Domestic Pokemon Part 1

Domestic Pokemon Part 1

These are Pokemon that can be found indoors in regular buildings, since many of these would be either kept as pets, sources of entertainment, or as decorations. There are also many humanoid Pokemon in suburban environments, like Jynx, Mr. Mime, the Hitmon trio, and Machop, among others. However, Pokemon like Mudbray, Miltank, Spoink, Skiddo, and Mareep will NOT be found indoors. Instead, they can be seen on farms. There's also a Legendary Pokemon that can be found in museums, Magearna, but it switches from museum to museum, from coast to coast.

Because there are so many Pokemon in this category, I split this post into two.

Some domesticated Pokemon include Miltank, a Normal-Type cow that produces a nutritious milk...

Tauros, the aggressive male equivalent of Miltank...

The Psychic-Type pigs Spoink and Grumpig...

The Grass-Type goats Skiddo and Gogoat...

The Electric-Type sheep and alpaca Mareep, Flaaffy, and Ampharos (which also live on South American mountains)…

The adorable fan favorite Togepi, as well as its evolutions Togetic and Togekiss...

The Ground-Type mule and horse Mudbray and Mudsdale...

The ever-popular Eevee and its eight evolutions (you can only choose one)…

Eevee (brown and white), Vaporeon (blue with a fish tail), Jolteon (yellow and white), Flareon (orange and yellow), Espeon (purple), Umbreon (black), Leafeon (yellow and green), Glaceon (aqua blue and navy blue), and Sylveon (pink and white)

The Fairy-Type bulldogs Snubbull and Granbull...

The Dark/Fire-Type Rottweilers Houndour and Houndoom...

The classic Normal-Type felines Meowth and Persian...

Phione*, a descendent of the Legendary Water-Type Pokemon Manaphy...

The Normal-Type canines Lillipup, Herdier, and Stoutland...

The loyal Fire-Type canines Growlithe and Arcanine...

The cute Normal-Type felines Skitty and Delcatty...

The Psychic-Type felines Espurr and Meowstic...

Glameow and Purugly, which are kind of copies of Meowth and Persian...

The Fairy-Type canines (I think) Swirlix and Slurpuff...

Furfrou, a Normal-Type poodle introduced in Pokemon X and Y...

The interesting but ultimately useless Smeargle...

The Electric-Type rabbits Plusle and Minun (they do not evolve into or from one another)...

The Electric/Fairy-Type gerbil Dedenne...

The Normal-Type bunnies Buneary and Lopunny...

Audino, which is kind of similar to Chansey...

The Grass-Type Pokemon Petilil and Lilligant...

The classic Psychic-Type Pokemon Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam...

The classic Normal/Fairy-Type Pokemon Igglybuff, Jigglypuff, and Wigglytuff...

Comfey, a new Fairy-Type Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon...

Cherubi and Cherrim^, the latter of which has a different form when it evolves...

The classic Water-Type goldfish and koi Goldeen and Seaking...

And Alolan Raichu, which is Electric/Psychic instead of just Electric.

Alolan Raichu was a result of interbreeding and experimentation. After a scientist successfully breed a Raichu with an Espeon, they gave birth to a Pichu that, for some reason, knew Psychic-Type moves. When the Pokemon matured into Pikachu, a scientist brought back an Exotic Stone from a research trip, which evolves Alolan Vulpix into Alolan Ninetales and Exeggcute into Alolan Exeggcutor. When the time came to evolve Pikachu into Raichu, the Pikachu enthusiastically chose the colorful Exotic Stone. It evolved into Raichu, but it looked different, and became Electric/Psychic. After breeding this Raichu with a plain Raichu, scientists experimented the Thunder Stone and the Exotic Stone with two of their Pikachu: One Pikachu evolved into regular Raichu, while the other evolved into what is now Alolan Raichu.
*I made Phione domestic because I imagine them to be popular attractions at aquariums.
^When exposed to sunlight, Cherrim blooms and looks like this.

More will be talked about in Part 2, which I will post next week.
In related news, I decided that the Seedot line WILL exist in this world. I distributed them to Europe, where they live in Germany.
Update! 10-21-17: I moved Ponyta and Rapidash to North American Pokemon becuase I think it would be hard to ride a horse with a flaming mane. I think Mudsdale, one of the new Pokemon in Sun and Moon, is a safer alternative.
Update! 11-26-17: I moved Wynaut and Wobbuffet to Europe because I feel they're closer to the olm, a blind endangered amphibian that lives in caves in Croatia and Slovenia.

Movie Review: Smurfs: The Lost Village

Movie Review: Smurfs: The Lost Village                                                                                   8-23-17

Before Disney and Pixar became equal, Sony Pictures Animation and The Kerner Entertainment Company made two disposable live-action Smurfs movies. However, these Smurfs looked too real and kind of ugly.

