newtype_1

I saw this as a Rifftrax, and their mockery aside, this is a pretty weak version of Aladdin. As others have said, the concept of a Chinese Aladdin true to the original story is something you don't see often and is for that reason remarkable. On the other hand, the sets are cheap and crummy looking and the songs are mostly bad. I think the only one I really liked was the one sung by the wizard when they were going to get the lamp. Barry Bostwick is definitely having fun here, mugging it up the whole time. The special effects are also something else, they really do look like the kind of stuff Tim and Eric use. I checked IMDB for a cast list and was surprised at the notable careers of some these actors, the wizard won a Tony for Man of La Mancha and the Princess voiced Rose Quartz in Steven Universe.

I thought this was a great episode, a rather sharp parody of those hundreds of inane Christmas movies. You have to have seen a lot of them to appreciate it though, my mom watches them constantly during the month of December. I didn't mind the story not revolving exclusively around the family as others have said, they're in it enough.

Right off the bat, (har, this episode is heavily baseball themed) I'd like to say the Charlie Brown actor in this one is particularly good. This one probably gets ignored because it sounds like boring late 80s educational Peanuts but is really funny. It deals with the sequence from the comics where Lucy planted a block garden on the baseball field unbeknownst to Charlie Brown. So the Arbor Day theme kind of fits, but is distracting. Interestingly, the kids name the field after Charlie Brown in this episode, something I don't think I've heard of before or since.