Category Archives: Animated Movies

Zootopia Review

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Lately, the theatrical animated films have been pretty solid. Big Hero 6, Frozen, and more gems have been popping up. Zootopia is another good addition to these ranks and it is actually more fun than those. It’s hard to call it a better film as I’ve still always thought of Frozen as being better, but it is getting a higher score so maybe it just is better and I’m finally realizing that. It’s all subject to change of course, but as of now things are looking good for Zootopia.

Judy is a bunny who wants to be a cop, but everyone has always doubted her skills because she is so small compared to the rest of the cadets. Society feels like she is ill equipped for the task and her parents agree as they try to get her to settle for something a little safer. Judy decides that she still wants to go after her dreams though and heads to the big city. She is just in time for a new conspiracy as the meat eaters have suddenly started going back to their primal roots. Her partner is a fox and this causes a rift between them. Can Judy find out who is framing these animals or is it really their DNA just running wild? Only she can crack the case!

Zootopia deals with a lot of themes about defying society’s expectations and not letting it limit you. People can try to tell you what you can or can’t do based on their judgments on your abilities, but if you work hard you will often find that you are better equipped to handle the situation than you may have thought. It’s all about determination and trying your best. It also shows why you shouldn’t use first impressions and hearsay to judge people. The residents of Zootopia heavily believe in stereotypes which causes a lot of friction in the city. Judy does her best to break those boundries and it is something that the real world still has a lot of trouble with as well. The message is handled well here even if there is one subplot that doesn’t make a lot of sense. More on that in a little bit.

Judy is a great main character and there are really no flaws to be found with her. She stands up to the bullies even if she doesn’t always wins and does her best to be a great cop. She leaps at the chance to help crack the case and rarely lets herself get down. I liked how tough she was and how she was able to talk back to Nick a lot of the time. He’s a fast talker who uses her naivete against her, but Judy’s very intelligent and quickly learns how to counter such word play. One of the better scenes was when she threw the recorder over a fence to trick Nick into following it as she took a short cut. Moments like that helped to add an extra layer to her character. She’s a nice person, but also knows how to realistically deal with the shadier element. Her good deeds also come back to help her out at the end like her partnership with the gang boss.

Nick’s a great sidekick to have and I’d actually say that he is even better than Judy. Judy is excellent as I just pointed out, but Nick’s just as great. I love his personality as he is very snappy and has a fast method of speaking that allows him to make a lot of good points and solid burns. He had to grow up with his share of difficulties as well and responded to them by creating this tough exterior. When he sees how Judy treats him like an equal and isn’t afraid despite him being a fox, they quickly become close friends. They make a good team due to how different they are and their strengths compliment each other. All good buddy cop films need to have two good main characters and Nick completes the puzzle here. He’s not quite as super heroic as Judy, but you can count on him in a pinch.

All right, it’s time to mention the subplot that was a little forced and came out of nowhere. After a few meat eaters start turning violent, the media asks Judy for a statement on the matter. She then starts to talk about how it may be in their DNA and they are just turning savage because they can’t help it. She was simply parroting what she had heard from others and it was meant to look like she just didn’t know any better, but I can’t buy that. While she may have been a little naive, she was very intelligent as well and part of her whole character arc was how she was standing against these stereotypes. From the start she had been defying them even though everyone tried to push this onto her. This complete character reversal was out of character and only existed so that she could have a disagreement with Nick. Considering how quickly the two of them became partners again, I think the film could have just completely skipped this. It was essentially filler and the quick time skip along with Judy recovering to the farm could have been cut out as well.

Of course, having a good supporting cast is important for a film as well. Zootopia’s got you covered on that account. Judy’s parents were both fairly charismatic and fun to have around. They meant well, but kept making the situation a lot worse anyway by doubting Judy’s skills and trying to get her to just be a normal farmer. Their scenes were all pretty rich. Chief Bogo was only all right though. As with the Mayor, he felt a little too antagonistic for me to buy them acting a little more noble at the end. They certainly enjoy being in positions of power, but haven’t really earned it. The Mayor was better than Bogo though as he was more over the top and at least leapt into his role as a villain with open arms.

Dawn was certainly handy to have around as she did her best to help Judy out whenever the character was in a pinch. She gets pushed around by the Mayor quite a bit, but doesn’t let it get her down. Nothing gets her down as she always has a plan in mind. She’s a fairly deep character whose goals and motivations make sense. While his role is not quite as big, Flash was also a scene stealer. He is a sloth who works at a job involving a lot of typing so you can imagine how long that will take. The film does a good job of making him comically slow while not overplaying the joke. It happens just enough to stay funny while milking the joke as much as possible. The final scene with Flash was the perfect way to end it as well. A sequel would need to be careful not to overuse him, but with moderation, he is definitely a must have!

Mr. Big was a fun gangster to have as well. The trope of the big villain actually being tiny is a bit overused, but he was a decent villain to have. He certainly has loyalty for his friends with is good and he was also pretty crucial by the end. Most of the characters had their roles to play by the end and the film did a really good job of balancing this all together.

