getting a major tentpole blockbuster movie this Christmas starring Shadow the fucking Hedgehog that treats him as a serious character worthy of respect. We've come such a long way...

I mean, just... what an image to see on the big screen.

I also really like the way they're setting Shadow up as a foil for movie Sonic, kind of his dark mirror image as a Mobian hedgehog whose family life on Earth ended in tragedy and turned him into a vengeful antagonist. It's pretty straightforward, but it works well.

Robotnik(s)

Welp. They put Jim Carrey in a fat suit. I suppose we knew this day would come eventually.

I guess a small part of me is glad that movie Eggman finally actually looks like Eggman in every way that matter, but they're completely playing it as a joke at his expense here. And, yeah, the Sonic franchise isn't immune to fat jokes, the early years of the franchise (particularly Western adaptations) gave Sonic tons and tons and tons of jabs about Eggman's weight. But I thought we'd moved past that. But here we are with a depressed movie Robotnik binge eating and gaining a lot of weight like Fat Thor and the other characters think he's so GROSS and look his clothes don't even fit him anymore, haha! There's so much of this crammed into the trailer. I can only pray they don't do this in every fucking scene he's in in the movie.

I do like the plot of Sonic reluctantly teaming up with Robotnik to try and stop Shadow, though. It's very different from SA2, but we knew it would be, and I think that gives the movie some potential for Sonic to have kind of a dark turn of his own that mirror's Shadow's. I have a feeling that Sonic will try to get back at Shadow for something he does - maybe hurting Tom or something like that - and in the end Sonic sympathizes with Shadow and decides they have to stop their cycle of revenge, teaming up to stop some final threat.

Oh, and, of course... Jim Carrey is also playing Professor Gerald. Who might still be alive? Or maybe it's a hallucination on Ivo's part? I don't know, but either way, I'm here for it. Everyone joked about them doing it and then they went and did it. Yes, it risks playing him as a joke character, but the shot of him and Shadow mourning Maria while surrounded by GUN soldiers makes me believe he won't be a total joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the true final antagonist of the film, which would diverge a lot from the games but would work as its own version of the story.

And again, WHAT an image to see on the big screen lmao

Everyone else

The human cast is VERY downplayed in this trailer, but let's not forget that they're still going to get a lot of screentime one way or another. The Sonic 2 trailer barely showed anything from Hawaii. Where oh where is my best friend Wade?

Speaking of the Wade show, Knuckles... frankly still seems to be mostly a comic relief character heavily influenced by MCU Thor here, getting some jokes in the trailer but immediately getting Worfed by Shadow when it comes time to fight. Tails seems to be flying the gang around in a real-ass helicopter, and his big pilot's helmet is funny, but otherwise he doesn't really do anything here aside from getting stomped by Shadow. I really hope they don't get sidelined too hard, but frankly I fully expect them to, Tails especially.

And, of course... I can't help but think about who isn't here. Namely: the girls. Yes, three movies and one streaming miniseries into this film franchise, exactly zero of the female (animal) characters from the games have made the jump to live action. Please allow me to bitch about this.

Despite her being both 1) a main character in the game this movie is loosely adapting and 2) my fave, I suppose I can understand why Rouge isn't here. Paramount took one look at that bat cleavage and went "nope," cowards that they are. There was some speculation that Kristen Ritter could be playing Rouge, but we now know she's just playing someone at GUN. But, again, I at least get why they'd be hesitant to include her.

But Amy... Amy is such a glaring omission at this point. There's no excuse. She's the female lead of the franchise. She's one of Sonic's closest friends. (Honestly, these days it's more accurate to say Team Sonic is Sonic, Tails, and Amy, not Knuckles, especially in the comics.) And she's also a key player in Shadow's arc in the game. Shadow has his change of heart because Amy reminds him of Maria! And yet, she's nowhere to be seen. It sucks.

(I know some fans are still holding out hope for Amy, but the toys for the movie already leaked and she didn't get anything, so I have to assume she's not in it.)

It's not like I really expected either of them to be in this movie, but that doesn't make it less disappointing that they set up the film franchise in a way that makes it logistically difficult to include 90% of the characters and conveniently managed to leave all of the girls in the "low priority" pile. Yes, I know everyone points to how much Tails was downplayed in the third act of Sonic 2 as evidence that it's just so impossible to introduce more than one new Mobian character in each movie and give them the focus they deserve. Yes, I know having to come up with a story excuse to bring more characters over to Earth is an obstacle, especially when they're gonna have to devote time to Shadow's backstory. But these are excuses. It's a writer's job to figure out solutions to problems like this. They could make it work if they really wanted to. I'd take Amy having a suboptimal amount of screentime over her not being in it at all. It's just not a priority for them. That's what disappoints me. You can justify these absences from a logical perspective, but I just care way more about Amy and Rouge as characters than I do about Shadow, so there's no way for this to not sting.

But, at the end of the day, for what the movie is actually trying to do, it seems to be pulling it off well. Aside from the fat jokes. I don't like the fat jokes. But the Shadow stuff is good. As always, this live action version of the franchise is never going to be my ideal version of Sonic, but it's turned out far better than it had any right to, and I'll probably have fun when I go see this in theaters and hear Live and Learn.

[adrianlikesdinos]

while it is funny to think and joke about, i think the genuine belief that Erik's wife and daughter were used for the main purpose of trying to erase Cherik is just such a truly awful take. there is no contextual evidence to even back up the claim, by the end of the movie Erik still choses Charles yet again.

so I'm here to present my succinct, evidence-based claim: Erik's wife and daughter only worked to further cement his and Charles shared narrative.

in the film, these two girls act as flat characters; very little information is given about them, no character development takes place, and they take up very little screentime. what they add to the films story however is a point emotional attachment outside the world of mutant vs. humans for Erik to settle into, heal, and escape from his previous life as a literal terrorist. unfortunately for die hard Cherik truthers, this means an emotional attachment out side the world Erik shares with Charles. this is a genuine attempt by Erik to remove himself from the cycle of fear and rage he has been a slave to since his childhood, and it really did all work out for him. he had a job, a community, and he was able to create a life perfectly for himself. despite needing to hide his powers, this was probably the best outcome he was ever going to achieve.

but, now that the franchises main antagonist has settled into a life of warmth and comfort, its time for the narrative to get moving again. you cant tell a story without its antagonist. yes, Apocalypse is the main antagonist for this specific movie as he is the source for the majority of the films tension and conflict, but this movie is a part of the over arching narrative primarily concerning Professor X, his X Men, and their arch-nemesis, Magneto. being each others narrative foils and their decades old disputes they are quite literally a package deal, there will never be a Professor X without his Magneto. So, what better way to pull our protagonist his literal other half into the mix than a good old fashioned fridging?

"women in refrigerator's" is a literary trope originally coined in 1999 by comic book fan Gail Simone. this term is used to refer to the trope in which a female loved one is killed, injured, or otherwise hurt in order to further the plot. the trope is one in which women are used as disposable. (there is so much more i could say about the sexism rooted in this fairly common trope but its fairly self explanatory and doesn't pertain to directly to the topic at hand.) once you actually learn about this you cant stop noticing it (ever seen a Disney movie?). it is particularly common in comic books as a heavily male dominated field of media. it is an easy, fast way to get emotion and anger out of a character and gives them the motive to fulfill whatever is needed for the story to continue. in this case, the rage born from Erik's grief lead him to join Apocalypse as one of his horse men. ultimately pushing him towards yet another fated conflict with Charles, the climax of almost any X Men film.

if the writers were truly conscious and concerned with fans perception of Erik and Charles questionably platonic relationship, they wouldn't have used a trope to sling shot the man directly back into his fandom assigned love interest. its incredibly unreasonable to claim a device clearly intended to send him closer to his other half was in an attempt to separate them.

and, claiming that his family was just an attempt to erase Cherik feels like completely ignoring Erik's past experiences with fridging that truly work to build the complexities and tragedy of their strictly canon relationship. this is the second time he has had his whole world ripped away from him. the second time he has turned to rage and violence to protect what little of himself he has left. this is the first time however that he realizes he has more than just a little broken piece of himself left. this is the first time he is able to realize there is another soul out there who can see past the rage he is blinded by. the first time he has had someone who continues to see the good in him.

and this is me looking at this from as unbiased a perspective as i can. this is hardly even subtext. Erik's flashback wasn't stuck in there just because they needed more screen time, everything holds significance. it was blatantly telling us that in that very moment Erik realized he still had Charles, the one person who can actually claim to know someone, the one person who genuinely knows HIM.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Pokemon And Their Trainers

An in-depth analysis of the Pokemon world and its culture (hereafter referred to as the “Pokeverse.”) Where I’ll attempt to understand just what these beings actually are, and how they relate to the humans of their universe. 

For this post, I will reference the video game lore, but I will, to a large extent, be pulling examples from the anime. While I can understand why this might invalidate my points to some of you, I truly think the anime should be considered fair game. It depicts what the Pokeverse is truly supposed to be like, as the writers intend it to be, unhampered by the restrictions of a video game. 

So here’s the million dollar question. Are Pokemon slaves?

