#the grim adventures of billy and mandy wrath of the spider queen

[princess-creation-345]

Teenage Velma (Billy and Mandy)

[reallyexists]

For the last 6 days I've been hospitalized with a moderately hideous injury, which (along with moderately hideous motel rooms) is the only time one is legally allowed to watch network television in the United States.

Anyway, I have only the vaguest memory of the Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy's 2-part special Wrath of the Spider Queen from 2007, which recently re-aired over an authentic 2-day period on Adult Swim.

It's pretty good! The titular spider queen has 2 goofy dark elf minions straight from an AD&D module illustration and your favorite spider son Jeff undergoes an emotional arc that conveniently resolves back at the status quo.

It's weird to me that cartoons from my childhood are being folded into the corporate broadcasting definition of "retro", especially stuff from later seasons that I still think of as being new for no good reason.

I don't think these old shows used to be much edgier or more "adult" than what's being made today. I feel like Billy & Mandy committed pretty hard to operating on horror movie rules at every opportunity, though. You can get away with a lot of this stuff these days, but maybe not in a recognizable setting. Weird animal characters and anthropomorphic inanimate objects in the current era experience pathos and terror in excess of that felt by cartoon human children in 2007.

To steal and paraphrase a half-remembered post, you couldn't make this today because animation is very expensive and it would take much longer than 24 hours and it's already 10am.

[cartooongasm]

[violetrose-art]

Next time we meet, we shall be enemies.

Mandy

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[joshuasumter]

Wrath of the Spider Queen Epic Trailer (The Grim Adventures of Billy and...

[starlight-doodle]

[themilantooner]

Remember how insanely overblown the commercials for this were?

[cosmicsponge2004]

HBO Max & Cartoon Network are RUINING MY LIFE!

HBO Max Family just uploaded this:

https://youtu.be/0sXa7xqkEW0

I didn't think too much of it & clicked on it. Most clips were cropped from their original 4:9 aspect ratio to the modern, 16:9 widescreen. I didn't care much until the last clip, from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy Season 6 Episode 11A: "El Dia de los Muertos"

First, a mini history lesson on TGAOBAM & Aspect Ratio:

In it's first 5 seasons from 2003-2006, The show was produced in a 4:3 aspect ratio at a resolution of 480i. With the advent of HDTVs in 1998, most channels (worldwide) had fully moved to making all their programs in High-Definition (1080p HD) & Widescreen by mid-2005 (Nickelodeon didn't have any Widescreen animation until 2009) while North American & Asian feeds (still mostly being in SD despite making shows in HD) would simply crop the shows from the modern 16:9, to the more standard at the time, 4:3.

Before Season 6 of Billy & Mandy, there was a movie in 2007 called "Billy & Mandy's Big Boogie Adventure". It was the first of many things for the franchise. The main thing here is, it was the first piece of TGAOBAM media to be made in High-Definition (16:9 Widescreen & 1080p HD). It was also released on DVD with 2 Apsect Ratios options (4:3 for Old TV's, labeled as "Full Screen" & The native 16:9 version labeled as, "Widescreen". Downscaled to 480p because it's a DVD). Later, Season 6 of Billy & Mandy premiered & just like Big Boogie Adventure, was made in High-Definition (16:9 Widescreen & 1080p HD) & cropped to 4:3 for TV Airings. No one knew Season 6 was Widescreen until Cartoon Network HD (UK only) started Airing it uncropped around, 2010-2012. Then, when CN UK & CN South Africa started uploading clips to their respective YouTube channels, they were also in Widescreen. Bringing minor international attention to this. Seen here, https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/how-to-convince-wb-to-release-animated-titles-in-widescreen.4725711/page-5. From that time onward, the only way to watch Widescreen Billy and Mandy was from DVR recorded UK Airings (which were sped up, pitched up, & had a pretty big CNHD Screenbug at the top right).

