SNAPSHOTBo Peep is back! This long-lost friend of Woody, Buzz and the gang always shared a special connection with Woody, but they have not seen each other in years, and Bo has become chipped and faded over time. Bo’s strength and sarcasm always belied her delicate porcelain exterior, and it Continue Reading
Animation
Wonder Twins powers … activate! (comic preview)
SNAPSHOT Exiled from their home planet, alien heroes Zan and Jayna must navigate life as teens on Earth at South Metropolis High School, where they’re even bigger outsiders than the typical awkward young adults. Under the watchful eye of Superman, the brother and sister pull monitor duty at the Hall Continue Reading
Come with me to A Place Called Slaughter Race!
One of the great delights of Ralph Breaks the Internet, of which there are many, is a musical number that takes place after Vanellope, who finds herself beguiled rather than repulsed by the many life-changing possibilities of the Internet (Ralph, by way of contrast, just wants to go home), sings Continue Reading
We need a hero! Raise a cheer for Mermaid Man
Aquaman is everywhere these days! On land, under the sea, and at last count heading for $1 billion in box office revenue which is going to place director James Wan in elite company. But while he’s an impressive figure, can he really compete with Mermaid Man from SpongeBob SquarePants who, Continue Reading
Forget the warm-and-fuzzies – Dalek Who is here
Once the things that pretty much everyone loves about Doctor Who is how human he/she is, a pretty impressive achievement for a Galifreyan with two hearts who may be a sworn protector of humanity and their home planet Earth but who most certainly doesn’t come from there. But what if, Continue Reading
Video essay: Technique not design defined early Disney animation
SNAPSHOT The real Disney style isn’t in design but in technique. Techniques that are universal and style agnostic, which is why when budgets were tight, Disney was notorious for repurposing animation from its archive to save time and they were able to recycle that work between two completely different characters Continue Reading
Retro movie review: Wreck-It Ralph
It’s easy, through the divorced-from-childhood eyes of adulthood, to assume that cartoons- all bright colours, manic movements and quippy oneliners – are lacking in any kind of real substance. After all, we’ve been trained to see cartoons as childish bits of frippery and live action as suitably adult, a demarcation Continue Reading
Happy pop culture new year everyone!
Thoughts on A Charlie Brown Christmas
In a world of dazzling CGI special effects and ever more postmodern, cleverly-interwoven stories, the beautiful simplicity of 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas is striking. Holding close to the look and spirit of Charlie Schulz’s immortally-brilliant comic strip Peanuts, the animated Christmas special features, as you might expect given the Continue Reading
A Christmas tree you can see from space: Come join the apocalyptically-festive LEGO party!
It’s fair to say that celebrating Christmas is not exactly high on the list of priorities in your average garden variety apocalyptic wasteland? After all, resources are slim to none, it’s really dusty and bleak, and there’s all that time that must be devoted to brooding sessions. There surely isn’t Continue Reading