Change Your Image
sugarcookie788
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Love Never Dies (2012)
Not as good as the original but not bad.
I actually really enjoyed this movie. Granted, I don't think that it's quite as good as the original but for what it is, it wasn't that bad. Since a lot of people hate this movie, I'm going to start by mentioning some points on the opposing side which I agree with.I understand the disdain for this sequel and sequels in general because it's rare to find a sequel as good as the original work. I myself have encountered several sequels that were less than faithful to the original works(Holly Hobbie and Friends: Marvelous Makeover!) I will also admit that a sequel to Phantom of the Opera is never something that I really deemed necessary but not everything that's unnecessary is automatically bad. Although I can tolerate and even understand what happened to Raoul, I think it was a bit excessive and unnecessary. It's obvious that the intent was to get the audience to root for Christine to choose Erik in the end. Although I felt that he deserved better than what he received in the end, I don't agree with him and Christine being romantically involved. There are two main reasons why I have such an opinion: 1. Erik and Christine are very far apart in age which makes things a bit awkward. 2. He's still very mentally unstable and emotional problems can lead to unhealthy relationships. It's hard to care about others when one person is still struggling with their own problems. I was also drawn to the idea of their relationship remaining more of a mentor/student relationship because the relationships between students and their teachers is something not often explored in entertainment. Many people (myself included) have known teachers who have had a great effect on them and have been positively shaped because of one special teacher. Although the music was by far my favorite aspect, some of the songs tended to drag on longer than I would have liked. The song "Beneath a Moonless Sky" was beautiful but also very awkward. I know that it was supposed to deliver a sense of awe and mystique but I'm the kind of person who would rather not hear about people's passionate exchanges. Although I liked Christine and admired some of her endearing qualities, she did slightly annoy me at times. An example of that is when she decided to leave her son, Gustav, with the same guy who had threatened to kill him. The final aspect that I didn't enjoy was the ending. The whole point of the movie was to give Erik a second chance and finally allow him to achieve some happiness. This is all blown out of proportion when Christine dies after being accidentally shot by Meg. It seems like nothing more than an intent to get an emotional reaction out of the audience. It certainly didn't help that the entire movie already had a bitter, angry, almost passive-aggressive feel to it. I know that the previous show wasn't exactly a fairy tale but at least the more lighthearted moments felt truly genuine and uplifting. In this show, even some of the more cheerful moments had an underlying vibe of bitterness and depression. Now that those points are out of the way I would like to offer a different view on some of the popular criticisms against this production. The first point that I would like to make is that although this movie wasn't necessary, it does deliver an interesting idea of following up with character that the audience knew from a previous story. Something similar to Fuller House or even Hook. The setting may seem unfitting or bizarre for a Phantom of the Opera sequel. However, I feel that the new setting offers the characters and the audience a differing view of disabilities and flaws. The Coney Island show seems to deliver the message that differences should be embraced and that there's beauty to be found in them. It also delivers an opportunity to display the colorful, creative visuals that come with the setting. I understand why people are upset about what happened to Raoul and Christine's relationship. However, keep in mind that they were both very young when they got married. It's likely that Raoul felt overwhelmed and lost when it came to handling the responsibilities of supporting a marriage and raising a family. As such, he might have tried to turn to other sources to try and escape his problems. Now that I've covered Raoul, I'd like to shift the focus to his wife (or ex-wife by the end) Christine. She is certainly naïve at times and doesn't always make the best decisions. However, I feel that this stems more from her desire to help those she cares about as opposed to being stupid or selfish. She knew that she had made a commitment to Raoul but she didn't want to crush Erik's delicate soul after all of the pain that he had been through. I've been mentioning Erik quite a bit but I haven't really gone into his character in depth. Many have said that he isn't as interesting or sympathetic in this movie because he is still distraught and enraged despite all of the positive attention that he is supposedly receiving. Keep in mind that he had experienced years of torture and harassment due to his facial deformity. As such, he developed problems with anxiety and depression. Praise and affection may bring some stability and happiness but they don't completely remove the problem. The attacks and threats made him feel vulnerable, threatened, and dehumanized. As such, he often feels the need to defend himself against anyone who he perceives as a threat to him or Christine. Because of his extreme internal conflict, he has to rely on the one person who he feels brings a sense of security to such an unkind world. He also feels the need to resort to threats and force so that he isn't perceived as weak or helpless and therefore won't have to endure anymore trauma.
Holly Hobbie & Friends: Holly Hobbie and Friends: Marvelous Makeover (2009)
Unoriginal, generic girl's cartoon
I grew up with the DVD releases of the classic Holly Hobbie episodes. I remember them most for their simple idea of a traditional country theme with somewhat of a modern twist. I also found their messages about friendship very charming and original due to the relationships that the girls formed with many of the adults in Clover. But the aspect that I found most admirable was the main characters and how much they strived to help others in need. However, pretty much all of these aspects were either ignored or forgotten about in this special.
