Author Archives: Joe

April 1, 2016

Final Fantasy XV – Platinum Demo Impressions

By Joe
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Final Fantasy XV – Platinum Demo

This is going to be a rare quick one from me. Square-Enix on Wednesday night released a ton of information about its upcoming game, Final Fantasy XV, including a release date, collector’s edition stuff, and so on. Along with that was a demo release dubbed the Platinum Demo. You may be aware, but last year a more traditional demo was released for FFXV as a pre-order bonus for PS4 versions of Final Fantasy Type-0, an upscaled PSP game previously unreleased outside of Japan. I did not play that demo as I really didn’t have much interest in a PS4 version of a PSP game, but I did download this new one.

The Platinum Demo is a non-traditional demo, unlike the first demo released. Instead of being dropped into a sequence from the upcoming game, the demo has you play through a  dream sequence starring a child version of the game’s main character, Noctis. This dream sequence is not going to be included with the full-version of the game, which gives it a unique experience, but it’s also fairly traditional in the sense that it gives the player an understanding of how the game will play.

Tetsuya Nomura was the original director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which has since become Final Fantasy XV. Nomura is best known as the mind behind Square’s Kingdom Hearts series. As such, it should come as no surprise that elements from that series have found their way into FFXV, and yet it still does come as a shock to find that FFXV essentially is a Kingdom Hearts game. What I mean by that is that the game is a true action RPG and the feeling of just about everything gameplay-wise is Kingdom Hearts. Be it the combat, the camera, the way Noctis even jumps, it all feels like Kingdom Hearts. This is not really a good thing, in the opinion of this writer. The strength of Kingdom Hearts has always been less on the gameplay and more on the fan-service combing Disney and Square products. I’ve always found the gameplay to be adequate, and it’s improved, but it’s also always been flawed. Sora felt stiff, floaty, and the camera is just a constant battle. The series has improved since the original, but the criticism still remains. The FFXV demo has all of that, just no Mickey Mouse.

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The Platinum Demo places the player in the role of a child version of Noctis and explores some fantastic settings.

The demo itself guides you through it in a pretty tame way. Death is apparently impossible and the enemies, aside from the boss at the end, are pretty inept. A familiar friend serves as the guide for Noctis, Carbuncle, who’s appeared as a summon in multiple Final Fantasy games. He’s been redesigned only slightly, appearing as a fox/kitten hybrid that would feel right at home in a Pokemon game. I cannot deny, he’s pretty cute, and he also looks pretty believable. Easily the demo’s strongest point is the presentation, as the game looks great. There are a few moments of self-indulgence that serve it well, though also a couple of hiccup moments where the frame-rate seems to chug. We’ll have to wait and see how the main game holds up. Supposedly completing the game will allow Carbuncle to be used in the main game so there’s incentive to not only finish the demo, but keep it installed on your PS4/Xbox One.

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A familiar foe is waiting at the end.

The demo is fairly linear, though it does give the player some time to just mess around. It offers a few locations, one of which sees Noctis miniaturized in a home which is quite a bit of fun to explore. There’s also some “plates” on the floor that serve as triggers. Most of these speed up time to show-off the day/night cycle and some give Noctis a new weapon to try out. A select few transform Noctis into either a car, crocodile-like monster, or a deer-like monster. They’re kind of neat, and I have no idea (aside from the car) if these transformations are indicative of anything in the main game, but they’re a fun diversion here. The final boss encounter of the demo seems to be the only moment where the combat is opened up a bit and we get a better idea of how the game will eventually play out. Like Kingdom Hearts 3D, Noctis is able to warp around the battlefield and utilize attacks from advantageous positions. These attacks consume MP, which is constantly regenerating, and seem like they’ll be necessary components of future battles in the game. The game presents button prompts for counters and attacks, which I assume is part of the learning process. I didn’t feel like I got a good grasp of what was going on, and there’s definitely going to be a learning curve to combat even though it’s fairly simple at its base.

The Platinum Demo for Final Fantasy XV left me unconvinced. Immediately when it ends the demo asks if you would like to pre-order the full game and I did not have to think long about how to answer that. I’m still holding out hope that the full game will turn out well, but I’m struggling to understand the creative direction of this title. I know it started off as a spin-off, and the decision to make it the next proper title in the series was probably more of a financial decision than anything, but the game just feels unnecessary. It’s way too similar to Kingdom Hearts right now. Fans of that series who have thought to themselves “I really want Final Fantasy to play more like this” should be happy. Others will probably just wonder what happened to one of gaming’s most iconic franchises. Final Fantasy has a real identity crisis on its hands. I don’t know where the series needs to go, but I feel like this isn’t the best destination for it.

