The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - "Find Her, Keep Her"

Our review today has something to do with the ever popular Disney animated television series from the 80's, "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." And today, we're reviewing the ever popular "Find Her, Keep Her" episode, from the first season. Let's see how it plays out, huh?

In the middle of a blustery snowstorm, Rabbit, while talking care of a carrot that needs to be saved, finds a baby bird in danger, and Rabbit while trying to go get a ladder, flies around on the door, carrying Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger all around the storm and catching the bird into Pooh's honey pot. After that little stunt, Rabbit decides to take care of the little bird, who's name is Kessie by the way, voiced by Laura Mooney, who later voiced Katie Ka-Boom on Animaniacs. One day, while playing with Tigger, the tree that Tigger bounces on tips over and carries them near an edge of a cliff. Kessie falls and Owl comes to the rescue and thinks she is meant for flying, but Rabbit on the other hand refuses, mainly because of the fact that most birds fly south for the winter. Will Rabbit keep Kessie, or will he learn that sometimes you have to let things go, even if you love them very much? Well, I think you already know the answer by now, so, go watch it to find out, okay?

A lot of people, including  my mom, have considered this to be one of the most heart-wrenching episodes the show has ever put out. And I can see why. We see Rabbit acting as a father figure to Kessie, worried about what would happen to her if she did went away. This episode has a lot of drama, good laughs, and a nice story. I even like how Pooh pointed out that Rabbit already knows he cared so much for Kessie because it's called, the reason Rabbit already knows is because earlier in the second act, he told Tigger, "I never even told her, I loved her." Probably the saddest scene in the episode has to be when Kessie asks for one more bedtime story and Rabbit says "You don't need me for anything." Now that's what I call a real tearjerker. This probably the most dramatic episode that Disney has ever put out. It feels like as if Lion King producer Don Hahn produced this.

Here's a fun fact for you: This episode won the 1989 Humanitas Prize for Outstanding Children’s Programming. Gee, I can see why they gave that episode the award. But either way, with the comedy in between and Rabbit's feeling for Kessie, this is a really amazing episode, not just for its comedy, but also for its storytelling and its subverting of expectations.

You can find this episode on Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving, or on the video, "Newfound Friends."

I could dedicate this review to the memory of Ken Sansom who voiced Rabbit, but I can't. Instead, I'll just dedicate this to the late Paul Winchell who voiced Tigger.

Rest in peace, Paul. Along with Ken Sansom and John Fiedler.

Hey Arnold! - "Helga's Love Potion"

To love, or not to love, that is the question for Helga G. Pataki in our next review. I know it's super bowl night, but I'm more focused on this, okay? This episode was directed by Dan Povenmire with storyboards done by Dan and Sherm Cohen, the storyboard supervisor for SpongeBob.

Helga gets tired of her love for Arnold making her feel mad and mixed up all the time. After considering it, she goes in to a "gypsies" store, asking her for a potion that will make her fall out of love. Out of her sight, the gypsy gives her a "potion" that would erase Helga's feelings  After drinking that "potion." Upon waking, Helga feels unusually bland. Know how I know? Because she acts more like a civilized person more than a bully with a passion for love. She moves quietly about the day, not responding to any aggression. This doesn't feel like her at all if you ask me. Can she get out of this blandness? Well, just watch and yourself.

This is a pretty weird episode, but in a good way. It has a lot of good laughs, for example, Brainy beating the heck out of himself since Helga was under the "spell." And I say all of this with air-quotes because the twist is that the potion is actually grape juice, boy did Helga get ripped off by a con person? Probably the weirdest part of the episode is that by the time Helga drinks the "potion," she goes through a extremely upside-down dream sequence! Which has her breaking the locket, her sinking into ice cream, and landing flat onto her bed, and it's not mentioned again! It's definitely a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment! Also, this is one of the few episodes where Helga uses the word "crap." I wonder why they got away with that in a cartoon like this. If I didn't know better, Francesca Marie Smith probably ad-libbed that line unscripted without Nickelodeon even noticing, either that, or she just says that by herself whenever she gets frustrated in real life, but that's just me.

So, the moral of the story is never trust a gypsy who want your money, second, don't drink any sort of love potion made out of grape juice, otherwise, you'll end up having weird dream sequences. Also, you can't escape your obsession no matter what you do. You are who you are and you can't change that. And Helga had to learn that out the hard way.

