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Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular (2003)
Well that was...something
Warning: The following contains spoilers; if you haven't seen this movie you might want to before reading this review. As a kid, I used to see this movie on Cartoon Network and thought it was a unique and funny Halloween special. Looking back at it now, I now see that it's not that good of a movie; the main problem here is the animation. While it's better than Spookley the Square Punmpkin, it's still really weak as if Jimmy ScreamerClauz (the creator of Where the Dead go to Die) made this after graduating from CalArts yet still share similar quality. The characters have a laughably bad design and while the animation is more fluent than Where the Dead go to Die, it still looks as unfinished as that film. With that out of the way, let's look at the story; on Halloween night, 5 kids (Jimmy, Bert, Daryl, Katie and Hannah) in the graveyard planning out their trick or treating when Jimmy decides to scare Hannah before they actually go trick or treating. The kids put Hannah in a haunted house and lock the door behind here, leaving her to cry her eyes out. Just then, Scary Godmother appears to cheer her up and take her to another dimension where she's hosting a "Spooktacular" party with her friends. These include Mr. Skully Pettibone, Bug-A- Boo, Harry the Werewolf, Count Maxwell the vampire and his wife and kid, Ruby and Orson. Once all the guests arrive, Hannah becomes less and less afraid of monsters after getting to know them and eventually they become her friends. Meanwhile, Jimmy, Bert, Daryl, and Katie are doing nothing of value to the plot except waiting for Hannah to come out of the house. When they finally decide to go in to get Hannah, she and her monster friends scare the day lights out of them in the funniest scene in the entire movie. It then ends with Scary Godmother giving Hannah a key that, once inserted into any door, will take her back to her house. The story, while better than the animation, still has it's flaws; for example, apart from Hannah, Katie is the only other girl in the group, so why is she more concerned about kissing Daryl than Hannah's safety? Also, Hannah gave them all chocolate bars in the beginning, so why do they agree to scare her? Comedy-wise, apart from that one scene, the jokes fall flat left and right. Now let's talk characters; Hannah is the only character that goes through a character arc and learns something at the end of the day; Jimmy is a jerk to his cousin, Daryl has a crush on Katie (and vice versa) and Bert is only here for that one joke about his Halloween costume which wasn't funny the first time and never became funny by the end of the movie. In contrast, Scary Godmother is bursting with personality as well as Mr. Skully Pettibone. The vampire family is decent at best, Harry is an annoying chatter box and the rest of the cast knows this (thankfully he gets punished for his ignorance) and Bug-A-Boo has a unique personality but unfortunately he has the ugliest character design in the movie, which is fitting because, well, he's a monster. Now this movie was based on a book by Jill Thompson, and I can only imagine that the book was better because this is a pretty lackluster Halloween special. With rather bad animation, a flawed story and only half of the characters, I can't really recommend this to kids. However, I guess I could recommend this as a film that's fun to make fun of. While there are other Halloween specials much better than this, at least some enjoyment can come from this movie as opposed to Spookley the Square Pumkin
Home (2015)
Well...it could have been worse.
Warning: The following contains spoilers, if you you haven't seen this movie you may want to before reading this review. Before Home, my least favorite DreamWorks animated film was Antz; while not a bad movie, it felt like an immature film for adults rather than a good movie for kids. Home is for kids, but not in a smart way; the jokes are kinda meh, the two main characters have their roles reversed and the story really flawed (like problems within the first 5 minutes flawed). So let's talk about the story; aliens called the Boov invade our world and conquer it easily...too easily. First off, where's our military? Why didn't we humans, who are naturally afraid of the unknown, fight to protect our planet? The story is really unrealistic and it gives kids the idea that if we were ever invaded, we wouldn't fight back (Independence Day this is not). Anyway, after the Boov invade our world, they male themselves at home and the film focuses on one Boov, Oh. He sends an invitation for a party he's hosting, but accidentally sent it to everyone in the galaxy, including the Boov's main adversary, the Gorg. Wanted by the Boov empire, Oh is now on the run to prevent from being arrested; along the way, he meets a girl named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci and her pet cat Pig, who are looking for her mother who like everyone else on Earth was relocated to Australia. I'm not making that up, the Boov literally placed all 7 billion people in the land down under. That makes no sense because while Australia is a big country, it's not big enough to hold every body on Earth. Not only that, but it's also not stable enough because most people aren't used to the warm climate nor are they used to seeing animals like kangaroos, echidnas, koalas, or wombats. Anyway, Oh agrees to help Tip find her Mom while at time, correct his mistake. To find Tip's Mom, they had to go to the Boov hub at the Eiffle Tower where not only do they find Tip's mother, but Oh kills his email before it reaches the Gorg. They then head to Australia, but it turns out the Gorg found the Boov and they go into battle. Oh leaves Tip, only to come back 5 minutes later and helps Tip reunite with her Mom. The reunion is short lived when the Gorg mothership arrives on Earth. They then realize the Gorg doesn't want to hurt anyone and only wants the stone the leader of the Boov, Captain Smek, took. After an anti- climatic climax, Oh gives the stone back to the Gorg, he leaves and they all have a party. Now that the story's out of the way, let's discuss the characters; now unlike most films, this has only 7 main characters and it's sort of a mixed bag. Oh (played by Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory) is our comedy