#futurama reviews

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Children of a Lesser Bog" was such a sweet episode--well, for the most part. Animals and insects (and Zoidberg) eating most of the children at the beginning was pretty dark. I realize that the writers didn't want thirty kids running around, but that scene caught me off guard. Still, reducing the number of kids to three allowed Kif and Amy to form close, loving bonds with them.

One of the issues that I had with the Comedy Central run was an overreliance on shock humor and "awkwaaard" scenes, so I've enjoyed watching Futurama return to the goofy, laugh-out-loud humor that made the show famous. The CC episodes also had a lot of pacing issues, but this episode had perfect timing. Believe me, I was counting down the minutes, hoping the writers wouldn't rush the ending.

Lauren Tom gave a great performance. Amy's voice has so much emotion as she cries, worries and makes sacrifices for her children. She had to mature pretty quickly--she'd forgotten all about the kids until her calendar suddenly reminded her--and she was up for the challenge.

I also loved the sweet moment between Amy and Leela. I hated the "Amy and Leela secretly hate each other because they're women" narrative that stretched all the way back to the original run and was afraid it would continue when Amy showed jealousy toward Leela. But instead, Amy apologized and told Leela that she knew she'd be a great mother if she ended up with the kids.

The kids gravitating toward Leela was a smart touch. She DID give them her DNA! Like Kif and Amy, she struggled with the responsibility of suddenly having three kids, but she did her best.

I did notice that Fry was barely in this episode. Some of Leela's jokes sounded like they'd be better suited for Fry, like when she was sucking the jelly out of a doughnut with a straw. As others have pointed out, Fry sounds a little rough--to be fair, Billy West is 71--so I wonder if that's why he's taken a backseat.

In any case, I've enjoyed seeing characters from older seasons return. This time, it was the whale biologist. These cameos don't seem like nostalgia bait; instead, they're loving callbacks.

The plot wasn't anything mindblowing--a couple has to deal with the challenges of suddenly raising kids has been done a million times--but the writing was so sweet, funny and charming that I didn't even notice. "I, Roommate" from season one also has a cliche plot, and it's one of my favorite episodes.

We're only two episodes in, but I feel like we're watching both the series and the characters grow up. Futurama is still a little dark and cynical, but it's taking on a sweeter tone without being corny. This is what I wanted from the Comedy Central run, and we're finally getting there.

#futurama #amy wong #kif kroker #turanga leela #leela #futurama reviews

[2022dirt]

Futurama Boxes Have “30th Century Fox” instead of 20th Century Fox.

#interesting #interesting facts #discover #thats interesting #thats insane #futurama #simpsons #thesimpsons #the simpsons #tvshow #dvd #dvd review #dvdcollector #dvd set #dvd cd #dvd collection #dvd cover #like woah #woah woah woah #woah #woah dude #woahg #woah :0 #woahhhh #but woah #easter egg #whatthehell #what the fuck #what the heck #what the shit

[historyhermann]

Kiff Review

Kiff is a musical comedy animated series by Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal. They are known for their work in the animation industry, either script writing, storyboarding, or voice acting. This post will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-seventh article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on March 27, 2023.

The plot of Kiff focuses on a young flying squirrel named Kiff Chatterley (voiced by Kimiko Glenn), who is friends with a mellow bunny named Barry Buns (H. Michael Croner) in a magical land, within the mountains, known as Table Town. Both go on adventures in and around the town.

Like other Disney series airing this year, Kiff is aimed at kids and families. This is clear from the format, similar to many episodes of Amphibia, Milo Murphy's Law, and Phineas and Ferb. Each 22-minute episode is divided into two 11-minute segments. In typical Disney fashion, there is a musical number in almost every episode.

Apart from the animating powerhouse of Disney Television Animation, a well-known animation studio, Titmouse, is producing the series. The same studio is known for series such as Cleopatra in Space, Star Trek: Lower Decks, The Midnight Gospel, Q-Force, Inside Job, Pantheon, My Dad the Bounty Hunter,  The Legend of Vox Machina, Fairfax, and Chicago Party Aunt.