Zootopia never drags and it is a lot of fun from start to finish. The fundamentals are strong throughout and that’s what really makes a good film. The writing is definitely on point and it has to be to make a film like this one really good. Bad writing would completely shred it since the whole film revolves around that. There isn’t much of a soundtrack unfortunately, but I guess that would have been a little too good to be true. There are a few action scenes even if there are no real fights though. Graphically, the film looks pretty solid as well. The animation isn’t at Yugioh/general anime levels quite yet, but the character models are clear and the screen is never blurry. You can always tell what is happening and you wouldn’t mistake this for a really old film.

For a sequel, I definitely think I’d rather not have humans get involved. They would just seem really out of place if you ask me and it could destroy the nice balance that the film has had. I’m sure that the film would handle it as well as possible, but I’d rather stick to the flying animals potential plot or water animals getting to the forefront. Keeping Zootopia as an animals only zone just seems like the right move if you ask me. The film’s positive reputation is definitely well earned and I’m glad that it did so well int he box office. Hopefully Disney’s animated films can keep up this high level of quality. With other animated rivals like Incredibles 2 coming out soon as well, this is a good time for fans of American animation.

Overall, Zootopia is definitely a film that I recommend. It’s a blast and was just a lot of fun to watch. It’ll fly by as you watch it and there aren’t any real big negatives to be found here. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the characters like the Chief of Police or the front desk clerk, but most of the cast as solid. It definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite American Theatrically released animated non superhero movies out there. I’ll probably be watching Finding Nemo 2 at some point in the not so far future so you can bet that I’ll be comparing these two a bit. (Talking animals and all) The deck is stacked against Nemo, but you can never count that series out!

Overall 8/10

Lego Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Review

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It’s time for another Scooby Doo adventure. This one is back to the Lego style. What I like about Scooby Doo venturing into all of these different styles is it means that the films can come out more frequently. Think of the Lego films as a hold over while waiting for the traditional ones. As long as the writing is on point, it will still make for a fun story. Fred steals the show once again, but the rest of the gang do their best to keep up with his lead.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo have finally had enough of Fred and the gang. They refuse to be tricked by Scooby Snacks any longer and have decided to stop eating them for good. The gang takes them on a field trip to Hollywood to celebrate, but it turns out that the place is haunted. Shaggy and Scooby might have to go back to Scooby Snacks if they want to survive this experience. Luckily, with all of the real film producers running away from the monsters, this is Fred’s chance to take the limelight and make the best film possible!

This film plays out like your average Scooby Doo adventure. The animation isn’t my favorite as it is lego style, but it’s not all that bad either. If anything, the one thing about Lego style that irks me the most is how Legos can’t eat. As a result, there’s always an excuse for Shaggy and Scooby to not eat their food or a quick cutaway. We need to find a way to get past that limitation. As for the soundtrack, I can’t remember any of the tunes, but I’m sure that they were decent enough.

The subplot of Scooby and Shaggy deciding not to eat Scooby Snacks anymore was decent, even if you knew from the start that the franchise would never dare change the status quo quite so much. It’s still good to see the heroes have some restraint and go for actual food instead. The other subplot with Daphne wanting to be a film lead was annoying. She could have at least been halfway decent at being a supporting character instead of actively trying to wreck Fred’s film. I’d say that the plot was definitely too over dramatized. Velma didn’t really have a plot this time. As a result, she wasn’t as bad as she usually is although she’s definitely still not much of a likable character to be honest.

Luckily, Fred’s got this. Once he gets the film producer role, he does a good job of putting everyone in their place and completing the job to the best of his ability. He didn’t have much to work with, but Fred pulled through with the project anyway. He stopped most of the monsters on his own and came up with the plans needed to save the day. I can’t imagine where the gang would be without him. I don’t imagine that they would last long, that’s for sure.

Naturally, we’ve also got a few characters who were made up for the film. There weren’t a whole lot of them this time. One character was an actress who decided to help out in Fred’s film. She handled the role fairly well and definitely had an air of professionalism. The only problem is that she never felt like a suspect. I don’t suppose that she was ever supposed to be considered as one, but then you really only have 2-3 actual suspects with one of them being the culprit. The film does its best to weave around that, but it’s quite difficult.

There’s also the horror fan who doesn’t like the fact that Hollywood has decided to go with Rom Coms instead of more horror. Fred and the gang don’t sympathize all that much. This kid has to perform just about every job at the place himself since everyone else ran off. He’s brave and has a motive, that’s reason enough to add him onto the suspect box. There’s also his boss. He likely stands to gain a lot if Hollywood is shut down since he is probably insured. He half heartedly tells Fred and the others to film a movie themselves, but it could just be his way of getting them out of the picture. You’ll want to keep your eye on this guy. Finally, we’ve got the inspector who is looking to buy Hollywood. As more and more people run away from the place, the going rate will continue to drop so that’s likely a good proposition for the man. He stands to gain a lot from this monster.