relief who's the main character; the reason why this doesn't work is because he comes across as annoying rather then funny. That and he doesn't have that much character development, unlike Tip, whom this movie should have focused on. Tip (played by R&B singer, Rihanna) is a young girl who 's trying too find her Mom after they got separated during the invasion; she was a pet cat named Pig, but he doesn't do anything except act like a cat. Tip has the most character development and is more likable than Oh, but the movie doesn't focus on her and instead focuses on Oh. Let's talk about Tip's Mom, Lucy (played by another R&B singer and DreamWorks Animation veteran, Jennifer Lopez), despite being the macguffin to Tip's journey, the movie never gives us an insight on how she feels being separated from her daughter. I mean, she looks concerned, but I feel like the makes of this movie cut out a scene showing how she felt. Moving on, Kyle (played by Matt Jones) was supposed to arrest Oh, but after having enough of Captain Smek's idiocy, he becomes Oh's friend. Speaking of Smek (played by Steve Martin), he's really unlikable; he's a coward, a thief and a bully. How did this guy become captain of the Boov? Last but not least, the Gorg turns out not to be a bad guy, but an alien starfish that wanted his stone back because it held all his children. The humor really doesn't work; it's immature and dull, although Tip's lines were enjoy able. This movie's saving grace is the animation; the characters are designed really well and the flow is just so natural. I also like how the Boov change colors to express emotion; thoughts it's been done before, it's still really nice. Overall, it's harmless and appropriate for kids, but it suffers from a flawed story, and annoying main character and an unlikable antagonist. I recommend having your kids watch this while you're reading a book or something; your kids will have something to stare at and you'll have peace and quiet.
Talia in the Kitchen (2015)
Bland, uninspired and poorly executed
Warning: The following contains spoilers; if you haven't seen this show you might want to before reading this review. Apparently from the creators of House of Anubis and Every Witch Way comes this tasteless and uninspired show, Talia in the Kitchen. From the first episode alone I was convinced that this is Nickelodeon at their lowest with bland characters, and unoriginal plot and horrible humor. In the first episode, And Spice Makes Nice, Talia and her friends try to run Talia's grandmother's restaurant because potatoes. At the same time, there's a sub-plot in which the characters eat nachos and get cranky and another sub-plot where this young man is trying to find the secret ingredient in Talia's grandmother's dessert. That's the first problem with the episode: neither of the sub-plots have anything to do with the main plot. They're just there to provide the worst humor I've seen in a show. Another problem is the plot itself; it's beyond unoriginal and horribly executed. The characters aren't any better; each one of them is a tasteless trope with no definitive personalities. I don't recommend this show to any child because the plot is unoriginal and terribly executed, it's not funny, and the characters are just tropes. I'd rather you have your kids what any show on Food Network than this pathetic attempt at a series set in the kitchen.
Alvinnn!!! And the Chipmunks (2015)
Bland as old bread
Warning: The following contains spoilers; if you haven't seen this show you might want to before reading this review. As a fan of Alvin and the Chipmunks, I was really disappointed by this show as it doesn't not live up to the standards of the Chipmunk franchise nor does it work as a show on its own. Let's talk about the two episodes I saw, Talking Teddy and Principle Interest. Talking Teddy is about Alvin and Simon reprogramming Theodore's talking stuffed teddy bear by using a keyboard to type in what the toy should say next. This was done to make Theodore learn to grow up, but Alvin takes advantage of this and makes Theodore do all his chores and other useless assignments. Simon then gets back at Alvin by making another keyboard and scares Alvin straight while at the same time, convincing Theodore via Talking Teddy to give the toy to some other kid that needs it. That scene was rendered pointless as Theodore buys another Talking Teddy from the store. The main problem with the episode is the writing; the episode starts out with trying to convey a message about growing up, but literally ignores it by the end of the episode. Theodore never accepts not having Talking Teddy around,let alone is he aware of Simon and Alvin reprogramming his toy in the first place. Also, Dave never notices Talking Teddy saying more words than it usually says even though he's probably heard it several times a day every since he bought it. The next episode, Principle Interest, is the "main character has a crush on someone out of his league and tries everything in his power to please her but it turns out she's already taken" plot. I mean that literally, that's the episode as a who; they don't do anything different with the plot nor do they even try to make fun of it. They take a plot that's been done to death before in other TV shows and movies and do nothing to make it unique or interesting except make it beyond creepy. Not only it Alvin a kid, he's a chipmunk; anthropomorphic, yes but he's still an animal and when he kissed her hand, I couldn't help but think that this is borderline beastiality. All in all, this show just really dull and unimaginative which is really not like the Chipmunks at all. The writing is bad,the animation feels really stiff and it not funny; not even the songs are memorable, and that's what makes the Chipmunks iconic. I'd also like to point out that for a show titled "ALVINNN!!!! And The Chipmunks," Dave doesn't yell the infamous scream of Alvin's name. The only positive thing that this show has going for is the voice acting; the Chipmunks and Chipettes have never sounded better and they sound as if they were still in the 8080s cartoon or the movies that I saw. Overall, this show really wasn't worth the wait; don't bother letting your kids watch it because they'll just get bored and even hard core fans of the Chipmunks won't find enjoyment in this show. It's best to stick to the original cartoon from the 80s than this mediocre and uninspired show.