Many of the voice actors in Kiff are well-experienced. Glenn previously voiced Paperstar in Carmen Sandiego, Katherine-Alice in Welcome to the Wayne, Tomiko in Elena of Avalor, and Nomi in Dogs in Space, to name a few roles. Deedee Magno Hall, who voices Deer Teacher in the series, is best known for voicing Pearl in Steven Universe. Furthermore, James Monroe Iglehart and Lauren Ash, who voice Kiff's parents, prominently voiced characters in series such as Tangled, Helluva Boss, Elena of Avalor, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Keen listeners might recognize Rachel House, voice of Barry's mother, or Nichole Sakura, voice of Barry's sister. Both had prominent voice roles in Moana and OK K.O.!: Let's Be Heroes. Personally, I was familiar with voice actors Katie Crown and Rhys Darby because they voiced characters in Cleopatra in Space. The former also voiced Ivy in Amphibia. Furthermore, Darby voiced a variety of characters in Milo Murphy's Law, We Bare Bears, Welcome to the Wayne, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Infinity Train. It was great to hear Vella Vowell, who voices Candle Fox, again. I remembered her impressive voice acting as Princess Mermista in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and as the No Tattoo Barista (which later turned into a CBD Monster) in the lesser-known Magical Girl Friendship Squad.

Kiff snagged the well-regarded Eric Bauza and Tom Kenny. From my years of watching animated series, I was familiar with Bauza as Scoops in Ollie & Scoops, as well as Kenny for two roles: Ice King in Adventure Time and Yancy Fry in Futurama. In this series, Bauza voices Reggie and a scrupulous TV producer named Roy Fox, while Kenny voices multiple characters in the series. A stand-up comedian named Josh Johnson also voices Barry's brother, Harry.

The show's animation is expressive and colorful. However, it pales in comparison to Amphibia, The Owl House, or Adventure Time. In some ways, Phineas and Ferb is put together better, as is Milo Murphy's Law. All in all, the show is a bit funny, but not laugh-out-loud funny. Drama is more a strong suit for the series than comedy.

The first twelve episodes of the series are double-episodes. They introduce viewers to the characters, allowing you to get a feeling for their lives. More than anything, they make it clear that Kiff is not serialized like Steven Universe, Tangled, or Milo Murphy's Law (especially the second season). Instead, each episode seems in its own world, without being connected to another. If some rumors are correct about upcoming Hailey's On It! and Iwaju, it appears that Disney series are moving in this direction. This is evidenced by the fact that the recently aired Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur uses serialized storytelling.

The first twelve episodes of the series is is a double-episode. They introduce viewers to the characters, allowing you to get a feeling for their lives. More than anything, it is clear that the series is not serialized similar to Steven Universe, Tangled, or Milo Murphy's Law (especially the second season). Instead, each of the episodes seems in its own world, without being connected to one another. If some rumors are correct, it appears that Disney series are moving in this direction. However, the recently aired Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur uses serialized storytelling as does the upcoming Hailey's On It! and Iwaju, if reports are correct.

Kiff has some elements reminding me of the Futurama episode openings, like fake adverts at the beginning of each episode. At the same time, the series is different than what has come before since the show creators, Heavens and Smal, who voice characters in the series, are from Cape Town, South Africa. As a result, their life-stories are undoubtedly integrated into the series itself. Furthermore, the show's directors include animators for Black Dynamite, 6Teen, and Amphibia, with this career experience enhancing the show even more.

The series emphasizes the importance of acceptance, friendship, self-worth, and notoriety. The latter is shown in the extreme by Roy Fox, who makes trashy reality shows in order to profit from people's misery. In a manner similar to the focus on education in many anime series, Kiff seems to imply that education is important to achieving your dreams and that school shouldn't be skipped, no matter what. This stands diametrically opposed to what is shown in Birdie Wing: Eve, one of the show's protagonists, is a terrible student, but remains at the premiere golf academy because she is a sports star.

There are many other themes focused in Kiff. For instance, the episode "Career Day", when Kiff and Barry get a part-time job at city hall, implies that mass records destruction is fine as long as you cut through the "red tape". This contrasts with commentary about overly technical bureaucracy in Hilda and Futurama, to name two series. Such a negative theme in "Career Day" is offset by episodes which accentuate family togetherness and honesty.

