L&S Island of Adventures Review Part 3/3

 Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures review Part 2: The Physical Activities and Final Thoughts

Here, David will tell you to turn to the player next to you. He will then ask if your hands are smaller, if you’re older or younger, or even how tall you are. You’ll either give away an experiment or take an experiment from that player!

Here, surfing clips from Lilo and Stitch: The Series will play, and you have to pretend to surf. David will give you an experiment just for trying!

Here, Lilo will have you participate in a scavenger hunt. If you find the requested item within 20 seconds, you’ll win two experiments!

Here, David will teach you Hawaiian words such as limu (seaweed), keike (child), mauna (mountain), and mahalo (thank you). He’ll then instruct you to move forwards, move backwards, spin again, or gain an experiment. In Hawaiian, of course.

Here, Jumba will challenge you tonsil to tonsil: If you shout longer than Jumba, you’ll win an experiment! For other players, you better put on earplugs.

Here, a luau is being held, and everyone has to get up and dance while clips from Lilo and Stitch play. Everyone who dances wins an experiment!

Here, Jumba is back as he challenges you to a starring contest. If you outstare the idiot scientist, I mean, evil genius during this activity, you’ll win an experiment!

Here, an experiment is hiding under the stage, and you have to do your best impression of Elvis Presly, Lilo’s idol, in order to win it. Too bad there were no Elvis needle drops in Lilo and Stitch: The Series.

Here, Mr. Stenchy is hiding in the bushes. The current player will press Enter on the remote control and pass it to the next player. Keep doing this until Lilo runs into the bush, only to get overwhelmed with Mr. Stenchy’s stench. The unfortunate player has to lose an experiment if this happens.

And finally, players have to sing along to a new song while clips from Stitch! The Movie (the pilot for Lilo and Stitch: The Series) play. Everyone who sang wins an experiment!

And that’s how you play Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures. Whoever has the most experiments by the end of the game wins! As for what I think of the game, I strongly recommend it to every Lilo and Stitch fan out there, especially if you have big families. In fact, Dean DeBlois really liked Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures, calling it ‘a great way to experience Lilo and Stitch in a whole new way’. Just make sure you have a DVD or Blu-Ray player in your home.

Rating: The rare rating of 5 stars

Plus five experiments of my choice

I know other good candidates include Manners, Dupe, Sample, and Kernel, but they don’t appear in the game.

L&S Island of Adventures Review Part 2/3

 Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures review Part 2: The Minigames

In this game, David Kawena, a luau performer who has a crush on Nani, holds a gecko race. Holler out a colored gecko, and just like at a dog race, wait and see which gecko wins the race. If the gecko you called out wins the race, you win an experiment!

In this game, Dr. Jaque von Hamsterveil, a gerbil-like alien who helped fund all of Jumba Jookiba’s experiments from Shrink to Stitch, has captured an experiment (in this case, Poxy). In order to get him back, you have to play a game of cocoanut-shell shuffling. If you pick the right shell, you get to win an experiment!

Here, Hamsterviel is back as he showcases cards featuring 11 different experiments. After a few seconds, he’ll flip the cards over and flip the big card. You then have to pick the card that showcases the right experiment. Just make sure not to lose, or else Hamsterveil will take an experiment away from you! Notice how Hammerface (the blue one with a hammer-shaped head) and Digger (the yellow one with a drill tail) appear on screen, despite not appearing as pogs or on the poster.

Here, Stitch knocked down cocoanuts from a palm tree, and you have to guess how many are on screen. If you guess the right number without going over, you win an experiment!

Here, Jumba will give you a clue on four different experiments, and you have to pick between Sparky (the yellow one), Mr. Stenchy (the pink one), Richter (the purple one), or Spooky (the green one). Guess the right one and you’ll win an experiment!

Which island gets the most tourists each year?

Here, David will test how much you know about Hawaii. If you get the answer right, he’ll give you an experiment! Just be warned that these questions are rather difficult.