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March 27, 2016

The Sword in the Stone

By Joe
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The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Walt Disney’s The Sword in the Stone has the distinction of being the final animated film released during Walt Disney’s lifetime. It was also just the second feature completed using the Xerox process introduced with the previous film One-Hundred and One Dalmatians. Given that it was the final animated feature Walt laid eyes on, it’s a bit surprising that the film isn’t more well-known. It’s not considered one of the studio’s classics, being relegated to that second tier of features that isn’t considered worthy of a “Diamond” release on home video. Based on the novel by T.H. White, The Sword in the Stone tells the tale of a young King Arthur and his tutoring by the wizard Merlin to prepare him for when he sits on the throne. There are numerous elements of fantasy and it’s a tale familiar to Disney fans in design as it follows a young misfit’s rise to importance through self-discovery. In a way, it’s like the male-equivalent of a Cinderella.

The story opens with a montage focusing on the death of Uther Pendragon and the tale of his sword which was magically sealed in an anvil and only the true ruler of England can remove it. We’re then soon introduced to our unlikely hero, Arthur, who goes by the name of Wart. Wart is an orphan taken in by Sir Ector and his ambition is to one day squire for his foster brother, Kay. Similar to Cinderella, Wart is treated like a servant by his foster family often forced to clean the kitchen and do household chores while Kay is being steered towards knighthood by his father. Sir Ector dangles the potential of being Kay’s squire as a carrot for Wart, but it would seem the old knight has no real intention of letting the boy actually serve in that capacity, preferring someone of noble birth for his true born son.

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Archimedes, Merlin’s crotchety owl, steals many of the scenes he is in.

Fortunately for young Wart, he has Merlin looking out for him. The old wizard has been to the future and back numerous times and has foreseen the coming of Arthur, right down to where Wart will fall through his roof for their first “chance” encounter. Merlin is not quite a bumbling old wizard, but he is a bit forgetful which at times gets the duo in trouble when he needs to recall the words to an important spell. He is accompanied by his owl, Archimedes, who in true Disney fashion is fully capable of speech. Archimedes is a grumpy sort but incredibly intelligent, often foreseeing the trouble Merlin is about to get himself into. Despite his prickly nature, he is a loyal pet and does look out for Merlin, and eventually, Wart as well.

Merlin is forced to endear himself to Sir Ector in order to serve as Wart’s tutor. He’s permitted to inhabit the old tower outside the keep, which is badly in need of repairs. The bulk of the film consists of Merlin trying to teach Wart lessons that will serve him well as king in the future, often by way of changing Wart into another creature to experience nature from another perspective. This is how the film sources its various gags as Wart becoming a small fish inevitably leads to him being viewed as food by a hungry predator. The best gags probably occur when Merlin changes the two into squirrels and an eager female takes a liking to Wart. These scenes are fairly light and innocuous and Disney tries to incorporate some danger into them, though the characters rarely feel like they’re in true peril. The film also doesn’t take many risks with its humor, often resorting to the simplest of jokes which contributes to the film’s safe tone. The climax of the film actually arrives rather quickly with little fanfare or much teasing of the outcome giving the film a rather abrupt ending. It’s not all together unsatisfying, but the film could have perhaps lingered a little longer with the fallout of Arthur pulling the sword. Once again, this invites a comparison to Cinderella in how that film is essentially over once she puts on the glass slipper and we don’t really see the fallout with her step family.

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The film sources a lot of its humor from the repeating gag of Merlin having some object or knowledge of the future.

Narratively speaking, The Sword in the Stone is a simple tale that’s not likely to offend, but also not likely to delight in the ways some other Disney films do. When the narrative is a bit lacking, these films turn to two important components: their looks and their songs. The Sherman Brothers contributed to the film and it’s not one of their best efforts. Merlin’s song, “Higitus Figitus” sounds like a “Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo” knock-off that’s not nearly as charming. The best sequence is probably the villainous Mim’s number “Mad Madam Mim” but it’s not exactly memorable when compared with other Disney tracks. Being that the film was done with Xerox, it’s also not as attractive as Disney’s best, but it is a step-up from Dalmatians. The backgrounds have a bit more personality, though there are scenes of flat, monochrome, backdrops that feel lazy. These are mostly reserved for some of the interior shots as the exterior ones look quite good. They’re not on the same level as Bambi, and The Jungle Book would do better, but they’re perfectly fine to look at. The characters have a sketch quality to them, a hallmark of the Xerox process, but it seems to suit the subject matter of the film better here than others. The film had the opportunity to add some nice visual effects for all of the transforming scenes, but chose the easy way out and just had the characters vanish in a puff of smoke only to reappear as a fish, squirrel, etc.

