The Retro Nicktoons Talent Show Chapter 3

The next day, Tommy invited Nicktoons characters from different shows, including Hey Arnold, CatDog, Rocko’s Modern Life, Invader ZIM, and of course, The Rugrats, to the Java Lava. Kimi Watanabe-Finster, one of Tommy’s friends, wasn’t present because she was visiting Toontown Japan. Tommy started the meeting by telling them about his phone call from yesterday.
“Okay, everyone!” Said Tommy. “I invited you all here today because I have told Nickelodeon that we can put on a talent show, and all of you can join and perform!”
“Hi-ho diggity!” Said Dog, who was no longer attached to Cat.
“However”, Tommy added. “We need $10,000 to fund the show, and we’re broke.” Tucker Foley, from Danny Phantom, raised his hand.
“We could ask your sister!” He said. “Her mother’s rich, from the last time I checked.”

“Sorry, but that’s a no.” Replied Tommy. “Cheryl Trescott-Pickles lost her job at Megacorp on All Grown Up.”
“Rancid Rabbit is rich!” Said Dog. “Maybe he could offer some money!”
“It has to be live-action money.” Said Tommy. “How are we, cartoon characters, supposed to make money? We don’t have shows anymore!”
“We could have a yard sale!” Suggested Heffer Wolfe.
“We could sell lemonade!” Suggested Sid.
“We could star in commercials!” Suggested Carl Wheezer.
“I have a logical suggestion.” Said Phoebe Heyerdahl. “There’s a character who can control rocks and the earth. However, she lives in Toontown California, which is halfway across the country.”
“Who is she?” Asked Tommy.
“Toph Be Fong,” Answered Jimmy Neutron. “She was from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She was an Earth-Bender who may have been blind, but she was powerful. She could lift a boulder without not just touching it, but not even noticing it! She could even bend rocks from outer space!”
“Could she turn regular live-action rocks into valuable gemstones?” Asked Tommy.
“I am 98% sure.” Answered Jimmy.
“We need someone to visit Toontown California.” Declared Tommy. “Who is willing to visit?” Rocko, Heffer, and Filbert raised their hands.
“We can go to California!” Said Heffer. “In our upcoming special, we go on a quest to find Fatheads creator Ralph Bighead!”
“Heffer!” Said Rocko, placing his hand on Heffer’s mouth. “Not until August.”
“Is that so?” Said Tommy. “Then please go to Toontown California, find Toph, and convince her to bend live-action rocks into gemstones. Think you can do that?”
“Yes, we can.” Said Rocko.
“Rocko’s Modern Life is getting a TV special?!” Shouted Harold. “When will it air?”
“It’s not gonna air on TV.” Said Rocko. “It’ll be a Netflix exclusive, but I’ll give you the date it’ll premiere: August 9th.”
“Oh, boy!” Said Harold. “I need to write that down!”
“Okay, gang!” Said Tommy. “If we’re going to put on a talent show, we have to know each other’s talents!”
“I can burp the alphabet!” Said Heffer.
“I can show off some of my inventions!” Said Jimmy.
“Me and Cat know a vaudeville act!” Said Dog.
“I can talk to animals.” Said Eliza Thornberry, though everyone looked at her weirdly.
“Big deal!” Said Dagit. “Everyone knows animals can talk in cartoons.”
“Not in my show.” Said Eliza. “I can talk to animals who normally can’t talk. I could even talk to Tommy’s dog Spike!”
“That’s impossible!” Said Phil Deville, another one of Tommy’s friends. “Animals on our show couldn’t talk!”
“Perhaps it was when we were still babies,” Said Chuckie Finster, another one of Tommy’s friends. “Though part of me hopes it was just a dream.”
“I believe you, Eliza.” Said Tommy. “However, we need to think a little bigger. How about cartoon animals from other studios?”
“I could try.” Said Eliza. “Does anyone here who isn’t an animal have any pets?”
“I have a pet pig named Abner”. Said Arnold. “We could go to my house and test your powers on him.”
“Alright.” Said Eliza. “But there’s just one thing that bothers me: You, Helga, Gerald, Dil, and some other characters are 10, Tommy, the Deville twins, and Kimi are 11, and Angelica and Susie are 13, yet me and Tommy’s friend Charles are 12? Shouldn’t I be in my 20s or something?”
“If it makes you feel any better, Miss Thornberry,” Said Dog, walking over with a magazine. “There’s an artist’s depiction of what you would look like as an adult.” He then showed Eliza an illustration from an issue of Nickelodeon Magazine.
“Wow.” She said. “I really take after mom.” Darwin, Eliza’s best friend who was also a chimp, walked over.
“They put Donnie in there, but not Debbie?” He asked. “How come?”
“Beats me.” Said Dog. “This magazine is 15 years old.”
“Shouldn’t you and Arnold be practicing your animal-talking powers?” Asked Tommy. “I still have more people to talk to!”
“Okay.” Said Eliza, as she, Darwin, and Arnold exited the cafe. “Nobody seems to care about me and Darwin anymore.”
“I believe we should be on our way, too.” Said Rocko, and he and Filbert left the cafe, as well. Heffer was about to leave, but felt his tail get stuck: Tommy was holding on to the bovine’s tail.
“Sorry.” Said Tommy. “You have to stay to practice your burping.”
Author's Notes: The Java Lava was a cafe that Tommy and the gang, who were now pre-teens, would hang out in All Grown Up.
Between the events of Rugrats and All Grown Up, Charlotte somehow got fired from her job at MegaCorp. As a result, she knows about all the company's secrets.