Here, a tourist is lost, and you have to guide him to the right island. If you guide him to the right island, he’ll give you an experiment for your troubles! Just be warned that the names of the islands won’t be there when the minigame starts.

Here, you’ve won an experiment from Jumba, but it’s also his favorite. You can choose to trade it for one of three boxes, one of which has three experiments inside! Another box gives you a pineapple that will let you spin again, and another contains nothing at all. If you think it’s too risky, just click “No, I’ll keep the experiment”.

Here, one of these characters has a secret to share with you. Spin the tiki dial, and it’ll land on either Jumba, Lilo and Stitch, or Hamsterveil. Jumba will either give you an experiment or make you give it to another player, Lilo and Stitch will either make you go back three spaces or give you an experiment, and Hamsterveil will either take one of your experiments or make you lose your next turn.

And finally, Stitch is hiding around the rooftops and vehicles, and you have to use the remote control to catch him before he does something bad. If you manage to catch Stitch, you’ll win an experiment!

In Part 3, I’ll talk about the physical activities in Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures and share my final thoughts.

L&S Island of Adventures Review Part 1/3

 Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures review Part 1: The Main Game

What do you get when you cross a DVD with a board game? You get Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures, where the action on the screen means the action on the board! In this promotional tie-in for Lilo and Stitch: The Series, Stitch’s cousins (the 625 experiments that were created before Stitch) have been scattered all over the island of Kauai, and it’s up to YOU to capture as many as you can before they fall in the hands of Captain Gantu and Dr. Jacque von Hamsterveil.

Even though it says that there are 625 experiments, only 32 of them appear in the game, all of which appear as pogs and on this poster.

In case you’re wondering, 625’s name is Reuben.

Instead of rolling dice, players spin a record that is numbered between 1 and 4.

The board is made of 5 different sections, each with a distinct color. The first player to reach the new area wins an experiment, and the first to reach the finish line gets three of them!

The icons on the board determine what activity you’ll be doing. If you land on a tiki, you’ll get a mystery card that will make you do all sorts of things, like these.

If you land on a frog, you’ll participate in a minigame where you can win an experiment that includes gecko racing, cocoanut counting, or even testing how much you know about Stitch’s cousins or Hawaiian culture. If you land on a tourist, you’ll participate in a physical activity such as learning to speak Hawaiian, a staring contest, and even a scavenger hunt! Those will be talked about in Parts 2 and 3.

And finally, if you land on a Nani space, you’ll have to play an on-screen minigame where you have to help Lilo and Stitch hide from Nani Pelekai, since she doesn’t know about the experiment dilemma. I find this ironic because Nani would learn about Lilo and Stitch’s experiment hunting and would even save the two one time!

Anyway, if you pick the wrong spot, you’ll either go back 10 spaces or lose three experiments. If that wasn’t bad enough, the hiding spots change each time!

In Part 2, I’ll talk about the engaging minigames in Lilo and Stitch’s Island of Adventures.

Movie Review: I Am Frankelda

Movie Review: I Am Frankelda                                                                                              9-20-26

In 19th-century Mexico, Francisca Imelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life. Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Francisca (who goes under the name of Frankelda) and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse. To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller--before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.

Even though the first act is slow and the animation obviously isn’t as polished as what Aardman and Laika put out, I Am Frankelda makes up for it with enchanting songs, creative albeit familiar world-building, and intriguing characters. Francisca is a talented horror writer, but secretly feels she isn’t good enough or that her work is just ‘mediocre’. This is something many artists can agree with, since we usually don’t think our work is good enough to share with the public. To make matters worse, horror stories aren’t even that popular where Francisca comes from. 

Along with the handsome owl-like Hernevel, the villain of the movie is a massive spider monster named Procrustes, who later kidnaps Francisca to force her to write scary stories for the nightmare world in order to keep their world alive. I find this interesting because 2025 was a year where animated movie villains included twin wizards, scheming cats, aliens, and a literal wall of fire, many of whom were willing to kill their protagonists, yet I Am Frankelda simply had a giant spider who didn’t even bother using venom.

