Category Archives: Animated Movie Reviews

Scooby Doo Adventures The Mystery Map Review

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It’s time to take a look at the latest Scooby Doo film! This one decided to try its luck with puppets. It’s certainly a bold move, but it’s one that definitely did not pay off. It’s one of those films that just doesn’t age well and it hasn’t been out all that long yet. It has its moments I suppose, but this isn’t the Mystery Inc gang that I remember.

The gang is just enjoying a day at home when the pizza delivery guy gives them a pizza. A treasure map is found inside of it and the heroes decide to look for the treasure. Before they can locate it, they are attacked by an evil parrot. Can this be a real monster or is it someone in a mask? The heroes don’t know the answer to this question yet, but they intend to find out. This case could be dangerous so they’re going to have to use everything that they’ve ever learned if they want to come out on top.

The film is very short and it only runs for about 30 minutes. There isn’t enough time for any development so we quickly just meet a few suspects before the case wraps up. There’s an old lady accompanied by a teenager who explore some mysterious caves for the thrills. A mean janitor lives on an abandoned light house and he certainly can’t be trusted. Finally, we have the pizza man. You won’t want to underestimate any of these guys and one of them must be the culprit. That being said, they all only get about 30 seconds of screentime so it’s tough to really know if they are criminals or not. You’re just going to have to go with your gut on this one.

The evil parrot made for a decent villain I suppose, but it didn’t have the greatest design. There’s a good reason for that of course and I’ll get into it in a second. Fred makes for a good main character although they decided to make him look really unintelligent for some reason. I guess the writers just figured that it would be a wise move…they were wrong. The other characters are pretty similar to how they usually are I suppose.

Now, what shot this film through the ground? From what I’ve said so far, it still sounds like a decent 6-7 star film right? It’s safe to say that it is considerably worse than that though and we have the animation to blame. The puppet techniques really look bad and it’s why I could never get into the Muppets. I’ll take CGI over puppets and that’s saying something! Everything just looks really stilted and the puppets seem to be pretty low quality as well. They look as if somebody just found their uniforms and added a few buttons. This really wrecks the film.

It’s sad when animation techniques wreck an entire movie, but that’s what happened here. The formula is still pretty similar to the average Scooby Doo film, but you can’t get into any of the scenes because of how they look. The chase scenes aren’t fun and watching the characters discuss what they are going to do next can’t be taken seriously. We know that they’re puppets and there is just no way to get around that. Everything just looks sooooo fake. I don’t see this being a hit with the younger generation either so it’s really just a big miss on the producer’s part.

The soundtrack isn’t much better. The insert songs aren’t really catchy and there are no tense themes to really get your heart racing. The dialogue was also a little off, or at least the delivery of the lines. It felt like they were aiming a little younger than usual as there would be a bit of a pause between words to make sure that they didn’t speak too quickly. Pokemon did this during the Zekrom/Reshiram film, but it’s certainly handled more delicately than this title.

I’m struggling to think of a positive for this film, but I can’t really think of one. It was only about 30 minutes and it still manages to drag on for a while. That’s definitely not a good sign if you really think about it. Even small things like the pizza that Shaggy ordered turned out to be negative. Remember the old films where Shaggy loved to eat, but it was always food that actually looked good? Not anymore! He picks out a pizza that looks terrible so nobody would even want to eat it. This isn’t the first time that he’s done that in a film, but it looks worse than usual.

Overall, Do not watch this film. This Scooby Doo Adventure is one that’s best left in theory and not in stores. I don’t see why you would want to spend the big bucks to watch such a short film anyway when you can check out a classic like Cyber Chase or Zombie Island. Those are two films that are significantly better than this one. I guess I would probably put this one over some of the musicals that came out, but even that is a stretch since those still managed to have good animation. I typically walk out of Scooby Doo films humming the songs (in my mind) and remembering the epic case, but that definitely did not happen here. Avoid this film at all costs and hopefully enough of us will do this so they won’t announce a sequel. If they do announce a sequel…let’s hope that it has proper animation this time!

Overall 4/10

Batman & Mr. Freeze SubZero Review

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Time to revisit another Batman classic! After the success of the Phantasm film, it was good to see Batman make another theatrical appearance. SubZero is definitely a solid film, but it makes the controversial choice to place plot over action. This will likely work for the critics, but it definitely works against the film on this site. It’s a good film experience, but it could have been better.

Batman and Robin are enjoying themselves at a party when Mr Freeze decides to strike. He has been resting at a hideout far away from Gotham, but the villain was forced to make his move when some humans decided to blow away his kingdom. It was accidental as they panicked and crashed through the ice instead of through the water, but it was a mistake that they won’t get to make again. To restore his wife, Mr Freeze needs someone with the same blood type so that the doctor can unleash a fatal operation on her. Barbara Gordon fits the bill so he kidnaps her. Can the Dynamic Duo reach her in time or is it already too late?

The plot in itself isn’t bad. Mr Freeze has always been one of the better DCAU villains and this is a pretty good portrayal of him. As always, he’s not being evil for the lolz, but he is actually doing it to help Nora. It’s a pretty sympathetic goal although the way that he goes about it is not the best. Considering how advanced science is in the DC world, a hospital would probably be able to do something about her condition. Not a normal hospital though, he would have to get some connections to help her. Instead, he opts to just do the transfusion and naturally this makes him a villain, but one that you can sympathize with.

I’ve always had a soft spot for characters who place those closest to them at higher priority than the rest of the world. A Sword Art Online example is Kirito basically saying that he’ll leave everyone to die so that he can take Asuna to safety during one of the final battles or Sasuke deciding to do whatever he had too in order to avenge his clan. You can tell that the acts aren’t exactly heroic, but you can still root for the characters. Naturally, it’s hard to root for Mr Freeze here since it would mean the death of Batgirl, but in his position it’s easy to see why he would make the choice. (Assuming that there is no other way) If it’s between Nora and Barbara, he’s going to pick Nora every time. For us, if it’s a stranger or a family member in a random circumstance, like a sudden fire and you can only pick one, who wouldn’t pick the family member? Naturally, a “true” hero may factor in something like who is younger, who will have a better life, or other things to decide who to save, but it would be hard not to save the family member. Thus, I don’t excuse Mr Freeze’s goal, but it’s one of the reasons why he has always been one of Batman’s best written villains.