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Because every film with swords and wizards needs a dragon.

If you head over to Amazon.com and check out reviews of the Blu Ray release, you will see a lot of negative ones regarding the film’s transfer. I view all of the my movies that I review on Blu Ray on a 55″ LED television and I use a Playstation 4 to watch them. I found my viewing experience to be fine so maybe I’m not as big of an animation snob as I thought. I also do not own the film’s older DVD release so I can’t compare the two. It’s possible people are just sensitive to the scratchy Xerox look now that it’s being presented in high-definition, and being one of the older films, The Sword in the Stone has minimal clean-up in that regard. This film also did not get a Diamond release, so I don’t expect it to look as good as something like The Jungle Book, so maybe expectations should be held in check. Simply put, if you decide to purchase this film and find it’s not up to your standards you can always return it.

The Sword in the Stone is a rather basic entry in the Disney catalogue. It can entertain kids and adults but only so much. It’s probably rare to find the fan that says this is their favorite Disney film, but it’s also probably just as hard to find someone who detests it.

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March 19, 2016

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

By Joe
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Studio Ghibli is a cultural institution in its native Japan. It’s credited with the anime revival of the 1980’s and for popularizing the form in and outside of Japan. Many of its films have gone on to influence not just anime, but other works of animation as well with its characters even making cameos in Pixar films. Studio Ghibli was officially founded in 1985, but many consider its beginning to be with the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Released in 1984, it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and future Ghibli director Isao Takahata was named producer. The film’s success is essentially what founded Studio Ghibli with most of the crew joining the studio.

Nausicaä is a film that almost didn’t happen. Fresh off his well received directorial debut in Lupin III:  Castle of Cagliostro, Miyazaki was approached to direct another feature length anime picture by Animage. Miyazaki came up with the concept for Nausicaä then, but the studio wasn’t interested and the project was aborted. Miyazaki took Nausicaä to the manga form where he was able to build up a fanbase for the property leading to another opportunity to bring the story to the anime form.

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Nausicaä atop her glider.

It’s easy to see why Nausicaä is considered the spiritual beginning for Studio Ghibli. It goes beyond the fact that it’s a feature-length anime production featuring names that would become synonymous with Ghibli. The film, thematically, is very much in line with a great many of Ghibli’s films, most obviously the one’s directed by Miyazaki. The film contains a female protagonist with a Buddhist-like point of view towards nature and the people around her. The film can simply be described as an environmental picture that also strongly endorses pacifism, subject matter that would be covered in other Miyazaki works with the most obvious being Princess Mononoke. The film’s themes are clear and easy for any viewer, even the very young, to pick up on. The film’s themes are so obvious and central to the plot that it’s one of weaknesses as well as Miyazaki would become better skilled at relaying his message in future films with more skill and subtlety. The film’s directness sometimes leads to stilted dialogue and some uninteresting villains.

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In the path of an enraged Ohm is not someplace you want to be.

Beyond the film’s sometimes amateur story-telling, there aren’t a lot of negatives to be had. The film focuses on the princess Nausicaä, who lives in a small dessert village on the outskirts of the poisoned forest. Mankind is forced to live in a world dominated by insects with the most formidable being the massive, tank-like Ohm, following an apocalyptic event occurring a thousand years before the events of the film. These insects are hated and feared by most of humanity and the toxic forests they inhabit slowly kill the people who live close by. Warring factions of humanity eventually bring harm to Nausicaä’s home with her people becoming casualties of war when a prison ship crashes on the outskirts of the village. Nausicaä is able to rescue one of the passengers who instructs her to destroy the ship’s cargo: the remains of a Giant Warrior which brought about the apocalypse of a thousand years ago. The owners of the ship, the Tolmeki empire, come after the ship and its contents bring their war to Nausicaä’s doorstep. The princess is pressed into battle and even takes human life in the process, but it’s all for naught. The Tolmekians, lead by a princess of their own named Kushana, wish to revive the Giant Warrior to destroy the poisoned forest. The village priest deems this unwise as doing so would only incite the Ohm who’s massive stampedes have brought great destruction to humanity in the past.

The Tolmekians are also embroiled in conflict with the Pejite people. Kushana, taking Nausicaä as hostage to ensure the cooperation of her people, and her airships encounter the Pejite which allows Nausicaä to escape. Circumstance forces her into working with a Pejite pilot and the two discover an amazing secret beneath the toxic forest. Nausicaä’s journey becomes one of self-discovery for herself and her world. With few people even interested in understanding the Ohm and the forests they dwell in, she finds herself as the only one who can prevent a second cataclysmic event that would surely doom her people as well as others. The machinations of the film’s plot are easy to follow and easy to predict. Still, the end result is not particularly harmed by this as the film presents a satisfying climax and conclusion for the story.