As a person who has reviewed media with libraries and librarians in pop culture since July 2020, and with a MLIS degree, it should be no surprise one of my favorite episodes of Kiff was "Club Book". In he episode, Kiff learns the value of quietness in the library after turning the library into a club scene. I thought it was interesting that the librarian, voiced by Aparna Nancherla, is made more relatable than most. Her character, Miss Moufflé, somewhat bucking stereotypes, while reinforcing them at the same time, as she shushes people but also likes souffles.

Similar to other series, the value of libraries as a place of knowledge and learning is affirmed in Kiff. In some ways, the episode reminded me of the "Quiet Riot" episode of The Replacements, in which the show's protagonist, Todd, causes the shushing librarian in charge of the school library replaced by a rockstar. However, he later regrets his decision, resulting in the original librarian returning to her job.

Currently, Kiff is almost half-way through its series order of 30 episodes. It is hard to know where the series will go from here. Even so. I am more optimistic about this series than Hamster & Gretel, which has fallen flat, despite the fact that Dan Povenmire is the show's creator. Instead, the series has episodes somewhat mimicking absurdity and, even hilarity (to an extent), which are present in Phineas and Ferb. The latter, in fact, was recently renewed for more two seasons.

Even so, Kiff will probably never measure-up to the strength of four-season animated magical comedy powerhouse of Phineas and Ferb, a series even mentioned in an episode of Better Things, a comedy-drama by Pamela Adlon, who voiced some characters in the series. Despite this, Kiff will chart its own path, perhaps different than what has come before. After all, both creators are said to be a "brilliant creative team".

Although Disney has recently removed release dates from the upcoming Tiana and Moana series, clearly Kiff is part of a trend by the company to feature more diverse series. This year is bound to bring series such as Iwáju and Hailey's On It!, while there are others in production such as Cookies & Milk and Primos.

It is further possible that Disney is producing Molly Ostertag's Neon Galaxy, a series reportedly about a trans princess. In any case, diverse series are on the horizon for Disney, especially more than HBO Max, a network which has been struggling to find its corporate identity since David Zaslav became CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate. It is said that the streaming service has Iyanu: Child of Wonder and Lumberjanes in production.

The first 12 episodes of Kiff are currently airing on Disney+ and all twelve episodes have aired on the Disney Channel. Four new episodes will air on the Disney Channel on April 1st and later be added on Disney+.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#kiff #disney #futurama #ollie & scoops #she ra #spop #mgfs #magical girl friendship squad #ok ko #cleopatra in space #milo murphy's law #hailey's on it #iwaju #birdie wing #the replacements #neon galaxy #animation #pop culture #reviews #pop culture maniacs #Youtube

[committeeof100]

m3gan is bender for girls

#m3gan fanart #m3gan review #m3gan (m3gan) #movies #bender bending rodriguez #futurama

[rickchung]

Futurama (prod. David X. Cohen).

Hulu's revival of the much-loved adult animated sitcom pivots its focus to mining current events for its initial batch of episodes. Originally premiering in 1999 on the precipice of Y2K as its premise fast-forwarded to the year 3000, the whole gang is back years later in a refreshed setting in 3023 with much more topical humour while maintaining its very familiar sense of sci-fi sitcom antics designed to appeal to existing fans.

#futurama #tv review #reviews #hulu #tv #television #streaming #matt groening #david x cohen #david x. cohen #billy west #katey segal #john dimaggio #phil lamarr #animation #animated #cartoon #adult animation #philip j fry #philip fry #philip j. fry

[swervesbarpodcast]

Time to get ready for the Spooky HOLIDAY! (Yes we are early, surprise). Let's dive into a different take on Starscream's Ghost... energy ghost? Tune in now!

#transformers #starscream #ghosts #Futurama #comics #review #Youtube

[popculturegenealogy]

The family shrub and genealogy in Amphibia

Hello everyone! In my quest to watch more animations, apart from two of my favorite shows, Futurama and Carmen Sandiego, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite shows, Amphibia, and family history themes in the show.

Reprinted from my Genealogy in Popular Culture WordPress blog. Originally published on July 29, 2020.

