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lec743 · 1 year

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Addams Family Fanfic

This fic has the most fandoms in it ever.

The list:

The Addams Family

Danny Phantom

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Hellboy

Transformers

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia

Dreamwork’s Rise of the Guardians

Gargoyles

Jake Long: American Dragon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Steven Universe

Ghost Busters

Casper the Friendly Ghost

(others that I may have forgotten)

I took two years writing this fanfiction and I just kept adding more and more fandoms to it because I thought it was funny having all this stuff in a Addams Family universe. Anyways. (spoilers I guess) I made Hellboy, Danny Phantom, and the Sabrina the Teenage Witch family members of the Addams Family.

AO3

Fanfiction

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CHAPTER ONE: WELCOME

Urbana Des Moines drove up the winding road to her new rented living arrangement. On either side of the road were craggily old trees who’s leaves littered the forest floor, a little odd, considering it was only August. The winding old road was well kept despite it being a gravel road. Eventually, Urbana made it to the front fence of the property, beyond the fancy, gothic fence stood a large, black, Victorian style mansion. Urbana still couldn’t believe how cheep the rent was and was starting to second guess coming here for fear of becoming a “true story” that a horror movie would base on her. Urbana started to get out of her run down blue mini-van when the gothic black gates opened on their own. Yep, totally not creepy.

Not seeing anywhere else to park, Urbana parked near the front door. As she got out, she felt like the two gargoyle statues that sit at the bottom of the stairs to the front door were watching her.

“You two are the most handsomest looking boy’s I’ve ever seen,” Urbana cooed to them as convincingly as she could to the ugly statues. She felt ridiculous but she didn’t feel scared of them anymore.

Urbana walked up the stairs to the black double doors, then picked up a silver knocker that was in the shape of a human skull and knocked three times as loudly as she could. She really hoped she wasn’t going to have to deal with any body snatchers or murderers or anything that’ll want to physically hurt her.

The door creaked open and an eye could be seen through the crack a foot or so above her.

“Uh, Hi. I’m Urbana Des Moines. I’m here about the rented room you guys posted in the paper,” she said.

The eye blinked then as the door opened farther, Urbana could clearly see the six-foot-tall man in a butler suit who looked like a zombie in every way except for the rotting flesh and smell. The giant zombie man motioned for her to come in.

Urbana gave him a nervous smile, “Thank you,” and she walked into the mansion.

The inside was huge, like the outside gave you the impression that it would be huge on the inside, but you’re never really prepared for it despite that. The entryway looked to be two stories tall with three chandeliers lighting the area, giving what could be a gloomy room a soft white glow. There were several items in the immediate area that added to the spooky mansion; furniture engraved with human skeleton parts on them, animal skulls that weren’t just deer heads sat on some of the shelves, there was a painting of a man bleeding out from being repeatedly stabbed in the back hanging on a while right across the door way, and right next to it was a hanging human skeletal structure. The skeleton seemed to be smiling at her, but Urbana couldn’t tell if it was smiling welcomingly or menacingly. On either side of the entryway are two open hallways, one looking like it leads to a living room and other one leading to stairs.

Urbana turned to say something to the butler zombie guy, but the door was already closed, and he was nowhere to be seen.

“How the fuck he do that,” she said.

“Hello!” Shouted a bombastic male voice.

Urbana screamed unintentionally and spun around to be met with a well dress man in a black suit coming from the stairs with the zombie butler close behind.

“Ah, yes, you have a wonderful scream,” the man said, seemingly genuinely.

“Thank you?” Urbana said.

Urbana thought the man looked quite handsome, not as tall as his butler, but still taller than herself. He had a tinny black mustache on his face and his black hair was slicked back with gel.

The man shook her hand vigorously and said, “We’re so glad someone finally decided to take up rent here. We’ve had that ad out for two years now and you’re the first person to come. How soon can you move in?”

Still being shaken, Urbana said, “Rig-right now.”

“Darling, you’re going to shake her hand off,” a calm and collected female voice stated behind the man.

The man turned around and warmly greeted the tall woman by kissing her hand, all the way up her arm, and finally landing one last kiss on her cheek. Then he said, “You look beautiful as always, my love.”

She smiled a hauntingly beautiful smile at the man. Urbana was trying to focus only on the woman’s smile, since the long black dress that she was wearing was lowcut enough to almost reach her bellybutton and it was wide enough to show a lot of inner side boob.

The woman turned to her and said, “Pardon my sweet husband, we rarely get visitors that aren’t family. I am Morticia Addams. This lovely man here is my husband, Gomez, and the man holding your luggage is Lurch.

Confused, Urbana turned around to see that Lurch was indeed holding her two purple suitcases.

Turning back around she said, “Well, I’m Urbana Des Moines—”

“Des Moines,” Morticia questioned.

“Oh, honey,” Gomez said seductively, “That’s French.”

“Oui,” Morticia said then the two kissed passionately.

Urbana averted her eyes and chuckle uncomfortably.

Noticing this Gomez said, “Oh, where are our manners. Let us show you to your room. I’m sure you’ve had a long drive.”

As Urbana followed the couple up the stairs with Lurch following behind, she asked, “So, is it just the three of you here?”

“Oh, no, there’s our children,” Morticia said.

“Pugsley and Wednesday,” Gomez said, naming them off.

“Then there’s my mother,” Morticia continued.

“You’re allowed to call her Grandmama, if you want,” Gomez stated.

“She just loves to cook, so you’ll find her mostly in the kitchen,” Morticia added.

“Then there’s my brother, Fester,” Gomez added.

“He’s quite the charmer, so be careful he doesn’t steal your heart,” Morticia stated.

“Heh, literally or figuratively?” Urbana asked.

“Who knows,” Gomez said then laughed uproariously.

“Oh, and we can’t forget about Thing,” Morticia said.

“Of course, we can’t,” Gomez said, “Little guy’s always going around lending a hand. They love to help.”

Urbana followed them onto the fifth floor and then they lead her down a hallway with eight oil paintings of men and women’s death. They all had silver plaques beneath them stating their name, date of birth and date of death. The eight oil paintings were between four different doors and they lead her down to the farthest one on the right.

“Here’s your new home, hope you like spiders,” Morticia said as she opened the door.

Urbana instantly hid behind Lurch.

“I most certainly do not like spiders,” Urbana shrieked.

A couple of wolf spiders walked out of room.

“Oh, get it away. Get it away. Get it away,” Urbana said as she took a couple of steps back.

Morticia calmly picked up the wolf spiders as Gomez said, “Look’s like we’ll need to ask Pugsley to move his pets when he gets back from school.”

“How about we just move me to a new room,” Urbana said.

“We can if you want,” Morticia said, “But we chose this room specifically for you because it’s our finest one.”

Urbana danced in place. She didn’t want to be rude. These people are weird but they’re not malicious, so far at least.

“Okay, how about I wait until Pugsley gets home to move his spiders and then when I check out the room and I can imagine it not being recently infested with spiders, then I’ll live in that one room. If not, please put me somewhere else,” Urbana said.

“Sounds like we’ve got our selves a plan,” Gomez said, “Lurch, my friend, place her luggage beside the door.”

# # #

Urbana sat at the kitchen table while drinking green tea with Grandmama making dinner for the night. The air smelled of spices and herbs she wasn’t familiar with, but it smelled great. Grandmama looked like a fairytale witch; hunched back with gray hair and a big fat mole on the side of her chin.

“Uh, do you want any help, Ma’am,” Urbana said.

“No,” Grandmama said, “I don’t have the time to teach you how to cook the way I like. Do you need more tea?”

“Yes, please. It’s delicious,” Urbana said.

Grandmama walked away from the stove with a black kettle in hand and as she poured, she said, “Thank you dearie, I grow and hunt most of the food myself.”

“That’s very impressive, Ma’am,” Urbana said.

Grandmama cooed and pinched Urbana’s cheek, “You’re quite a charmer with words, aren’t you?”

From a distance the two of them could hear something slam.

“Oh, that must be the children,” Grandmama said, “Pugsley has the worst habit of slamming doors.”

There was the sound of running that closed in on them as Grandmama went back to work at the stove. Urbana turned towards the sound and a rotund, blond boy wearing a black and white striped shirt with black shorts, barged in. He looked about 11 years old.

“A-ha! You finally made it!” Pugsley said.

“And how many spiders do you own, by the way,” Urbana asked.

Pugsley looked sheepish, “I guess you didn’t like them, huh? Man, why can’t I find anyone that likes spiders as much as I do.”

Urbana took a sip of her tea then said, “You’ve got to understand kid, arachnophobia is a genetically ingrained fear, kind of. You’re going to have to look hard for your kin. Now, please take them out of my could-be room.”

Pugsley sighed, laid his backpack next to the kitchen entrance then ran off to the fifth floor.

A little girl, who looked to be about 13 years old, walked in watching after her brother. Her long, black hair was braided into two pigtails and she was wearing a frilly black dress with white trimmings on the long sleeves, the skirt and collar. She then turned her attention forward and froze at the entrance, her face unreadable.

“Hello, young lady. I’m Urbana. You must be Wednesday,” she said, “Your Grandmama made tea, would you like some?”

Wednesday slightly shook her head no, then walked away without a word.

Urbana shrugged as she turned back around to keep drinking her tea. Then a bald man in a dark green trench coat came into the kitchen from the outside door across from her, holding three dead rabbits by the hind legs. Urbana tried to ignore the blood she saw on the fur of the rabbits.

“Grandmama, your traps managed to catch three rabbits today,” Fester said proudly.

“Thank you, Fester dearie,” Grandmama said as she took the dead rabbits and placed them in the sink, “And you reset the traps?”

“Yes, Grandmama,” Fester said.

Grandmama gave Fester a quick kiss on the forehead and said, “Thank you for your help.”

Fester smiled wide, showing off his yellow crooked teeth, then he said, “Awe, your always welcome Grandmama.”

Fester then looked Urbana’s way and she tried to fight the urge to look away.

“Oh, pardon me,” he said, “I’m Fester. Sorry I couldn’t greet you at the door when you first got here.”

“It’s fine,” Urbana said as she took a sip of her tea, “All I have left to meet is Thing.”

“Oh, you’re going to love Thing,” Fester said, “If you ever need an extra hand, never be afraid to ask for Thing’s help.”

Urbana noticed that Grandmama was skinning the rabbits and she immediately got up.

“I’m going to go see if Pugsley has removed his spiders by now,” she said, leaving the kitchen in a hurry.

Pugsley was nowhere to be seen on the fifth floor, so Urbana took a quick look inside her could-be room. The room really was beautiful. The wallpaper had images of crows and ravens in different positions like flying or sitting on branches. The furniture was very raw looking in the way that it was carved, with curving lines that make you think of a watercolor painting. The bed was in the center of the room and across from the bed was a fireplace that looked like an old tree. The floor was made of black oak and partially covered in a rug that depicted a giant raven eating some grapes. The only human appendage looked item in the room was the hand sitting on top of the fireplace mantle.

“You know this isn’t such a bad room,” Urbana said aloud to herself, “And there’s a lot of room for my stuff.”

Urbana then saw that the giant window had a bumped-out window seat. She was delighted and went to check it out. After some time admiring and looking for any stray spiders, Urbana decided that this room would be great to live in for her college days. She then turned to the fireplace to remove the creepy hand, but it was gone. Weird. She went to grab her luggage but then she saw the hand on one of the tops of her suitcases. She picked it up and it waved at her.

“Oh my god!” she said as she dropped the hand.

The disembodied hand landed neatly on its fingertips and crawled to her suitcases. It looked like it was trying to move her suitcase for her.

“Thing, what are you doing,” Pugsley said as he walked towards them.

“This is Thing,” Urbana gasped.

“Yah, Dad and Uncle Fester like to make jokes about Thing,” Pugsley said as he picked up the hand, “I moved all the spiders back to my room and since Thing is out of your room that means we found them all.”

“Oh, well, good,” Urbana said, breathlessly.

“Also, Grandmama says dinner will be ready in thirty minutes,” Pugsley said.

# # #

Urbana sat between Grandmama and Morticia at the kitchen table. Gomez and Morticia were flirting with each other over their food. Fester was asking about Pugsley and Wednesday’s day at school. Grandmama was making sure everyone’s drinks were full and Lurch was eating slowly and dutifully with Thing on his shoulder. Urbana felt like she’s entered a different dimension and left her old body behind, she was still processing the fact that there’s a hand without a body just “walking” around.

“What about you,” Morticia asked.

Blinking rapidly and turning to the lady of the house, she said, “What?”

“When do you go to school? Or are you out now?” Morticia asked.

“Oh, uh, I go to college next week,” Urbana said, “but you won’t be seeing much of me around the house ‘cause I go to my first day of work tomorrow.”

Everyone congratulated her.

“Will you be a demolitionist and destroy buildings,” Pugsley asked.

“No,” Urbana said, “I’ll be working at the Olive Garden that’s close by.”

“Oh, we know that place,” Fester said, “We love going there when Grandmama doesn’t feel like cooking.”

“Their food is still subpar in comparison to my food,” Grandmama stated, “But they’re passable.”