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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

As a protagonist, Nausicaä (voices by Alison Lohman in the english dub) is easy to like and understand. Her sense of adventure is contagious and represented most by her mastery of a unique jet-propelled glider she often zips through the sky on. She has a special empathy with nature which is shown early in the film. She’s fearless and possesses a strong conviction for what is right. She kills early in the film out of rage and self-defense and is affected by it. Through her actions we can see she would make an excellent killer if that was her aim, but chooses a different and noble path. Her closest ally is the sword master Lupa (Patrick Stewart), who also seems to embody a form of pacifism as we don’t see him kill in his parts of the film, though we see him demonstrate his incredible talent with a blade in each hand. Asbel (Shia LaBeouf), the Pejite pilot Nausicaä befriends, is our set-in-his-ways character who learns to see the world through a new lens during his trials. He’s the character most affected by Nausicaä and her outlook on life.

The film is set with many suspenseful moments like daring escapes from doomed aircraft and stunning rescues. Much of the film takes place in the air as the most prevalent piece of technology in the film are the massive airships piloted by the Tolmekians and Pejite. Anyone familiar with Miyazaki’s works know he’s a lover of aviation so it’s not surprising to find it here. When the film is not in the air the setting either shifts to vast desserts or the wondrous toxic forests. The forests are portrayed in cool shades of green and blue with mostly imaginative looking flora, some of which looks like it belongs under the sea. The look of the film is a bit dated, which should be expected of a thirty-year old picture. Still, it’s not unpleasant to look at and it still has some wonderful moments. The audio is also a bit dated, mostly in the sound effects department, but the score (Joe Hisaishi) is easily the part of the film that best stands the test of time. The english dub is also handled well by Disney and the Blu Ray release contains the Japanese audio for purists.

Anime fans owe a great deal to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Not only did its popularity and success in Japan help to pave the way for future anime releases, but its butchered original western release helped to convince Miyazaki and others to oversea the localization of future films. Studio Ghibli’s famed “no cuts” policy is born from Nausicaä and I think all fans of animation can agree that’s something we’re all happy is in place. It’s hard to separate a film, or any work of art, from its legacy, but in doing so Nausicaä still holds up us a nice picture worthy to rest in the library of Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli films. As a legacy piece, it’s a fascinating look at the beginnings of a great director and a fun piece of nostalgia for animation buffs around the world.

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February 7, 2016

Lego Ghostbuster Firehouse

By Joe

IMG_1125It’s been nearly two years since Lego unleashed its version of the famed Ecto-1 from the movie Ghostbusters. It’s been even longer since a concept for that vehicle,, as well as the firehouse appeared online. When Lego opted to only do the Ecto-1 set I thought that was it for the firehouse and Ghostbusters fans would have to make due with one very fine set. Imagine my surprise when an email showed up on my account from Lego advertising the new Ghostbuster Firehouse set. I don’t usually keep up to date with toy news so this came as a shock to me. I was quite delighted with what I saw, but a case of sticker shock tempered my enthusiasm some. I got past that though, and would end up making the most expensive toy purchase of my life.

How much is too much for a set of plastic building blocks? Especially when the purchaser is an adult. I don’t know, but it can’t be much more than the $349.99 MSRP for the Ghostbuster Firehouse. Set number 75827 is indeed a pricey one but it’s also an impressive one. Totaling over 4600 pieces, the iconic firehouse is a mighty 2 feet in height and just as long. Multiple hinges make it very accessible on the interior and the three-floor layout provides optimal space for the nine mini figures and three ghosts it comes with. The interior is surprisingly movie accurate, in particular the first floor with the placement of Janine and Venkman’s desks. Pretty much everything important from the films is present including the fire pole, “dancing” toaster, and containment unit. When compared with the layout of The Simpson house, it blows it away in terms of screen to brick accuracy, which is what many adult collectors care about most.

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A cut-away look at the completed house.

With such a large assortment of pieces, the build process is a slow one. Not being one who has extensive experience with Lego sets, it took me a solid week to complete the set basically spending a couple hours per night. I didn’t try to go too fast and wanted to savor the build as it’s what is most fun about these things. Lego sets are like puzzles but with way better results. Because the building is so large, some parts do get a bit tedious. In particular, the actual exterior of the building. Lego tries to break that process up as much as possible but it’s an unavoidable reality of such a set. Other limitations of the set include the lack of a basement, but Lego made the wise choice to tuck the containment unit in under the stairs. Ecto-1 fits inside, but not all the way without removing Janine’s desk, which is unfortunate, but understandable since the set is already pretty damn big. The bedroom layout is not exact to the film either, but sacrifices have to be made somewhere. Lego still managed to fit all three beds into the room without making it look ridiculous.

