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Drawing Lots and Lots of Little Pictures- A Cartoon Thread

Daikaiju

Rated Ages 6+
(He, Him)
New Cuphead show on netflix seems promising after the first episode. Certainly has the right look.

Cuphead and Mugman themselves are kind of annoying as hell, but they are the stars of a kid’s show so I was expecting that.
Plus main characters in that era tended to be varying levels of obnoxious
 

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
I love pretty much everything about Turning Red. The goofy Aardman-esque character designs are a delight, with amazing expressions and slapstick. The story is very heartfelt and feels both universal and deeply, deeply personal.

It gives me hope for this new era of Pixar where Disney is forcing them to pump out films at such a rapid clip. It’s very small-scale and intimate, in a good way.

It’s also far hornier than I expected from Pixar, which I’m here for.
 
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Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Yeah, watched Turning Red last night and it's VERY good. I think now that we aren't expecting Pixar to be batting 1000, it's kind of nice to be reminded how great they can be and be SURPRISED in the way they are good. Like, I loved Luca but the retro rustic Italian vibe is extremely what I expect while Turning Red's recent era nostalgia with a style that feels like a mix between, as mentioned, the Aardman character designs and modern era cartoons (particularly 2010s Cartoon Network series) brings a specific and different zippy, wacky, hyperactive energy I wasn't expecting from the studio while retaining the storytelling quality and emotion I expect from the studio. This would have been a delight to see in the theatre but frankly in this era I'm glad it's just in my home for free.
 

Exposition Owl

more posts about buildings and food
(he/him/his)
Yeah, Turning Red is super great. I hope this movie's success encourages Disney and other studios to give more women the opportunity and the resources to tell stories from their own points of view. It's also interesting to see a Western animated film that uses some of the visual language of anime, but with an attitude of "these are just some of the tools in our toolbox" rather than one of "look at this REFERENCE we're making! Did you notice the REFERENCE?!" The movie was clearly made by people who grew up deeply loving anime, and is aimed at an audience that has at least a nodding acquaintance with it. Its willingness to think outside of the Disney box reminded me a little bit of Lilo & Stitch.

If you liked the movie, by the way, I highly recommend the making-of documentary that's also on Disney+. It's called Embrace the Panda, and it paints a really cool picture of the movie's creative team. Apparently, Turning Red is the first movie in Pixar's history whose creative leads are all women.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
Also watched Turning Red tonight and, yeah, it's fantastic. Highly recommended, everything about it was great.

(I do have one absolutely minor linguistic quibble with something in the boy band's song that has absolutely no bearing on the movie itself. They say "ride or die", which felt way more like a 2021 thing to say than 2002.)
 

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
Another thumbs up for Turning Red. I guess some people have been complaining that the film wasn't relevant enough to them. There's very little about the film I could personally relate to, but hey, that didn't stop me from enjoying it! (One minor complaint: the mother was kind of a controlling jerk. No, the reveal at the end didn't totally justify her Karen-y, helicopter parent-y behavior.)
 

Exposition Owl

more posts about buildings and food
(he/him/his)
I do have one absolutely minor linguistic quibble
Yeah, I noticed that, too. Ah, well.

On the subject of minuscule linguistic quibbles, I also heard someone else say that the characters in the movie pronounce "Toronto" like Americans rather than like Torontonians. Could any Canadian TTers confirm or deny?
 

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
(One minor complaint: the mother was kind of a controlling jerk. No, the reveal at the end didn't totally justify her Karen-y, helicopter parent-y behavior.)
The reveal isn't supposed to justify anything, just show how this family is stuck in a cycle, and Mei chooses to break that cycle.
 

Ghost from Spelunker

BAG
(They/Him)
I believe, for the locals, the second T is silent.

Planearium.jpg
 

karzac

(he/him)
Yeah, I noticed that, too. Ah, well.

On the subject of minuscule linguistic quibbles, I also heard someone else say that the characters in the movie pronounce "Toronto" like Americans rather than like Torontonians. Could any Canadian TTers confirm or deny?

Wait, do Canadians pronounce "Toronto" differently than Americans? That one's new to me.

I believe, for the locals, the second T is silent.