At this point, I know that the Pokemon fandom and the general public have a well-established and largely iron-cast interpretation of what it means to be a Pokemon Trainer, but today I’m going to attempt to challenge that interpretation. Because on the whole, it’s not especially flattering, and I think it’s false. You’ve seen the jokes, and the video essays, and the parody comics. You’ve seen it all. People have criticized Pokemon for the premise of the game effectively being a system of romanticized slavery. That the heartless humans kidnap these innocent animals and force them into sadistic dog-fights to further their own power, to the point where it is a global, televised sport. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you, Pokemon…are slaves. It's animal abuse. Those who argue it are in denial.

The funny thing is, most people don’t argue it. Which is because, to a large extent, most people don’t care. It’s just a video game, right? It’s not as though the Pokemon are outwardly suffering. Pokemon fans seem to just accept this premise and live with it, because the Pokemon world is bright and enjoyable and the formula of the games is simply addicting. To most people, the problematic premise of this universe isn’t a big deal. Nobody takes a passionate stance against it, apart from Gamefreak itself of course. They have little choice but to dismiss these claims, to argue against them…but nobody really listens. The franchise may do the best it can to play up the whole “friendship” angle, but the majority of fans, casual and otherwise, would say they’re not fooling anyone.

I disagree. 

I’m not saying these points don’t have merit. To a degree, they do. But this conclusion about the Pokeverse is not the only one that can be drawn from analyzing this world. It's also based on several assumptions, headcanons, and interpretations of this world’s symbolism. I interpret these things differently myself, and I’ll try to explain how. But the bottom line is that humans and pokemon exist together in this world and have a unique relationship. Our world has humans, but not pokemon, so one can assume that the Pokemon are a deliberate symbol of…something. What that something is will probably vary based on who you ask, but just about everyone seems to interpret them as the “animals” of their universe. As in, living creatures who are not human. (Because Humans…are also Animals, and that’s kind of the whole point right there, but I’m getting ahead of myself.) 

We seem to draw an inherent comparison between Pokemon and #RealWorld Animals, which is where all of this stems from. I believe this is a mistake. Or if nothing else, it’s not the definitive interpretation of what they are. If anything, the closest comparison I can think of is…maybe Angels? But even that doesn’t truly describe their role. The more the Pokeverse gets fleshed out, the clearer it becomes to me that catching and training Pokemon are completely misunderstood concepts. They’re not really comparable to anything in real life, certainly not the training of animals or the keeping of pets. I genuinely don’t think that the relationship between Trainer and Pokemon has an equivalent in our world. 

I do understand where the impulse to make this comparison comes from. Of course people look at Pokemon and see animals. After all, they're living, breathing creatures, magical creatures that coexist with humanity. A not insignificant number of them do resemble real-life animals or are otherwise based on them. The most crucial bit of evidence for this idea is that the Pokeverse, by all appearances, lacks “real world” animals of its own. There are no recognizable creatures from our world to speak of, apart from humanity. So I can see how people reached this conclusion and I get why they draw the parallel.

However, it’s just not a fair comparison to make. Not at all. 

Some animals do have the means to defend themselves, of course. But Pokemon have abilities on another level entirely. They’re basically magic. They have superpowers unique to themselves. Can a human spit fire? Tunnel a hole in seconds? Can they summon storms in the blink of an eye? Can a human block all damage with Wonder Guard? The answer is no. They cannot do this. Humans are one race, and a relatively mundane race at that. While they are distinctly separate from Pokemon…that doesn’t make them superior. It doesn’t make them more powerful. The sheer variety in Pokemon species, not to mention the variety of their powers, means that if war was to break out between the two communities…the humans would not win. It wouldn’t even be close. 

Pokemon are baked deep into this culture. If you had to guess which of these two societies was here first, would you really guess humanity? I wouldn’t. Just look at the spiritual side of this world. It has deities who are confirmed to exist, who created this world as we know it..and they’re all Pokemon. Who knows where the humans even came from, but the Legendary Pokemon are the ones who fashioned the universe.

It is vanity to assume that Humanity is the dominant species of the Pokeverse.

They are not in charge of this world - they could never be. Pokemon explicitly range from human to above-human level intelligence. The humans attempt to understand them, but the Anime clarifies that they’ve chosen to name the Pokemon based on their speech patterns. Pokemon don’t “say their name” and nothing else. It’s the reverse. They speak unique languages that the humans elected to name them for. By contrast, Pokemon can clearly understand human language. There’s no way around it, they are smarter than us. So it’s no surprise that they have their own communities and systems, totally independent from humanity. However, there are also countless Pokemon who choose (read: CHOOSE) to work with humans, on individual and group-wide scales.

In fact, Pokemon and Humans may not be so different at all.

They may descend from a common ancestor. There is consistent flavor text that verifies this, stating that on a fundamental level, Pokemon and Humans are all but the same. Perhaps humankind and Pokemon weren’t always separate beings? Perhaps they were once one and the same? It’s pure conjecture, but according to the Library in Canalave City, there was a time in the ancient past when Pokemon ate at the same table as Humans and would even marry them sometimes. That last bit of trivia is cut from the English version, undoubtedly because of the popular interpretation I discussed earlier. Fans see Pokemon as animals, and the dubbing team probably wanted to avert any weird implications. 

What’s odd is that in Legends: Arceus, which takes place in the ancient past…humans and pokemon have clearly already been separated, and have no relationship beyond hostility and fear towards each other. There are exceptions, of course, but by and large, the idea of a “Pokemon Trainer” is a new concept to the humans in Hisui. I’m getting very off topic now, but it does make a fan wonder. Just what happened to separate pokemon and humankind? They were as close as kin at one point, before some kind of split occurred, and it’s taken countless generations for them to redevelop a closeness...there’s a greater mystery here that isn’t relevant to the topic at hand, but these questions are worth asking. Either way, the point is that the two communities are almost fated to come together.

The Pokemon are drawn to humanity, and whether they invest in an official “trainer” or not, they seek out humans just as often as the humans go looking for them.

The pokemon will form these partnerships out of their own desire. A desire for what, you may be asking? I think it varies, but when it comes to the Trainer/Pokemon relationship, we can assume the typical goal is shared strength. The human and the pokemon form a symbiotic relationship in the Training system. This is stated numerous times, especially in the Anime - A wild pokemon will never reach their full potential. Not without a Trainer. You see? It isn’t only the humans who benefit from this relationship, and the Pokemon understand this. The vast majority of them want to be caught, they seek a trainer who can help them harness their powers. 

Mewtwo decries Pokemon Training as Slavery during Mewtwo Strikes Back. Pikachu contradicts him, and Ash literally puts his life on the line in the effort to prove him wrong. Much later, in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, the same question comes up. Lucario asks if Ash is Pikachu’s “master” and Ash rejects that terminology. Because Pikachu is his best friend, nothing less. There is a reason why the word is “Trainer” and not “Master” or “Owner.” Because Pokemon Trainers do not own their Pokemon. Full stop. The Poke Ball isn't a prison. It, and the PC Boxes from the games, are implied to be a kind of virtual reality. The Poke Ball is a symbol, a convenience more than anything else, but not a requirement. Ash is living proof. The Poke-Ball may be the norm, but if you're claustrophobic like Pikachu, or you're just not feeling it, you can abstain. Ash has never treated Pikachu as a captive. (Except for that one time…)

Okay, I’ll address this real quick. Yes, Ash did drag Pikachu along with a rope in the first episode, and used rubber gloves so that Pikachu could not retaliate. I’m just gonna have to call that #EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. This was Generation 1, this was back when Ghost Types were literally dead Pokemon. Besides, Pikachu had already shocked Ash unprovoked, so the rubber gloves were arguably self-defense. I guess you could make the case that Ash didn’t “truly” become Pikachu’s Trainer until the end of the episode. But in general, the writers have shaped this world beyond what was established in the very beginning, and perhaps they’re deliberately trying to counter the claims of slavery and animal abuse, but even if that’s true…it doesn’t mean make the contributions less canon.

How it started.

How it's going.

Never mind. What about catching pokemon? That’s still messed up, right? 

There is an obvious counterargument to be made to my stance, a Donphan in the room, and I won’t ignore it. The counterpoint here is that capturing Pokemon is almost always done against their will. Or at least, that’s how it’s traditionally done, and the norm in the games remains consistent. Still. Ash winds up befriending the majority of his Pokemon instead, and he’s far from the only trainer we see doing so. James is another human who recruits his teammates primarily through his own likable qualities. You might argue that while obtaining a Pokemon can happen without fighting, that style is unusual. But again, based on the anime, it doesn’t seem to be that uncommon. I think what’s considered rare is that Ash seems to specialize in doing this despite his intended goal of training Pokemon for battle. 

But, whatever. Capturing Pokemon through battle still happens, right? It happens quite a lot. The examples that differ from this norm don’t erase that, nor do they erase how repugnant it is. After all, the Trainer is cornering a creature who more often than not, was just minding their own business. (A wild pokemon is very often the one to initiate battle, but never mind.) The trainer then forcibly kidnaps them after violently assaulting them. Even the term “capturing” pokemon has problematic connotations. No way around it - on paper, this sounds bad. It sounds horrific. But if I may, I’d like to offer a different perspective based on what I’ve been able to observe of the Pokeverse’s culture. First of all, I’d like to offer a scalding hot take about the violence of Pokemon battles. This may be where I lose a lot of people, but hear me out. 

I challenge the idea that a Pokemon battle is “violent.” 

