Post by brownie on Jul 17, 2005 19:45:02 GMT -5
Anime Movie Reviews (AMR)
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
Chihiro is an 11 year girl living in Japan with her parents and is forced to move away from her friends to a new town. They stop off at an old abandoned theme park only to be transported into a magical world of strange new creatures. She is hired at a bath house by the witch Yubaba and is renamed Sin. Her mission is to turn her parents back into people after Yubaba turned them into pigs.
Rating: 9 / 10
Princess Mononoke
Hayao Miyazaki
M
Story:
A small village is attacked by a demon and the young prince Anutsaka is poisoned by it. He must leave his village and trace the Boar demon to a mysterious forest which is home to the Spirit of the Forest. There he must try and stop the conflict between an industrial town and the forest.
Rating: 10 / 10
Neon Genesis: The End of the Evangelion
Hideko Anno
M
Story:
The final movie to the highly controversial television series about huge beings that are controlled by three children. Very psychological and layered with religious metaphors, only understandable if you have followed the show. Watch commentary to be on the safe side.
Rating: 9 / 10
Ghost in the Shell
M
Story:
A group of cyborg detectives must chase down a human who is seeking asylum in a cybernetic body. Story centers around a young woman in an older woman’s body. There is nudity but only when she needs to turn invisible. This movie also has a TV show but is hard to tell whether it is before or after, it is most likely before since the Major is still in the same form. It is not as good or as well animated but is still worth a look if you can find the DVDs.
Rating: 8½ / 10
Akira
M
Story:
Remarked as being the best cell-animation movie ever, Akira is the story of a group of biker boys whose lives are turned upside down when they discover an army project using young children as experiments. Is confusing but dazzling in effects, same director of Steam Boy.
Rating: 10 / 10
Blood: The Last Vampire
Creators of Ghost in the Shell
M
Story:
Centers around the last remaining original vampire whose job is to hunt down the others. Only goes for 45 minutes and does not give enough depth into characters or plot.
Rating: 4 / 10
Vampire Hunter D
M
Story:
D’s are the mix between human and vampire. They do not need blood to live and can live in moderate sunlight. D is a hunter and is hired to rescue a woman who is in love with a vampire. Together he teams with a human group but has to decide whether or not it is true love.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Ninja Scroll
R
Story:
Jubei is a hired swordsman who is caught up in a battle among two strong clans fighting for power. He is poisoned and forced to help an old man defeat the seven Kimon Clan member, all who have strange powers. Jubei is not happy with the situation when he finds a woman who is immune to poisons, together they must try and defeat the Kimon. An excellent fight scene in the movie (along with the high level of violence and small amount of nudity) is when Jubei and the girl fight a master swordsman who cannot see in a bamboo field. This movie accompanies a TV show but has no links, although it is just as good.
Rating: 9 / 10
The ANIMATRIX
Various people from anime films
M
This is a collection of nine short stories put together by artists, creators or directors of anime films. These include people from Akira and Ninja Scroll. Their main story “Final Flight of the Osiris” is set right before the second Matrix movie (Reloaded) as well as before the video game (Enter the Matrix). The game and Animatrix are linked in story so to fully understand some of the plot you have to watch all three. The Animatrix also tells the history of Zion, a few fight scenes and first-rate “World Record”.
Wolves in Human Armour
M
Story:
This is a lame movie about police against public. One officer cannot shoot a woman who is about to explode due to a bomb strapped to herself. Little Red Riding Hood is mixed into the story and confusing metaphors are littered everywhere. This is not well animated or told.