As for the actual monster(s) in question, the designs aren’t bad. They’re all based off of the original monsters like Dracula and the Werewolf so they aren’t new designs, but they are tried and true. They make some effort to get to Fred and the gang, but the Mystery Inc had a larger advantage than usual this time. The monsters were actually on the defensive for most of the film. They simply lacked the ferociousness that most of the other villains had.

The film’s pretty short as you’d expect and since there were a short mission at the start of the film, the main one didn’t get too much screen time. Relatively speaking of course since it probably only took an extra 5-10 minutes. That may have been why the cast was so small this time around. The pacing is still solid though and maybe it was for the best as the original characters here are all likable. The best character was probably the investor to be honest, but the horror fan did a decent job of keeping everyone in check. The boss would probably be the blandest character, but he serves his purpose.

This review ended up being a little on the short side so let me use this paragraph to make a suggestion on where Scooby Doo can go from here. I like the current formula as much as the next guy, but there is one addition that could really help the series. The franchise needs a rival team. Granted, the team could be obnoxious if handled wrong, but stay with me here. Imagine a Mystery Inc that only cares about profits and uses any means necessary to catch the crooks. Even if they don’t become main supporting characters, one film like this could be genius. I believe that the films have dabbled around with having other sleuths once in a while, but I’m talking a full team here. Just think about it, a rival team could really be awesome. Fred’s competitive nature would ensure a fun dynamic as well.

Overall, If you’ve seen the older Scooby Doo films, then you should like this one. It stays pretty true to the overall formula and sits comfortably away from the lower tier films. Everyone is in character, which actually is not a given since in recent films some characters have been a bit dicey. Daphne didn’t bring her A game this time and was easily the weakest member, but even she could have been a little more exaggerated. Fred’s been looking really good these last few films so I’m hoping that the franchise can keep it up. Next up, the Wrestling sequel is arriving and that should definitely be a fun film. The first title was one of the better Scooby Doo films so I’m certainly hoping for more of the same from its sequel.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man X The Day of Σ Review

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It’s time to quickly review a short Mega Man OVA that came out a while back. This one was pretty fun and it was definitely cool how it came with the Mega Man X remake. I’ve seen it a few times over the years and it certainly holds up well. This OVA reminds me why we need more specials like this one in the future. The possibilities with Mega Man are simply endless!

The special is a little under 30 minutes and it shows how Sigma became the leader of the Mavericks. It works as an origin story and explores a time period that we never got to see much of. Mega Man X and Zero are tasked with finding out who is manipulating the reploids and turning them against their allies. The mystery takes them through a few massacres until they arrive at the deadly truth. Zero handles the shock of Sigma being a traitor pretty well while Mega Man X is a little more shocked. The special is fast paced as you would expect and the ending is open ended since you need to play the games to see how the saga really ended.

The animation is quite good. Zero’s character model at times felt a little too tall, but I’m just used to him looking a little more hunched over. The design is quite good if you look at it without thinking about the others and likewise with Megaman X. The energy blasts and effects look great. This could have easily been turned into a TV show and I’m certain that fans would have been very pleased with the results. The soundtrack is all right. It doesn’t use as many video game themes as I would have liked, but it still does sound nice and futuristic. The theme when Mega Man X was getting the charge shot ready was solid and overall it worked pretty well here.

The power levels are a little wonky as I feel like Mega Man X and Zero should be portrayed as much stronger. One Mechaniloid (I doubt that is how it is spelled, but close enough) should not last so long against a combined assault. Zero should have taken out his sword unless he acquired it later on. That would have been very handy. Mega Man X’s fully powered charge shot looked very accurate though and it is good to see. His power level should really be off the charts since he was essentially built to be the ultimate reploid. Also, Zero knew about Sigma which is how he countered the Maverick’s stab, but he looked pretty bad in that fight anyway. He should have been thinking about how to land a hit of his own instead of bragging for so long. I like his overconfidence, but landing at least one hit would have certainly helped a lot as well. Sigma is strong so it should be a good fight, but Zero’s no slouch either.

We got a cameo from Doctor Light and Doctor Cain as well. This helped to tie into the classic universe and I’m still waiting for the game where we see the events between them. I know that a popular theory is that Zero destroyed Bass and supposedly he may have destroyed Mega Man as well, but most of that is speculation. Others believe that Mega Man X was built from Mega Man’s parts. Personally, I’m hoping that this theory isn’t true since I want them to be completely separate. The special ends in a very sad way for Doctor Cain since he really underestimated the Mavericks. It seems like this was all just a game to Cain though so he may not be too distraught about his fate.

