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Reviews
Moshi Monsters: The Movie (2013)
A decent watch for Moshi fans
I really don't understand why so many people loathe this movie. It's not really intended for adults - it's more for kids (and kids at heart, like me) who are fans of Moshi Monsters - a once-popular online game aimed at 6-12 year olds, which allowed kids to adopt their own virtual pet monster and take care of it.
From the viewpoint of someone who was once an 8 year old who practically WORSHIPED Moshi Monsters, this was at one point my favourite movie. I went to see it in the cinema with my best friend, who also just so happened to be a fan of the game, and we absolutely LOVED it.
However, looking at it as an adult, I can see why people would dislike it. The animation is far from the best, using a lot of assets from the online game. It tries too hard to appeal to fans and fans only; anyone who's unfamiliar with the game/franchise I could imagine to be completely lost in the plot. Katsuma's extreme obsession with himself gets REALLY annoying quickly, which is unfortunate as he and Poppet are the main protagonists. Would have been nice to see Luvli, Zommer, Furi and Diavlo get more screen time. I get it, Katsuma and Poppet are the most popular monsters in the game, so it makes sense for them to be the main characters, but still.
I must admit, the writing is... passable. Could have worked better as an 11 minute TV episode (in fact, this whole thing just feels like a pilot for the Moshi Monsters TV show that sadly never happened). It's PACKED with a lot of songs, a lot of which have been taken from the Music Rox album that was released in 2012. The highlights are definitely the villains' songs: 'Sweet Tooth Stomp' and 'The Doctor Will See You Now'.
So after all this criticism, why am I giving this movie seven stars? Because, despite now having grown up, I still find it a nostalgic guilty pleasure of mine. Like I said, my younger self ADORED this movie (but then again, I adored anything as long as it had a Katsuma slapped on it). It's still a pretty decent flick for kids (even though the game has since shut down, the Moshi franchise lives on in other ways) and I could imagine them enjoying it the way my younger self did.
Raggs (2006)
Pawsuuup!
Raggs is a series aimed at preschoolers starring five dogs - energetic Raggs, surfer dude Pido, super sporty Trilby, organised Razzles and wheelchair-bound inventor B. Max (alongside their cat Dumpster, a sarcastic feline who loves stinky fish and often complains about living with the dogs) - who live in a clubhouse where they discover new things and learn life lessons. But these canines are also part of the Raggs Kids Club Band, where they perform twice per episode.
The series uses a mix of live-action, CGI and Dumpster interviewing real kids. The dogs themselves are mainly portrayed using advanced animatronic costumes.
Each episode focuses on a different topic, such as 'Rain', 'Hot', 'Colors' or 'Food'. As well as the main segments, there are also music videos, live performances, interviews with kids and animated shorts, which all again focus on these topics. The show itself, while it doesn't have the best writing and voice acting (they try and mention the topic of the episode as much as possible throughout the script, which can get annoying quickly), is still pretty enjoyable with likeable characters and catchy music that both kids and their parents can appreciate. Both Australian and American versions of the series exist, and while they're the same for the most part, some things have changed (mainly the dogs' speaking voices and the Dumpster interview segments). I'm not exactly sure which version came first, since production took place in both countries.
Despite production of the show ending in 2009, the series still lives on thanks to the Raggs TV YouTube channel, which features full episodes and brand new animated nursery rhyme videos (most of the voice actors even return for these!) Although the channel has gone downhill (most of the newest videos are reuploads for a start), it's still one of the best ways to watch the series (though only the first few episodes are on there for the US dub; the Australian YouTube channel has more episodes but some of them have been edited).
Overall, I'd say Raggs is a pretty decent show for kids. Warning for parents though, the songs will probably never leave your head!