Along with the first act being a bit slow, I feel that I Am Frankelda was a bit too long, with a running time of 104 minutes. Yes, there were longer animated movies that year with Zootopia 2, David, and Mamoru Hosada’s Scarlet, but this movie also doubles as the prequel to the Mexican Cartoon Network show Frankelda’s Book of Spooks. Many animated movies associated with the shows that they’re based on, whether they were released in theaters, direct-to-video, or streaming/TV originals, are usually shorter than animated movies from the likes of WDAS, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sony.

Despite it’s flaws, I Am Frankelda is a stop-motion movie I recommend watching every Halloween alongside The Nightmare before Christmas, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Corpse Bride. To get a full enjoyment of Francesca’s adventure, I recommend watching the movie in its original language: Spanish.

Rating. 3.45 stars out of 5

Movie Review: Forgotten Island

 Movie Review: Forgotten Island                                                                               9-25-26

This movie is about two teenage girls from the Philippines: Jo and Raissa, who have been friends for many years. When Raissa has to go all the way to the United States to study Rocket engineering at Caltech, the two decide to have one last night together. On that fateful night, they get sucked into a portal leading to a place they were told about when they were kids: The Forgotten Island, where you lose more memories the longer you stay. With the help of a were-dog named Raww and a giant monster baby named Bungi, Jo and Raissa have to find a way home while avoiding the winged demon Manang.

Forgotten Island is a start-to-finish delight with an engaging story that strongly represents Filipino culture, animation that once again showcases the best of 2D and 3D, fun and engaging characters, a timeless tone, and the best use of needle drops in a DreamWorks film since Megamind.

Just like The Wild Robot, Forgotten Island is an emotional rollercoaster that will go back and forth between funny, sad, scary, and heartfelt. When you watch this movie, you want to root for Jo and Raissa to return home and have their dreams fulfilled and memories intact.

Another thing that surprised me about the movie is how much 2D animation is in this movie: Since Jo and Raissa have no memory of what happened after ending up on Forgotten Island, they ask the inhabitants of what happened, and many of their stories are represented in anime-style hand-drawn animation.

In conclusion, Forgotten Island is another gem to put in DreamWorks’s crown and is perfect to watch this time of year. I just feel bad for DreamWorks that there next two movies, Cocomelon: The Movie and Shrek 5, will get lots of hate when they come out.

Rating: The rare rating of 5 stars

Movie Review: Transformers One

Movie Review: Transformers One                                                                                               8-12-26

On the robot planet of Cybertron, there live two best friends: Orion Pax and D-16. Orion and D are forced to mine Energon, but Orion secretly yearns for more, especially when they’re no-cog bots with limited functions. Destined to prove that he’s more than meets the eye, Orion and D enter the Iacon 5000 race, made exclusively for robots who can transform into vehicles. They don’t end up winning, but Cybertron ruler Sentinel Prime is impressed by their skill. Regardless, the two robots get demoted to sub-level 50 and meet the yellow talkative robot B-127. Here, they discover a message from the Primes about a treasure known as the Matrix of Leadership. Orion, D, B, and no-nonsense robot Elita-1 go on an adventure beyond Iacon City to find the Matrix of Leadership, as well as discover a shocking secret behind Sentinel Prime. 

Transformers One is the best movie from Paramount Animation with a story that will appeal to even non-Transformers fans, top-notch animation, engaging characters, a good score from Brian Tyler, and a strong message on how your hero might not be the wonderful person you think he or she is.

In case you couldn’t tell, instead of being another adventure with Sam Witwicky or Cade Yeager, this movie serves as an origin story between the two main robots of the Transformers franchise: Optimus Prime and Megatron. Director Josh Cooley and his crew really outdid themselves by establishing the relationship between Orion and D-16 and how (SPOILER ALERT) they’d split up and go their different ways.

