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scotttermaine
Reviews
Knuckles (2024)
Where's knuckles?
Another bait and switch, this is not the story of an alien echidna based on the Sonic videogame franchise, this is the story of some guy's journey to a bowling tournament to beat his deadbeat dad.
Surprisingly boring and lacking in humor, but fine for kids. The cgi is almost on par with the movies, the acting is decent I just wish other people wrote the dialogue
Granted I, a jaded 28 year old, am not the target audience I believe that claim belongs to new parents and anyone under 8. There are clear themes of family and forgiveness thrown in nearly every episode. The writing is very on the nose with muddied depth having so many one note characters. The comedy might make a child laugh, the story is sillier than you might expect but there's not many funny jokes but good physical gags and just a LOT editing, product placement and Wade Whipple.
One thing that bugged me is the portrayal of father abandoning their family, it could've had some emotional weight to it but its as impactful as a balloon.
Ark: The Animated Series (2024)
Decent animation, great concept, horrible plot structure and writing
The voice acting in this is abhorrent and makes my eyes roll, predictable dribble and lackluster screams that could've had some emotional resonance if someone else wrote it and said it. The themes are fine, the story is fine, but the execution, geez. Didn't expect to dislike the use of animals/dinos but damn did i hate the dinos, nothing but macguffins.
While i like the art direction the actual animation and camera work is pretty bad but as an animator i don't want to complain too much. There are tons of visual inconsistencies, floaty, choppy animation and as much as the camera shakes try to convey impact the action scenes lack any weight especially during contact.
The main issues I have with this involve the way characters speak to each other, how the emotional scenes seemed so ham fisted and quick that i ended up not caring for any character and how frustrating the protagonist is alongside these-
"you gave me an apple, now i am under your command forever"
or
"i am not an animal i am a tool"
creatures of the past.