Or at least, I don’t believe the characters consider it to be violent, not in the same way we understand it. A pokemon battle isn’t assault, because they’re not human. But it’s also not animal abuse, because the Pokeverse doesn’t have animals. Again, it’s worth remembering that Pokemon are supernatural creatures with magical powers, and I’d say their powers, the “moves” they learn, play by different rules than conventional fighting. There’s actually quite a bit of evidence to suggest that this is true. 

In Mewtwo Strikes Back, the Pokemon very specifically fight their clones without access to any of their actual moves, after Mewtwo psychically blocks their powers. Everything about this scene is meant to convey tragedy. All of a sudden, a series that’s been all about battle is preaching against violence. Sure, we can call it bad writing, executive meddling, or anything we want. But ignore the Fourth Wall and ask yourself, why would the characters react this way in-universe? Why is it that Pokemon battling has always been okay, but in this one instance, it’s not? The movie goes to great lengths to show us that the Pokemon are hurting each other. Which we don’t normally see.

The only difference? The Pokemon aren’t using their normal moves.

From this, we can conclude that the typical, conventional Pokemon battle, where the two pokemon fight using their special abilities...it doesn’t hurt them. It may tire them out, but a Pokemon Center can heal basically any injuries in record time. Nurse Joy is some kind of miracle worker…or maybe she isn’t. Maybe The Pokemon are being tired out from their battles, but not actually harmed in the long term. This would explain why Pokemon attacks don’t cause lasting damage to humans, either. Get hit with a Flamethrower? Don’t worry, you’ll just be temporarily stunned and have soot all over your face. The doylist explanation is, once again, that it’s a children’s cartoon, but that doesn’t explain what’s happening in-universe. Team Rocket has been electrocuted by Pikachu a near-infinite number of times. So how are they even alive? 

Simple. Pikachu isn’t actually trying to kill them. Because of course he isn’t. It’s quite possible that Pokemon moves simply are not capable of inflicting serious damage, or perhaps Pokemon have an inherent resistance to them. But I suspect it’s not a lack of ability that stops Pokemon moves from being violent…but an almost universal choice. That when Pokemon go on the offensive with their powers, or at least, when they direct said powers at humans…they are always pulling their punches. That’s why the fight on New Island was so grotesque - the Pokemon were not remotely familiar with battling that way, engaging in true violence, and there’s little doubt that they were figuratively and literally scarred by that night. 

It’s no wonder they never use their powers to cause actual bodily harm to anyone - I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some kind of sacred, unspoken taboo among Pokemon against doing so. A taboo that wouldn't be known to the newborn clone Pokemon on New Island. A taboo that may not have existed centuries ago, in say, the ancient times of the Hisui region. But present day, communities of Pokemon are more civilized, and they a working relationship with human society that ranges from neutral to friendly. We’re in head-canon territory now, but this kind of law among pokemon kind makes a lot of sense. There may be Pokemon out there who break this taboo, but they would be few and far between - probably outcasts among their own kind. It would add a new dimension to Pikachu's refusal to fight back against his clone counterpart.

Again, this scene makes a point of telling us over and over, that what we’re seeing is wrong. “Pokemon aren’t meant to fight. Not like this.” That line right there is precisely the point. Battling isn’t meant to be like that, and in practice, it almost never is. There’s a reason why Pokemon almost never actually die in battle, and only get “very weak,” a condition that is cured flawlessly with the medical science of a Pokemon Center. It’s almost like a Pokemon’s powers create a kind of invisible simulation system, allowing them to spar with their opponent safely. Because that’s what a Pokemon battle is, at heart. It’s a test of skill. It’s meant to just be friendly sparring. A kind of sport that the Pokemon and Trainers engage in together, and it’s stated many times that they need to be in sync to have any hope of a successful career in professional matches. Again, I refer you to Mewtwo Strikes Back. The Pokemon were able to use their powers collectively to restore Ash to life. There’s clearly a lot more to a Pokemon’s power than just combat. That part is nothing more than recreation for them. 

I realize that I deviated tremendously from the original question about capturing Pokemon, but I feel that it’s important to address this point. 

Pokemon Battling is not violence. It’s effectively a sport that all sides consent to playing, a sport that has safety measures practically built in, as well as further precautions offered like the Pokemon Center. In that sense, it's more or less just another interpretation of Pokemon Contests, and Showcases, and everything else. A human helping a Pokemon study their powers and use them to fullest potential. This is the reason why I don’t actually consider a Trainer fighting a wild Pokemon to be so obscene. However, that only addresses the question of violence. Trainers are still kidnapping Pokemon against their will, right? That’s why one has to “weaken” a Pokemon to catch them. Well, believe it or not, I’m going to debunk that too. 

Barring exceptions, the wild Pokemon must be exhausted to the point that they can no longer resist a poke-ball, before you can obtain them. Their opinion about being caught is always a non-issue. By all accounts, it doesn't seem as though this is acceptable. But even this, I think, is part of the cultural dissonance. Among other things, we don’t know what the little “click” of the Poke-ball actually means. It signals that the capture was a success, but is that the Pokemon choosing to yield, or the Poke Ball’s technology locking them in? It’s a little ambiguous, I’ll freely admit as much…but I would argue that the former idea isn’t impossible. Again, wild Pokemon, generally speaking, actually want to find a Trainer. The first episode of the anime even hints that certain wild Pokemon are jealous of those with trainers. With that in mind, why is catching them even a fight to begin with? 

I’ll tell you why. When a wild pokemon battles a trainer, they are essentially giving that trainer a test.

They’re gauging the trainer’s abilities to bring out the potential of their pokemon. If you’re a trainer, and your pokemon defeats another pokemon in the wild…you’ve just proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that your pokemon is stronger than the wild one. You have now proven that you have something to offer, you’ve passed the test. The wild Pokemon now realizes that it stands to learn something, to grow more powerful, by accepting your tutelage. That’s why it’s considered acceptable to the pokemon to follow a trainer after they are overpowered and captured. It’s like…right of conquest, but with fully informed consent. 

Consent is key here, and I believe this cultural understanding to be the reason that most pokemon are immediately comfortable with following the trainer who caught them. While one might argue that they don't really have a choice anymore...that simply isn't true. The anime clarifies that Pokemon can release themselves from a Poke-Ball whenever they want. Misty’s Psyduck is the most iconic example of this, but there are countless others.  In theory, a Pokemon could just leave a trainer who they find unsatisfactory. Actually, that’s not just a theory. That’s canon. Something that most people don’t seem to realize (or at least, they forget) is that it’s not just Trainers who ditch Pokemon they no longer want. It happens in reverse as well.

Pokemon can and do abandon their trainers, if they deem said trainers to be unworthy of their talents. 

Remember when I said that I would be chiefly referencing the anime, because it’s the most reliable depiction of what the Pokeverse is supposed to be like? This is exactly what I was talking about. Because obviously, this never happens in the games. Your Pokemon don’t just disappear from your party or PC boxes, because that would be an incredibly stupid and unfair mechanic. But in the anime, where the relationships between pokemon and trainer are more fleshed out? In the first season, Bad To The Bone is about a Marowak who chose to ditch his trainer after said trainer had his badges stolen. While the Marowak eventually changed his mind, at no point did any character voice the idea of trying to return him by force. It was Marowak’s choice and no one else’s, which is why the trainer was heartbroken.

But that’s not a one-off, it’s not the only example. There are quite a few. Due to a misunderstanding, Gym Leader Pryce once believed his Piloswine had abandoned him. Then there’s Ash. Always the mother hen, he’s adopted many pokemon who were abandoned by previous trainers, but the opposite has also happened. His Snivy, and his Greninja, are both Pokemon who were explicitly stated to have had previous trainers whom they chose to leave, because they didn’t feel understood. Typically, it seems that Pokemon choose to leave because they feel as though the unspoken contract that is “pokemon training” has been violated somehow, or they’re otherwise not getting what they signed up for. This is why the traditional method of “catching” pokemon is so vital. Because it’s an honor system.

Any time a human does attempt to force a pokemon into submission or otherwise harm them through any method that is not the traditional system of capture, the story treats them as unquestionably villainous for doing so. The other humans react in horror, and attempt to stop them. This is because forgoing the “defeat them in battle” route and instead using some kind of technology or whatnot to claim the Pokemon is seen as dishonorable at the best of times, and evil at the worst of times. The Trainer is ignoring the agency of the Pokemon. Attempting capture in the conventional way is a mutually accepted system, the wild Pokemon know and understand that a trainer may attempt to take them, and if they really don’t want to be said Trainer’s pokemon, they can always choose to leave after they are captured. But the use of other means takes that choice away from them. These villains, usually the evil Teams, are using methods of capture that fail to demonstrate to the Pokemon why they are a worthy Trainer, and likewise rob them of the ability to judge them as unworthy. 

So yes, there are exceptions, but for the reasons I have described, I fail to see how the idea of “slavery” is applicable to properly trained Pokemon.

They have the power to attack their trainers whenever they choose. Sometimes they do. They have magical abilities that enslaved humans in real life do not have. Legends: Arceus does a great job of highlighting just how dangerous Pokemon could be toward their human counterparts if they really wanted to be. They also have the power to leave. A Pokeball is not a chain. The only time a Pokemon struggles to escape a Ball is when it is first used on them, and the connection is initially forged. But, as I’ve talked about, I believe this to be a ceremonial process and little else. Trainers will immediately send out freshly caught Pokemon to heal or train, and the Pokemon don’t run. But once again, they could. What is stopping them? Ash’s Charizard never saw fit to abandon him, but if he had, what could Ash have actually done about it? Basically nothing. He’d get a flamethrower to the face and then Charizard would fly off. The same thing is true for any of Ash’s Pokemon, or the trained Pokemon of any Trainer ever. 

