pmcollectorboy

Hasbro has captured lightning in a bottle with a cartoon revelation so pure and enchanting, it has captured the attention of even guys who wouldn't normally like My Little Pony. The pilot episode became one of the biggest animation related events since the release of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Lauren Faust has taken her unique character design style and warm-hearted characterizations and breathed new life into My Little Pony. The result is a new spin on the franchise that's super cute but not saccharine with just enough added snark and outrageous humor.

But it should not be looked at as another My Little Pony cartoon. Instead, it should be looked at as a good show that just happens to have characters from the franchise. But instead of being girly or cheesy, the show has winning humor and wonderful characters. The kingdom feels like it has real places with real neighborhoods. The families have brothers and sisters and older ponies. Magic returns to the ponies and feels real instead of tacked on. There are not too many villains in this show but there are a couple monsters. However the real conflict and drive of the show, and what makes it so interesting, is in seeing how different and varied the personalities of the characters are and how they often act like real friends, complete with disagreements. This is the most educational version of My Little Pony yet. However, unlike preschool cartoons, the lessons don't feel forced or pandering.

This is one of the most remarkable cartoons yet. Truly it is a great achievement.

Man I have never seen a movie more utterly boring and haphazard than this movie. League of Extraordinary Gentleman pilfers many great literary works to give us flat, uninteresting characters that are merely products of their own misinterpreted clichés from the literary versions(i.e. Doctor Jeckyl is no longer a tormented man but a hulking brute who is a slave to his "drink"). The plot is shallow and riddled with clichés(how many times are we going to get the cliché of somebody accused of being a traitor but it's really somebody else?). The character Nemo, who was a great, complex man in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, is reduced to a laughable character in this film. That was the last straw. If you want to see a retro "fantasy with technology" movie, see the infinitely better Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

They call it movie MAGIC for a reason. These days it seems like movies try to be as big, loud, empty and obnoxious as possible or as stuffy, self-important and as overbearing as possible. Check the average explosion-fest summer popcorn flick for proof. Or even worse, look no further than the overrated Hero, a movie which critics are raving about but in my opinion, only loved to hear the sound of its own voice and really doesn't deserve to take away the Oscar, while this movie slips under the radar. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow marks a return to what movies really SHOULD be like--spectacles of wonder, beauty, and awe and vehicles that transport you to fantastic other worlds. It is a movie that is as much fantasy as it is science fiction. It is a movie of an alternate history that probably could've, or should've, been, much like the video game Crimson Skies. It is a throwback to the sensibilities of the golden era, with a soft, fuzzy look that's not quite black and white and not quite technicolor.

The visual and narrative aesthetics unfold like a vintage comic book, with simplified yet personable characters, both heroic and villainous, and campy yet not too cheesy dialogue. Campy Buck Rogers style themes abound, with retro ray guns and transforming fictional aircraft. Yet the robots remind me more of The Iron Giant or Castle In The Sky.

Despite all this retro appeal(that might not appeal to some people), the CGI elements, which is practically everything but the actors, are pure 21st century products of modern movie-making. The action sequences are genuinely exciting and don't feel hollow or mechanical, which is pretty impressive considering what comprises most of this movie. But it never forgets its sense of fantasy and wonder and accesibility to kids of all ages. It drives you to the edge of your seat, but then it smiles and winks at you. It is much like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for today's era. As a "fantasy in a modern era" movie, this is the film League of Extraordinary Gentleman should've been. As a film in general, this movie is pure fun through and through, if you've got the right heart for this kind of stuff. Too bad Hero will no doubt garner the most praise and awards while this sleeper hit will slip under the radar. It may not be a masterpiece, but I'd rather a movie not try so hard and be just fun than try to look over the top and seem shallow, or even worse, try to be too artsy and just seem pretentious.