Oh Glob, time hasn't been kind to her.

A 2004 issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, one dedicated to All Grown Up, showed artist's interpretations of what characters from The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and The Fairly OddParents would look like as adults. Eliza and Donnie from The Wild Thornberrys (a personal favorite of mine) were depicted, but not Debbie.

Trescott was not Charlotte's (Angelica's mom) maiden name. It's one that I gave her, named after her talented voice actress Tress MacNeille. MacNeille's many credits include Babs Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, Dot Warner, Hello Nurse, and Marita Hippo on Animaniacs, Gadget on Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and Agnes Skinner, Principal Skinner's elderly mother, on The Simpsons. She's also the modern-day voice actress of Daisy Duck, Donald Duck's girlfriend.

In the hilarious Netflix special 'Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling', the only way to save the company Conglom-O is to reboot The Fatheads, Rocko's favorite TV show. This causes Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt to search the globe for the original Fatheads creator, Ralph Bighead.

Movie Review: Monsters vs Aliens

Movie Review: Monsters vs Aliens                                                                                                           5-12-20

After getting hit by a meteor before her big wedding, Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) turns into a 49’11’’ tall woman. She gets captured by the government and gets sent to the secret facility known as Area Fifty-Something. There, Susan, now named Ginormica, meets Dr. Cockroach PHD (Hugh Laurie), a human scientist with a cockroach’s head, BOB (Seth Rogen), a gelatinous blob created by combining a ranch dressing with a tomato, the Missing Link (Will Arnett), a fish/ape hybrid defrosted from an iceberg 20,000 years ago, and a 350-foot grub named Insectosaurus. Together, they all have to stop the evil alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) from conquering Earth by extracting Ginormica’s cosmic energy to create clones of himself.

Monsters vs Aliens has the reputation of being DreamWorks’ most expensive movie ever, costing, 175 million dollars to make, and their first film to have a female protagonist. Susan Murphy/Ginormica is not only strong physically, but also strong mentally. She is self-reliant, confident, and caring, the right qualities for a heroine.

Monsters vs Aliens is an overlooked movie with a story that pays homage to 50s monster movies, top-notch animation, mostly likable characters, and a good score from Henry Jackman.

BOB dissolving a ham after placing it in his body.

