Benjamin_406 Reviews

Wander Over Yonder (2013–2016)

An Instant Disney/McCracken Classic!

[9/10 · 26 January 2014]

When I learned that former Cartoon Network TV creator Craig McCracken was working for Disney on "Wander Over Yonder", I decided to give it a shot. And boy, it exceeds my expectations!

With great quality animation, superb storytelling, tremendous humor, and terrificly heart- warming character developments, this show is instantly destined to be among many of Disney's animated TV classics and critical contemporary hits, from "Gummi Bears" and "Darkwing Duck", to "Kim Possible" and "Phineas and Ferb". While it has the signature Disney storytelling, there are Craig McCracken's story sensibilities we all know without much compromise. Even most of the episodes have become instant fans' favorites, from "the Greatest" and "the Good Deed", to "the Troll" and the emotionally resonant "the Little Guy".

I'm totally positive that your review will be similar to mines after watching "Wander Over Yonder" the 1st time.

Tangled (2010)

A Genuine Gem Next to the Fab Four of Disney Animation!

[10/10 · 5 December 2010]

Right after Disney's acquisition of Pixar and "Meet the Robinsons", Walt Disney Animation Studios were on the right track of finding its true identity, under the watchful eyes of Ed Catmull and John Lasseter. First, "Bolt" and "the Princess and the Frog" became better than "Meet the Robinsons", earning high level of critical acclaim. Now WDAS' 50th animated feature, "Tangled", is not only the best WDAS film of 2007-2010, but, too, a rare film that gets to rank among films from the Disney Renaissance - mainly, "the Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" and "the Lion King".

If you think I'm talking crazy about Tangled's ranks among the Fab Four, then there are things that you might want and need to notice: finding one's true identity as the main story theme, cleverly executed humor, strong and appealing personalities of the characters, immensely fantastic music and songs, infinitely superb character designs (under the supervision of Disney animator Glen Keane), emotion-stirring moments, and MOST IMPORTANTLY the reinventing of everything in the move. As a big plus, stereoscopic 3-D enhances the humor, the action, the magical moments and the tear-jerking moments of the story, most notably the lanterns in the "I See the Light" sequence.

There's a special difference between "the Princess and the Frog" and "Tangled". TPATF emphasizes on elements of Disney tradition (princes and princesses, certain talking animal sidekicks, and toe-tapping songs) over the theme of the story, whereas "Tangled" emphasizes on the story's theme over the elements of the film's tradition. That qualifies the film to become an instant animated classic among "Beauty and the Beast" and "the Lion King".

I used to be concerned on Tangled's story structure as below the potential of Toy Story 3's story structure, but after a lot of positive reviews and ratings, I now believe that this deserves to have the insurmountable love, much like the Fab Four.

Coyote Falls (2010)

At Last - A Hi-quality Road Runner and Coyote Cartoon!

[9/10 · 20 September 2010]

When I heard that Warner Bros. Animation were producing a trio of 3-minute Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote theatrical shorts in CGI, I pondered how many Looney Tunes fans would prefer the classic Chuck Jones versions over the Friz Freleng and Robert McKimsversion and the lackluster 2003 short film, "Whizzard of Ow". But when I watched "Coyote Falls" in front of "Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore", I became totally astounded in a positive fashion as I noticed its qualitative merits.

Chuck Jones' classic feel of the Road Runner and Coyote animation has been successfully translated into the CG realm, thanks to a Chuck Jones-dedicated film director Matthew O' Callaghan bent on bringing any cartoony style into CGI. Also, there are musical cues of Carl Stalling, in which everyone can recognize them right when they grow up with the Looney Tunes. Even stereoscopic 3-D is used effectively on gags, timing and pacing, aside from depth of field.

When it comes to Friz Freleng or Robert McKimson on directing the Road Runner and Coyote shorts from the mid-1960s, he ignored the original RR&C template by Jones and chose to go onto a different take: A central idea of the cartoon as an gag instead of the other way round and Coyote's occasional successes on capturing his feathered nemesis. The result: those shorts turned out to be unfavorable and forgettable. But when it comes to Matt O' Callaghan, he did a tremendous job on not only centering a gag without breaking the true and original RR&C premise, but more importantly bringing a 3-minute RR&C cartoon (not 6 or 7 minutes as usual!) to the rank of Jones' RR&C cartoons as we all know. (If you don't believe me, just check out "Daffy Duck for President" and "Porky and Daffy: the William Tell Overture" and see the differences.)

