#related to one of those games about the bugs. i had the fables one in mind...

[wackywatchdotcom]

realized i havent posted abt basically any of my crossovers ive worked on .... i think thats honestly impressive considering i often dont shut up about them.... but then again things ive gotten REALLY into i end up sidelining crossovers for the sake of analysis n discussion..... beautiful

[spectralgecko]

Context:

Hey y'all! This blog is mostly where I put random fanart for the various eclectic fandoms I'm in, plus miscellaneous postings from life.

Tagging is perfectly fine, and the ask box is open if you have any questions!

Direct Messages are okay, if not preferred. However, I would request that you be upfront about your age for safety reasons.

Be forewarned, don't bank on super consistent original content over here. If you were hoping for any kind of regular content short of reblogs and silly day-to-day stories, alas, this is not the right blog. I sporadically drop art into the void and then disappear for a month.

If it takes a while for me to respond or get to an ask, don't worry - I've probably seen it and haven't had a chance to get to it. You're welcome to check in, though (I may answer privately).

School work and life in general eat up most of my time. Sundays are pretty reliably free, though.

Additional Info:

Other Blogs:

@sqarletsworldlesswandering - Various shenanigans about the gorgeous indie game Worldless (100/10 recommend it - Steam has a free demo here).

@sqarletgecko - A separated blog for more original stuff and official stuff. Dormant for the time being (also, my apologies for the confusion with the deactivated version of the account - I needed to rearrange, and now it's all confusing)

General Tags:

SqarletTalks - any and all rambles from yours truly

Sqarlet'sArt - my art tag

SqarletWrites - my writing tag

OC tags are "[fandom] OC: [name]" Ex: TSBS OC: Ekleipsis Triplex

AU tags are "[fandom] AU: [name]". I will also often have a shorter version that's just "[abbreviation] AU". Ex: TSBS AU: Everything is Fine; EiF AU

Fandoms:

While by no means a comprehensive list, here's some stuff you can find on my blog at the moment. The gist is "indie games and some youtube shows."

Stuff I've made content for:

The Security Breach Shows: Mostly TSAMS, LAES, and rarely MGAFS. Some of that is more tangential and AU related, so those don't have show tags besides "tsbs au." The one that's currently got an actual AU tag is "Everything is Fine"/"EiF." Bunch of OC and concept designs. There's also the Hyper Light Drifter/HLD AU. I'm not as active in this community anymore, though.

Worldless: I occasionally reblog Worldless content here, but that mostly stays over on my other blog, mentioned above.

Black Resin: A small game currently looking to be published. Neat lil' game. You can find the demo here.

Portal: I've got some crossover stuff with that so far.

Minecraft/Steve Saga: Yes the Steve Saga is... quite old by now. But I rediscovered some old art I had for it, so that's going here. There's an AU/Speculative Worldbuilding project for it that's tagged "Worlds and Wonders"/WaW.

Other stuff I've not made content for yet but enjoy:

Rainworld

OneShot

Hyper Light Drifter

Solar Ash

Sky: Children of the Light

Hollow Knight

Bug Fables

Just Shapes and Beats

NERVE

OCTAHEDRON

Gris

Journey

Abzu

Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps

Outer Wilds

Undertale

Monument Valley

[kinglarrykoopadx]

Top 10 games i wanted to get

This is a personal list of games I want to get but I just can’t. Ranging from “maybe someday” to “get as fast as possible”. I’m gonna input some rules to my list to make it more fair. First off, I’m counting the games from the 8th to 9th console generation only, cause I ain’t wasting my money to buy an old console for like, what, one game? Second, no mobile games, because most of the time, they’re free even in the pre registration state. Yeah, there are some paid games but they’re pretty scarce. Speaking of pre registration, third, no pre orders, so I don’t have to regret wasting my money when I eventually get the damn game. That being said, pre orders of ports of games from older console generations will definitely count, so long as I’ve already played them or were interested by them.

10. Bug Fables

Bug Fables and I have a love-hate-ish relationship. On one hand, I wanna get it to see what of the old Paper Marios that got the fans to crazy town. On the other hand, some TTYD related salt lingers in me like how well butter sticks on bread. On the other other hand, I’m cursed with somehow finding more interesting games. Maybe one day I’ll get it, but for now, I’ll give it a pass thank you very much. But hey, I did say I’m considering buying it. Which no, it doesn’t mean I wannna see any “pLaY bUg fAbLeS” comments around, how many times must I tell you lot that shoving a game up my ass is less advertising, more making me resent the damn thing?

