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Velma: The Brains of the Operation (2023)
The end to Mindy Kaling's fan fiction of Scooby Doo
This show started off the only like a fanfiction and it ended feeling like an even worse fan fiction. And I don't mean in the sense that it was a fan writing the series, but in the sense that it was written by someone who just wanted to control the Scooby-Doo characters and make them do whatever they wanted. None of the cast felt like anywhere near the original incarnations. They don't even feel like exaggerated versions of the original characters. They just appear to be completely different people wearing Scooby-Doo character costumes. I expected at some point that the show would come around and show how the original cast became, who they are in the series, but it never happens. They continue to be some of the most unlikable cast I have ever seen in a television series. The main character Velma is the worst of the bunch. She is a constant selfish, narcissistic, manipulative, and downright mean person throughout the entire series. She abuses the rest of the cast but always seems to have them coming back to her for no reason. This is why I call this show a fanfiction, not because you can't have sloppy writing in a show or because you can't reimagine characters, but because Velma specifically feels like someone wanted to be Velma but also act and do whatever they wanted while still having the cast. Love them for no reason. I won't entirely spoil the ending, but suffice to say Velma gets everything she ever wanted while the rest of the cast simply has to pick up the pieces of the mess she left behind.
There is no reason to watch this series even if you're a die hard fan of Scooby-Doo. The jokes were bad for every episode, be constant. Commentary about life is not funny. And no characters are likable. The mystery itself was even more plan then a original series episode and it took an entire season to get through. I personally kept watching just because I was amazed that something so bad got such good treatment in the animation department as well as funding while the rest of HBO seems to be tanking and they're getting rid of some of their best shows from the app. But I see no reason for this other than the fact that Mindy kaling must have had some connections to push this through. If you wanted an adult animated version of Scooby-Doo or you felt like having comedy that you could laugh at as an adult go elsewhere. Watch mystery Incorporated or any number of other shows. Do not even give HBO the money. Just to hate watch this thing. It seems to be what Warner Brothers is banking on with them celebrating the high numbers that Velma originally got. Now that we've given them the chance with an entire season, we cannot expect them to improve with a new one. Simply put, Warner Brothers should cancel their renewal for a second season, or at the very least you and I should not watch anymore of this garbage. This is not a mediocre show, it is a terrible one. It is well animated, as good voice casting, and all the technicals are there but just like with a high VFX budget movie. All of that doesn't matter so long has the story is bad and nothing in the series hooks the viewer into wanting to watch more. This series deserves the horribly bad score it has gotten, Even with all of the extra fan inspired hatred from people who probably didn't even watch the show. This is not just a mediocre adults retelling of Scooby-Doo, this is a bad show using Scooby-Doo to bring in eyeballs and watch their horrible writing.
Velma: Velma Makes a List (2023)
Velma 'challenges' female identity, with more bad exposition....
More bad call outs to whatever the show writers think is wrong with the world, but by doing and showing all of them. Top hotties list as a town meeting about murders turns into improv fashion show. Fashion show gets swapped for 'uggo' (Ugly) lessons from Velma, showing all the ways girls can 'learn' to not be so put together/ hot. In the background of this travesty,
In the background Fred learns about women, and Daphne and Norville go on an adventure to find her birth parents as she gets out of the Hot or not drama by being locked in her room by her two moms.
Sorry for the spoilers after this but it is needed to show how awful this show is.
The show even cops out of its own shame filled message by saying all sides are equal, and you can be a 'sl*t' as the show calls it, or a 'dumpy sassy girl with glasses'. Both the show's words, not mine. Still shaming both sides while saying both sides are terrific female representation, when both sides are really just shallow props held up to spout exposition at the audience and for poor body humor attempts. There are several parts where they just show women making sexual poses to the camera. I get that its not unheard of to use sex in shows and you see it regularly in anime or film, but those mediums at least don't call it out when its happening and pretend they're better than what they are doing. This show seems to bank on you ignoring all of its terrible writing and characters so you can see Scooby Doo background characters act all sexual and the main cast talk about it. In every sense this feels more and more like a bad fanfiction written by someone that really wanted to do a lot of sexual fantasies with the Scooby Doo gang, but left out Scooby because doing it in front of the dog would be toooo weird......