Urbana had to agree that the vegetables here were the best thing she’s eaten, she didn’t bother with the rabbit, considering she’s a vegetarian.

“What are you going to college for,” Gomez asked.

“English major with a minor in art,” Urbana said, “I like to draw comic stories.”

“I love comics,” Pugsley said, “Will you let me read your stuff.”

Urbana smiled at him, “Sure kid.”

# # #

Urbana had finished unpacking her clothes, toiletries, school supplies, her watercolor sets, her drawing pencils, her for-fun-to-read books, her camera, her laptop, and her five sketch books. When she was satisfied with where she put her stuff, she was about to get ready for bed when Wednesday suddenly appeared in her room. Urbana jumped in surprise.

“Dear Lord, girl, you scared me,” Urbana said, placing a hand over her heart.

“Mom wanted me to tell you that you’re allowed to decorate this room however you want it,” Wednesday stated in a monotoned voice.

“Oh, okay,” she said.

Wednesday didn’t leave.

“Is there something else you want,” Urbana asked.

“Have you found the secret bathroom yet,” Wednesday asked.

“A secret bathroom? In this room?” Urbana asked.

Wednesday nodded her head, Urbana smiled wide, “No I have not. Do you know where it is? Can you show me?”

Wednesday walked over to an empty space between the window and the bed. She then pressed a part of the wall with an image of a crow sitting on a raven, then a door slid open revealing an old-fashioned looking bathroom with a claw toed bathtub and themed with crows and ravens like the rest of the room.

“Your house is so cool, are there other secret rooms?” Urbana asked.

Wednesday nodded her head.

“Do you think you can show them to me when I don’t have school or work?” Urbana asked.

Wednesday nodded her head.

“Awesome,” she said.

#fanfiction #fandoms #this is such a mess of a story #I still love it though #addams family

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thatfilthyanimal · 3 years

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I know I've talked about this before, but possibly not publicly, and definitely not recently.

When I say "The movie Megamind saved my life" I am dead serious.

So, heavy tw for descriptive suicide, abuse, adult themes etc below.

Maybe a month before Megamind came out, my partner of about 3 years and I broke up. This relationship had been a rebound of a long line of others who were (mostly) abusers in some way or another. I was 23, and had been rebounding relationships since I started my first at 13 with a person who was debatably grooming me.

So like, 10 years there to get super messed up by people insisting they loved you. At some point I developed Borderline Personality Disorder, probably best known as a disorder that involves heavy fears of abandonment and unstable moods due to black-and-white thinking.

So my partner and I break up, and no, of course it couldn't be a normal sane breakup, god why would it ever be? It had to be followed with him admitting that the last two years of it he didn't think he loved me, and was only staying because he was afraid I would kill myself.

So also, two years of phone sex (we were long distance) with a person who was lying to me. I felt... sick. Violated in the worst way. Used. But most of all after ten years of this shit? Done.

I fell into the worst depression I've ever had. I felt a disconnect with reality in the most frightening way. I no longer felt like I could trust anyone at all. I loved my friends, dearly, but I also realized to my own horror that I couldn't bring myself to speak to them about these thoughts I started having. I felt like I was existing in a daze, knowing fully well that I was considering ending it, more and more each day that passed with the louder loneliness felt. Every time I saw my friends or mom I felt sadder, knowing I was about to let them down in the worst sickest way I ever could. I knew they would hate me. I knew they would wish I hadn't done it. But I couldn't care. I couldn't talk to anyone about it. And I cried myself stupid knowing that there was some relief to everything, knowing a finality to things was coming, and feeling sick for wanting it. Days went on and the pain wasn't going away at all, and I knew, deep down, what was coming. I started making plans. I knew what I would use. I was going to do it far away so my friends or mom wouldn't be the one to find me.

It was the most terrifying shit I've ever experienced.

My birthday comes, and, sickeningly, my partner had gotten a plane ticket to come see me for it, stay for the week--- prior to the breakup. He let the ticket lapse, and despite hoping he would show up, somehow, like... come back and be like "I'm sorry, I really do love you"... yeah. No. It was a ruined birthday that my friends truly tried to make better, tried to celebrate with me, but here I was, floating in my own thoughts of upcoming relief and shame that they would forever hate me for hurting them so bad.

At some point, one of my friends approaches me, and mentions Megamind because she's seen it a couple times and loves it. I feel bitter about it, because, unfortunately, that was a movie my partner and I saw a trailer for and wanted to see together. I'd forgotten about it. My friend insists, and passively mentions Minion, and I have to stop and laugh because, wait, the robot fish henchman is named "Minion". Deadass. Okay. That's stupid. That's hilarious. Okay, I need to see it.

So she takes me to see the movie. I'm expecting it to be bad.

It's not bad.

It's amazing.

Here I was, feeling like my life was a mistake, and that I was an unsalvageable mess, only to see this blue alien dude going through similar feelings. I bonded to it instantly. He changes for better, saves the day, and gets the girl.

It did things to me.

I immediately come home and download a camvid of it. I watch it a second time in blurry glory that night. I pray there's a fandom. I find the LiveJournal community. There is.

And I did the only thing I knew to do at this point, which was cling to this movie and fandom like a sinking life raft, which felt like my only lifeline left. This movie gave me some weird feeling of hope, and some feeling of needing to hang around for more.

It deadass saved me.

I clung to the fandom long enough to get more of a hold of myself. I was so happy. I was, admittedly, burying my feelings, which would come up later (this last year), but for the moment I was happy.

2010 ended, despite me truly thinking I would never live to see it happen.

I eventually came out about this to the fandom, feeling some odd obligation to, and more people came forward with frighteningly similar stories. I didn't feel alone. And I felt like I had to protect what was here. When Dreamworks canned the sequel, I was absolutely gutted, unwilling to believe that the thing that saved my life, and the lives of others, was seen as disposable.

So, ten years later?

Not only am I not in some terrifying state of being suicidal, I'm thriving. I got diagnosed with Borderline which I desperately needed, went to therapy and learned to control my feelings better, and got a job, got a car, and saved up to move. I met Megamind fans in person, multiple times, multiple people. At DashCon (yes) I realized I had fallen for one of my fellow Megamind friends, Vamp. We'd been having a huge fandom meet up, and it blindsided me. I moved up to Illinois to live with Vamp. We went to another fandom meetup, and a fandom friend's wedding. We got another dog (named her Minion). We got engaged. My dad passed away and, yeah, left trauma with it, but money. We bought a home. We still live near one of our Megamind fandom friends. I felt comfortable to come out as trans and the fandom was still listening and cheering me on. And... you know what?

I'm fucking happy.

I'm so fucking happy.

Ten years ago no part of me believed that anything would get better, and it did. It did amazing.

I still hold out hope for a sequel someday, because of course I have to. It saved lives, I will always hope for more of it. I will always salt at Dreamworks until they listen.

I'm not asking for sympathy really, just understanding that what comes off as weird obsessive cringe behavior is just unfiltered love for something that made my life worth living. I know some of my friends didn't even understand, and probably felt resentment for the fact that a movie did what they couldn't. It's not their fault, and I understand. But a lot of people don't know where I'm coming from? And I want them to?

If anyone at Dreamworks sees this, thank you for working on Megamind. Thank you so much. I know I'm full of salt but damnit, it's out of love. I wish the higher ups of Dreamworks had any care in the world for the impact this movie made on lots of people. It was so ahead of its time and it deserves so much more.

I will die loving this movie, because without it I would have already been gone.

I guess it’s also worth mentioning, that if you struggle with similar thoughts, at all, ever, please remember what I’ve been through and do me a favor and reach out to someone, anyone, find whatever your sinking life raft is and hang on. I’d of missed so much in only ten years. You would too. You will be happy you stayed. I promise.

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riptidecoric · 2 years

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Re-intro

Heya! We’re the Riptide system, a 15 y/o white-bodied polyfragmented DID system of over 100 alters! We’re introject, protector, and symptom holder heavy! We’ve known we’re a system for slightly under a year now, and a lot of things have changed during that time. We only speak English right now, but we want to learn Japanese, French, and Chinese in the future (I still hate french people BOO FRENCH PEOPLE /j)

We collectively go by Riptide or Rye, and they/them if referring to us plurally, he/they if singular! Our Singletsona ID is transmasc genderqueer + queer + aroacespec. Some of our current frequent fronters are Childe, Venti, Haven, Aether, Tal, and Rosaria.

We’re ND, severely mentally ill, and physically disabled. We’re autistic, schizophrenic, maladaptive daydreamers and have ADHD, OCD, Tourette's, NPD and BPD traits. We also have C-PTSD, major depressive disorder, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, acrophobia, and conduct disorder with limited prosocial emotions. We don’t know what’s wrong physically but are currently waiting for our next doctor’s appointment to start doing labs to try and figure it out.

We’re currently a freshman in highschool, and we’re taking our district’s math class below pre-calc, the name is all fucky but it might be the equivalent of algebra 2 or algebra 3-4 + statistics and geometry, theatre design, art I, graphic design I, and just basic classes otherwise (English, physics, social studies). Our favorite class so far is math & theatre design.

We’re all atheists, agnostic, or pagan. Some of our fictives also believe in source religion, and there may be a few other exceptions. Many of us dislike Christianity due to what I believe to be obvious reasons, and also the fact we’ve had religion focused OCD around Christianity despite not believing the religion. We don’t dislike most Christians, we just have some inherent distrust! Talk about organized religion in general makes us uncomfortable, so please avoid it where possible.

Our political beliefs are all leftist (with shitty exceptions like Luna), but some of us are in different branches of that and most of us are just anti-capitalist. I think Venti, the most political of us, considers vespself a communist, but ly never seems to have the time to research where hy is within that.

Our common introject sources are Genshin Impact (we have almost the full cast I think), MCYT, and our original characters! We also have introjects from various other media and places, such as the introjects of our friends, MHA, and PJO. We also have some song introjects!

These are some of our interests!

Key: Special Interests Permafixations Hyperfixations Normal

Games: Genshin Impact, Cookie Run Kingdom, Dead Cells, OMORI, Minecraft

Shows+Movies: My Hero Academia, Yuri On Ice, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Little Pony, Troll Hunters, Voltron: Legendary Defender, The Promised Neverland, Ever After High, Girl Meets World, Project MC^2, LEGO Ninjago, IT (newer ones, 1&2), various shit Netflix horror movies, Luca, and we’ve watched pretty much every Pixar movie and a lot of DreamWorks stuff to my knowledge.

Books: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Ranger’s Apprentice, PJO + HOO, Magnus Chase, & Simon vs The Homosapien's Agenda

Some favorite bands/artists: Paramore, MARINA, P!atD*, The Front Bottoms, The Decemberists, McCafferty*, Isaac Dunbar, Ricky Montgomery, Peach Pit, Glass Animals, Cage the Elephant, Waterparks, Mother Mother, Lovejoy, and Penelope Scott!

*These bands/artists are notably problematic and I don’t support their shit actions, nor the shit actions of anyone else on this list, I’m just aware of these.

To read/play/watch: May the Best Man Win, The Song of Achilles, Six of Crows, Trials of Apollo, 3rd Magnus Chase book, most of OMORI (on start of day 1), YTTD, DDLC, Danganronpa, season 4 & 5 of MHA, Saiki K, Akame Ga Kill, Black Clover, Fairy Tail, some of Jujutsu Kaisen, Squid Game, and Steven Universe. + Any suggestions you guys have! We’re a lot more likely to play games or read books than watch anything

And yeah that’s pretty much it! There’s some more info about our boundaries n DNI and such in the !! Read !! highlight on our profile! Have an awesome day! Feel free to ask questions or say hi in the comments!

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skinks · 4 years

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hi!!! what are your favourite movies? like actually good ones but also any trashy comfort movies? is IT (2017) one of them?

Hello!! IT (2017) IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THEM oh man, thank you for this, I love talking about movies!!!! This is possibly the most difficult question you could have asked me. Apologies for how absolutely off the rails this got, I just... love movies so much lmao

I’ve said this before, but opening night of IT ch1 was the best cinema experience I’ve ever had, I’m so glad I got to see it with a fully packed audience who were all laughing and screaming together the whole way through. I’m a huge fan of... everything ch1 was doing, the 80s nostalgia, the summer-coming-of-age themes, the solid ghost train funhouse JOY of the Pennywise performance and scares, the washed-out cinematography, the tiny background details to make everything that much more eerie, the kids’ ACTING?!

Like, a lot of the time I find child actors can be really awkward and stilted to watch, but I remember leaving the cinema really impressed by JDG and Sophia Lillis in particular. I liked that they were all allowed to be little shitheads with potty mouths, it felt like a callback to 80s movies like The Lost Boys or Stand By Me. The whole thing worked to make me really care about what happened to the kids (even if I do still have issues with how they handled Mike. I understand even ch1 had limitations with juggling so many characters, but still). I saw it another 2 times in the cinema and have rewatched it at least, I dunno, 7-10 more times since then?

Add to all of that the retroactive CANON R+E baby pining subplot? I just love it, as if that wasn’t obvious by now given my Whole Blog. It’s a really special movie to me!