Robin gets a bigger role here than usual. Unfortunately, it’s mostly a romance subplot for him as he doesn’t get to act as Robin for a very long time here. There’s not a whole lot of action here so that makes sense, but it doesn’t help his case as a character. I think it’s safe to say that Batman is more likable here. Robin still needs more experience so while he is a good fighter, he still has a ways to go. I would have liked to have seen some more effort from him so that he could save Batgirl. (At least he doesn’t try to throw the fight like Batman does at times) He’s still one of my favorite Batman characters, but this probably wasn’t his best appearance.

Batgirl also gets a big role, but only in her normal identity. She doesn’t put up the greatest fight against Mr Freeze and I think that she should have been able to escape at one point. Not off of the ship of course, but heading to the very top would have bought her a lot of time. She did a good job of buying time for herself, but I’m just saying that she could have done even better if she really put the effort in. Her brief moment as Batgirl made her look pretty good though so that was a preview of how the film could have gone for her. She could have probably given Mr Freeze and his minions a decent fight if she had been prepared.

Batman’s portrayal is pretty spot on as expected. He quickly starts to assemble the clues that he had gotten throughout the film and then he found out where Mr Freeze was hiding. He still is the world’s greatest detective so nothing is too tricky for him to figure out. He also looks pretty tough in the fight scenes and he’s a hero from start to finish. There’s nothing more that you can really ask for from Batman so the portrayal is just about perfect.

The animation is pretty sharp as you would expect. Batman always makes full use of the theater budget so the cape and cowl are sleek and sharp. There are no scenes where they look pale or out of focus. That being said, the film made the unwise choice of deciding to add a lot of CGI to the film. I’ve always thought that CGI is inferior to hand drawn animation so deciding to add some of it to a film because you can is still not a good reason to add it. The normal scenes look better than the CGI moments so they don’t help the film. It’s intriguing to look at since the scenes really stand out. It’s not like it’ll hurt the score or anything like that, but the film would have looked even better without the CGI moments.

Batman’s soundtrack is also about as good as you would expect. The intro theme is pretty good and it gets you in the mood for a good adventure. After that, the themes become a little more generic, but they definitely age well. It gives the film the look and feel of a theater film and that’s what I always expect. Nowadays, that isn’t always a guarantee. It’s not as good as the soundtrack was in Mask of the Phantasm, but it’s definitely good enough.

Mr Freeze didn’t have any human minions this time as he just teamed up with two Polar Bears and I have to say that this was another dicey move on the film’s part. Adding in animals means that there is a chance that they will have to fight so that’s always sad to see. The heroes are pretty passive when fighting them for the most part, but who wants to see the evil bears get blasted with water? I definitely could have done without them having to engage in the fights, but it certainly could have been a whole lot worse.

The main thing that stops this film from getting the usual 7 stars is the lack of action. We only see Batman at the very beginning when he fights a robber and at the very ending where he moves in to save Batgirl. It’s hard to call the movie a Batman film when the main star barely gets to appear. We get some Bruce Wayne scenes of course and Dick Grayson gets development, but I need action. Mr Freeze doesn’t even get to fight the heroes since it’s too late by that point. That’s definitely a missed opportunity right there. Sometimes, the gamble to have more plot than action works out, but that is very rarely and it typically only works when the action scenes wouldn’t have been enjoyable anyway. That is definitely not the case here so the strategy never really had a chance.

You could also argue that the film had a little too much romance in it. I definitely wouldn’t stop that argument since I agree with it. The romance is handled decently well at least since the scenes typically won’t leave you cringing, but it’s still a plot that I could do without. Batgirl and Robin should always stay as just friends especially when you know that it’s not going to last. It also stopped the characters from being as likable as they could have been.

Overall, SubZero is a pretty decent Batman film. As far as the DCAU titles go, it’s probably going to have to take last place, but that’s more of a “by default” thing. 6 stars is still pretty good after all so the film was still fun. The animation and soundtrack are good and Batman looks great. The brief action scenes that we do get are pretty good. The film may drag on a little towards the middle and the romance was probably too heavy as well, but it’s still a film that you will want to see as a Batman fan. I definitely recommend it to DC fans and if you want an even better Batman tale, just check out Mystery of the Batwoman.

Overall 6/10

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Review

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Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas special that I’ve watched many times in the past. It uses stop motion instead of traditional animation, which can be dicey. That being said, it makes up for this with the classic Rudolph as the main lead. His heartwarming story has inspired millions throughout the ages and who can forget the incredible snowman? The special has its ups and downs, but it is definitely a solid experience.

The plot involves Rudolph and the other Reindeer as they begin to bully him when it is found out that his nose glows. Even Santa Claus wants nothing to do with Rudolph so he runs off to brave the world on his own. Meanwhile, there is an Elf who has the same problem. He doesn’t like making toys and he just wants to be a dentist so the others shun him and he runs off. One thing leads to another and the two of them team up with an experienced gold digger to help save Christmas.

Not everyone shuns Rudolph as one of the does by the name of Clarice tries to be his friend. The special definitely has more romance in this plot than most of the other Christmas specials. The actual subplot isn’t great, but it does help us get to the big battle with the Snowman so it was all ultimately worth the effort. Clarice is definitely more of a likable character than most of the other reindeer as they were all pretty unreasonable with Rudolph.

As for Rudolph, he’s a nice little guy, but he’s not quite as likable as Frosty or dare I say Jack Frost? I probably agree with his decision to leave and save his friends since they were all in a tricky spot, but I think he probably overreacted when Clarice complimented him. That’s not going to help his image with the rest of the reindeer although he was definitely the best flier there. He can get pretty defensive about his nose and it’s a good thing that he found Hermey when he did or it could have been all over for him. At least he got a good hit in on the Snowman.