Rating: 2 / 10
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Hayao Miyazaki
G
Story:
A young adventurer wants to reach a castle floating in the clouds but cannot find where it is. Then a strange girl falls out of the clouds and together they must try and find the castle before the army or the pirates do. The pirates turn good when the army turns bad. A mysterious robot also awakens and tries to help the girl but is destroyed by the army. This was made some time ago so the animation is not the best but it is the work of Miyazaki.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Trigun
M
Story:
This follows Vash the Stampede who is a known terrorist and has the price of 60 billion $$ (double dollars) on his head. Vash has a knack for getting out of trouble and takes the personality for Ash- Pok’e’mon and all the other. He is lazy, likes food and is the best gunner in the world but doesn’t like blood. He has a dark history that is revealed in later episodes.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
After the Seven Days of Fire against the Earth where giant warriors scorched the planet with power a huge poisonous jungle spreads from the ruins. This jungle is built over water which giant trees suck up and deliver to the forest. Strange (and interesting) insects protect this forest against the humans who seek to destroy it. The spores from the forest kill humans and travel across wind. The Valley of the Wind is a valley that wind from the sea passes through and protects it against the spores. They are a peaceful group but against all the other Kingdoms who want to destroy the jungle, they are outnumbered and weak. Nausicaa is the princess of the valley and believes there is a way to stop the spores without killing the forest. She rides a fast wind reliant machine that resembles an upside down hang glider. When an evil group smashes into the valley to reclaim one of the giant warriors that has lain dormant for over a thousand years she must travel with them back to their homeland. Her ship is attacked and she meets her attacker, a young boy who we don’t really learn a lot about. He is from an opposing group who is going to lure the bugs into the valley. When a bug is calm they have blue eyes and when angry they glow red. Along with Yupa (voiced by the Professor out of X-Men) who is the best swordsman in the world Nausicaa must find a way to settle all of hate growing in her land. This was Hayao Miyazaki’s first film and lacked what a few had later. We learn bits out of character that we only need for the story but he sometimes leaves out a few details such as the ending which does not give us the greatest idea. The reason why Princess Mononoke got a high rating was because it had excellent fight scenes and an interesting plot. Hayao uses many modern issues about nature and war such as in Princess Mononoke, Laputa and Porco Rosso. Some of the animation is a bit dodgy but still worthy of a rating. The story covers over the mistakes but a fine film nevertheless. The story had to be made into a comic before it was produced as a movie so some of the story and detail lie there.
Rating: 7 / 10
Porco Rosso
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
This is an interesting story of a flying pig. It follows the “pigs might fly” tale which is set about 1930-1945. It is set around the Mediterranean Sea where Porco Rosso (Crimson Pig) is a bounty hunter who is paid to catch Seaplane Pirates. Marco, as the beautiful Gina who owns a hotel and is secretly in love with the pig-headed man, has got a curse on him that made him have the pig head. He abandoned the Italian Air Force and lives in secret on a secluded island. When an American pilot, Curtis, comes in and is paid to take out Porco. The famous red plane is damaged in a fight and Porco takes it to Mulan for repairs. There he meets with an old friend called Piccolo and his granddaughter Theo. She designs and helps rebuild the plane. They take all of Porco money and install a new engine (which has Ghibli written on it) that can go faster than before. Theo then makes a bargain to with Porco to get revenge on Curtis. This film was well done with fantastic flying scenes and plenty of action and humor. The ending is not for certain and could have used a few scenes to elaborate.
Rating: 8¾ / 10
Grave of Fireflies
M
Story:
This is a Studio Ghibli but was not made by Hayao Miyazaki. The story centers around the war in Japan and two children who must survive without a home or a mother. They steal food and clothing items during raids but never get enough. No one wants to sell their food as they need it to eat. Soon they grow weak and sickness gets them. Their home, a former bomb shelter, is surrounded by fireflies. They catch and keep them to use as lights but they die shortly due to their short lives. They dig a hole which becomes their grave. The story is also watched from their shadow selves.
Rating: 6½ / 10
CARTOON ANIMATION
Spongebob Squarepants & The Movie
G
Story:
Everyone knows Spongebob as being a sponge with a pet snail living in a pineapple underwater in the town of Bikini Bottom (duh?). Basically the plot of each episode is him playing with his starfish friend, snail and the rest of the cast of character while in the movie he is asked to go and find a crown so his boss’s live can be saved. Since he works at the Krusty Krab and is only a kid the movie centers on him being more mature. This one is really for kids and should only ever be seen once.