Gallaxhar is also a threatening villain, despite his limited screen time. As stated earlier, he wants to extract a rare material called ‘Quantonium’ so he can make countless clones of himself to conquer Earth. He may not be as threatening as Drago Bludvist or Tai Lung, but is better than Lord Farquad and Makunga.

In conclusion, while not as good as beloved DreamWorks films like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs Aliens is a funny and engaging film to watch on a rainy day. Since this is a DreamWorks film, expect there to be a good amount of pop-culture references and licensed songs in this movie.

Rating: 3.44 stars out of 5.

The Retro Nicktoons Talent Show Chapter 2

It was Easter 2019. All the classic Nicktoons have ended, and most of the original creators left to work at different studios. Despite both having the same creators, it has been settled that the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra should live in separate Toontowns: The cast of ‘Airbender’ lived in Toontown California, while the cast of ‘Korra’ lived in Toontown New York. Anyway, it was here in Toontown New York that Thomas ‘Tommy’ Pickles, star of the beloved 90s cartoon The Rugrats, who was now eleven, was reliving his childhood by watching the Passover episode of the Rugrats. After the episode ended, a commercial for a SpongeBob 20th anniversary marathon aired.
“It’s been 20 years since we first visited Bikini Bottom!” Said the announcer. “On May 5^th, in collaboration with WatchMojo.com, we will air the Top 20 Best SpongeBob episodes in a four-hour marathon! Are you ready, kids?” Tommy then turned off the TV in disgust.
“That piece of cheese has been hogging the spotlight for far too long!” He said. “Why can’t they air anything else other than SpongeBob, Loud House, or a live-action kid-com?” Tommy’s younger brother Dil then walked in.
“Bro, what are you doing watching TV?” He asked.
“I was watching our Passover episode.” Replied Tommy. “It was before you were born.”
“Dude, you were only a baby.” Said Dil. “Besides, don’t you have a job?”

“You know that Toons are paid by the government.” Said Tommy. “Besides, the reboot in development will most likely star a new generation of babies. Plus, I don’t want to be an actor anymore: I want to be a film director! I’m going to talk to Arnold Shortman and see what advice he has.” Tommy walked out of the house and headed to the Hey Arnold section of Toontown New York.

------------------------------------------------
After a bit of a walk, Tommy made it to Arnold’s apartment. He rang the doorbell, and when the door opened, cats and dogs ran out of the apartment. Miles Shortman, Arnold’s long-lost father, answered the door.
“Welcome to Sunset Arms!” He greeted. “How may I help you?”
“I’d like to see Arnold.” Said Tommy.
“Arnold?” Miles asked. “He’s my son, and he helped me and Stella save the green-eyed people of San Lorenzo! He’s upstairs playing video games with Gerald.” Tommy was guided upstairs to Arnold’s cool bedroom, and he saw him and Gerald playing a first-person shooter video game on a V-Cube 2000.
“Excuse me!” Said Tommy, and Gerald’s video game character died.
“Arnold!” Said Gerald. “Look what you made me do!”
“Sorry, Gerald.” Said Arnold. “I was distracted by a voice.” He then saw Tommy. “Thomas Pickles?”
“Please.” Said the purple-haired boy. “Call me Tommy.”
“Tommy,” Said Arnold. “What are you doing here?”
“Everyone on your show would seek you for advice.” Said Tommy. “Where do I start to become a film director?”
“I’m no psychologist or miracle worker,” Said Arnold. “But if I were you, I’d start by directing a stage play.”
“A stage play...” Tommy started having a brainstorm. “That’s it! I’ll direct a stage play to show that us old Nicktoons still have some magic left! Thanks, Arnold!” Tommy left the building and rushed back home to make a phone call.
“That’s not exactly what I said.” Said Arnold.

“Let’s just continue our game, Arnold.” Said Gerald.

