For fans that enjoy Batman, repackaged or original, “Adventures of Batman” is a suitable animated fix that hearkens back to the cheap animation of “Scooby Doo” and the silly adventures from the Adam West series. Less campy and more adventurous, the series from Filmation sets down on Batman and Robin as they battle all of their famous foes, from the Joker, and Mr. Freeze right down to the Riddler. Anyone expecting the complexities and dark themes from the Bruce Timm series should look elsewhere, as “Adventures of Robin” feels a lot like a facsimile of “Scooby Doo.”
Tag Archives: Animation
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
One of the hallmarks of my youth in the nineties, “How I Spent My Vacation” was the credit Tiny Toons finally got, even if it was just on home video. That was okay, since the real fans of the series could take home their favorite Tiny Toon pals and re-visit their wacky summer time and time again. I must have seen “How I Spent My Vacation” a hundred times on VHS, and thankfully (much like the series) the movie holds up surprisingly well, and is still very funny. “How I Spent My Vacation” follows the group from “Tiny Toon Adventures” as they all are pulled in various directions for their summer vacations.
The LEGO Movie: Everything is Awesome Edition (2014) (Blu-ray/DVD/UV Digital HD)
If you told me two years ago that one of the best movies of 2014 would be “The Lego Movie,” then I would never have believed you and probably would have scoffed derisively. I’m so smug. That said, “The Lego Movie” surprisingly didn’t just turn out to be a fantastic movie, but one of the best movies of 2014. It’s an animated adventure filled with heart, laugh out loud comedy, and very relevant commentary about individuality, and the inherent magic and beauty behind collecting and creating. First and foremost, though, it’s an excellent animated adventure for all ages.
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
You have to appreciate the kind of world that “Wreck It Ralph” creates, paying homage to the vintage video games of the gamer culture, and building on that to introduce some very entertaining characters, with some complex issues about self worth, and what defines them. Though very derivative, “Wreck It Ralph” is a fun movie, especially for an ex-gamer like myself, and the director and writers really keep their target audience in view, while also giving some nods to the folks that grew up with the classics, offering endless Easter Eggs that help flesh out this rather unique tale of a bad guy seeking to show that he’s much more than a destructive force.
Godzilla: The Complete Animated Series (DVD)
Sony really overplayed their hand in 1998 with “Godzilla.” Not only did they overestimate the appeal of a Godzilla unlike Toho’s Godzilla, but they also accompanied the movie with a bunch of merchandise no one liked, and a series that lasted forty episodes total. So if you have fourteen hours to kill, you can check out what happened after the end of “Godzilla.” Whether you call him Zilla, Godzilla, Notzilla, or GONI (Godzilla In Name Only), the extension of the 1998 Roland Emmerich is given more mythos than it deserves, with its focus more on genetic monsters and underwater creatures than anything.
Marvel Knights: Wolverine Weapon X (DVD)
A sentient organization is sent in to the past to assassinate future heroes and revolutionaries through robotic drones, you say? No, it’s not “Terminator,” it’s actually “Tomorrow Dies Today,” save for minor tweaks here and there. “Tomorrow Dies Today” is based on the Weapon X comic series issues 11-16, where the new Deathlok is introduced in the form of a hive minded group of robotic zombie assassins, tasked with violently murdering everything from young couples, to newborn babies.
The PC Thug: Re-Visiting the Weekenders
The constant about kids animated programming is that we almost always see children going to school. From “Hey Arnold!” and “Rocket Power,” we always see them going to school. Heck, eventually “Ed, Edd, and Eddy” began featuring its core cast going to school. What was so fun about “The Weekenders” is that every episode took place during the weekend and only the weekend. Hence, the title. In 1999, Disney helped create the antidote to the wildly popular animated series “Recess,” which centered on kids going to school, and instead focused on a show about a group of friends whose weekends were almost always wild or eventful.