It rhymes with "piranha"

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I can maybe provide some clarity as a Torontonian. For most locals, the second "t" is indeed silent, so I pronounce it "Teronno" or even elide the first syllable, to make it "Tronno". The rhyme with "piranha" that Bongo brings up is definitely a real pronunciation (so "Terahnnah" or "Trahnnah") but I associate it with a more rural or at least suburban accent - that might not be accurate though. The "Toe-Ron-Toe" pronunciation is definitely stereotypically American, but is really just a non-Ontario thing I think. My friends from Manitoba and Saskatchewan pronounce it that way, and I even had a friend in high school who pronounced it that way, even though he was from Toronto (although his mom was from Michigan, so maybe that's why).

It wouldn't surprise me to hear people from Toronto pronounce it the "American" way, although people would probably comment on it.

As an aside, the Toronto pronunciation doesn't bother me nearly as much as Americans saying Montreal or Newfoundland wrong (although I've actually heard a variety of pronunciations deemed as "right" for Newfoundland). Or even worse, saying Montreal with a French accent to sound smart and still getting it completely wrong.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I can maybe provide some clarity as a Torontonian. For most locals, the second "t" is indeed silent, so I pronounce it "Teronno" or even elide the first syllable, to make it "Tronno". The rhyme with "piranha" that Bongo brings up is definitely a real pronunciation (so "Terahnnah" or "Trahnnah") but I associate it with a more rural or at least suburban accent - that might not be accurate though. The "Toe-Ron-Toe" pronunciation is definitely stereotypically American, but is really just a non-Ontario thing I think. My friends from Manitoba and Saskatchewan pronounce it that way, and I even had a friend in high school who pronounced it that way, even though he was from Toronto (although his mom was from Michigan, so maybe that's why).

It wouldn't surprise me to hear people from Toronto pronounce it the "American" way, although people would probably comment on it.

As an aside, the Toronto pronunciation doesn't bother me nearly as much as Americans saying Montreal or Newfoundland wrong (although I've actually heard a variety of pronunciations deemed as "right" for Newfoundland). Or even worse, saying Montreal with a French accent to sound smart and still getting it completely wrong.
I sincerely appreciate this explanation!
 

MetManMas

Me and My Bestie
(He, him)
We definitely need more people going to bat for animation. It's really stupid how over a century later the medium still isn't treated seriously.
 
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FelixSH

(He/Him)
I watched a ton of Hey Arnold over the last few weeks, via Pluto TV. Took me forever, to realize that Helgas mother is an alcoholic.

Also, there is an episode that ends with Arnolds coach and his girlfriend/rival diving in the pool where they are swimming in, clearly implying that they will now have sex.
 

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
"I need a smoothie" made it kind of ambiguous, but who knows what she was slipping into those things. Does a margarita count as a smoothie?

I felt so bad for Helga when their parents wouldn't even walk her to pre-school, and packed salt and catsup in her lunch box instead of a full-fledged meal. I got the feeling from that particular scene that something was deeply wrong with the mother. And it wasn't just the idolization of Helga's annoyingly talented and flawless sister. It almost justifies and certainly explains why Helga's so sour 80% of the time.

This show does a lot that Arthur does, but does it better, with more complex characters. My favorite episode was Veteran's Day, which starts out amusingly silly but gets surprisingly real when the topic switches to Gerald's father. Gerald expresses disappointment that his father wasn't gunning down soldiers like Rambo in Vietnam, only to come to grips with the fact that his dad wasn't some throat-cutting commando, but a decent person who contributed to the military in his own important way. (And besides, do you really want your pop to come home from the war with that kind of baggage?)
 

Felicia

Power is fleeting, love is eternal
(She/Her)
I'm kind of fascinated and confused by the concept of the upcoming Pixar movie about "the origin story of the original Buzz Lightyear". I mean, if it's set in the space-faring future, how could he have inspired a toyline in the present-day Toy Story world? If it was up to me, I'd make the movie end with Buzz flying through a terrifying space anomaly that shrinks him, transforms his body into plastic, wipes his memory and leaves him stranded in an alternate past, unaware of where he truly came from.


