#I expect this to do horribly because it probably sounds overconfident and creepy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nikibogwater · 10 months

Text

Niki Blethers: The Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir Movie, except I haven't seen the show

Okay, well, technically I've seen....maybe 7 or 8 episodes of it? But that was seven years ago, and all I remember about it is Fun Concept, Horrible Execution. That, and Marinette's a total creep. But I was intrigued when I heard the movie was going to be a soft reboot of sorts, and I had free time this afternoon, so I took the beating to my already-dead self-respect and sat down to watch the Miraculous Ladybug Movie.

Long story short: Movie good and fun, and also my heart goes out to all the long-time Miraculous Ladybug sufferers who had to wait almost a decade for the series to finally use its main premise effectively.

Spoilers below the cut!

This is, from what I can tell, a re-telling of Ladybug and Cat Noir's origin story, which is nice because that meant I didn't really need to watch more of the show than I already have in order to understand what's happening.

On that note, I actually kind of think my experience with the movie was improved by my own ignorance. Because sometimes Stuff would just Happen, and like, I could tell it was the kind of Stuff that's par for the course in the show, but it hit me out of left field and made everything 10 times funnier.

First laugh of the movie: Master Fu is so intense when he says the phrase "dark butterflies!!!" This was the moment I knew I was in for a good time.

Oh my goodness--okay, hang on, what is this dialogue between Marinette and her mom? Real people do not talk like that. This sounds like a conversation between the two ADHD braincells inside my skull, please tell me the whole movie isn't like this.

It isn't. Thank heavens. Shame that that's how the movie opens though.

I would die for Marinette's father.

And she's--oh, she's singing. Oh this is a musical. For some reason, I wasn't expecting that. Wait hang on, that is Marinette singing, right?? Why couldn't they find a singer who actually sounds like her usual voice actress?

Marinette honey, what are you doing at a café, aren't you supposed to be going to school? Is this a Paris thing, just stopping for coffee on your way to school?

Okay, already I can tell Marinette's character has undergone some major revisions. She's way more relatable here, being a creative who wants to share her art with the world, but is too anxious and socially awkward to know how to do so. Also she's no longer stalking Adrien like a total creep, so yeah. 10/10, good main protagonist.

Chloe is just a straight up psychopath. Like, I thought her abuse would be limited to the typical high-school popular girl gaslighting and insults. But she is ready to commit actual murder here. Marinette's gotta watch her back or else Chloe might literally put a knife in it.

We all need a friend like Aliya.

The scene where Marinette meets Adrien is actually pretty well-done. It's easy to see why she starts crushing on him right away, when their first interaction is him seeing her in distress and expressing genuine concern for her. They also don't spend a ton of time dwelling on Mari's crush, which makes it 100% less creepy.

Aww, Adrien's such a sweetheart. They do a great job of establishing who he is in a very short amount of time. 20 seconds into his first appearance, and I've already picked up that he is shy and socially anxious like Mari, but he's willing to overcome that to make sure she's okay. Also love the little detail of him always having earbuds in.

Marinette's song with Tiki was probably the best song in the entire movie. Coincidentally, it's also the only one that didn't feel horribly out of place to me.

I would also die for the Notre Dame security guy. I think the gargoyle has already killed him, but still. Second-best character in the movie.

I really enjoyed the contrast of Adrien and Marinette's individual reactions to getting superpowers. They're both equally incompetent here, but they express it in opposite ways (Adrien with zealous overconfidence, and Marinette with bewildered terror).

STOP FIGHTING INSIDE THE CATHEDRAL!!! THERE IS ALMOST 700 YEARS OF CATHOLIC HISTORY IN THERE!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I'm surprised at how much I genuinely laughed with this movie. I was expecting the jokes to be a lot more juvenile and stale (I mean, there still IS a joke like that, thankfully it's only one).

Hey, Studio ZAG? Yeah, just a heads up, your action scene coordinators/animators deserve a raise. Like, a really big one.

*w h e e z e!* CARELESS WHISPER?! ADRIEN, NOOOOOOOOO!!!

I see Hawk Moth has never read/seen Fullmetal Alchemist.

Wait, why does this man just have a dungeon full of magical criminals in his back yard?? I thought he ran a dressmaking business.

Adrien wants a woman who can both kick and save his ass. I can respect that.

I like how Marinette takes such a long time to accept her role as Ladybug. Nothing about her first venture as a superhero sells the idea to her. In fact, it makes her even more desperate to get out of it.

That being said, it felt like her finally accepting the Miraculous came a bit out of left field. I think it would've worked better if she had seen Hawk Moth's attack on the carnival put someone dear to her in danger. Like her dad, or Aliya (technically Aliya IS there and IS in danger, but as far as I can tell, Marinette doesn't realize she's stuck on the roller coaster until AFTER she's accepted the Miraculous). As it is, it kind of looks like Mari just sort of changed her mind about it all after a good night's sleep.

I need a spinoff series about the Mime guy who can shoot people with his mind. Actual best character of the entire movie.

Ladybug and Cat have a really great dynamic, and there wasn't any point where I felt like one of them could win this without the other. Outside of battle, they also provide each other with a lot of emotional support, with Cat being the one to give Mari her confidence, and Ladybug giving Adrien someone to fight for.

Adrien is kind of pathetic, but I think I actually like that about him. When Ladybug rejects him, he desperately asks her to reconsider. It's not very mature, but feels pretty realistic, considering his age and what he's been going through. And I like that Marinette is actually torn between her crush on Adrien and her developing feelings for Cat. She's not dismissive of Cat Noir, but she feels like starting something with him would somehow be disloyal to Adrien.

Hawk Moth's voice actor put his EVERYTHING into the line "I hate you, Ladybug and Cat Noir!" and it is peak comedy.

Oh my gosh, not Careless Whisper again.

The climax was actually decently intense. It's pretty easy to figure out where it's all going to end up, but even so, I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing.

That awkward moment when you almost commit infanticide. #JustHawkMothThings

So I'm gonna assume that the show does a better job of explaining why they aren't allowed to use the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses to bring Emilie back to life. Because I feel like if there wasn't a good reason to NOT do that, then Hawk Moth's first course of action should have been to just invite Ladybug and Cat over for tea and explain the situation to them.

I was happily surprised to see them actually resolve the whole Love Square thing. From what I know, dragging that aspect out has been the one thing that's kept the show alive this long. But I'm glad they went this route. The movie would've been infinitely less satisfying if they'd stuck to the status quo.

Aww, well that was a really cute mov--WHY IS EMILIE'S CORPSE IN THE BASEMENT

All in all, I had a good time with this movie. The animation was really nice, the character designs were good, I thought the English dub actors did a great job, and the relationship between the two main leads was pretty compelling. There were a lot of weird little quirks that I'm assuming came from the show, but overall, this feels like the MLB team finally using the show's core concept in a way that doesn't completely squander its potential. If they make a sequel (which it looks like they're planning to?), I'm totally on board to check it out. 7/10, great for when you just want something cute that doesn't need to be taken seriously to enjoy.

#niki blethers #semi review #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug movie #miraculous ladybug spoilers

13 notes · View notes