Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

My oldest granddaughter (age 6) came home with me from Church so I took a break from Batman to watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I've not seen that film in quite a long time. It's still a technical marvel and a fun film. I accidentally inserted the FS version (!?!?!?) and since it's a "new" purchase I watched it anyway just in case there are problems (not that I *really* care but...). I plan to remedy that faux-paux later in the challenge and watch the "real" version. :D

After Roger Rabbit I gave her the choice of what to watch. First it was the animated (and only good version) of The Cat in the Hat after which she got on a Christmas kick and we watched several Christmas specials - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (a favorite) followed by a couple of the Rankin/Bass specials (I don't like them myself but the kids do so I tolerate them). I was surprised to find Rankin/Bass is not on the list of studios in the checklist. Even though I'm not a fan of their work I really thought I'd seen their name on the list somewhere and was happy to get a "free" item ony to come up empty handed!

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I still haven't replaced that in my library. My wife took the VISTA Series DVD when she left. It's one of just two movies she took that actually irk me. The other is my 2-disc Criterion edition of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and that annoys me even more since she doesn't even like that damn movie.

Their annual airing was part of growing up, but really the only one I actually like is Frosty the Snowman. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is unwatchable to me. I can't stomach its bullying and its message that you're either just like everyone else, or you better be amazing and important because otherwise, we'll literally throw you away and hope to never hear from you again.

LJG765 just made that same observation a night or so ago to me! Definitely one that needs to be added in 2014.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I did! I was going to wait towards the end of the challenge but now is good too. :) I had the same experience as BobO'link, went to mark it down and realized that there was no check for it. :( There are non Christmas ones out there too. I think I watched The Last Unicorn and that is also Rankin/Bass.

I'm not a huge fan of the Christmas specials either, but the more I watch them, the more I enjoy them oddly. My go to special is The Grinch who Stole Christmas- the good one not the one with Jim Carrey. I also go through all the specials each year as well. I have at least 2 copies, maybe three because I have a lot of Christmas box sets, but I refuse to give up my stand alone copy. :)

Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh. I was a bit more ambivalent but it was worth the watch. I hope you go and give the hedgehog one another change. I liked it more than Winnie, actually. Though I do remember the voices to be a little too high pitched, but it's been a few months since I've watched it.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

Finished up Season 2 of The Clone Wars and I'll say again that this series is WAY better than the prequel films Lucas gave us. This season had some cool homages to Hitchcock's Notorious, The Seven Samurai, and two homages to Godzilla. I'm a little surprised no one sued Lucas over those homages. Obi-Wan and Boba Fett got some interesting backstories too. All-in-all I hope the library gets season 3 to me quickly.

I would feel a little bad for focusing everyone's attention to Batman but it's a great show so oh well :). "Robin's Reckoning" "Heart of Steel" and "Almost Got Im" are a few of my favorites from this volume. The only downside to this volume are the animal episodes: werewolves and bat beasts. For some reason I just can't suspend disbelief enough for these episodes to work for me. Plus, I always flash forward to that horrible episode in volume 4 with the farmer and the overgrown animals. Ugh I never remember the name of the episode and I always swear I'll never watch it again but I end up watching it anyway because by the time I figure it that it's the bad episode I'm halfway through it so I figure I might as well finish it.

Hopefully I can finish Volume 2 tonight and if it's not too late, I'll probably watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas since folks have brought it up. I love that cartoon.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I like what I've seen, but I was never a regular viewer and I've fallen way behind on that. My library has, I think, the first five seasons on DVD. I keep seeing them there and every time I do, I almost make the decision to start going through them.

All terrific. "Almost Got 'Im" isn't necessarily a strong episode, per se, but watching the various villains all interacting and trading their stories is a whole lot of fun.

I hated them originally and for years thereafter. Going back through them recently, though, I found them not nearly as off-putting. Back in 2011, when I checked into the mental health hospital, they said I could bring something to read. I took a collected edition of old Batman comics, The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (the 1989 edition, not the one currently in print, for anyone who knows the difference). It contained several of those kinds of stories and I found I actually liked them in print. I think part of it is a natural outgrowth of my recent-years fascination with the old Universal Monsters movies.

