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Reviews
Astro Boy (1963)
Astro Boy theme song: check out this great cover!
Fans of this cartoon cult classic will definitely want to check out the fantastic rendition of the Astro Boy theme song, featured on the Osaka Popstar album 'Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk'. It takes the theme song, speeds it up, and puts a punky twist on it, but without a hint of the snotty patronization you hear in other punk covers. It really makes you think, "now that's what this theme song is supposed to sound like!" Also, some of you Astro Boy fans might be interested to know that the album contains another cover of a popular cartoon's theme song, Sailor Moon. A less-speedy, but just as catchy version, with heart-felt vocals and melodious guitar riffs. A real gem for fans of TV theme songs, and anime/classic cartoons. :-) ~Darlene~
Lil Creepers (2004)
A dismal attempt at witty dark humor
These two animated shorts are plagued by so many flaws, I don't know where to start. First of all, the computer-generated animation is extremely amateurish, making the characters look like second-rate bobbleheads. Visual jokes and sight gags fall flat simply because they weren't animated correctly. The dialogue is generic and choppy, delivered with no real timing or charisma. It's like a graduate student made a cartoon and coaxed his untalented friends and relatives into doing the voice work. The numerous references to old horror films come off desperately forced, with all the kids named after classic Universal Monster legends like Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. But I still can't figure out what's going on with the little werewolf guy. His name's Vinnie, he wears a leather jacket and talks like a 50's greaser. He sounds more like Vinnie Barbarino than Vincent Price, who never played a werewolf, anyway. One stupid joke pretty much sums up the overall lameness of these two animated shorts: Bela's family has a butler awkwardly named "Eeyorgore", who is a bizarre hybrid of Eeyore and Igor, complete with purple donkey hooves. It's so dumb that it leaves you feeling confused.
Curly Top (1935)
Classic Shirley
Being an extremely rebellious teenage girl and a huge Shirley Temple fanatic seemed really odd to everyone who knew me. Not only did I love the strange alternate universe she existed in where little orphan girls can triumph over any tragedy, and sing and dance all the while, but I easily recognized the young actress's remarkable talent and charisma. I can't think of any child star, now or then, who could carry an entire film the way she did every year in the 1930's. She is completely unrivaled. In "Curly Top" she plays Elizabeth Blair, a sweetly precocious orphan who, along with her older sister Mary, is adopted by a kind-hearted wealthy businessman. The musical numbers are absolutely classic, and include the famous "Animal Crackers In My Soup" in which she leads her fellow orphans in a dining room singalong. Then there's the ultra-adorable song n' dance (and jump-rope) number "When I Grow Up", where we get to see little Shirley dress up in various costumes that include a wedding gown and an old lady getup, gray hair and all. Last but not least, Shirley does one of her most famous tapdance numbers on top of a white grand piano in the aptly-titled song "Curly Top". The seasoned supporting cast definitely shines as well. John Boles is extremely charming as the handsome bachelor Edward Morgan, although his piano-accompanied operatic singing can seem a little tedious, especially to younger viewers. One of my favorite actors, Arthur Treacher, expertly plays the quietly sarcastic butler whose stiff exterior quickly melts after befriending young Elizabeth. Treacher is better known for his role in the later Shirley Temple film, The Little Princess, in which he plays the cruel schoolmaster's flamboyant brother, Mr Birdy. Filled with interesting characters and situations, "Curly Top" is such a delightful movie. It's got musical numbers, romance, drama, and comedy, all wrapped up in a cute little package. It's a must-have for Shirley Temple fans, and classic movie fans in general.
~Darlene
Baby Blues (2000)
A Sweeter Version of the Modern Animated Sitcom
Unlike other modern animated shows aimed at adults, Baby Blues is sweet and comforting, and still moderately funny. It's like watching The Family Guy if it were rated G, with a mildly racy joke thrown in every once in a while. Instead of this formula being the norm on television, it is the major exception, and that makes it stand out. It doesn't try to cram in as many crude jokes and sexual innuendos 22 minutes can hold, thus making the comedy play second fiddle to the gross-out/shock factor. Baby Blues relies on plots with substance to entertain it's audience, with a realistic (at least for a cartoon) married couple and their everyday struggles with parenthood, financial problems, and unglamorous jobs. The humor does tend to fall a little flat in some areas, simply because much of the show's marital and work issues have been covered numerous times since the beginning of moving pictures. But the show manages to inject just enough sweetness into the formula to make the viewers care about the characters and what will happen next. It's too bad Baby Blues was canceled so abruptly. It could've easily evolved into a another classic animated sitcom.