Rating: TV 5 / 10
Movie 4 / 10
Dragon Ball (Z & GT)
G-PG
Story:
This is a classic but strained TV show that made a few movies. Most movies didn’t make sense, didn’t meet with the plot of the show or were basically just one long fight. The main character is Goku, a strong fighter who is from a Sayain race. All sayains are strong and have tails to turn them into strong giant monkeys. Goku, his nemesis Vegeta, his son Gohan and Vegeta’s son Trunks (who appeared in an older form from a future universe) can all turn Super Sayain which causes their hair to turn gold. Most people in the show can fly and use energy attacks and them turn into a higher Sayain level. This show used to be on Cheez TV but was stopped and started so often that it was quickly outgrown.
Rating: 6 / 10
Finding Nemo
Pixar
G
Story:
Who could wrong with the story of a father looking for his son in the oceans surrounding Sydney. After the death of his wife, Marlin managed to keep Nemo safe from danger all life. One day at school Nemo decides to show up his father and swim into open water and touch a boat whn some divers capture him. Marlin must find Nemo with the help of a forgetful fish, Dory, who brings life to the script. Nemo meanwhile is put in a tank at a dentist’s office and joins the tank fish gang and tries to escape. Marlin encounters a group of sharks who don’t like to eat fish, killer jellyfish and a radical turtle while Nemo befriends a pelican named Oscar who is voiced by Geoffrey Rush.
Rating: 9 / 10
The Iron Giant
G
Story:
Set in the days of Sputnik, a nervous American government is dealing with a lot of pressure. As it be a large robot crash lands to Earth and causes havoc on the locals by eating trucks, cars, power stations and everything metal. Hogarth Hughes is a boy without a father who wants a friend but can’t seem to make them. When he saves the giant from the power station they become friends and have lots of fun. Then an UFO expert comes in and investigates the situation and gets the entire army to visit the house of where the robot is hiding.
Rating: 5 / 10
The Incredibles
Pixar
G-PG
Story:
Bob used to be Mr. Incredible until he was sued by all the people he saved. Now superheroes are part of the public, stuck in dead end jobs and fighting crime in secret. Mr. Incredible is approached and asked to save an island from a robot but realizes something more sinister is afoot. His wife Elastagirl who can stretch her body, their daughter Violet who can turn invisible and create force fields and their son Dash who can run at lightning speeds must go to rescue Bob from the evil Syndrome who is out to prove that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. Because of that point the movie plot is excellent but has a small tear in it, only the bad guy is yet again doing the right thing the bad way round.
Rating: 9 / 10
Toy Story 1 & 2
Pixar
G
Story:
Woody is the old toy that is endanger of being replaced by the new Buzz Lightyear model with all the gadgets. All the other toys in Andy’s room are impressed by Woody accidentally gets Buzz pushed out of a window. It is a race against time for the pair to get back to Andy before he moves house.
Rating: 7 / 10
In the sequel Woody is captured by a toy collector where he is going to be sold along with his old TV show pals. Buzz must plan a rescue while Woody tries to convince his friends to come with him. This is one of the very few sequels that works along the same lines as the original.
Rating: 7 / 10
Daria
G
Story:
This was a favorite when it appeared on the ABC and was about Daria, a girl with an interesting mind. She had a monotone, wore the same green jacket, black skirt and brown hair in every episode where as her sister Quinn is a fashion freak. Their mother is constantly working and has little time for her family but still is concerned by what goes on while their father is easily distracted and constantly having something funny happen to him. One of their teachers has his eye pop out of his head for every second word he says while Daria’s best friend Jane is an artist. Daria is being made into a movie.
Rating: 8 / 10
South Park
Trey Parker & Matt Stone
M-MA
Story:
The plot changes in each episode from zombies to a ladder to heaven or just people from the future appearing on a road. In earlier episodes Kenny died (“Oh my god, you killed Kenny!”-“You bastard!”). Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Eric Cartman live in South Park, Colorado where they go to school and lead happy lives. Cartman is the best character by anyone’s standards. There are a few movies for this as well as Christmas Specials. There are side on episodes like Halloween Specials and Terrance and Phillip episodes.
Rating: 9½ / 10
Simpsons
Matt Groening
G-PG
Story:
This one doesn’t need to be explained since it is so popular. Homer is fat, Marge has long blue hair, Bart is a rebel, Lisa is a genius nerd and Maggie has her pacifier. Strange things happen that are mostly because of Homer and feature all in all of the episodes. Trademarks include: Apu, Krusty, Duff Beer, Moe, Barney, Officer Wiggum, Professor Frink, the highly religious Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner as well as Nelson and Ralph. The show is extremely old with new episodes coming out every so often. Matt also made Futurama which was not as popular.
