petronius79 Reviews

Tiny Toons Looniversity (2023– )

Even season 2 can't save it.

[6/10 · 31 March 2024]

Remember in the original when the episodes animated by Kennedy Cartoons were deemed atrocious and had to be corrected? Well compared to the static episodes by the current Philippine studio Snipple Animation, they look like Disney in comparison! Because what made Tiny Toon different was that compared to other series they had double the frame count. Now we are returning to even worse frame numbers....

Season 1 main issue was that the episodes were mostly limited within the school.

Season 2 and Spring Break Special at last make a venture outside the school, trying different settings and scripts and approaching the original series adventure element and trying to improve it. Or so I thought.

But alas, instead of trying to change pace for once, they fall into the same repetitive sitcom dialogues reminiscent of other non-LT related series. Of course original Tiny Toons had some sitcom too, but it was not exclusively a sitcom series like this one here!

The Spring Break Special especially was atrocious! There is no Break at all, just the same repetitive dialogues.

Only exception is the glimpse to the siblings family, but 1 good decision can not make up for 10 bad ones.

As if the writers and creators were one dimensional and had no idea to do anything different, which I do not believe is true. Eg the King Tweety movie had not much in common with the classic LT either, especially the atrocious art style, but at least it tried to do something different and kept my interest and had some action and adventure.

I feel that even the worst Tiny Toon Adventures episodes are better than this. Plucky is the exception but even so he can not compare to the original Plucky.

An exception was the space episode but only because they tried to follow the decent Duck Dodgers TV series.

Hope that season 2B is the last one and that they leave this franchise to rest. A pity that Steven Spielberg instead of reminding us that he was a TV animation innovator, surrendered Tiny Toons and Animaniacs to staff that never understood the old LT and WB cartoons.

Because the original producers even grew with Looney Tunes shorts on cinema as kids.

The Emperor's New School (2006–2008)

Good writing and voice acting but ruined by low budget animation

[6/10 · 25 January 2024]

In one episode they make even a self-parody when Kuzco mentions that this is the first time they use that sort of special effects.

I could not believe the dip in production quality in animation and backgrounds after Lilo and Stitch TV series. That series had wonderful animation and beautiful water color backgrounds.

But here animation and design feel like low budget and unworthy of a Disney series based on a traditionally animated movie. Series does not even try to keep the quality of the movie or its video sequel. Unfortunately this also influences the writing and humour in some episodes as the characters are far too static and bland looking.

It was the last Disney series aired on ABC channel so this probably also played a role.

Also it feels like a worse version of Hercules the animated series that also takes place in school settings but difference there is that there are far more characters and villains and they are much better and memorable overall and with higher production values too.

Here only Kuzco, Kronk and Yzma stand out.

While it was not the first series to try and distance itself from the traditional design as 101 Dalmatians in 1997 did it first. But difference was that the animation there was leaps and bounds better compared to New School.

While first season of New School was rather forgettable, the moment Tony Craig returned as a director in season 2, the episodes got much better despite the low budget design and animation that would be more fit for other Disney series, not the supposed flagship ones.

I really liked the humour and dialogues in this series. They even make a reference to the Benny Hill Show (without the spicy moments of course, but still quite daring). And to my liking, this must be the only animated series where chinchillas are featured in so many episodes in one way or another.

But having grown with the classic Disney TV series, this would be hard to recommend for a rewatch. It clearly targets the audiences that grew and liked series with less detailed animation and backgrounds. But if Disney stopped producing such series like Lilo and Stitch and starts following other studio's cheaper trends, it is a sad thing to see.

Legend of the Three Caballeros (2018)

Disrespectful to the classic movie and bad on its own too

[6/10 · 21 November 2023]

Original movie had charm and warmth, trying to introduce in a unique way Central and South American culture to its audiences. Even the Don Rosa comics did it in their own way. Here they just visit empty places, filled only with fantasy beings. As if series were inside its own internet era bubble where everything else is a threat.

Sure, the 40s movies had a postcard aesthetic and prejudices but one recognised the effort the producers went through, traveling to that region and meeting the locals and their culture.