There were also cameos from other Mavericks and the legendary Vile. It would have been great to have seen Vile more since he is such an awesome character, but I suppose that I’ll have to wait a while. Maybe if the Mega Man show does well they’ll eventually introduce the X characters. It may be more of a comedy than anything, but hopefully they’re portrayed right. At least we have the Mega Man X episode from the 90’s cartoon. Mega Man X was nice and heroic here unlike his extreme cartoon version (to an extent) so that was nice to see. He definitely was not going to put the hostage at risk although he should have at least tried going for a leg or something. It was also interesting to note that Zero did hit the hostage in the training simulation, which basically proved that Mega Man X made the right call here. The hostage was grateful as well, which was a nice touch since they can be silent or condeming at times. The reploids here seemed very reasonable. The universe built around the characters definitely has a lot of room for growth and there is still a lot to explore.

Overall, Day of Sigma is a must watch for all Mega Man fans. It finally shows the story of how the Maverick war started in the first place. This war would basically not end for quite a few games so this trigger is very important. Unfortunately, it does go against canon events so it is considered to be more of an AU/non canon adventure than anything, but it still gives you a lot of context. The original version would likely be very similar as well. With solid animation and a good soundtrack, this OVA has all of the tools necessary to succeed. Mega Man X is a great main character as well and Zero is as cool as always. One day, maybe I’ll be saying the same thing about Mighty No 9, but it is unlikely.

Overall 8/10

Why, Charlie Brown, Why? Review

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This is the most serious Charlie Brown special. It still has subplots for the comic relief and some jokes to keep it from being too ultra serious, but the tone is certainly darker than what you will be used to from this series. It’s good to tackle themes like this once in a while to spread awareness and act as an infomercial, but I am glad that it is only an occasional thing. Not to mention that some themes are a little too dark regardless. If the ending hadn’t been quite as positive, it definitely would have hurt the special more.

One of Linus’ friends has started to feel sick lately. He advises her to go to the nurse’s office and from there she ends up in the hospital as she has developed cancer. Charlie decides that he and Linus should visit the hospital. The special is mostly focused on describing the treatment and showing how the main characters cope with this sudden development. Some handle it well, but others not so much.

It may be a little iffy for some when we see Lucy in particular. She really doesn’t care that someone got cancer and it fairly rude about it. It’s true that kids probably don’t understand the gravity of the situation, but the special went out of its way to show that everyone was really mean about it aside from Charlie and Linus. Snoopy handled it well as he continued to eat a lot of food whenever possible though. You can never count him out and he stole the show with his “dinner” as he proved to everyone how to enjoy yourself while having a healthy diet at the same time. It did look like a complete meal after all.

A bully showed up for the first time in a while. Naturally Linus was upset about this, but I felt like he could have handled the situation better. He mostly just let the bully talk for a while before clenching his fists and finally yelling at the guy a little, but I was hoping for Linus to throw a solid punch. Linus blew up, but in a rather anticlimactic way and it took him too long to react. Of course, he was able to solve the situation without violence so in a way that’s good…in a way.

Aside from Lucy and the bully, the characters are pretty solid here. Linus did well and the new character seemed nice enough. Charlie was considerate as always and it’s easy to see why he is the main character of the franchise. The others mean well, but they’d definitely be lost without his expert guidance. If not for all of his plans and last second heroics, the town would probably be a lot more depressing and solemn. From winning tournaments to visiting friends in the hospital, Charlie’s the guy you can count on.

The soundtrack is certainly more downcast and less fast paced than usual. This helps the special carry across the feeling that things are more serious than usual. It works well enough and the animation is as good as usual. These specials are nothing if not consistent in their technical quality. As always, the special is definitely very short so you can really watch it whenever you have a free period. It’s not too fun so you’ll want to have some snacks to munch while watching it.

Luckily, as mentioned earlier, the ending is fairly happy. Good endings can always help a film quite a bit. If the friend had died to try to show how serious cancer is, it would have failed pretty badly. She even got her hair back, which was definitely a nice added bonus. All’s well that ends well and that’s why going to the doctor regularly is a good thing so you can catch these conditions right away. I don’t particularly like going to the doctor’s too often since I feel pretty healthy, but I still recommend going. It’s worth it folks, even if I don’t follow my own advice on this.

Overall, This special certainly sticks out from the rest. One watch is really enough though and I would sooner recommend checking out most of the other Charlie Brown specials. Still, at least the special tackled the topic of cancer I suppose. The kid should have been put to sleep before getting the bone marrow shot if you ask me, but beyond that it did a good job of explaining the treatments available. With this, the Charlie Brown animated specials have come to an end for now, but eventually I aim to see the others that I have not checked out yet. Hopefully Snoopy continues to steal the show and show us just why he is such a great character.

Overall 6/10

You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown Review

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To counter that last one, it’s time to look at one of the better Charlie Brown specials. I actually may put this one in the top 5 to be honest, but there are a lot of them so I’ve gotta think it through. For sure, the Christmas one, and the Olympics would make it. Flashbeagle as well. That leaves two empty spots and I’m fairly confident that this one would be able to grab one of them. It has everything that a good Peanuts special needs and the ending was also fairly fun even if one character had to be nerfed so that the moral would go smoothly. I suppose that it is the price to pay for having the side characters be a little stronger than the main one. Charlie Brown’s a nice kid, but he does tend to be a little out of his depth when up against Snoopy.

