luckysword

Disney in the late 90s was infamous for unnecessary and uninspired direct to DVD sequels. Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, and 101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure. Derivative, simple films with little merit that mostly exist to pander to children who don't recognize films for their artistic meaning and to make Disney money. This is NOT the case with The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Simba's Pride is, in my opinion, not only the most meaningful direct to video sequel in its execution, but also the only one that understood the meaning and origin of its predecessor and the only one that was necessary for the character arcs displayed in the first film. In order: this film is not as simple as its contemporaries. Most of the direct to video sequels of the late 90s put the focus on the child of one of the original film's main characters, put them on a wacky adventure with an arbitrary villain, and allowed everything to return to a normal peaceful family after the parents proving they love their child. They're formulaic and rather boring. Scamp's Adventure, Patch's London Adventure, and even the 2006 'Fox & the Hound II' all follow this roadmap. Quite simply: Simba's Pride does not. It breaks out of the template set by other sequels and tells a story that allows its characters to grow and face meaningful conflict. Most of the film actually takes place when its main characters - Kiara and Kovu are adults - when their story can develop as a more authentic romance, in contrast to the immature stories of the young characters in other sequels of the time. By taking its time with the romance between Kiara and Kovu as well, this is actually better than most Disney love stories in general. Kiara and Kovu spend a great deal of time together platonically learning to help one another grow, and growing more comfortable with one another as they share their lives and skills. Given the timetable of the film it gives their romance time to blossom in a way that feels well paced, comparable to the masterfully executed romance of Beauty and the Beast, as opposed to the shallow and rushed romance of Cinderella or Little Mermaid (stories where one of the two love interests is a non-character who doesn't talk with their better half). This execution leads to a genuine investment and can speak well to themes about love and relationships based on the characters. Secondarily, this stands out among other Disney sequels for its understanding of its source material. Compare this, again, to Little Mermaid I and II. The Little Mermaid was originally a Grimm's Fairy tale about a stand-alone event where Ariel fell in love with a human. There is no secondary story to draw inspiration from, so Disney had to entirely invent one for Return to the Sea. I think that inventing original stories like this has merit, but it betrays the inspiration and intention of the original film. The original was an execution of a classic story in Disney's unique style and the sequel was wholly irrelevant by being an entirely original story made to make money. Similarly to Little Mermaid, the Lion King is also Disney's interpretation of a classic story. In this case, The Lion King was a Disney retelling of the Shakespeare play Hamlet, about a prince of a murdered king returning to retake his throne. Unlike Return to the Sea, however, Simba's Pride understands the roots of the original Lion King and respects this by drawing from another Shakespeare play - in this case it was Romeo and Juliet. By drawing from the same source as the original, Simba's Pride has a layer of thematic cohesion with its predecessor that makes it fit organically into the story in a way no other Disney sequel does. Not only does it fit more thematically than any other sequel but also is a necessary continuation of the original film. Because, quite simply, Simba's character arc isn't finished. His journey in the Lion King taught him the bare minimum of what was required to be a king, but still left him uncertain of how to be anything more than a wannabe Mufasa. We see Simba at his highest when the solution is simple - kill Scar - but when dissent, treachery, and disloyalty are his enemies as the king of Pride Rock it's easy to see why he'd be left uncertain of how to be a good leader. Because Mufasa never lived to show him the nuance of being his own king and his own leader. A natural and arguably necessary character arc that Simba's Pride tackles throughout the whole runtime, while also focusing on the romance between Kiara and Kovu (which once again, develops naturally over a long time until the beginning of the third act, when that character arc is complete). I also think that the way Kiara's arc mirror's Simba's from the first film is rather necessary to discuss: how one adheres to their responsibility in the circle of life (as Simba learned) while still managing to be their own person (as every character in this film learns). A struggle to find one's own identity while also fulfilling their responsibility to others. An incredibly mature arc that's a perfectly natural question to ask after Simba surrendered his life with Timone and Pumba to return to Pride Rock. Asking when one's responsibility is more important than their choice and how the two coexist. By tackling these themes and questions it not only acts as the most natural continuation of a story in Disney's massive armada of sequels, but also, rises above the quality of the original film. I personally feel that this discussion of existential themes about one's own identity in spite of their destiny is an incredibly nuanced theme that deserves to be discussed as much and if not more so than the themes of responsibility and destiny tackled in the original Lion King.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated is bewildering in so many ways, but the most accurate summary of this is that it is somehow both an accurate homage to the original series, keeping many of its elements and calling back to it many times, and yet at the same time is the grandest and most different venture this series has ever taken. In some ways, I even have to catch myself from calling it the perfect Scooby Doo cartoon. To begin with the differences that make it so great however, it's a departure not only from many of the character archetypes that have been so prominent in previous shows, but is also a departure from the classic setting of "Coolsville" and now taking place in a small, beach-side tourist trap called Crystal Cove; a place that self advertises being the most haunted place on Earth. Many of Scooby-Doo's past antagonists get their own callbacks in the museum Velma's family works at, and some old companions even get their own hilarious write-offs as to why they're not in the show. For example, upon seeing Scrappy-Doo's statue in the museum, Daphnie gives a horrified reaction, and Fred holds her close telling her "We promised to never speak of him again". Another difference, this time more directly relating to the characters of "Mystery Incorporated", is that they are no longer self-sufficient adults, but aren't quite the dependent young children they were in 'A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'. They're teenagers, in their twilight years of High school, I believe. While this could very easily regress into a teenage trap of warding off cliques while they solve mysters, the show manages to avoid this and remain more respectable, focusing primarily on the mystery of the episode, the characters working to figure it out, and most impressively, the Earth-shattering mystery that unveils itself slowly but surely throughout the entirety of the two seasons. Lastly, as far as changes, as many have said, they're all more characterized this time, with individual traits and even quirks that make them more dynamic and fun to work off of each other, and in ways more relatable. For example, Daphnie is shown early on to be allergic to shellfish, and though it at first seems like an excuse to solve the mystery of 'The Man Crab', throughout the remainder of the series she'll continue to stay away from shellfish and worry about her allergies to them. The changes in how it's written, as well, make the show not only different and more complex, but have made it many things that people never expected Scooby-Doo to ever be. The movies, despite their lack of success, tried to be both humorous and serious at the same time to create a dramatic, but lighthearted story. They obviously failed. Trying to do the same, Mystery Incorporated not only succeeded by being not only epic, but also hilarious. As the mystery of Crystal Cove unfolds more and more, everything becomes so complex and detailed that it begins to feel like an actual mystery. In fact, things that had happened had me guessing at so many potential options, and I began to wonder and speculate at every character we've seen and wondered if the main villain of the first season would be someone totally new. It wasn't. And the twist at the end of the season actually had me gasping, and crushed by as much feels as your typical anime. The ending of the first season is an excellent example of just what this series becomes; the ending is a thrilling cliffhanger where the original identities of everyone involved with the old mysteries are revealed, but many of their motivations and where they are today remain as much of a mystery as ever, and before Mystery Inc. can even speculate at what might be happening, the gang is separated, and their parents seem to have no intent to even allow them to see each other ever again. Of course, by the second season, they do, but even just imagining seeing that conclusion and then having to wait a whole year before the gang got together again like those who watched live when the series came out is incomprehensible to me. This show is expertly written, and the only thing that keeps it from being a 10/10 is some clunky romantic drama early in the show, but even that gets better and becomes as expertly written as anything else. I can't recommend this show enough, as it's the perfect representation of Scooby Doo. Watch it if you can.