When it was announced that on January 1st, 2021, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy would be added to HBO Max in the USA, fans (including myself) were EXTATIC! When the moment came, I started binging Season 1. First, I noticed that the season 1 episodes were listed out of order. No biggie. Then, in the middle of watching Season 2, I thought about Season 6's aspect ratio. TIP: One way to tell if a Season 6 episode is in Widescreen is, The Widescreen Masters have the original intro (which was made in 4:3) cropped to 16:9 & letterbox to fit in 4:3 (Stupid, I know.). I looked it up & clicked on the first Season 6 episode only to discover a horrific sight! With the exception of Wrath of the Spider Queen Part 2, Season 6 used the CROPPED 4:3 MASTERS on HBO Max!

Comparison (Ignore the US 2004-2008 Screenbug):

In a fit of Rage I abandoned the show & started watching Chowder. When my HBO Max Trial expired, I did NOT renew & called it a "Boycott"! (It probably isn't) Lesson Over!

Anyway, the clip in the video (which isn't Wrath of the Spider Queen) was in UN-CROPPED HIGH DEFINITION! HD, Widescreen! So, it's not just CN losing the NTSC Widescreen Masters (which is what I assumed) but rather, seemingly, HBO Max & CN just don't wanna give it to us! They hate me, they hate YOU, They hate ALL OF US!

Unless, They just added the Widescreen masters to HBO Max in the 6 months that abandoned HBO Max! If you have HBO Max & TGAOBAM Season 6 is in Widecreen, Let me know but until then, the boycott continues. This is why I usually only post about Sonic & Nickelodeon All Star Brawl!

[tenaflyviper]

Halloween Specials Youtube Playlist:

WNUF Halloween Special (1987)

Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktacular (2003)

Scary Godmother: Revenge of Jimmy (2005)

Elvira's Halloween Special (1984)

Elvira's Halloween Special (1986)

Monster Mania with Elvira (1997)

Bride of Monster Mania with Elvira (2000)

The Elvira Show (1993)

Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors (1986)

Vincent Price's Once Upon a Midnight Scary

Vincent Price's Dracula (1982)

An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe, starring Vincent Price (1970)

Horror Hall of Fame, hosted by Vincent Price (1974)

Horror Hall of Fame II (1991)

Halloween with the Addams Family

Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977)

The Night That Dracula Saved Halloween (aka The Halloween that Almost Wasn't) (1978

Hilarious House of Frightenstein (1971)

The Midnight Hour (1985)

The Mystery of Dracula's Castle (1972)

The Wickedest Witch (1989)

The Worst Witch (1986)

The Last Halloween (1991)

Vincent and Frankenweenie

Marc Summers' Mystery Magical Tour (1988)

Weinerville: ”Haunted”

Eureeka’s Castle: “It Came from Beneath the Bed”

The Adventures of Pete and Pete: “Halloweenie”

You Can’t Do That on Television: “Halloween Episode”

Halloween is Grinch Night

Witch's Night Out

Claymation: Comedy of Horrors

The Devil and Daniel Mouse

The Canterville Ghost (1988)

The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile

Casper's Halloween Special

Bunnicula the Vampire Bunny

The Trouble with Miss Switch

Miss Switch to the Rescue (1982)

The Great Bear Scare (1983)

Mad Mad Mad Monsters

The Real Ghostbusters: "When Halloween Was Forever"

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: “Count Koopula”

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: “Koopenstein”

Monster in My Pocket: “The Big Scream”

Garfield in Disguise

Bobby's World: “The Night of the Living Pumpkin”

Eek the Cat: “HallowEek”

Camp Candy: “Scare Package”

What-a-Mess' Halloween Stories

Tales from the Far Side (1994)

Tales from the Far Side II (1997)

Toonsylvania

Billy and Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween

Underfist: Halloween Bash

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy: “Wrath of the Spider Queen”

Billy and Mandy's Big Boogie Adventure

Ed, Edd, and Eddy's Boo Haw Haw

Camp Lazlo: “Hallobeanies”

Chowder: “The Spookiest House in Marzipan/The Poultrygeist”

Dracula, Sovereign of the Damned

Happy Tree Friends Halloween-a-Thon

Horror Nights: The Art of the Scare

Travel Channel's America's Scariest Halloween Attractions

Travel Channel’s America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions 2

Halloween Crazier

There are also a couple of other specials, plus some 80's Halloween TV commercial compilations, and a couple of classic videos of the Banana Bus Squad playing some Gmod "scary" maps.