One thing that a lot of people complain about is the difference in the voices from the previous specials. This difference wouldn't bother me as much if it didn't sound so heavily edited. Not to mention that Holly's singing voice doesn't even match her singing voice. The worst voice-over is that of K.T McGee. I really like Kathleen Barr and she's really talented but K.T has this really congested voice that gets incredibly grating after a while.
The plots really aren't much better. Having a story take place in a school setting can work if you find a way to make it unique or charming. For example, Wicked added a good amount of charm to the story by focusing on the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. Monster High and Ever After High added a creative twist to this type of story by adding small details that give the schools their own identities. The best way I can describe the plots in this episode is Mean Girls Junior which is especially annoying if you're not a fan of Mean Girls like me.
One of the worst elements of this special is the characters. Holly was once this sweet girl who would do anything in her power to help others. Now she's just your generic heroine who solves her problems with fashion and clothes. Carrie was once Holly's cautious friend who would stay by Holly no matter what. Now she's an athlete who faults Holly for making friends with the class geek. Amy was once the wacky character who believed in aliens. Now she's just a third wheel who never even acknowledges the existence of aliens. The new characters are even worse than the returning characters. Becca is your typical popular girl who's only existence is to bring misery to others. K.T is definitely the worst out of all the new characters. Aside for her congested voice, her constant web-abbreviation language really gets on my nerves. Aside from that, the only other characteristics she has are that she's into computers and she wears weird clothes. In short, she's just a shallow, stereotypical nerd character.
Most of the complaints I listed are merely annoying. However, there is one factor that really upsets me and that is the messages that they deliver. This episode treats most of the bully characters as horrible people who only exist to cause trouble for others. I feel that it is important for kids to understand that people bully for different reasons and that they usually feel bad about themselves. Then there's the fact that almost all of the problems are solved with clothes and accessories. In reality that isn't a useful or even healthy way of solving problems. We should be teaching little girls that you have to have something to be proud of other than the way you look.
This episode is an insult to the previous works in the series. It was obviously cheaply produce with the only intention being to make a quick buck by making something that the team thought that little girls would like. If you're looking for a cartoon with a story like this, I would recommend Holly Hobbie and Friends: Best Friends Forever. That one was obviously made with more care and effort. The relationship that is touched upon is much more charming and it delivers a much better message. As far as this one, I wouldn't recommend it especially to people who are big fans of the original Holly Hobbies cartoons.
Descendants (2015)
Original idea, nothing else original
I'm not going to beat around the bush; this movie had an amazing idea but did nothing original with it. Since I know that many people like this movie, I will star this review by admitting that there were some things that I liked about this movie. First of all, this movie had a brilliant idea about a movie centering on the descendants of famous Disney characters even if they didn't do anything creative with it. Then, there's Kristin Chenoweth's performance as Maleficent. It wasn't necessarily a fitting performance, but it was still enjoyable to see her bring so much energy to the role.
Now, I'll move on to the pieces that bothered me. First of all, the story behind the island is introduced very quickly to the point where it feels like they just wanted you to have a quick understanding and then get right to our main characters. They don't even explain how it's even possible that some of these characters exist considering most of the villains are supposed to be dead. I know that it's explained in the book, but if you're pretty much left on your own if you haven't read it. There are several side plots that are simply glanced over and not really attended to. One example is when Mal goes around using her magic to make the female students beautiful. They were probably trying to deliver an important message about self-esteem and liking who you are, but this is never mentioned or implied so the message can easily get lost or misinterpreted.
While I wouldn't describe the movie as "sexist", stereotypes are another big problem especially since there's no one to balance them out. Almost all of the boys enjoy sports, fighting, or video games and almost all of the girls spend their time putting on make-up or obsessing over outfits. Another aspect that others might take offense with is the fact that all of the villains' kids come from single-parent households and all of the heroes' kids come from nuclear family structures. Although not intended this way, it ends up delivering the message that single parents can't raise health, bright children which is far from true.
Whether you like this movie or not, most of you will agree that the songs are the weakest part. Most of them are very forgettable with the exception of two. Rotten to the core was a descent song. It had pretty good lyrics and the vocals were nice although it could have done without the dub-step. Then there's the awful rap version of "Be Our Guest" which was clearly made to appeal to the kids of today which gives it a very dated feeling. This movie also has a very "tell don't show" mentality. The main characters constantly talk about how evil they are and how badly their parents have treated them. This is only delivered through dialogue so we never actually see the kids or their parents do anything related to what they've stated aside from a few very small examples.