As the title suggests, this is another sport themed special. Charlie Brown is invited to the motorcycle event with the rest of the gang. He decides that while he is entering it, he may as well take home the gold trophy. The main opponents standing in his way are Peppermint Patty and the Masked Rider. They’re good, but Charlie has his own support crew ready in the form of Linus. They pooled their resources and got themselves a fairly decent vehicle so they’re ready. Patty is an old pro at this kind of event so she has a fairly top of the line bike of her own. Finally, the Masked Rider is also around and he has the best vehicle of them all. He only shows up for the biggest races apparently so the other characters are all on edge as soon as he shows up. Seeing as how he is Snoopy by day and a rider by night, this Masked Rider sure knows how to balance his time effectively.

One of the reasons why this special is a lot of fun is because I enjoy sports. I always like seeing a good sport themed cartoon or movie even if I don’t play that particular sport. I don’t think that I’ll ever be getting into Motorcross racing or any of the other forms, but it is still pretty interesting to look at. Furthermore, Charlie Brown and Snoopy both get rather large roles here which is the best of both roles. The bulk of the special is the long race so the pacing is great and it feels like a lot happens in this special. It’s interesting and engaging right from the start. The special should quickly remind you of the Tortoise and the Hare story. Regrettably, you’ll realize right from the start that Snoopy’s chances of winning are quite small. Despite the fact that he is an expert and a dog to be feared in all forms of sports, he never actually wins due to his overconfidence. He starts to pull ahead by such a long gap that he stops for a feast including cake and other such food items. Snoopy handles himself better than the Hare did, but not by a whole lot and ultimately this proved to be his downfall. I would have liked to have seen Charlie take the win here. That being said, seeing Charlie coast to victory was fun as well.

Charlie rarely ever gets to actually win so this was a fairly special event. It’s great to see his hard work and dedication pay off once in a while. It’s a running gag that he loses, but it can only be funny if he manages to win at least once. With that happy ending and the fun sports vibe throughout the special, this one was definitely a winner. Linus was a good supporting character here as well who helped Charlie out of a tough spot. Charlie’s definitely fortunate to have a good friend like Linus around. The animation and soundtrack are about the same as all of the other specials. They are good and hold up well. This is one of the older Charlie Brown specials and you can easily notice how the animation has improved over the years, but the core style is always the same. It’s easy on the eyes and hopefully the series never descends into dicey CGI or Flash animation, but well…that is the ultimate fate for most titles.

Overall, This was a great Charlie Brown special. Even before the actual race started up, the prelude to it was handled well as we got to see Snoopy’s serious tennis skills. Once again, he may have been the superior player, but he couldn’t take the win. As much as the running gag on always losing is focused on Charlie Brown, it tends to happen to Snoopy as well. The dog’s power level fluctuates rather rapidly and he could be dominating one second only to lose the next. Personally, I’d prefer it if Snoopy always defeated everyone at everything and it could be a great running gag in its own right, but Snoopy still looks good through and through. I highly recommend checking this special out and who knows, you may end up considering it as the best Charlie Brown special of them all, although you’d have to make a super strong case to even put it in the same conversation as the legendary Christmas special.

Overall 7/10

Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown Review

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Snoopy continues to get more and more adventures. This is unfortunately one of the weaker Peanut specials though and the famous dog’s charisma is not enough to save it this time. One of the main problems here is the fact that the romance is the main plot so Snoopy is a little out of character and none of the usual gags are present this time around. The special takes itself too seriously and when you consider the fact that Snoopy has already fallen in love several times, this plot is already a little old. Snoopy’s brother makes his debut here, but he is a fairly unlikable character. Ah well, let’s launch into this.

Snoopy has fallen for a dog so he wants to immediately be married. First he has his farewell party with the rest of the Peanuts gang. Everyone gives him a good bone and Snoopy prepares himself. It’s not as if he is going anywhere, but the status quo will change quite a bit so everyone will have to get used to his new role in society. The nerves start to get to him though and the special gets a little odd here. My personal take on it was that Snoopy already knew that the other dog was not going to go through with the marriage as she had already fallen for someone else. The special implied that it was Snoopy’s brother for a little while as a mild flirtation happened earlier, but in the end it was just a random dog who was never shown. Seeing as how it was Spike who the dog fell in love with in the comic, I feel like the animators made the switch at the last second. It made more sense to end like it did in the comic although I’m glad that it didn’t as it wouldn’t do Spike any favors. I already don’t care for the character, you can imagine how much worse he would be if this had happened. It certainly would have been a very somber ending.