They also made drastic changes to the human antagonist Gargamel: Instead of wanting to kill the Smurfs so he can turn them into gold, Gargamel wants to capture the Smurfs so he can harness their energy to rule the world.

The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013) were basically a mess. When I heard there was going to be another Smurfs film, I thought it would be live-action like the previous installments. However, when I saw a trailer for this movie about a year ago, I decided to give this film a watch. Unfortunately, I was unable to see it in theaters for personal reasons.

Since most of Sony Pictures Animation's films like Open Season, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and Hotel Transylvania have rather cartoony-looking character designs, it would only make sense to have an all-CGI Smurfs movie. Unfortunately, the film became Sony Pictures Animation's first box-office failure. But is this film worth watching? Let's find out.

Directed by animation legend Kelly Asbury, Smurfs: The Lost Village  tells the story of Smurfette (Demi Lovato), the only female Smurf, trying to find out her purpose in Smurf Village. After finding a mysterious map, she embarks on an adventure with Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), Hefty (Joe Manganiello), and Brainy (Danny Pudi) to go through the Forbidden Forest to find a secret village. However, they have to find the village before Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) gets there first.

Now, what do I think of the movie? Well, it's no 'Horton Hears a Who' or 'Peanuts Movie', but Smurfs: The Lost Village stays quite true to its original source material. I actually liked this film better than Trolls! It seems Sony learned their lesson after two stale live-action Smurfs stuffed with Hollywood production values, product placement, and actors who needed to be recast. Instead of looking creepy, these Smurfs look cute and truer to Peyo's original designs.

The animation of the non-Smurf characters is excellent, too. Gargamel and Azrael look much like their Peyo counterparts.

There are also several new unique creatures and characters, such as fire-breathing dragonflies, a ladybug who's companions with Brainy, glow-in-the-dark bunnies, and Monty, a bird who's acquainted with Gargomel. There is also a village of Smurfs who are  all female, which is a unique twist.

Aside from the gorgeous animation, the story also stays true to Peyo's creations. I bet that cartoon legends William Hannah and Joseph Barbara (who created their own incarnations of The Smurfs in the 1980s) would be smiling from heaven.
With all this said, Smurfs: The Lost Village does have its flaws. One flaw Rachel pointed out is that the male Smurfs (Smurf Village) and the female Smurfs (Smurfy Grove) have very different hobbies. The new female Smurfs also have mild girl stereotypes, though not as offensive as a Loud House episode.

In conclusion, while not as good as Captain Underpants or Cars 3, Smurfs: The Lost Village is a film that deserves a little more recognition.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Oscarless Cartoons Part 9

Oscarless Cartoons Part 9: Tick Tock Tale (2010)

In this underappreciated short film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Tick Tock Tale is about a defective green alarm clock who lives in a clock shop. He is ridiculed and bullied by the other clocks because of the jingle he makes, as well as the embarrassing wooden man on his head.

After being made fun of, Green Clock attempts to remove the wooden man by several means, including cutting it off with a knife, using a door stopper, and even wedging it between one of the cash register buttons.

Suddenly, a bugler comes in and steals all the clocks in the store, except for Green. Luckily, there was a cop outside. The burglar hid, but Green could see and even hear the cop.

When the coast was clear, the burglar exited the store. Luckily, the door was swung open to give Green enough time to catch up with him.

When Green Clock made it outside, he played his jingle so the burglar could hear. Unfortunately for Green, the burglar stepped on him, and broke the poor clock. Luckily, a cop saw him and started chasing the burglar.

The next morning, the clock owner was sad to see one of his clocks broken, and he had no choice but to throw it away. However, when he looked at the trash bin, there was nothing in there. The clock was on a table next to a sign that said "No repair is too small".

Upon seeing that, the store owner decided to fix up Green. When he was finished, Green was good as new, and the discount sticker from below was ripped off.

One of the clocks tuned Green so it said 7:00, and the clock started playing his jingle. This time, all the clocks congratulated him, as Green was the savior of the clock store.

Since many of the CG animators at Disney were busy with either Tangled or Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs Nice at the time, the animators on Tick Tock Tale were only trainees. However, they did a rather fine job.

I have honestly never heard of this gem until I rented Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection from my local library. Tick Tock Tale was one of the shorts on the set, and I enjoyed it a lot! I find it surprising that it didn't get the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film. In fact, I liked it more than Pixar's short film that year, Day & Night. Tick Tock Tale, along with other contemporary favorites like Paperman, Feast, Get a Horse, Tangled Ever After, and Frozen Fever, are all on this set: Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection, now available on DVD and Blu-Ray!

That's all I have to say about this week's Oscarless Cartoon. Tune in next week when we venture into the human body through another Disney short, 2016's Inner Workings!