The Book of Pooh (2001)
Visually-Delightful Show for the 2-6 Age Bracket
The Book of Pooh is an all around excellent, visually-delightful children's show. Notice how the majority of negative comments expressed here are critical of the characters' appearance rather than show content, suggesting more than a tinge of irrational resentment. We all feel protective of the shows and characters we grew up watching, which can create a severe bias when it comes to remakes and modernized versions of these shows. The Book of Pooh is a great example of this narrow-minded mentality. The Hundred Acre Wood is brought to life in a near-flawless mix of puppeteering and computer animation, with catchy musical numbers and interesting plots to keep the young mind entertained as well as educated. A very important aspect to keep in mind is the age difference in viewers of the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh cartoon and The Book of Pooh, with the latter aimed at the 2-6 age group, whereas the former is geared towards older children about 6-10. This is why the Book of Pooh has larger characters, simpler backgrounds, and less complex but more educational plots. This is all to keep the attention of toddlers while teaching them basic moral lessons, as well as simple counting and reading skills. Bottom line: It's a charming, imaginative show for the toddler/preschool audience, and adults won't be too bored watching it either. As long as they aren't constantly comparing it to the other Pooh shows. :-)
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)
Favorite Movie of my Childhood :-)
To this day, there isn't a movie I've seen more times than The Chipmunk Adventure, nor has any movie brought me more happiness. This is by no means the greatest film or even the greatest animated film, but to an 8 year old girl in 1988 it was the coolest, funniest, most exciting film ever! I'm still equally as impressed today with the musical numbers, each one a standout song with wonderfully dramatic lyrics in the epic tradition of 80's pop (think Pat Benetar on helium, only catchier).
Controversy has stirred over the blatantly suggestive tone of the Chipette's song "Gettin' Lucky With You", which to me seemed much more innocent at the time. However, looking at it as a rational adult, I can totally understand the concern; you've got three young girls in skimpy harem outfits passionately proclaiming "getting lucky is what it's all about". The Chipettes' were definitely sexualized tenfold for this movie.
But this controversial issue doesn't even come close to overshadowing the Chipmunks' otherwise fabulous feature length animated adventure, I encourage parents and childless adults alike to check out this movie. Especially if you were a child of the eighties/early nineties like me. :-)
Barney & Friends (1992)
A Great Show for Kids (whether you like it or not)
'Barney & Friends' is a good educational show for kids, plain and simple. After reading the reviews on this page, I feel I must respond to some of the comments, many of which were made by folks who obviously jumped on the anti-Barney bandwagon without actually watching the show first.
First, in regard to the common complaint that Barney doesn't teach kids about any feelings other than happiness: Do you think kids today need to be taught about sadness, anger, violence, or fear? Is there not enough of that in their lives already? Kids aren't immune to life and they're lives are more than what they see on a TV show. The 30 minutes of pure unadulterated happiness exhibited by Barney and his friends in most episodes is an appealing contrast to the bleak stress-filled real world many kids are exposed to for the other 23 1/2 hours of the day. So many kids live in poverty or in dysfunctional or abusive families, or both, and they constantly hear about death and destruction radiating out from every corner of the globe. Fortunately, many kids can turn on PBS and see happy optimistic puppets telling them how wonderful life can be; perhaps it evens things out a bit in a child's impressionable mind.
To say Barney only teaches happiness isn't true anyway, there are several episodes that are solely dedicated to dealing with negative feelings like being sad, mad, scared or embarrassed, and how it's okay to feel these emotions. Granted, the children on the show are happy most of the time, but why shouldn't they be? It's a 30 minute kiddie show, should they all dress up in black veils and mope around like a bunch of goths? They are trying to make their audience, children age 2-6 years old, feel happy.
Secondly, to address the notion that Barney does all the work and imagining, thus setting a bad example for kids: This shows you haven't watched the show because Barney is a figment of the children's imaginations, and therefore all of Barney's ideas are their ideas. We see the fantasy from their imagination's perspective.
I thought for sure I'd heard it all when it came to putting down Barney and similar shows, but I was wrong. Now people are insulting kiddie shows for being too imaginative. I keep reading idiotic comments like 'these kids are seeing a big talking purple dinosaur, are they snorting PCP or something?!! That's going to scar them for life!!" Those types of comments might have been slightly humorous 25 years ago, maybe. But now this attitude has become so commonplace that people are seriously holding a show's creativity against it. For instance, a friend of mine who has a 4 year old son refused to let him watch the Teletubbies because it was, and I quote, "bizarre and too Orwellian". (!) Gimme a break. That's almost as silly as another reviewer's claim that Barney disrespects his preschool audience by talking down to them. That's so ridiculous, I'm not even going to respond to it other than to say, that's just silly.
Let 'Barney & Friends' be what it is: a simple sweet children's show that teaches young kids moral lessons while entertaining them with catchy songs and brightly colored dinosaurs. It's silly to expect anything different from a show that caters to such a young demographic. And next time, watch more than two minutes of a show before you submit a review for it. ~Darlene