Also, if this movie is successful, will the next Pixar movie be a wild west story with a tense scene where the protagonist is trying to slowly get a snake out of his boot?
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
I'm kind of fascinated and confused by the concept of the upcoming Pixar movie about "the origin story of the original Buzz Lightyear". I mean, if it's set in the space-faring future, how could he have inspired a toyline in the present-day Toy Story world?
I mean, the idea is it's supposed to be the mythos within the Toy Story universe. By now Andy is taking his kids to see this movie.
 

Felicia

Power is fleeting, love is eternal
(She/Her)
Huh, yeah, now that I read about it some more, that seems to be the case. But I still prefer my Space Odyssey/body horror mashup.

Also, apparently they already did this concept as a TV series some years ago. I wonder if the new movie will make any reference to that?
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Or reference the fact that the CG of a cartoon tie in is so much more realistic than what reality looks like
 

Büge

Arm Candy
(she/her)
Also, if this movie is successful, will the next Pixar movie be a wild west story with a tense scene where the protagonist is trying to slowly get a snake out of his boot?
 

Felicia

Power is fleeting, love is eternal
(She/Her)
So recently I watched all episodes (the first and only season) of the australian-made comedy cartoon SheZow, about a boy (named "Guy") who finds a magical ring that transforms him into a female superhero. I really liked the premise, and I think the show handles the whole crosdressing thing fairly well. After some initial shock and slight embarrasment in the first episode, Guy seems to be entirely comfortable with transforming back and forth, as are his sister and best friend when they find out about it. He's never portrayed as being trans, just as a boy who has no problems with crossdressing if it means that he gets to be a cool superhero. And later episodes indicates that him finding the ring and using it wasn't a silly accident, he was always destined to become SheZow.

shezowpdqq3.gif


As for the superhero SheZow, I'm not quite sure what to make of her being extremely stereotypically "she's a superhero, but also a girl!" Dressed in all pink, equiped with weapons based on makeup products and fashion (such as her "laser lipstick" "fishnet bombs", etc.), losing her powers if her hair gets messed up, and using an overabundance of puns based on the word "she" (including driving around in her "Shehicle"). Though I always like a superhero with the "sonic scream" ability.

But although I like the premise, I also feel that the show is often somewhat poorly written. Most of the jokes feel dull or groanworthy, many of the villains are forgetable or cringeworthy, and while the actors do their best with what they're given, the whole thing rarely goes above "okay". Then again, I suspect that I'm not really the target audience, and that little kids would probably find it quite enjoyable. And now and then there are episodes I liked, or at least that had premises I found interesting even if the execution ended up lacklustre. So I though I'd share what I think are the best, or at least most interesting, episodes (the whole show seems to be up for free on YouTube):

"SheZow Happens": The first episode, establishes the premise.

"SheZap": One of the most interesting villains is introduced. I think it's funny that she's indirectly created as a result of Guy refusing to do something he finds "girly", being spectacularily punished for clinging to gender norms.

"SheZow Meets DudePow": Alternate realities are always fun, and I really do love SheZow's male counterpart (who is, of course, a girl crossdressing as a guy).

"Guy and Doll": A fairly decent trippy dream episode, including the first hint of Guy being destined to be SheZow. And also the excellent exchange "Dude, are you wearing a dress?" "Yeah! Wanna make something of it?"

"Family Tree": I love superheroes with legacies, and here we get some fun previous incarnations of SheZow.

"Momnesia": Alright, this one goes full queer allegory, and a fairly optimistic one at that.

"Transformation Overload": Not really that great of an episode, but it is satisfying that after having complained about her lack of flying powers in several episodes, SheZow finally learns to fly.

"Supernatural History": A pretty good finale to the series, with the hints about Guy's destiny being made explicit.
 

Büge

Arm Candy
(she/her)
Now I wish that the movie would be like The Princess Bride, cutting between Buzz's adventures and Andy and his child watching the movie and bonding over it.
Andy : He doesn't get implanted with a xenomorph at this time.
Andy's Daughter : What?
Andy : The facehugger doesn't get him. I'm explaining to you because you look nervous.
Andy's Daughter : I wasn't nervous. Maybe I was a little bit concerned, but that's not the same thing.
 
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