-----------------------------------------
Back at the Pickles residence, Tommy made a call on his cellphone to Nickelodeon Studios in California.
“Thank you for calling Nickelodeon!” Said the call. “To find out what channel Nick is on where you live, dial 0. To find out where our headquarters is, dial 1. To be connected to an employee, dial 2.” Tommy dialed 2.
“Welcome to Nickelodeon Studios,” Said a new voice. It was an interning secretary. “Entertaining kids since 1979. What would you like me to do for you, sir?”
“My name is Tommy.” Said the purple-haired boy. “Tommy Pickles.”
“Tommy Pickles?” Asked the secretary. “From the Rugrats? That was my favorite cartoon from when I was a kid! But you sound older. I thought you were supposed to be 1.”
“Not for the past 16 years.” Replied Tommy. “Anyway, I called to ask if I could put on a play. I believe that the older Nicktoons and I still have some tricks up our sleeves!”
“Sorry.” Said the secretary. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. We don’t take requests, but if you had some money, maybe we could work things out.”
“Deal!” Said Tommy, and he hung up to text his friends about a meeting he would hold the next day.
Author's Notes: Sunset Arms was where Arnold lived in Hey Arnold, and was a boarding house owned by his grandparents. It would be a running gag that whenever Arnold tried opening the door, cats and dogs would run out.
Miles and Stella were Arnold's missing parents in the show. During the run of Hey Arnold, they were in the fictional Central American country of San Lorenzo, exploring the city of the Green-Eyed People. Arnold wouldn't reunite with his parents until 'The Jungle Movie' in 2017.

Miles and Stella with baby Arnold.

When the Rugrats turned 10 years old in 2001, Nickelodeon let fans on their website vote for what they thought were the 10 best Rugrats episodes. The result was a DVD called 'Decade in Diapers', which included 10 episodes that fans voted for online.

The SpongeBob marathon Tommy sees a promo for is based on this DVD, as well as a real countdown from WatchMojo's 20 best episodes of the show in this link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM_x3jHzN3M
The V-Cube was a video game console in the Fairly OddParents episode 'Odd Ball'. It was a parody of the Nintendo GameCube and the Microsoft XBOX.

