"Klaus" Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of DuckTales, Marvel LEGO Avengers, Genddy Tartakovsky's Primal, and Fargo.
Klaus
I liked almost all of that. I'd go so far as to say I loved almost all of that. This is going to be a VERY positive review. But it probably won't be a rave one. And that's okay. People demanding perfection in order to enjoy something are stupid and unreasonable. There, I said it.
This movie pulls off the impossible for a Santa Claus story. Let me state for the record how much I utterly loathe Prep & Landing and Arthur Christmas. They work my last nerve, particularly the former. They spend all this time and extravagant budget to figure out a way to lie to kids every year. If there is a Santa Claus movie that I'll enjoy, it will be because it doesn't try to rationalize everything, which is full-on dishonest. And this movie is special because it doesn't do that. I felt like the last 30 seconds broke the reality a bit, and sort of lessened a bit of my goodwill, but I'm not gonna slam the movie unmercilessly for not ending exactly the way I think it should have. That's not up to me. That's up to the creators. And maybe I didn't respond to those last few seconds as well as I would have if the movie didn't have them. But that's perfectly okay. The movie was well within its rights to briefly feed into magic, especially because they kept themselves a TINY bit of plausible deniability there.
I think Jesper is a very tough character to like, and I don't feel it was the best move to center the entire first part of the movie around him. Alva is also shockingly unlikable as far as female leads go, and when she is all disappointed at what a phony Jesper turned out to be I was like, "Glass houses, lady. Beware them."
I like that instead of explaining the magic of Santa, the movie sort of says it's a Tall Tale and The Stuff Of Legend. Which suddenly makes this the first plausible Santa origin story ever. That's just great, and I don't feel like the producers are just invested in telling kids things they want to hear to please their parents. They let them know that there is a rationality and story behind actual beliefs, and that doesn't make the beliefs less magical if you understand that. This movie did an admirable job describing how good acts from some people, even if done in the hopes of reward, can lead to good acts from people who don't necessarily believe or want that. Goodness is contagious, and in the era of Trump and Covid-19, I would very much love to believe that (and yet I don't). But it's a solid moral for kids whether I personally believe it or not.
I feel this is the new animated Christmas tradition we've always wanted but that Pixar and Dreamworks always fail to live up to. I would put it up against A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and the original Grinch any day. And it's even a good deal better than many holiday specials that are considered classics like Frosty The Snowman, Olive The Other Reindeer, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. It's good stuff and I'm thinking I might set aside time to watch this every year the way I do The Grinch. A little early to watch and review this, I know, but that will just give me another opportunity to rewatch it in two months. ****1/2.
DuckTales "Let's Get Dangerous!"
I'm not saying that was definitely my favorite episode. But it's up there.
What's great is that I don't have the objection to this show's pathos or violence in a Darkwing Duck episode. Those are very far removed from the Uncle Scrooge comics. It's the same reason I never minded Gizmoduck on that show, while he annoyed me on DuckTales. Honestly, I would definitely be more receptive to a Darkwing spin-off in this vein than I ever have been this show.
I thought it was a cute homage to the original show that Scrooge and the nephews turned back into their '87 counterparts, including David Tennant being allowed to utter Alan Young's best line "A sea monster ate my ice cream!" But I think I might have preferred it if the show simply showed that that Universe actually existed in this Multiverse.
Michael Bell was the only Darkwing Duck cast member they got back. Did they treat Stephanie Beatriz's voice for Gosalyn? She has a pretty deep voice and it sounds like they must have pitched it up.
Interesting that Bradford doesn't consider himself or F.O.W.L. villains. I think that's a good mindset for a good villain to have.
Bonkers had a cameo, and we briefly saw the Fluppy Dogs too. I dispute Jambalaya Jake is a C list villain though. He appeared twice. That's more than many of that show's villains got.
Like on the original show, Darkwing hates Gizmoduck. However, on the original show I think his hatred was somewhat justified. Here, DW is misguided in his rage against him.
Launchpad is gonna spend his days in Duckburg, and his nights in St. Canard, and sleep on the rides over. That's a dumb idea, but I'll allow it (for now).
I love Dewey pointing out Bushroot isn't technically a villain. And him saying that makes me think that even if the producers aren't fans or nerds of the Disney Duck comics, they totally were for the Darkwing Duck cartoon. Bushroot not being a villain is not a nuance anyone who didn't watch the show on a regular basis would truly understand.
For some reason Scrooge saying their reality just got a lot more dangerous gave me a small amount of chills. Very well done moment.