Anyway!! Ok, the main handful of movies I rewatch all the fucking time are:

Back to the Future, The Lost Boys, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Jaws, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Ocean’s 11, POTC 1, The Dark Knight, Inception, Die Hard, LOTR trilogy, Snatch, The Nice Guys, Logan Lucky, Mad Max Fury Road, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Tomb Raider (2018)...

Those are the easily consumable ones that I’ve seen so many times I don’t really have to concentrate or think about them, but I really love them and unfortunately often KEEP rewatching them instead of new stuff. It would take too long to go into why I love all these movies so much because I could write the same amount as I already did for ITCH1, and everyone already knows why those movies are good, so, lol.

I think I’m gonna have to subdivide and categorise this whole post because there are too many separate criteria for... goOD MOVIES, AUUHH 😩

Okay so first off, HORROR MOVIES? I’m especially in love with Re-Animator (1985) and its sequel Bride of Re-Animator, they’re such good examples of camp and batshit 80s practical effects, and also EXTREMELY funny. I’m actually just gonna post my list of my fave horror movies that I do actually keep on my phone at all times lmao. These are in no particular order:

Wholeheartedly recommend every one of these. I’ve never been so scared in my life as I was watching Hereditary in the cinema, hoo boy. Mother! by Aronofsky is one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had (and I actually saw it on the same day I saw IT ch1 for the first time!! That was a fun day)

Psycho (1960) and The Fly from 1986 should also be on there but I couldn’t fit them in the screenshot.

I’m a HUGE fan of a ton of martial arts movies too, like Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, Ip Man, The Raid movies, John Wick 3 is my fave of the trilogy, Drive from 1997 with Mark Dacascos is incredible, SPL 2, Ong-Bak, Operation Condor, Project A, Iron Monkey, and Zatoichi (2003) are some favourites.

My favourite Tarantino is Reservoir Dogs, fave Coen brothers are Raising Arizona, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and O Brother Where Art Thou. Love some old-timey colour correction and weird offbeat dialogue. I also love Goodfellas!!! And Donnie Brasco! And The Firm, I’m so easy for any good crime/law/gangster/heist procedural like that, especially if they’re from the 80s or 90s in a super dated way.

Fave Disney movie is Tarzan, favourite Ghibli movies are Spirited Away and Lupin III. I remember watching Spirited Away during a thunderstorm one time and it being.... god! Transcendent! Favourite Pixar movie is The Incredibles (the first one. ALSO the documentary “The Pixar Story” is great and well worth a watch, it’s very comforting for some reason) and my favourite Dreamworks movies are HTTYD1 and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron.

I tend to watch more anime movies than tv shows, so stuff like Akira, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Journey to Agartha, and my ultimate fave anime is Sword of the Stranger (2008). The climactic fight in that movie is fucking stunning and should be counted in “bests fights” lists right alongside anything live action

Also if we’re talking animated movies another hearty favourite is Rango, and a Belgian stop-motion (which at one time I considered my favourite movie ever) called Panique Au Village (2009) which is one of the funniest movies ever made imo.

As for TRASHY movies, I’m not sure if that’s the right word for how I feel about these ones but.. dumb/silly/slightly guilty pleasure movies? Ones that I feel need some kind of justification lmfao

Troy - something u must know about me is that I’m a giant slut for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, so if a movie smashes historical and mythological nonsense together with fun costumes and sword fights, I’m gonna enjoy myself. Even if they should have made Achilles and Patroclus gay. Other movies in this vein are King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Immortals (2011)

Gods of Egypt - I know all the reasons this movie is whitewashed bullshit. But it was already bullshit with giant Anubis mecha and giant snakes and bad acting and ridiculous CGI and frankly I had a blast at the cinema (my friend who I forced to come with me did not have a blast. Sorry H***)

Avatar - yes, the one with the big blue people. This movie gets a lot of flack nowadays but I really do enjoy it just for the spectacle. The full CGI world technology was so new at the time and I love to wallow in the visuals and daydream about riding a cool dragon around in the jungle

George of the Jungle - I’ll defend this movie to the death ok this movie shaped me as a person, it is fucking hilarious and Brendan Fraser is the himbo to end all himbos. It’s perfect. The song Dela is perfect. I still want to write a reddie AU about it. It’s one of the best movies ever made and I’m not being ironic

Set It Up - I KNOW this is a dumb Netflix original romcom but consider this; it was funny and the leads had great chemistry. I got butterflies. I once watched it and then literally immediately set it back to the start so I could watch it again

The Brady Bunch Movie - when people talk about great satires or parodies you will see them bring up the same movies over and over again, Blazing Saddles, This Is Spinal Tap etc, but they never talk about The Brady Bunch Movie from 1995 for some reason, which they should. It is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and every time i watch it somehow it gets funnier

Some more general favourites that I do still love but don’t rewatch as often, and don’t wanna go into more detail about are:

Moon (2009), Crna Mačka Beli Mačor, The Sixth Sense, Parasite, The Handmaiden, Tremors, Wet Hot American Summer, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, The Secret of My Success (I love kitschy 80s movies, is that obvious by now), The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, Rear Window, The Odd Couple, Breaking Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Eagle, Gladiator, The Artist, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Call Me By Your Name, Master and Commander, Pacific Rim, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Legend (1985), Emma. (2020), Flash Gordon, Trolljegeren, Hross í Oss, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, WarGames, District 9, Ajeossi (2010), Tracks (2013), Sightseers, Mud (2012), Pitch Black, Four Lions, Shaun of the Dead, Starship Troopers, The Truman Show, Withnail & I....... Jesus Christ ok I need to stop

NOTABLE EXTREME FAVOURITES that I didn’t include in the regular rewatch list because they’re too heavy/not as well known/require more attention.:

Thin Red Line (1998), Badlands (1973) both dir. Terrence Malick

Malick’s brand of dreamy impressionistic filmmaking is something I find really appealing, both of these movies are gorgeous and unusual and poignant and, in the case of Thin Red Line at least, have a lot of things to say about a lot of rough subjects. I don’t totally understand all those things sometimes, but a theme with a lot of my favourite movies is that I’ll be more likely to love something long-term if it raises unanswered questions, or is surreal/esoteric etc. Plus the cinematography is incredible, and I wish there was a way to get Jim Caviezel’s narration from The Thin Red Line as an audiobook because it’s very poetic and soothing.

Let the Bullets Fly (2010) dir. Jiang Wen

This movie is WILD, it’s so much fun. It’s sprawling and intricate and epic and smart and really fucking funny, it! Has! Everything! A gang of very tolerant outlaws!! Jiang Wen’s beautiful broad chest!!! Chow Yun Fat absolutely DECIMATING the scenery, and the two of them outsmarting each other in order to gain control of a small Chinese town!!! Plus it’s long, but it packs so much nonsense and intrigue that it goes by really fast. Wow what a flick

A Field in England (2013) dir. Ben Wheatley

I know I included this in my horror list but aaaaahhh ahhhh Wheatley is one of my favourite directors (he also made Sightseers, and is directing the Tomb Raider sequel which makes me absolutely rabid.) This is a surreal black-and-white psychological horror black comedy set in the English Civil War about some deserters who may or may not meet the Devil in a field. People eat mushrooms. It’s bonkers. I love being blasted in the face with imagery that I don’t understand

Mandy (2018) dir. Panos Cosmatos

Speaking of being blasted in the face!!!!! This movie... I saw it in the cinema and I can’t even begin to explain the experience, but I’ll try. My favourite review site described it like this:

“...somewhere between a prog album cover come to life and a metal album cover come to life, and subscribes to both genre's artistic tendency towards maximalism: what it ends up being is basically naught else but two glorious hours of being pounded by bold colors...”

So, prog and metal are my two favourite genres of music. This movie opens with the quote “When I die, bury me deep, lay two speakers at my feet, put some headphones on my head and rock and roll me when I'm dead.” and then a King Crimson song, it is SURREAL to the nth degree, it’s violent and bizarre and Nic Cage forges a giant silver axe to destroy demonic bikers and there is a CHAINSAW DUEL. A galaxy swirls above a quarry. Multiple animated horror nightmare sequences. At one point a man says “you exude a cosmic darkness” and releases a live tiger. At another point Cage says, in a digitally deepened voice, “The psychotic drowns where the mystic swims. You’re drowning. I’m swimming.” and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for two years

Paper Moon (1973) dir. Peter Bogdanovich

Really fantastic movie set in the Great Depression (and also in black & white) about a conman and a little kid who may or may not be his daughter, running cons across the Midwest. It’s beautifully shot, so sharp and sweet and the progression of their dynamic is really well done because they’re played by an IRL father and daughter. Tatum O’Neal was NINE YEARS OLD and she’s so amazing in this movie she’s actually the youngest person to win a competitive category Oscar. I keep trying to get people to watch this fbdjfjdbf it’s wonderful

Alpha (2018) dir. Albert Hughes

THIS MOVIE IS A VICTIM OF BAD MARKETING ok, the trailers made it look like some twee crappy sentimental Boy And His Dog Adventure, plus it had voiceovers in American-accented english? That’s a total disservice to one of the coolest things about this film; the fact that they got a linguist to construct an entirely original Neolithic language that all the characters speak for the entire runtime. And yes, it is eventually a Boy And His Wolf adventure, but it’s COOL and fairly brutal, and it has some really incredible cinematography. The landscapes are so strange and barren and alien, you really get the sense that this is an ancient world we no longer have any connection to. And it’s also about like, the birth of dog & human companionship sooo it’s perfect.

Free Solo (2018) dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

The Free Climbing Documentary. I loved climbing as a kid, I love outdoor sports, and I love movies that elicit a physical reaction in me, whether that’s horny, scared, real laughter, overwhelming shivers, or in the case of Free Solo - HORRIBLE SWEATING TENSION. Like, I knew about Alex Honnold beforehand because of this adventure film festival I go to every year and I followed him on IG so obviously I knew he lived, but the actual climb itself was torture. My hands sweat every time I see it!! It’s incredible, such a cool look into generally what the human body can do, and more specifically, why Honnold’s psychology and life means he’s so well suited to free soloing. It’s such an exercise in getting to know an individual and get invested in them, before they attempt something very potentially fatal.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee

I can’t even talk about this. When I was around 13 I snuck downstairs to watch this on TV at 11pm in secret, and my life was forever changed. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t seen Brokeback at the age I did. I seriously can’t talk about this or I’ll write an even longer essay than this already is

God’s Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee

The antidote to Brokeback Mountain, I’m so glad I managed to see this one in the cinema too. It makes me cry every time, as someone who’s spent years working on a cold British farm with sheep it was very realistic, which is expected since Lee grew up on a farm in Yorkshire. I love that this movie isn’t really about being closeted, but about being so emotionally repressed and self-loathing that the main character finds it so hard to accept love. Or that he deserves to be loved. The cinnamontographies.... lordt... but also the intimacy and sex scenes are fucking searing wow who hasn’t seen this movie by now. 10 stars. 20 stars!!!

Tomboy (2011) dir. Céline Sciamma

I saw this years ago but I’ve never forgotten it, it cut so deep. It’s from the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it’s about a gnc kid struggling with gender and misogyny and homophobia in a really raw, scrappy way, it reminded me very much of my own... childhood... ahh the central performance is amazing for such a young age. I haven’t seen Portrait yet but I feel like if you went nuts for that, you should definitely check this out, it’s lovely.

Donnie Darko (2001) dir. Richard Kelly

EVERY TIME I WATCH THIS MOVIE I UNDERSTAND LESS AND LESS and that’s what I love so much about it. I love surreal movies, I love time-fuckery and stuff about altered perception etc etc and Donnie Darko scratches all my itches. I wish I could find a way to figure out an IT AU for it, because I know it would work! Somehow! Plus it’s got the subdued 80s nostalgia and I found it at an age when I was really starting to explore movies and music and the soundtrack FUCKS.

Offside (2006) dir. Jafar Panahi

I wish more people knew about this!!! It’s an Iranian film about a disparate group of women and girls who are football fans and want to watch Iran’s qualifying match for the World Cup, but women aren’t allowed into the stadium, so they all get thrown into the Stadium Jail together? They don’t know each other beforehand, but it’s about their changing relationships with each other and the guards and just, their defiance alongside hearing the match from the outside and WOW it’s so lively. Great dialogue and very funny, and such a different kind of story from anything you usually see from Hollywood.

The Fall (2006) dir. Tarsem Singh

This movie... I guess it’s the ideal. This is the platonic ideal of a film for me, it has fantasy, magical realism, glorious visuals, amazing score and costumes and production design and a really interesting, heartbreaking relationship at the core of it. I don’t know why so many of my favourite films feature incredibly raw performances by child actors but this is another one, Catinca Untaru barely knew any English and improvised so much because of that, and it’s fascinating to watch! Also the dynamic with Lee Pace is one of my favourites, where a kid forms a friendship with a guardian figure who isn’t their parent, but the guardian grows to really care for them by the end. It’s like Paper Moon in that sense. What is there to even say about this movie, it’s pure magic joy tempered and countered by genuine gutwrenching emotional conflict in the real world, it’s also ABOUT old moviemaking, in a way, and it’s stunning to look at!

