A New Derangement Syndrome Has Taken Root

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Here we go again.

You've heard of "Trump Derangement Syndrome" (TDS) where some blame Donald Trump for all the problems in the world. You've heard of "Rowling Derangement Syndrome" (RDS) where some reject J. K. Rowling because she dared to state that minors should not receive cross-sex hormones and life-altering medical procedures due to fleeting gender confusion. Now it appears that a new derangement syndrome has taken hold: "Deedee Derangement Syndrome" (DDS).

This of course concerns Deedee Magno Hall, a Filipino-American actress who began her career in The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1980s then went on to be a Broadway star. What really made her famous was voicing Pearl and several other characters on Steven Universe, an animated series that is more known for its progressive themes (pseudo-homosexuality, gender non-conformity, feminism) rather than its Judeo-Christian themes, the latter of which I found more fascinating. Pearl in particular is famous among some fans for being a female-presenting genderless polymorphic sentient rock "lesbian" and being shipped with nearly every character in the show, canon or otherwise.

So what got poor Deedee in trouble with leftist SU fans? Following Charlie Kirk (may he rest in peace) and other conservative accounts on social media. Now they are assuming she's a "MAGA chud" because if it. This is similar to the Markus Persson and Scott Cawthon hooplas: famous people from popular franchises getting crap thrown at them for being openly right-wing in a society that seemingly wants them to go away or at least keep their beliefs to themselves.

I find this hoopla particularly amusing. People really think that every person who worked on Steven Universe was a raging liberal? That could not be far from the truth as there was as much diversity of thought in the staff as there was (organic!) diversity in the show itself. Also, can people really not separate actors from characters? Acting is playing as someone you're not. Thirdly, why are people now talking about this when the show has been over for years? Who knows? I guess they just want to find something to be mad at today instead of having a life. Let us all pray for such individuals.

'Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars' in Development!

Some major animation news just dropped today! A sequel/spinoff of Steven Universe entitled Lars of the Stars is in development for Prime Video. Rebecca Sugar, creator of the original series, will be executive producer as well as her husband Ian Jones-Quartey who also created OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.

Lars of the Stars, in case you don't know, is the altar ego of Lars Barriga, a side character from Steven Universe. It's also the name of a season five episode. I could say more, but I would hate to spoil those who have not seen SU. I recommend watching it for yourself to get the full story.

Personally, I hope this series will give us more lore (Gem origins, when???) and character development on the Off Colors, since those elements were sorely lacking in Steven Universe. Whether it's a full-blown epic or a limited series like Steven Universe Future, I'm looking forward to it!

'The Amazing Digital Circus' Episode 2 Incoming!

 

Hello again! The semester's almost over, I have a new job, and I am ready for warm weather! Today, Glitch Productions, an Australian-based indie animation studio, posted this video that serves as a preview for episode two of The Amazing Digital Circus.

What is The Amazing Digital Circus, some of you may be asking? It is a new online animated series that premiered last year with the pilot episode, which you can see below:

The premise is about a woman who puts on a headset and is thrust into The Amazing Digital Circus where anything can happen (except for swearing). She in her new avatar meets other humans who have been in the circus for longer all led by a kooky ringmaster AI named Caine. She receives the name Pomni, and she and the other members go on wacky adventures.

In the last episode, Pomni is introduced to the world and tries to find an exit to no avail. In the new episode, most of the gang visit the Candy Canyon Kingdom and meet some candy people. It looks really exciting! We just have to wait two weeks before we can finally see it in all its glory.

Video: "WHAT WE'RE LEARNING FROM DISNEY’S ANIMATORS | Film Threat Rants"

Film Threat, an independent apolitical film review site, recently published this rant video on YouTube. Current and former animators from the Walt Disney Company have contacted the hosts, sharing their experiences and voicing their grievances toward the company and the American entertainment industry in general. It's well worth the watch.

Unless you've been under a rock for the past decade or so, the Walt Disney Company, and indeed Hollywood at large, seems to be getting worse lately. Lack of creativity and originality, leftist activism (especially identity politics shoved down children's throats in an attempt to indoctrinate them), and poor business decisions have led to many American films not performing at the box office both domestically and internationally. Some recent examples include Wish and The Marvels which became box office bombs and further alienated audiences. Meanwhile, domestic studios like Illumination and international studios like Toho are kicking butt with films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Godzilla Minus One, both of which I have seen this year. Unless these failing studios course correct very soon, it seems they are living on borrowed time.