There’s another Donphan in the room that I’d like to touch on real quick. I’ve talked a lot about how the anime clarifies the nature of Pokemon and their relationship to their Trainers…but I also mentioned that the developers have openly tried to beat back the claims of animal abuse, of slavery. The anime speaks for itself, but what about the time Black and White openly addressed these criticisms? You were probably waiting for me to bring it up, but the truth is, I don’t have much to say. The idea of Pokemon and Trainers having a symbiotic relationship, and needing each other…the idea that they shouldn’t be separated…all of that is touched on in the games, but the subject is mostly used as a scapegoat by a wannabe dictator.

I have yet to see any character in Pokemon honestly make the same comparison that critics make in real life, and I doubt we ever will see that happen. It’s just not an idea that can be properly explored in the Pokeverse, because our world is unknown to them. Our way of doing things isn’t something that any in-universe Trainer could hope to understand. It’s an entirely different culture. The way we personally view Pokemon as creatures is colored by our context, by the fact that we’re on the outside, peering into this world with the perspective of a society that doesn’t have Pokemon. To the humans, this is the way their world works. Team Plasma came the closest to approaching that idea, but even then, they were the villains. It was made abundantly clear that they were wrong. 

In theory, Pokemon are servants at the whims of their Trainers. In practice, they’re actually the ones with real power and the relationship is balanced, nuanced, and heavily based on mutual trust.

In theory, Pokemon are the wild animals of their universe. In practice, they have no equivalent to our world. They are, as we're told many times, "wondrous creatures." They have no explanation.

In theory, Pokemon are forced to engage in senseless violence day in and day out. In practice, Pokemon battling is an art form that the Pokemon themselves choose to pursue, and it is not remotely dangerous. 

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. If you need me, I'll be hunting for a shiny Wattrel.

[nyarlathesleeper]

Follow-up tiem baybeeeeeee

Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom is an independent film made by Jason Steele AKA Filmcow. It acts as a follow-up to a series of two shorts he filmed about the titular character and his attempts to save America from absurd criminals. I'll revisit these shorts eventually, but I'll mostly be focusing on the film itself. I love this film to no end. It's a ridiculous, fairly stupid story, but it's genuinely very funny and full of meaning. Assuming my internal ramblings are accurate. Spoilers for the whole franchise, of course.

At first, the movie is fairly similar to the shorts, Heart of America is given a job to save America from someone buying its debt from China using Bitcoin. A normal Filmcow plot if I've ever heard one. He chases various leads, encountering characters from the shorts, until he comes face-to-face with the mastermind behind the whole plot: The time-traveling, reality-warping robot Ouya. Ouya erases America from existence, replacing it with the infinitely worse country of Fug. We all hate Fug. Heart of America tries to bring America back to existence, going through what America used to be, what it stood for, even how it came into existence. He learned from the Native Fugmericans, about their knots, their bugs, and their carrots. Then the aliens invade, and after the resistance group he joins is attacked, he and Ouya make their way to the alien's base of operations: The local JW Marriott. After locating the source of the aliens' power, the two discuss what must be done with it, Heart of America electing to make the entire world America, forever. This includes making Africa the US, but larger. The Eiffel Tower was replaced by The Statue of Liberty (funny, given the statue was created by the French government). And even the Moon, our dear sweet Io, was made into the US. Thus America was saved forever.

Okay the plot is batshit insane, so why do I love it so much? There's obviously the overwhelming amount of Jason Steele charm. Awkward conversations between characters, funny voices, random bullshit that occasionally stuns the characters as much as the audience, and a healthy amount of frankly juvenile jokes about Nazi boner germs and the like. There is also, for me and many, the notable political angle.

Jason Steele has always (kinda) been one for political commentary. Some of his oldest videos are about mocking Barack Obama for loving Mr. Mime, or John McCain for being kinda crazy and talking to vegetables and such. His video about the 2012 presidential debate is awfully apt, given recent events. Recently, his finale to Charlie the Unicorn has been pretty thoroughly taken to be a criticism of capitalism and its lack of desire to actually do anything about changing the world in any way that would prevent us from dying horribly. And I think its fair to say that a movie about trying to save America from being erased has some notable things to say as well.

There's of course the Native Fugmerican culture segment, which serves to mock people who appropriate native cultures without understanding them. The beginning and ending of that segment touches on how America, as well as all the other countries that Ouya has created and destroyed, began with the genocide of native peoples.

Most of the political commentary, however, comes into play near the end of the film. In the last 10 minutes or so, we're given a bit more detail as to what Ouya is and what its goals are. To keep it brief, Ouya is a device from the far future who can manipulate reality at will. It has repeatedly created and destroyed country after country in order to draw out the future overlords of Earth, the "aliens" from earlier, who have a similar device of their own. The aliens' device is different, though. It makes permanent changes, and Ouya aims to use it so that devices like it and Ouya can never work in the first place. Otherwise, the universe will be ruled by a tyrannical government whose reach and scale of oppression is so overwhelmingly monstrous, that the people who created Ouya deemed it an infinitely worse alternative to what they recognize as repeated genocides. What this means is that Heart of America, in making the entire world America and preventing Ouya from completing its mission, has doomed the world to being eternally dominated by tyranny.

This raises a few points of commentary that I think are worth examining. First and foremost, Heart of America is the bad guy. Jason Steele is no stranger to writing protagonists who are world ending monsters (see Llamas With Hats for another example), but Heart of America is interesting because he truly believes that what he is doing is right. Something I've neglected to state in this post is that Heart of America is portrayed by a statue of a Bald Eagle, one of the most potent American symbols, and a fitting choice for someone literally named "Heart of America." HoA (not a home owners association) is meant to represent the classic American patriot who really doesn't know anything about America, but believes in the liberty and freedom crap wholeheartedly. When trying to list all of the states, he's only able to put down Florida, Texas, California, Wyoming, New York City, and Vermont. He's generally uninterested in the other countries that Ouya destroyed, as well as the natives that died because of American colonists. All he truly cares about is the idea of America and American freedom. This is highlighted most directly by Ouya in the climax when it states, "No. But if you care about freedom, true freedom, this is the only way." This is responding to HoA asking whether preventing these devices from working will bring America back. And in response, HoA makes the entire world America. This is very clearly the worst possible outcome, and Ouya reacts as such. America is doomed to become the very oppressors that Ouya was trying so desperately to stop. This is supported by the credits, of all things, which shows the American flag changing, as it presumably adds more and more worlds to its intergalactic empire. It bares a striking resemblance to the masks the aliens have.

Not a one-to-one, but close. Enough to evoke the idea that what America inevitably becomes is exactly what Ouya feared most.

The idea that America isn't exactly the most freedom loving nation shouldn't be a controversial take to those within the proper circles. Enforcing our will on others for the sake of material and political gains is a common trend in American history. From our numerous wars with Mexico, to Vietnam, to leveraging our business relations for pressuring other countries into economic servitude, America has its fingers in almost every pie on the global stage, and it's usually to the detriment of the pie. Heart of America, then, is the blind fool, who believes America to be a nation without fault. Well, mostly, he does acknowledge that subprime lending is a problem. The point is that Heart of America is the kind of person (bird?) who goes to bat for America at nearly every turn, maybe acknowledging the odd thing here or there as bad, but never in a way that challenges the systems America is built upon. He's the perfect American exceptionalist, believing that being more like America will be the solution to every problem facing the world. Very literally, he makes everything America and just considers his work done. He blatantly ignores the idea that Ouya's warning might have any actual weight, charging ahead anyway, creating the world that Ouya came from to begin with. It's with this in mind that the HoA line, "I know you come from a place without America, which is the saddest thing I can think of, but that won't be a problem for anyone ever again!" becomes so much more ironic. Ouya did come from America. America was the only thing it ever knew. And Heart of America is the progenitor of all that pain and suffering. Another detail sticks out to me, that being the aliens' reality writing device. Ouya notes that it was designed by slaves, and that its appearance was, "... a small, final act of defiance" that was not understood by their oppressors.

This is the device. It is shaped like a heart. Assuming that Ouya is from America, that would make this the heart of America. The device responsible for endless tyranny, endless oppression, endless suffering, is Heart of America. Poetry.

Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom is a movie about a lot of things. Sunny D, Shark Councils and Shark Powers, Merman Jesus, a German space elevator, and a 5th Dimensional Demigod. But it's also about the brutality that good intentions can create. How if you live life without questioning the system, even if you like that system, you could cause unimaginable pain. How the most devoted to an idea may be the ones to betray it most brutally. And how we, as Americans, owe it to ourselves and the world to ensure that we don't contribute to a regime that can and will destroy everything so that the ones in control can live unopposed. Freedom is non-negotiable.

I have other thoughts about this movie that I might share later. Some act as counters to my main mindset surrounding this movie, but are other potential takeaways that I haven't fully thought through. I should probably sleep for now tho, lol.

[ebonytails]

who do you voice act?