I would have liked Webby to have been in the episode, and for her to have met Gosalyn. Prediction: I doubt Gosalyn would have been able to stand her, but I thought that about the original versions too.
That was good fun. *****.
LEGO Marvel Avengers: Climate Conundrum "Friends And Foes: Part 2: Surprise Visitor"
That was great.
I love Hulk's slo-mo smashing of the truck, and Cap flying out of an exploding jet on a motorcycle. I am not to proud to enjoy that and think that it's awesome. The action sequences were very well boarded and directed, especially for a Lego special.
Red Skull? That in'nt good.
I love Hulk clarifying to Hammer that while he IS green, he isn't his friend. Don't you just hate schmucks who call total strangers their friend? Drives me nuts. Hulk has the same peeve because he is awesome.
Love the construction guy kicking the AIM dude off a high-beam. That was excellent.
Very much enjoying this group of shorts. ****1/2.
Genddy Tartakovsky's Primal "Coven Of The Damned"
Spoken as someone who has always been on the fence about this show, that was really good. It was interesting.
I like that we got most of the episode from the perspective of the witch with a conscience. And when she dies, I love that Fang nuzzles Spear for comfort. That said everything.
I also like the idea that there IS an afterlife on this show. It will make things bearable when Spear and Fang inevitably die in the series finale.
Very impressed with that. ****.
Fargo "The Birthplace Of Civilization"
Loy's problem is that he is too civilized and reasonable for his own good. After the death of Senator, I'm guessing that's done. Loy is the scariest player of the season because he's smart and knows what he's doing. Gaetano is outright stupid, and doesn't think things through. I do not predict good things for him, or Josto by proxy. But while Gaetano is in the picture, Josto has no shot whatsoever. I very much look forward to the point in the season when both of those guys realize they messed with the wrong guy.
I like Loy's command of the situation with both the Smutnys and his wife. He just let's them know in no uncertain terms that this is not a negotiation. It's kind of ugly to hear him speak that way to his wife, but it's also kind of nice he shuts the mother-in-law up too.
I still don't know where they are going with Ethelrida's plot. I had thought they would have given her more to do this season, but they haven't yet. We'll see.
I like the Irish guy refusing to deliver's Loy son back because he believes they are all going to die. Even cooler is him promising to protect the kid anyways.
I very much look forward to Gaetano getting what is coming to him. ***1/2.
Klaus
I liked almost all of that. I'd go so far as to say I loved almost all of that. This is going to be a VERY positive review. But it probably won't be a rave one. And that's okay. People demanding perfection in order to enjoy something are stupid and unreasonable. There, I said it.
This movie pulls off the impossible for a Santa Claus story. Let me state for the record how much I utterly loathe Prep & Landing and Arthur Christmas. They work my last nerve, particularly the former. They spend all this time and extravagant budget to figure out a way to lie to kids every year. If there is a Santa Claus movie that I'll enjoy, it will be because it doesn't try to rationalize everything, which is full-on dishonest. And this movie is special because it doesn't do that. I felt like the last 30 seconds broke the reality a bit, and sort of lessened a bit of my goodwill, but I'm not gonna slam the movie unmercilessly for not ending exactly the way I think it should have. That's not up to me. That's up to the creators. And maybe I didn't respond to those last few seconds as well as I would have if the movie didn't have them. But that's perfectly okay. The movie was well within its rights to briefly feed into magic, especially because they kept themselves a TINY bit of plausible deniability there.
I think Jesper is a very tough character to like, and I don't feel it was the best move to center the entire first part of the movie around him. Alva is also shockingly unlikable as far as female leads go, and when she is all disappointed at what a phony Jesper turned out to be I was like, "Glass houses, lady. Beware them."
I like that instead of explaining the magic of Santa, the movie sort of says it's a Tall Tale and The Stuff Of Legend. Which suddenly makes this the first plausible Santa origin story ever. That's just great, and I don't feel like the producers are just invested in telling kids things they want to hear to please their parents. They let them know that there is a rationality and story behind actual beliefs, and that doesn't make the beliefs less magical if you understand that. This movie did an admirable job describing how good acts from some people, even if done in the hopes of reward, can lead to good acts from people who don't necessarily believe or want that. Goodness is contagious, and in the era of Trump and Covid-19, I would very much love to believe that (and yet I don't). But it's a solid moral for kids whether I personally believe it or not.