'Velma' (2023) and the Stagnation of Pop Culture

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I'm finally back from a year-plus long hiatus. Today we're going to go over a show that has gotten a lot of press over the past week and that everyone seems to hate. This is Velma.

So what is Velma, you may ask? Imagine creating another tired old Scooby-Doo reboot but removing the titular character, making a side character the main character, race-swapping everyone except the straight white male (guess which one), aging it up for adults, removing everyone's unique characteristics and sucking out everything that made the franchise what it is, and adding underage nude scenes. Yes, really.

Movie Review: 'Klaus' (2019)

Welcome to the jingle. (source)

Merry Christmas! I'm still allowed to say that, since Christmas is twelve days, not one. Speaking of, today I'd like to go over a Christmas movie that, had I seen this before 2020, I would have mentioned in my 2010s movie retrospective and would have hailed as a modern classic and the best movie of 2019 with Steven Universe the Movie as a close second. This is Klaus.

DVD Review: 'Steven Universe:' The Complete Collection

Merry Christmas, everyone! Christmas Day may be over, but the season isn't. As I wished for, I received the Steven Universe complete collection DVD set from my parents Santa Claus. And boy is it pure gorgeous eye candy! There's a lot to look at here, so sit back, relax, and read along with me.

The top image is of course the box cover, and it pops with the rainbows. The art is an image of the Gem Temple and beach house from the show.

The sides of the box also contain great art and rainbow effects.

The back shows the rest of Beach City and a description as well as the logos for the show, movie, and epilogue series.

'She-Ra: Princess of Power' Is Actually Pretty Good

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It is now December, and with it an opportunity to update this blog. Today I'll be talking about the classic 80s cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power. The 2018 Tumblr fanfic reboot can suck it.

I recently started watching this series out of curiosity on YouTube on a curated playlist that has all the episodes in order. You can see it for yourself here. I am currently on episode 18 as of this post, and from what I've seen, it's actually really good.

I unfortunately didn't grow up with this series since I was not an 80s kid and it didn't air reruns on any major network during my formative years. Thankfully with modern technology previously unwatchable titles are now accessible.

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The premise of the show is as follows: Adora is a force captain of the Horde, an evil organization that has been conquering planets. One day, Adora finds out that she is the long-lost twin sister of Prince Adam/He-Man who was kidnapped as a child and raised by Hordak and Shadow Weaver to serve the Horde. She discovers a magic sword, and when she raises it and shouts "For the honor of Grayskull!" she transforms into She-Ra. She's like proto-Sailor Moon.

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Oh yeah, and her horse can transform too, similar to He-Man's pet tiger. Neato.

Adora leaves the Horde and joins the Rebellion. Keeping her other persona a secret, Adora as She-Ra helps those in need and fights off the Horde with He-Man and the rest.

The animation is limited as was typical of television cartoons of the time, but it makes up for it with its storylines and characters. My favorite character so far has to be Kowl. Madame Razz is a close second.

I'll be watching more and may do a series overview once I've finished. I'm quite impressed by this, and I hope the rest of the series will continue promising.

TV Show Review: 'Schoolhouse Rock!'

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School is or was a reality for almost all of us. We learned the basics like math, history, language, science, and so forth. For some of us, learning these subjects were hard. It could be difficult understanding things like multiplication and the three branches of government. Where could we turn to when we needed help? Other than tutors and family members, children living in the 1970s onward received aid in the form of animated television shorts known as Schoolhouse Rock! These music videos, which aired between programs on ABC, taught a generation how to multiply, how bills became laws, and how conjunctions function, among other things.

An interview with creator George Newall included in the complete series DVD box explains the creative genesis and impact, which I will reproduce here:

Q: HOW DID SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK GET ROLLING? 

A: It all started in 1972 on a horseback ride in Wyoming where my boss, David McCall of McCaffery & McCall Advertising, heard his young son, who couldn't begin to remember multiplication tables, singing Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead lyrics. When Dave got back to New York, he commissioned Bob Dorough to set the multiplication tables to rock music. Bob responded with "Three is a Magic Number." The lyrics were so visual that my partner, Tom Yohe, drew a storyboard and met with Michael Eisner, who was then ABC's Vice President of Children's Programming. On the recommendation of the legendary animator, Chuck Jones, Eisner bought it on the spot. All it took was that one meeting. And that first song is still my favorite.

Q: LOOKING BACK, WHY DO YOU THINK IT WORKED SO WELL?