We range from Impressions to original characters!

for impressions we can do a lot! Starting from what we’re most known for:

Twilight Sparkle (MANY MANY times) Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy! There’s actually an inside joke we have w/ friends where we are the Twilight VA that replaces MIA Va’s LOL,,,

We’ve also voiced Princess Cadence, PinkiePie once, Chrysalis, Diamond Tiara (Too Far [fanfic reading by Obabscribbler] and A Moment With by DR Wolf)

In terms of non impressions and more of original voices, we’ve done Jirachi and Chanel for Arceus’s Wish, and we voiced Toriel in an old Undertale Animation! We were also part of a few object shows that never continued after preproduction <_>,,,

a lot of the voicework we do are MLP fanfic related, but we try our best to branch out to non-MLP related stuff! Funny enough, Sonic franchise fanfic readings and games keep finding us ajebksb. Really looking forward to the Tangled comic dub comic out,,, one day!

ATM Our most active projects are No Place Like Home, though Scribbler is taking a very understandable break here and there, Arcues’s Wish, and a few other upcoming fan stuff :^)

you can find some videos of our work in our voice portfolio! Or you can go thru our youtube playlist compiled of ALL public videos we’ve been a part of!

(Also we’re part of an Undertale Musical!! but its in the works and we need more hands on it for now, beautiful stuff so far :^3c)

[tezzbot]

I know literally nothing about Trolls, so I’m curious. Was there anything specific that got you into the franchise? A trope? a character? Or was it just a variety of things that only coming together made it into something special?

I want to know if I should watch the movies since you’re the first person on the internet I’ve seen to have a positive opinion on them.

So, my first introduction to the franchise was way back when just the first movie was out. It was my little brothers favourite film for a LOOONG time so it was on repeat in our house for a while lmao it took me a while to actually pay attention to it but once I did I was like yeah! Good movie :] it establishes the world and characters well, and it's just an all round fun time with cool designs fun ideas and yknow I'm always a sucker for colourful singing fun little guys. A lot of people misunderstand the messaging of the first movie which frustrates me A Lot lol but yknow. It's a cute and silly and fun time and you can't go wrong w that. Singing Killed His Grandma<3 lol

The second movie is also very fun to me and expands the world in a really cool way, with new genres of trolls and the differences between them, each troll tribe has it's own unique setting I loooove the backgrounds in these movies you can tell a lot of thought was put into them, everything looks crafted in it's own unique way that represents the creatures that live there soo well augghgh yum. I personally think the second movie, for a children's film attempting to be an analogy for colonialism and historical revisionism lmfao, does a fairly decent job at tackling the themes in a way kids can kind of understand I think?? obviously it simplifies it all but, yknow, kids movie. And the individual character arcs the main characters go through are really interesting and fitting to the characters imo.

I also really like that they don't change Branch after the end of the first one to just be back to a peppy pop troll, like he's still a grumpy anxiety ridden little guy, like it shows his recovery from being grey isn't linear but he's improving, and it continues into the third movie as well as he slowly regains colour bit by bit, I really like Branch as a character :]

And the third one adds so much to Branch's character as well, delving into his backstory and making him like even more tragic which is so funny to me. We again, get an even more expansive look at the world outside of Bergentown, Pop village and the other troll genre territories and we get to see even more creatures from all over. And is also just one big Justin Timberlake Used To Be In a Boyband joke its great JHJGFH

I think it's very much a big mixture of things that's got me hooked on this series, among them is the clear love you can tell the creators have for it the world is so vibrant and interesting, the characters are honestly engaging and fun to think about since the movies are short snippets we get of their lives and realtionships and what have you I'm always a sucker for open to interpretation character relationships as well lmao, for me the jokes hit pretty well, and they're just Fun to be so honest, it's okay to have fun sometimes and they just make me happy so I am going to continue to play my tuoys smile

[animebw]

So the live action One Piece is really, really good.

I know, far from the first person to say it. But it really must be stressed how absolutely bonkers it is that One Piece, of all anime properties, is what breaks the live-action adaptation curse in the West. So many attempts at adapting far more live-action friendly stories like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop ended up complete disasters, and yet it's perhaps the most unabashedly cartoonish anime franchise, the one defined by how it takes advantage of drawing and animation to portray people, places and things that would be completely unfeasable in the real world, that shows how to translate this medium to live action without losing what makes it special in the first place. It's not a perfect adaptation, but it pretty much nails everything it needs to, capturing the heart of this story in all its most important moments and making smart changes that serve its new form as a binge-worthy Netflix drop. So let's talk about the things I liked, the few areas I think it fell short, and how I think future seasons should play out! Spoilers, obviously.

The Good:

-The most important thing to get right was the casting, and they nailed it: all the Straw Hats and their supporting cast are just about perfect. Inaki Godoy just is Luffy, Emily Rudd does a fantastic job shouldering the season's core emotional weight as Nami, Vincent Regan steals the show every time Garp is on screen, and Jeff Ward is an absolute riot as Buggy. Special shout-out as well to Morgan Davies for nailing Koby's expanded screen time.

-Speaking of, I love how Koby and Helmeppo's title-card story is fleshed out into a proper B-plot throughout this season. Following their journey under Garp's command is a perfect way to introduce us to the Navy's inner workings and the more explicitly political side of the story up front, as well as foreshadowing plenty of future story beats to come.

-The action. Is. So. Good. Thank god we're finally remembering how to film proper hand-to-hand brawls, cause every punch-up is a blast to watch.

-Luffy actually has more of an arc here than he does in the manga! Manga Luffy can be a pretty static character a lot of the time, which I know is kind of his appeal, but this adaptation gives him a bit more to work with as he grapples with the responsibility of being a captain and the consequences his mistakes can have for his crew.

-Seriously Buggy is so fucking funny they nailed him so perfectly

-Putting more of a focus on Nami's struggles throughout the season was a great way to give it more structure for a binge format. Her emotional journey is really the heart of this adaptation as we watch her go from a paraniod recluse to fully embracing the Straw Hats as her new family.

-One benefit to being live action and produced in America? Way, way less casual sexism. Dare I hope that future seasons will avoid ruining Sanji's character among other pitfalls Oda fell into? Fingers crossed!

-The production design is immaculate. It strikes the perfect balance between the wacky cartoonishness of One Piece's world and the demands of filming in live action.

-Fantastic soundtrack too! It knows just where to deploy instrumental renditions of We Are while charting its own musical identity.

The Bad

-Some of the dialogue is a liiiiiiittle cringey? I know dialogue has never been OP's strongest suit, but there are definitely a few moments that feel overly anachronistic and "how do you do fellow kids?" There's a moment Buggy jokes about toxic fandom that really made me roll my eyes (especially since the OP fandom has by and large really embraced this adaptation, so it comes off like a cheap shot at a demographic of haters that doesn't even really exist).

-While the camerawork and editing are pretty great, the color grading is very much... not. Can we please stop shooting everything in boring desaturated yellows and greys and start lighting our night scenes so we can actually see what's going on?

-Shockingly, it's the strongest parts from the manga- the backstories- that I feel suffered the most here. Some of that's due to most of the child actors not being that great, which, well, that's a risk you take with child actors. But it also cuts out a lot of the personal culpability that made a lot of those backstories so compelling? Like how Sanji used to be pretty wasteful with food until his experience stranded on an island taught him how important it was to respect every bite? That aspect of his character is completely missing in his flashback here.

-Hoo boy, they made some... choices with how they depicted Arlong's crew. I know the Fishmen are a big racism/discrimination metaphor, but between the trap music that plays whenever they show up, their overall "urban gangsta" fashion aesthetic and the design of Arlong Park, the fact Arlong himself is played by a black actor... there is some coding going on here, is my point. And considering how much I hated the direction this story arc went in Fishman Island, that does not give me confidence in this adaptation's ability to escape sucking just as much on that front.

Future Season Wish List:

Season 2: The Alabasta saga, starting with the arrival at Roguetown and ending with Vivi's send-off

Season 3: The Water Seven saga, maybe with a brief stop in Skypiea beforehand but not long enough to get bogged down in there like the manga did

Season 4: Possibly controversial, but I think this should take us to the timeskip. Spend an episode or two in Thriller Bark but cut out all the bullshit, one episode in Sabaody for the Shit Gets Real(tm) section, one episode in Amazon Lily, then onto Impel Down and the Marineford showdown, with one episode dedicated to the fallout of that battle and getting us to the timeskip.

Season 5: Big focus here should be Dressrosa IMO. If you must spend some time in Fishman Island then do it, probably don't need that much time in Punk Hazard since barely anything happens there, then get into the thick of Dressrosa.

Season 6: This should be the Wano season. One episode in Zou, maybe a couple in Whole Cake Island to set up Big Mom, (honestly we might not even need the extra Sanji backstory if this adaptation gets rid of his worst traits), then get straight into Wano so you have all the time you need for all those moving parts. Also, Gear 5 Luffy in live-action should just be him turning into his anime self Roger Rabbit style. Tell me that wouldn't rule.