While in the series they even do self-parody, eg when they visit a known island, they wonder where all the locals have vanished to. Totally lazy effort.

One recent series that did it right was the Mysterious Cities of Gold reboot that respectfully added info and mini-documentaries about Asian and African cultures in every episode.

Disney certainly has the resources for a proper research team but here they chose the cheap and risk-free route.

As for the characters, the goddess belongs rather in a superhero series and totally breaks the harmony between the 3 Caballeros. In fact with Daisy and the 3 nieces she feels redundant. But what is most annoying is her human character design and face. At least they could have drawn her the classic anthropomorphic animal way with dog or cat snout and ears instead of the human face.

When it comes to the 3 nieces, they are cynical and addicted to their phones, just like the nephews of 2017 Ducktales. If the 3 Caballeros and Daisy are faithfull to their original characters, why not doing the same for the nieces as well?

This series does more damage to the classic ones and Ducktales 2017 did on the original.

The Lion Guard (2015–2019)

A series that enriches the source material

[8/10 · 15 August 2022]

A drawback the movies had was that due to length it was not possible to show the whole world of the African flora and fauna, which nevertheless was beautifully animated in both movies.

However the TV series goes one step further. Despite lack of cinema animation, it manages to represent countless of African animals and also non-African ones I had no idea they even existed.

All this thanks to the advice by specialists working at Disney in zoology and education, While one character of the Guard, Ono, ensures that the viewers will have the necessary knowledge for those animals. Though do not expect the realism or gruesomeness of a documentary, this is a kids series after all.

But they did very well and when I saw the baddies of season 3, I could not believe my eyes.

As for the story, each season has its pros and cons. I liked Season 1 for the character introductions, Season 2 for the main villain and Season 3 for the adventure element. .

Though if S3 ep1 and ep2 were S2 finale, it would have been the best.

Briar-Rose or The Sleeping Beauty (1990)

Japanese/Czechoslovakian stop-motion!

[9/10 · 8 May 2007]

Saw this on the K.Kawamoto collected short film works. Audio track was either Czech or Japanese with English subtitles. The artist is not widely known outside Japan though he is one of the best stop-motion animators worldwide. Having visited Prague in 1963 as a disciple of the great Jiri Trnka, he returned again after the Velvet Revolution in 1990 to produce in collaboration with Jiri Trnka Studio this short feature, namely the adaptation of the "Sleaping Beauty" fairy tale.

Having followed Trnka's guidelines how to make successful stop-motion and also with the help of other Czechoslovakian stop-motion masters, Kawamoto made one masterpiece. Though this is a co-production and it is clear that there are some differences with the other works of the artist, this short movie has both the features Kawamoto had used in his previous film (House of Flames, Dojoji Temple, Demon)and the features that made Czechoslovakian stop-motion cinema known word wide: dark fairy-tale atmosphere and characters faithful to the Brother Grim text, lyricism, amazing puppet design and animation, very good soundtrack and most importantly it leaves its mark on the viewer and it is mainly for adults as here the fairy tale has a twist most fairy tale adaptations for children would deliberately omit.

Since it is only 21 minutes long it doesn't turn tedious.

One feels that only the settings, the costumes and the people changed from Oriental to European but in essence this has Kawamoto's marks and the rest of the staff offered mainly guidance and advice.

Too bad that good animation films are known and appreciated only by a select few. If you get the chance to watch this in a festival don't miss it.

Animaniacs (1993–1998)

innovative concept, flawed execution

[6/10 · 30 April 2007]

I watched mainly the first season and some episodes of the others as well.I did not find the show very appealing or funny.

The reason was, as many others have mentioned, that it had so many cultural references and parodies from USA movies and musicals mainly, that you had to be a movie expert to really grasp and appreciate the humor. Especially in the episodes with the Warner siblings. I admit it was a nice effort to include so many elements and quotes from movies. But sometimes I felt as if the script writers had made their own clique and totally ignored the fact that not every viewer, let alone a child, could have watched and memorized the films they did.

American viewers probably had an advantage in grasping some of the humor. But I doubt that when the series was exported in the rest of the world, that viewers from Europe (like me) would be able to really appreciate the show a little more.