I feel this is the new animated Christmas tradition we've always wanted but that Pixar and Dreamworks always fail to live up to. I would put it up against A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and the original Grinch any day. And it's even a good deal better than many holiday specials that are considered classics like Frosty The Snowman, Olive The Other Reindeer, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. It's good stuff and I'm thinking I might set aside time to watch this every year the way I do The Grinch. A little early to watch and review this, I know, but that will just give me another opportunity to rewatch it in two months. ****1/2.
DuckTales "Let's Get Dangerous!"
I'm not saying that was definitely my favorite episode. But it's up there.
What's great is that I don't have the objection to this show's pathos or violence in a Darkwing Duck episode. Those are very far removed from the Uncle Scrooge comics. It's the same reason I never minded Gizmoduck on that show, while he annoyed me on DuckTales. Honestly, I would definitely be more receptive to a Darkwing spin-off in this vein than I ever have been this show.
I thought it was a cute homage to the original show that Scrooge and the nephews turned back into their '87 counterparts, including David Tennant being allowed to utter Alan Young's best line "A sea monster ate my ice cream!" But I think I might have preferred it if the show simply showed that that Universe actually existed in this Multiverse.
Michael Bell was the only Darkwing Duck cast member they got back. Did they treat Stephanie Beatriz's voice for Gosalyn? She has a pretty deep voice and it sounds like they must have pitched it up.
Interesting that Bradford doesn't consider himself or F.O.W.L. villains. I think that's a good mindset for a good villain to have.
Bonkers had a cameo, and we briefly saw the Fluppy Dogs too. I dispute Jambalaya Jake is a C list villain though. He appeared twice. That's more than many of that show's villains got.
Like on the original show, Darkwing hates Gizmoduck. However, on the original show I think his hatred was somewhat justified. Here, DW is misguided in his rage against him.
Launchpad is gonna spend his days in Duckburg, and his nights in St. Canard, and sleep on the rides over. That's a dumb idea, but I'll allow it (for now).
I love Dewey pointing out Bushroot isn't technically a villain. And him saying that makes me think that even if the producers aren't fans or nerds of the Disney Duck comics, they totally were for the Darkwing Duck cartoon. Bushroot not being a villain is not a nuance anyone who didn't watch the show on a regular basis would truly understand.
For some reason Scrooge saying their reality just got a lot more dangerous gave me a small amount of chills. Very well done moment.
I would have liked Webby to have been in the episode, and for her to have met Gosalyn. Prediction: I doubt Gosalyn would have been able to stand her, but I thought that about the original versions too.
That was good fun. *****.
LEGO Marvel Avengers: Climate Conundrum "Friends And Foes: Part 2: Surprise Visitor"
That was great.
I love Hulk's slo-mo smashing of the truck, and Cap flying out of an exploding jet on a motorcycle. I am not to proud to enjoy that and think that it's awesome. The action sequences were very well boarded and directed, especially for a Lego special.
Red Skull? That in'nt good.
I love Hulk clarifying to Hammer that while he IS green, he isn't his friend. Don't you just hate schmucks who call total strangers their friend? Drives me nuts. Hulk has the same peeve because he is awesome.
Love the construction guy kicking the AIM dude off a high-beam. That was excellent.
Very much enjoying this group of shorts. ****1/2.
Genddy Tartakovsky's Primal "Coven Of The Damned"
Spoken as someone who has always been on the fence about this show, that was really good. It was interesting.
I like that we got most of the episode from the perspective of the witch with a conscience. And when she dies, I love that Fang nuzzles Spear for comfort. That said everything.
I also like the idea that there IS an afterlife on this show. It will make things bearable when Spear and Fang inevitably die in the series finale.
Very impressed with that. ****.
Fargo "The Birthplace Of Civilization"
Loy's problem is that he is too civilized and reasonable for his own good. After the death of Senator, I'm guessing that's done. Loy is the scariest player of the season because he's smart and knows what he's doing. Gaetano is outright stupid, and doesn't think things through. I do not predict good things for him, or Josto by proxy. But while Gaetano is in the picture, Josto has no shot whatsoever. I very much look forward to the point in the season when both of those guys realize they messed with the wrong guy.
I like Loy's command of the situation with both the Smutnys and his wife. He just let's them know in no uncertain terms that this is not a negotiation. It's kind of ugly to hear him speak that way to his wife, but it's also kind of nice he shuts the mother-in-law up too.
I still don't know where they are going with Ethelrida's plot. I had thought they would have given her more to do this season, but they haven't yet. We'll see.
I like the Irish guy refusing to deliver's Loy son back because he believes they are all going to die. Even cooler is him promising to protect the kid anyways.
I very much look forward to Gaetano getting what is coming to him. ***1/2.