[communistkenobi]

playing the new god of war has got me thinking about the fact that professionally made industry art (mass art, popular art, whatever you want to call it) is increasingly only about itself. not just in the form of meta jokes, although that’s certainly part of it, but even in the way the art itself is framed to the audience. you consume it because you want to consume marvel, or star wars, or whatever. the point of consumption is consumption itself. therefore the only thing art needs to be about is itself - this constant spiral into its own canon, the front loading of popular characters, the callbacks to funny lines. and this is all set against a larger backdrop of ever-larger, more complex technical feats. more finely tuned CGI, the ability to see pores on your character’s face, entire movies shot in green screens, all seemingly to no real end aside from a display of technical might. it is this demonstration of accumulated capital - look how much money we spent on this. this thing is successful because it was expensive to make, therefore the real value of it is the expense itself. and so you get these massive franchises who are concerned solely with themselves, with reproducing what already exists.

and to a larger extent I think this is maybe part of why, like, people seem so self-centred in their consumption of art. the apparent inability to engage with something if it does not reflect back a mirror image of themselves. this is the result of multiple different social and historical factors of course, but I think after decades of neoliberal capitalism we have retreated fully into ourselves, and our engagement with popular art is both a reflection of that and a response to the fact that whenever you turn on a star wars show or marvel movie, all you’re watching is an advertisement for star wars or marvel

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Trolls Band Together

At long, long last. After 45 fucking movies of insanely varying quality, I've reached the end of the Dreamworks watch. So, what kind of a note did we go out on here on the third installment of the Trolls franchise? Well...

Back in the day, Branch and his older brothers, John Dory, Spruce, Clay, and Floyd, made up the popular boy band BroZone, until a tension-driven split up. In the present, Floyd has been captured by pop star wannabes Velvet and Vaneer, who are using his essance to make themselves more talented. So it's up to the other brothers to "band together" to save him, and while along for the ride, Poppy happens to reunite with her long lost older sister, Viva. So yeah, lots of shit going on. And that's... kind of the problem.

The first two Trolls movies were relatively simple and pretty focused for what they are. But Band Together just has... way too much happening in it. Namely, way to many damn family reunions happening in it. I've joked before about how Dreamworks only knows how to tell a handful of stories, and the family reunion plot is one they always seem to come back to. This movie is a huge testament to that, with both Branch and Poppy reuniting with estranged/lost familiy members. And it's... a tad forced, not gonna lie.

The overall theme of family is absolutely heavy handed in this, from Branch and his bros having to learn to be both a band and brothers again, to Poppy and Viva reconnecting and learning how different they actually are, to even some sibling drama between Velvet and Vaneer. And its... a lot. It's just too much going on all at once and it feels... overwhelming, especially since they're also trying to throw non stop jokes and pop songs at you. As a result, you get a movie that's just... way too busy for its own damn good.

As for our characters, well our returning cast is still pretty fun, and I was really happy to see the Bergans return (Gristle and Bridget's honeymoon subplot was the best part of the movie by far). Our new characters are kind of hollow, none of them getting too terribly much focus. Like Branch's brothers are fine, I didn't hate any of them, but I felt like I wasn't too compelled to care about them either. Same for Viva who... did kind of grate the nerves a bit, she's basically just Poppy 2.0 and I can only handle so much of Poppy anyway.

As for our villains, Velvet and Vaneer are... ok. They're the usual fame-obssessed diva trope, and I do appreciate how they do give Vaneer a bit of an arc and a concious, but idk... I wanted more of them? Their designs are fun and they do have some really funny moments, but because there was so much else going on, I feel like we really just didn't see as much from them as we should have.

I had no complaints from the animation, though I do appreciate them continuing to push the arts and crafts vibes of the world (the water is literally orbeez i love that). The music is, well, its Trolls. Ya'll know what to expect form Trolls. Pop songs until the cows come home. And they're... fine. I kinda tend to space out whenever one of them starts, but they're fine.

Overall, this movie as a whole is... fine. Exceptionally mid, and I'd absolutely say its the weakest out of the Trolls trilogy. It just lacks... something that the first two had, some sort of charm or thought or pacing or... control even. Idk how to properly explain what's wrong with this movie, man, something just feels off. Which is why it's such a shame to end the Dreamworks marathon off on a mid note like this, but hey, at least I'm not ending it off on the same shit tier note I started it off with Antz. That's gotta count for something right?

But until next time (or whenever there are more Dreamworks movies to review idk), (*blows kiss to the sky*) for Dreamworks. You fucking wonderful, terrible, baffling, beautiful studio you.

Overall Rating: 5/10

Verdict: Trip so hard you wind up in another animation style entirely

Previous Review (Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken)

[maya-chirps]

Filipino Horror Movies for Halloween

My friends and I watched horror movies last night a day earlier than Halloween because they had prior commitments on the day and I have to say, it was more fun than we hoped for. We decided to watch two movies: a horror horror one, and a more funny horror one. Here's some of my thoughts for each one that we watched last night and some warnings if you want to watch them yourself.

Maria Leonora Teresa (2014)

Content Warnings: dolls, homophobia, child death, child abuse, gore, graphic murder scenes, demonic themes and imagery

Maria Leonora Teresa (2014) was our pick for horror horror. It's a pretty interesting film and although there were some parts that were a little corny, the overall plot was intriguing.

The story centers around three parents who lose their daughters, Maria, Leonora, and Teresa, in a bus accident during a field trip. Grief-striken and despondent, a mysterious man with sunglasses approaches them with a solution to help ease their pain — three dolls each with their daughters' likenesses. Things immediately start going wrong for the families and they're faced with the horrors of what the dolls would bring them and their loved ones.

The production wasn't the highest of quality but even with the cheaper CGI it was still a fun time and especially how uncanny some of their more practical make-up effects were. The writing was also awkward at times with corny one-liners that break up the tension of the movie too so it's not too scary, at least in my opinion (although I'm really good with horror so take it with a grain of salt lol).

The movie does deal with a lot of child death and even child abuse and is a very very gory movie so be advised before watching.

Watch Maria Leonora Teresa (2014) with English subtitles for free on YouTube here

Shake, Rattle & Roll XV (2014)

The second pick was for funny horror and we would be doing a disservice if we didn't watch the classic horror anthology series Shake, Rattle & Roll. We watched one of their last films before the sudden hiatus of the franchise Shake, Rattle & Roll XV (2014) and it held a lot of surprises.

Shake, Rattle & Roll is, as I said, a horror anthology series. Each movie is made up of three shorter films made by three different teams, and sometimes starring overlapping cast members. This is mainly the reason why this section is far longer than the first. The short films for SRR XV are: Ahas (Snake), Ulam, and Flight 666.

Ahas (Snake)

Content Warnings: snakes, child abuse, cannibalism, gore, vore(?)

Ahas is the first of these movies and centers around a local urban legend in the Philippines. Urban legend states that a local mall chain called Robinson's Galleria hides a dark secret in its basement — the serpentine child of the Mall's founders who stalk the women's changing rooms and kidnaps them when they're alone and vulnerable. This story takes inspiration from this and focuses on a similar mall that's about to reach their 25th Anniversary and the mysterious disappearances that had been happening in the building.

This was a pretty okay film with okay writing, with the main thing really pulling it back being it's special effects. With the limited budget, the concept of the movie wasn't met and honestly it's one of those films I wished had a larger budget and more time considering that a snake lady loose in a city would probably be really cool as a concept. Because of that, the ending also felt pretty rushed which sucks.

On the other hand, my friends and I were making monster fucking jokes the whole time so there's that I guess.

Ulam

Content Warnings: light sinophobia, vomiting, disgusting food, animal death (a dog dies), lizard meat, dog meat, rat meat, child abuse, child endangerment, gore, graphic murder scenes

The word "ulam" refers to the meat or vegetable that make up the main meal in a Filipino dish that is served alongside the rice that makes up our meal staple. The closest translation to this is the word viand, which isn't a commonly used word in English. Either way, you could understand the dread I felt when that was the title of the next movie.

Ulam was a standout of the night for us because it scared most of us more than we did with MLT which was supposed to be our actual horror movie. I don't want to spoil much because of that but the visceral disgust and creepiness that I got from watching it was exactly the feeling I was expecting with horror. It was surprising too considering how the typical SRR movie isn't too serious or is corny enough to not spook you.

This movie was different. It felt like the writer and director knew they had a limited budget and they worked within that realm. The limited CGI was used so expertly that it doesn't actually look bad and adds to the horror too. This was a horror movie that felt like it was made by a Filipino indie horror movie group which is a good thing. The restrictions to the budget and the limited run-time worked to this film's advantage and I don't think extending it as much or adding more money into it would've done it too many favors.

Besides the excellent writing and the amazing direction, the cinematography and stage direction was so good! There were so many shots of the film that me and my group of artist friends would just pause and say "Oh shit! That shot looks so pretty!". It definitely helps a lot that the sombre color grading gives it such a good atmosphere.

I have so many praises for this film, it makes up for some of the issues I have with it. It relies on creepy rural province things to get the plot rolling and especially, honestly, bothers me a little bit because there was a quick reference that points to it being a Bikolano thing. There was also some light Sinophobia but specifically the stereotype that Chinese people are superstitious and this is a bit important for the plot since one of the family is Chinese-Filipino. Of course, the elephant in the room is yes, the dog dies. It's a spoiler but I'm saying it upfront. How it's revealed is more of the horror anyway but yes, the dog dies.

Other than that, it's a solid short film and it definitely got under my skin more than MLT.

Flight 666

Content Warnings: gore, hostage situations, flight turbulence, implied dubious consent/nonconsensual relationships, child(?) death, demonic themes and imagery

Flight 666 was by far the weakest of the three but was a welcome palate cleanser after Ulam freaked us out.