Mad Max Fury Road (2015) dir. George Miller

I know I included this in my “most rewatched” section but it deserves its own thing. We all know why this movie is fucking incredible. I remember clutching my armrests in the cinema and feeling like my skeleton was being blasted back into the seat behind me and tbh that is the high I’m constantly chasing when I go to see any movie. What a fucking gift this film is

Théo et Hugo dans le Même Bateau (2016) dir. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau

I only found this movie last year and it became an instant favourite. Initially I was just curious because I’d never seen a movie with unsimulated sex before, but it’s so much more than the 18 minute gay sex club orgy it opens with. No, not more than, AS WELL AS. The orgy is important because this movie is so candid and frank about sex and HIV treatment in the modern day, it was eye-opening. Another thing that really got me is that I’d never seen a real-time film before. It’s literally an hour and a half in the lives of these two men, their intense connection and conversation and conflict in the middle of the night in Paris, with some really nice night photography and just!!! Wow!!! AMAZING CHEMISTRY between the actors. This is such a gem if you’re comfortable with explicit sexual content.

Ok. This is already over 3k but film is obviously one of my ridiculous passions and I can and do talk about it for hours. I’ve been reading magazines about it for years, listening to podcasts and reading review blogs and recently, watching video essays on YouTube because the whole process is so interesting to me and I want to learn more!!

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of valuing form over narrative. The idea that story can often come second to the deeper physical experience and emotional reaction that’s created by using ALL the elements of filmmaking and not just The Story, y’know? Whether that’s editing, shot composition, colour, the sound mix, the actors, how it should all be used to heighten the emotional state the script wants you to feel. And so, I think for a few years now this approach has been influencing the types of films I really, really love.

I think I love surreality and mind-bending magical realism in films specifically because the filmmakers have to use all those different tools to convey things that can be way too metaphysical for just... a script? I’m always chasing that physical response; if a movie can make me stop thinking “I wonder what it was like to set up that shot” and instead overwhelm that suspension of disbelief, if I can be terrified or woozy or crying for whatever reason, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s why I watch so many fuckin movies, and why I’ll always remember nights like seeing IT (2017) for giving me another favourite.

Thank you again for this question, I didn’t mean to go so overboard. Also there’s no way to do a readmore on tumblr mobile so apologies to anyone’s dashboard 😬

#long post #films #this is like bill hader being asked to pick his fave comedies and he gives a 4 page list #he has such good taste though ahhahbfhfhfhh lemme talk with him nonstop about movies while i ride him. thank you

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animepopheart · 5 years

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Ranking Every Studio Ghibli Movie

Studio Ghibli's contribution to anime (and animation in general) cannot be understated. Founded by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, the studio has produced many of Japan's most hallowed films, movies that are both critically acclaimed and monsters at the box office. In 1996, Disney partnered with Studio Ghibli to bring their movies to North America, developing a new audience that has since come to age; now, Ghibli is as much a part of American childhood as Pixar and Dreamworks releases.

On Anime Pop Heart and @beneaththetangles, we are commemorating the studio with Ghibli Month all September long! I’m kicking things off by ranking Ghibli's twenty-one releases, plus Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which is often honorarily included among the studio's slate, ranked from first to worst (including alternate viewpoints on a couple of the selections).

22. Tales from Earthsea

Miyazaki famously quarreled with his son, Goro, over the latter's ability to direct Tales from Earthsea, and indeeed, the final product feels like the result of a young man who was in over his head. The movie deserves its ignominious reputation, as it is inconsistent, poorly staged, and often terrible. It's a shame, too, for there are some strong elements to the film and enormous potential, with the outlines of an epic tale and compelling characters in Sparrowhawk and Cob (who are wonderfully dubbed by Timothy Dalton and Willem Dafoe, respectively)—it just never comes quite together and totally unravels at the end, resulting in the only bad film in Studio Ghibli's outstanding run.

21. The Cat Returns

Most Studio Ghibli films are family features, made for children. However, they still capture the imagination of youth and adults as well. The Cat Returns, the only "sequel" in Ghibli's film catalog, doesn't do the same however. It is purely for kids, and aside from flourishes here and there that speak of fantasy adventures and feature whimsical characters, fails to engage viewers of a certain age—maybe anyone older than about twelve. A neat companion piece to Whisper of the Heart, it's worth watching, showing to your children, and then giving away to parents who need better-than-average entertainment to busy their children.

20. Ocean Waves

At one time, Ocean Waves was considered a black eye in Ghibli's filmography, an overpriced television movie that wasn't all that good. In retrospect, the intial judgments were only partially right. Ocean Waves is very much a TV movie, melodramatic and small in scale. The animation, too, is sometimes shoddy, but more often than not it's far better than it has the right to be. Ocean Waves is lovingly made, and the characters are almost frustratingly sincere—and oh so early 90s. While on the lowest tier of the Ghibli scale, Ocean Waves is far better than a simple curiosity.

19. Arrietty

Like Poppy Hill before it, there's nothing terrifically wrong with Arrietty—it just lacks the magic of the great Studio Ghibli films, making it rather forgettable. It's also sometimes dull. While beautiful colors, a foreshadowing of the spectacular animation to come of Yonebayashi in Mary and the Witch's Flower, shine through in the film, and some of the action sequences are highly engaging, our hearts are never fully in it. Maybe that's because we lack a loving connection to many of the characters, particularly to the pensive Sho. A nice watch, but one that's lacking.

18. From Up on Poppy Hill

Much maligned for our lowest ranked movie, Goro Miyazaki returned from that entry with a stronger film, one that functions as an ode to historic preservation while presenting one of the studio's most lovely relationships—that is, until it gets a bit tricky, unfortunately begining to enter a zone unusual for Studio Ghibli, if standard fare for other anime. But that's a relatively minor issue in what's a perfectly lovely film that does well in evoking nostalgia in a movie that reminisces about the past and a Yokohama that no longer exists. Not every emotional moment hits as it should, but enough do to make the film Ghibli's best "date night" entry.

17. Pom Poko

Often criticized for being too over-bearing in its ecological message, Pom Poko's main issue instead is that it's meant to a collection of stories that to flow into one another, based on one group of tanukis' fight against urban development, but the movie doesn't feel cohesive, partly because there is no central protagonist. We only get to know each main tanuki so much, and none feel central to the tale—any could step in and play the necessary roles. Still, Pom Poko is unreservedly charming and often hilarious. It's also a peek into Japanese culture that we often don't get, a look at a country transforming in landscape and in values.

16. Ponyo

Why is Ponyo the low point of Miyazaki's output, the only film of his that doesn't attain the level of classic? It is wonderfully animated, bursting with energy and featuring a story that is never disingenuous and a heroine that is funny, cute, and breathtaking even. However, the film proved that Miyazaki was on a downward trajectory after Spirited Away. Repetition seen in Howl's Moving Castle was on full display in Ponyo, a new movie that too often feels like a rehash, featuring characters that other than the title heroine, fail to connect, and a story that is muddled and often just strange. Ponyo is a fun film and a better one after repeated viewings—the problem is that such defenses do not have to be made for any of Miyazaki's other works.

15. When Marnie Was There

The last feature film from Studio Ghibli to date is both quietly personal and a surprising risk. When Marnie Was There is the studio's first true mystery tale, and has a tone that's slightly haunting. The lead characters, also, are unusual for Ghibli—neither Anna nor Marnie are as embraceable as most of the heroines from Ghibli's past, but that seems be purposeful. What they demonstrate to us is not as much of "who we can be" but "who we are" and even so, how we can overcome. The creative energy of past Ghibli films is missing, but the replacement here by a surprising intimate tone in a modern setting is welcomed.

14. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

While this notoriously expensive film flopped at the box office, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was well-received by critics, and for good reason. Adapting a famed folk tale, the film is animated in style befitting its origins, creating the sense that the viewer has fallen into a some traditional Japanese painting. But the movie is not as pastel as its colors indicate—the storytelling is bold. It doesn't sit in the past, instead feeling remarkably current in the fable of a princess imprisoned by seemingly everyone and everything, without ever feeling worn or heavy-handed. Mystical and fantastical elements are both woven into the foundation of the story and come alive in key moments, keeping the film compelling (for the most part) throughout its two hour+ run time.

13. Howl's Moving Castle

An underrated aspect of Studio Ghibli's brilliance is in how they often adapt already-beloved works. Adapted by the master, Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, is gorgeously animated and bold in both design and character—Howl and Calcifer, particularly, are memorable (and give strong emotional weight to the tale). While it suffers in comparison to its predecessor, Spirited Away, by being a little unwieldy, it remains a classic and an example of how well Miyazaki can bring themes and plot points across subtly (think of the flashback of Howl) in a movie that's otherwise fierce and larger than life.

12. The Wind Rises

From conception, The Wind Rises was a challenging film—how do you tell the story of the man who designed a fighter essential to Japan's WWI efforts, and show him as a patriot and dreamer without excluding the crimes of the nation, or making a film that goes against Miyazaki's anti-war values? It's difficult to say if he succeeds, but the film itself is beautifully crafted. The supporting characters here are less important than in other works, so it's vital that the audience admires Jiro Horikoshi, and we do—his character and positivity make him easy to root for, and dream sequences in the film both flesh out his thought process and keep us captivated. Once believed to be Miyazaki's last film, if it had been, The Wind Rises would have been worthy of that designation.

11. My Neighbors the Yamadas

The oddball in Ghibli's filmography, My Neighbors the Yamadas is presented through half-a-dozen or more short stories in the style of comic strips come to life, with animation that matches. The magic in the film is that the Yamadas are as over-the-top as the movie's aesthetic is, yet maintain an authentic feel. Think of some of the most popular family sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s, but with an addition those shows could not feature—fantastical sequences that break in without warning and bind the ties of family further. We may not want to live like the clumsy Yamadas, but the heart of the family will make you consider whether they're the ones who really have it all together.

10. Porco Rosso

Studio Ghibli films share animation styles and themes, but one can never say they lack in variety when it comes to story. The tale of Porco Rosso is of an ace pilot cursed into living as a pig—but not to worry! He is still adored by women as he flies fantastic missions while running from fascists, pirates, and fame-seeking assassins. Porco is gruff and unattractive, but both he and the tale are sweet, as what's already a compelling story of WWI aces and dogfights is buffeted by grief, romance, and two strong heroines of very different types and roles. Perhaps the film with the largest range of opinion among the Miyazaki classics, Porco Rosso is nonetheless fantastic, and require viewing if you haven't watched it already.

9. Whisper of the Heart

Ghibli's most unabashedly romantic film is one of its most formulaic, but still among its best. The debut film by Yoshifumi Kondō, Miyazaki and Takahata's proposed successor before he died just a few years after the movie's premiere, is at once encouraging while also refusing to shy away from the melancholy experienced by children—and adults, too—when one doesn't seem to have what it takes to become great. In joy and sadness, Whisper of the Heart lets the kids at the center of the film be kids. They are at times stubborn, silly, and immature, and by treating them that way, the movie never drifts into something banal (with the possible exception of the famously abrupt ending)—it's a lovely lesson in growing up and meeting challenges, and a personal favorite.

8. Kiki's Delivery Service

The charm of Kiki's Delivery Service is two-fold—in the setting, a northern European-style town that is alive, forcing the events of the story through its residents, cozy cafes, and early 20th-century transportion, and in Kiki's journey itself. Her community's tradition of sending of young witches to live by themselves at the age of thirteen sets the story in motion, and Miyazaki captures the spirit of a girl that age perfectly—in all its confusion, energy, enthusiasm, and difficulty. Kiki is not a subtle character, but her growth is. When she takes to the air for the finale, Kiki isn't experienced enough to know if she can save the day—and so we cheer when she realizes what the rest of us already know, what we've all experienced ourselves, that it takes time and failure to mold us into becoming the hero.

7. Castle in the Sky

Miyazaki created classic film after classic film for decades, in a streak that started with Lupin III and ended, I'd argue, with Howl's Moving Castle. Often forgotten among the wonders is Castle in the Sky, a steampunk entry that is a joyous adventure, akin to Treasure Island but developed for an audience of both boys and girls. Sumptuous cloudscapes fill the screen, as do colorful characters with meaty roles, including a group favored by Miyazaki—pirates (in this movie, air pirates led by Dola, an older female). Reflective of Miyazaki's ability to master genres, Castle in the Sky again crosses fantasy and sci-fi in perfect proportions, underscoring an uplifting tale with an apocalyptic story line.

6. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Unofficially part of of Ghibli's canon, the success of Nausicaa, based on Miyazaki's own manga and exploring the ecological, anti-war, and feminist themes for which the studio's future films would be noted, launched Studio Ghibli. Nausicaa herself remains one of the studio's most iconic and compelling heroines, a physically powerful and feminine hero who must grow into adulthood very quickly while putting aside deep flaws to offer salvation to her people and land. The beautiful landscapes speaks to the epic story, better fleshed out in the manga, while reminding us that Ghibli films are giants not only in animation, but in fantasy and sci-fi realms as well.

