Avatar Aged So Well.

2/2/17

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a goofy, yet emotional show that aired on nickelodeon back in 2005 through 2008.  It follows the adventures of Katara, Sokka, and Aang, who is the Avatar.

Image from HD WALLPAPERS.

This show has a very interesting story arc and great lore.  It was a breath of fresh air from the domination of cartoons with one plot per episode at the time.  In other words, you'd need to watch from the beginning if you wanted to understand the whole story. Like other cartoons with full story arcs, this show suffers from  TOO MANY FILLERS.  This definitely isn't a good thing, but they were able to prolong the series' airtime as a result of doing this.

Screenshot from Wikipedia

The voice acting in this show is superb.  The main characters were fantastic in portraying extreme feelings in emotional situations.  Each of their voices fit their character.  That's another thing that makes this series so amazing.  It's the character diversity.  Aang is an air bender who was frozen for nearly 100 years after escaping a genocide from the fire nation.  Katara and Sokka come from the southern water tribe, and Toph Beifong comes from Gaoling in the Earth Temple.  Finally, they meet Zuko from the fire nation.  If I were to give you the background information on each of the four nations, I'd probably be able to go on forever.  Each of the characters have their own stories, they're all from different places around the world, and the places they're from are rich in history as well.  The Avatar universe just feels so large!

Image from Crunchyroll.

Image from Giphy.

In the end, Avatar is just a stunning show that's cleverly written, diverse, and has an awesome cast of voice actors to play each role.  This cartoon is such a stupendous example of how great western animation is.  I give the show a 5/5 because of how phenomenal it was at the time up 'till today, and how it set such a high standard for the nickelodeon cartoons that came after it.

Modern Spongebob isn't as Good as the Old Spongebob.

1/30/17

We're all familiar with the cartoon icon, Spongebob Squarepants.  However, the series changed drastically since the first few seasons we've seen him.  In this blog, I'll be taking a look at the sponge we all know and love, and how much he's changed since the beginning of the series.

Image from Youtube.

As usual, we're looking at the humor of the show first.  I realized that the humor of this entire show is based on Patrick and Spongebob's simple-mindedness.  Usually, entire episode plots are triggered through a misunderstanding of some sort, but I'll get to that later.  

Gif made using Youtube.

Another thing that changed a bit was the art-style of each character.  Spongebob got a bit more skinny since his debut, which in my opinion is a better design choice because it makes him feel more proportionate with Patrick.  Patrick however, stayed the same design-wise.  Sandy cheeks was another character who was refined by the animators.  Her eyes were a lot bigger and her torso was much wider back in older episodes.  It seems to be a common theme that the characters got skinnier in the newer episodes.   

Images from the Spongebob Wikia.

Speaking of new episodes, you can really tell that they're running out of creative ideas and are on the edge of creative burnout.  The new episodes feel random, and sometimes boring when it comes down to what they're actually supposed to be doing in each situation.  Another really bad problem is that they keep dishing out episodes about Spongebob failing to get his boating license, and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy - themed episodes.  They end up all feeling the same because of how many there are.

Image from Spongebobia.com

Overall, the show isn't in the best place it can be, but it still does end up as probably the best cartoon on nickelodeon comparing it to the other ones.  This show gets a 4/5 from me because of how well it's been holding up since the beginning.

Image from Tenor Gif Keyboard.

Why Clarence is Rather Ordinary.

1/26/17

Clarence is an animated sitcom about the life of a boy named Clarence and his strange school friends.

The humor is relatively gross, which is usually what I'd expect from children's shows who want to attract more boys.  Sometimes, there are jokes that aren't based on disgusting things.  In fact, they do make subtle nods and references to other shows like that one time where Clarence's stepdad Chad had his head shaved causing him to look like Homer Simpson.  He stubs his toe and yells the famous catchphrase, "D'OH!".  That's it for the humor, it isn't really bad, or really good.

Image from Tumblr.

The art-style in this show is rather inconsistent.  Sure, the backgrounds look great and fit in very well, but the character designs are just borderline lazy-looking, and extremely random.  Like, what is this abomination!?!

Image from Clarence Wikia.

Why is his neck so long?  Is a mouth hiding under the shirt he wears?  Why is his nose huge compared to the others!?!  A lot of these side-characters look like they don't even belong to this show.  Now, I'll tell you how the episodes go.  The episode structure is really random and can be about almost anything.  Usually, the stories take place during Clarence's school day which does allow many opportunities for odd situations, which is probably why they usually take place at school.  I mean, his friends are there as well.  This allows them to develop the side-characters that they for some reason want to occasional prominent roles to in certain episodes.  Speaking of friends, Clarence's main best buds are Jeff, (the square guy) and Sumo (the bald one).  