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Slimed Peter and possessed Dana.

The set includes nine mini figures and three ghosts, one of which is Slimer. Expectedly another set of Ghostbusters are included. For the most part, they’re the same as the four included with Ecto-1 but with a couple of differences. For one, each character now has the no ghosts logo on their sleeve which looks nice. Winston has a different, and better, hair piece so he looks less like Billy Dee Williams. Venkman is the only true variant though as he comes slimed from his first encounter with Slimer (he too sports a superior hair piece to the one that came with the Ecto-1 set). He looks great and I am particularly fond of his angry face. Janine is also included, as are possessed versions of Dana and Louis. Louis even comes with a second head that includes a chin-strap so he can wear a colander on his head to recreate the scene where Egon checks him out. The library ghost is featured and she has a second hair piece to go from calm book reader to screaming ghoul. The ghost from the taxi cab is also included. He looks good, but is kind of an odd choice since he doesn’t have his car and the set really misses Walter Peck. I suppose Peck is generic enough looking that one could find a decent substitute somewhere. Slimer looks great and has movable arms. The other two ghosts are suitable and kind of remind me of the generic ghosts that came with the old action figures. Three transparent stick-like pieces are included for each ghost to simulate flight. All in all, the set includes a nice assortment of mini figures.

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R.I.P. H.R.

The Ghostbusters come armed with proton packs that have to be assembled. They’re the same as the packs from the Ecto-1 set. They also have traps (which look better than the one that came with the Ecto-1 set) and walkie talkies and Egon has a PK Meter. Clutter abounds in the firehouse in the form of magazines, news papers, and cardboard boxes. They seem simple, but add a nice touch of authenticity. The best little nugget of the set though goes to the sticker on Venkman’s backboard which has a note on it that says “R.I.P. H.R.” for Harold Ramis. Way to make it dusty in here, Lego.

If you love the Ghostbusters and have the extra coin laying around, this is one hell of a set and a fun way to spend some free time. The end result makes for an impressive display and if you have kids that you trust, it’s probably pretty fun to play with too. It blows away that old firehouse toy I had when I was a kid (I love how the fire pole accessory here is basically the same concept as it feels like a callback to my old, beloved, toy) and it’s easily the finest Lego set I’ve ever purchased. I can’t think of another set that would make sense for Lego to produce based on the Ghostbusters. I suppose they could do a rooftop scene from the climax of the first film but I don’t think I’d be interested. A big Lego figure of Stay-Puft would be awesome though! I don’t know if this set is worth $350, but I did have fun with it and I don’t regret my purchase. A job well done, Lego!

 

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December 25, 2015

#1 – Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

By Joe
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Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

Most people that know me personally are not surprised by my choice for number 1 on my list of the best Christmas specials of all time. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a holiday classic of the finest order. Few films and television shows are able to delight all of the applicable senses like this one does. Allow me to list the ways.

First of all, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was animated and produced by Chuck Jones, one of the greatest masters of the animated short. Jones is known primarily for his work with Bugs Bunny, and when he was tasked with bringing the Grinch to television he brought his A game. The Grinch exudes personality. He’s angry, grumpy, and is delighted with himself while acting out his schemes. He’s his own biggest fan. And that smile! Probably the most memorable part of the special is that moment when the Grinch gets his wonderful, awful idea. There’s a bit of a cat-like quality to his face (Seuss himself remarked it looked too much like Chuck Jones) but also this sort of odd, plant quality as well. He’s much more interesting to look at here than he was in the original book. In addition to the titular character, the setting of Who-Ville looks great and very Seuss-like. Little was lost in translation, and the whole world really pops when it needs to. Voiceless characters like Max are animated beautifully as well. Even though Max never speaks, we always know what he’s thinking and feeling. He’s also the most empathetic character in the film.

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The money shot.

In addition to the wonderful style and supreme animation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! also features some excellent voice acting and an iconic score. All of the songs are originals which is quite the rarity for a Christmas special. The flagship song is undoubtedly “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” song by Thurl Ravenscroft in an uncredited role. The song is stretched to cover the meat of the special and it’s up to the task. The lyrics are suitable and the song is incredibly quotable decades later. The uptempo instrumental when the Grinch and Max are racing down the side of Mt. Crumpet is compelling, and the other songs are catchy in their own right. This is a soundtrack I have no problems listening to around the holidays. Rounding things out, Boris Karloff narrates the tale and provides a voice for the Grinch. His depiction is spot-on for the character as he adds a slight growl to his voice when he reads the Grinch’s line. No voice of the Grinch since has come close to matching Karloff’s delivery. June Foray even pops up once again as Cindy Lou Who. Her presence is a small one, but as usual for her, she’s perfect for the role.

