Time for another Three Musketeers adventure from The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
"The True King" is, in a way, a loose adaptation of another Alexandre Dumas novel oft adapted, The Man in The Iron Mask, configured to fit into a nearly 10 minute window. Something's amiss when the King of France suddenly discharges the Musketeers without warning nor reason.
Don Messick performs triple duty (at least) as Aramis, the King, and the imposter. Not much difference to the voices, is there? Could've done without Tooly (Ted Eccles) for this one, no?
Rating: B.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Countdown to Christmas: Christmas Night (1933)
Earlier this year, we presented some items from the Van Beuren studio off the "Cartoons That Time Forgot" DVD collection. Here's another one to start our annual "Countdown to Christmas".
Soglow's The Little King stars in "Christmas Night", in which the titular monarch invites two hobos to spend Christmas with him at the palace.
This was not one of the better entries in the set. Part of the gimmick to the Little King strip was that he rarely, if ever, spoke. A little more dialogue would've gone a long way in this one, just to be an exception to the rule.
Rating: C-.
Soglow's The Little King stars in "Christmas Night", in which the titular monarch invites two hobos to spend Christmas with him at the palace.
This was not one of the better entries in the set. Part of the gimmick to the Little King strip was that he rarely, if ever, spoke. A little more dialogue would've gone a long way in this one, just to be an exception to the rule.
Rating: C-.
Animated World of DC Comics: Knights of Tomorrow (2010)
From Batman: The Brave & the Bold comes an interesting fable.
Based in part on a story in the original Brave & the Bold comic book, "Knights of Tomorrow" sees a future imagined by Alfred in which Bruce Wayne (Diedrich Bader) marries Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, and has a son, Damian, while Dick Grayson inherits the mantle of the Batman. With the Joker believed dead, however, a "son" emerges to, he claims, take the place of the Clown Prince of Crime (Jeff Bennett voices both Jokers), but as it turns out, there's more to this than meets the eye..........
Rating: A.
Based in part on a story in the original Brave & the Bold comic book, "Knights of Tomorrow" sees a future imagined by Alfred in which Bruce Wayne (Diedrich Bader) marries Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, and has a son, Damian, while Dick Grayson inherits the mantle of the Batman. With the Joker believed dead, however, a "son" emerges to, he claims, take the place of the Clown Prince of Crime (Jeff Bennett voices both Jokers), but as it turns out, there's more to this than meets the eye..........
Rating: A.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
On the Air: Uncle Grandpa (2013)
At first glance, Uncle Grandpa looks harmless enough. At least until you get to know him.
This Cartoon Network freshman series is about an eccentric, but well meaning, fellow and the wacky world around him. Like, a sentient slice of pizza? The series aspires to reach the heights of whimsical fantasy achieved by fellow frosh Steven Universe and the 3 year old Adventure Time, but at a more domestic level. Part sitcom, part satire.
Uncle Grandpa himself looks like series creator Pete Browngardt might've been inspired by the work of long time Mad Magazine cartoonist Don Martin and/or Mr. Potato Head. Like, UG is an amalgam of Potato Head and any generic Martin character, known for the elongated chin. Then again, the head is shaped like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Like, wack, man.
To demonstrate the satire of this show, we give you a mock commercial parodying the zillions of infomercials that are out there on the airwaves 24/7/365. Compliments of CN's own YouTube channel:
A talking slice of pizza. Well, there's worse. Like, a sentient wad of feces (South Park's infamous Mr. Hankey). How much lower could you go? Luckily, I don't think Uncle Grandpa has the answer.
Rating: B-.
This Cartoon Network freshman series is about an eccentric, but well meaning, fellow and the wacky world around him. Like, a sentient slice of pizza? The series aspires to reach the heights of whimsical fantasy achieved by fellow frosh Steven Universe and the 3 year old Adventure Time, but at a more domestic level. Part sitcom, part satire.
Uncle Grandpa himself looks like series creator Pete Browngardt might've been inspired by the work of long time Mad Magazine cartoonist Don Martin and/or Mr. Potato Head. Like, UG is an amalgam of Potato Head and any generic Martin character, known for the elongated chin. Then again, the head is shaped like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Like, wack, man.
To demonstrate the satire of this show, we give you a mock commercial parodying the zillions of infomercials that are out there on the airwaves 24/7/365. Compliments of CN's own YouTube channel:
A talking slice of pizza. Well, there's worse. Like, a sentient wad of feces (South Park's infamous Mr. Hankey). How much lower could you go? Luckily, I don't think Uncle Grandpa has the answer.
Rating: B-.
Saturday School: A 4 minute primer in an ant colony (1968)
A little science lesson is in order, courtesy of a Micro Ventures short from The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. Here, our family is "Exploring an Ant Colony":
Consider that these cartoons were 4-4 1/2 minutes in length, compared to the show's other animated features, which were double in size, averaging 8-10 minutes. And now they want to educate our next generation? Where was this movement 45 years ago?
Rating: A.
Consider that these cartoons were 4-4 1/2 minutes in length, compared to the show's other animated features, which were double in size, averaging 8-10 minutes. And now they want to educate our next generation? Where was this movement 45 years ago?
Rating: A.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Nights on Broadway (1975)
It's been a while since we pulled something from The Midnight Special, so let's take a trip back to the days before disco took over the airwaves, and scope out a tasty Bee Gees treat, "Nights on Broadway", with intro by hostess du jour Natalie Cole.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Mickey Mouse Week: Yodelberg (2013)
Today's new crop of Mickey Mouse shorts, commissioned for the Disney Channel, have a very retro feel to them, taking us all the way back to the beginning, if you will. Today's offering, "Yodelberg", is just one such example, and borrows the plot from some old MGM shorts (i.e. Droopy) from back in the day.
Uploaded by Disney Shorts:
I realize 3 minutes & change is hardly enough time for a plot to develop and close, but I guess they think their audience still has a sound byte mentality. Their loss.
Rating: A.
Uploaded by Disney Shorts:
I realize 3 minutes & change is hardly enough time for a plot to develop and close, but I guess they think their audience still has a sound byte mentality. Their loss.
Rating: A.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)