Whodathunk that the most successful film of the year would be “Barbie”? Despite the somewhat lingering doubt about the IP’s relevance among the modern youth, Greta Gerwig managed to tap in to a rare element where she took a toy and turned it in to an actual film. Greta Gerwig doesn’t just deliver a comedy musical about a doll and her boyfriend, but a conscious, self aware and often meaningful statement about sexual dynamics, and existentialism. Barbie begins to question her purpose in even her own world, and this sets off the chain of events that follow.
Tag Archives: Adventure
The Banana Splits in Hocus-Pocus Park (1972)
Before they became hacking and slashing horror movie characters (?), “The Banana Splits” were a niche kids program from the seventies. They were performers dressed in animal outfits that performed original pop rock like “The Monkees” and got in to various misadventures. They’d also show various animated shorts during the program. While I was never personally a fan, “The Banana Splits” were so much more interesting than “The Monkees” ever were. Their animated Halloween special is also one of the highlights of their television life, even if you’re not a fan.
Bugs Bunny’s Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula (2022)
I usually have a lot of awful to say about modern Looney Tunes, but “Looney Tunes Cartoons” has at least tried to honor the legacy of the Looney Tunes. Say what you want about Warner’s handling of the Looney Tunes library but “Bugs Bunny’s Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula” really isn’t half bad. It’s actually a pretty decent attempt to conjure up the spirit of the classic Looney Tunes as we remember. It has its finger on the pulse of the comic timing and classic raunch we know and love about the old shorts. It’s funny that Bugs Bunny gets the title of the program since he only has one short in the end of the program, meanwhile Porky has two that he shares with his usual foils.
The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (2002)
I always get a kick out of Washington Irving’s story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. And I always get a kick out of movies that put a little twist on the formula. “The Haunted Pumpkin” is a short but sweet Halloween tale that takes the whole Headless Horseman story and brings it in to the modern age; the animators and writers insert a little bit of hijinks, and some comedy in what is basically embracing the tale of the Headless Horseman to an effective degree.
Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)
It truly pains me to see that “Spirit Halloween: The Movie” is a genuinely terrible movie, in spite of its best intentions. I love “Spirit Halloween,” I love the whole spirit of their stores, and their charity work, but “The Movie” is a misfire on all cylinders. It’s a boring, poorly concocted adventure film that, shocking enough, doesn’t know how to utilize the Spirit Halloween setting all that well at all. The best way to describe “Spirit Halloween: The Movie” is that, at best, it feels like mid-tier straight to video fodder from Charles Band circa 1994. Even the script feels retro-fitted from probably a screenplay that was finished in the late 90’s.
Steadfast Stanley (2015)
It’s impossible to put in to words the value that dogs bring in to our lives. Dogs are some of the most loyal, forgiving, loving, and adoring animals in the world. “Steadfast Stanley” is a wonderful short film that’s set during the zombie apocalypse, sure, but it’s also a testament to the resilience of our dogs, and what we mean to them.
The Adventures of the Scrabble People in A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense (1985)
Also known as “A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense,” this animated short from the eighties is probably one of the more bizarre product tie ins I’ve ever seen. While it’s traditionally known as a Halloween special, the idea of Halloween is only minimal in what is a more unusual fantasy adventure. The entire narrative lives and breathes by the implementation of the trademark letter tiles, in so many unusual and baffling ways.