Overall, this episode is pretty weird, but funny, and good, funny and good. Yep, those are the three words I can describe this episode, folks.

Stellaluna Review

All right, folks, we're going to review the 2004 made for video movie, "Stellaluna," based on the best-selling award winning children of the same name by Janell Cannon, who's responsible for making bats look like friendly creatures and making owls into dangerous species, which was all thanks to a suspenseful score by the great Jody Gray, who composed the music for Courage the Cowardly Dog. By the way, I'll will right now mention that Stellaluna, the best-selling book has turned the big 25 this year. And I think now's the right time to review this movie that has stuck with me ever since I bought it at Savers. So let's venture into the Sultry Forest to go see Stellaluna.

Janell Cannon's Stellaluna is in many ways a fabulous 1990's fairy tale. The book aired on the PBS series Reading Rainbow in 1994. On that episode, Anne Jackson narrated the story. It is featured in the 2001 movie I Am Sam. No, not Sam I am. Janell Cannon was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Burton H. and Nancy A. Cannon. She attended Burnsville High School, and graduated in 1975. After high school she moved to California, and from 1981 to 1993 she was a graphic artist for the Carlsbad Library, also, on that year, Janell Cannon began writing for the idea of Stellaluna. She spent most of the book by building up friendship with some satisfying payoffs. By the time Stellaluna was published on April of 1993, it caught the attention of children and parents and teachers everywhere and to this day, continues to be the most popular award-winning children's book. Back in 1998, Rankin/Bass' ever popular "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was turned into a 2D animated movie directed by William R. Kowalchuk. And when Stellaluna came along a few years later, the instant popularity of the book made a film version a no brainier. That means showing intelligence. But the book just couldn't be contained into a theatrical feature, so Scholastic and MGM offered to buy the rights from Janell, to make Stellaluna into a made-for-DVD movie, similar in format to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. When Scholastic producers Deborah Forte and Martha Atwater, everything was all set, with a script written by screenwriters Rachel Koretsky and Stephen Whitestone, who had previously wrote The Pebble and the Penguin, which was directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldmna. And then a filmmaker was hired, William R. Kowalchuk, a Canadian animator and director who originally made a name for himself as the production manager for MASK produced by DIC Entertainment. Kowalchuk went on to direct the highly underrated made-for-video movies such as Camelot: The Legend in 1998, and Ben Hur in 2003. Okay, enough behind the scenes talk, let's get on with the plot.

One night, as Stellaluna's mother followed the scent of ripe fruit, an owl spied her. On silent wings, the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats. Mother Bat tried to escape, but the owl struck again and again, knocking Stellaluna into the air. Her wings were as useless as wet paper, down down she went, faster and faster into the forest below. She lands in a bird's nest, and the three birds, Flitter, Pip, and Flap mistake her for a bird. Stellaluna tries to fit in, reluctantly trying to eat bugs without being disgusted by them. However, the Great White Owl is on the loose when Stellaluna accidentally wakes him up, he tries to seek vengeance on the bat he knocked down a few days before.

I highly doubt that Janell Cannon wasn't at least partly inspired by the infamous killer wolves in Beauty and the Beast when creating this vicious owl who abandoned Stellaluna from her mother.

The success of the made-for-DVD movie relied heavily on the casting of Stellaluna. The producers landed on Canadian voice actress, Chiara Zanni, who originally made a name for herself as the voice of Poky Little Puppy in the 1989 TV Special, Little Golden Book Land, and has spent her career doing usually tomboy related characters in roles like Alex from Camp Candy starring John Candy, Mimi Morton in What About Mimi?, Petunia in Baby Looney Tunes, and the colorful Daring Do on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. So, to me, Chiara Zanni will always be Stellaluna, it sounds like she's having a ball doing this energetic and cowardly character.