9. Crash 4 : It’s About Time

I’mma be honest. After watching some Caddicarus and AntDude, I’m willing to give the marsupial a chance. I did play the mobile game and it was fun but it’s a mobile game so it didn’t count. I am considering getting Crash 4, but I’m on the verge of rethinking if this was a good idea. From what I heard, this is a short ass game, and I’m not selling my soul to the completion devil to extend my game time. Bug Fables and Crash 4 are honestly, interchangable as fuck.

8. Crash Bandicoot : N Sane Trilogy + CTR Nitro Fueled

For N Sane Trilogy, it’s so I can know the context of Crash 4′s story and play through it. For Nitro Fueled, I’m getting it for funsies, I mean for fuck’s sake they added in the crates as racers, the only weird thing that can combat it is Piranha Plant in Smash. But the microtransactions make me rethink it, so maybe someday.

7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX

Now we’re getting to the games where I have some interest in getting. Here we have the remake of Mystery Dungeon Red/Blue from the GBA/DS which I adored dearly. I was a fan of the Mystery Dungeon series by watching people play them, and playing some myself. I’ve played Gates To Infinity and never finished it (The farthest I could go was in the Holehills), I played Super but also with Gates To Infinity I never finished it (I think last I checked I made it to Entei) and now, I’m kinda planning to get it. Why is it this low? Key word “kinda”. Overtime, my interests for this game kinda fizzled out because it was a case of Bug Fables. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to try it, problem is that in time, my interest sparked into other games, which we’ll see later on.

6. Yo Kai Watch 3

In case you never got the memo, I’m a huge, HUGE fan of Yo kai Watch. If it weren’t for this franchise, I’d probably be more interested in something like studying and see gaming as irrelevant. The 1st game was kinda weak sauce, the 2nd game is the best in the franchise, and I really wanted to get the 3rd game. From what I’ve seen, it looked fun as hell. Problem is, the stupid virus made it hard to salvage a copy and even then, it’s a really rare 3DS game since the number of copies Level 5 made for this game are scarce as hell. Shame really, it was content packed and everything, but whatever.

5. Bugsnax

Bugsnax for those who never knew, is a game about snacks that are also bugs. After watching a couple playthroughs, I was willing to give it a try. And that’s where problems rise. The problem with Bugsnax is that it’s a PS5/PC exclusive (at the time of writing this top 10) and I’m not buying a PS5 for one damn game, and I normally don’t use my PC for gaming. Maybe one day when Young Horses port this cute game to the Switch I’ll give it a try, but for now, I’ll wait.

4. Mario Golf Super Rush

I know I said no pre orders, but this one’s an exception. I’m actually real hyped for this one, for starters, it’s not tennis for once, fucking woo, and the story mode made it look like it’s a pretty promising game, since people liked the story mode in the GBA games. Yeah, the visuals look lifeless, but do I give a crap? I’m just relieved Nintendo still knows that Mario sports games don’t just consist of tennis. And who knows, maybe the stars may align and we can get a new Mario Strikers or Mario Baseball with Nintendo purchasing Next Level Games and this game coming soon.

3. Bowser’s Fury

This game was one of the most anticipated Mario games for the switch simply because it was the banner for the future of 3D Mario. And from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty good. I mean, for starters, you team up with Bowser Jr so this game is already eyecatching from the start. The game has you collecting the 50 Cat Shines to awaken the Giga Bells and stop Fury Bowser which is a solid premise. Fury Bowser being the main highlight of the game because he’s the game’s blood moon. When he’s out, be ready to be pummeled big time. With rock music playing in the background. It didn’t make it to the top 2 of the “most wanted” games, but it is hella close.

2. Hollow Knight

After seeing people play it and listening to some of its musical scores, I’m willing to give this game a big fat chance. Hollow Knight is some Metroidvania game involving a lone soul in search of the source of ruin of the kingdom of Hallownest which is a solid as hell premise. On the way, you’ll meet some kind NPCs and traverse unknown lands and the DLC added to this game made it more than worth it. Lifeblood which has patches and a new boss namely Hive Knight, Grimm Troupe which from what I’ve heard included the most fun boss in Hollow Knight, Hidden Dreams which included the White Defender and Grey Prince Zote, and Godmaster, which is the game’s True Arena. Needless to say, I’m definitely gonna buy this game when I have the chance.