5. Only Yesterday

How do you create an animated film about a twenty-something woman that waxes nostalgia while on a trip to the countryside, and at the same time make it entertaining and accessible? It's not an easy task, but Only Yesterday accomplishes it fully. Taeko, the protagonist, explains, "I didn't intend for ten-year-old me to come on this trip, but somehow, once she showed up, she wouldn't leave me alone." We experience her nostalgia for and complicated feelings about the past through a family that's genuinely flawed, while experiencing her visit to relatives in the countryside in the present, a trip that is subtly life-altering, one that pushes her to consider who she is and who she wants to be. Oh, and the film also features one of anime's most wonderful endings, set to a cover of a now-classic love song.

4. Grave of the Fireflies

It's a testament to Miyazaki's stature that the first three Ghibli films on the list are all directed by him, and also to the supreme talent of the other directors that their films rise above some of his other tremendous work. Directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder, the legendary Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies is the most painful and emotional movie in the canon; it is also one of the greatest war movies ever made, using animation to deftly explore the how war victimizes children. Opening and closing shots, both of which express the uncaring nature of bystanders (and by extension, the world) toward children cause us to wonder what we really feel about the world's most vulnerable population.

3. My Neighbor Totoro

It's often said that nothing really happens in My Neighbor Totoro—but that's part of the magic of the film. A child's movie in all ways, including in the action, which revolves around a sick mother, a move to a new house, and a lost child, the film finds its center in a magical being that never says a word (Totoro only growls), and about whom many theories abound. If Totoro is a figment of Satsuki and Mei's imaginations, he is then similar to Winnie the Pooh, a necessary presence in the lives of a child character (two of them, sisters, in this case) who is growing up in a difficult situation, not to adulthood, but to the next step in the journey of life.

2. Spirited Away

Miyazaki has retired and unretired several times—when did so following Princess Mononoke, he returned with what is often considered his magnum opus, Spirited Away. At once deeply Japanese and completely accessible, the movie takes viewers on one of the most remarkable visual journeys ever put to film, a feast that never relents through its entire run time. Perhaps underrated is Miyazaki's decision to move the action away from the bathhouse for much of the final act, a quiet last leg that is key to Chihiro's journey, as well as for many of Spirited Away's supporting characters. Absolutely deserving of all love and acclaim.

1. Princess Mononoke

Studio Ghibli's finest film is also perhaps its most surprising. Visceral, violent, and conflicting, Princess Mononoke is no easy tale to absorb. There is no "good guy," not in the traditional sense, as Miyazaki explores hist favored ecological theme but through the lens of humanity struggling to survive in a world where they are just surpassing nature, the beast gods and goddesses who had previously ruled. It is an epic in the vein of films from decades before with vibrant and complex characters, ground-breaking animation, and an English voice track that is second to none. The studio's most intricate work, Princess Mononoke requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate.

All Studio Ghibli movies are available for sale, including many in special collectible editions. We encourage you to go check them out!

#studio ghibli #ghibli month #spirited away #my neighbor totoro #howls moving castle

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nomadicism · 4 years

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I read that one posts. I agree with Sol. I think it's more likely that Dreamworks crunched the numbers, figured it wouldn't be profitable and just canned the project than them cancelling it because of a very small section of the internet. p1

“p2 Mecha is just a dying genre as a whole. Even in Japan, isekai has taken it's place and there are hardly any new mechas outside of Gundam. That's in Japan! In the west, mecha is even more niche of an interest and general audiences don't gravitate towards it. I don't think that any mecha movie wouldn't do well at the box office. I'm even worried about that Gundam movie bombing at the box office.”

Hi Anon, thank you for the Ask!

Yeah, I agree with Sol too—and at risk of repeating what I’ve said in other posts about the movie thing—it’s really hard to convey just how incredibly unlikely a property like Voltron or Robotech will ever be made into a live-action movie. It really is about the numbers, as it always has been. Since the 80s, there’s this whole persistent and stupid element of the cartoon industry that continues to delude itself that promises or interest from Hollywood will ever pan out. There are so many scripts sitting in production limbo, that it’s almost criminal.

No one wants to risk money on a live-action movie based on children’s media IP that won’t bring in rated PG-13 or R dollars from adults, and no one wants to risk repeating the 80s He-Man film. The exceptions are live-action films made from children’s media IP that are fully owned by the company paying to produce the movie. I’ve got more to say about the complexities of royalties, but that’s awfully long-winded when I get into it, and I’d rather be long-winded about giant robots. (◕ᴗ◕✿)

The topic of mecha genre dying out is what really interests me here. It’s a topic that I think about a lot, as the beginnings of the mecha genre had a lot of deep cultural time-and-place stuff behind it, even if the stories were just kids and teen boys hopping into a giant robot to beat up other giant robots and monsters, in what were essentially 30 minute long toy commercials.

Isekai will come-and-go as all genres do. It’s not a new genre, but right now the types of themes driving the isekai stories being made speaks to a lot of interesting things happening in the youth of Japan’s relationship with digital gaming and role-play escapism. It’s fascinating, even though the focus of the genre as it’s done today hasn’t really grabbed me in the same way that isekai of the 80s-90s did.

Mecha isekai exists, and it’s only a matter of time before someone either remakes Vision of Escaflowne, or does a more mecha-focused isekai story similar to Magic Knight Rayearth. I doubt anyone would revisit Aura Battler Dunbine, or Super Dimension Century Orguss, but an otaku can dream.

Before we can say the mecha genre is dying, let’s briefly skim over the genre trends of the past +40 years. Every decade or era of mecha anime has a trend that reflects cultural concerns built into it, in a way that I don’t think any other genre of animation can touch (until now, with Digital/Virtual/Fantasy RPG World Isekai).

Late 60s-70s was: Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

Mid-70s – early 80s was: Combining Mecha Sentai Team Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

80s was: Real Robot + “how many sci-fi/fantasy settings can we put a robot into?” + the death-throes of Super Robot (e.g. Dairugger XV, Golion, Baldios, Godmars)

Also 80s: What the hell was Super Dimension Fortress Macross about? Cold war tensions of escalating end-the-world arms race meets an alien species whose only culture is fighting. Where songs about love, and the culture of love, are what win the day, not just transforming robots and big guns. Macross is deeper than it lets on.

Fun 80s: GoShogun happened. The first parody-satire mecha anime that still feels more serious than they intended, but is actually hilarious once you get past the dated gender roles humor (which was also kind of intentional satire).

WTF 80s: Space Runaway Ideon broke everyone’s minds.

Still not done with 80s: Gunbuster happened. The first angst-driven parody-satire mecha anime that blew everyone’s minds.

Late 80s-early 90s OVA mecha was a mix of Serious Cyberpunk-influenced Real Robot for older teens and adults + Mecha with Tits & Tentacles for Adults (see also space elf lesbians).

90s was: The Franchises Will Survive With Prettier Pilots, and Super Angst-Bot That Was Way More Influenced By Drugs And Ideon’s Ending Than Anyone Wants To Admit (aka Neon Genesis Evangelion) + “Since Gunbuster was a success, how many parodies of Super Robot and Real Robot can we do?”

Mid 90s isekai gems: Magic Knight Rayearth and Vision of Escaflowne

Late 90s: Brain-Powerd (not a typo) happened and it’s a shame no one remembers it. I’ve seen it’s influence come up in the 2000s – 2010s.

The 00s seem to be filled with a lot of re-treading of everything that came before but with different cross-genre influences and some of it really damn good but hard to remember because it all kind of blends together.

The 2010s-today: I have no idea what’s happening now b/c I can’t keep up with anything that isn’t Gundam. And why bother when there has been a flood of classic 70s-80s mecha releases—many for the first time in the US—to binge watch?

Knights of Sidonia was cool.

Since I haven’t kept up, I can’t speak to what new mecha anime is like, or why it's less popular (though I have an educated guess). It was gonna happen eventually, and I suspect that the kinds of post-nuclear and Cold War existential dread that informed mecha anime of the 60s-80s has moved on as target audiences grew up. Those lates 80s OVAs, where the stories could be more adult, reflect that growing up (and also Blade Runner’s influence).

I see the 90s as very transitional, includes reactions to the prior eras, but also reflects a lot of angst by Japanese teens and young adults caught up in the after-effects of 80s stagnation, and the constant test-studying to get into the best school to get the best job (if it exists) and figure it all out before you’re 14 so you can pick the best school to test into. Also, salary-man dad works 120 hours a week and is never home. Get in the Angst-bot Shinji.

Excluding the stand-out brands that survived their respective eras: Gundam, Macross, Braves series, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Evangelion; there’s not much other ground that can be covered right now that would warrant a series. The franchise mecha shows are grounded in their respective niches. It’s kind of odd that there isn’t an isekai mecha franchise, b/c that’s a niche that hasn’t been owned in the way that the other niches have (unless maybe Machine Hero Wataru is still a Thing?)

It’s worth mentioning that Sport Anime has really been having a moment for almost a decade now, and that’s super interesting to compare against isekai. Isekai about dungeon slimes or whatever vs literal horse-girls racing each other like high-school track. Thanks Japan, are y’all all right over there?

A few last things:

The success of Super Robot Wars tells me that mecha genre isn’t dying. Consider the ages of players. How many of them actually grew up watching Yuusha Raideen (aka Yūsha Raideen / Raideen the Brave)? There is an SRW manga anthology series, and loads of gachapon and collector’s grade mecha figures from old mecha anime get released with regularity. Someone’s buying that all that shit.

SRW is nearly 20 years old now, and they are still making video games that do one thing really well: rotate a 40 year old cast of everyone’s favorite robots into a battle strategy game held together by a duct-tape plot that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The games are fun, and it’s cool to put all these mecha into the same field. It’s really great to see older shows that will never be remade have little cut scenes in a newer animation style that still feels like the originals.

There’s also the old staple that started it all: the tokusatsu genre of live-action Super Sentai shows (e.g. Power Rangers). They’ve been making the Super Sentai Series since 1975, and there’s still fun to be had watching color-coded warriors use special powers/tech to summon forth some combining mecha to do battle with rubber suit monsters from outer-space. The effects are much better these days, but it’s the same formula, year after year and people still love it.

So with respect to mecha, I think what’s died or dying, is that people are afraid to have shameless child-like fun with giant robots. The genre got too serious and too angsty (and too horny without the grown-up edge of 80s OVA Tits & Tentacles mecha). The franchises carved their niches and aren’t going anywhere, while the genre survives in video games and collectables.

A lot of that shameless fun has moved into other genres, because nothing else explains a title like: “Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girl’s In The Dungeon?” or the nearly-ecchi concept behind the sports anime “Keijo!!!!!”. But that kind of fun is less child-like and more self-deprecating or pervy-humor. Both sports and isekai anime have their serious side, but seem to be dominated by stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, or like Yuri on Ice, aren’t afraid to take a concept that no one ever saw coming, and shape it into a good story.

I eagerly await a mecha sports anime (wait, no, I think that already happened), and I’d love to see a knock-out isekai mecha anime again. I think it will happen eventually, but probably not from Toei or Sunrise. If Tatsunoko could get beyond Moe Idols In Space, then the Macross franchise already has everything it needs to do a isekai series. That would be rad.

#mecha #ask me anything #anonymous #i'm sorry this got long

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Oz the Originator Steps Into the Spotlight

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When Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts was released in January 2020, many viewers quickly became fans of not only the show but the music contained within, particularly that of in-show producer Oz the Originator. The tracks of Oz were especially loved because they brought main character Benson and his crush Troy together, a rare example of queer characters in kids animation. The two bonded over their favorite old world MC, with Benson in possession of several of his albums.

Only small snippets of the songs were heard in the series but it was enough to make the audience seek out the voice behind the songs. What they found was the multi talented Andra Gunter, a rapper, music producer, writer, and skate boarder who called the response from fans “unbelievable.”

In a previous interview with Den of Geek, Kipo creator Rad Sechrist sang Gunter’s praises, particularly for his scriptwriting. Co-showruner Bill Wolkoff echoed that sentiment, adding, “Andra is this amazing talent. Keep your eye out for him. He’s a great writer and great musician.”

But you don’t go from relative obscurity to being on a show and getting the praise of showrunners just like that. I was interested in learning not just about Gunter’s work on Kipo but everything that got him to that point as well. From his 2009 start in making music to his influences and even how his ADHD affects his work, Gunter let me into his thought process and how all that (and skateboarding) lead him to working on Kipo. We also discussed the Oz the Originator character, his new ‘Brave War’ album, and his screenplay work.

Gunter had a lot to say and I was delighted to sit back and listen as he shared both his and Oz the Orginator’s story, the two of which are more connected than you might realize.

DEN OF GEEK: Tell me a little of your story. I mean, this is a huge question, but how did you get to where you are today in terms of music?

ANDRA GUNTER: Well, definitely started music after seeing my brother make music. I always rapped and made music. I have heard numerous stories from my family of me trying to make music on radios and tape decks and stuff like that. But me remembering that I really wanted to do this, it was probably 2009.

What sort of music were you making then? Is it similar to what you’re doing now? What were some of your first big compositions then?