A: We never wrote "down" to kids. And we weren't in the television business. We had good paying day jobs and didn't worry about whether or not the shows would be picked up for the next season. Most importantly, we had the music of Bob Dorough, Lynn Ahrens and Dave Frishberg. Their songs gave Tom a creative leg up to start with. It was their music made visual by Tom's enormous talent for animation design that guided Schoolhouse Rock. Who could ever forget that "...sad little scrap of paper sitting on Capitol Hill"?

(Third question relates to one of the shorts which I will not spoil; thus I will skip it.)

Q: WHEN DID YOU BEGIN TO REALIZE THE IMPACT YOU WERE MAKING ON YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD?

A: We'd been off the air since 1986 when, in the early nineties, Tom got a call from Dartmouth College asking him to participate in a symposium sponsored by the senior class. Expecting 30 or 40 kids in a classroom, Tom was shocked to find himself in the largest auditorium on campus overflowing with 900 students who were boisterously singing our songs and clapping along -- before he showed a single film. A year or so later, while giving a seminar for the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, a student stood up and said, "I don't think you guys realize that Schoolhouse Rock defined my generation." No, we hadn't realized that.

-- May 21, 2002

"Catradora:" More Evidence of the Homosexual Agenda in Children's Media

If I didn't know who these were, I would've sworn Catra was a dude. Source in the link below.

Welp, they've done it again, folks.

In the fifth season of Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, a long-running fan ship "Catradora" was made canon when the main lead Adora and former villain Catra kiss. More info can be found in the link below, courtesy of One Angry Gamer, though I'll warn you that the ads and some of the comments are NSFW:

Netflix's She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power Turns She-Ra Into A Lesbian

I didn't bother with She-Ra (not even a fan of the original), but honestly, I'm glad I didn't, and I'm not surprised in the least. The show already had so-called "queer representation" when one side character had two dads and one character identified as "non-binary," though at least in the latter, the character wasn't human and could shapeshift. What makes this egregious is that this is a reboot, and Adora was interested in men in the 80s. It reads like bad fan fiction and is a slap in the face of the original. Even if I don't give a flying fudge about this show, I can't help but be reminded that this is just one of many recent entries in the world of children's media that showcases and glorifies homosexual relationships, and it isn't slowing down anytime soon. Quite the opposite, actually.

Video: "Fuwa Fuwa Foof OP"

Today I present to you a YouTube video entitled "Fuwa Fuwa Foof OP," a theme song for a fake cartoon series of the same name. Based on an idea by ExtraordinaryCircus, this is a well-animated short about a cute rabbit named Foof who decides to leave her former occupation of gang leader. Her old subordinates Giri Giri and Kiri Kiri constantly try to lure her back to her old ways, but Foof resists and tries to be a good little bunny.

This is very impressive with a great song to boot. (Though, like many modern songs, it has a thumpin' beat but a bad message contained in the lyrics.) And I'm not the only one who loves it; as of this post the video has over 4 million views. I would like to see this fully realized as a real show; it looks like it has potential.

Cartoon Review: 'Hazbin Hotel (Pilot)'

Now that 2020 has begun, it's time for me to update this blog and make it relevant. Today I'll be reviewing the pilot for the animated series Hazbin Hotel, created by Vivienne Medrano. Released October 28, 2019, the video as of this post has garnered over 24 million views. It's a few months after the fact as I type this, but as the saying goes, better late than never.

Before I discuss the episode proper, let me take some time to go over the creator herself, Vivienne Medrano, otherwise known online as Vivziepop. I first became familiar with her work through the web comic series Zoophobia, which is currently in indefinite hiatus. She has also posted various artwork and fan art on DeviantArt and similar websites. Looking through her drawings, it is apparent that she is very talented and has a unique art style with vibrant colors. Then a few years back she began working on the pilot for Hazbin Hotel using scrapped characters from Zoophobia. The result is the subject of this review.

Charlie

As the video begins, we see a montage of demons being slaughtered as part of the yearly purge to combat overpopulation in Hell. Charlie, princess of Hell and our protagonist, sings about why she is a failure and weeps over the deaths from the extermination. We also see cameos of other characters that are sure to be relevant in future episodes.

2010s Retrospective: TV Edition

 

Now we enter the next phase of the 2010s retrospective: television (or streaming). Similar to my last post, the shows will be listed in the order of their premiere dates.