Jeff, I have absolutely no problem with.  The voice acting is decent, his character design isn't too boring, and he just isn't super annoying.  You know who is super annoying, though, Sumo.  The voice actor probably has vocal chord problems from constantly doing his voice.  Sumo's voice sounds like he's growling very low while talking.  Once you get past that, however, he is a slightly interesting character and he balances the group out pretty well.

Image from Pinterest.

This show is very "eh" in general (meaning that it isn't good, nor is it bad).  I don't see this show lasting too long, but it is pretty charming and engrossing after the first episode.  If you like really weird animated sitcoms, then you'll probably like this one.  I give this cartoon a 3/5 because the show just feels so average and uninspired overall.

PIG, GOAT, BANANA, CRICKET IS ACTUALLY A GOOD SHOW?!?!

1/22/17

Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket is a cartoon on nickelodeon that takes place in a world in which some fruits, and vegetables are sentient and anthropomorphic.

The team sharing a high-five.

Image from variety.com.

This show was particularly interesting because I went into it with low expectations, but somehow, I found it pretty entertaining.  First off, the humor is much better than Teen Titans Go (not to compare the two).  Some jokes caught me off guard and I ended up laughing at them.  Let's just say that the comedic timing is on point for most of the jokes.  In season one, episode six, they were able to fit in a historical reference using Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and even Betsy Ross.  However, there definitely were times where the only supposedly funny thing was supposed to be the character getting hurt, or something gross, which I can excuse because of the mostly young demographic.

Thomas Jefferson and Goat.

Screenshot from Season 1, Episode 6 on Nickelodeon.

Moving onto the art style and visuals, it really feels like I'm reading some sort of Sunday comic strip.  The art-style is relatively simple, and there are just enough colors to make it pop.  They aren't just vomiting an entire color scale onto us, which is perfect.

Color Scale Visual
Image from gimp.org.

The episode structure is usually split into four different stories, each following the main characters Pig, Goat, Banana, and Cricket.  This causes the show itself to feel like it's just a few shorts, which is actually an interesting idea that I don't see too many cartoons today try to do.

Pig Goat Banana Cricket Logo
Image from logopedia.

The aspect that causes Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket to miss out on its perfect rating is its inability to teach children helpful lessons or morals.  There was an attempt to do this in a certain episode, but it ended up being about betrayal and greed.  Goat and Thomas Jefferson need to pay a toll in order to reach the other side of a gate bar because there is a valuable object on the other side.  They try washing a few cars in order to make the money, but once the money is made, Jefferson runs off with it and uses it to pay the toll for himself.  They end up being five cents short, so Goat condenses Jefferson into a nickel to use it as payment.  It seems like they were trying to teach children about teamwork, but they end up with a totally different result.  This cartoon gets 4 Bananas out of 5 for its great art-style, and jokes, but its failure to teach useful lessons to kids.

Banana.
Image from Nick-Asia.

Why you shouldn't watch Teen Titans Go...

1/18/17

Teen Titans Go is a children’s cartoon that follows the adventures of a diverse cast of heroes known as the Teen Titans.

The Teen Titans. Image from the Teen Titans Go Wikia.

This show does a fantastic job of parodying the original Teen Titans by turning the characters into more laid-back and fun individuals who aren’t as intense as what the original series portrayed them as.  Each hero had a role to fill, making the team feel complete.  However, the thing that causes this cartoon to fall short from its recommendation is its lack of variety and its humor.  Each of the episodes feel the same in terms of villains, locations, and sometimes even the plot.  These episodes seem to follow the same formula story-wise.  I haven't quite decoded what that formula is, but it could be a really large part of why the episodes feel the same.  It also might be because the art style is a little too repetitive or simplistic.

This couch angle is in nearly every episode. Screenshot taken from Episode 1, Season 1.

Aside from the episode structure, the humor just felt unfunny and cringe-worthy.  Many “jokes” that were made throughout the series felt forced and unnatural, and you could really tell that they were trying so hard to be funny.  In the end, it just doesn’t turn out as the comedic, enjoyable show it tries to be.  If Teen Titans Go is supposed to be a funnier, more calm version of its predecessor, then it fails to do one of the jobs it’s supposed to fulfill, and that is actually making me laugh.  Unfortunately, this show gets a 3.5 out of 5 for me because of its lack of cleverly written jokes, and its uninspired episode ideas.  Overall, you're better off watching the original Teen Titans.

3.5 Robins out of 5. (my own image) If you wanna see some episodes yourself, click HERE. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again in my next post.