The Retro Nicktoons Talent Show Chapter 1

The Rugrats, All Grown Up, Rocko's Modern Life, Jimmy Neutron, CatDog, Danny Phantom, Hey Arnold, The Wild Thornberrys, and all related material © Viacom International.
Looney Tunes and Animaniacs © Warner Bros. A Time Warner Company.
Chowder, Camp Lazlo, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, and Summer Camp Island © Cartoon Network Studios. A Time Warner Company.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron © DreamWorks Animation. A Comcast Company.
Netflix © Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.
YouTube © Chad Hurley, Steve Chan, and Jawed Karim. A Google company.
The story you are about to read, much like The Great Toon War, takes place in a similar universe to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
It was December 23rd, 2003. The cast and crew of CatDog have finally finished filming the last batch of CatDog episodes, and they had a wrap party at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in California to celebrate. Because of the rapid production of cartoons in the past 90 years, there have been 5 Toontowns established across the country. The Nicktoons characters live in Toontown New York, but the episodes and movies were still filmed in California. Anyway, at the Nick Studio, Cliff, leader of a group of bully dogs called The Greaser Dogs, held a glass of root beer with his friends, Lube and Shriek, and he gave a toast to them.
“To six years of beating up Cat-Butt!” He declared, and the Greasers clanked their glasses together. Meanwhile, CatDog were all alone at a table with their only friends, Mervis, Dunglap, and Lola, as well as their adoptive parents, a blue Sasquatch and a big-nosed frog.
“Why is it that none of the other characters like us?” Asked Cat.
“Is it because of how you’re different, yet unique?” Asked the Sasquatch.
“Is it because no one can tell what kind of animal you’re supposed to be?” Asked Lola.
“Is it because of the fact that we’re freaks?” Asked Dog.
“I guess so, Dog.” Said Cat. “But why do they have to pick on us? How come we barely had any happy endings? We practically ended up as Thanksgiving dinner in one episode!”
“Don’t feel so sad.” Said Dunglap. “There are lots of cartoons in which the characters had unhappy endings. Just look at the old Looney Tunes cartoons! Nothing ever went right for Daffy Duck, Sylvester, or Wile E Coyote.”
“I know.” Said Cat. “Maybe if we had different bodies, we’d be treated more respectfully. Are you comfortable with that, Dog? Getting surgery?”
Dog was chewing on a gingerbread house, but then he spit out what he had in his mouth to answer Cat’s question. “That’s alright, Cat. I’ll always have Little Cat to keep me company.” He then pulled out a cat plush and started imitating Cat. “‘Dog, stop drinking out of the toilet! No chewing on my slippers! Don’t chase that truck!’” He then laughed to himself.
“So, you won’t mind getting surgery over Christmas break?” Asked Cat.
“Whatever makes you happy, Cat!” Said Dog. “Besides, I never had the opportunity to chase my own tail before.”
—————————----------------------------
Over the Christmas break, with approval from both Rancid Rabbit and series creator Peter Hannan, CatDog got surgery at Better Bottoms and became a regular cat and a regular dog. On New Year’s Day 2004, while on a stroll in Toontown New York, Cat and Dog came across the Greaser Dogs.
“Sorry, Greasers!” Said Cat. “You can’t beat us up anymore! As you can see, we are now separate animals!”
“We are done with you, Cat-Butt.” Said Cliff. “Nickelodeon’s filming a new cartoon called Avatar, and it’s full of crazy hybrid animals like a hippo mixed with a cow!”
“And a Komodo dragon mixed with a rhinoceros!” Said Shriek.
“And a penguin mixed with... a penguin!” Said Lube.
“It’s a penguin mixed with an otter, Lube.” Corrected Cliff. “Anyway, we’re on our way to California, where they’re filming the first season! Ciao!”
“If you want to go on a date with me, Dog,” Said Shriek. “Here’s my agent.” She then handed Dog a card with her agent’s phone number and email on it, and the Greasers set off to California.
“I guess they won’t be a problem to us anymore.” Said Cat. “But it’s a shame we don’t have anything to star in, anymore.”
“We still have each other, Cat.” Said Dog. “Even if we no longer share the same body! Besides, we could always try auditioning for other shows.”
Author's Notes: In the TV movie 'CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery', the titular duo go on a quest to find their long-lost parents. They discover that when they were a kitten/puppy, they were found in front of a cave and adopted by a blue Sasquatch and a big-nosed frog. However, a tornado blew CatDog far away, and Sasquatch and Frog spent the rest of their lives searching for CatDog. CatDog reunited with their parents, returned to Nearburg (where the show normally takes place), get accepted into society, and the Greaser Dogs get eaten by a lake monster.
The cat plush that Dog pulls out in this Chapter is Lil Cat from the episode 'Dummy Dummy'.

Better Bottoms was a surgery shop from the CatDog episode 'CatDog's End'. In that episode, CatDog go there so they can became a regular cat and a regular dog. However, Dog likes being a CatDog, so they decide to remain a CatDog.
Mervis, Dunglap, and Lola were CatDog's only friends on CatDog. Mervis was a pig who looked like he came out of Rocko's Modern Life...

Dunglap was a green tailless weasel who worked various jobs on the show...

And Lola was a Hispanic bird who had an interest in zoology.

Mervis and Dunglap will appear again in Chapter 7.
The hybrid animals the Greaser Dogs mention in this chapter are all animals that would appear in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Hippo-Cow

Komodo Rhino

Penguin-Otters

Movie Review: Scoob!