Rating: 6 / 10
Family Guy
M
Story:
Pretty much like the Simpsons with Louis, Peter who is fat, Meg who is smart but nerdy, their baby Stewie who is an evil genius and their other son who is slow. Stranger random things happen in this series and since it is M more can be told. The family also has a talking dog called Brian who gets drunk and has fun.
Rating: 7 / 10
Happy Tree Friends and Friends
M-MA
Story:
Happy Tree Friends is a collection of animals who get killed in the most horrible and funny way possible. The music, characters and line at each end of every episode (Brush your teeth, when given lemons- make lemonade) all make this out as a sweet cartoon. The show features such acts at Peter & Jaydee- a pair of aliens who die using office equipment, Angry Kid- which is a funny segment about a kid pissing off his parents and finally Harvey Birdman. Birdman used to be a superhero but now fights law. He and his bird Avenger and his friend Peanut are all good characters. Phil who has an eyepatch and is always doing a two “ha ha” laugh is the boss. A purple hippo with a yellow hat who likes woman is another usual character. Every episode brings an old character out to be prosecuted by Mentok: The Mind Taker (oooooh wee ohhh). The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones and other are among the prosecuted. There is also a green alien who likes things small.
Rating: 8¾ / 10
Love Hina
M
Story:
The story centers around Keitaro. He flunked his test three times trying to get into Tokyo University to fulfill a promise he made when he was little. Now he arrives at a bathhouse that belonged to his grandmother. He arrives only to find out it is a hot spring designed for girls. Much of the story centers around Keitaro getting into trouble with the Hinata Inn residents. There is Naru the bookworm, Kitsune the boozer, Su the spaz, Shinobu the shy and Motoko the sword master. Each somehow has a crush on Keitaro yet realize he is going with Naru. He also somehow cops more than a feel and punishment each episode by mistake. It’s a silly manga/anime.
Rating: 7 / 10
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
Chihiro is an 11 year girl living in Japan with her parents and is forced to move away from her friends to a new town. They stop off at an old abandoned theme park only to be transported into a magical world of strange new creatures. She is hired at a bath house by the witch Yubaba and is renamed Sin. Her mission is to turn her parents back into people after Yubaba turned them into pigs.
Rating: 9 / 10
Princess Mononoke
Hayao Miyazaki
M
Story:
A small village is attacked by a demon and the young prince Anutsaka is poisoned by it. He must leave his village and trace the Boar demon to a mysterious forest which is home to the Spirit of the Forest. There he must try and stop the conflict between an industrial town and the forest.
Rating: 10 / 10
Neon Genesis: The End of the Evangelion
Hideko Anno
M
Story:
The final movie to the highly controversial television series about huge beings that are controlled by three children. Very psychological and layered with religious metaphors, only understandable if you have followed the show. Watch commentary to be on the safe side.
Rating: 9 / 10
Ghost in the Shell
M
Story:
A group of cyborg detectives must chase down a human who is seeking asylum in a cybernetic body. Story centers around a young woman in an older woman’s body. There is nudity but only when she needs to turn invisible. This movie also has a TV show but is hard to tell whether it is before or after, it is most likely before since the Major is still in the same form. It is not as good or as well animated but is still worth a look if you can find the DVDs.
Rating: 8½ / 10
Akira
M
Story:
Remarked as being the best cell-animation movie ever, Akira is the story of a group of biker boys whose lives are turned upside down when they discover an army project using young children as experiments. Is confusing but dazzling in effects, same director of Steam Boy.
Rating: 10 / 10
Blood: The Last Vampire
Creators of Ghost in the Shell
M
Story:
Centers around the last remaining original vampire whose job is to hunt down the others. Only goes for 45 minutes and does not give enough depth into characters or plot.