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It’s pretty impressive how many creative sequences can be found in this one short.

The special is flat-out entertaining, but it also has the required good Christmas message needed to be a timeless Christmas classic. And here it’s kept to a simple one, which is that Christmas isn’t about the material things but the time spent with family. The Grinch has no family at the start so he can only see the material aspect of Christmas, which he comes to loathe and attempts to steal. Of course, Christmas can’t be stolen and the Grinch realizes that in the end. It’s an easy concept to grasp and it’s told well.

The animated version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is the best way to experience this classic story. The original book is wonderful in its own right, but is less thrilling than its television counterpart and obviously lacks the musical numbers. The feature film is a piece of garbage in which the Grinch character is reduced to a generic Jim Carrey screw-ball. The unfortunate thing is its title is identical to the short’s so it’s easy to get the two confused when looking at a television listing. Since How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is such a classic, it’s featured prominently on television on both network TV and cable. It’s also readily available on DVD and Blu Ray. Next year will mark the special’s 50th anniversary and hopefully it will be properly celebrated on TV just like Rudolph and Charlie Brown have been recently (and maybe it will receive its own line of stamps from the USPS too). Since it’s now Christmas Day, the Grinch has probably already received his last showing on television for the 2015 season so hopefully you didn’t miss it, and if you did, you have a copy to watch today. There’s no doubt in my mind that Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is the greatest Christmas special ever made. I doubt it will ever be topped.

Thus concludes this top 25 countdown. I hope you enjoyed it and that my rankings didn’t infuriate you too much. I also hope you had a great holiday season and a very merry Christmas. See you in 2016!

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December 24, 2015

#2 – Mickey’s Christmas Carol

By Joe
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Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

Mickey’s Christmas Carol marked the return of the most famous cartoon mouse to the big screen for the first time in 30 years. Once a staple of the cinematic experience, Mickey had been pushed aside for other characters (namely Donald Duck) and live-action features. It had been even longer since Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had all appeared in the same short.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol was released in 1983 along with the The Rescuers. As shorts go, it’s actually pretty long, which has helped it over the years in being shown on television because it fits easily into a standard half-hour time-slot. Mickey’s Christmas Carol also goes against one of my personal tenants of Christmas specials which is to avoid adaptations of A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life. That’s often the path of the lazy, but Mickey’s Christmas Carol benefits as being one of the earlier adaptations, and for some reason, it just works.

The story is obviously familiar to most people. It’s a pretty straight-forward retelling of the Dickens classic just with Disney characters acting out the parts (only the animal characters though, no humans allowed). The cast features the old popular ones of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie while also mixing in cameos from The Winds in the Willow, Silly Symphonies, and Robin Hood, among others. This is also the first short to feature Scrooge McDuck as the character he was born to play. He’s voiced by Alan Young, known to audiences as Wilbur from Mister Ed, who has continued to voice the character even into his 90’s. Another debut is Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, just the third voice actor to portray the character. Clarence “Ducky” Nash also gets a final opportunity to voice Donald Duck, before the character would be passed onto Tony Anselmo. As a result, Mickey’s Christmas Carol feels like a really important short in the company’s history as there’s a lot of historical significance that can be attached to it.

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Gets me every time.

All of that stuff is great, but it wouldn’t matter if the story sucked. Instead, the story is told in a brisk, but not rushed, manner. The shots that need to linger, linger, and the ones that can be hurried along are. The animation is vintage Disney, with Scrooge walking home in the snow from his counting house probably my favorite shot. All of the right emotions hit, and Scrooge’s transformation from miserable miser to benevolent boss is done in a believable way. Just try to suppress the lump in your throat when Mickey is seen crying at the grave of Tiny Tim in the flash-forward. That sight would transform any man!

Mickey’s Christmas Carol has a special place in my heart. It was the lead-off special on a homemade VHS tape my mom made for my sister and I when we were really little. As a result, it’s also probably the Christmas special I’ve seen more than any other. Since Disney is omnipresent on television, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is shown quite frequently around the holidays, so hopefully you didn’t miss it this year. It’s also been released multiple times on DVD and Blu Ray, most recently just two years ago. Though if you really want to own a copy of it, I suggest you pony up the extra dollars for Mickey Mouse: In Living Color Volume 2 so you can also enjoy a bunch of Mickey’s other classic shorts.

