lavapasta-vids

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How Animation Errors Enhance A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

At the time of its original broadcast in 1965, network executives and animators alike were expecting ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ to fail due to its rushed production schedule and poor animation quality, but instead, it became a beloved holiday classic, and the secret to that success may very well lie in the errors themselves, because the worse ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ looks, the more it resonates with its thematic, unifying idea.

#charlie brown #a charlie brown christmas #peanuts #charles schulz #holiday special

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My Ben 10 redesigns, concept storyboards, and reboot ideas masterpost 

as seen in https://youtu.be/19MpY8dVvwk

1. Ben Tennyson shouldn’t just grow over the course of each episode, he should grow over the course of the entire series. Here’s a chart of loose ideas I made to organize them & keep them from contradicting each other. If Avatar: The Last Airbender can do character arcs over the course of multiple seasons, then we can, too. 

2. Ben Tennyson’s villains should be darker reflections of Ben’s own flaws and weaknesses. It is by recognizing these similarities that allows Ben to break free of them and become a better person. 

Albedo is a fun example of this because he’s literally Ben’s doppelganger, not unlike Shadow the hedgehog from the Sonic franchise.

regardless of who the episode’s villain is, we can always write parallels between them and Ben. Want to make a Zombozo episode? Make it about Ben making fun of Gwen’s phobias until Zombozo triggers Ben’s phobia of clowns, where Ben learns that scaring people isn't so fun once you know what it’s like to be scared. 

3. The central emotion behind all of Ben’s growth should be empathy. The Omnitrix gives him the power to transform into a completely different alien species and view the universe from its eyes, which should lead to Ben seeing himself more in other people and thus becoming a kinder, more understanding person. He becomes a superhero not by simply having power, but by empathizing with people enough to rescue them. 

Tetrax Shard and Ben teaming up.

Ben comforts Manny/an original tetramand character

It is the Omnitrix that helps Ben develop his empathy, to the point that he sees himself in aliens that he has previously transformed into. It is the Omnitrix that forces Ben to realize that there is more to the universe than just him.

My ideal Ben 10 pilot would involve Ben spending the last day of school being a witness to bullying, but fantasize himself as a superhero instead of meaningfully intervening, needing to be told by Grandpa that superheroes are supposed to be about rescuing people (in the same vein as Kid Cosmic), Ben experiencing the realities of superpowers by almost burning down their campground as Heatblast, and fighting Vilgax’s robots as Feedback, followed by saving people as Feedback once everything finally starts to click for him.

If there is a story arc centered on Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix, it should end with Ben realizing that he should return it to its creator, but because Azmuth can see that his intentions for the Omnitrix have been fulfilled via Ben’s developed empathy, he allows Ben to keep it. 

My Ben 10 OC: Cursebreaker, Since Charmcaster is Gwen’s nemesis, Charmcaster could have a little brother who can act as Ben’s magic-based nemesis, who can reflect Ben’s rambunctious id as well as his rivalry with his older sister figure. Ben & Gwen may be cousins, but their similarities to Charmcaster & Cursebreaker can show us that they're more like siblings. 

Ben’s new anti-alien rhetoric deeply disturbs Grandpa.

An early episode of the series could involve Ben watching so many alien invasion movies that he starts to develop prejudices against all aliens whatsoever, but when Ben gets captured by alien ICE while transformed into Fourarms and sent to alien prison, he learns that viewing aliens as evil invaders can be dehumanizing and helps free all the other alien prisoners once Grandpa arrives to rescue him.

If we’re going to bring back the Plumbers, the super-secret police force that Grandpa Max used to be part of, my choice would be to make them corrupt and evil, signified by their re-branding into ‘the Rooters’ and led by a villainous eyepatch-wearing Phil Billings. 

This change in writing would not only prevent the heroes from having a giant safety net to help them with their problems, it would give Grandpa a character arc where he has to confront his own blindness and work to dismantle the system he helped create. 