Rating: 4 / 10
Vampire Hunter D
M
Story:
D’s are the mix between human and vampire. They do not need blood to live and can live in moderate sunlight. D is a hunter and is hired to rescue a woman who is in love with a vampire. Together he teams with a human group but has to decide whether or not it is true love.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Ninja Scroll
R
Story:
Jubei is a hired swordsman who is caught up in a battle among two strong clans fighting for power. He is poisoned and forced to help an old man defeat the seven Kimon Clan member, all who have strange powers. Jubei is not happy with the situation when he finds a woman who is immune to poisons, together they must try and defeat the Kimon. An excellent fight scene in the movie (along with the high level of violence and small amount of nudity) is when Jubei and the girl fight a master swordsman who cannot see in a bamboo field. This movie accompanies a TV show but has no links, although it is just as good.
Rating: 9 / 10
The ANIMATRIX
Various people from anime films
M
This is a collection of nine short stories put together by artists, creators or directors of anime films. These include people from Akira and Ninja Scroll. Their main story “Final Flight of the Osiris” is set right before the second Matrix movie (Reloaded) as well as before the video game (Enter the Matrix). The game and Animatrix are linked in story so to fully understand some of the plot you have to watch all three. The Animatrix also tells the history of Zion, a few fight scenes and first-rate “World Record”.
Wolves in Human Armour
M
Story:
This is a lame movie about police against public. One officer cannot shoot a woman who is about to explode due to a bomb strapped to herself. Little Red Riding Hood is mixed into the story and confusing metaphors are littered everywhere. This is not well animated or told.
Rating: 2 / 10
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Hayao Miyazaki
G
Story:
A young adventurer wants to reach a castle floating in the clouds but cannot find where it is. Then a strange girl falls out of the clouds and together they must try and find the castle before the army or the pirates do. The pirates turn good when the army turns bad. A mysterious robot also awakens and tries to help the girl but is destroyed by the army. This was made some time ago so the animation is not the best but it is the work of Miyazaki.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Trigun
M
Story:
This follows Vash the Stampede who is a known terrorist and has the price of 60 billion $$ (double dollars) on his head. Vash has a knack for getting out of trouble and takes the personality for Ash- Pok’e’mon and all the other. He is lazy, likes food and is the best gunner in the world but doesn’t like blood. He has a dark history that is revealed in later episodes.
Rating: 7½ / 10
Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
After the Seven Days of Fire against the Earth where giant warriors scorched the planet with power a huge poisonous jungle spreads from the ruins. This jungle is built over water which giant trees suck up and deliver to the forest. Strange (and interesting) insects protect this forest against the humans who seek to destroy it. The spores from the forest kill humans and travel across wind. The Valley of the Wind is a valley that wind from the sea passes through and protects it against the spores. They are a peaceful group but against all the other Kingdoms who want to destroy the jungle, they are outnumbered and weak. Nausicaa is the princess of the valley and believes there is a way to stop the spores without killing the forest. She rides a fast wind reliant machine that resembles an upside down hang glider. When an evil group smashes into the valley to reclaim one of the giant warriors that has lain dormant for over a thousand years she must travel with them back to their homeland. Her ship is attacked and she meets her attacker, a young boy who we don’t really learn a lot about. He is from an opposing group who is going to lure the bugs into the valley. When a bug is calm they have blue eyes and when angry they glow red. Along with Yupa (voiced by the Professor out of X-Men) who is the best swordsman in the world Nausicaa must find a way to settle all of hate growing in her land. This was Hayao Miyazaki’s first film and lacked what a few had later. We learn bits out of character that we only need for the story but he sometimes leaves out a few details such as the ending which does not give us the greatest idea. The reason why Princess Mononoke got a high rating was because it had excellent fight scenes and an interesting plot. Hayao uses many modern issues about nature and war such as in Princess Mononoke, Laputa and Porco Rosso. Some of the animation is a bit dodgy but still worthy of a rating. The story covers over the mistakes but a fine film nevertheless. The story had to be made into a comic before it was produced as a movie so some of the story and detail lie there.