Bonus Playlist: Horror and Halloween-Themed Darkwave, Darksynth, Retrowave, Synthwave, Chiptune, and Lo-fi Hip Hop

Happy Halloween!

[iwander12]

bbiykll &And samndya

Jacked Up Halloween: Uh oh Grim’s past has come back to haunt him!!!

Billy & Mandy Save Christmas: Uh oh Santa’s past has come back to haunt him!!!

Big Boogey Adventure: Uh oh Grim’s past has come back to haunt him!!!

Wrath of the Spider Queen: Uh oh Grim’s past has come back to haunt him!!!

Underfist: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HOSS STOP BEING RACIST

[cartooongasm]

[cnschedulearchive]

For movies based on CN shows, what counts as a movie (grey) vs. an extended length ep (that show’s usual color scheme)?

I’d probably consider it a movie if the crew explicitly states that it’s a movie. Regular Show: The Movie, Steven Universe: The Movie, and Teen Titans Go! to the Movies are pretty good examples.

I grey some specials from older shows too, mostly because I didn’t want to give them a color scheme for something that never reruns anymore (past examples include Over the Garden Wall and Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen).

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[321spongebolt]

List of Cartoon Network theatrical movies (2002-2022)

In honor of the 20th anniversary of “The Powerpuff Girls Movie”, here’s a timeline of how far Cartoon Network has come since they started making theatrical films. Sure, “The Powerpuff Girls Movie” bombed at the box office, but later movies they have gotten better since. Surprisingly, there hasn’t been any theatrical sequels yet.

RELEASED

1.) “The Powerpuff Girls Movie” [PG]

Theatrical Short - "Dexter's Laboratory: Chicken Scratch"

Theatrical Release - July 3, 2002

(NOTE: Cartoon Network's first theatrical film. While it wasn't financially successful, it managed to get a cult following in recent years.)

2.) “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure” [PG]

Theatrical Release - March 30, 2007

(NOTE: One of Cartoon Network's first two theatrical films since 2002's "The Powerpuff Girls Movie".)

3.) “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen” [PG]

Theatrical Release - July 7, 2007

(NOTE: One of Cartoon Network's first two theatrical films since 2002's "The Powerpuff Girls Movie".)

4.) “Ben 10: Race Against Time” [PG]

Theatrical Release - November 21, 2007

(NOTE: Cartoon Network’s first theatrical live action film)

5.) “Ed, Edd, and Eddy's Big Picture Show” [PG]

Theatrical Release - November 6, 2009

(NOTE: Despite underperforming at the box office, due to competition it faced with Disney's "A Christmas Carol" and Nickelodeon Movies' "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie 2: Truth or Square" released that same month, it was met with universal acclaim.)

6.) “Ben 10: Alien Swarm” [PG]

Theatrical Release - November 25, 2009

(NOTE: Cartoon Network’s first theatrical live action film presented in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D.)

7.) “Regular Show: The Movie” [PG-13]

Theatrical Release - September 4, 2015

(NOTE: Warner Animation Group and Cartoon Network's first theatrical animated film to get a PG-13 rating. Starting with this film, this is Cartoon Network’s first theatrical 2D-animated film released in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D.)

8.) “The MAD! Movie: Teen Titans GO! To the Movies” [PG]

Theatrical Short - "DC Super Hero Girls: #TheLateBatsby"

Theatrical Release - July 27, 2018

(NOTE: Warner Animation Group's first movie to introduce the "Wabbit!" version of Daffy and Porky into the logo for all future Warner Animation Group theatrical films and Warner Bros. Animation direct-to-video animated movies.)