Luckily, Snoopy’s a class act and a tough dog to boot. He gets over the failed marriage right away and goes back to eating his cake and just having a generally good time. His charismatic personality is why everyone loves Snoopy and it helps him get through tough times like this special. That being said, it was still not enough to make me actually say that the special was all that good. A romance plot like this one needs a solid subplot to help compliment it or some more dilemmas. There just wasn’t much to this special, but maybe it helps that the subplot was about Spike. Why don’t I like Spike? Well, he looks rather mean, but we can get past that I suppose. The problem is that he sounds noble in the letters, but then comes across as incredibly unsympathetic to Snoopy’s plight and the fact that he definitely seemed like he had come just to mess things up. He tried hard in the race that he entered, but it simply wasn’t to be. He would either need more personality in order to move up the characters charts or some kind of character design upgrade. Something to show that he’s still a nice guy beyond the gruff exterior because otherwise…he’s just a guy with a gruff exterior who doesn’t seem friendly at all.

As always, the animation is rather consistent with the other Peanut specials. There is certainly nothing to complain about here although the blushing on Snoopy was a little much. Animations like to exaggerate the blush effect many times, but I always found it to be rather off putting. People don’t look anything like that in real life. As for the soundtrack, it’s rather ordinary here. There isn’t a whole lot to say about it, the regular tunes will be familiar at this point, but because of that it is also easy to forget that they even exist. I suppose it is better than having bad tunes though.

Overall, This Peanuts special wasn’t able to hold up very well to the test of time. The main problem is that the poorly written romance plot left little room for the human characters to have much of a presence. As cool as Snoopy is, it’s also very important to have Charlie Brown and the gang help out a lot since their personalities are always pretty fun to see. It’s a team effort that makes the Peanuts specials successful and ones that focus on a single plot like this tend to leave something to be desired. It’s another case altogether when everyone is involved in the single plot like the next special that I’m about to review. That is an example of how to get the full cast involved in an interesting way. If you’re going to watch a Peanuts special, I’d advise you to skip this one.

Overall 5/10

It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown Review

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It’s time to look at another classic Charlie Brown special. This one is a musical so that is definitely a change of pace for the series. It’s also one of the stronger entries in the series as the whole dancing gimmick is handled very well. Aside from Peppermint Patty’s song, the rest of them do a good job of copying the style of the 80’s. The retro songs can definitely be a lot of fun like in the classic Transformers animated film. The main theme is still as hype as it was when the first film came out and I think good tunes like this can be timeless. As a result, Snoopy’s dancing numbers are quite good.

The plot is fairly nonexistent here since the music takes center stage. One part of the plot is that Snoopy dances a lot by night and by day he sleeps a lot. This makes Charlie think that his dog is slacking off, but luckily Sally takes him to school for show and tell. Snoopy reveals his true identity as a dancing mastermind and the day is saved. Charlie didn’t get to do much in this special and even Sally told him off in the end. It wasn’t his best showing, but at least he put in some decent effort. Charlie’s probably just expecting too much out of Snoopy.

His faithful dog certainly stole the show here. The dancing numbers were great and Snoopy really knows how to dance to a tune. I wouldn’t have minded if the special had added even more dance numbers for the guy. They wouldn’t drag on because of how solidly it was handled. If you ever start to wonder why Snoopy is such a fan favorite, make sure to watch this special. You certainly won’t have any more doubts after that.

The animation is up to the usual Peanuts standard. Everything looks clear and the character designs are good. The soundtrack is what has significantly improved from the other specials, which is really the whole point of this movie when you think about it. It almost goes without saying. As per usual, this special is very short so it’s very easy to just breeze through. It never starts to drag on as a result and that’s one of the positives of being so short.

Flashbeagle is a fun little feature. The writing is solid and the characters are likable. In the end, that’s what typically makes for a good Peanuts special even if there’s not a whole lot more to say about this one. The whole thing is over in the blink of an eye and Snoopy is left on top once again. Snoopy can be a little inconsistent at times in these specials as he is a pro one second and a rookie the next, but it’s the price to pay for being in a comedy. No character is safe as they could be nerfed/weakened at any point in order to get a joke across. That’s definitely a double edged sword if you ask me, but as I said earlier, the writing is solid for the most part here.

Overall, Flashbeagle was a lot of fun and it shows that parodies/homages can certainly be good if they are handled right. Nowadays, parodies have a bit of a bad reputation thanks to titles like Transmorphers and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. Well done parodies are rare, but I’m still waiting for one to really hit it out of the park. I can’t quite say that Flashbeagle’s that home run hit since it can only go so far in its format, but it is a good title that I would recommend. I’m one step closer to watching all of the Charlie Brown shorts.

Overall 7/10

Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown Review

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The Peanuts marathon continues although the speed at which I have been watching them may slow down a little after this. Unfortunately, Life Is a Circus ends up being one of the weaker Peanut specials. Snoopy’s the main character so you’d think that this wouldn’t be the case, but unfortunately he didn’t have much of a plot to work with this time around. After watching a few Snoopy centered videos, I have to admit that the specials may just work a little better with the human characters getting a bigger role. I still believe that Snoopy can hold his own special if necessary though.