 

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December 23, 2015

#3 – A Chipmunk Christmas

By Joe
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A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)

Few properties have managed to return from obscurity like The Chipmunks. They originated in song with “The Witch Doctor” and ended up getting an animated television show. That show faded and their popularity waned, but was resurrected in 1981 with A Chipmunk Christmas which celebrated their popular Christmas song “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” The success of the special lead to a new animated series called Alvin and The Chipmunks and a string of direct to video films. Now the Chipmunks are back as a film property after a long absence and they even have a new TV show. They’re not exactly well received by critics, but kids seem to love them again.

The quality of these various shows and films has never exactly been the best, but the original Alvin Show has some genuine humor which A Chipmunk Christmas gets right. What the Christmas special does better though is add a little heart. The story goes that Dave, the Chipmunks’ guardian and manager, is getting his boys geared up to play a Christmas Eve concert while the boys are more interested in just being boys. That is until Alvin finds out about a little boy Tommy who’s very sick and also a big fan of The Chipmunks. What Tommy wants more than anything for Christmas is a golden Echo harmonica, which Alvin so happens to be in possession of. He sneaks away from a recording session to give Tommy the harmonica, under the guise of saying Tommy won a contest, but Alvin is afraid Dave will be mad at him when finds out he gave away his harmonica. Especially once it’s reveled that Alvin is expected to play it as part of their Christmas Eve show.

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The Chipmunks received a slight redesign for their special, which would be further modified for the TV show Alvin and The Chipmunks.

This is one of those stories where the audience is naturally frustrated because the protagonist has done the right thing but is misunderstood. Alvin becomes consumed with making enough money to buy a new harmonica so Dave won’t know he gave away the original, but Dave just sees Alvin’s schemes from the outside as Alvin being selfish. Since this is a Christmas special, Alvin does eventually find a way out of his predicament when an old woman (voiced by the immortal June Foray, who pops up a lot in Christmas specials) offers to buy him a new harmonica for helping her out. The special culminates with the concert, and the ending has a nice little surprise for the viewer which might be my favorite ending of any Christmas special.

The Chipmunks may have seen their popularity seesaw over the years, but their Christmas special has remained timeless. With their renewed popularity, A Chipmunk Christmas has returned to television after a lengthy absence, though I never came across it this year. The special is widely available on DVD and Blu Ray and can be streamed online for free. This one is a classic that hits all of the right notes by being funny, charming, and has a great Christmas message. Don’t hold those new movies against it.

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December 22, 2015

#4 – A Charlie Brown Christmas

By Joe
CHARLIE BROWN TRIES TO PERK UP THE FORLORN LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Old Chuck has been around for awhile now. No one can say his special has failed to stand the test of time. And even so, the origins of A Charlie Brown Christmas are pretty humble ones. Few expected it to be a success, especially after creator Charles Schulz wanted Linus to recite a passage from The Bible on the meaning of Christmas. The production values were low, and basically every voice actor was an amateur, and a kid.

Despite all of that, A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a monumental success. It has lead to numerous other Peanuts themed holiday specials and television shows. It’s soundtrack has been a best seller and its main theme “Linus and Lucy,” composed by Vince Guaraldi, has become the official theme of the Peanuts brand.

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The soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas is almost as famous as the actual special.

The story goes, Charlie Brown is depressed around the holidays because he doesn’t really understand what’s so great about Christmas. Part of that is derived from the rampant commercialism surrounding him and also by the fact that no one seems to like him. Lucy, in a rare moment of compassion, decides to offer Charlie Brown the position of director for their Christmas play. She seems to think the play will direct itself and Chuck couldn’t possibly screw it up. When Charlie Brown arrives at the auditorium he finds everyone is only interested in dancing around and few are serious about putting on the play. Frustrated, he decides to get a tree which just makes things worse, prompting Linus’s famous speech.

Amongst the specials on this countdown, A Charlie Brown Christmas is easily the most secular. It does so without turning off the unreligious, with the biblical meaning of Christmas serving as a reminder that the holiday isn’t all about getting presents and seeing who has the most lights on their house.  Still, I’m sure the devout Christians out there probably appreciate what A Charlie Brown Christmas has to say since most specials ignore that Jesus fellow.

Now obviously the special has become a bit of an ironic one. The primary message of A Charlie Brown Christmas is that commercialism has distorted the holiday’s message, and yet today, few properties have become more commercialized than Charlie Brown. Especially this year when the special celebrates its 50th year. None of this causes the actual special to be any less charming, and I certainly don’t mind the abundance of Charlie Brown merchandise as it’s an easy fail-safe when shopping for Christmas gifts.