The Abominable Snowman is a pretty intense Kaiju and I have to say that it definitely does look like some of the old Gamera monsters. It seems to be reasonably tough and it was able to climb its way back to the surface after it fell into the cold depths of the ocean. That takes a lot of guts and it seems to move pretty quickly. It was overwhelming a team of reindeer and that’s no small feat.

Santa’s portrayal is very interesting since he’s very mean throughout the whole film and they never try to make us forgive him. He ends the film in just as bad a mood as he was in during the beginning. It’s intriguing to say the least and I think that the writers may not have even realized this as they were writing the script. He insults the Elf’s song, He does care about the fate of Rudolph’s parents except for his sleigh, etc. Santa Claus really tries to put a damper on things and he makes sure that Rudolph never gets to feel good.

The soundtrack is pretty solid and we get a lot of good songs. Many of them are classic like “Silver and Gold” and naturally…”Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” They’re run to listen too and the music is one of the reasons why the special is so fun. The stop motion has never been my favorite technique, but it works well enough. It definitely has a certain unique feel to it and I suppose that it’s pretty iconic for Rudolph at this point.

One of the better subplots in the film is the meanwhile with the Narrator. He’s a talking Snowman like Frosty and he’s the kind of guy that you can sympathize with. He is telling us Rudolph’s story with such detail that even he gets scared by what he remembers. It’s pretty intense to say the least. He’s probably one of the more likable narrators that I’ve seen in the Christmas specials so far.

As for the rest of the cast, they’re pretty unlikable. They are all pretty unfair to Rudolph about his nose and we never get a real reason about why they act so discriminating against Rudolph because of it. Why don’t they like red noses? There is probably something related to a past tragedy with the nose, but it’s still pretty sad to see. The parents getting into it was also pretty overdone since you would expect them to stand up for Rudolph. It’s pretty depressing until he finally leaves to make a name for himself. Of course, that is why the bravery of Rudolph is so revered.

Overall, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is a pretty solid Christmas special. It’s not quite as intense as some of the other ones and while it has aged pretty well, the romance does drag it down to an extent. Not because of the fact that it is romance per say, but the way that it’s handled can be a little tough to watch. Rudolph just doesn’t handle the whole thing very well. The soundtrack is very good and it’s nice to actually have a mean Santa Claus for once. It’s a pretty big change from the norm and that’s always good. Rudolph is a pretty emotional film that I definitely recommend for the New Year. It has some good themes and it reminds you to know that giant monsters prefer pig meat to deer meat. In case you are ever in a pinch this could help you out! (There is also an action scene in the climax for all you Shonen Jump readers)

Overall 6/10

The Year Without a Santa Claus Review

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Time for a Christmas special about Santa and we already saw that the last one didn’t fare quite as well as the average special. Unfortunately, that continues as The Year Without a Santa Claus may have ended up being the least interesting Christmas Special to date. Perhaps Santa Claus just isn’t cut out to be the main character of a film. It could also just be a bad roll of the dice and then he can get em all next year.

Well, the plot is pretty self explanatory from the title. Santa is feeling tired and sick this year. His doctor lets him know that nobody cares about Santa or Christmas anymore and Santa quickly buys this story. He decides to take a day off and his two elves are sad about it. Ms. Claus thinks about being Santa herself, but ultimately decides not to do it. Her Elves must now find some Christmas spirit in South Town to show Santa that there is still hope. One thing leads to another and one of Santa’s reindeer is placed at the pound. Can the Elves make it snow in Southtown so that the Mayor can believe them and free the Reindeer? It’ll be a pretty dicey challenge for the heroes.

Well, the biggest problem with the film is that it’s simply uninteresting. Santa isn’t really the main character since he’s taking a break so the two elves…I guess I’ll just say their names, Jingle and Jangle must team up with Ms. Claus to be the main characters. They mean well, but they are definitely not main character material. Jingle and Jangle making mistakes and one of them beating up the other one gets old very quickly and Ms. Claus is a nice person, but her type of character isn’t great for the lead. She’s the nice old lady that everyone is actually afraid of and I’ll admit that I’ve never been a fan of this kind of character. It’s decent comic relief I suppose, but the film can certainly do better.

Things get a bit better once Snow Miser and his brother Heat Miser show up. First we have to listen to their songs of course and then we get to see a display of their abilities. I think it’s safe to say that Heat Miser would probably win in a fight, but Snow Miser is a lot more reasonable and he is definitely the better character. This guy doesn’t miss a beat and he’s always ready to throw a little snow your way. These two added a supernatural effect to the special and then we got to meet their boss.

Once again, the film tripped a little in how it handled the situation. Mother Nature was a being that scared even Ms. Claus and everyone talked about how tough and vicious she was. Then…she’s actually a really nice lady who scares the two Misers. It was not entirely unexpected, but it was still not a great twist and you’ll probably wince a few times. “This can’t be happening” is something that you might say as she forces the Misers to compromise.

Even the ending is rather odd as the moral is that the kids decide to give Santa his own holiday so he can rest. It’s all going well until one kid can’t hold her feelings back any longer and guilt trips Santa by letting him know that her Christmas is going to be terrible without him. The other kids start to cry too until they finally force Santa to don his old costume and take up the tradition once more. The holiday is cancelled and you wonder what the point of it all was. What just happened here?

The film certainly made me drowzy as it powered through all of the tropes imaginable. At least the Reindeer got a happy ending since everyone else wasn’t doing very well at the time. I will admit that the Mayor was a pretty great character since he mocked the heroes until the bitter end. He even danced with a little kid to show just how tough he was when he let the elves know that he wouldn’t release the Reindeer. He’s just that kind of guy, he’d rather let the animal stay at the pound than find him an owner. It’s the kind of thing that could definitely make him unlikable, but I like to think that this is a nice pound where the animals are cared for.

Overall, This film was a bit of a miss compared to the other Christmas specials. There is no sense of wonder or amazement here. You can’t even really call it a cheerful/happy film. Santa definitely doesn’t look good here and the film never really knew where it wanted to go with the plot. Ms. Claus’ decision to abandon her Santa adventure was so sudden that you know a last second script re write must have happened. If only the characters had been more interesting, the film could have had some hope. I can’t recommend this film and you should watch A Charlie Brown Christmas instead.

