Reviews

Back when I first saw A Goofy Movie, it instantly became one of my favorites, and it remains so to this day. As Disney is always inclined to do, they decided to make a sequel that has come to be titled An Extremely Goofy Movie. Actually, Goof Troop Episode X would've been a more appropriate title.

Let it be said right now that this movie is definitely not as good as A Goofy Movie. It's not cool, though it tries to be with its ESPN references and lots and lots of skateboarding. It's not compelling, though it tries to use a lot of the first movies techniques. And, quite frankly, Goofy has been reduced to a side character in his own feature film.

Right off the bat, the premise of this movie is sorely overused. The badly beaten sports contest with the cheating opposing team already told me that they had no real ideas for this movie. As I said earlier, Goofy isn't even one of the main focuses of this movie. It is really all about Max, PJ, and Bobby's sports event. While it's nice to see these new Disney characters get a little more screen time, I doubt anybody would've chosen to ignore Goofy in the process. Like A Goofy Movie, the strength of An Extremely Goofy Movie is in its characterization. Seeing Max go off to college and Goofy's feelings about it all was kind of interesting and rather unexplored territory in my opinion. The librarian, Sylvia is a believable girlfriend to Goofy and a pretty fun character on her own. And the beret-girl (no name?) has a pretty cool personality. But it is completely overshadowed by the more trite story about the X-games, and not in a good way.

The animation is, for such a poor movie, is actually quite nice, as are the character designs. However, the music leaves a lot to be desired. I think the worst thing about the music is that it departs from the "cartoony" feel of the first movie; we really lose sight of the fact this is a movie featuring Goofy very fast. Actually, sometimes I could've sworn I heard some things in this movie in the old Nick cartoon, Hey Arnold.

Overall, I definitely can't say this movie is as good as its predecessor. It's not unwatchable, but it has none of the magic or feel that A Goofy Movie had. The DVD also leaves a lot to be desired. So, if you REALLY want to see what Max is up to in college or see some of Goofy's antics on campus, then give this movie a watch. But don't set your expectations too high for this "Goof Troop Episode X". Despite all this, I really do hope for one more sequel, likely about Max graduating or something or trying to make it in the workforce. But come on Disney, whatever it is, it can be a LITTLE more creative than this...

The first time I saw this movie, I must've been about 9 or 10, back when my mother bought it on VHS. It was instantly one of my favorites if only because it was a fun adventure. Now, I'm 19 and I can still say that this is among my favorite films that was directed towards "children", though at this age, one naturally appreciates the movie in different ways.

It should come as no surprise after all these other reviews that this movie is about a vacation gone awry so I won't belabor that topic. Now that I've been through high school, I suppose I find some of the stereotypes employed throughout the film to be a bit aggravating. But past that, what we have is a movie that actually has a lot emotional depth to it. It is Goofy like we've never expected him to be before. While still being the klutzy, 6', anthropomorphic dog, he is now a family man and shows us that he can be everything from the "goofyness" we've come to love about him, to being genuinely angry with the frustration of knowing there are things people like his son, Max, aren't telling him. And isn't difference what we want from a movie? Max himself is no doormat. In fact, his character is significantly strengthened from way back when he was in Goof Troop, which honestly wasn't a very good show. As many others have said, his insecurity and angst is actually rather endearing. And that is what I liked best about the two Goofy Movies. They show us that, even for low budget attempts, Disney is actually quite capable of creating compelling characters and give heart to their movies. The tension between Goofy and Max can be felt. It's easy to sympathize with both characters. As with all Disney movies, there is a lesson to be taught, especially about lying. But thankfully, the movie doesn't make any attempt to slap it in your face so, at my age, at least I don't feel like I'm being taught to.

The music and animation aren't spectacular, but they are pretty good. And the "cutesy" songs don't feel like they are being forced. The animation was a major improvement however over the Goof Troop TV show, which was loose at best and sloppy at worst.

In my comment, I mentioned a lot about the main characters, but I feel that has probably come from being older than when I first watched the movie. Kids can watch this movie for the somewhat humorous gags and compelling adventure. But I think older audiences (older as in maybe earlier adult, I don't think grandfathers will be watching something like this) can appreciate the amount of depth Goofy and Max have been given and the amount of development they both go through as the story goes on. The DVD also has some nice extras such as an entire Disney episode from 1965, so if you want to get this movie, get the DVD.

When I first saw the first movie, I was great disappointed by what I saw, especially for a series as good as Inu-Yasha. My expectations first watching Castle Beyond the Looking Glass were not as high, but I was in for a surprise. In every single way I can think of, Castle Beyond the Looking Glass is a vast improvement over Affections Touching Across Time.

For the most part, the second movie's story is as stock quality as the first movie. It does however try to go into the realm of alternate universe (though it still really takes place in the canon storyline) by posing the question "What would it be like if Naraku died right now?" And, in my opinion, the interpretation is pretty good. Castle Beyond the Looking Glass does something however that really makes it just like many other Japanese animated movies by incorporating story elements from the fairy tale, Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. While it does so in a tasteful way, it kind of gave me the impression of "overused" just as the first movie's story felt. Getting past that though, the villain Kaguya is far superior to Menomaru, if only because she was less corny. So the story, which features all our favorite characters rather evenly (meaning there is something for everybody to enjoy), is actually more compelling.

The animation and music is about the same level as the first movie. Actually, I say the music was better for this movie because the first movie sounded as though it ripped a lot of tracks right off the television show. In contrast, I'm pretty sure most, if not all the music used for Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, was original (using the same melodies possibly, but at least played in a different way).

I thoroughly enjoyed Castle Beyond the Looking Glass much more than Affections Touching Across Time. The DVD also has some nice features that you shouldn't miss.

When I first heard that they were making a movie for the series, Inu-Yasha, I was very excited, especially because I had been a fan of the series for a very long time. Sadly, the movie isn't nearly as good as most people would make it out to be.

If anybody has seen the episodes featuring the Black Priestess, Tsubaki, you would recognize that much of this movie is not much more than a glorified version of those episodes. The characters Kikyo and Sesshomaru also make very forced appearances (forced as in, its just to please the fan boys and fan girls, but not much more). The main antagonist, Menomaru, is not very compelling, especially when compared to villains used for the Inu-Yasha movies that followed. And because Menomaru isn't very interesting (both in personality and in goals), the story itself isn't very interesting. Take out the obvious Tsubaki references, and the best way to describe this story is "overused."

The animation and music however is a great improvement over the television series. It is clear from some of the character designs that they tried to make it look more like the comic. And that, in my opinion, is welcome. I thought the characters actually looked rather odd when I first saw the television series. But there is a nice amount of detail in this movie that makes it very easy on the eyes.

While Inu-Yasha: Affections Touching Across Time is not unwatchable, it certainly isn't as good as I expected to be...