1. Miitopia Switch

As a fan of the 3DS game, I was hyped as hell when Miitopia was ported over to Switch, and I had every right to be hyped. Those Twitter users don’t know what the hell they’re missing out on. The combat is amazing, the characters are on point, hell, the demo had a lot of replay value. And when you make a freaking demo replayable as hell, that’s a sign of a kickass game. This is the game that can take my $50 with no hesitation. Nintendo, take my money, I’ve got a quest in need of reimagining.

[omg-puddingpie]

57 facts about OMG-Puddingpie

Tagged by @twistedsimblr 

1. I am going to be 30 years old in 4 months! :0 Gettin’ old folks. XD

2. I was born January 5th and EVERY YEAR on my bday, my mom tells me the same story regarding my birth, the weather and so forth. (I just let her do it. XD)

3. I have terrible depression but I’ve learned how to handle it and find healthy alternatives for those bad days.

4. My wife and I have been together for 10 years, married for 3 and have 4 beautiful children: 3 girls and a boy. (We’d like more but we want to wait until our youngest is at LEAST 2 or 3. XD)

5. I will only date women with a ‘thicker’ body type. We ALL have our preferences, so don’t wave your damn finger at me. :P

6. I am Graphic Designer and freelance artist but always wanted to have my own tattoo shop and be a tattoo artist. 

7. I never show too many pictures of myself. (I’ll do the Simself and draw it but that’s it) There have been a few times and people often ask why....what are you hiding? And the answer is the same: I’m not hiding a damn thing but I don’t need to showcase myself in every which way, to be honest. The internet is an ugly place at times.

8. I’m a cat person and if I had it my way, I’d live on a farm and allow all kinds of Cats to roam the lands!

9. I’m an Xbox man myself but I’m not against Playstations or other platforms. 

10. I’m in love with the video game Overwatch and I’m a Junkrat, McCree, Hanzo, Mercy, Roadhog and Ana main. (I try to play all the heros, though.)

11. I started drawing at 9 when I kept complaining I was bored. Guess my mom got tired of it and told me to find SOMETHING to do, so I did. XD

12. I do not like people bugging me with requests: Can you draw this, can you draw (insert character’s name) can you draw my Cat, can you draw my boyfriend and I, etc. I’ll only do them for certain people and I MUST approach you. If not, prepare to be ignored.

13. I’m Portuguese, A little Italian and a TAD German.

14. I love disney movies and could care less that I’m a grown ass man: I will SING ‘Colors of the wind’ from Pocahontas until my heart is content! XD

15. My very 1st car was a 2007 Mustang

16. I inherited the name Puddingpie from the wonderful game ‘The Wolf Among Us’

17. ‘Fables’ is my favorite non-marvel comic

18. I love Supernatural creatures: Werewolves, Fairies, Vampires....you name it.

19. I love the holiday season and can not WAIT for the Fall to finally set in. (I live in Cali and it can get....pretty....damn...hot!)

20. My parents have been divorced since I was 5

21. Can not wait for the remastered Spyro trilogy! I was pretty bummed when they pushed the release date to November but yay: Early Christmas present to me! :D

22.  People assume I’m gay or bi because I draw naked dudes, play same sex sims, etc and to be honest, I like to have different options and I’m open.

23. I got into my first fight when I was 12.

24. I’d do anything for my children. They mean everything to me.

25. My wife is African American and we use to HATE one another, before we officially became a couple. (Hilarious, I know. XD) 

26.  To @twistedsimblr Your drawings are amazing and I wish I had the time (and patience) to make poses like you can, girl! :D

27. I use to write A LOT of fanfictions during my college years. (Like, 4 or 5 years ago?)

28: I personally do not know this person but @emmypess and I go waaaaaaaay back in the writing community and use to write stories all the damn time in the same forum. Her stuff is still amazing!

29.  I love Las Vegas. I mostly go for the shows and food, though.

30. I love Pizza and will drive in the rain, snow and end of the world, just to get one. :P

31. I love listening to the oldies. (70′s, 80′s, 90′s. Old country songs are the best)

32. I am estranged from my father and it’s been the best damn thing I could have ever done.

33. I can make a pretty good Pecan Pie.

34. My Vinyl Pop figure collection has become an addiction and I MIGHT need help. XD

35. I have an issue with Beer and hard liquor (meaning I’ve been known to over drink) so I limit myself or avoid it, if possible.