During the film's production, director William R. Kowalchuk impressively orchestrated two entirely separate group of actors. American actors and Canadian actors of a bunch, which is no easy task. Flitter, Pip, and Flap were played a group of virtual unknowns while the other characters were played by who's who of recognizable Canadian actors from film and production. Lee Tockar played Askari the Superhero Spider, he would later go on to voice George in 2007's version of George of the Jungle as well as the voice of Snips on Friendship is Magic. Scott McNeil portrays Horatio, a toucan who tries to make Stellaluna look like a real bird. McNeil was also part of the cast of Dragon Ball Z, Friendship is Magic, and Johnny Test, Brenda Crichlow who played the birds' mother, had other roles like an Office Co-Worker in Will Ferrell's Elf and Zecora in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and Kathleen Barr, who played Kasuku is a popular Canadian heartthrob for television, starring in shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy as Kevin and Marie Kanker, Dragon Tales as Wheezie, Kid vs. Kat as Millie, Littlest Pet Shop as Mrs. Twombly, and my personal favorite, Trixie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Of course, the most recognizable voice among these guys is Blu Mankuma as the voice of the Great White Owl, Mankuma also starred in numerous movies and animated shows, as well as the voice of the red dragon in the Friendship is Magic episode, "Dragon Shy."

Here's a fun fact:  This version was panned by some fans of the original book as "truly unfaithful" and received mixed to negative reviews. Now despite what the critics say, I love this film, but I won't deny that nostalgia is a major factor. While I have read the book before I saw this, I appreciate the movie was able to accomplish, given it's a made-for-DVD. While I will admit that the film is not without its flaws. Specifically the addition of Askari the Spider and the bigger role of the Great White Owl, and the cheesy songs, even though I do like Stellaluna's song before Askari comes onto the screen. I think the filmmakers did all they could with the resources they had, for me though, I've seen this film a lot of times that it doesn't even matter.

It's seems like when it goes for the small scares, it goes really well, like the Owl dodging at the herd of bats, many of these scenes contribute to the film's atmosphere, as does the highly underrated musical score composed by Courage the Cowardly Dog composer, Jody Gray. Gray's compositions give the film an appropriate African tone right from the opening credits. The entire score is exciting, gloomy, and emotional, and you know the Great White Owl is lurking right around the corner, when it starts to become cold, wet, and heavily filled with bass drums and strings. I constant criticism I've noticed suggests that for such a blood-thirsty owl, he doesn't too much out of hooting and laughing at the bats and birds. Scholastic's standards didn't allow the filmmakers to be too severe with showing child birds in danger, which is ironic giving the source material. But they found away to dance around that rule. The Great White Owl corners, hoots, and threatens some of the main characters, but rarely goes in for the kill. This forced the filmmakers to be extra creative with the film's exciting, and some of what they ended up doing was pretty exciting stuff. Sure, the movie is practically "The Goonies" or "Courage the Cowardly Dog" compared to child friendly nature of the original book, but I kind of like it for that.

Over the years, Stellaluna has become the made-for-DVD movie that could. It might not be as well received as other adaptations like Arthur, The Magic School Bus, or Franklin, but from what I've seen, it's a movie that I love despite all the flaws it had. I even put The Great White Owl right up there with the others like the Killer Wolves from Beauty and the Beast, Him from The Powerpuff Girls, and Queen Chrysalis from Friendship is Magic. At the end of the day, the DVD of Janell Cannon's Stellaluna is a great but flawed release of a great but flawed film, and is deserving of a 4 out of 5 stars recommendation, buy it if you run across it.

Johnny Bravo - "Johnny's Guardian Angel"

Want a funny version of It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart? Want a person to mistake cement as Hollywood paint? Well then, this episode is for you! "Johnny's Guardian Angel."

Johnny Bravo causes a few accidents like breaking Carl's homemade computer, destroying Mama's little garden, and letting go of Little Suzy's balloon by mistake. This goes so far that Johnny Bravo wishes he were never born. Then, his guardian angel named Maurice, rises from the sky, and takes Johnny into a world in which he was never born, where Carl is rich, Pops' place hasn't changed much, and Johnny Bravo's mother is acting like a spy, but Little Suzy hasn't changed at all. And, spoiler alert, Johnny Bravo wishes he had his life back, and the episodes ends with him getting stuck in the cement, again.

I like the comedy in this episode, like for example, when Johnny accidentally knocks down Carl's homemade computer, Carl calls Johnny a big clumsy brainless insensitive oaf, which sadly is kind of true, but then, Johnny quickly lets go of his anger asking, I'm still your best friend though, right? Someone's having mood swings. Why he bothered being angry at Johnny in the first place, I honestly have no idea. I even like how Carl acts very rich in the alternate universe, and Carl has pretty cool shades, almost as cool as Johnny Bravo's shades. Also, Pops kicking out Johnny from his diner in that universe was really uncalled for.