Well, at first, I was just starting off just probably a newb at it. Obviously, that’s how it starts off for everybody; you’re not that good at it. Eventually over time I started just concentrating on it every day by myself. I made my first real song, probably, 2010. I was making just pretty much all types of music, just anything that I could find the beat to and I could rhyme to it, I was pretty much doing it. I just wanted to make music, that was just the point, like, “Yo, whatever they got on the internet, whatever I can learn, then I’m going to do.”

What sort of things were you putting in your lyrics at the time? Was it just anything goes, or was there any specific themes that were coming out?

Well, I mean, 2010 was a really funny era for music. I feel like that time was Wiz Khalifa and Joey Badass, and that was the beginning of Tyler, the Creator. So it was a really expressive form at that time. Anything went. If you knew who Tyler, the Creator was in 2010, man, you knew what the rules were in rapping at that time.

There’s a long span of time between 2010 and now, how did your music evolve over that time? Obviously, it got better, as it does for any creative person, right? But what sort of things did you find yourself zeroing in on, a style that you liked or different themes that you wanted to use?

Well, I can say, in 2011 I was introduced to this type of music called jerk music, It was this really crazed dance called jerking in the black community, and I feel like all over the world. It was everywhere you could possibly think people wanted to dance. I got into making that music for my brother and his little cousin, and that music opened up my ear to just kind of everything, because at that time it was almost like dubstep music or like rave music in a different sense. Definitely doesn’t sound the same. It has the same point of sampling a lot of music, ranging from Anita Baker all the way down to System of a Down.

Samples were everywhere at that time, because it was a lot of new producers just going on the internet, finding something and trying to create their own sound. So that’s what gave me my style of just being all over the board and not really staying in one box. Even though jerk music was definitely one box, I feel like everybody that was doing jerk music had a range of a lot of different things.

And in that, did you find yourself sampling other people, and if so, what kind of samples were you using, or was it just anything goes?

Yeah, pretty much anything went. I mean, in those early days, I wasn’t really sampling because I was still really new to producing. So I didn’t really understand that part of it yet, but once I got a hang of it and I understood, then I was sampling like crazy. I definitely range all over the board too. The first thing I’ve ever sampled was a Earth, Wind & Fire song. Nowadays it’s more of listening to really weird that I’ve been finding through playlists and things like that. All the way from alternative, to deep soul, to punk rock, I sample everything now.

This is the music nerd question, what programs do you use to make your music?

Oh, yes. My favorite question of all. My first time ever using a program was FL Studio. It was FL Studio 9. My brother threw the USB at me, and was like, “Download this on the computer and learn how to use it.” After that, and he introduced me to that program, I never really turned back or tried to really go into a new program. I do know how to use programs because, I mean, they’re all kind of the same, but if I had to choose a program to use, it’s definitely FL Studio.

How did you eventually end up working on Kipo?

I want to say 2014 or ’15, I met Rad Sechrist, the creator of Kipo, through skateboarding. All my life I’ve been skateboarding, and at one point I got really good. I had a group of friends, and one of my friends in that group by the name of Isaiah, he was like, ” Yo, I got this friend. He works in animation, and he does this and he does that.” And mind you, Isaiah’s sort of that friend that you just don’t believe. You’re looking at him like, “Dude, what the fuck are you talking about? Who is this guy?” So this dude pulls up, and we’re 17, 18 years old at this time. It’s Isaiah’s 16th or 17th birthday, and this old white dude pulls up. I’m like, “Who’s this guy?”

So didn’t pay too much attention to Rad at first, but I guess from my personality and the way I talked to people that day, he just hit me up one day, was like, “Yo, I was really fucking with you, just your vibe in the car. So come through and check out some of the stuff I’m doing.” And I was like, “All right.” And then that’s when I believed that he was an animator and storyboard artist, because he brought me to one of his offices where he was working on this movie about a dragon, and it was fucking crazy. I’m in this place and I’m watching him draw on a Cintiq for the first time with all this crazy artwork on the wall, and I’m just amazed.

At this time, there was a company he was running, it was a skateboard company called Plastic Walrus. He was like, “Yeah, I want you to ride for my company and stuff like that,” and I’m like, “Bro, I will do anything you want me to do. Look at the office here.” At that point I just started hanging out with Rad a little bit more. I was going out to Silver Lake, because I live in Watts, California. I was going all the way out to Silver Lake, catching three trains just to go meet up with him and get boards and stuff.

Then, eventually, I checked into college, Los Angeles Trade Tech College. And then that’s when I got into pretty much being a writer because at first I was really uncertain on what I wanted to do, in general. But I got into writing, I got in this English class in college and started writing. I was writing these poems and writing these short stories for class and sending them around, and Brad’s like, “Yo, you’re a writer, dude. You should try to write.” I was like, “I don’t really want to write. I got this music for you though,” and I sent him a whole bunch of music. And then that’s how I got considered for Kipo, him pretty much introducing writing to me and me telling him, “I am already a writer. I write music,” and then sending him my music.

I spoke with Rad before this interview and he mentioned that originally he was just hoping you’d temp on the tracks but then the higher ups at DreamWorks loved it so much they put it into the show. When did you find out about that?

That shit just happened random, dude. Obviously, you don’t know what’s really going on in the office. You just send in an email and you hope for an email back. I sent maybe 30 songs and there was a whole bunch of different years I did these songs. One era it’s from 2012 to 2014, and the others continue to 2015 to now. I wasn’t sure they were even going to consider it. So I’m texting Rad, and I’m like, “Dude, I need to find something else to do.” At this time, I didn’t have a job. I had just checked into college. They weren’t trying to give me financial aid. So I was like, “I need something to do, dude, to get money.” He’s like, “Dude, I got you. I know they have something for you. You can be a writer if you start writing.”

He’s telling me all the things I need in order to get a writing job over at DreamWorks, and I’m not listening to that. I’m just like, “Dude, just send them my music, just please, that’s what I do. There’s nothing else I can do but make music.” So after a hop, skip, and a shove I get an email from the music department over at DreamWorks, and then they tell me they’re considering a couple of songs. I’m pretty sure that shit just happened random. Rad probably was in their ear so much that they’re like, “All right, we’re just going to hit this kid up.”

So was it just that they took what you had existing, or did they ask you to adapt it to fit the show more?

(Of the) 30 songs I sent in maybe two of them were considered. In episode ten when Benson finds Troy, that part where the tape deck falls out of his backpack, that song is an original song I did probably when I first met Rad. It was before he even knew I did music. That song was definitely not altered to fit the show.

There’s another episode where (the characters are) eating breakfast. That song is also an original song that I made in my room, and they didn’t make me alter it, they didn’t make me re-edit it or anything. It was perfect enough to just go inside the show.

I know you were listed as vocal contributor on the credits, did you end up recording more music specifically for the show?

Rad was hitting me up like, “Yeah, dude. They’re loving the shit you sent, and we’re pushing towards putting that in the show, for sure.” He was telling me every step of the way about my original songs. He’s like, “But there’s more.” I was like, “What’s more?” And he’s like, “Well, they’re trying to record original songs because the Kipo script is pretty much musically based. It’s almost like a musical.” So he’s like, “I got this guy that we’re hiring, his name’s Daniel Rojas.” He gives me the whole rundown on this dude, and I’m already kind of fan crazed, because he brings up Hans Zimmer. He told me Daniel used to work with Hans Zimmerman, and I’m like, “Dude, what the… Do you know who Hans Zimmerman is in the music world?” You know what I mean? So instantly, right there, I’m like, “Yo, set me up with this guy. I got to see who this is.” So we set up a meeting with Daniel, and I go to his studio.

You know how Jonah Hill looks like he’s fricking 21, but he’s almost 40 years old? That’s what Daniel looked like. He’s this really young looking older dude. So already I was really intrigued by this guy. I’m like, “Yo, you look like a baby man.” He’s like, “Yeah, we get real cool. We chop it up. I got a couple of songs that I produced for the show, and I want you to rap over these beats.” So that’s when we got to the point where they were trying to get me to make songs for the show.

When you were rapping over it, did they give you lyrics, or were they just like, “Just freestyle over it.”

Oh, no. If they would’ve gave me the verse, I don’t think I would’ve got credit. So, (I) definitely wrote the verses. I was so excited, I wrote those verses in like five minutes.

Oh, wow. Did they give you any directives about what they needed to be about, or was it just like, “go for it”?

At first it was like, “Go for it so we can get a feel,” but once I started showing them and rapping it out loud, Rad’s like, “There’s certain things you can’t say in the song.” During the song they were telling me what I could say and what I couldn’t say, and what I could make it about and what I couldn’t make it about. They didn’t coach me through it. They let me do my thing, but, ultimately, told me there was an outline of what I needed to be talking about.

I was comparing the songs from Kipo to the ones on your recent Brave War album. The Kipo songs feel a little bit lighter. Your own music feels heavier. Can you talk a little bit more about those differences?

I definitely had to tone it down a bit for the DreamWorks songs. Obviously, DreamWorks is not going to let me go talk about what’s going on in my mental health. Kipo a kids’ show. The songs I had originally made; I was younger and my head space was in a way different space from what I’m making now.

Talk to me about the Oz the Originator character that your songs are attributed to in the show. Did they give you an outline of who he was?

His story and his outlook of who he is, (his) songs are supposed to speak for him. Those songs are pretty much saying exactly what he’s going through in those times of whatever he’s going through in his miscellaneous life. Oz is like Tyler, the Creator in an alternative universe. That’s the way I would like to see it.

So then, let’s talk about your album ‘The Brave War.’ You’ve said it’s an introduction to who Oz the Originator is. Tell me a little bit about the kind of songs that you want to have under that name, especially, because I know that you changed your name from what you originally had, right?

I’m Andra, at the end of the day, I’m Andra Gunter, but I definitely have different characters I portray, like Oz the Originator and Tim Lynch and that’s probably it right now. I’ve portrayed so many characters over the years, but those are the two main ones right now that are for sure people.

What would you say is the difference between the Lynch character and then Oz the Originator, in regards to the sound or how you’re going through the music? What are the differences?

Tim Lynch just doesn’t give a fuck about anything. That guy is more of the hard core hijinks that we all love and miss from the early ’90s. I feel like that’s what Tim Lynch is all about, just the hijinks era, and just being free and being able to express yourself the way you want to express yourself. I

Oz is, I want to say, the 2.0 version of Lynch. He’s what Lynch was supposed to be. They’re brothers. Oz and Tim Lynch are brothers, because The Brave War comes from a script, my first script I ever wrote, and technically, The Brave War album that I dropped is the soundtrack to the script. So Tim Lynch and Oz are definitely brothers, and Oz is supposed to be carrying the torch for Tim Lynch, because Tim Lynch is a era that rose and died recently. I let go of trying to pursue the Tim Lynch name early 2020, just because I wanted to concentrate more on writing and stuff. I’ve been Tim Lynch since 2009, dude. So, I was ready to give him his proper burial.

What made you want to switch?

Well, I write screenplays. Right now I’m working on a feature film, but Oz was just… He was just a really cool idea, at the time, and he developed into what he is now. I don’t really think Oz was supposed to go this far, but obviously some things you just can’t stop. The Oz the Originator character is a really dope character, in my opinion. He’s one of the tightest people I’ve ever seen on the mic. The way I see it is, it’s real, but it’s not. Oz is an illusion.

In terms of ‘The Brave War’ album, I love that you said that it was the soundtrack for a script you wrote. Tell me more about either the making of the album or the feeling behind it. What are you trying to put out to the world with that album?

I just wanted you to see the brave war that you would have to go through, inside of yourself. That whole album is pretty much me going through the brave war. As of a year and a half ago, I lost my mom due to cancer, stage four liver cancer. My whole life, obviously, did a complete 360. So what Oz is, is like my afterbirth after my mom passed. Tim Lynch is when my mom’s around, and then Oz is after, to express the original feelings.

Oz is an expressor. That’s what that whole album is about. It’s about expression, me getting people to understand what my mental health state is, and what Oz is going through. The script is definitely based on my life, but it’s not. It’s obviously altered. It’s pretty much me going through my emotions as I get through my life in the script. So it’s just the emotions of the script, just everything you could possibly feel as a skateboarder, as an up-and-coming rapper, skater that just lost a parent and has to be on their own now.

Going forward career-wise are you more focused music, the writing, or skating? Is it all three?

Well, I don’t really want to compare myself to nobody, but I’m going to be one of those guys who does it all. I definitely am inspired and look up to Donald Glover, who is also Childish Gambino. He writes movies, he writes TV shows, he acts in TV shows, he makes music, he’s one of the greatest artists on the planet. So pretty much just the Donald Glover outlook. It’s a little bit of everything.

Is there anything else that you are working on right now that you can talk about, or the stuff that you want to be writing? What’s the big writing stuff for you?

I can say I am going to be dropping some new music on SoundCloud when July comes and the summer starts. Obviously, everyone needs some new tunes to cook some barbecue to. So I’m definitely going to be dropping some new songs as Tim Lynch and some new Andra Gunter songs. I kind of want to retire Oz, but I won’t say I retire him yet. We’re going to throw Oz in the air and say, “We don’t know what’s going to happen with him right now,” but there’s definitely going to be new music.