A new circus is in town and Snoopy sees one dog who catches his eye. The problem is that he has to join the circus if he wants to keep talking to the dog. This circus is hard work and the dogs have to perform unreasonable stunts, but this isn’t enough to deter a dog as tough as Snoopy. Snoopy masters all of the tricks, but eventually realizes that the life of a circus has too many sacrifices and hardships for it to all be worth it. Time to head back to his life with Charlie.

Snoopy handles the whole thing very well though. He goes home and has a lot to eat before taking a nap. It’s one of the best strategies to have when something tricky happens and I totally recommend it. I’m looking forward to having a nice bowl of Mac n Cheese relatively soon myself. Snoopy also didn’t turn back when he realized that the other dog wasn’t stopping. He was decisive and knew what had to be done this time around.

Charlie Brown was pretty upset the whole special, but it’s hard to blame him. His Cotton Candy was wrecked when Patty threw some popcorn on it and then he had to watch as Snoopy was dognapped by the Circus. He probably should have tried a little harder to get Snoopy back though, considering the fact that the circus went pretty far away. His friends weren’t very understanding either and they seemed to just enjoy the fact that Snoopy had finally found a place where he could be happy.

The main thing that draws this special down is the fact that the romance is fairly boring. We all know that Snoopy will end up leaving at some point anyway since the status quo would be changed a little too drastically if she had gone back to Charlie’s with him. The dog also seemed a little odd as she also didn’t want to be colored pink, but ultimately decided to go back to the show. Considering that the show had them do crazy stunts with no safety nets in place, it seemed like an odd choice. Well, I guess that’s how far their bonds of friendship ended up taking them in the end.

There were some classic Peanut themes here. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but they work for the setting. The animation was also traditional Peanuts style so there is not a whole lot to say about it on that front. If you’ve enjoyed the Peanuts style throughout the specials, then you’ll enjoy it. If you’ve never seen one of these before, then just picture a retro hand drawn style. This came out a while ago so don’t expect Justice League action here, but more like an older version of the Super Friends.

Overall, This special dragged a little and it wasn’t as interesting as the usual Charlie Brown adventure. It had its moments and I suppose that it’s a good special overall, but I just needed Snoopy to be a little more in character. I like to see him take charge and just do whatever he wants. Seeing him in this kind of role just isn’t the same. Charlie Brown was in character though so you can always count on him to see the cup half empty. I’m ready for the eventual Peanuts election. That one definitely sounds promising! As for another Snoopy centered special, I could see that one easily surpassing this one.

Overall 5/10

Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? Review

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Time for the next Charlie Brown special! In this one, Linus has to move away because his father has moved on to a new job. This means that he will be leaving the old cast for good now. It’s been a fun ride, but every status quo must end someday. I don’t think anyone actually believed that he would be gone by the time that the special ended, but I won’t say whether or not he actually goes through with it. Regardless, it’s a solid Charlie Brown special and even his fight with Snoopy is handled a lot better than the movie. That being said, I can’t say that Linus is particularly likable in this one.

Linus is just a little more aggressive and mean in this film. He threatens Snoopy when the Beagle tries to take away his blanket. They don’t actually fight like in the film which is good, but he still takes it in the end. He gives it to Snoopy when he leaves town for a while so that was good. He even writes post cards, but in this film, I’ll take the other supporting characters for the most part. Sally doesn’t do much except make her own promises. We actually get two parallels of the same subplot so see the contrast. Peppermint Patty handles being stood up a whole lot better than Sally does at least. She may not have been all that smart this time as she ignored Charlie the whole time, but she’ll learn how to do that quite well in the coming specials. This is a bit of a prequel in the sense that this is where Patty’s daily phone calls to Charlie Brown started.

Charlie Brown is the best human character by far this time. He was sad when Linus left, but he handled it well and even got a good night’s sleep until the phone rang. He even decided not to pay Snoopy the 50 cents for a meet up so he’s wizened up a little over the years. The Charlie Brown specials just wouldn’t be the same without the main character at the helm. Snoopy also steals the show as expected. It makes sense that he would be the guy in charge of the food at the party and he even replaced Lucy as the advice giving doctor. Snoopy may charge more since his time is so valuable, but that’s just how he roles. Snoopy was also nice enough to give Linus his blanket back, which was actually a little unexpected. Snoopy is not averse to being the bigger man once in a while.

Having 3 different romance running gags in the special was a little much though. Especially since two of them were ultimately the same exact plot. They aren’t around all that much though and the 3 respective guys all take it in stride by pretending not to know what is happening or gently rejecting the offer. After all, they’re too busy. The party was definitely fun although it is a little surprising that Snoopy didn’t have a proper feast for the heroes. I will assume that he was just trolling them all for the fun of it. He couldn’t have actually just not thought this through right? He’s Snoopy after all!