So, bottom line, unlike the Fairly OddParents episode, "It's a Wishful Life," this episode manages to get everything right. It's a good satire, it's got a cool alternate universe, and it's also very funny, something that "It's a Wishful Life" failed to do.

Overall, most of Johnny Bravo's second season is pretty good, with the exception of Buffoon Lagoon, and no, I won't review this episode, never!

The characters reacted according to their characters, and even Johnny Bravo's lines are pretty funny.
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This is a must watch episode.

SpongeBob - "I Had an Accident"

Now, if you thought Born Again Krabs was not good enough for you to like the episode, than this episode from the middle of the third season of SpongeBob is for you. C.H. Greenblatt at his finest here, folks.

Let's go into the story, uh?

It starts off with Patrick dying (in a video game that is, and says "D'oh! I got dead again, this game stinks.) Wait, not really, well, good thing he's gonna be okay. (he crashes into a mountain) I guess not. Anyway, this episode has SpongeBob getting into a bad accident while sand-boarding with Sandy and Patrick. His doctor tells him that if he gets another injury, he could end up being crippled for life, in the iron butt. SpongeBob, now overly paranoid is scared to death that he's going to be disabled if if he goes outside, so he becomes a hermit to avoid outdoor content, much to the disappointment of his friends.

Anyways, they try multiple ways of convincing SpongeBob that the outdoor world is worth risking your safety including ice cream, games, and washing an old person, but however, none of it works and they try to convince SpongeBob that they need his help when a gorilla attacks. SpongeBob knows that they're faking it at first, but then a real gorilla arrives and attacks! SpongeBob fianlly gives in and gets the courage to try and do something good, good for him, but it fails, however, one could argue that he did save his friends because he causes him to question about a gorilla being underwater, but I think a better question is how do they know what a gorilla looks like.

Also, for some reason, the gorilla becomes anthropomorphic and says "Oh, well, uh, that's funny you should, I mean, you see-uh, George, they're onto us!" And he and George the horse ride off into the sunset. Weird ending aside, this episode was very funny, it was quite enjoyable seeing SpongeBob's antisocial habit get put to the fullest, antisocial means not wanting to do with the outside world, and see Patrick and Sandy react according to their characters. Squidward's minor appearances were well-timed and funny too.

The highlight of the episode is of course the weird ending.

Ed, Edd n Eddy - "Momma's Little Ed"

Yep, I wanted to review an Ed, Edd n Eddy episode sooner or later. And that's what I'm going to do right now. Today, I'm reviewing this one, it's called "Momma's Little Ed." A little background, this first aired on April 6, 2001, the same the second Fairly OddParents episode aired, as well as the Invader ZIM episode, "NanoZim." The reason I say this is because both Ed, Edd n Eddy and The Fairly OddParents were both animated by Yeson Animation Studios. Now, with that off my chest, let's begin.

While waiting for Double D to finish his chores to go with Ed and Eddy on their play date, Eddy and Ed decide to sabotage this by making fake notes using Double D's parents' handwriting. For those who don't know, Double D's house is filled with sticky notes, even going so far as to put labels all over his bedroom. It goes up from a disgusting broom lint, to dressing up Rolf's pig, Wilfred in s tuxedo, and even up to the point of asking for a cup of sugar from the Kankers. Double D, now frightened and exhausted from all these ridiculous requests decides to stay with Eddy, much to Eddy's disappointment, and the episode ends on a happy note.

Much like its predecessor, Wish You Were Ed, this plot is all over the place, but in a good way, but unlike Wish You Were Ed, this one doesn't even bother to bring up a scam, not every episode needs a scam you know. The fourth wall is broken once again in this episode stating that Kevin was not even in this episode, which is true, and besides I'm not a fan of that character that Kathleen Barr voiced. But I am a fan of her other character she voiced, Marie Kanker, she would later use that voice for my favorite character from MLP: Friendship is Magic, The Great and Powerful Trixie. The reason I say she's my favorite is because since Season 6, Trixie has become a semi-regular of some sorts.