Rating: 7 / 10
Porco Rosso
Hayao Miyazaki
PG
Story:
This is an interesting story of a flying pig. It follows the “pigs might fly” tale which is set about 1930-1945. It is set around the Mediterranean Sea where Porco Rosso (Crimson Pig) is a bounty hunter who is paid to catch Seaplane Pirates. Marco, as the beautiful Gina who owns a hotel and is secretly in love with the pig-headed man, has got a curse on him that made him have the pig head. He abandoned the Italian Air Force and lives in secret on a secluded island. When an American pilot, Curtis, comes in and is paid to take out Porco. The famous red plane is damaged in a fight and Porco takes it to Mulan for repairs. There he meets with an old friend called Piccolo and his granddaughter Theo. She designs and helps rebuild the plane. They take all of Porco money and install a new engine (which has Ghibli written on it) that can go faster than before. Theo then makes a bargain to with Porco to get revenge on Curtis. This film was well done with fantastic flying scenes and plenty of action and humor. The ending is not for certain and could have used a few scenes to elaborate.
Rating: 8¾ / 10
Grave of Fireflies
M
Story:
This is a Studio Ghibli but was not made by Hayao Miyazaki. The story centers around the war in Japan and two children who must survive without a home or a mother. They steal food and clothing items during raids but never get enough. No one wants to sell their food as they need it to eat. Soon they grow weak and sickness gets them. Their home, a former bomb shelter, is surrounded by fireflies. They catch and keep them to use as lights but they die shortly due to their short lives. They dig a hole which becomes their grave. The story is also watched from their shadow selves.
Rating: 6½ / 10
CARTOON ANIMATION
Spongebob Squarepants & The Movie
G
Story:
Everyone knows Spongebob as being a sponge with a pet snail living in a pineapple underwater in the town of Bikini Bottom (duh?). Basically the plot of each episode is him playing with his starfish friend, snail and the rest of the cast of character while in the movie he is asked to go and find a crown so his boss’s live can be saved. Since he works at the Krusty Krab and is only a kid the movie centers on him being more mature. This one is really for kids and should only ever be seen once.
Rating: TV 5 / 10
Movie 4 / 10
Dragon Ball (Z & GT)
G-PG
Story:
This is a classic but strained TV show that made a few movies. Most movies didn’t make sense, didn’t meet with the plot of the show or were basically just one long fight. The main character is Goku, a strong fighter who is from a Sayain race. All sayains are strong and have tails to turn them into strong giant monkeys. Goku, his nemesis Vegeta, his son Gohan and Vegeta’s son Trunks (who appeared in an older form from a future universe) can all turn Super Sayain which causes their hair to turn gold. Most people in the show can fly and use energy attacks and them turn into a higher Sayain level. This show used to be on Cheez TV but was stopped and started so often that it was quickly outgrown.
Rating: 6 / 10
Finding Nemo
Pixar
G
Story:
Who could wrong with the story of a father looking for his son in the oceans surrounding Sydney. After the death of his wife, Marlin managed to keep Nemo safe from danger all life. One day at school Nemo decides to show up his father and swim into open water and touch a boat whn some divers capture him. Marlin must find Nemo with the help of a forgetful fish, Dory, who brings life to the script. Nemo meanwhile is put in a tank at a dentist’s office and joins the tank fish gang and tries to escape. Marlin encounters a group of sharks who don’t like to eat fish, killer jellyfish and a radical turtle while Nemo befriends a pelican named Oscar who is voiced by Geoffrey Rush.
Rating: 9 / 10
The Iron Giant
G
Story:
Set in the days of Sputnik, a nervous American government is dealing with a lot of pressure. As it be a large robot crash lands to Earth and causes havoc on the locals by eating trucks, cars, power stations and everything metal. Hogarth Hughes is a boy without a father who wants a friend but can’t seem to make them. When he saves the giant from the power station they become friends and have lots of fun. Then an UFO expert comes in and investigates the situation and gets the entire army to visit the house of where the robot is hiding.
Rating: 5 / 10
The Incredibles
Pixar
G-PG
Story:
Bob used to be Mr. Incredible until he was sued by all the people he saved. Now superheroes are part of the public, stuck in dead end jobs and fighting crime in secret. Mr. Incredible is approached and asked to save an island from a robot but realizes something more sinister is afoot. His wife Elastagirl who can stretch her body, their daughter Violet who can turn invisible and create force fields and their son Dash who can run at lightning speeds must go to rescue Bob from the evil Syndrome who is out to prove that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. Because of that point the movie plot is excellent but has a small tear in it, only the bad guy is yet again doing the right thing the bad way round.