"Critters" is the episode. I have it ranked dead last on my list. There's a commentary track on that episode that's actually quite entertaining, so if you're dreading slogging through it again, that might be something to consider.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

Been there... done that... except in my case it was a few records. I feel your pain...
Funny you should mention those two as they are *exactly* the ones she wanted to watch. They are her favorites. I, too, favor Frosty over Rudolph and have never been a fan of Burl Ives (acting or singing) which makes Rudolph even harder to watch.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

Yep. In my case I was going to watch it anyway so... :)
Glad to return the favor! Well... you can actually thank my granddaughter as it was her idea! She'll watch that one almost any time of the year. :D

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

After the Christmas 'toons I put in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I believe I was around her age the last time I saw that one. It's been so long I'd forgotten most of what happens in that version. I was surprised at the voice of Snow White - a somewhat high pitched babyish sounding voice which I found somewhat annoying. I was also surprised at how short the sleeping/being kissed sequence runs. I'm watching the run time, we're getting down to the last 6-8 minutes, and she *still* hasn't taken a bite of the apple! The placards used to describe what the Dwarfs had done as well as indicating the passage of time were also a surprise - especially so in a "children's" film. I would have expected these (both front and end) to have been voice-over narrations rather than a card someone would have to read to a child.

After Snow White I was looking over the links to the checklist "Awards" items and found a title on one of the lists is Popeye the Sailer meets Sinbad the Sailor. As luck would have it I'd stopped watching my Popeye V1 set some time back on the very disk that contains that short! As a result, Batman is still on hold while I get in a bit of Popeye. :)

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

Well tell your granddaughter I said thank you. If it's ever in your area, and you haven't already, you should take her to see Grinch the musical. It's unbelievably adorable and anyone who likes the cartoon should love the musical.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

She gave me a strange look and said "Who's that?" :lol:

My grandson came in while I was watching Popeye shorts. It turns out he *loves* Popeye so we watched a disks worth of Popeye shorts together before he had to go home. It's really cool introducing these kids to stuff I watched when I was their age, especially when they like it so much and will ask for it on occasion. When I told him the Popeye cartoons we were watching were made when his *great* grandmother was 4 he was amazed! :)

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

While y'all have been focusing on the awesome TAS, I have been working my way through the less-awesome, but enjoyable The Batman. I watched the first season and part of the second last month and picked up where I left off this weekend. It's an interesting show that manages not to feel like a retread of TAS. Some of the villain original stories are different, and their are new characters on the Gotham police force. Season one does a good job dedicating some episodes to Bruce Wayne's life, but many of the more interesting aspects of the show are being abandoned in the second season.

I've also started watching Wolf's Rain again, and it is fantastic. It took a lot of patience to delve into the story, and many aspects are kept mysterious for a long, long time. I was told to have faith in the narrative and that things would make sense in time. I finally got to that point, and all the characters and situations converged. I think that's one of the reasons I really enjoy anime. You just have to immerse yourself in the world and characters, and believe that everything will make some semblance of sense at some point.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I know, sadly...

Why so? Because it's out of print and expensive, or because it's potentially foolhardy to get the whole show blind? Otherwise, it's simply because I'd rather buy the whole thing in one go if at all possible. :)

So, baffled at me looking for a complete show that's out of print and climbing in price, you suggest instead a book about it that's out of print and climbing in price..?! ;)

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

Quite.

It is all on YouTube currently, though...

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

[QUOTE=ntnon;11788061Why so? Because it's out of print and expensive, or because it's potentially foolhardy to get the whole show blind? Otherwise, it's simply because I'd rather buy the whole thing in one go if at all possible. :)[/QUOTE]

It's none of my business anyway, of course. To my mind, though, buying a complete series box set as a blind buy seems like a much bigger commitment than starting with the first volume/season. Or, for that matter, streaming/renting/DVRing/whatever.

Ha! Fair point. It should still be cheaper to buy the four DVD volumes and that OOP book than to snag one of the OOP Complete Series boxes, plus the OOP book is, as I mentioned, more satisfying than the one in the Complete Series box, depending on your shopping patience.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I hope that was sarcastic - surely one can't get sued over homages now...? :o

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

My family is back from burying my mother-in-law. To those of you who past on your condolences, thank you. Everything went as well as could be expected. We also lost my father-in-law earlier this year, so to lose them both so quickly was difficult.