36. Never been fired from a job

37. I’ve been playing The Sims since 2001. It was included with our new computer at the time and I fell in love with it. 

38. People assume I live by the beach and surf, just because I live in California. Although I USE to, I’ve recently moved to a town surrounded by factories, Dairies and some pretty decent eateries. 

39. I love Vans and Converse shoes

40. One day, I will complete a Sudoku puzzle without the help from my wife.

41. Facebook is overrated and although I have one, I rarely use it these days. (Mostly to post photos during the holidays)

42. I have a foul mouth and it’s be a struggle keeping that at bay. XD

43. I hate large crowds and they make me very nervous

44. I’m not much for television and prefer watching youtube or stream shows on my tablet, if I need that entertainment.

45. I have music playing every time I draw. It helps me concentrate and the lyrics often help push out what I’m trying to doodle.

46. John Gardner’s book ‘Grendel’ is one of my all time favorite reads. (And not just because I’m a fan of Gren. XD XD)

47. Metallica is the shit

48. I eat Peanut Butter like it’s never coming back to the shelves

49. I can be very mean and say hurtful things. (Get this from my father) And although it’s an ongoing battle, I’d like to say I’ve made progress

50. I have a tattoo of Otto from ‘The Simpsons’ on my right leg. He is my spirit animal. :P

51. I love Black Cats

52. My wife and I TRIED to grow our own produce, like Onions, Tomatoes, etc and well.....it failed. BIG time. XD

53. SPEAKING of Tomatoes, I hate, hate, HATE them on sandwiches or Burgers but I need Ketchup for my Fries. Go figure. :P

54.  I use to smoke cigarettes

55. I’ve been told when I make Coffee, it’s almost like drinking oil. It’s pretty damn strong but I need it!

56. I’m currently obsessed with Weezer’s attempt at the song ‘Africa’ and have replayed it well over 100 times by now. 

57. This year, I’m going to take a week off from EVERYTHING job related and just be a lazy bum. I need some me time, dammit! XD

I tag….

EVERYONE…

[markaleb]

6, 7, & 12 on the bug ask game, please!

favorite song that mentions or includes a bug

I'm not sure off the top of my head about songs with lyrics that mention bugs, but I'm very fond of Spider Dance from Undertale. :)

if you could have any bug body part, what would it be? why?

DEFINITELY would go for insect wings, no contest. Maybe some kind of white moth wings. I've always wished I had wings so I could fly.

best bug cryptid, fable, myth, or legend?

I don't know a ton about bug legends and what not, but I'm partial to the ones relating to various insects either being the souls of those who have departed, or escorting souls to the afterlife. Also, any sort of fairy stuff that portrays fairies as very insect like!

[fablesradio]

Fables Radio: Meet the Cast (pt 3)

(written by showrunner Angela McCain, aka @darling-gypsum)

Hello, listeners! In anticipation of the release of Chapter 6, over the last few months, I’ve been highlighting the amazing voice actors who so generously offer their time and energy for this fan production. Just a small (and insufficient) thank you for their continued hard work and talent. And hopefully, some of our listeners will learn something new about our talented cast and continue to follow their careers!

Finally, in alphabetical order:

Griffin Puatu (Bluebeard)

Smooth and sophisticated and scary as all hell, Bluebeard has one of the coolest voices in the show. And that is all thanks to the absolutely fabulous Griffin Puatu. I felt so lucky to find such a talented actor for our ostensible series villain. He’s such an impressive range beyond the menacing lord Bluebeard, ex-legendary serial killer and patron of Fabletown. Please take a listen to his demo reel and feel in awe of this guy’s talent. He’s got a number of video game and media credits for you to take a look at! Thank you, Griffin, for joining us through this production journey, and for being a vital linchpin in our cast.

You can find more from Griffin Puatu at: http://griffvoices.com

 Nicholas Shapiro (Lord Beast (Beast), Taxi Driver)

Nick had a really tough job from the outset of this project: play the role of Lord Beast in mid-transformation. He needed to be just coherent enough for an entirely audio-based performance, but also sound like he had teeth that were too big for his mouth. And boy, he really knocked it out of the park! Nick was kind enough to lend his voice for a second minor but fun role last minute, which Iam very grateful for. His stint as the disgruntled sarcastic taxi driver still makes me chuckle when I hear it on re-listens. Thank you, Nick, for giving life and relatability to Lord Beast and being a really great scene partner.

