Cartoon Network vs. Nickelodeon Part 1/10

Battle 1: The Rugrats vs. The PowerPuff Girls (THE ORIGINAL!)

Throughout July, I will determine which channel is better: Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. I will compare and contrast 10 Nicktoons to 10 shows from Cartoon Network Studios. First, let's go back to the 90s, back when there were only 4 CGI movies (Toy Story, Antz, A Bug's Life, and Toy Story 2), countless Disney clones/knockoffs, and two groundbreaking Broadway musicals based upon animated Disney movies. Our first two combatants are The Rugrats and The PowerPuff Girls.

Muppet Babies, I mean, The Rugrats, was one of the first three Nicktoons ever created, along with Doug and Ren and Stimpy. Rugrats focused on four babies: Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and the twins Phil and Lil Daville. They would go on misadventures in various locations, from the projection room of a movie theater to a desert-sized playground. There were also older (single-digit) kids Angelica Pickles, Tommy's cousin, who would normally bully the babies, and African-American Susie Carmichael, who acts as the voice of reason. The show initially ran from 1991 to 1994, but in 1997, because of its extreme popularity, Nickelodeon decided to bring it back for seven more years, along with two successful theatrical movies: The Rugrats Movie in 1998, and Rugrats in Paris in 2000. There was also a spinoff series called All Grown Up, which featured the characters as 10-year-olds, but wasn't as popular.

The PowerPuff Girls started life as a pilot in February of 1995, part of the Cartoon Network anthology series What a Cartoon! Along with other What a Cartoon pilots, The PowerPuff Girls got made into a very popular TV series, which ran from November 1998 to March 2005. The show tells the story of three genetically modified super-powered girls: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, who must save the City of Townsville from villains like the diabolical chimp Mojo Jojo, the pink bug-like Fuzzy Lumpkins, the terrifying crab-like Him, and PowerPuff rejectee Princess Morbucks, who's actually a bit similar to Syndrome from The Incredibles. The Powerpuff Girls was popular enough to spawn a feature film, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, released in theaters in 2002. However, it bombed at the box office, maybe because it had to compete against Lilo & Stitch at the time. In April 2016, Cartoon Network rebooted The PowerPuff Girls with new voice actors and no involvement of original series creator Craig McCracken. This show got relatively weaker reviews, and Tara Strong, who voiced Bubbles in the original series, was disappointed that she didn't get recast as Bubbles.

Now what show do I think is better? Well, in this case, you get to decide! In the comments section below, write out your opinion on which show you think is better, and I'll see you next time on July 9th when I compare Cow & Chicken to Ren & Stimpy!

Movie Review: My Girl

Movie Review: My Girl                                                                                                         7-2-16

My Girl is about a young girl named Vada (Anna Chlumsky), who is daughter of Dr. Harry Sultenfuss (Dan Aykroyd). Vada is a tomboy who has a passion for becoming an author and believes she has cancer, but everyone thinks she's fine. The only friend she really has is a ridiculed boy named Thomas J (Macaulay Culkin). Their summer adventures, from first kiss to last farewell, introduces Vada to the world of adolescence. The film is set in the early 1970s, and popular songs from that era can be heard in certain scenes, and it sets the setting and tone of the film quite well. My Girl is an enjoyable and emotional family film that is perfect for the summer.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Brave

Movie Review: Brave                                                                                                              7-1-16
 

Disney•Pixar's Brave is about a Scottish princess named Merida (Kelly Macdonald), who prefers bows over boys. When she has to choose a proper groom to betroth, Merida suggests that they should do archery. During mid-game, Merida interrupts and shoots her own bow. Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), Merida's mother, gets enraged by this, and Merida runs away into the forest crying. She meets a witch and asks her to change her fate, but instead, turns Elinor into a bear. Now she and Merida have to find a way to return Elinor back to normal before Elinor remains a bear permanently.

I am aware that this is considered Pixar's black sheep, but I have respect for Brave for three reasons.

1. The film was co-directed by Brenda Chapman. This is the lady who co-directed The Prince of Egypt, one of my favorite animated movies of all time. She was also an excellent storyboard artist for Disney movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, just to name a few. This explains why Brave has so many similarities to animated Disney movies like Aladdin, Mulan, and Brother Bear.