Rating: 9 / 10
Toy Story 1 & 2
Pixar
G
Story:
Woody is the old toy that is endanger of being replaced by the new Buzz Lightyear model with all the gadgets. All the other toys in Andy’s room are impressed by Woody accidentally gets Buzz pushed out of a window. It is a race against time for the pair to get back to Andy before he moves house.
Rating: 7 / 10
In the sequel Woody is captured by a toy collector where he is going to be sold along with his old TV show pals. Buzz must plan a rescue while Woody tries to convince his friends to come with him. This is one of the very few sequels that works along the same lines as the original.
Rating: 7 / 10
Daria
G
Story:
This was a favorite when it appeared on the ABC and was about Daria, a girl with an interesting mind. She had a monotone, wore the same green jacket, black skirt and brown hair in every episode where as her sister Quinn is a fashion freak. Their mother is constantly working and has little time for her family but still is concerned by what goes on while their father is easily distracted and constantly having something funny happen to him. One of their teachers has his eye pop out of his head for every second word he says while Daria’s best friend Jane is an artist. Daria is being made into a movie.
Rating: 8 / 10
South Park
Trey Parker & Matt Stone
M-MA
Story:
The plot changes in each episode from zombies to a ladder to heaven or just people from the future appearing on a road. In earlier episodes Kenny died (“Oh my god, you killed Kenny!”-“You bastard!”). Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Eric Cartman live in South Park, Colorado where they go to school and lead happy lives. Cartman is the best character by anyone’s standards. There are a few movies for this as well as Christmas Specials. There are side on episodes like Halloween Specials and Terrance and Phillip episodes.
Rating: 9½ / 10
Simpsons
Matt Groening
G-PG
Story:
This one doesn’t need to be explained since it is so popular. Homer is fat, Marge has long blue hair, Bart is a rebel, Lisa is a genius nerd and Maggie has her pacifier. Strange things happen that are mostly because of Homer and feature all in all of the episodes. Trademarks include: Apu, Krusty, Duff Beer, Moe, Barney, Officer Wiggum, Professor Frink, the highly religious Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner as well as Nelson and Ralph. The show is extremely old with new episodes coming out every so often. Matt also made Futurama which was not as popular.
Rating: 6 / 10
Family Guy
M
Story:
Pretty much like the Simpsons with Louis, Peter who is fat, Meg who is smart but nerdy, their baby Stewie who is an evil genius and their other son who is slow. Stranger random things happen in this series and since it is M more can be told. The family also has a talking dog called Brian who gets drunk and has fun.
Rating: 7 / 10
Happy Tree Friends and Friends
M-MA
Story:
Happy Tree Friends is a collection of animals who get killed in the most horrible and funny way possible. The music, characters and line at each end of every episode (Brush your teeth, when given lemons- make lemonade) all make this out as a sweet cartoon. The show features such acts at Peter & Jaydee- a pair of aliens who die using office equipment, Angry Kid- which is a funny segment about a kid pissing off his parents and finally Harvey Birdman. Birdman used to be a superhero but now fights law. He and his bird Avenger and his friend Peanut are all good characters. Phil who has an eyepatch and is always doing a two “ha ha” laugh is the boss. A purple hippo with a yellow hat who likes woman is another usual character. Every episode brings an old character out to be prosecuted by Mentok: The Mind Taker (oooooh wee ohhh). The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones and other are among the prosecuted. There is also a green alien who likes things small.
Rating: 8¾ / 10
Love Hina
M
Story:
The story centers around Keitaro. He flunked his test three times trying to get into Tokyo University to fulfill a promise he made when he was little. Now he arrives at a bathhouse that belonged to his grandmother. He arrives only to find out it is a hot spring designed for girls. Much of the story centers around Keitaro getting into trouble with the Hinata Inn residents. There is Naru the bookworm, Kitsune the boozer, Su the spaz, Shinobu the shy and Motoko the sword master. Each somehow has a crush on Keitaro yet realize he is going with Naru. He also somehow cops more than a feel and punishment each episode by mistake. It’s a silly manga/anime.
Rating: 7 / 10