The Rowdy Reviewer thread

[Drtooth]

Before that, he endured Allen Gregory and Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, both shows I also tried to like but were just too turned off by.

Off subject, but I have to admit, while I don't hate Adult Cartoon Party (a LOT of the last episode of the original series were actually quite worse... especially the one where the old lady kept them as pets), the show should have been called "Ren and Stimpy: John K is Going Through Something Right Now." The characters kept getting unsettlingly darker, and the unproduced episode where Ren convinces Stimpy that life is horrible, by telling the story of the children's crusade unironically... all culminating with Cat Jesus saying that suffering is all for his amusement... well... I'm a pretty negative, depressed guy with a crapload of issues... and even I thought it was bitter, cynical, and soul sucking.

 

[mr3urious]

Rowdy is missing soooooo many more awful commercials on his recent Top 10 list, such as for Blue Tax and Toyota Highlander with that insufferable spoiled brat.

 

[mr3urious]

After so long, Rowdy is back, and has recently taken a look at a Saturday morning classic for his 150th episode!

 

[Drtooth]

Surprised that he didn't mention that DK Jr. was an expy of Scrappy-Doo. That would have been something to point out.

That Donkey Kong Sr. cartoon was pretty good for what it was. Though I still was disappointed that Peter Cullen used a voice similar to Eddie in Filmation Ghostbusters than something deeper and more Italian sounding.

 

[mr3urious]

Surprised that he didn't mention that DK Jr. was an expy of Scrappy-Doo. That would have been something to point out.

That Donkey Kong Sr. cartoon was pretty good for what it was. Though I still was disappointed that Peter Cullen used a voice similar to Eddie in Filmation Ghostbusters than something deeper and more Italian sounding.

I would have liked it if he covered the Dragon's Lair series a little more. I liked how it tried to incorporate the multiple scenarios the player had to choose from in the game by making commercial break cliffhangers out of them (will Dirk choose A or B? Stay tuned after this!), which sadly Space Ace didn't do.

And as American Graffiti/Happy Days as the Q*Bert series was, props to the producers for including his trademark symbol swearing whenever he gets hurt. Though I'm glad the little orange potty mouth would eventually get a much better animated treatment in Wreck-It Ralph.

 

[Drtooth]

I would have liked it if he covered the Dragon's Lair series a little more. I liked how it tried to incorporate the multiple scenarios the player had to choose from in the game by making commercial break cliffhangers out of them (will Dirk choose A or B? Stay tuned after this!), which sadly Space Ace didn't do.

I'm trying to decide if I liked the multiple choice bit in the Dragon's Lair cartoon or not. Space Ace sounds like a show that should have been its own, instead of being stuck in a shorter format in a variety cartoon. Sounds like it had real potential. Especially since, unlike the others, it had a self containing story narrative.

But I do think my favorite of the cartoons was Donkey Kong. I have a bias and all, but it was pretty good in terms of concept. Kinda wish Pauline had a little more personality, though. I guess Rowdy didn't see the episode that actually tied in Donkey Kong 3 to Donkey Kong by having Stanley the Bugman as a guest star. They tied it in better than Nintendo ever did, in fact. It's like one of those episodes of Captain N that's actually accurate (or at least fairly accurate) to the games. Someone actually did the research.

And as American Graffiti/Happy Days as the Q*Bert series was, props to the producers for including his trademark symbol swearing whenever he gets hurt. Though I'm glad the little orange potty mouth would eventually get a much better animated treatment in Wreck-It Ralph.

Cashing in off of Q*bert is a no brainer. Trying to make a comprehensive narrative off of it is a serious brainer. With Frogger and Q*Bert, no doubt they would have to invent a world of their own anyway. Q*Bert manages to reference the games better, if only for his death animation cussing, the flying disks, and the villain characters. Frogger just looks to have him get flattened and turn into Plastic Man for some reason.

Funnier still, I even have a Q*Bert Joke Book I got second hand when I was a kid. Someone actually made a freakin' Q*bert joke book. You'd be surprised how little of the jokes actually have reference to the characters. None to the games. Some of the connection was forcibly adding "Qu's" to words starting with "CR."

 

[mr3urious]

Cashing in off of Q*bert is a no brainer. Trying to make a comprehensive narrative off of it is a serious brainer. With Frogger and Q*Bert, no doubt they would have to invent a world of their own anyway. Q*Bert manages to reference the games better, if only for his death animation cussing, the flying disks, and the villain characters. Frogger just looks to have him get flattened and turn into Plastic Man for some reason.

I think an abstract alien planet setting would have worked out better than an '80s interpretation of the '50s.

 

[mr3urious]

I watched the latest episode in which Rowdy reviewed both of Filmation's Ghostbusters series, and I feel that the insanity of the series works better in animated form since animation offers a lot more possibilities.

And as for that Rainbow Brite reboot he reacted to in the end... ugh, does it look awful. And this is coming from a guy who enjoyed the MLP and Pound Puppies reboots.

Then again, those weren't produced by some third-rate streaming service.

 

[Drtooth]

They're actually going for a Rainbow Bright remake? They've been threatening that for years. Of course, I'd love to call "childhood rape" on that one, but I rewatched it sometime last year, and the only interesting character was Murky. They actually even gave him a deep, Oedipal backstory of why he hated colors so much. He liked to draw on walls, and his huge overbearing mother was kinda abusive about it. It's just...weird that they give that much depth to the villain and all the good guys are completely interchangable.

Well... that and Anpanman's much better. Even has better merchandise, most of it delicious.

 

[mr3urious]

I've caught the first episode of the RB reboot, and I take back most of what I've said about it. It's not fantastic, but not the biggest piece of garbage I've seen. That's what you get for judging it on the trailer alone, I guess.

The main character's personality is more Pinkie Pie or Looney Tunes Show Lola Bunny-ish, which I'm mixed about as Rainbow's original self was admittedly bland, but the reboot version could potentially fall into the "dumb blonde" stereotype. Murky, Lurky, and even Stormy are now lackeys to the Dark Princess (voiced by Molly Ringwald, of all people), which is strange seeing how the latter was more of an anti-hero in that she loved using her storm clouds to cause chaos, but was still friends with the other characters. Maybe that could change in future episodes.

Animation-wise, it could look a lot better, as there's a lot of stiffness in character movements. If only the guys at Feeln took a cue from Friendship is Magic, or better yet, Titmouse's shows to show how the software can really be pushed.

I've also been watching episodes of the original RB and the movie to have something to compare the reboot to, and I agree about Murky being so deep. His mommy issues are almost as bad as Robotnik's. Gotta love the Haim Saban/Shuki Levy synth soundtrack that was endemic to DiC shows in the '80s, too.