The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed (2014)

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I’m surprised Cartoon Network decided to remake and bring back the “Powerpuff Girls.” After their infamous statements in 2013 that their cartoons are aimed for boys and boys only, I’m not too sure what the reasoning is behind bringing back their very entertaining series about the three heroic young girls fighting crime in Townsville. I know, it’s all about the dollar at the end. They want money, and will only invest in series that make money. But when they basically told girls to go bake cookies, and stop watching the network last year, “Powerpuff Girls” is an odd show to re-invent and bring back for a new generation. I almost expected “Foster’s Home” or “Johnny Bravo” to be their target remakes.

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My Immense Love For “The Iron Giant”

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

“You are who you choose to be.”

Director Brad Bird’s “The Iron Giant” didn’t make much of a ripple when it premiered almost fifteen years ago. But ever since I sat down to watch it on a borrowed VHS, I haven’t stopped coming back to his science fiction animated film. I probably continue coming back to “The Iron Giant” because not only does it delve in themes of friendship, but it’s also about mortality, and the inherent violent nature of humanity.

<!–more–>Surely, the iron giant that crash lands on Earth is a monster sent to wreak havoc on our planet, but that’s only by the design of another species altogether. We’re never clued in to what kind of alien species built the Iron Giant, and what it had planned for us. All we know is that the Iron Giant crash lands from another planet, and is lucky enough to meet Hogarth Hughes.

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Will Vinton’s A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

I have very fond memories of watching Will Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas” on CBS back when it premiered in the late eighties. At the time Vinton’s “California Raisins” mascots were still prominent in America, and I fondly recall my cousins owning some of the toys from the brand. Though the characters themselves were lukewarm mascots, I still loved Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas.”

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A Christmas Story (1983)

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Though many consider “A Christmas Story” an ode to good old fashioned consumerism, director Bob Clark’s family film is much more about down to Earth themes. Who among us hasn’t wanted that great toy for Christmas that was out of our grasps? Every single person on Earth can empathize with the tale of Ralphie, a bespectacled young boy who wants the ultimate Christmas present. What makes “A Christmas Story” such a universal holiday film is that Ralphie is not a kid that expects his gift. He does everything it takes to earn his Red Ryder BB Gun, short of stealing it.

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Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

It’s really tough to find anyone these days capable of turning a novelty song in to a great film. Not that there’s a need for it, mind you. But still, back in the days Rankin Bass took some great Christmas music and turned them in to classic movies that are still watched today. The last movie we had was “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” And somehow a beloved matriarch being trampled to death by an animal doesn’t inspire the jollies in me.

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Frosty the Snowman (1969)

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

You wouldn’t expect much from a short movie about the famous Christmas novelty song, but lo and behold Rankin Bass manage to pull off an impressive feat. “Frosty the Snowman” is a great short fantasy film that knows when to call it quits and is never a cloying over abundance of cute and obnoxious.

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A Garfield Christmas (1987)

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Yet another of the Christmas favorites that faded away from television land, “ A Garfield Christmas” is a wonderful and often times hilarious look at Garfield’s ringing in the Christmas festivities with Jon and Odie. Garfield is taken out of his beloved home and to Jon Arbuckle’s old home to celebrate Christmas with his country bumpkin family.While there, we not only garner an insight in to Jon’s odd ball personality, but we also get to see how Garfield reacts to the relationships around him.

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