Movie Review: Scoob!                                                                                                                5-16-20

Based on the famous Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, Scoob was originally supposed to be released in theaters worldwide. Because of the Corona Virus outbreak, however, Warner Bros decided to release the movie on VOD (Video On Demand), available from websites like Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, YouTube, and Vudu. So, is this movie worth the wait? Let's find out!
Scoob tells the story of how Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) and Shaggy Rogers (Will Forte) first met and how they joined with young detectives Freddie Jones (Zac Efron), Velma Dinkley (Gina Rodriguez), and Daphne Blake (Amanda Seyfried) to form Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures shared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: A plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop the global 'Dogpocalypse', the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.

Scoob is a charming movie with top-notch animation, a story that sticks true to its original source material, and a strong message about friendship and loyalty.

Mark Wahlberg also does a good job as Brian, son of the legendary superhero the Blue Falcon.

If I were to complain about one thing, I would say that Will Forte and Zac Efron aren’t the best choices for Shaggy and Freddie. If I were a casting director for the film, I would’ve gone with Matthew Lillard and Frank Welker, their original voice actors.

Lillard played Shaggy in both live-action and animated incarnations.

In conclusion, while Scoob may not be as good as other animated comedies I’ve seen, but it’s something to cheer up to during this uncertain times.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Movie Review: The Willoughbys

Movie Review: The Willoughbys                                                                                                4-29-20

Based on the book by Lois Lowry, The Willoughbys is about four pink-haired children: Jane (Alessia Cara), Tim (Will Forte), and the Barnaby twins (Sean Cullen). The Willoughby children have parents that don’t care about them, so the children send their parents on a wild goose chase around the world so they can be free. However, without parents, that legally makes the kids orphans. When the social workers come to their house, the Willoughby children embark on an adventure to find the true meaning of family.

While the story is messy, The Willoughbys is a fun and charming film with vibrant animation, a nice score from Mark Mothersbaugh, and a colorful cast of characters. My personal favorite character in the movie is Linda the Nanny, voiced by Maya Rudolph.

My main complaint with the movie is that Tim, the eldest Willoughby child, is a little unlikable. I unfortunately can’t go into detail, since that would spoil the movie.

Tim doesn't exactly warm up to the Nanny at first.

In conclusion, while no where as amazing as another Netflix-exclusive animated film, Klaus, The Willoughbys is a joy ride for the whole family while you’re quarantined.

I will review Klaus in December, guessing that Netflix will still have it on there by that point.

Rating: 3.46 stars out of 5
PS. I have finally picked a release date for my Nicktoons fanfic, The Retro Nicktoons Talent Show! I will begin posting it on June 10th.

Movie Review: Khumba

Movie Review: Khumba                                                                                                  4-18-20

In the African plains known as the Karoo, a zebra calf named Khumba (Jake T Austin) was born. However, he is only half-striped, and when Khumba is blamed for a drought, he sets off on an adventure to earn his stripes. Along the way, Khumba meets a motherly wildebeest named Mama V (Loretta DeVine) and a flamboyant ostrich named Bradley (Richard E Grant), and must confront an evil leopard named Phango (Liam Neeson).

At first glance, Khumba looks like a knockoff of DreamWorks' Madagascar. However, upon further inspection, Khumba is actually closer to Happy Feet, as both films starred black-and-white animals who are blamed for a famine/drought and go on a dangerous adventure full of exotic characters.

Khumba encountering meerkats, a pangolin, a fennec fox, and some bushbucks at the Ying National Park.

In my eyes, Khumba is an underrated film with impressive animation, likable characters, a score that brings you right into Africa, an all-star cast, and a strong story that not only dives deep into African lore, but also strong messages about not judging others by superficialities, working together for the better good, and knowing that friends can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Bradley telling Khumba and Mama V about the time he was 'ostracized'.

In fact, if this had a proper theatrical release in the States, I would've nominated Khumba for the KCA for Favorite Animated Movie, since 2013 was a rough year for animated movies.
If you want to watch Khumba yourselves, here's a link below, and it's 100% free! However, you do need a Gmail or YouTube account.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH-NfR2o7T0
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
PS. If you're reading this, Rachel, please consider reviewing this in your next Obscure Animation video. It's a true diamond in the rough.