I would write Kevin Levin to have a character arc where he goes from being a villain to an antihero, complete with his own ‘Zuko Alone’-style episode, to becoming a member of the main protagonists in the final season, because what Kevin really wants isn’t revenge against Ben, it’s to become friends with him again.

Eon, the evil version of Ben Tennyson from an alternate future, should receive his own episode/arc in which a future Gwen time travels to prevent present-day Ben from becoming an evil tyrant who rules the world (in the same vein as Kamen Rider Zi-O or Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time). Either Eon has alternate selves he can summon, or can use the Omnitrix’s “command mode” to allow the Omnitrix aliens to fight on his behalf. Perhaps future Gwen believes that this is the catalyst for Ben’s villainy?

When it seems that all is lost, it is Ben’s adult self Ben 10,000 who appears to save the day, stop Eon, and give our Ben a pep talk to restore his confidence, because the episode/arc was secretly a Ben 10,000 episode all along. Notice that the Omnitrix is on his belt instead of his wrist- maybe Ben actively takes off the Omnitrix to stop Eon’s future from taking hold, and this is what allows Ben 10,000 to exist? In any case, I want it to be a decision that our Ben actively makes that stops Eon, and the appearance of Ben 10.000 is the victory lap.

Alien X, the all-powerful alien form introduced in the sequel series, deserves to play an actual role in the story of Ben’s growth as a character, and the perfect time to introduce him is when Ben is still selfish, bratty 10-year old. Instead of being annoying, ineffective know-it-alls that make teenage Ben seem more righteous, Alien X’s additional personalities Bellicus & Serena should be safeguards put in place to keep Alien X’s powers from being abused, antagonists who aren’t villains but still oppose Ben because they (correctly) don’t want him to use Alien X for nefarious purposes.

Bellicus knows about that time you stole ice cream, Ben.

This would force Ben to prove his righteousness and compassion for others in order to use Alien X, giving him a reason to avoid using the transformation without placing blame on Bellicus & Serena. When a world-ending meteor hurtles towards Earth, Ben tries everything he can to stop it and turns to Alien X as a last resort, tears streaming down his face as he tries to convince Bellicus & Serena to help him save his home as well as everyone living on it. Moved by Ben’s emotional breakdown, they oblige him.

Alien X isn’t just an opportunity for Ben to demonstrate his growth as a character, it’s a opportunity to have multiple characters gain a better understanding of each other, where Ben learns that Bellicus & Serena aren’t some strict old fogeys and where they learn that Ben has the potential to become a noble, kind young man.

General miscellaneous ideas:

Ben babysits the Incursean Princess Attea and gets a taste of his own rambunctious medicine. 

Kevin has to work with a lovable but dim-witted Argit voiced by Matt Jones (Badger from Breaking Bad, Wedge from Final Fantasy VII Remake)

The Vreedle Brothers are less like rednecks and more like cowboy parodies (Rhomboid being an expy of Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop)

Since the original episode that featured Kai Green, Ben’s biggest crush, ended with her being in the wrong and Gwen telling her off, I want to see a plot where Kai and Ben are dating, but she’s only interested in Ben when he turns into an alien, where Ben needs to see that it’s not a healthy relationship and break up with Kai.

Grandma Verdona and the Anodites deserve to be a running plot point, but instead of Gwen turning into a flying purple space alien, let’s have Ben’s DNA unlock an Anodite alien form (voiced by Tara Strong) for him to turn into. Maybe even have an ep where Ben has to spend a day locked inside a feminine body where he learns that girls don’t have as many ‘cooties’ as he thinks.

Where the original series had a Gwen 10 au episode, I propose a Ben 10 x Gwen 10 multiverse crossover. What happens when our Gwen gets captured and Ben has to work with somebody who can use the Omnitrix better than he can?

Grandpa give Ben advice.

Ben stares out at the horizon.

sleeby

Miscellaneous images. 

This is how I would write Ben 10.

