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Top 5 Animated Music Videos
As a child of the 80s and 90s, music videos were a huge part of my pop culture experience and the one thing that always stuck out at me were when these videos used animation. It was often experimental and boundary pushing but for my young mind it was worlds colliding. Here are my top 5!
Top 5 Underrated Animated Films
No good blog is complete without an "underrated" list, but that's not why I wrote this. Actually, there is a fascinating type of market forensics that comes into play after a film that was expected to perform well... doesn't.Some movies that didn't perform well in theaters are considered classics today (Wizard of Oz, Willie Wonka, etc). Many more movies performed well in theaters that are considered crap today (do I really need to list them?).For a select few, there is a sad limbo designated for films that are great movies but are being held back by the metrics by which they're judged: critical rating or profit. And that’s the setup for this list…
Review: "Danger Mouse" 2015
With all the various reboots and remakes out there, especially with kids' properties, it's rare that you come upon one which plays perfectly for the old, nostalgic crowd AND the new generation. Danger Mouse (2015) is one of those shows. With a nod to the original, a comedic pacing for modern kids, and an art/animation style that speaks as much about quality as it does the decision of the makers to pursue that quality for a reboot in the first place... the CBBC (and as of Spring 2016, Netflix) has a hit on their hands. To the review!
Top 5 Cartoons Based on R-Rated Movies
The 1980s were a time of excessive everything: excessive clothing patterns, colors, money (wealth or lack thereof), hair volume, glitter for some reason...One particular excess was the "toy cartoon" (or "30 minute commercial" if you prefer). All "your" favorites fall into this category: He-Man, GI Joe, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Transformers, and even my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.By the time you get to the end of the '80s, companies had turned to video games for "cartoon worthy content." Shows like Captain N: The Game Master and Legend of Zelda (obligatory "well excuuussssee me, Princess!") fall into this category.For some reason, when the 1990s roll around that content search had extended to turning '80s movies into kids cartoons - and many times those movies were rated R! And that's the setup for this list...
Podcastimation: "What Was Wrong With MAN OF STEEL?"
Way back in episode 1 of "The Rubber Onion" animation podcast we had a conversation about the new (at the time) Superman film "Man of Steel." You should click that link up there to listen to the entire episode because we say a lot more about it but aside from the obvious problem we had with it (especially two New Yorkers watching it in a theater in the heart of Manhattan, there was one scene in particular that stood out as... not great), it seemed to reference a bunch of movies just in the first 5 minutes. I'll give the "300" reference a pass since "Man of Steel" was directed by Zak Snyder who also directed "300" but in any case... we'll probably still be in line for "Batman V Superman." Long live Batfleck!
Podcastimation: "What I Hated Most about Michael Bay's TMNT 2014"
Back in episode 42 of "The Rubber Onion" animation podcast, Rob & I reviewed the new Bay-produced "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie. We did not like it. But one thing was the ultimate breaking point for me and this is the clip we decided to use for this next podcastimation. To listen to the entire (nsfw) episode of the podcast, just CLICK HERE.
Podcastimation: "Bugs Bunny Was Wrong"
Rob Yulfo & I animated a clip from episode #0 "The Pre-Cast" of The Rubber Onion Animation Podcast because... well... we're animators. Head on over to the podcast page to listen to the full episode!