We Bare Bears (2014)
Disappointingly dull
WARNING: The following review contains spoilers; if you haven't seen this show you might want to before reading this review. You have been warned. This show is Cartoon Network's weakest show yet; with unlikable characters, unfunny humor and poorly written plot scenarios, it's a wonder why this show was given the green light. Let's take a look at the first two episodes Our Stuff and Viral Videos. Our Stuff starts with our main characters, Grizz, Pan-Pan, and Ice Bear playing basketball with a group of teenagers. After playing the game, they misplaced their stuff they put in their yellow backpack and spend the rest of the episode trying to find it. They find a yellow backpack in a guy's apartment, but it turns out to be the wrong bag and the cops show up to arrest them. They jump onto the trampoline only to bounce off and land in another apartment full of pigeons that run a terrorist group. The pigeons are apprehended, the trio gets their real backpack back with their stuff and they get got home scotch free. No time in jail, no warning, no consequence for breaking and entering let alone the amount of damage they caused while trying to find their backpack. Speaking of which, it's never explained how they got the right backpack when in an earlier scene it was established that that yellow bag wasn't theirs. In the next episode, Viral Videos, the bears try to become internet sensations by making a video on NotYouTube.com (not the name of the website they use, but it's an obvious parody of YouTube so it might as well be called NotYouTube). After the video is posted Grizz waits all night for some views but nothing happens. They then go to Meme-Con where they audition to be the next viral star but that fails horribly. Pan-Pan and Ice Bear accept not being famous, but Grizz is determined otherwise; so he sinks into Nom Nom (an internet celebrity) the Koala's limo and tries to befriend him but to no avail. Grizz then heads home and apologizes to Pan-Pan and Ice Bear and is rewarded with his video having only 10 views (most likely the 2 bears refreshing the page 10 times which is rather lame) and having one comment (which isn't even a comment, but useless spam). The episode ends with the trio having buttered beagles and that's it; no character growth, no sense of acceptance, no life lesson. The writers couldn't even have the decency to make Nom Nom Australian given the fact that koala's are Australian animals. I'm not sure who to recommend this show to because I can't seem to understand who this is for to begin with. If it's for kids, it's not funny let alone interesting; if it's for adults, it's terrible dull, poorly written and the characters offer nothing to like or relate to. It's better if you skip over this show and not expose your kids to it. I'd much rather recommend they watch Clarence or The Amazing World of Gumball then this bland, dull, and boring show. It might not be the worst show I've seen, but it's definitely Cartoon Networks weakest show. The only thing positive I can say about it is the animation is okay; they give the bears cartooney expressions and the character design is simple enough, but overall this show isn't worth watching so don't bother.
Pig Goat Banana Cricket (2015)
This show is pathetic.
In the episode, Fudge-pocalypse, our main characters try to survive an epidemic they started in the beginning of the episode. The story is really weak because we've seen this plot done before in animation (i.e. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). The jokes are not funny and a the jokes they could've used for the character Banana in this episode are missed opportunities. Speaking of the characters, they offer nothing to like and come across as bland and/or annoying. Pig is Chowder from the Cartoon Network show of the same name as he'll eat anything and is a total scatterbrain. Goat is a bland character with no personality of her own, and serves as the love interest to Cricket. Banana is full of himself and that's all his character is; nothing more nothing less. Last but not least there's Cricket, who's an inventor and has a crush on Goat because potatoes. This show's worst aspect has got to be the animation; it's hideous and all around disgusting. I don't recommend this to children, especially to those with weak stomachs.