Overall 4/10

Jack Frost Review

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You didn’t think that the Christmas specials were over yet did you? No, it’s time to see what Jack Frost can do as he plays the main character of this film. It’s probably his most heroic portrayal yet and unfortunately this means that it’s probably going to be a heartbreaker. Let’s just say that it’s the saddest Christmas film I’ve seen since Jingle All The Way although both films try to throw you a curve ball with a sudden happy twist. I can’t say that it works, but it’s a fairly unique approach.

Jack Frost was making the world cold for Winter as per usual when he decides that he wants to be a human. Father Winter warns him that this may not be a good idea, but Frost won’t take no for an answer. The proposition that is given to him is one that is unfair and dangerous…just the kind of challenge that Jack Frost was looking for! He is to find his partner, a house, a bag of gold, and a tough horse before Winter ends. To do this, he will have to liberate the city that has been overtaken by a dictator. The old man is outnumbered a few dozen to one, but he does have 1000 metal soldiers who do his bidding so this may be a little tougher than expected.

This Christmas special probably had more action than all of the others put together. I was surprised at how intense the villain was. His name is Mr. Kraus and he is one of the better villains. He likes talking to himself via a metal sock puppet and this helps him get through his lonely days. He is all alone after all since his minions all ran away except for the empty, metal soldiers. That’s for good reason of course since he steals all of the money from the townsfolk and he never lets them live in peace. He was interesting even if he was no match for the Prince.

Elsa Elisa is the main heroine and she gives Jack Frost hope during his ghost days. That being said, she had made it clear that she wouldn’t be free anymore once a knight in shining armor appeared. She just didn’t expect that such a figure would come back so quickly for Christmas. She gets kidnapped at one point, but she puts up a decent struggle (Off screen of course) and we all knew that she was safe with the knight. She may not have made the choice that Jack Frost was hoping for, but it was a pretty decent choice nonetheless.

The knight is a pretty good character and the film resisted the temptation to make him a mean guy for no reason. He just wanted what was best for Elisa and he never strayed from his path. He can also fight and that is a big plus. The film has one action scene and it naturally involves him. He brutally slices his way through the army of robots and saves Elisa at the expense of his health. It’s easy to root for the guy and he also ignored Jack Frost’s insults because he is above such things. It’s safe to say that Superman’s later incarnations may have been inspired from this guy…it’s conceivable anyway.

As for good ole Jack Frost, he is a pretty great character. Unfortunately, his bark is much worse than his bite. He talks a good game right from the start about how he’s going to crush Mr. Kraus and steal back the gold, but then he can’t even climb up the hill. It’s probably the most humiliating moment that I’ve seen for a protagonist since Goku got hurt by Uub’s kick!! (And that’s saying something) Jack is a nice guy, but he let his emotions get the best of him and he didn’t have enough practical training. His deal with the Groundhog was some pretty quick thinking on his part though so he got to end on a high note. Even you (meaning all of my blog viewers as well as my blog readers) will be shocked at how quickly he gets over the tragic ending of the film.

The animation is a little sharper than some of the other Christmas specials. It uses an intriguing stop motion technique with Barbie dolls for the characters so their cheek bones really stand out, but you get used to it as the film rolls on. The fight scene looked pretty clear and the snow looked good as well. This is what I like to see from my Christmas specials even if the soundtrack was basically nonexistent. We got a song for Mr. Kraus, but it was (intentionally) not very enjoyable and Jack Frost’s song was only all right. This definitely isn’t Frosty level in the audio department, but it will do.

The film has a bit of a slow beginning unless you’re a big fan of Pardon Me Pete. Every film has a cartoon narrator or at least they did back in the day so it makes sense that he would be here. He’s not bad, but his eyes make him look a little sinister and you’re always waiting for him to finish his sentences so that the actual film can begin. He’s probably the smartest character in the film though so you definitely don’t want to underestimate him. His plan was pretty foolproof after all. The part of the intro that I found a little more uneventful though was probably when the film decided to introduce all of the characters. It was basically a parody since most of their names were basically what you would expect. Still, it was certainly intriguing.

Finally, there was one part of the ending that will make you wonder. Jack Frost is a ghost so he can’t have fun with the people…but we find out that he can have contact with them. They feel it when he touches them and he can turn into a solid, shadow creature to scare people. He seems to be pretty solid like that so why did he really need to become a human in the first place. “What is Love” may be a song that tries to clear this up, but I’m not buying it. I think that the writers may have jumped the gun by giving him such incredible powers during the ending. Ah well, what’s a plot “hole” or two. (The film did have a lot of good puns inside of it though so I give it bonus points for the writing)

Overall, You’ve probably heard of films that will leave you in tears before. Chances are that the people you heard were talking about this film. Technically, the ending isn’t played up to be a tear jerker, but if you really think about what just happened…it’s quite sad. It’s the kind of thing that just wasn’t thought about a whole lot back then, but it would be now. This was easily one of the more enjoyable Christmas specials even if it had a pretty slow start. It was more action packed and exciting than I had expected and I definitely recommend checking this one out for Christmas New Year’s Eve. It’s under an hour so you definitely can’t go wrong there. Haven’t you ever wanted to see Jack Frost play the lead? No worries, Frosty and Rudolph get cameos….heh heh heh.

Overall 7/10

A Charlie Brown Christmas Review

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Charlie Brown is a series that has always been pretty emotional and fun. They’ve adapted several holidays and now I got to see their Christmas special. It’s very well done and the true meaning of Christmas is not lost here. This is definitely a good film to see on Christmas or any other time as a refresher.

Charlie Brown is feeling pretty depressed even though it’s Christmas. It’s hard to blame him since all of his friends speak in monotone, but then we realize that it’s something deeper than that. His friends don’t really understand since they’re having fun getting ready for the play. Charlie Brown manages to become the director and now it’s up to him to get everyone to realize what the true meaning of Christmas is. The only problem is that he has also forgotten so one of the other kids shall have to enlighten him.