It's honestly hard to say anything awful about this show, honestly I can't even say anything really all that bad. My only gripe with the show in its entirety, and this is not even the fault of the show, is its obscurity. There was honestly a part of me that was even surprised this show found its way to IMDb. I remember when I was younger, back in 2007 or 2008, flipping through the guide on my TV every night to see when I would have to sit down and watch the most recent episode of The Secret Show, but when it's timeslot was moved back to 3AM (and I was one of all of 10 kids in the country watching), it seemed to spell the end of Victor and Anita.

I don't know what exactly you're doing to even stumble across this review or this page, but I honestly can't recommend this show enough, as it has at the very least a little bit for everyone. Children of younger ages will find a bit of laughter out of some gross humor, such as an episode focused on wedgies or the "World Leader" eating boogers, pre-teens will find a number of laughs from the simple absurdity or things like a "World Leader" or just some of the crazy things that happen in the show, and even some adults will pick up on parodies of classic spy movies! Even if this doesn't seem enough for you, reoccurring jokes like Professor Professor shouting "Are you still alive!?" or the various names-to-daily are things that I think can appeal to people of all ages and demographics, and how Victor and names-to-daily always seem to get the short end of the stick compared to other UZZ operatives has proved more than amusing on numerous occasions.

If you ever see this show anywhere, pounce it and grab it for dear life! It's a wonderful show, and you may only get a few chances to watch it. It's been 10 years and I still haven't found another place to watch it..