Wasted potential is always disappointing and it's no different here. Instead of delivering a clever and unique story about the kids of some of Disney's most famous villains, we get a clichéd movie with hardly any depth. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. If you really want to check out a story like this, I would recommend watching the movie Enchanted. That movie manages to poke fun at its own studio while delivering a good amount of charm and effort.
Sofia the First: Mom's the Word (2014)
One of the worst mother's-day specials
Well, I'm sad to say that this episode was almost as bad as I thought it would be for one reason alone. Almost every character was unlikable or out-of-character in some way. Miranda bothered me because she seemed to not care too much about Sofia. It's OK that she wants to spend mother's day with all of her kids, but she could have at least taken them to where she and Sofia went in previous years. Sofia also bothered me because she's normally a very sweet girl and wouldn't do anything mean-spirited or cruel. But in this episode, she decided to steal her mother away from her step-brother and sister and then leave them stranded in the middle of the water. If I didn't know any better, I would hate Sofia. It's also a mystery as to why her amulet didn't curse her when she was doing something truly wrong her but it cursed her when she was simply expressing her excitement. But, I'm getting off-topic. There is one factor that I will give this credit for and that's the relationship between Lucinda and her mother, which I found much more interesting. I'm sure many people out there have had to deal with telling their parents that you want to do something other than what they have planned for you. Overall, this episode was loaded with potential but it all went to waste.
Doc McStuffins: The Wicked King and the Mean Queen/Take a Stroll! (2014)
Not my favorite
Before I say anything else, I would like to point out that I actually really like this show. In fact, it's one of my favorite animated shows of all time. However, out of all the episodes this show has to offer, this one is my least favorite. I understand that the writer/s tried to portray a very important message, but it didn't quite work. This is because they tried to use a baby doll to portray this message. It's actually quite normal for babies to spend most of their days sleeping inside of a stroller so that they can be healthy when they grow up. But apparently the characters consider this lazy behavior and constantly attempt to have Tessie (the baby doll)run in a relay race. I'm unsure if the writer/s have had any experience with actual infants, but it simply take common knowledge to know that there's a limit to what babies can actually do. Overall, the characters in this episode come across as pushy and almost unlikable because of how they're attempting to make a baby doll run in a relay race.
Sofia the First: The Little Witch (2013)
Pretty good episode
*This review may contain spoilers* This episode decided to take a break from the palace location and take us back to the village where Sofia grew up. There;we see Jade, Ruby, and Sofia decorating for Jade's birthday party. But, soon, a mischievous little witch named Lucinda (whom I quite enjoy as a character) starts playing tricks on the girls. Apparently, she came to the village a few months after Sofia left for the palace. What I like about this episode is that Sofia is willing to reason with Lucinda rather than assuming she's the evil witch everyone else believes her to be. As Sofia gets to know her, we find out that the only reason why Lucinda hexes so many people is because she doesn't know how else to act, so she isn't really evil. Soon, Lucinda decides to prove her reformation by fixing her mistakes. This delivers the message that actions speak louder than words, making "The Amulet and the Anthem's" moral unnecessary. However, one flaw rears its ugly head when Jade refuses to forgive Lucinda. It's not this that's the problem, it's how Jade handles it. Her behavior is displayed in a more mean-spirited manner rather than a distrustful manner. Her behavior quickly escalates as she says that she'll never invite Lucinda (right in front of her face, I might add), setting up a "witch trap", and even making a piñata of Lucinda (can you say "sadistic?!). However, Jade eventually forgives Lucinda and amends are soon made.
All in all, I quite enjoyed this episode. Lucinda was certainly an interesting character that I hope to see more of and the morals were very important one. The reason why I say "morals" is because there are two. The one stated is that you should forgive others and give them a second chance if they hurt you (like how God did with Jonah). However, there is another presented when Lucinda undoes her mistakes and this states that actions speak louder than words. This episode is certainly worth a watch!
Sofia the First: The Amulet and the Anthem (2013)
Horrible message
*warning: May contain spoilers* This episode is, by far, one of the worst episodes this series has given. If you all have seen this episode or read the book, you'll know the kind of punishment Sofia receives. I feel that punishment was not needed because all she did was make a small mistake. However, Disney decided to treat it as a sin by enforcing one of the most humiliating punishments that a child could receive. I know it sounds like I'm overreacting, but Sofia could have realized her mistake by her friends' actions alone. But, what upsets me the most is that Amber is a complete narcissist, yet her actions go un- punished. But, when Sofia does as much as "get a swelled head" she gets cursed. Belle's appearance doesn't help either because she tells Sofia that she "brushed her friends aside" when all Sofia really did was get excited. The stated moral is that actions speak louder than words, which is rather amusing. I say this because even though that's the stated moral, the implied moral is that children who misbehave deserve to be humiliated. I would not recommend showing this episode to a child or maybe even anyone. The show is great, it's this episode that's atrocious!