You can find more from Nicholas Shapiro at: http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/members/Applehound/casting-call/auditions

 Olivia Steele (Briar Rose)

Oh, this lady’s voice! Olivia did a fabulous job portraying the equally fabulous Briar Rose, aka Sleeping Beauty. I envisioned this high society New York fashionista character, and Olivia really brought that to life. I am also not ashamed to admit that Olivia and Eric’s performances as Briar and Flycatcher fueled the flames of my love of that little ‘ship. They had wonderful ‘on screen’ chemistry, and sold the heck out of their characters enough that I was compelled to write more scenes for them! Olivia, you’re a gem. Thank you so much for being a part of our series and bringing power and candor to the role of Briar Rose.

You can find more from Olivia Steele at: http://oliviasteelevo.weebly.com

 Melissa Sternenberg (Cindy)

I seriously just wanna be besties with Cindy. Her portrayal is playful, sharp tongued, and confident, and brings so much life to our cast. Of our trio of Prince Charming’s ex-wives, Cindy had some dramatic deviations from the text of the original comic. New scenes, shifted storylines, and pushing up the narrative a bit (for those familiar with the comics). And Melissa has been more than up to the task, with a great sense of comedic timing and grasp of her character. Melissa’s also got a number of professional video games and media credits to check out, which I highly recommend. Like so many of the cast, Melissa’s been really down for whatever my scripts threw at her. Whether it was sword fighting or witty banter, she brought such joy to one of my favorite characters in the show. Thank you for all your work, Melissa! The character of Cinderella, and our show as a whole, has been richer with you as a part of it.

You can find more from Melissa Sternenberg at:

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4408448

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/melissa-sternenberg/melissa-sternenberg-character-demo-reel-2016

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mippavoices

 Cliff Thompson (Bigby Wolf)

The frickin’ holy grail. Very professional and kind, with a keen intuition for acting and delivery choices, enthusiasm for whatever the script is asking of him, and one of those voices that just settles into your brain as canon. Like, just listen to this guy! Cliff, you legit are the voice of Bigby Wolf forever in my brain. Thank you for taking on so much responsibility and a heck of a vocal workload on this fan project. You were instrumental in bringing this show to life and I will be forever grateful. It’s been a great pleasure working with you on Fables Radio, Sherriff.

You can find more from Cliff Thompson at: http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/members/Cliff/casting-call/auditions

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4309529

 Angela McCain (Lady Beauty, Mary, & Narrator, Etc)

Well, that’s a wrap on my cast profile pieces! Though I guess I should plug myself a little, since I’m in the cast as well.

By sheer virtue of being the showrunner, I often found the need to fill in for a number of characters who I either didn’t find the right VA fit for, or that I just plum forgot existed (see diner waitress, cell phone voicemail robot, etc). I’m peppered all over the series in little roles, as well as Beauty and Mary, in addition to being the narrator on the front and tail end of each episode. What started as a production necessity turned into a hobby, and I’ve really caught the VO and audiodrama bugs. Thank you to all our listeners and followers for your kind words and encouragement. Not sure if I’ll attempt anything more than amateur work, but I feel so fortunate to have had the experience I’ve had with Fables Radio. This was my very first audio and collaborative project on this scale, and to not only complete it, but to feel so proud and excited by it after over a full year seems to be a rarity in the amateur industry. I threw this little pet project into the ether, and discovered some amazing, generous, and talented people who I am humbled to call my cast and my peers. I am so excited to continue following their careers, and hopefully work with them on other projects in the future!

You can find more from Angela McCain at: http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/members/singoutlouise/casting-call/auditions

http://soundcloud.com/darling-gypsum

https://www.youtube.com/c/darlinggypsum

https://www.patreon.com/darling_gypsum

Thank you so much for reading these, and checking out our cast. Our audience has been modest, but very fervent, and we appreciate you all.

You can find all our fabulous actors in our fanmade audio drama series, Fables Radio!

http://fablesradio.wordpress.com

https://soundcloud.com/fablesradio

 Episode 6 of Fables Radio is in production, and will be released soon. Stay tuned!

Ang M

[bluezey]

Dissecting the old, beginning from the new

So something happened today. I was watching random internet videos when I came across someone who was rating the five worst animated films of 2016. Among them was Trolls.  That I can see, though I haven’t seen the film the trailer does look super bright and sugary and playing on common clichés.  Then the interviewer said that he was worried Trolls is part of a trend that began with The Lego Movie, that a film about an existing property did so well that everyone is gonna try to make a film on a property because they think that’s what sells.