It's your typical bad things happen on the plane thing but like, honestly, so many things were happening all at once it was almost comical.

The movie centers around a group of passengers who were boarded on an extra flight because of overbooking on the airline's fault, now in Flight 666. One crazy thing happens after another and the next thing they know, a tiyanak (a demon baby Filipino cryptid) is on the plane and they have to survive the flight until they land safely on the ground to escape. It's such an overload of a movie that I wouldn't be surprised if it's the very reason this has really low reviews.

I've noticed that this was also the movie with a shit ton of movie cameos from big names just cuz, and it's definitely something that I think Filipinos would sorta get more but confuse outsiders?

All you need to know is that most of the quirky characters in this movie are overexaggerations of these actors' public personas. Kuya Kim, for example, plays the role of a sort of adventurer-type professor, not unlike Steve Irwin, and that's just how the guy is. His whole shtick is giving trivia, so he's also doing this in this movie.

The CGI here is used front and center which kinda works because I really don't think this film specifically was supposed to be that scary anyway. The writing was over the top, there were so many corny and cheesy scenes, and the stupid shit in the film really adds to it. It was really jarring going from the freaky ending for Ulam and then going straight into this insanity but it was a wild experience.

Watch the Shake, Rattle, and Roll XV (2014) with English subtitles for free on YouTube here

With all of that being said, both MLT and SRR do suffer from some typical iffy tropes especially with the bury your gays trope though both films are nine years old so I'm not holding it too much against it. Both films also have really awkward and bad CGI even with both being 2014 movies but that comes with the territory of local horror. Either way, I guess we had fun watching it together regardless of the quality so there was that.

If anyone wants to watch these films, and honestly a lot more movies for Halloween, Star Cinema and Regal Films who created the two respectively have it free on YouTube with English subtitles for Halloween and I've linked it under each section! It has a lot of midroll ads, so make sure to use an ad blocker to watch them uninterrupted.

We had fun with these movies, so maybe you might too so give it a try if you can!

[thealmightyemprex]

Raiders of the Lost Ark is so damn good

Well my Spielbergqathon has entered the 80's ,with one of the most iconic action franchises of the 80's ,the Indiana Jones series ,starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark

In this 1981 film Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is an archeologist /adventurer who is out to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do

So Indiana Jones is a childhood favorite franchise for me.I actually dont know which Indiana Jones film is my favorite cause as a kid ,if I watched one,I HAD to watch all three (This is before Kingdom of the Chrystal Skull ) . So what makes this watch through unique ,Is I will be viewing the Indiana Jones films in the context of Spielbergs filmography instead of as a whole .So happy to report of the Spielberg films I have watched so far .....Its at the head of the pack

Raiders is just such a fun film ,it is a thrillride .The film is full of great action.Like if you love good action,this film is for you..Like the famous boulder scene,where our hero is outrunning a boulder......There is a shootout in a burning bar ,a fun chase through the streets (With an amazing bait and switch joke ),a fist fight with a burly mechanic and ana amazing car vs Horse chase .You also get great set pieces like a tomb full of snakes (I am not a snake person so that scene always creeped me out ),Indy being chased by a boulder and of course the finale

THe film also has elements of the supernatural and that was always an appeal to me of this series.Its funny there isnt anything too mystical till the end ,but it doesnt feel unearned ,because the way the Ark is talked about ,you know something is gonna happen.I wont spoil the finale,but it is awesome and frankly terrifying ,it feels like something out of a horror film

We have three main villains .The least interesting is Colonel Dietrich ,Wolf Kahler does a good job being the voice of authority but of the three villains I kind of forget he is in the movie .Belloq is really our main villain ,a rival archologist to Indy .A oppurtunistic man ,he is in it to observe the power of the Ark .Paul Freeman is perfect in the role ,he is a great contrast to Indy ,the refined villain in white suites who firmly believes in greater powera to our more scruffy skeptical hero .Also love his piercing eyes and the excitement in his voice when he describes the Ark as a "Radio to God ".The most memorable villain however is Ronald Laceys performance as Toht .He's actually not in the film alot and doesnt say much ,but good lord is he creepy . Toht is a sadistic Gestapo agent ,LAcey is able to capture this slimey quality ,that is almost Peter Lorre esque (REally brings to mind Lorre in All Through The Night ).

The supporting cast is all great ,with memorable appearences by Alfred Molina (In his first role )George Harris and William Hootkins .Denholm Elliot brings a warmth as Museum curator Brody . The best supporting character has to be Sallah ,Indys friend played by John Rhyse Davies , he brigngs a sense of levity and warmth to the film and to be frank.....Hes the character who I think has the best lines ,my favorite being "Aasps! Very dangerous.....You go first."Plus everytime he sings it just makes me smile

Karen Allen plays Indy's love interest Marion .Theres a toughnbess and sense of humor to her that makes her stand out .My favorite scene with her is where she is getting drunk with Belloq ,while she is hiding a knife so she can plan an escape

An now we get to Indy who I can best describe as James Bond but combined with a Humphrey Bogart character .He bit of a scruffier and scrappier action hero and Harrison Ford was kind of the perfect choice ,being tough but able to convincingly look like he is in danger ,which just makes us root for him even more

OVerall this is such a damn good action movie ,highly reccomended

@ariel-seagull-wings. @amalthea9 @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @goodanswerfoxmonster @themousefromfantasyland @filmcityworld1 @the-blue-fairie @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

[bdzonthareel]

Barbie

When I first heard about a Barbie movie, I like many people rolled their eyes at the very thought of it. Barbie media has often (at times unfairly) lambasted for being a cash grab and that was my initial reaction, however we I heard that Margot Robbie was involved and her production company was fitting the bill, my interest was piqued. So without further ado, (and I never thought I would ever say these words) let’s talk about Barbie!

We’re introduced to the fictional world of Barbieland, where every concept of Barbie exists and lives in perfect harmony with a respective Ken, and Allan (there’s only one of him.) But the harmony is disrupted when Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie begins to suffer from an existential crisis and in order for her to fix what’s wrong she must go to the real world and meet the girl who is playing with her and figure out what’s wrong.

In all genres of entertainment, comedy is one of those that I am insanely harsh on, as comedian myself I feel like there should be a flow to long form story, especially in comedy. But I can say that Director and co-screenwriter Greta Gerwig created a work that was heartfelt and hilarious in this film.

The cinematography is nothing short of brilliant, lots and lots of pink paint was used to bring Barbieland to life and it felt like one massive play set. And the various Real World shots were not to be out done giving off a stark contrast to each other.

The soundtrack was a delightful mix of classic top 40s, newer hits and self-aware comedic songs. The score was equally light poppy and fun, composers (pop music legend) Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt brought an amazing upbeat energy to this film.

Co-writer Noah Baumbach, helped with some very well-timed jokes, and you know they worked because they triggered a metric ton of incels, and that alone was worth the price of admission. Together with Gerwig, I was throughly impressed with the amount of meta commentary on display, and despite what some might lead you to believe, the film doesn’t demonize men; the film’s message is far more complex than that. I also appreciate the fact that they made the movie about the titular character, with seems to be something that franchises like Transformers can’t seem to get right.

And the performances were hilariously well done, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling have great chemistry as they lampoon the ideas of these characters’ roles. Simu Liu, is amazing versatile and brings the same amazing timing that he brought to Kim’s Convenience and it was delightful. Although my favorite Barbies were Issa Rei as President Barbie and Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie. And I would be remised to ignore Hari Nef whose Doctor Barbie was whimsical and charming, Also since I’m madly in love with Alexandra Shipp I can say that she another of my favorite parts. America Ferreira and Ariana Greenblat served as great moral support for the various inhabitants of Barbieland and then there Will Ferrell I was almost convinced was Ken at one point given his goofball behavior. I also enjoyed seeing Rhea Pearlman as one (spoilers), she just gets better with age. Kate McKinnon really went all in as Weird Barbie as did Michael Cera as Allan (easily my favorite character in the film.) And last but certainly NOT least, Dame Hellen Mirren as the narrator brought a nice touch of her

Barbie was more than what I and many others initially expected, it was packaged as a goofball fish-out-of-water comedy which is a tired cliché in its own right, I sat down on this for a good while before writing this and I feel like its one of the best comedies I have seen in a very long time. It was very funny, but it also had a lot to say about growing up, holding on to thing that we love, and letting go of them. The biggest message that we all have to find our own way, because we are all more than just an idea and life doesn’t exist in just a straight line and at the end of the day isn’t that what it means to be human?

I give Barbie a well-deserved, 5 out of 5.