Okay, back on track. The final verdict? This episode is really funny! Especially with the ridiculous requests Ed and Eddy pull on Double D, and even Rolf and the Kankers' appearances were well timed as well. Eddy also regrets kicking Double D out of his own house, mostly because it was mostly Ed's fault for destroying his mirror ball, and speaking of which, as always, Ed is enjoyably stupid and funny, at least he never got flanderized. Know why? Because Danny Antonucci, the creator and director of the show never created the character to make him more stupid, Ed is just a slightly dim-witted person. Overall, this episode has a nice moral, don't leave behind your friends, even if you were the one tricking them. Eddy had to learn that out the hard way.

The Fairly OddParents - "A Wish Too Far!"

Man, I guess it's been a while since I've reviewed a Fairly OddParents episode. But it doesn't matter, since, Butch Hartman has his own interview channel on YouTube, I thought I would review a few episodes again for him. This one is from the first season, it is called "A Wish Too Far!"

Okay, what's the story? Oh yes. Timmy has a crush on Trixie Tang (as we all should know by now), and he wants so desperately for her to see him and like him, but however, that's impossible because he's not popular like Trixie, Veronica, and Tad and Chad are. In a desperate attempt to get attention, Timmy wishes to look like a popular kid just like the aforementioned four, even going so far as to dumping his friends, and even making so many ridiculous wishes to the fairies, without even a please or a thanks, it goes so far in fact that he ends up being sued by Fairy World and sent to Fairy Court. Will they reach the verdict? Stay tuned to find out.

This episode is pretty funny, even if Timmy did indeed act out of character in this one, I like how Timmy pushes away Chester and AJ as well as Veronica suspecting that all this was just a trap which sadly is kind of true. I even like Cosmo's attempt at a laser targeted defense, by acting as a fireman? Don't ask me, they're just showing! If there's one thing I didn't like, it has to be Jorgen Von Strangle in his first appearance here. He sounds too much like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and not too raspy, like how his voice would be later on. And he made the Judge change is mind even though Timmy said he was sorry to the entire court! Only a fire-burning Wanda would stop him, only on one conclusion.

Have we reached the verdict? Guilty or not guilty? Not guilty! This episode is very good. And it also had a good moral, just be yourself. Let's just say Timmy Turner had to learn that out the hard way.

Also, bet you didn't know that SpongeBob storyboard artist, Erik Wiese storyboarded this episode? His only other episode he storyboarded for this show was "Beddy Bye."

Go ahead and give this episode a watch if you haven't already.

Hey Arnold! - "Ms. Perfect"

That's enough Angelica for a while, let's go for something Helga related. How about, hmm.......I know, "Ms. Perfect."

This episode gives the debut appearance of the secondary character, :Lila Sawyer. She's just as cute as Nermal from Garfield and Friends. Helga, Rhonda, and Phoebe do their best to make her fit in, but then they become jealous when Lila has almost about every bit of their personality on her personality check. They're so jealous that they decide to pull some pranks on her, rotten pranks if you ask me. And this is just so mean of these characters to do to a poor innocent little girl.

Okay, what do I like about this episode? Well, Arnold's not in it, it's more focused on Helga and her friends Rhonda and Phoebe. Phoebe's jealous of her knowledge, Rhonda's jealous of Lila's wardrobe, and she even becomes friends with the lunch lady. Do I think Lila's character got a bit Mary Sue at times? Yeah, sure, but not all the way Mary Sue like. And that's what I like about the character, she's not all that perfect, not like Chloe from the Fairly OddParents whose character in the show is very, very forced. Almost as much as changing their animation to Flash Animation is SO forced! Okay, back on track. It's also another one of those Helga Karma Trips. The parts where Helga got beaten up by Big Patty are justified because Helga was acting like a jerk, and it was satisfying to see her get comeuppance for her sour attitude.

I also like the fact that Lila isn't entirely perfect. She doesn't have a mother, and she and her father only have a limited supply of food until her dad can find a steady, well-paying job. Helga and her friends regret all of their actions and apologize to her in the end, and the best news of all, Lila's dad gets a job!

So, the moral of the story is, don't be jealous of your new friends just because they might have the same traits as you, and don't prank them into being miserable. This is a pretty well thought out dramatic episode. Take it from me and watch it. I really felt bad for Lila and Helga when they cried. Well, that's all for now. See you Sunday when I review "Ransom."

SpongeBob - "Texas"

Now, let's review an episode that was later in the first season of SpongeBob, this episode is of course, Texas. No, not the state of this country, I'm talking the episode in general.