Fred learns to look at women for more than their bodies by reading a book.... Did that make you laugh? Cause that's apparently the joke.... He goes from making a top five hotties list based on boob size to looking at a middle aged woman as hot because she paints and isn't afraid to wear sensible shoes or look frumpy in public. He later applies the same logic to other characters and freaks out. This is not character development, this is plot shuffling and more fanfiction as the only reason they do this is to give Velma(Mindy's self inserty character at this point.) The satisfaction of rejecting the 'hot' character of Fred after she admits all episode that she finds him attractive and still lust for his body, but now that he is willing to see her in a better light from a book, she feels good in rejecting him and taking the power for herself that she rejected a hot rich guy, instead of being rejected all her life.
Finally, Daphne and Norville go on an adventure to find out about Daphne's secret parents and or the murderer trying to give them clues to go to crystal coves mines. Bring in another five minutes of exposition on the history of crystals and crystal cove before going to the mines and thinking this might be a typical mystery set up, only for the two characters to leave because Norville is too 'sane' to go looking for mysteries, and Daphne is a thrill seeker, but she is too afraid for a murderer/parents to think she can't drag a single friend into a spooky cave with her. No characters developed, nothing new learned other than exposition after exposition.
You can take both of the last two episodes and basically not watch them as the only changes between episode two and four is that Velma and Daphne now lust for each other openly, and Velma's step mother had a baby. Nothing else has changed overall, and the situation continues to look bad for the show, its characters and the writing.
WolfWalkers (2020)
Absolutely Fantastic. A true lifeblood for theatrical traditional animation and original stories
This film was by far the best of this Celtic Irish trilogy and I truly hope that the pandemic and lack of box office numbers doesn't hurt it too badly. If you have not seen this film, go watch it. Get a free month of apple TV or something in order to support this film and its studio. They deserve it. If you Like pixar's films like UP, Soul, WALL-E, or Inside-Out, then you will love this film.
The pacing is slow but easily builds into a fantastic climax. The acting and emotion behind the writing is absolutely stellar and I found myself laughing and tearing up many times during the watch. The animation is just so expressive and what you'd want to see if you thought of traditional animation at its best that 3D just can't match. The music is perfectly placed and evokes the best of the emotions.
I'm giving it a perfect because if it got what it deserves, it would be an acclaimed masterpiece akin to Disney's renaissance films. Unfortunately with the Apple pay wall and the pandemic keeping people out of theaters I don't know if it will. I really hope this studio continues to do great things like this in the future
Kim Possible (2019)
A bad attempt at making a Cartoon, Real
It tries to maintain the comedy of the cartoon show (Which is much better and one of Disney's best action comedies ever) and bring it to the real world. But cartoony two dimensional humor does not transition well to other mediums. With live action characters and very awkward acting, it actually makes the film appear almost like a backyard fan project, rather than a fully funded film by a top company.
Overall, I could see this film being written in part by the original creators. It has a lot of the style that the original had. But, it was obviously rewritten and reworked to fit the live action style and forced to meet the small budget for this tv project. I think if this film was made entirely in an animated style, it would have been a lot better since the animators, and writers would have a lot more to work with. But, since its constrained to live action, it has all the things that make live action underfunded sci-fi and action films seem corny, weak, and overall, underwhelming.
If you are an original fan, I wouldn't recommend it, even for the nostalgia. There are so many other tv movies by disney that are so much better. Even live action ones that are corny. You can even watch one of the two tv kim possible movies that existed before. This is not worth the watch, and not worth the support because it will only lead to Disney trying to fund a bad live action show.