9.) “Steven Universe: A Powerpuff Girls Movie” [PG]

Theatrical Release - September 6, 2019

(NOTE: Cartoon Network's first theatrical film based on a reboot television series. Unlike 2002′s "The Powerpuff Girls Movie”, this movie is based on the 2013 reboot. This is also considered Cartoon Network's first spin-off movie.)

10.) “We Bare Bears: The Movie” [PG]

Theatrical and Digital Release - June 26, 2020

(NOTE: Cartoon Network's first theatrical film to be released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It played in theaters in whichever areas weren’t affected by the pandemic, and was available on digital platforms and video on demand for those in areas that were affected.)

11.) “The Loud House Movie” [PG-13]

Theatrical and Digital Release - August 20, 2021

(NOTE: Cartoon Network's first theatrical film with Nickelodeon Movies, given the fact that “The Loud House” was made under both studios. This is also Warner Animation Group and Cartoon Network's second film to get a PG-13 rating. The movie later received an uncensored version on DVD, Blu-Ray (2D and 3D), Digital, and Ultra HD Blu-Ray releases October 5 under the title, “The Loud House Movie: Unrated”, “The Loud House Movie: Unrated 3D” for the Blu-Ray 3D version.)

UPCOMING MOVIES

12.) “The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie” [This film has not yet been rated]

Theatrical and Digital Release - Q3 or Q4 2022

[painted-starlight]

Grim Reaper Timeline Theory

I know the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy has a weird timeline when it comes to Grim getting his scythe (it’s very contradictory), but I have a theory about the circumstances of him becoming the grim reaper. 

The grim reaper is a job occupation that heavily favors Grim’s family members. It is considered a reliable job that was expected of Grim. No one likes to do it, but it’s work. Grim’s father was most likely a reaper and had a hobby in his down time, such as his love for country music. 

Grim’s job as a reaper was a shoe in and inevitable, so his father hoped that he would have a hobby as well. He only allowed Grim to become a country singer because he personally loved seeing his son pursue country music.  

Another flashback had Grim saying he wanted to sing instead of being the Grim Reaper, but I theorize that this was only because he subconsciously wanted to impress his father. Eventually, he grew out of it and became the grim reaper instead because he actually LIKED it. He didn’t need a hobby, because reaping souls was his hobby. 

(Also, the small scythe he found was just an ordinary scythe for yardwork. It wasn’t the same one he had as an adult. It is much smaller in proportion to the one he would eventually acquire. This next screenshot has a larger proportioned scythe than the scene before it. But it doesn’t display any supernatural abilities so it might just be the same ordinary scythe with a proportional error in modeling.)

How does the Wrath of the Spider Queen fit into all this? Well, let’s say that the underworld court became more established/powerful as time went on and decided that Grim automatically becoming the reaper through bloodline wasn’t going to fly. After all, if there were other more qualified job candidates, why not give the a shot at it? 

Being the Grim reaper was a job that historically didn’t/shouldn’t require anyone to be a part of Grim’s family, so it was reopened to the public. Though, considering that it was through a school function, it might not have been a job that was considered serious and the election was mostly for show. In the end, it’s hard not to think that Grim would’ve gotten it anyway, but since the reaper has many different appearances/different people handling the job, it’s tough to say. 

So this is how it probably went down:

The grim reaper is a job that anyone could occupy. 

Grim’s family eventually specialized the job and it became something that was handed down from generation to generation in his family. It wasn’t enjoyable for them, but it was a steady source of work. 

As time went on, the courts determined that the Grim family shouldn’t have an advantage over the position so they reopened it up to the public. But since the job wasn’t taken that seriously, it was dumped off at the junior high. 

Therefore, they had an election to see who would be a better reaper.