2. Merida is a character many teenagers can relate to. There have been plenty of times when a teenager had problems with their parents, and Merida's is no exception.

3. This movie was dedicated to Steve Jobs. Along with John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, he is one of the co-founders of Pixar, arguably one of the best animation studios in the world. Jobs also founded the multibillion-dollar company Apple, which many people around the world use. In fact, I type almost all my reviews and stories on my iPod Touch, including this review.

I am aware that Brave doesn't feel like a Pixar film, being sometimes predictable with more potty humor that usual, but maybe some fans were getting tired of 'the Pixar formula'. You don't have to like this movie, but just tell me with a straight face: Of the following four animated features released in 2012, would you rather watch Brave, The Lorax, Ice Age 4, or Foodfight?

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2                                                                                              6-30-16
Warning! This review contains spoilers for Kung Fu Panda 2!
I know what you're thinking: 'Why aren't you reviewing Kung Fu Panda 3?' Well, I missed out on it in theaters, so I'm going to watch and review it in August. But first, since I already talked about Kung Fu Panda 1 in Part 2 out of 3 of my Top 30 Best CGI Movies countdown, which I posted back in January. Today, I'm going to talk about Kung Fu Panda 2.

In the sequel to the 2008 hit animated film Kung Fu Panda, Po is now officially the Dragon Warrior and even has a few fans. However, an evil peacock named Lord Shen plans on destroying kung fu by replacing it with fireworks. Now it's up to Po and the Furious Five to save China from certain destruction.
Now what do I think of the film? Once again, I enjoyed it! The animation is lovely, the fight sequences are awesome, and Lord Shen is a threatening villain. Call me crazy, but I think the Kung Fu Panda films are slightly better than the (first two, at least) Shrek films. I say that because the KFP (Kung Fu Panda) films focus more on story than comedy, and Kung Fu Panda 2 does a great job at that. In this film, we learn why Po has a goose for a father: His real panda parents were 'killed' during an invasion from Shen when he was only a baby. However, at the end of the movie, it is revealed that Po's real parents are still alive in a far away valley, inhabited by pandas.

We will see the pandas again in Kung Fu Panda 3, which I will review in August.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Fantasia 2000

Movie Review: Fantasia 2000                                                                                               6-21-16

Fantasia 2000 was either the last movie of the 20th Century or the first movie of the 21st Century. Like the original Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 comprises of eight segments set to classical music. However, instead of Deans Taylor hosting the live-action intervals, they were hosted by a multitude of celebrities, including Steve Martin, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, and Bette Midler. Also, instead of Leopold Stokowski conducting, because of his death in 1977, the music was conducted by James Levine. The segments in Fantasia 2000 include:

•Symphony #3, In which a board of Technicolor triangles fly away from ferocious black triangles.

•Pines of Rome, which featured humpback whales flying over arctic waters. The whales were done in CGI, and this scene is reportedly influenced by Hayao Miyazaki.

 

•Rhapsody in Blue, influenced heavily by cartoonist Al Hirchsfeld. This segment takes place during the 1930s and focuses on a variety of characters. They are drawn in a loose style, the animation quality almost resembling a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

 

•Piano Concerto #2, Allegro, Opus 102, based on Hans Christian Andrrson's The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Like Pines of Rome, hand-drawn animation is blended with computer animation beautifully.

 

•Carnival of the Animals, which answers an age-old question: What would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a flock of flamingos? This is the shortest segment in the whole movie, with a running time of 90 seconds.
 

•The Sorcerer's Apprentice: This classic segment returns digitally remastered and even has the same music. What makes this segment magical is that Mickey shakes hands with both Stokowski and Levine, bridging the generations.
 
 

•Pomp and Circumstance: A reenactment of Noah's Ark starring everyone's favorite short-tempered waterfowl, Donald Duck. While the segment is enjoyable and funny, as you'd expect from Donald, I don't think the music 'Pomp and Circumstance' (the music that plays during graduation ceremonies) fits this segment.
 

•The Firebird Suite, the final segment of the film. This segment stars The Spring Sprite, who I think is the most beautiful Disney character of all time. I think she's even more beautiful than Rapunzel, my favorite Disney princess!
 