If I were to make a complaint, I feel that B-127, who would later become BumbleBee, is rather annoying: He never stops talking and tries to make a joke every opportunity he can. As Internet sensation Mat Brunet put it almost two years ago, there’s a reason why BumbleBee is mute in the live-action Transformers movies.

B-127 introducing himself to Elita.

In conclusion, Transformers One is a fantastic movie to watch, but make sure your kids are at least 10 years old to make sure they’re emotionally mature enough to handle it. It’s a crime that this movie did so poorly at the box-office (Seriously, Boss Baby 2 made more money!), since it really showed that Paramount can make quality animated movies when given the right crew.

Rating: 3.8 stars out of 5

Zootopia 3 Chapter 8

Later that day, Mayor Winddancer held an audition to see who should be his assistant mayor.

"Attention, Zootopians!" He said as he read from notes written on his hooves. "I am in need of an assistant mayor, so I need one of you to support the city, assist with policy development, oversee specific departments, and most importantly, represent me at public events! Any animal who has an IQ level of 175 is more than eligible!" Soon, pigs, elephants, wolves, crocodiles (but not Terrence), rats, and even an Amazon river dolphin in a mobile tank pushed by a Javan rhino lined up to see if they had what it took to be assistant mayor. While he was flying, Floyd noticed the line of animals. He descended to the ground to see what the commotion was about.

"What's the line for?" He asked.

"Winddancer is holding an audition for who will be his assistant mayor!" Said a rat.

"An assistant mayor?" The raven asked.

"He or she helps out the mayor with various jobs." Answered a dingo. "Unlike that no-good Smell-wether! She wanted to dart every predator in Zootopia so she could start a race war!"

"A mayor's like a leader, right?" Floyd asked.

"Basically." Said the Javan rhino.

"Reminds me of when I still worked with Nolan." Floyd thought to himself. "I'll see if I can apply for the job. Hope he's nicer than Nolan." He flew into City Hall to meet Winddancer face-to-face, who was talking to a pangolin.

"I may be skittish," He said. "But I was the smartest in my high school class! Look at these report cards!" He pulled out a report card to show Winddancer straight As.

"Really?" Asked Brian. "Then what is 13 times 379?"

"4,927." Floyd answered. Immediately, Winddancer punched the numbers in the calculator app on his phone, and was astonished to find out that Floyd was right!

"Do you have an IQ of 175?" Asked the horse.

"I don't know." Floyd replied. "Maybe?"

"Let's see about that. Canary Island is located below which Zootopia location?"

"Outback Island."

"Correct! And are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable?"

"Fruit, I believe."

"Correct! Are platypuses birds or mammals?"

"What's a platypus?" The pangolin pulled up a picture of a platypus on his phone.

"Let's see." Said Floyd. "It doesn't seem to have wings or feathers, so it must be a mammal. Like the echindas on Canary Island."

"Correct!" Shouted Winddancer. "True or false: Zootopia has always been a mammal-exclusive city."

"There seem to be reptiles running around, so I guess I'll say no."

"Correct again! In fact, Zootopia started out as a mammal AND reptile city, but when Agnes Desnake, who also invented the Weather Wall, was framed for poisoning the Lynxley family maid, they were practically banished! And Reptile Ravine, where they all lived, was buried in snow!"

"Speaking of which," Said the pangolin. "I think I'll go to Reptile Ravine. I bet they'll have a job for me." The pangolin grabbed his report cards and scurried out of City Hall.

"Last question, though I doubt you'll get this right." Said Brian. "Being new here and all. Who was responsible for turning Zootopia's predators savage last year: Leodore Lionheart or Dawn Bellewether?"

Upon hearing this, Floyd remembered that a dingo told him about someone named Smell-wether. Perhaps Smellwether was Bellewether's derogatory nickname!

"Uh, Bellewether?" Floyd guessed.

"Correct!" Shouted Winddancer. "Congradulations! You have the honor of being my assistant mayor! By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Floyd." Said the raven.