The animation and soundtrack are par for the course with these specials. Nothing has really changed and the animation style is iconic for the series so they’ll want to keep it around for as long as possible. The characters all look well drawn and the style is certainly better than other animated features. For its time, this animation was fairly good. There is really no music this time around so there’s nothing to really say about that angle.

Overall, I enjoyed this special. It was a solid one that didn’t rely on any gimmicks and just had good dialogue between the characters. It felt like more of an ordinary day for the group and how they handled the loss of Linus. The ending is very predictable, but it really had to end that way because a big change to the status quo would be like taking an unnecessary risk at this point. Especially to a fan favorite character. Unless that is what the special did in the end..heh heh. If you enjoy the other Charlie Brown specials or just feel like watching a relaxing special with the characters all having a good time, this one’s for you. Just be warned if you’re a Linus fan as this isn’t his best moment.

Overall 7/10

Snoopy Come Home Review

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It’s time for the next big Snoopy film, but unfortunately this one ends up being the weakest one of them all. It goes on for too long and generally isn’t all that much fun. It should have been since Snoopy was the main character, but you mostly just end up feeling bad for him. The film forgot to even have Snoopy just show up and start wrecking everyone like he usually would. It goes for a more emotional feel, but it ends up backfiring quite badly.

Snoopy gets a letter from his old owner. She is very sick and has been in the hospital for a few weeks. She believes that having Snoopy by her side will help her get better so he gathers his belongings and sets off. Charlie Brown starts to believe that Snoopy has left because he has grown tired of him. Charlie doesn’t really know how to make amends though so this plot doesn’t go anywhere. We have some cutaways where Charlie ponders the current situation, but that it all. It’s really just filler when you really think about it. Still, his plot is more enjoyable than Snoopy’s even if it’s not much.

The best part of the special is when Snoopy comes home temporarily to have a big send off from the gang. They get him a lot of bones to chew on and show how sad they would be without him. Charlie couldn’t even say anything since it was all just too emotional for him. Everyone did miss Snoopy after all and not having him around anymore would certainly be tough for them to get past. That’s why I would have liked to have had a subplot of them trying a little harder to find Snoopy. Meeting him at the hospital would have been a good move, but instead the friends just stay at home the whole time. Snoopy makes sure to pay them back for that by the end and then the status quo is preserved.

What hurts the Snoopy subplot is the fact that he has to go through many hardships. They are all comic relief of course, but it can get to be a bit much. One such plot like this is when Linus and Snoopy decide to start beating each other up over the blanket that Linus always carries around. It goes on for quite some time and the blows do look quite painful. The scene isn’t particularly flattering to either character. Another example is when Snoopy is adopted by a mean little girl who decides to keep on throwing Snoopy around and doesn’t know how to have a pet. Even when escaping, Snoopy drops the bird that he was helping and gives him a headache.

These plots weren’t funny in the slightest and just made the special a little more irritating. At least Snoopy’s old owner was reasonable. She didn’t try to guilt trip Snoopy quite as much as I had expected. Not knowing that her building didn’t allow dogs was a pretty big mistake though. That seems like something that she should have known beforehand. Still, it gave Snoopy a good “out” and he was able to return home. By now it’s possible that the letter he signed to the mayor will have taken effect so he can use the library and other services again. Hopefully that happens since we just saw him use the library in “It’s Magic Charlie Brown.” Seems odd that they would ban him after that. He was being loud, but the book was just that funny.

The animation is roughly the same as all of the TV specials. It looks fine and holds up well throughout the years. There isn’t much of a soundtrack that I can recall. There are a few songs that are used as narration though. For example, you never see the letter’s contents from the old owner, but the song narrates the letter to an extent with a Grinch sounding voice. The songs aren’t bad, but they’re not really my style either. At least it has some songs/tunes though so this special actually has a bit of a soundtrack.

This special really didn’t need to be over an hour though. It could have easily achieved this plot with a simple half n hour and I believe that it would have been better off if it had done this. Maybe the Peanuts isn’t really meant for full length films, although I certainly think it’s possible to have a good one. The first movie dragged on as well, but it was still fun. The next one just needs to make sure that it has a full plot, which doesn’t need to be artificially extended. If it does need to be extended, then it just shouldn’t do it with harsh trials for Snoopy.

Overall, Snoopy Come Home is a bit of a flop. Cut out the fight against Linus and Snoopy’s other misadventures and this movie would have been a lot better. It doesn’t mean that Snoopy should just vanish either. His fight against Lucy was handled fairly well and felt more like a real Peanuts adventure. The fight was decently long, but it wasn’t as exaggerated as Snoopy’s other battles. If you like the Peanuts a lot then this may be a good film to check out. If not, then I definitely recommend skipping out on this one and you should just watch one of the classics like the Christmas special or It’s Magic Charlie Brown as an example of a Snoopy centered special done right.

Overall 4/10