[canarydarity]

howdy! it's day 1 of MCYT fanfic appreciation week, and i was wondering if you had any future writing projects or other ideas that you wanted an excuse to talk about :D no pressure whatsoever to answer this ask, just thought i'd reach out ♡

HI :')) this absolutely made my day to receive, and also served as reminder to me that yesterday was that events start day!!! so thank you for that!!!!

i will always always always take an excuse to talk about the fic ideas that are rotting my brain <3

I'm going to talk about 3 projects; 1) yet another DL rancher one-shot 2) my current brain rot go to: speed racer au 3) and a worm tried and true classic: gay baseball au

cut here because....i am a rambler

I'll start with what y'all are most likely to see next,,,

After the second session of Limlife came out, I wrote a little vignette from Tango's pov that included a throw-away scene from DL where someone left a golden apple on the ranchers porch in the middle of the night as an extremely un-funny joke. And that. idea has haunted me since I thought of it,,, I outlined it months and months ago though never got around to writing it... but for some reason a few days ago I opened that doc again and it just sorta. happened.

it's only about halfway done right now, but if all goes well it might be up by the end of the week :)) small preview mayhaps:

The door not yet having been opened, the possibility of what was waiting for him on the other side yawned and stretched towards endless. In a way, not knowing but speculating was worse than just opening the damn thing and facing the one singular scenario that was, but that was why he struggled to do it. Schrodinger’s danger—this was stupid; Tango opened the door.  No one was there.  He blinked in the face of its emptiness for a moment. Of all the situations he had considered, absolutely zero of them included opening the door to nothing. The one definite thing a knock spoke to was the presence of someone—something. So, what, they risked the middle of the night in peace times to come to the ranch they all loved barging into any time regardless to ding-dong ditch? That seemed, like, a gazillion times more unlikely. 

---

Then...the thing that is currently carving out its home in my brain...speed racer au. Tango-centric, more tango & etho angst than it is team rancher tbh.

The au is based solely on the 2008 movie speed racer, not as much the rest of the franchise! I guess /warning for speed racer spoilers, but the movie came out 16 years ago and the anime is from the 1960's...............so like.............also come on

I...have absolutely 0 clue how to describe to you the plot of speed racer. imagine you drive a race car so good and look so hot while doing it that you take down the mafia AND defeat the evil that is capitalism. That's speed racer. Like most worm aus its...not a comprehensive story. it's mainly me taking scenes from the movie that i adore and reimagining them with life series characters in those positions.

Tango is our titular character, an up and coming, widely known and celebrated automobile racer. He's the only racer not sponsored by some big company, he'd rather his pals—his family—be in control of his car, the Mach 5, and his racing career.

This is so so silly to try to explain you have no idea. I'm just going to say it. So when Tango was a kid, his older brother Etho died in this really dangerous unofficial non-track race thing. Two years later, theres a new racer in the league calling himself Racer X. No one knows his actual identity, and, at all times, he is wearing this. mask. thing. umm. anyway so Racer X is secretly Tango's older brother who Tango thinks is dead. And he now races under a secret identity because he is trying to take down. the fucking mafia. who own a whole bunch of racing teams and do crime and things. cause why not. Im going to stop over-explaining speed racer, just take this snippet and go:

“Look, can we cut the bullshit?”  If Tango’s mounting poor mood had any effect on X, he didn’t show it. He maintained the stillness of a wildlife photographer, danger not a warning to flee but more the promise of a shot worth sticking around to capture. Tango had felt studied since they’d cut the engines, since X’s head had popped up over the wheel, smirking—but now he’d felt seized.  “Alright.” His mouth opened, all the energy to press on but none of the gall. As usual, he’d gotten too ahead of himself; clutch pressed to the floor, shift it into first gear, every intention to move with no promise to follow through. He didn’t ease off the clutch so much as he ran away from it; he’d stalled, his mouth shut dumbly.  There wasn’t the time to wait it out, and Tango didn’t think he’d afford it to himself if there were. This moment had been promised to him since Casa Cristo began. He might not have then, but standing here now he knew it to be true. He thought X knew it, too—this was inevitable. He knew it like you knew you had minutes before your mom found that thing that you broke, like you knew someone was about to walk away from you for good. It was no less natural to him than knowing he was going to be a driver, no harder to glean from his future than being able to picture Jimmy by his side. He wouldn’t squander the chance because he hadn’t been adequately prepared for it to arrive.  Tango choked, “Etho?” “You think I’m your brother.” When he said it it was a statement, not a question.  “Aren’t you?”

---

And lastly...gay baseball au :')) or rather, "against all odds"

yes I'm still stuck on that, YES I plan to keep writing it.

I posted a little bit ago,, beginning of January, that I wanted to post the first chapter of baseball au if possible around/on my birthday, which is the first week in March. I can't PROMISE that will happen, because I am working on grad school applications at the moment and I also. know myself. and want to have the UTMOST MAJORITY POSSIBLE of the writing done before I post it. otherwise. I won't go back. But...tentatively that is hopefully the plan <3

Once again: plot summary, snippets

Have another for free :))

“What about you, Jim Jam?” Jimmy frowned at Skizz, only somewhat confused and mostly sure that he shouldn’t have been. “What about me?” “The question—what would you do if you weren’t doing this?” With clarity came even more confusion. It had felt normal for the others to ponder what-ifs and other lives where they did other things, a rightness that immediately soured when the spotlight had shone on him. There were no alternate versions of Jimmy, this was the only one in existence; he was a model toy that had never made it off the drawing board, no plans for mass production—too little consumer interest.  “Oh…I dunno.” He thought baseball might be the only thing he was capable of, and even then that didn’t mean he was good at it. “I’d never thought about it, I guess.” 

Anyway, I will exhibit exemplary self control and stop talking now. Thank you again so so much for asking <33

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Have you ever watched the Ice Age movies? If so, what do you think of them?

I think they are Classics of animation that suffers from gradual franchise fatigue I did watch the later movies and everything however 1 and 2 are the crowning achievements

My whole entire generation can recognize the music of the second film you play those simple piano notes of when Ellie was found and we instantly know where it comes from

These movies gave Blue Sky its footing that unfortunately was lost because they kept running into Disney, DreamWorks, or bad stories

Because you still have legendary films like Robots and Rio that came out of this studio, however, were very underrated for being damn good films because they were going up against Disney

I dare you to sit down with Rio 2 and not cry when Blu comes across the logging operation towards the end.

Or Robots literally raising a generation of Hellraisers that are willing to overthrow the upper class I'm not joking go sit down and watch that film it is literally all about our current situation and standing up against corrupt leaders if anyone wants to blame a film for giving us ideas there you go.

So Ice Age I have a special place in my heart for those films gave all the rest of them a chance

They showed that this studio may be no Disney but they could still put out movies that were on Disney's level unfortunately Disney just had the name brand power over Blue Sky which led to its absorption by Disney and being shut down in 2021.

I have no idea what is going to come next but I've heard rumors of Ice Age being Rebooted. And I don't have a good feeling if they are they will be nothing in comparison to these first movies.

I will say mentioning Rio I really hope at one point in time we get a cameo or something like that if they decide to do a third Rio cuz I think it would be really funny if they brought a certain Three Caballeros into that film franchise.

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Shrek 2

“Shrek 2″ is often considered to be one of the greatest sequels of all time by some people... and those people would be correct.

Shrek and Fiona are happily enjoying their marriage until they’re invited to a royal ball by Fiona’s parents. Fiona and Donkey are excited to go, but Shrek is hesitant. He has a feeling that Fiona’s parents won’t really like him or accept the choices that Fiona has made. Still, he ends up going and gets caught up in a ploy crafted by the Fairy Godmother.

The first “Shrek” was content with delivering a simple, yet powerful story. It used the benefit of simplicity by crafting genuinely funny jokes and sharp commentary about the relentless push of conservatism from DreamWorks's clear rival. “Shrek 2″ is ambitious, if not anything else. It retains the same level of jokes and commentary and I dare say that it actually elevated those levels. There were so many moments that had me laughing out loud. A few notable jokes were the “Cops” parody, which is still relevant today, and the Starbucks joke which is just so good. While maintaining the same level of quality of jokes and commentary, “Shrek 2″ also does what every good sequel does and expands the scope of the first film. I love everything about the kingdom of Far Far Away. First off, the name is just top-notch. It effectively positions itself as the place that every fairy tale starts off mentioning. Making it a parody of Hollywood is just so damn clever. “Shrek 2″ also feels like a genuine continuation of the first film because it follows up on logical plot beats. In a franchise about being more realistic about our ‘happily ever afters’, of course, they should explore what the in-laws think. Of course, we follow up on Prince Charming who hasn’t learned the lessons of the first film. Speaking of Prince Charming, “Shrek 2″ delivers with its new characters. Every one of them just hits the mark. Doris The Ugly Stepsister was hilarious to me as a child. Mongo will always have a place in my heart. Puss In Boots was so popular that he got his own spin-off movies, one of which is gaining exceptionally great critical reception in theaters right now. And who could forget the Fairy Godmother? She’s such a fun villain because she gets to be the celebrity who gets to ham it up when the cameras are rolling, but then switches to an evil mob boss on the flip of a switch. Plus, she has an amazing singing voice. She performs a cover of “Holding Out For A Hero” and has the rare honor of exceeding the original as the definitive way of listening to the song. Jennifer Saunders really sounds like she’s having a blast in the role. The final climax of this film is one that sticks out in everyone’s mind. I think rightfully so because the action is high-octane, high-stakes, non-stop fun with great jokes and call-backs along the way. You truly feel like Shrek is running out of time because of the love potion Fiona’s about to drink and the effects of the potion he drank. I do think the twist was a bit predictable, but it was still executed in an ambiguous enough manner that it didn’t bother me one bit. All in all, this movie is a masterclass on how to make sequels. I know it’s a meme to call it the best sequel of all time, but there is some truth in that. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it the best, but I think it’s perfect for the “Shrek” franchise.

★★★★★

Rewatched on January 4th, 2023