#ben 10 #ben 10 redesign #ben 10 rewrite #ben ten #ben 10 fanfiction

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How I Would Write a BEN 10 CARTOON

As someone who has criticized the Ben 10 franchise for its strengths and weaknesses, I felt like it was time that I put myself out there and reveal my ideas for how I would craft my own hypothetical Ben 10 reboot series. With over 70 hand-drawn storyboard concepts and three original hand-drawn animations, this is my most ambitious pitch video yet.

#ben 10 #ben ten #ben tennyson #ben 10 reboot #ben 10 redesign

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Why You Should Watch OVER THE GARDEN WALL

Patrick McHale’s 2014 animated miniseries Over The Garden Wall isn’t just a currently-beloved holiday special, it’s a fantastic experience in western animation and one of the greatest cartoons of the 2010s. Here's why you should watch Over The Garden Wall.

#over the garden wall #patrick mchale #wirt and greg #otgw #video essay

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Here's the original storyboard concept files I drew for my Sym-Bionic Titan Season 2 video! I tried to make the characters look as on-model as I possibly could, but it might seem a little off since this is my first time drawing in this specific art style. Check out “How I Would Write Sym-Bionic Titan SEASON 2″ at https://youtu.be/jFyaiZLI1qc

#Sym-Bionic Titan #sym bionic titan #sym-bionic titan season 2 #symbionic titan #concept storyboards

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How I Would Write Sym-Bionic Titan SEASON 2

Hypothetically, if Genndy Tartakovsky’s Sym-Bionic Titan were to be miraculously renewed for a second season, it shouldn’t focus on the alien protagonists returning to their home planet, it should focus on more aliens coming to planet Earth instead. Here’s a loose, basic idea of how I would write Sym-Bionic Titan Season 2.

#sym-bionic titan #sym bionic titan #genndy tartakovsky #sym-bionic titan season 2 #samurai jack

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Finally Understanding EUREKA SEVEN

I didn’t think much of the 2005 anime series Eureka Seven when I first watched it in November 2014, but having since revisited it over the course of the last summer, I’ve gained a lot more respect for its themes of environmental activism and emotional maturity. This isn’t a giant robot anime about how you can overcome anything if you force your way through it, it’s a giant robot anime about how you can’t fight against nature, a summer anime about learning to look past the surface level of things and consider the feelings of others- because through this mindset, I think I'm finally understanding EUREKA SEVEN. 

#eureka seven #eureka 7 #renton thurston #studio bones #eureka #eureka seven astral ocean #eureka seven ao #eureka seven ao astral ocean #eureka seven hi-evolution #eureka seven hi evolution

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Why You Should Watch GENERATOR REX

Not only is Generator Rex an underrated 2010s cartoon, it also features the most compelling protagonist in a narrative created by the Man of Action writing collective, even compared to that of their classic Ben 10. Here’s Why You Should Watch Generator Rex.

#generator rex #genrex #ben 10 #man of action #rex salazar

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Kid Cosmic- My Favorite Craig McCracken Cartoon

The 2021 Netflix animated series Kid Cosmic isn’t just another cartoon created by Craig McCracken, it’s my favorite of his so far- a beautiful blend of superhero themes, desert highways, surf rock music, and small-town Americana that I can’t help but instantly vibe with. Kid Cosmic is absolutely 100% no doubt my favorite Craig McCracken cartoon. 

#kid cosmic #craig mccracken #kidcosmic #wander over yonder #foster's home for imaginary friends #the powerpuff girls

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Why CLARENCE’s Character Designs are Genuinely Good (HD Remaster)

The 2014 Cartoon Network series Clarence features many character designs that are composed of basic shapes and simple geometry, but instead of being a flaw of the series, it’s one of its biggest strengths- having basic shapes in your anatomy is actually good character design. 