The episode is that Sandy gets homesick from being away from Texas after a ocean wave destroyed her Texas shaped sandcastle. So, after she sings about how she misses Texas, Patrick and SpongeBob come up with a plan to try to have Sandy stay in Bikini Bottom. But it doesn't help that when Sandy gets on the bus and leaves for Texas, Patrick says out loud "What's so great about dumb old Texas?" and Sandy overhears this and comes back really ticked off about how he said that. Will they handle this problem, easily? Watch to find out!

Let's now go for the pros and cons on this episode. First off, I like the song that she sings called "Texas," with music composed by Junior Brown and lyrics by current SpongeBob crew members Vincent Waller and Sherm Cohen. The one thing is I never liked is that Patrick and SpongeBob make fun of Texas. You should never insult Texas in any shape or form. It also doesn't help that when they run off for the Krusty Krab, Sandy gives chase and ropes away Patrick and crashes into an explosion. And just when SpongeBob reached the door to the Krusty Krab, it almost looked like he was about to get torn apart by Sandy. Why doesn't he just fight back? Or for that matter, why not this guy?

Yeah, have the Beast come in, save SpongeBob by fighting Sandy like he did with the Killer Wolves from Beauty and the Beast, but also tell SpongeBob, if you haven't made fun of Texas, this wouldn't have happened. But that's just me.

So, bottom line, this episode is okay, it's just not my kind of episode, it's just another typical Sean Dempsey animation directed episode that has crying in it. Maybe it's just me but Sean Dempsey might have a fetish for crying or something.

This is just a weak, weak, episode, with SpongeBob having no brutal strength to fight back at Sandy just because he made fun of Texas, and the fact that there was nobody to save him.

Again, this is all my opinion. If you don't agree with me, that's totally fine. At least the episode that came along with this, "Walking Small" was better.

My Little Pony: The Movie Review

Since it's New Year's Eve, I thought why not ring in the new year with a theatrical review. You see, while the Beauty and the Beast live action remake was a hit, it didn't quite bring in the numbers that the original Beauty and the Beast did. And even the critical reaction to it seemed to be kind of mixed, not even Jeremy of Cinema Sins liked it, nor the Electric Dragon. So, the movie industry went back to the drawing board with My Little Pony: The Movie. I don't think people really knew what to expect with this. I mean, it's a movie based off of the popular animated television series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, And seeing this was from Canada with the American company of Hasbro Could these people do films based of TV shows like Rugrats and SpongeBob did. Because sometimes, films that are based off of TV shows are usually not that good. so people were kind of nervous, but at the same time, they were excited to see their favorite characters on the silver screen. And from my standpoint, My Little Pony: The Movie was as good as The Lion King, Okay, what's the story?

As Canterlot, Equestria is preparing for the annual Friendship Festival featuring a guest appearance by Songbird Serenade, voiced by Sia, an evil force enters the scene with Tempest Shadow and Grubber, voiced by Emily Blunt and Michael Pena respectively, who work for the Storm King as they take over Equestra and freeze up three of the four princesses. And luckily, Twilight Sparkle exits the scene with her friends and Spike, and they go on a mission to save Equestria and find the hippogriffs. Along with meeting some new people along the way, like Capper, voiced by Taye Diggs, Captain Celano, voiced by Zoe Saldana, and Princess Skystar, voiced by role model, Kristin Chenoweth. All this happens while overcoming dangerous parallels along the way. About two-thirds into the movie, Twilight gets captured by Tempest Shadow, and taken to the Storm King. Will the other main five and Spike save her? Well, watch to find out.

And it's great writing by Mulan and Toy Story 2 screenwriter, Rita Hsiao like this that makes this very epic. Yes, Tempest Shadow is kind of a villain, but she does have a backstory, that made Twilight feel bad for her. And yes, The Storm King is technically the villain, but not as much as Tempest Shadow was. But the dilemma that Twilight has to go through is actually a good dilemma. In fact, you're kind of siding with her when she ruined her chances to save Equestria. I even like the character of Princess Skystar, She's a very fun, active character kind of like Pinkie Pie. In fact, all of the characters are. Including Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy. As I said, I've never heard of Emily Blunt before this movie, but her song "Open Up Your Eyes" is a good song, perhaps one of MLP's best. The animation on the characters also looks pretty good. It's almost like the animation used in Friendship, but at the same time, it looks like animation from The Lion King. The dramatic moments are very strong. They're never out of place, they're very emotionally satisfying, and you relate with every single aspect of it. You relate with dealing with the inevitable, what will ultimately happen in the end. What should you do? What's the better thing for yourself and for others? What's the selfish thing? What's the unselfish thing? All this stuff plays in, and it's very, very smart and very, very well done. Also, I like how they also mention "everyone," and "everybody," those phrases are rarely used in the show, mostly because they think "everypony" is a substitute for "everybody" or "everyone." I also like the Jack Nicholson "Here's Johnny!" reference as well.