A Charlie Brown Christmas does a good job of breaking the 4th wall or at least being a social homage to how Christmas is celebrated nowadays. Snoopy is the classy next door neighbor who is always winning Christmas Celebrations, Being in the cool crowd, and basically getting to do just about everything that he wants to do. Charlie Brown is the well natured guy who likes to think about things a lot and he doesn’t care for how we have commercialized the holiday. It’s a fun contrast and I’m sure that we have all enjoyed getting presents and simply having as much of a blast as we could.

Just look at me…DReager1. I basically spent all Christmas playing video games and watching TV. It is a day to relax and just have a blast. That’s certainly okay as long as you still remember why we celebrate Christmas and giving God time as well. Christmas originated because it was the day when Jesus Christ was born and that is still one of the most monumental moments in history. It’s an event that shall never lose its importance and that is why we celebrate Christmas every year. The world may try to have you forget this by writing xmas and saying Happy Holidays, but we shall never forget what a special day it is. I was in a pretty uneventful part of 2 Chronicles at the time, but lucky Christmas gives me a reason to quickly jump into the New Testament to read how it all started. I definitely recommend doing that every Christmas and you can alternate between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John since this is naturally portrayed with varying levels of detail depending how you read it. I believe that Luke’s account is probably the best, but I will be able to say that more confidently once I am actually up to those books and have read them completely.

This Christmas special is fairly short as it’s only about 35-40 minutes, but it’s certainly a nice experience. There isn’t really a soundtrack here so some of the scenes can be eerily quiet, but it draws more attention to the lines. I still think that everyone sounds rather emotionless and monotone, but that helps the effect that Hollywood/Society has brainwashed them into enjoying Christmas for the presents. Snoopy is naturally the most likable character in the film and you can almost start to believe that he was trying to let Charlie know about the true meaning of Christmas by being such an exaggerated character. It’s a bit of a stretch, but would Snoopy really laugh at Charlie like that? I mostly just know him from screenshots of the PSP game and pictures though so I can’t really comment on if this is his usual personality or not.

As for Charlie Brown himself…well, he would certainly be an interesting friend to have. It’s good that he’s so thoughtful, but I can’t say that I liked him as the director. He wasn’t very patient with the other kids and his demands were pretty unreasonable. It’s no surprise that they answered in kind and basically tried to humiliate him at every point. You feel bad for Charlie Brown, but he could have handled the situation a little better. An example of this is when he chose the small tree. The friend warned him that the others wouldn’t like it, but Charlie didn’t care. He thought that it was the right tree for the job. Sure enough, the tree was brought in and everyone laughed. Charlie should have just explained why it was the right tree, but instead he just agreed with them and fell back into the sadness.

The animation is pretty solid. It’s old of course, but the animation isn’t hard to look at. I don’t really care for the dust kid’s gimmick though since it’s certainly a bit much and I feel bad for the kids around him. Aside from that, everyone looks pretty true to form and you couldn’t ask for much more. It’s fitting for the Christmas special and the tree at the end looks good.

In the future, it would be fun for Snoopy to get some more screen time since he basically stole the show. He’s basically the symbol of the series at this point and you look forward to all of his scenes. Most of the friends were pretty unlikable, but the main one who made Charlie the director was pretty good. At least she was giving him a chance and her professional help did wonders for good ole Charlie. It only cost him a quarter so that was definitely a bargain.

Overall, it’s hard to see a Christmas special like this coming out nowadays. This one doesn’t mince words or beat around the bush. One of the kids clearly tells Charlie about the true origin of Christmas and it’s pretty great to see. This is a film that we can definitely be proud of and I would definitely recommend this title to anyone for Christmas. It’ll be just as relevant in 50 years as it is today since the truth never changes. I recommend this to all of my blog readers, prepare for an enlightening experience!

Overall 8/10

Frosty Returns Review

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Frosty Returns is the Frosty film that I have certainly seen the most. As a kid, I watched this title several times and it was always a pretty fun experience. I was too young to fully appreciate the historical significance of Frosty returning, but that didn’t stop me from rooting for him to take out Mr. Twitchell! Unfortunately, this film doesn’t take place during Christmas as it’s just the good ole Winter.

You can certainly tell that Frosty Returns is pretty modern compared to the two other Frosty titles. The animation is a lot sharper as every scene seamlessly transitions to the next one. The audio is clearer and the character personalities are pretty different from what you may have expected. This can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Frosty is no longer the extremely nice guy that he had been. He’s still nice of course, but now he has his witty remarks and quick comebacks to defend himself. It’s all in good fun of course, but you can’t imagine the old Frosty giving out pop culture references and singing in opera styled music right? This Frosty is certainly more street smart and he’s not going to be pushed around by anyone. He’s definitely a pretty solid lead and I just wish that he could have taken on Mr. Twitchell.

Mr. Twitchell is the big villain of this special and he resists the hero transformation for a little longer than the other villains. He wants to destroy all of the snow in the world so that he can be rich and famous. He has an invention that will do just the trick so he just needs everyone to buy it. He’s having a lot of success with this until Holly and the other kids get wind of what he is doing. It quickly becomes a battle of wits and that’s when you know that Mr. Twitchell probably doesn’t stand a chance. He’s a little more extreme than the other villains as he actually sends someone plummeting down a trap hole when she refuses to abide by his plans. He even gets his own song, which doesn’t sound very good and the music doesn’t match the lyrics, but that just adds to the effect right? He’s a pretty decent villain although you know that he’s basically doomed from the start.

Holly is the main character and she’s a pretty decent lead. She’s not really a team player like the lead from the first two films and she just wants to become a really good magician. Luckily, she has a friend by the name of Charles who comes over to help her with the act. One thing leads to another and Holly finds out that she is the only one who can save Frosty from his imminent destruction. Unfortunately, she tends to freeze up when she is talking to a figure of authority so she is going to have to quickly get over this in order to win.

Charles is a pretty nice character even if he isn’t a great singer. I think that he is one of those kids who definitely acts a lot smarter than he really is, but he definitely provides a crucial role in keeping Frosty alive. When Frosty was too slow to dodge the anti snow guns, it was up to Charles to use his quick thinking abilities to think of a way out. From there, he mostly just watched as things went all according to his plan.