You said you had retired Lynch before. Are you going to bring him back in now?

Well, the idea of Lynch is that he went off to the Navy. Now he’s coming back, and Oz is… he’s taking a hiatus right now. We have some legal issues going on with the album, so we’re trying to settle those out right now.

What’s the reaction you’ve gotten from Kipo fans? What’s it been like to get that attention?

Oh, man. I’ve been making music for a long time, like I keep saying. This year alone has showed me that there are people who actually like me. As a artist, you go through the motions of everything, who likes me, this and that, and you don’t really know where you are until people tell you in music. For a long time didn’t know my musical worth and where it was going to go. I did know that I was definitely going to have my song in a TV show, just because of personal reasons. I have an uncle, by the way, who was in Afro Samurai. He did the same thing I’m doing, he did a couple of original songs for the show.

I already had a outlook of what I wanted to do in my life, so when this came about, I definitely took the opportunity and I ran with it. The response of all the people showing me love is just… it’s kind of unbelievable. I have actual fans now and people who ask me questions and people who want to actually know what’s up with me, which is a new feeling. This definitely doesn’t feel like it did before, so it’s pretty crazy.

What’s it like knowing that your music is the favorite of a fictional cartoon character that unites this fictional cartoon boy with another boy?

I think that’s just dope, dude. This is some of the craziest things to be involved with. I told a lot of people that this is making history. This show is doing so many things that have never been done in the history of animation. When I found out Benson liked Oz the Originator, I was pretty ecstatic. I was like, “Yo, that kind of changes my life, in a way, because now I have to live up to Benson’s expectations. What are his expectations now?”

What other messages do you have for the people out there?

I am an advocate of kids with ADHD. So, for anyone who’s out there questioning their worth or not knowing how they’re going to get through the mental breakdowns we go through every 20 minutes, I want them to know that our minds are important. Our fast-paced moving minds are very important. We’re important. That’s what I just want to say.

Can you talk a little more about working with ADHD when you’re writing scripts or music?

Working with ADHD definitely is a fucking uphill battle, dude. I struggle, still, every day with a lot of things but I feel like it helps me. My uphill battle is a fun uphill battle. It’s not completely just digging into the dirt. I get to go here and get to go there because my mind has this thing where it hyper-focuses on certain things I want to do. I think working with ADHD is a good thing and a bad thing, all at the same time. I feel like my mind is a couple steps ahead of a lot of people’s at some times, because I’m hyperly thinking at all times. I feel like my ADHD has gotten me to where I am today.

If wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would be in the show. I don’t think I would be able to write a script. There’s a lot of things I don’t think I would be able to do had I not had ADHD, but I’m not going to glorify it. So, it’s a good and bad thing.

Any other messages you want to throw out there?

Yeah. Go check out my music, please.

You can check out Gunter’s music and all his other work here, where you can stream all of his music and more!

The post Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Oz the Originator Steps Into the Spotlight appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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queenmercurys · 4 years

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So, I usually refrain from expressing too many “problematic” opinions on this platform mainly because I don’t wanna deal with anon hate. I’ve done so in the past and it’s never been fun. But since I’ve been talking my friends’ ears off about Disney recently, I thought I would give it a go here. Yes, in the safety of the “read more”-button, because overall, my opinion doesn’t matter and I don’t wanna force it on anyone.

Let’s cut to the chase. I kind of hate Disney. Don’t get me wrong, I watch Disney films and I occasionally reblog some Disney stuff. I think some of their earlier things, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Atlantis, are truly enjoyable films. But I’ve never been into the whole Marvel phenomenon. I don’t care about superhero movies, and the way Marvel is insistent upon franchising everything and essentially making every film a cliffhanger for another cliffhanger film, just makes the whole sub-genre less appealing to me. I’m not exactly an action film fan as it is, and when it’s done in such a chaotic way as the Marvel films tend to be, I’m even less convinced. I’m not saying every Marvel film has to be a John Wick in the quality of action, but... one of them could be, no? As for Star Wars, well, it is my personal opinion that Disney has thoroughly ruined the franchise, to the point that I actually prefer the prequels. Maybe they were messy, badly acted and boring, but at least they felt like films - rather than products made for a cash grab.

As for their other products, well, I like Tangled. Moana is passable. Frozen is fine (but only fine). But none of these animated films have touched me in ways that, for example, The Swan Princess, The Prince of Egypt and Quest for Camelot have. Ever since I was a child, I’ve preferred non-Disney animated films without even realizing it. Maybe it’s because to me, the non-Disney films just tackle more complicated, fascinating stories that rely less on the chance to make merchandise and more on the opportunity to make good content. I have often heard the term of something being “too Disney”. Which, basically, kinda means that a film is just too family-friendly when it really doesn’t have to be. And that is probably something missing from the non-Disney examples I just gave. Admittedly, all of these films are from the 90′s, and I’m sure Dreamworks and co. have now fallen into the same cash-grab trap that Disney is currently sitting in. But nevertheless, I still consider most non-Disney animated films to be superior to their Disney counterparts. Part of it is definitely my annoying habit of disliking something that is too popular simply because it is popular - but I don’t think that’s the whole story. And my dislike of Disney has only grown over the years, to the point that I’m considering boycotting the company entirely. And here’s a few of the biggest reasons why:

Disney+. Yes, every company has the right to try to make money, and they should. But I think Disney+ will only mean the death of other streaming services, and eventually, the death of diversity and creative freedom in the film and TV industry. I prefer Netflix over anything Disney has ever spat out, and while I recognize its flaws, I hope that it will not get overshadowed by Disney+. But who are we kidding? It will. Especially in America, Disney is this sacred thing that nothing can defeat. Disney’s mediocre films (such as Frozen and Marvel movies) are praised as gifts from God, and everything else is either compared to Disney products, or discarded because of Disney. From everything I have read and watched, Disney+ is going to be a real threat to all of its contemporaries. It’s going to be cheaper than Netflix and others, and it’s going to have the products the masses adore (again, namely Marvel). Netflix will lose customers, and Disney+ will gain them. This will most likely make it difficult for Netflix to make new original content, and will most likely also affect movie theatres. Because if Disney+ continues their trend of releasing films on the platform rather than in theatres, well, what choice do Disney fans have but to join the service? And in the end, we’ll be left with nothing but films and shows that are so lifeless, or old classics we know from beginning to end. And neither one of these options encourage anything new.

This brings me to my second point, which is the lack of creativity and new ideas. You only have to look as far as the Disney liveaction remakes to see that they don’t care if they give you new, quality entertainment. All they care about is getting your money. And again, I am also at fault here. I liked Cinderella just fine. I loved the new Aladdin. I paid to go see those films. I gave Disney my money and thus, encouraged them to make new liveaction remakes. So, I can’t really criticize much when I’m also the offending party here. But still. Remaking every single classic Disney film? That is just exploiting nostalgia to the point that it’s becoming absurd. And all this does is stop Disney from working on new, interesting films that don’t exist in an already established franchise, or aren’t direct remakes. It’s not like Disney doesn’t have the money to take risks. It just refuses to, because why take risks when you can make easy money? And make no mistake. Aladdin 2019 was easy money. Frozen 2 was easy money. And however nice these products are, it does show in the end result. The stories are recycled, and feel kind of lifeless. The fact that people are comparing The Rise of Skywalker to Avengers Endgame only proves that Disney is not only recycling its’ own ideas, but that it’s stripping the directors and writers involved of their creative freedom. I’ve read stuff about how much JJ Abrams had to change in The Rise of Skywalker to accommodate Disney, and it’s actually pretty scary. What the hell is even the point of trying to tell original stories if Mickey Mouse is just gonna come and tell you to rewrite everything you’ve worked on? Disney is perhaps the most obnoxious and money-hungry company I have ever heard of in my life, and that’s saying a lot when there’s companies like Amazon and Apple around.

My third and final point is the fact that Disney owns, or is on its’ way to owning, everything. Absolutely everything. Star Wars. 20th Century Fox. You name it. Almost everything in the film industry at this point is Disney. And that sucks. It sucks so much. I can’t put it any other way. It terrifies me that Disney is in charge of so much of the content we are given. Because, let’s face it. Disney is not the most risk-taking company (at least not anymore), and certainly not the most diversity-encouraging one. People of color, LGBTQ+ characters, you name it - all of the representation in film and TV will most certainly lessen even more once Disney has its’ claws in everything. Disney only represents minorities when it serves them, and when they know they’ll get money off of it. Like that lesbian kiss at the end of Rise of Skywalker? I didn’t even fucking spot it when I watched the film! That is not representation. Having a token black character (who is completely wasted in the case of Finn in Star Wars) is not enough representation. Disney is a coward, and has been for a long time. All Disney cares about is profit, and that’s it. That’s 100000% it. And I’m not saying that other companies are much better. Of course Netflix wants your money. Of course HBO wants you to hand over your credit card info. But at least the content we receive from those companies varies. Not everything Netflix produces is another Stranger Things. HBO has done things that vary from Game of Thrones. But Disney (in recent years)? Remakes. Sequels. Rebooting a known franchise. It’s all been done before. And I’m scared that, say, ten years from now, every single action film will have the protagonist say a variation of “I am Iron Man” before doing their own variation of snapping their fingers. And, in my very non-expert, very non-educated opinion, that would suck.

By the way, it goes without saying, but all of this is just MY opinion. If you love Disney+, if you love Marvel, that’s amazing. I am so happy for you. This is a really good time for you. I’m nothing but a pretentious dick who is complaining about what is essentially just harmless fun. Just wanted to make that clear.

#i kind of needed to put this into words #the current state of the film industry terrifies me #rip creativity i guess #my ramblings

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bewareofchris · 4 years

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Tagged by @valshaena

dogs or cats? Dogs. 100%. But our current cat is growing on me.

youtube celebrities or normal celebrities? Youtube. I don’t know how I got here.

if you could choose to live anywhere, where would it be? Beach house, 24/7

disney or dreamworks? This one is too hard. I love them both.

favourite childhood tv show? I wasn’t allowed to watch TV until I was in my teens?

the movie you are looking forward to in 2020? I’m going to be 100% real, I have NO IDEA what movies are coming out in 2020. But it’ll probably be something actiony.

favourite book you read in 2019? Good Omens?

marvel or dc? Marvel

If you chose marvel, favourite member of the x-men? From that old cartoon that my brothers would watch, probably Rogue or Gambit. From the new movies, probably Magneto.

night or day? I absolutely love sleeping, so night.

favourite pokémon? Uh, that one in Detective Pikachu movie that served them drinks?

top 5 bands/artists? Florence and the Machine, Guns n Roses, The Killers, Sam Smith??, The Lumineers! (I lost 3 years off my life doing this.)

top 10 books? My god, are you TRYING to kill me? I don’t have favorites. Ok, ok. Needful Things, The Dead Zone, Thinner, and IT by Stephen King. Basically anything Terry Pratchett. I read These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder every single day, twice a day, no joke, for over a year when I was a kid.

top 4 movies? HAVE I EVEN WATCHED FOUR MOVIES. Fine, fine. I’m of the opinion that the director’s cut or whatever of The Ring is the most perfect movie I’ve ever seen. It’s been years now so I don’t remember why. Live. Die. Repeat/Edge of Tomorrow was awesome. Coal Miner’s Daughter has been a consistent favorite of mine. (How do these things happen to me? I just don’t know.) Lilo and Stitch? Yes. Lilo and Stitch.

us or europe? Not sure what you’re asking. Europe probably has an edge over the US at present, but I’m not a traveler so...

tumblr or twitter? twi-huh? I don’t social media.

favourite vacation destination? THE BEACH. ANY BEACH. FIND ME A BEACH.

favourite youtuber? I feel like we’ve established this is a thing I just can’t do.

favourite author? Middle-years Stephen King? Terry Pratchett is my new fav.

tea or coffee? Tea gives me migraines.

otp? Right now? Bobo Del Rey/Doc fucking Holliday

do you play an instrument/song? Nope. Writing is my sole talent, sadly.

If anyone is interested in completing this delightful survey consider yourself tagged.

#a tagging game #about me

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mutantenfisch · 4 years

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20 Questions/Facts for 2020

I got tagged by the ever handsome and amazing @ryanglitter <3 I know you said no pressure, but this tag thing here is actually fun, so I did it :D

1. Do you make your bed?

Not every day, but i try. Sometimes i’m in too much of a hurry, but it is a great feeling to come home to a neatly made bed, so i would say i do this more often than not?

2. What’s your favorite number?

I don’t really have a favourite number? But I do like the meaning that 4, 7 and 28 have in my life.

3. What’s your job?

I’m currently a university student working a part-time job as a science intern. This might change soon though, as i plan to get training as a lab assistant.

4. If you could, would you go back to school?

To be honest? Only if i also get to get my favourite teachers back. I really like learning in a school environment and some experiences were good. But with how drastically our society is changing, I don’t want to spend time among kids again and see their (and my) hopes in the future shattered.

5. Can you parallel park?

I can and do this when necessary.

6. A job you had which would surprise people?

I doubt this would surprise anyone who knows me but I was taking care of carnivorous beetles during a research project for two years.