Just when you thought Friendship is Magic couldn't get any better they surprise us with this very well-told, well-written, well-developed, interesting story by Meghan McCarthy, Michael Vogel, and Rita Hsiao, not a rehash, not a ripoff, It's clever, it's funny, it's dramatic, it's visually interesting, it's musically interesting, the characters are wonderful. I've gone on about it long enough. See it if you haven't already.

By the way, I hope you enjoyed all my reviews I've done this December. Have a Happy New Year and I'll see you in January.


This review is dedicated in loving memory to my idol,

Mary Tyler Moore 1936-2017. The star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Change of Habit, The Dick Van Dyke Show, a guest star on That '70s Show, as well as the founder of MTM Enterprises.

Gullah Gullah Island - "The Binyah Binyah Polliwog Show"

Now, I'm going to review an episode of a certain show that aired on Nick Jr. from 1994 to at least 1999, if you count the reruns. That of course being "Gullah Gullah Island." This is an interesting episode because portions of this episode are featured on a certain video produced by Lyrick Studios and the Character Counts Coalition. That of course being

Kids for Character, which also starred Tom Selleck, The Puzzle Place, Barney the Dinosaur, Lily Tomlin of The Magic School Bus, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, and Babar. Clips from this episode are featured during the "Caring" segment, except, they were edited pretty badly, why couldn't they show the complete episode? I still like Eddie Coker though. Anyway, let's begin the review.

The story has Binyah Binyah getting into a few accidents. For example, he accidentally knocks down the clubhouse that James, Ron, and the kids were building out of blocks. Once that's been forgiven, they play a game of limbo with a broomstick, when suddenly, it goes too low that Binyah Binyah eventually breaks the broomstick.....IN HALF! (insert Supermariologoan reference here) James gets so frustrated and angry that he tells Binyah Binyah to take a time out far, far away! Poor polliwog never stood a chance. But anyways, moments later, Natalie tries to help James remember the good times he's had with Binyah Binyah, as well as experience a flashback where he and his friends first met Binyah Binyah. When James finally decides to forgive Binyah Binyah, it doesn't help that the polliwog is gone missing! Will James be able to forgive Binyah Binyah? Stay tuned to find out!

I was curious about this particular episode, so, I had to look up the full episode myself. And I'm going to lay down some of the stuff Kids for Character cut out right now. They cut out the theme song, the opening where they build the clubhouse, they cut the two verses of "Underneath the Broomstick," and they cut the part where Shaina and Ron meet up with Ranger Mike, THEY CUT THE RANGER MIKE SEGMENT FOR PETE SAKE! And they cut James remembering the time he first met Binyah Binyah, and they also cut off the song all about Binyah Binyah Polliwog, as well as Natalie's closing message. So, the only way to really see this thing is uncut on iTunes, Amazon Prime use to have this, but not anymore. And don't bother buying the made-on-demand DVD of the first season that includes this episode because it's difficult to play on your computer.

Okay, enough complaining about the edits, let's talk about what I do like about the episode. It's educational, it had some good laughs, and it had a good moral, sometimes we all make mistakes or do these wrong, and we feel embarrassed or sad when somebody scolds us. But that's no reason to run away. Just because someone's angry at you doesn't mean they don't love you, believe me, love is a lot stronger than anger, and when the anger goes away, the love will still be there. This is a good moral that taught us all about caring and forgiveness, kind of like how "God Wants Me to Forgive Them?!?" did. And it has a nice song called "Friends and Family."

Go ahead and watch this episode on iTunes, you can also find the two songs "Underneath the Broomstick," and "Friends and Family" on the 1995 VHS tape, "Binyah's Surprise." Watch it if you run across it.