Extended Reaction Below:
While a few of the original actors make a fun return like a very funny Doctor Dementor, it still does not translate well to his hammy acting and unorthodox look.
The worst actor though, is definitely mister "Ron Stoppable". His querky nerdy voice and little scaredy boy act does not translate well from the original character, and in fact makes him seem annoying and one hundred percent incompetent in this film. He wasn't even this incompetent in the early cartoon show, nor was he as stupid as they make him here.
The rest of the side characters are much more bland, awkward and one note as they try to cram an entire series worth of developed characters into a simple hour and a half. They have neither the time, nor care to actually accomplish fleshing out these characters and often leave them as forgettable and annoying.
The main character herself has also been transformed. I cannot say it is as horrendous as Ron's transformation, but she has been brought down from her very famous catch phrase of being able to do anything, into a socially awkward and almost radically hyperactive oddity that seems to have every teen drama problem in every other cliche movie. I don't know if this was attempting to make her relatable or something, but the only equivalent I can think of is if someone tried to take superman and make him into a gaming nerd with a slight lisp. It just isn't keeping to the larger then life icon of good meets fun that the show tried to present. She also has an annoying breakdown after only thirty minutes because her new friend, who she makes in about five minutes of screen time, suddenly seems super competent, and keeps stealing Kim's spotlight, making her jealous, angry, and overall annoying to watch.
Also, the main villains, Sheego and Drakon, have been absolutely destroyed in their transition. No longer are they interesting to look at, or unique in their actions. Now, it's just a techno woman with a hint of green and lots of black, mixed with a semi messy scientist as Drakon. They both have really boring plans, and their 'sinister' actions appear more as girly school bully giggles than actual threatening super villains. Even in the show, Drakon wasn't exactly competent, but he wasn't the idiot he is here.
The actual action and effects of this movie, don't go past common tv effects. They all look extremely corny, poorly funded, poorly thought out, and badly choreographed. Most aren't much more than basic gymnastics, or hammy green screening.
The actual story is next to nothing interesting as well. Even the emotional high point of this film, which I assume was meant to be a tearjerker, was little more than an almost hilarious overacting moment that anyone over five years old could see coming.
Overall, I think Disney is trying to replace all of its previous amazing properties in the animation world with live action version to just allow more relatability in their theme parks and merchandise than to actually produce good products or films. I really hope they aren't trying to bring this to the screen. Kim Possible nostalgia and fandom is still really high, and can be built upon. But it needs to go back to its animated roots to really shine again, otherwise I can see them wasting a couple of million dollars on nothing more than a wasted crash and burn project.
Finally, the film leaves off on the most excruciatingly bad cliff hanger that makes me feel they want things to be an actual live action show. Please don't let them.
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
Good Love letter to Schulz
A spectacular update to the timeless classic by Schulz. The 3d animation was fluid and felt like traditional 2d animation at times, giving a fun nostalgic feel to the whole movie. If you have ever enjoyed the comic strips or the television specials, you will not be disappointed by this film. It has the heart, character, and storytelling of the originals down and even adds to the characters in my eyes. It certainly fleshed out Charlie Brown's character more than just his original good hearted dopiness from before. The score is still great, with even the pop song by Meghan Trainor feeling like it worked with the film. The child voice actors all did surprisingly well and were very close to the original cast of the specials. My only gripe with the film was that they tried to use Snoopy too much, often throwing his Red Baron story into the mix at awkward moments. I mean they threw one in right after one of the saddest moments of the movie, like they felt the kids watching wouldn't be able to handle the sadness without a quick burst of comedy from Snoopy, though i will admit it did lighten the mood and all of Snoopy's scenes grabbed a good laugh from me. If you liked anything about Charlie Brown and the Peanut gang before, you will enjoy this film, and even if you have never heard of these characters before, you still have a high chance of enjoying this film. It is a sweet update to a timeless classic that I half expected to bomb given who was making it. But they stayed true to Schulz's vision in my mind so it is not a perfect film, but it is close enough