#clarence #cartoon network #character design #character design tutorial #clarence 2014

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Carmen Sandiego is a Hero Now, and it Actually Works

The 2019 Carmen Sandiego Netflix cartoon may not be my favorite animated series of all time, but it is my favorite Carmen Sandiego narrative because it re-interprets the titular character from a villain (her usual role in most entries)... into a heroic protagonist, which actually works because this gives Carmen more screen time, more dramatic beats, and more depth as a character.

#carmen sandiego #carmen sandeigo 2019 #carmen sandeigo netflix #carmen sandeigo season 2 #carmen sandiego season 4

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I Was Wrong About STAR WARS REBELS

While Star Wars Rebels may have been a fun cartoon that I enjoyed in 2015, I’ve come to realize that this series is not as good as I thought it was- many of its unique ideas were discarded in favor of more traditional “Star Wars-y” elements, the protagonist felt like he didn’t have a clear character arc beyond season 1, and I can’t help but feel like its latent themes of a rebellion divided by ethical disagreements, the plight of the common people, or that of a 'grey jedi' could have been utilized to a greater effect by connecting them under a cohesive theme of selflessness vs selfishness.

I think it’s high time for me to walk back the misguided praise I once had for Star Wars Rebels and admit that I was wrong.

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #jedi fallen order #sw rebels

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STAR WARS: Clone Wars + The Clone Wars (HD Remaster)

From the 2003 Genndy Tartakovsky cartoon to the 2008 CGI series, each television adaptation of the Star Wars “Clone Wars” have been individually successful with their own fan followings, but despite their differences and canonical status, the two cartoons are best enjoyed in the context of each other so that you can experience everything that they bring to the table. You shouldn’t just watch one of the other, you should watch both Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars and Dave Filoni’s The Clone Wars. 

#star wars #clone wars #star wars clone wars #ahsoka #star wars the clone wars #genndy tartakovsky

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Bionicle Retrospective: A Guide to Metru Nui | 2004-2005 (HD Remaster)

I wasn’t fully satisfied with the original, so I made an HD Remaster of my old BIONICLE Metru Nui video from 2017 with re-recorded audio, new voiceover content, and better quality video footage in places that needed it. Now you can watch my BIONICLE Retrospective series with an improved, optimized cut of the Metru Nui storyline.

#bionicle #metru nui #toa metru #toa vakama #toa hordika

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My Main Problem With Ben 10: Alien Force

Although I really enjoyed Ben 10: Alien Force while I was growing up, re-watching it made me realize that I’m personally not a fan of how the show doesn’t really focus on Ben Tennyson growing or learning to be a better superhero over the course of the series, instead treating him as though he’s already grown up at the start of the first episode, and despite its attempts to give him flaws during the third season, still doesn’t make his character the focus of the show’s story. It’s not something that makes it ‘The Worst Cartoon in the World’ or anything, it’s just My Main Problem With Ben 10: Alien Force.

#ben 10 uaf #ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben ten #ben ten alien force #ben tennyson

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Why I Actually Like Ben 10: Omniverse (HD Remaster)

Ben 10: Omniverse isn’t just another Ben 10 cartoon, it’s a series that bridges the tonal gap between the 2005 series & its 2008 sequel, creates more narrative foils for its main character, and treats Ben Tennyson like the flawed protagonist he is. Ben 10: Omniverse puts more effort into exploring Ben as a character, and because of that, it might just be my favorite Ben 10 cartoon. 

#ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse #ben tennyson #ben ten #ben ten omniverse

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The Cinematography of Genndy Tartakovsky

If there’s one cartoon creator who deserves a deep dive into the chronological history of their work, it’s Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003), Sym-Bionic Titan, Hotel Transylvania, and Primal. But by looking at ALL of his media in the context of each other, not only do we get to see Tartakovsky’s growth as an artist, we get to see him develop his directorial style into what it is today and understand why he loves the medium of animation. 

"Why I got into animation, personally, was... that I could draw it and I could create a movement that only I could do."

#genndy tartakovsky #samurai jack #dexters laboratory #primal #sym-bionic titan #hotel transylvania #clone wars