Anyway, the Spring Sprite has the ability to make plants grow in just about any place. Well, almost anywhere. Her enemy is a flaming kestrel born from a volcano. The bird burns down the entire forest and disappears, leaving the Sprite in despair. However, the Sprite's tears sprouted new trees, and encourages her to regrow the entire forest. However, by the time the forest is completely regrown, nothing is left of the Sprite but particles of her tremendous power.

In conclusion, Fantasia 2000 is for the most part enjoyable, but the only segment that truly feels like the original Fantasia is The Firebird Suite. However, it should be noted that this was the final animated feature to be released during the lifetime of the legendary Charles Schulz, who passed away shortly after the film's premiere.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

The Shinx Who Would Be King Chapter 18

Kimba saw Kizuato flee up to the higher point of the rock and chased him to a dead end.

"Murderer." Said Kimba angrily.

"Kimba, Kimba, please." Kizuato pleaded.

"You don't deserve to live." Said Kimba.

"But Kimba, I am family." Said Kizuato. "It's the Growlithe, who are the real enemy! It was their idea." This made Yabani, Akuto, and Oroka angry.

"Why should I believe you?" Kimba asked. "Everything you ever told me was a lie."

"What are you going to do to me?" Kizuato asked. "You wouldn't kill your own uncle."

"No Kizuato, I'm not like you." Replied Kimba.

"Oh, Kimba, thank you." Said Kizuato. "You're truly noble. I'll make it up to you, I promise. How can I help?"

"Run." Said Kimba. "Run away, Kizuato. And never return."

"Yes, of course." Said Kizuato casually. "As you wish, your majesty!" He threw embers into Kimba's face and they engaged in an epic but short fight. Before Kizuato was ready to do the final blow, Kimba lifted his legs and threw the Persian off the cliff. Kizuato then saw Yabani, Akuto, and Oroka.

"Oh, my friends." He said.

"Friends?" Said Yabani. "I thought he said we were the enemy."

"That's what I heard." Responded Akuto. "Oroka?"

Oroka just laughed maliciously. Kizuato tried to tell them the truth, but the Growlithe bit through his flesh.

After the battle for Pride Rock was won, it started to rain. It didn't hurt Baka-sha that much, since he was used to wallowing in the mud. Kimba walked down and nudged Messua and Gifuto affectionately. Yujin shook his stick to remind Kimba about his duty.

"It is time." The monkey said. Kimba slowly walked up to the high point of Pride Rock and gave a loud roar. A roar that could be heard all through Unova. In a matter of time, the flora and fauna returned to the Pride lands, and Kimba and Gifuto had a baby Shinx. At the ceremony, Kyatto was on top of Baka-sha cheering for their feline friend. Yujin held the baby up high, just like how he did with Kimba.

The End

Author's Notes: The good new is another story is done. The bad news is there will be no new stories until August. Instead, next month, I plan on doing the ultimate showdown: Nickelodeon vs. Cartoon Network. I will compare 10 Nicktoons to 10 Cartoon Network shows. Here's how it will work.

Battle 1 (July 5th to July 8th): The PowerPuff Girls (THE ORIGINAL) vs. The Rugrats

Battle 2 (July 9th): Cow & Chicken vs. The Ren and Stimpy Show

Battle 3 (July 10th): The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy vs. Invader ZIM

Battle 4 (July 11th): Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends vs. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Battle 5 (July 12th): Camp Lazlo vs. Harvey Beaks

Battle 6 (July 13th): My Gym Partner's a Monkey vs. Catscratch

Battle 7 (July 14th): Chowder vs. SpongeBob SqarePants

Battle 8 (July 15th to July 18th) : Steven Universe vs. Hey Arnold!

Battle 9 (July 19 to July 22nd): Over the Garden Wall vs. Avatar: The Last Airbender

Battle 10 (July 23rd to July 26th): We Bare Bears vs. The Loud House

In this showdown, I will compare and contrast two shows of two different networks per battle, give details on each show, and determine which one is better. For battles 1, 8, 9, and 10, however, you have to decide for yourself. I will give each of you up to three days to vote. If you're unfamiliar with one of these shows, don't worry! I will explain each show and even show a picture.
The showdown begins July 5th.