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1. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)

Created by Lauren Faust, whose previous works include The Iron Giant, The Powerpuff Girls, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic proved to be an unprecedented hit for Hasbro and was popular not only among little girls, but by adult men who called themselves "Bronies." The unicorn Twilight Sparkle and her friends are entrusted with the Elements of Harmony, and together they defend the land of Equestria from various evil forces. The show is very well made, from the characters to the animation done on Adobe Flash. The show is mostly slice-of-life, but the beginning and ending of seasons have some story arcs that last two episodes each. This show is the best version of My Little Pony that's ever been made, at least compared to the generation that came before it which I grew up on and loathed. For anyone who's itching to give this a watch, I would suggest watching the first seven seasons and then watching the 2017 movie and then stop there. As far as I'm concerned, the last two seasons didn't happen. (Season eight adds another "Mane 6" team for no good reason, and season nine adds shameless pandering to the Bronies.)
Official rating: TV-Y / My rating: 3+ (seasons 1-8), 7+ (season 9)

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2. Sym-Bionic Titan (2010-2011)

A show that truly deserved better and ended way too soon. Sym-Bionic Titan is the brainchild of Genndy Tartakovsky who also created Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack. A princess, a soldier, and a robot escape war on their home planet and take refuge on Earth where they disguise themselves as high school students. Unfortunately the show ended after only one season of 20 episodes. The reason was that the show wasn't able to sell toys. Yeah. Sounds like the 80s, doesn't it? Despite its short run, it still offers fun, action, and humor in a way only Tartakovsky can make it, and for that I recommend you check it out.
Official rating: TV-PG / My rating: 10+

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3. Gravity Falls (2012-2016)

Alex Hirsch, who previously worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack on Cartoon Network, gives us a series that has a great balance between humor and mystery. Gravity Falls is about two fraternal twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines, who are forced to spend their summer break in, you guessed it, Gravity Falls, Oregon with their great uncle (grunkle for short) Stan who owns a gift shop called the Mystery Shack. The show slowly evolves from a slice-of-life comedy to a suspenseful mystery and a race against time to stop a powerful demon from another dimension from destroying the world. This show is one of the best shows from Disney Channel and was praised for its clever writing and lore. What's funny is that the show is only 2 seasons with 20 episodes each, yet was aired in four years. This is a must see for fans of animation and fans of mystery stories.
Official rating: TV-Y7-FV / My rating: 7+

2010s Retrospective: Movie Edition

 So begins the first 2010s retrospective post.

Before I begin this lookback, I will let you know that the following films are those that I have seen (though not all because that would take too long), so no, I will not be discussing Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, or other such films simply because I have not seen them. Also, these movies will be listed alphabetically and by release date. So without further ado, let's begin.

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1. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

A surprise success for Disney's live-action branch, making a billion dollars worldwide, Alice in Wonderland is a sequel to the original story by Lewis Carrol and is directed by Tim Burton. Many people panned this film likely because they compared it to the animated Disney version. But when judging it on its own, it's actually pretty alright. I like the designs for the characters, and the world of Wonderland actually being called Underland is a very Tim Burton-y thing. Can't say much for the sequel released a few years later. That was a waste of time.
Official rating: PG / My rating: 10+

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2.  How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

DreamWorks Animation starts the decade off strong with How to Train Your Dragon, a film based on the book series of the same name. In a similar vein to Shrek, the film takes liberties from its original source material. The flying scenes are some of the best animated sequences ever put on screen in my opinion, and the film does not contain any pop culture references, something that is usually present in DreamWorks films. While nowhere near as grand as other DreamWorks classics like The Prince of Egypt and Shrek, it definitely soars above their other mediocre works (*cough* Boss Baby *cough*).
Official rating: PG / My rating: 7+

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3. Tangled (2010)

Disney's 50th animated film in their ever-expanding canon, Tangled is a great Disney princess film that draws inspiration from the fairy tale Rapunzel. The songs are great, the CGI is impressive, especially in regards to Rapunzel's hair, which I've heard was tough to animate, and the characters are endearing and worthy of Mickey Mouse's ears of approval. The film did so well that it even has its own TV series which is still ongoing as of this post.
Official rating: PG / My rating: 7+

Article + Commentary: "Arthur's Mr. Ratburn has a gay wedding on PBS children's show"

Patrick (left) and Mr. Ratburn (right). Source

 USA Today: "Authur's Mr. Ratburn has a gay wedding on PBS children's show"

Today I found out that the PBS Kids series Arthur, currently in its 22nd season (!), has shown a same-sex "wedding" for the first time in its run. Mr. Ratburn, Arthur's teacher, has just been "married" to another man named Patrick in the episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone."

Article: "What is CalArts Style?"

"What is CalArts Style?" by Joe Bursely

Joe Bursely of BallStateDaily.com offers an interesting and sensible take on the "issue" of the "CalArts style" that people pinpoint on Western cartoons of the 2010s such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, and more.