As one of the most popular Christmas specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas is featured prominently on television and is also available on DVD and Blu Ray. It was shown this year along with a one hour special celebrating its 50th anniversary. If you missed that broadcast it will be shown again on Christmas Eve on ABC.

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December 21, 2015

#5 – Mickey Mouse: Pluto’s Christmas Tree

By Joe
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“Pluto’s Christmas Tree” (1952)

A few days ago we looked at “Toy Tinkers” and today we look at its spiritual sequel, “Pluto’s Christmas Tree.” Despite its title, this one is actually considered a Mickey Mouse short (and fun piece of trivia, this i the theatrical short debut of Jimmy MacDonald as Mickey) and not a Pluto one. Like “Toy Tinkers,” it features the duo of Chip and Dale as they try to move-in to Mickey’s house.

The short opens with Mickey and Pluto searching for a Christmas tree. Chip and Dale see the two and decide to have a little fun with Pluto, who ends up chasing them up a tree. Mickey, of course, settles on that specific tree for his Christmas tree and Chip and Dale, electing not try and elude Pluto, go along for the ride and end up in Mickey’s house. Mickey and Pluto decorate the tree and the chipmunks come to enjoy their new surroundings, especially when they find the bowl of nuts on the mantle. Pluto takes note, and unable to get Mickey to notice, ends up trying to evict Chip and Dale himself which results in disaster.

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Dear Mickey’s Christmas Tree, I want to be inside you.

The setup maybe similar to “Toy Tinkers,” but the gags are separate. Pluto, being unable to speak, is easy to feel for because he’s obviously frustrated by his inability to communicate to Mickey that they have a rodent problem. Chip and Dale, naturally, have no interest in leaving the warm confines of the house and refuse to go without a fight. They’re a bit villainous though, and I find myself naturally drawn to Pluto, though the spirit of the holidays would say everyone should coexist in peace. The artwork is excellent, especially the backgrounds. Seriously, the Disney artists convinced me living in that tree would be bliss. It’s funny and cute, and its more inclusive attitude towards the Christmas holiday helps elevate it above “Toy Tinkers” for me, but both should be considered holiday classics.

“Pluto’s Christmas Tree” is actually rather easy to come by. It’s been re-released many times on various holiday collection DVDs and sometimes is shown on television during the holidays. Most recently it was included as a bonus feature on the DVD/Blu Ray release of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” which has yet to return to “The Vault.” However you choose to view it, I suggest you make the time to watch it this year and every year after.

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December 20, 2015

#6 – The Simpsons: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

By Joe
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“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (1989)

The holiday most often associated with The Simpsons is clearly Halloween, thanks to the annual presence from the Treehouse of Horror series. Which is why I find it funny that the show’s very first episode was a Christmas special (though it should be noted, it was the 8th episode by production order). I can’t think of another long-running show that lead-off with a Christmas special. South Park famously originated as a Christmas short, but that wasn’t its first true episode. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” also aired a full month before the show’s second episode so that it could air before Christmas. It was also not written by Matt Groening, or any of the other individuals most associated with the show, but cartoonist Mimi Pond. It was also her only contribution to the show and the only episode from the show to air in the 1980s.

“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” succeeds as both a Christmas special and as an introduction for the series. Homer is depicted as a screw-up who wants to give his family a good Christmas, but his miserly boss has decided not to give out bonuses this year. When Marge has to use what little savings they have to get a tattoo removed off of their son, Homer looks to get a second job to pay for Christmas. He doesn’t tell his family and decides to take a part-time job as a mall Santa. This includes a humorous sequence of Homer going through Santa training, learning how to laugh and what to say to bad kids who sit on his lap. His plan blows up in his face though when he receives a meager payout on Christmas Eve. Defeated, he and Bart decide to accompany fellow Santa Barney Gumble to the dog track and wager their bucks on a long-shot, who Homer feels compelled to bet on because of his name:  Santa’s Little Helper. The dog, of course, loses but when his owner kicks him to the curb the Simpsons gain a new pet, and a worthy Christmas present.

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The gang’s all here for the first episode.

It’s a cute story and a good window into what the show is all about when it’s at its best. The Simpsons don’t always catch the best breaks, through some of their own doing, but they find a way to make it work. They’re basically a happy family that cares about one another, unlike a certain other animated TV family. As viewers, we like them, even though we laugh at them. There’s enough pity in Homer’s plight to get a reaction, but not so much that the episode becomes a depressing slog.

“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” is still the best Christmas special produced by the long-running series and can be found on the season one box set. It’s also been released on DVD as part of a holiday collection of episodes and is guaranteed to air this season on FXX, along with the other Christmas specials. Just keep an eye out for it if you wish to catch it that way.

 

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