7. Do you think aliens are real?

I don’t doubt that they might exist, but I am pretty sure they don’t look like we imagine them to look like.

8. Can you drive a manual car?

Aye! That’s the type i made my driver’s license with and the type i’m sharing with my brother.

9. What’s your guilty pleasure?

Eeeeeeeeh no idea? I wouldn’t consider watching animated children’s series a guilty pleasure? Most I know are actually equal to or better than life-action series for grown-ups?

10. Tattoos?

I really want to get one but i don’t know if i can do this with neurodermitis.

11. Favorite color?

I love almost the whole green and blue palette, so it’s hard picking a favourite. I also love dark red and purple tones and ochre.

12. Things people do that drive you crazy?

Oh, there’s a lot tbh. But the worst example: i absolutely dislike the generalising “man” being used so inflationary in German when people are obviously talking about their very own opinions or experiences.

13. Any phobias?

I am genuinely afraid of the open ocean. I even feel uncomfortable watching documentaries where i either can’t see the shore or where the ship with the scientists is super small amidst the sea.

14. Favorite childhood sport?

Does climbing trees to steal apples or hide from people who annoyed me count?

15. Do you talk to yourself?

Aye. Very often and when i’m alone, or not feeling watched, even out loud.

16. What movie do you adore?

I can watch The Fellowship of the Ring every month without tiring of it. I also can rewatch Pacific Rim every month and I am still absolutely in love with the masterpiece that is Dreamworks’ Spirit - Stallion of the Cimmaron.

17. Do you like doing puzzles?

I really do!

18. Favorite kind of music?

There’s a bit of everything in my repeat-rewind playlist on spotify but i’d say in general I like folk, rock and “classical” music in equal measures plus many many other genres and artists?

19. Tea or coffee?

Both! At home I tend towards tea, but when on my way to work or in uni, i usually pick coffee because the caffeine keeps the numbness of depression and exhaustion at bay.

20. The first thing you remember you wanted to be when you grew up? Remember what i talked about under point 13? Well, you might laugh, but at the wise old age of six I wanted to be a deep-sea biologist who discovers new species and ecosystems. I would still love to become a biologist without the deep-sea part involved, but thanks to my mental health i will soon quit uni and i don’t know if i can restart it to actually graduate there. I honestly don’t know whom to tag, folks! So, if you’re reading this and would like to give this a shot, then have fun! And if not, that’s okay too.

#tag game #mutantenfisch answers #20 questions

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eswel · 4 years

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Top moments of the 2010s in my fandoms

This decade was very important to me when it comes to fandom. I finally embraced my inner nerd. That’s why I want to remember the best moments I experienced in relation to my fandoms. I will start with my main one doing a top 5, the others will be a top 3.

Digimon:

1) Meeting Ayumi Miyazaki and Ai Maeda: I never thought it would happen. Some anime convention producers brought them to my country. I feel so blessed I had that opportunity. They were transcendental for my childhood. Also, they’re very nice people. I had such a blast in their shows, I hadn’t enjoyed myself in a concert since I was a teenager.

2) X digimon revival: I love the X digimon, although the old designs weren’t very good. So I was very happy Bandai decided to pick them up again and stepped up their game, because the new designs are gorgeous.

3) The series come back to local TV: We were all happy in my country when we heard the news, because it hadn’t aired in like 10 years and we asked for it during a lot of time. People commented and a sense of community was developed. We roleplayed the characters, it was a lot of fun.

4) Appmon: I fell in love with this series. It was the first one since Tamers that I watched in its enterity while it was airing. I enjoyed following it every week. It has its faults, but it has a very special place in my heart and I think it has the most charismatic characters since Adventure.

5) Hunters’ crossover: I wasn’t following the series back then, although I was aware that Xros Wars existed. When I heard that all the leaders from previous seasons would show up I was super excited, so I decided to watch that episode live. My surprise was even greater when I saw that almost all the other characters were also in it. I remember those 3 minutes were so intense that I got a headache later out of pure excitment.

Animation:

1) Live action adaptations: While others don’t like them, I love them. I find very interesting the twists that they put to their stories and characters’ development. Although I feel that lately they are staying too close to the original movies instead of taking risks.

2) TV series: I was surprised when I heard about the Tangled series and The Lion Guard. It feels like a revival of the 90s, when the movies had series, too. The Revival era really mirrored the Renaissance era, uh? On the other hand, Dreamworks developed in this market with its fair share of shows. I was even more surprised when I heard they would bring Spirit back. Who would have thought.

3) The Big Four: It was such an interesting and fun crossover. Two from 2010, two from 2012. Two from Disney, two from Dreamworks. I think it was very creative.

Star Wars:

1) Rogue One: I believe it’s unanimously considered the best movie of the franchise this decade, right? It was such an intense story, I remember seeing the destruction of a planet being inside of the planet gave me chills and the final scene with Vader, too.

2) Diversity: It was very nice seeing a wider range of actors joining the franchise, from asians to latinos. Personally, I feel super proud of Oscarito, Dieguito and Pedrito (especially him, since he’s from my country).

3) Seeing Pablo Hidalgo: I always saw convention’s panels on videos and it seemed something so big and epic. In 2017 I had the chance of attending a panel for the first time when the Comic Con of my country brought “Mr. Canon”. He revealed some things about The Last Jedi. I was happy, because 5 years earlier I missed Lando’s actor when he came to the same event.

Dragon Ball:

1) Episode 131 screening: I believe this hasn’t any precedent and didn’t happen anywhere else in the world. It’s incredible the impact that this series has in Latin America. People went to bars and public plazas. Some of these events had even the support of the local authorities. I went to the one they made in my city. It was kinda embarrasing, because of the technical problems they had, but in the end we still could watch and share with other people.

2) Battle of Gods: Latin America was one of the first places outside of Japan that got to see this movie. It had a phenomenal reception and I believe it influenced the way the franchise developed afterwards. It was a lot of fun watching the films on the big screen, because generally people don’t express themselves that much during movies. There’s like this unspoken rule that you have to avoid bothering other people, but during these they just let themselves out: they laughed, they yelled, they clapped. We shared the experience collectively.

3) Universe Survival arc: I was tired of the series by the time that the Trunks arc ended that I almost considered dropping it, but I’m glad I didn’t. I think the last arc was the best and it revitalized my interest. They gave time for the other characters to develop, instead of focusing only on the main ones and the new characters were also very interesting and diverse.

Sailor Moon:

1) The series comes back to local TV: After Naoko released the broadcast rights, my country was one of the first to air the series again after Italy and Israel, I believe. I found out of sheer luck halfway through the first season and it was THE series that pushed me to start watching anime regularly again.

2) Sera New: In addition to the series, the musicals came back, too. I never really watched any of them. I want to, but there’s too many of them that I wouldn’t know where to start. So it was a nice opportunity when the last one premiered on cinemas around the world. I had to go to the city next to mine to watch it, though, because my local teather didn’t release it.

3) Revival: This could apply to several anime series through this decade, but I find this one noteworthy, because the 20th anniversary is the first event of that kind I remember (others would follow). I predicted that a new anime would be announced. Afterwards came a wave of merchandise, which I find interesting, because it included practical products catered specifically to the female audience that grew up with the series who are now adult women.

Harry Potter:

1) Seeing Matt Lewis, Chris Rankin and Stanislav Ianevski: In 2010, Warner sent the actors on press tours around the world to promote Deathly Hallows. It was the first time someone from the movies came to South America. I went to the cinema and waited outside to see Matt. Some fans tried to convince the guards to let us in haha. Sadly I couldn’t get an autograph, but I took photos of him. Later in 2018 Chris and Stanislav were invited to a convention (originally the guests were Katie Leung and other actress that I can’t remember right now).

2) Final movie premiere: It was one of the few movie premiere’s livestream I have ever followed. There was a lot of fans from everywhere around the world. It was very emotional seeing everyone together and united. And it got gradually even more emotional seeing every actor for the last time. By the time of the speech I was crying.

3) New editions: When I was growing up, the books had just one cover in each country. But during this decade they released new versions dedicated to the 15th and 20th anniversary, plus the illustrated ones. There’s so many covers now that I get lost, but it feels nice knowing it’s following the path of the classics that get new covers from time to time.

#personal random ideas

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

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Michael After Midnight: Ice Age

I think this is the saddest I’ve ever been to write a Michael After Midnight. Not because I hate the film I’m talking about, far from it, but because it has become so obscure and overshadowed by the massive succession of soulless, empty sequels that this one has been forgotten…

...which is what I would say if I’d seen more than the first sequel, which was… okay. Not really very meaningful or special, kind of trite and definitely showcasing the things critics and audiences would lambast in the future movies. But yes, I’ve only seen the first two Ice Age films and I’m not sure I care to see the rest; they just don’t look all that appealing to me. And it’s pretty easy to see why if you watch the first film, which has a pretty solid, definitive ending to the point there didn’t even need to be sequels.

The original film tells the story of the curmudgeonly mammoth Manny who meets up with the absolute space case that is Sid the sloth and the shifty sabretooth tiger that is Diego, and together the three go on a road trip across the frozen landscapes to bring a lost human baby who survived an attack on a nearby village from Diego’s pack to its “herd.” Of course, Manny and Sid don’t know Diego is there to get the baby for his pack leader, and neither of them trust him much, but they begrudgingly allow him along since he knows the way, and through a series of comical misadventures the three end up becoming fire-forged friends. Or, I should say, ICE-forged friends. Eh? EH?

Anyway… This film is just impressive because it’s actually pretty heavy with emotion. The death scene of the mother and Manny’s flashback upon seeing the cave paintings late in the movie are the peak dramatic moments, and they really don’t disappoint. Manny’s reminiscence of what happened to his mate and child is such a great, heart-wrenching character moment you may actually cry, and I’m willing to bet you never thought you’d hear anyone say that about an Ice Age film.

The comedy here is actually pretty on point, as well. I think it helps this came out in the early 2000s, before excessive reference humor and constant loudness and over-the-top characters became a trend in animated films, so there’s not really any of that; even Scrat, who you may know as the breakout comedic underdog who constantly suffers in his quest to bury an acorn, is given little screentime in this film and is spaced out as sort of interludes between major plot scenes to either lighten the mood or just act as a cherry on top of a comedic moment before. And because of his limited screentime, he never really overstays his welcome.

For the main cast, Sid is the comic relief, and he’s utilized pretty well in the film, with John Leguizamo giving him lovable loser qualities that would be needlessly exacerbated in the sequels. Here though, he’s a lot more well-meaning and likable, and he gets a few good jokes in here and there as well as playing off of Diego and Manny very well. Probably the biggest plus, though, is the lack of modern cultural references or anachronistic pop culture jokes. Sure, there’s a couple of history gags, with Stonehenge, snowboarding, and even a Vulcan Salute done towards a frozen UFO, but none of that really stands out as egregious or obnoxious like the characters singing pop songs in the sequel. Overall it’s just very well-rounded in terms of comedy, with most of the humor coming off of how the characters interact.

And speaking of characters, the core cast is very good, I must say. All three of them are likable and entertaining, and it’s really nice to see three people from three different walks of life come together and form something of a family. Their friendship actually ties in pretty well with their backstories as well: Manny’s family was killed by human hunters, leaving him bitter and lonely; Sid was left behind by his family during the big migration, likely because they find him obnoxious; and Diego just doesn’t seem to get much respect from his pack in general. All of them are lost, and yet they found each other and grew to become an unconventional yet still functioning family.

It’s so weird to look now and see Ice Age as a franchise. Frankly, this movie just feels like it would have been fine as a one-and-done deal. It has a good blend of comedy, a fun cast, a story that has room for heartwarming and tearjerking moments, and decent animation that doesn’t look too bad even today, and it ended on an amusing and satisfying note. Even with the second movie, you kind of get the feeling Blue Sky Studio was trying really hard to catch that lightning in a bottle twice and trying really hard to make things work again without truly understanding why their own film worked the first time, a problem that their biggest competitors (Dreamworks and Disney) were also facing at the time with films like Chicken Little, Shark Tale, and Shrek the Third.

Still, no matter your thoughts on the sequel, the first film is a genuinely good road trip movie. I definitely recommend it to people who like animated movies; these days I’d certainly call it an underrated gem, if only because its bloated franchise has kind of crushed it down into a tiny corner where it’s hard to see in comparison. It’s also not a bad choice if you like wacky road trip movies; where else are you gonna see a road trip film that features every single dodo in existence fighting over a watermelon and driving themselves to extinction in an attempt to get said melon? Nowhere, so watch Ice Age.

Blue Sky took a very long time to get respect thanks to its reputation with sequels, but I think that reputation is mostly unfair; while sure, they probably milked Ice Age a bit much, considering they came out the gate with this film and then followed it up with the charming cult classic Robots, I feel like people kind of undervalued them for a while, at least until 2015 in which they unleashed a true modern classic upon us in the form of The Peanuts Movie. You gotta give credit where it’s due; for all the impact, good and bad, that their first film had, it’s hard to deny that Ice Age is a genuinely good film, and maybe even a great one.

#Michael After Midnight #Review #Movie Review #Ice Age #Blue Sky Studios #animation #animated movie

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