But even when I could identify the movies that were parodied I found it wasn't done so well to made the series a classic.Some episodes were funny but not to that extent to make me love the show

So it was not surprisingly for me that the moments I liked were the episodes that hadn't a hint of humor or parody (some of R&R mainly) and also some of the Pinky and the Brain ones that had a more conventional and easy to follow humor. This had to do also probably with the good characterization and the unique musical experience of R&R, though I couldn't identify or have known about the musicals in R&R) Except the above-mentioned characters I found the rest very flat, even for a parody.

Though I like watching or re-watching the cartoons (American, European or Japanese) that aired during my childhood, this show has absolutely no re-watch value for me, except some of the R&R and P&B episodes.

A rather experimental way of script-writing for an animated episodic cartoon series. Original but not for everyone, especially if you have no experience in American TV. I prefer the classic American cartoons of the 20's and 30's to which the show pays homage (Warner siblings character design) or the classic Looney Toons, when it comes to animation of that genre. Even if the gags there are repeated they never get as boring as in this show.

I found Tiny Toon Adventures better overall. It may have featured a poorer script and far less references but it relied on the classic and tried Looney Tunes formula, even if it had also some serious flaws as well. But it lasted far less and stopped when it had to. It had also better characters (Looney Toons familiarity but also better voice-acting contributed).

Animaniacs would have been successful if it was aimed at an older audience and not aired as a kid's show. Scriptwriters would then probably have more freedom to push the parody/comedy element to the extreme. Also a higher animation budget would not hurt

But trying to push movie parodies fit for adults into a show aired early in the morning, limits the shows potential.

One of the important US children shows of the 90's. Despite its flaws, probably it was the last good effort to make a decent children's show and it had also some non-PC gags, many of the later US children cartoons would omit.

If you are not a fan, watch only the few episodes you liked back then (for me the they were the ones with R&R and P&B) and ignore the rest. If you have skipped the series as a child I wouldn't recommend watching it but you could give the first episodes a look to see if it suits your tastes.

One of the last cartoons to have the Saturday-morning feeling.

The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1977)

Canadian animation at its best

[9/10 · 24 April 2007]

For the majority of viewers today animation means either Disney, Pixar or Japan. Or something just for children or light entertainment for children and adults or for some weirdos that look for hentai. A few know that Canada has some of the best animators worldwide. Norman McLaren, Frederick Back, Paul Driessen, Ryan Larkin to name a few, that influenced animation and even cinema forever. Caroline Leaf is one of them.

Kafka's works have always been a headache for film directors. How can his work, full of symbolism and nightmarish scenes, Freudian undertones and unique narrative be transferred on film?

Animation could offer an alternative way and this is exactly what Caroline Leaf tries to accomplish here. If you've read the original short novel of Kafka then you'll feel familiar. If not try to read it first since it will help a lot in appreciating the effort of the animator.

My only complaint is that she chose to animate Samsa as an actual cockroach, while in the novel this works rather symbolically. On the other hand the sound department excels and the way Samsa hears and grasps the sound or utters of his family is perfectly transferred from the novel. Despite the somehow blatant depiction of Samsa as a cockroach, the unique animation technique of C. Leaf produces marvels and sometimes it even transcends the book narrative and it offers even an alternative way, only very few could imagine. Samsa's sister looks a lot like Kafka's sister from the photographs.

This short animated film is a must watch for animation fans and for those who read the works of Franz Kafka and other similar authors.

Animation for adults can mean something else besides sex and violence and this is exactly what this film is about.

Meska sprawa (2001)

One of the best short movies

[24 April 2007]

I watched this title in one limited screening in the Polish Institute in London. Despite the short length it was very emotional and raised up a serious issue about child abuse, particularly in post-communist Poland, though it could be applied to any country. The actors, especially the main lead but also his gyms teacher were excellent and despite the pessimistic ending it left a glimmer of hope of how an abused child can find comfort even in something all the others discard as insignificant.

I felt the same impact as with the film Lilja-4ever and also the short animated film "Dog", by Suzie Templeton.

A gem and shouldn't be missed.