The Narrator for this film is more interesting than the one in the last two mostly thanks to the animation. His eyes make him seem very tricky…almost sinister despite the happy lines that he is uttering. He is always sipping his hot cocoa and he seems to have a handle on things. He does tend to get blown away by the elements and by creatures who are bigger than him, but he never loses sight of his goals and he keeps trying to fill in the audience on what is happening even when he may be risking his life. This is a pretty solid announcer to say the least!

The film also decides to allot a little time to the parents and teachers this time as we see that none of them like the snow. It’s pretty interesting since that’s basically how things go in the real world as well. For every adult you meet that likes snow you’ll meet at least 20 who do not. Even most of the younger generation don’t really care for snow anymore. I blame it on the fact that the world isn’t as innocent as it used to be. Now, we think of car accidents and people losing their electricity when snow falls instead of snowmen and snowball fights. In a way, it feels selfish to want snow nowadays, but I still enjoy it when it is here. It certainly causes negative consequences along with positive ones, but you have to take the good with the bad. I won’t ask for snow, but when it comes you can bet that I’ll be the first one out there to tackle it!

The main reason why Frosty Returns is so enjoyable is that it’s just a fun film to watch. It’s simply enjoyable to look at the snow and listen to the songs. The film only has positive messages to offer and none of the characters are truly bad. It’s the kind of film that you can watch at any time on any day and you’ll still enjoy it. It’s short duration may help in this regard or an extra half an hour would make it even better. It’s hard to tell and it’ll probably just end up being one of life’s mysteries.

Overall, Frosty Returns is a pretty fun special. It’s not quite Christmas themed like the first film, but I like snow as well. While it does lose to the original, it certainly beats Frosty’s Winter Wonderland by a long shote. Mr. Twitchell makes for a pretty sinister villain and he’s the type of character that you want as a villain when you’re a little kid. Frosty The Snowman has grown up with the world and while he is still a nice guy, he can fight if need be. You may be disappointed in most of the kids since they betray the snow after a single day, but you can argue that they were just pawns in the great scheme of things. The soundtrack is pretty good and the animation is the best that I’ve seen for this iconic snowman. I definitely recommend checking this special out and it’s under 30 minutes so you really can’t go wrong there. You’d have time to watch this while eating breakfast!

Overall 7/10

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town Review

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This is one of those old Christmas stories that didn’t become quite as legendary as Rudolph or Frosty. It’s still big enough that you will likely have heard of it though and who doesn’t want to learn about Santa’s origin story? I don’t think that it holds up quite as well as the others though and Santa just isn’t as much of an endearing lead as he could have been. Still, the film is a little more serious than the others and the stakes are much higher than usual.

A nice guy by the name of Mr. Kluger is getting ready to deliver some gifts when he realizes that a lot of children are asking questions about Santa Claus. Since he is the resident expert on the subject he decided to take some time out of his busy schedule to humor them. He tells them the story of Santa’s origin. Santa was left at the doorstep of some nice dwarves and they decided to call him Kris Kringle. They liked to make presents, but they could never deliver them because of a sinister Warlock who lived in the mountains. Time went by and Santa grew up enough so that he could defeat the Warlock. He set off, but little did he know that the true threat was waiting to pounce!

It’s a pretty cool plot on paper and it’s filled with twists, but it didn’t hold my attention quite the same way that the others did. It’s simply less charming and it’s not filled with wonder and excitement like the others. It may be in part because of the stop motion animation though because that style makes the world seem rather bleak in universe. The snow is not quite as majestic even though you can definitely tell that it is in fact snow. The animation isn’t bad for its time though and it’s not hard to watch, but stop motion is certainly one of my least favorite styles of animation.

Burgermeister is the big villain of the film and would you be shocked if I said that he doesn’t end up turning into a good guy by the end? This guy wasn’t going to fold so easily and you can practically see his sinister nature the instant that you hear his name. I know that Burgers are usually synonymous with excellent, but the meister part is what should make his name ominous. He’s not very powerful…he’s just a normal guy, but he has a lot of influence. As a villain, he’s actually quite good and he’s always munching on something. It keeps him ready for what comes next.

Santa Claus is a nice enough guy. He decides that he is going to get the toys to the kids one way or the other and he sets off on a very dangerous quest from which he knows that there may be no return. It’s the kind of heroism that you may remember from the good ole days. He’s pretty selfless and he lets bygones be bygones with the Warlock in the end. His reasoning for only giving gifts once a year by the end is pretty sound since everyone starts to weaken eventually. He’s a nice guy, but I still stand by my claim that he’s not quite as good as Frosty. He’s simply not as charismatic.

The Winter Warlock is an imposing figure who becomes sympathetic as the film goes on. It all happens so fast that you’ll probably be suspicious of the Warlock for a while, but he ultimately seems genuine. That being said, he doesn’t look very good considering that he has a nice array of magical abilities. By the end, we find out that most of his spells are actually pretty useless in a fight and breaking out of a simple prison is beyond his capabilities. He may have powers, which makes him stronger than most of the other Christmas special villains, but it’s still not saying a whole lot.

Jessica has a twist hear that you will start to realize as the film goes on. She plays the main heroine, which may be a first for the Christmas stories. Frosty’s Winter Wonderland had one, but I’m thinking that the title came after this one anyway. She plays a key role when she reminds the Warlock that he has a lot of magic so he takes out the corn. Otherwise, the heroes had basically given up and they wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Her screen time is a little limited, but everyone’s ultimately was since the film is still pretty short.

I think that one more factor which impacted the film was that Santa Claus wasn’t all powerful here. It’s always fun to see him being portrayed as an invincible being who can do just about anything. If we’re going to make a legend, we may as well make him an invincible one right? Santa should have inherited the powers of previous or future Santas in the climax and materialized some kind of super gift. It may be asking for a lot, but that would have been a good way to end the film on a pretty high note.