"Well, Floyd." Said Winddancer. "You shall sign paperwork soon. And if you want to know how I knew all that trivia, I was a teacher for one of my movies: School of Flock. Want an autograph?"

"What's an autograph?" Asked Floyd.

---------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Nolan woke up in a prison cell. He was in Cliffside Asylum, located in Zootopia's Rainforest District.

"Where am I?" He asked himself.

"You're in Cliffside Asylum, bro." Said a hyena in another cell. "The most secure prison in the world. There's no escaping the place!" Nolan tried flying out of the prison, but he couldn't. His wings were clipped.

"Looks like you're stuck here." Said Bellewether, who was in a cell right across from Nolan. "By the way, are you predator or prey?"

"I'm a mighty bird of prey." Said Nolan. "That means I eat meat, like you."

"Another predator?" Asked Bellewether. "Oh, mutton chops."

----------------------------------------------------

Weeks have passed, and the birds have been integrated well into Zootopian society: The hawks (including Cory), eagles, and albatrosses are part of the Zootopia Postal Service, the blue jays, cardinals, and swallows help out at the DMV (especially when the sloths are so slow), the geese, puffins, and boobies dive for lost items that manatees and pinnipeds can't physically pick up, and the ravens curate the History Museum and libraries. Some birds don't like having clothes, so the ones that decided to stay naked stay at the Mystic Spring Oasis with Yax. To make sure the birds didn't crash into buildings, since they can't see glass, hundreds upon thousands of stickers were placed on windows all over the city. As for Nick and Judy, they decided to take a week-long vacation in Bunny Burrow after the whole escapade. They were having a date together at a diner, with Gideon Grey delivering pies for desert.

"You're telling me that when you were a kid," Nick said. "A fox named Gideon Grey not only bullied you, but also scratched your face?"

"Yes." Judy answer. "But luckily, I swept it under the rug. Never let them see through to you."

"That's what I taught you, Carrots." Nick joked. Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, no. Not you two." It was Paul, a mole who worked at the ZPD. "Whenever you're around, I end up in all sorts of messes, such as being blasted with soda or getting stuck in a doughnut."

"Did you not know?" Judy replied. "I'm from Bunny Burrow. My family owns a successful farm, and that cupcake you're eating? That was made by my former rival Gideon Grey, who also works with my parents!"

"Are you on vacation too, Paul?" Asked Nick.

"For your information," Paul explained. "I moved out of Zootopia to avoid the hectic city life. Now I toil soil for the Jones, and I get paid a lot. Much better than operating computers!" Suddenly, Judy's phone gave an alert sound. It was a text from her dad, Stu.

"Let me see." Judy said as she picked up the phone. "'Hi there, Jude the dude! Remember when I used to call you that? Anyway, I'm here to tell you that two of your friends, Gary and Cory, are here to visit at the Hopps residence. Do you want to pay them a visit?' I'll say yes." Judy typed 'yes' into her phone, and Stu replied 'Great! We'll see you soon!'

"Should we visit Gary and Cory, Carrots?" Nick asked Judy.

"Yes, we should." Judy responded. "But first, we need to finish dinner. Your cicada nuggets are getting cold!"

THE END

Author's Notes: In Zootopia 1, Mayor Lionheart gave Assistant Mayor Bellewether the derogatory nickname of 'Smell-wether'.

School of Flock (like a flock of sheep) is a riff on School of Rock.

When Judy was a kitten, she'd be tormented by a red fox named Gideon Grey, who taunted her for dreaming of being a police officer. Luckily, as an adult, Gideon matured and even teamed up with Judy's parents to deliver pies!

In real life, some houses have stickers that will help birds avoid windows, since they can't see glass.

Well, that concludes Zootopia 3! As for what's next for me, I'll review Transformers One in August, Forgotten Island in September, I Am Frankelda in October, and Hexed in November. When Hexed comes out, be on the lookout for a new Lilo and Stitch short that will accompany the movie in theaters, Lilo and Scratch. Just one question remains regarding the short- Will it have connections to Lilo and Stitch: The Series?