Now, on a happier (and on topic) note, I was able to squeeze in some Dr. Katz episodes while I was there. The kids watched a few with me as well. They are first time viewers of the show and were surprised how funny it was. It lightened the mood a bit, thank goodness. My wife and I watched a few more last night. I'm going to try and get through all 6 seasons this month. That's a little ambitious considering all the other stuff I want to watch, but I've been putting it off way too long.

I guess my question and suggestion would be, is anyone else familiar with this show, and if not, try and find an episode and see what you think of 'Squigglevision'! :)

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

That's what I thought you'd thought. :) I can explain, even if it might seem a little [something]: I can usually tell which shows I'm going to enjoy based on comments, reviews, subject, etc. And I've rarely (fortunately!) been wrong. In this case it's a Timm/Dini cartoon, a DCU property, well-liked, reportedly accurate to the source material. And it's Batman. There's really no possibility I won't like it - but even if I somehow took against it in itself, I would want to try and have it because it's a DC thing.*

;)

You're right, and I imagine that's what'll wind up happening. But it'll irk me. If I find the complete box for a reasonable price, I'll have the added smugness/pleasure of having found a "(relative) bargain".



*I suspect one day I'll even consider buying Catwoman and Jonah Hex...

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I can sympathise with that last sentence, too, sadly.

When I read that title, I thought that I had heard of it, but looking it up I'm less sure. But I'll try and look it out.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I'm not sure I'll ever own a copy of Catwoman but I *did* purchase a copy of Jonah Hex last month. I'm not familiar with the comic so don't have a basis for comparison as to the faithfulness to the books. It wasn't a "great" movie but was OK for what I paid (less than $3) - basically I didn't feel ripped off after my viewing. It really felt rather generic and cliche' rather frequently in spite of the long history of the character in comics. Essentially just another failed "summer blockbuster" attempt.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

[Insert something wise, insightful and upbeat.]

Oh, if I was to make a recommendation of any one complete series box set to just buy blind, this'd probably be it! I'm just unaccustomed to the very idea of a complete set blind buy, unless it's some kind of short-lived show that died on the vine.

Jonah Hex would make a curious double-feature with Wild Wild West, I think. I haven't actually subjected myself to it, but I've thought about it since I saw Hex.

Speaking of the character, I *highly* endorse the DC Showcase: Jonah Hex animated short. It originally appeared as a bonus on the Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD and Blu-ray, then again in a slightly expanded version as part of the Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam collection of the DC Showcase shorts. The others are kinda nice, but that Hex short is nine kinds of awesome. Hell, it's even better than Under the Red Hood, for that matter.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said! :)

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I own Catwoman and Jonah Hex. I picked up Catwoman on DVD at a thrift store for a buck, and I bought Jonah Hex on Blu-ray for 98 cents at Blockbuster. Heck, I even own Man-Thing (49 cents at Movie Gallery). I'll buy almost any comic book movie if it's cheap enough. So far Son of the Mask is the only one I couldn't bring myself to buy for $1 or less (I saw it at the same time I bought Catwoman, but no way was it worth a dollar). I'm not sure I'd take it if I found a free copy.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

I was using the word homage rather loosely because there's an homage and then there's a remake. "Senate Spy" was a complete remake of Notorious. The only thing the writers changed were the character names. Seriously, the camerawork of the final shot of the episode was almost exactly the same as what Hitchcock did for the film. The writers at least had the good sense to dedicate "Bounty Hunters" to Kurosawa because it was a remake of Seven Samurai. I'm not saying these were bad episodes, on the contrary, they were really good episodes made even better if you know where the writers got their source material!

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

But was it wise, insightful and upbeat?

I'm with those who feel that Nicholas Meyer should have received a screenwriting credit for Star Trek Into Darkness.

Re: 4th Annual August Animation Challenge - Discussion Thread
 

He deserved some sort of shout-out because that was a remake, not an homage (and that wasn't even a really good remake).