Overall, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is a pretty decent film, but it’s one that could have been a little better. Santa Claus just doesn’t draw a crowd the way that his Christmas counterparts do, but it was nice to see how it all began for him. Having a villain with the word “Burger” in his name was pure genius and the Warlock made for a unique villain since most of them didn’t have magic powers back in the day. The special is well over an hour so it won’t take too long to finish it. Considering this, I think it’s probably a good bet to check it out as we are not too far past Christmas, but you could also watch the original Frosty The Snowman as a good alternative. After all, you’ll want to stay frosty during these cold days right?

Overall 5/10

Frosty’s Winter Wonderland Review

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Well, now that I finally got to review the original Frosty The Snowman, it was time to check out the sequel. I’m sure that you are aware of how sequels can rarely challenge the original right? This is one of those cases and the plot is definitely not as engaging as the first. It’s still a good Christmas story, but it has less to do with Christmas and more to do with the cold.

Frosty has been at the North Pole for a very long time now so he finally decides to head back to town to play with the kids. Little does he know that this upsets Jack Frost! Jack Frost feels left out since nobody plays with him anymore and he decides to put a stop to this effective immediately! He plans to steal Frosty’s hat, which will turn him back into a lifeless creature. Will the kids be able to put a stop to this?

This actually sounds like a pretty good plot on the surface, but we quickly find out that the film misses more than a few opportunities. One of the plots that was rather unnecessary was the invention of a Ms Frosty. Frosty got lonely so the kids decided to create a wife for him, but it takes away the uniqueness of Frosty. They also go overboard as they create another guy to also be a Snowman. Also, Frosty no longer needs the hat to survive because he can simply get by on the power of friendship. It’s pretty touching of course, but the hat is why he’s alive and they shouldn’t have changed such a crucial element to his origin.

Jack Frost is probably a better villain than Mr. Hickle since he actually has powers, but he also seems to be a little less intimidating than the former. He just wants friends so you can probably tell where that plot will lead as soon as you see him. After all, Frosty’s a very nice guy so I’m sure that he can straighten this fellow out. It’s good to have someone with powers, but he’s probably not the villain that you were looking for.

Frosty The Snowman is still a pretty great lead, but his naivety goes into borderline parody mode as he welcomes insults. Jack Frost takes some shots at him, but he doesn’t notice and thanks him. Jack Frost also nearly takes down the whole town with his sudden blizzard, but Frosty and Ms. Frosty decide to invite him for the wedding. He may have been trying to destroy it, but that won’t stop Frosty. Frosty lives up to his name since nothing ever seems to ruffle his feathers. The only time where he drops this front is when he lets the kids know how lonely he is.

The animation is about as good as the first one although they decided to switch a lot of the character designs for some reason. It also helps to try and trick the audience at first as Frosty’s eyes are red, but then we quickly learn that he is a fake. The soundtrack is certainly a little more bland and we don’t get the cheery Christmas songs that you may have been looking forward too. Beyond that, there are many nods to the first film like the Police Man who was shocked the first time. I think he shouldn’t have been shocked here so that wasn’t a very believable scene, but it’s good to see him come back I suppose.

The narrator still seems to be the wisest character in the series and he’s always ready for the change in seasons. The action scenes are probably more intense than the first film’s although you can barely call them “action” scenes. The film is still pretty fun and enjoyable while you’re watching it, but the Ms. Frosty parts do tend to drag a little. Frosty didn’t need a match and that’s the part that I find a little hard to get over. She’s not a bad character at all. Maybe a little generic, but that’s to be expected. I just would have preferred if she was a childhood friend of Frosty’s or something.

Overall, Frosty’s Winter Wonderland is about what you would expect from a sequel. It’s decent and Frosty’s still a pretty good character, but it lacks most of the charm and wit that the first film had. This one is simply a pale shadow from that title and Santa Clause doesn’t even get to appear. The animation is still good enough, but the soundtrack might be a little worse. It’s a bit of a stretch to recommend this film, but it’s very short at around 30 minutes so it can’t hurt that much and you’ll get to see Frosty again. That may be a good enough deal right?

Overall 5/10

Batman Mask of the Phantasm Review

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It’s time for one of the first great Batman films to finally be reviewed and Mask of the Phantasm was certainly a film that turned the tides for animated superhero films as we know them. This film was in the same continuity as the 90’s Batman TV show so that was definitely a draw for many since it was known as the definitive version of Batman. I can’t argue there and seeing him on the big screen was probably a lot of fun. This is a pretty solid film that also contains the Joker so expectations were certainly high coming into it. I’ve seen it several times at this point and it’s always been one of the better Batman films.

Batman is framed by a new vigilante in Gotham, but this new figure is willing to cross the line. He has already vanquished several members of a mob and he intends to finish off the last survivors. Batman won’t have this and he decides that he’s going to have to take this Phantasm down. Will Batman really have what it takes to pull off such a feat? The film also deals with Batman’s meeting with a lady named Andrea. She has something to do with his past and now she has returned after 10 years…what’s her angle!? The Joker also decides to show himself towards the second half of the film so he adds to the intrigue.

Mask of the Phantasm certainly delivers on the animation front as Batman’s cloak looks very crisp and modern. You would think that this was a high budget episode of Justice League and that’s what I expect from a theatrical film. I think that the beginning of the film certainly got the most attention as it looks considerably better than the rest of the film, but the whole thing still looks really good. For a film, it also makes sense to trow most of your budget into the opening to really hook people in as opposed to a show where you want to put some budget into the beginning, but then you’ll want to save a lot of it for the climax. A good indicator of how good the animation looks here is to look at Batman’s design. The way that they design his cape and cowl are pretty good indicators of if the animation is good or great. Mask of the Phantasm is definitely on the latter side of that.

This film’s soundtrack uses a few tunes from the TV show while also inventing a new theme that plays during the intro and ending. It’s an operatic piece that works pretty well with Batman since it lets you know that something serious is about to happen. It’s more fitting with the ending than the beginning since it highlights a key decision that has now been made. It’s rather dramatic and it works well. You definitely won’t doubt that this is a theater film while you’re listening to the soundtrack.