There are still more Road Runner and Coyote shorts, coming to theaters and the 2010 revamp of "the Looney Tunes Show", so let's hope they can be good as or better than "Coyote Falls"!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

FINALLY! A masterpiece that shows Sony Pictures Animation's true identity!

[10/10 · 2 May 2010]

Since 2006, Sony Pictures Animation had been trying to rank with Pixar and Dreamworks, particularly in storytelling. Its first film, "Open Season", wasn't well-received, mostly because it's a ripoff of "Madagascar". In 2007, on the other hand, Sony released "Surf Up" as the first documentary film in animated feature. That showed the studio's true potential in storytelling. But above all, it's "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", the first animated disaster film, that shined Sony's true identity the most.

Not only CWACOM has the spirit of the original children's authors, it has managed to stay away from the storytelling styles of Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, too. The film-making team did an excellent job on replicating stylized animation in CGI (check out the mouth shapes of Flint Lockwood, for instance). Most importantly, its humor is sophisticated and its heart can be apparent (such as Flint Lockwood longing for Tim Lockwood's love).

Now that CWACOM has ranked among the best animated features of 2009 (The Princess and the Frog, Up, Coraline), Sony Pictures Animation should keep up the good work, mostly in its own storytelling style and even its experimentation on stylized animation and genres (such as reality TV show).

Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show (2009 TV Movie)

A Very Great Example of a Successful TV Movie

[10/10 · 25 June 2009]

If certain theatrical films, like "the Lion King", "Finding Nemo", and "Kung Fu Panda", can be very successful and memorable in characterization and storytelling, then TV movies can be like that, too. And "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show" is one superb example.

Basically, the movie centers on the Eds searching for Eddy's brother after Eddy's latest scam backfires big time. (Only the Eds fans know exactly why the scam flops out - sort of.) And all the kids of the Cul-De-Sac have to track them down to avenge for themselves before those troublemakers can reach their destination. Aside from maniac animation and ultimate level of humor, there's one thing that hasn't been overlooked throughout the whole film: heart.

The story of "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Picture Show" has been split into many parts: the Eds, Kevin and Nazz, Jonny and Plank, Sarah and Jimmy (later merged with the Kanker Sisters and Wilbur), and Rolf and Wilbur. But unlike "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa", there's a sufficient amount of story for each set of characters - not too much nor too little. It's all because of the superb sense of direction of the movie. Even the film is almost well-structured, too. (The beginning is a perfect example!) And it seems that the creative artists of "Ed, Edd n Eddy" had managed to take the TV movie to "the place it has to be" big time.

So if you are looking for TV movies with superb comedy and heart, like "Escape from Cluster Prime" and "Rugrats: All Growed Up", then "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show" is one best example to see.

Catscratch (2005–2007)

One in My List of Favorite Nicktoons Series!

[8/10 · 11 July 2008]

OK, here is my personal list of top Nicktoons shows as in today:

1. All Grown Up/SpongeBob SquarePants

2. My Life as a Teenage Robot

3. Invader Zim

4. CATSCRATCH/Rugrats

Notice a word with only capital letters? That means this is the Nick show I'm going to talk about.

"Catscratch" is basically a simple but great animated comedy about three wealthy cats - Mr. Blik, Gordon, and Waffles - who get into weird and REALLY surreal situations, from attempting to join Human Kimberely's slumber party for root beer to saving a planet of slugs from the evil spaceship. This is one Nick show that you will simply have your funny bone tickled sooner or later! The theme song is catchy and memorable. Voice actors - including Wayne Knight from the "Seinfield" franchise - brings the characters to fresh life with very quirky personalities. The stories are enjoyable (fans' episodes would be "King of All Root Beer" and "Gordon's Lucky Claw"). And the humor is all done in some style of Earthworm Jim.

So in conclusion, "Catscratch" is one of the Nicktoons series, like "Invader Zim" and "MLAATR", which becomes very, very popular all over the world in just 3 seasons or less.