That kind of makes sense, until something happened while I was watching Nostalgia Critic reviews while playing Fallout 4.  NC is doing Sequel Month: The Sequel and I’ve noticed he has reviewed Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, Smurfs 2 and will be reviewing Garfield 2.  Do you see a comparison between these three movies?  They are all movies based on an existing property that were released BEFORE the success of The Lego Movie.

So it made me wonder, why is this person noticing this now if Hollywood has made films based on existing properties before?  And the only thing I could think of was, because The Lego Movie did it right.

Think back on the existing property films of the last few decades.  They all take a property, look into how it works, then for one reason or another they write a film based on film clichés and dated trends that were popular at the time.  What you get is a jumbled mess that either flops or makes some kind of profit one way or another.  But The Lego Movie was different.  It took an existing property, looked into how it works, then wrote a story around it with memorable characters, funny jokes, and made their own jokes and clichés in the process.  They made a success over effort.

Then I began thinking what film has made a success like The Lego Movie?  What film was based off an existing property AND did well, just like The Lego Movie?  I thought very hard, thinking back as far as I could, even back to toys from the 1970s and… I couldn’t think of anything.  Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough, or maybe I wasn’t that into a specific toy line that had a movie that did do successfully well like The Lego Movie.

But then I realized that there are films that are not based on toys or cartoons, but are based on existing properties.  In fact, almost every film they made is based on an existing property.  Hell, even their first movie was based on an existing property.  That company is Disney.

I mean, look into it. Their very first film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on a fairy tale.  In fact, most of their films are based on folk lore, stories fairy tales, with an occasional step into mythos, books and history puffed up by fiction. Sure, there is a rarity here and there like Lilo and Stitch or Home on the Range, but every other film was based on something that has existed.  I mean, really think about it, before we had toys and cartoons, you could consider fairy tales and stories existing properties.  It’s just that now in the day we think of toys, cartoons, comic books, video games and now apps and emojis as existing properties.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.  Snow White was just a telling of Snow White, they didn’t do anything new to it.  Same thing with the other earlier works like Dumbo, Cinderella and Pinocchio.  It’s almost as if they didn’t try when it came to story.  So how did they succeed when today’s movies that don’t try fail? Because, based on the time they came out, they did try.  No one made a full length animated film before, so Snow White and the films that came after it were fascinating and amazing to the audience.  They didn’t have to try a lot on story, because just seeing the story move on screen through ink and paint was more than enough effort.

However, even Disney can get caught on following trends.  And I know what you’re thinking, timeless Disney films can be dated? Well, let me tell you about the Disney films of the 40s and 50s.  First, there were two films about Donald Duck visiting South America and Mexico, how odd is that?  Well, this was a product of the time.  Due to some things I can’t delve into properly because I’m not a historian, Disney was set to make two films to teach American movie goers about South America and Mexico’s culture, basically sell the country and continent.  So, due to the time period of the forties, they did something fascinating but dated.  Then there’s two films called Make Mine Music and Melody Time.  These two films were a collection of shorts told through story and music, from Peter and the Wolf, Pecos Bill, Hatfields and McCoys, Johnny Appleseed, just to name a few.  But among them were also shorts told through jazz music, a popular musical style at the time, but is now considered dated today.  

Now I know what you’re thinking, wasn’t there a movie before Make Mine Music and Melody Time that was also about music and wasn’t dated by popular music during the 40s and 50s? And yes, Fantasia, it was the third film Disney made.  But despite being the third film they put a lot of effort and originality into it!  Fantasia was not only ground breaking by being a movie about music, but it traveled trough road shows introducing something ground breaking that would basically become surround sound.  Something that is above and beyond and definitely shows they did more than try, and even shows they can try something new and innovative! Fantasia flopped.  I’m not kidding.  What was considered a classic today did not make a profit in its first run.

So, long story short, even Disney themselves have had original ideas that flopped, and have followed popular dated trends that still pulled in a profit.  Basically, they’re doing what any other film today could do.

So, what’s the correlation? What’s the formula that can make a movie on an existing property work?

Well, I don’t think there is a formula, and I think it stems on the fact that practically every idea has been done before.