Batman looks pretty good for the most part although I certainly have some qualms with his portrayal here. It naturally revolves around his scenes with Andrea. Many of the events with them take place 10 years earlier during Batman’s first adventures as a crime fighter. She arrived and he started to consider hanging up the mantle before he had even begun so that he could lead a normal life. It’s not the “I am the night. I am vengeance. I am Batman!!!” character that I remember, but this was fairly early on in his career so I could cut him a tiny bit of slack. Now, what I can’t simply overlook is that 10 years later Batman is once again in shambles because Andrea has returned.

No matter how close they were, there’s no way that anything would cause Batman to hesitate at this point. He’s already decided that being Batman is something that he’s going to do until he’s physically unable to handle the job anymore. He definitely wouldn’t consider stopping now for any reason. So, that subplot was definitely a pretty big stretch and it was a little sad how his secret identity was found out so easily. I don’t think he would typically make the mistake of standing in front of the Wayne’s grave or at least being caught doing so. He just didn’t look too good there and I have warned films about the possible traps involved where romance is concerned. I think it did hurt his portrayal here.

That aside, Batman tended to look pretty good in the fight scenes. It’s safe to say that he had the edge against the Phantasm and he took out the Joker with sufficient strength and finesse. It was only close because Joker had the home field advantage and I can live with that. He is still a tough villain after all so a close fight is to be expected. Batman put together the clues for the mysteries pretty quickly here and he also put Alfred in his place when he started to go a little too far. This is definitely the Batman that I am used too and it will be tough for any continuity to ever surpass the DCAU version of Batman.

The Phantasm is a pretty intense villain. I naturally won’t disclose his secret identity even though the film is so old because spoilers must be protected through thin and thin. So, naturally these lines just pertain to when he is in costume. He’s a pretty intense villain and he seems to show no fear as he hunts down gang boss after gang boss. He is equipped with a pretty sharp gauntlet that can cut through guns without effort and he is quite adept at moving through smoke. I think that some of his feats are certainly a little exaggerated since there is no possible way (Barring supernatural powers) that he can accomplish them. One example is where he throws a smoke bomb and Batman immediately grabs at him, but the Phantasm is gone. It’s pretty spooky, but a little hard to buy.

Andrea is one of the new characters for this film and she’s pretty decent although it can be tough for Batman fans since we don’t like to see him give up like this. Unfortunately, Andrea is in a pretty tricky situation since her father got involved with gangsters so now their lives are in jeopardy. That’s why she ended up leaving Batman 10 years ago and then she returns for this film. She seems nice enough, but also a little too easy and the whole affair with Batman happened way too quickly. Naturally, both of them are to blame for this, but also allowing the flirting by Reeves was a bit much on her part. I probably prefer some of the original characters from the final film in the Batman DCAU trilogy, but Andrea certainly could have been worse. At it stands, Andrea didn’t make the film lose any stars. (A star probably could have been gained without her subplot though)

Joker appears to give the film some star power on the villain front. Admittedly, the film probably wouldn’t have been quite as exciting without him. A super villain is always appreciated and you feel pretty confident that he will be able to stand up to the Phantasm. He is the Joker after all and he’s always prepared for every eventuality. His home base is pretty cool and he’s just a very charismatic character. I always did like him in the DCAU even if he’s not my favorite villain in most of the other forms of media. His fans will certainly be pleased with his portrayal here and he is seen as a pretty big threat from the get go.

Arthur Reeves is one of those guys who likes to be at the top of the Anti Batman game. He appears on TV constantly to remind people that Batman is a menace and you would almost think that he was Harvey Dent at first. It makes you wonder how this guy always manages to get on TV, but he is a politician. Let’s just say that all original characters tend to have something to do with the plot so he’s entangled in the past full of mysteries in this film. He’s definitely not a good character and I wouldn’t have minded if he hadn’t been in it. I guess we do need more villains though and he beats some of the sub villains. He just brings shame to the Arthur name! If it helps….he does have the courage to laugh at the Batman!

You may wonder about a certain figure on a boat as the film ends and what it all means. Well, I like to think that the figure threw another figure away as a certain explosion hit and quickly escaped, which is how the figure is here. That also explains why the other figure continues to appear in future media in this continuity. I think it makes sense, but it also undermines one character’s big moment at the ending. Ah well, at least it means that the character resisted from crossing the line one last time…even if it was accidental. This may sound vague, but you’ll know what I’m talking about as you watch the film.

One scene that may make you wince is when Batman takes on the cops. Typically, that is an easy feat for Batman, but they were probably trying to make it a little more realistic for the casual moviegoers so Batman actually doesn’t look good. We’ve seen him take on a planet full of enemies in the past so no true Batman fan will really be able to buy the scene. It’s also sad since Batman ultimately has to be saved. I think it would have been more appropriate for Alfred to have saved Batman since it would have left the crimefighter with more dignity. As the scene stood, it was a pretty sad moment for the Dark Knight. It also makes Bullock look worse than usual since he just shot someone who has been helping him out since day one. That’s definitely what I call being not grateful to someone.

The main plot is a lot more interesting than the flashbacks, but I did enjoy this rendition of Batman’s origin. It was fun to see his first fights against the hoodlums of Gotham. I just think that it would have been even more fun without the romance in Andrea’s subplot. This film definitely has a lot of romance in it and it’s interesting that the other two Batman films have romance plots involved in some way. It may help the general audience I suppose since they expect that, but you can certainly do a good Batman film without such a subplot. After all…what would the fans have to say about all of this? Batman is the solitary Dark Knight…end of story.

Overall, Batman Mask of the Phantasm is a pretty good way to start off the classic Batman trilogy of animated films in the DCAU continuity. The soundtrack is pretty good and the animation is superb. It tops several of the DC films that have come out in the last few years and that’s no small feat. Batman’s portrayal is hardly perfect, but he still looks smart and tough, which is good. The Phantasm makes for a nice villain and the Joker’s certainly a classic villain to use. The opening action scene is pretty great and you really feel the blows. The film may only be a little over an hour, but there are a lot of danger/combat scenes to help make up for that and the action never get boring. I definitely recommend checking this film out whether you’ve watched the TV show or not. It’s good as a stand alone Batman film no matter how much experience with Batman you have. Even if you’ve never heard of Batman before, (Is that even possible?) this is a pretty good place to start.

Overall 7/10