I mean, Disney has made movies mostly on stories and fairy tales that existed before even movies existed. And, looking at Dreamworks, Prince of Egypt was based on an existing story from the Bible, and Shrek was not only based on the idea of mixing up fairy tales, but it was also based on an existing children’s book.  I’ve seen videos comparing Toy Story to a Jim Henson’s Christmas special about toys coming to life, but isn’t that because toys coming to life have been done before? Hell, kids think about it!  And come to think about it, let’s look at those conspiracy stories about films ripping off other films.  We can exclude Antz and A Bug’s Life because we know the behind the scenes about that fiasco, so let’s look at some others.  Like, Finding Nemo and Shark Tale.  Despite different stories and different ideas, people think one is a copy of the othert because they’re about talking fish.  But, talking animals have been done since way before Aesop’s fables.  Some people think Monsters Inc ripped off a film called Little Monsters because they’re about monsters that live in closets.  But, even kids have thought of that idea.  Hell, I’ve even heard people say Despicable Me and Megamind are the same film because they involve super villains that become super heroes.  First, Gru didn’t openly become a super hero until Despicable Me 2, in the first one it ended with him as a father and his alignment unknown.  Second, I’m pretty sure comic books have had story arcs about heroes become villains and vice versa.

Basically, if you cut it down to its basic ideas, every idea has been done.  We all think about what toys and pets do when we’re out of the room, that’s why Toy Story and Secret Life of Pets sound so similar.  Talking animals have been done so many times, that’s why Flushed Away and Ratatouille sound similar to people just because they both have talking rats.  Cars and Doc Hollywood sound so similar because we’ve all heard of the same stories of people getting lost and finding themselves in a small town.

So, what’s my point in my rambling that we’ve done everything?  Well, think back to The Lego Movie.  They could have done clichés and trends and be every other diluted film based on an existing property.  But, they didn’t.  They took an existing property and did something different with it.  That’s what made it stand out, that’s what made it fascinating, and basically that’s what made it successful.

Another example is Inside Out.  Now when we heard of the idea of personified emotions in a person’s mind, we thought at first it was an original idea.  Then we looked back and realized it wasn’t.  We’ve had Osmosis Jones, which is personified cells running a body like it’s a city. We’ve had shoulder angels and shoulder demons, little cartoon imps dressed like angels and demons that persuade us to do right or wrong.  We’ve had Herman’s Head, a TV show about a group of personification of feelings running the mind of a person- holy crap I just repeated the idea of Inside Out by reading the premise of a dull 90s sitcom!  It’s been done that much!  So, what made Inside Out such a success?  What did Inside Out have that these ideas didn’t?  It did something new with the pre-existing idea.  While the previous ideas were just personifications of emotions, Inside Out used the personification of emotions to explain how the mind works, how memories work, and even something as complex as how life changes can affect and change your personality to kids, as well as explain to kids and adults in a society that is afraid of anything other than bliss and happiness that it’s okay to feel sad.  It’s similar to how The Lego Movie was a success.  It made likeable, relateable characters, funny jokes, a unique story that looks original but has probably been done before, to only pull a fast one on us by showing us this whole story is about a father-son relationship becoming strained, a story that we know for a fact has been done before!  But then it does something original by showing us that, even as adults, it’s okay to drop your guard and become a kid again, just by using another overused trope of saying how everyone is special.

I think the point I’m trying to sum up is we’re seeing trends we’re tired of seeing in movies because, even before movies were invented, everything has already been done. From storyline to the basic elements of a story, we’ve all heard it before.  What makes a success these days with movies is to do something different with them.  Use the same tropes to tell a different story, use unique advancements to tell the same tropes in a different way, or use the same ideas to explain something in a way that hasn’t been seen in that way before.  It’s why Zootopia is the same old movie about talking animals, but it explains something as controversial and complex as racism and society.  It’s why Frozen took the same princess story and explained the complexity of anxiety as well as making fun of old Disney tropes while making new Disney tropes. It’s why Sausage Party not only draws a crowd because we still haven’t done enough animated films about cartoons dropping four hundred sexual innuendos and f-bombs in under a running time yet, but it uses the cliché of non sentient things having sentience under our noses to explain the complexities of living with faith versus living for the day.  Dammit, I can’t let that go, that’s too damn clever!  So, to sum up, I don’t think there’s a trend of bad movies based on pre-existing properties.  I think we’ve just become so self aware of everything already been done that we should keep dissecting and reassembling some things old until we come up with ideas that make them new again.