In the episode "Family Shrub," Sprig and Polly think their family history is boring. However, their minds are changed when they "uncover family secrets buried deep under their very own home." Oh my! At the beginning of the episode, when Sprig is gluing on new pictures onto the tree, Anne says: "back home, we'd call this a family tree." Hop Pop laughs, saying that is "why everyone in your world is crazy." Anyway, he is reading from a book of family history at the beginning of the episode, which has tabs in it, noting specific sections.

I love that Hop Pop gets excited from reading the family history (which he probably put together) while the other characters are bored by it. I love the parts where he says that one of the ancestors was a "king" with everyone excited, then adding "king of single-tiered irrigation systems." This makes it one of the most hilarious parts of this whole episode, seriously.

After this, Polly declares that "our ancestors were boring" and Sprig declares, in an annoyed tone, "were they all just farm frogs?" This is equivalent to my statement where I said that my ancestors were "dang farmers" from Massachusetts. Sprig wants to know about the artists, the poets, and the dreamers. Honestly, this episode is making fun of people who boast about their family histories. I mean, it could be. Hop Pop makes a good point that could apply to anyone who grumbles about their ancestors:

"Just farm frogs? Kids, the point of the shrub is to give you an appreciation for your past. The Plantar family has layers. You just have to know where to look."

Anne accepts that and begins asking about ancestors on the tree. Hop Pop explains how each of the ancestors is unique, although none of his kids, or Anne, are impressed by his explanation. Anne then notes how she won't find any ancestors on the shrub (which is true). Pop then says that you can be related to another person in a family, but not by blood. That's because she is part of the family grouping, although she can't claim any of their descendants as her own, as she isn't "indirectly" or "directly" descended from any of them.

Pop continues to be dedicated to finishing the shrub, their version of a family tree and goes to the store to get glue. After he leaves, Polly says "you're lucky you're an outsider, Anne, because our family history is lame." Sprig then adds that there wasn't anyone weird, different, or fun. He even looks at a painting, obviously looking like the American Gothic painting, and it opens a secret passageway, exciting them all.

They find a dusty room, with weird scientific samples, in what could be described as a dungeon. They find documents showing the place belonged to their great uncle, Skip Plantar, who turns out to be a farmer and a brilliant scientist at the same time. He experimented with all kinds of things. Sprig wants to know more, so he pulls a lever.

What comes out is…a pumpkin abomination. Sprig saves them both by leaving this creature back into its cage. Then, they fall through the floor and find another room. In this place, it is revealed that their ancestor was not just a turnip farmer but a "turned up warrior" (Polly says this while flexing her muscles)

Then, they find her diary, where she recounts how she was in a "lot of battles." Sprig, being impulsive, pulls another lever, almost killing them both. They move on through, finding more hidden chambers. In one instance, a diary reveals someone who traveled around, collecting a lot of "cool stuff," and settled with the Plantars. Anne has a revelation: "I had your family history all wrong, guys. The Plantars weren't just farmers." Sprig adds that they were "twisted" while Polly says they were "pretty cool." They get back to the living room, beat up, and exhausted from their journey. They tell Pop about the secret areas with family heirlooms, with Polly saying she is "proud to be a Plantar." This excites him a lot. Polly adds that their ancestors were the "most amazing scientist-warrior farmers ever!" Sprig says that "everyone needs to know about it."

Pop says he wants to see the rooms below the house as well. Anne tries to caution him, but their caution is ignored. So, he runs down into the dungeon on an adventure, with Anne, Polly, and Sprig going to help him (and Wally who is glued to his back, one of the episode's side stories). The episode ends there. I have to say that this is one of the best depictions of family history I've seen in a while.

© 2020-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#amphibia #family tree #genealogy #family history #shrubs #popular culture #reviews #carmen sandiego #futurama #royalty #farmers #paintings #secrets

[renehta]

Just another review of Futurama Season 11 Episode 5, Related To Items You've Viewed

I want to see more of Bender, Fry, and Leela living together

#futurama reboot #futurama hulu #futurama review #futurama season 11 #Youtube

[capncarrot]

Futurama - How the West Was 1010001

#futurama #television #television review #tv review #review

[tealacted]

The Futurama remake was pretty good! You can tell that the writers actually watched the original show.

#futurama #reboot #hulu #quick review

[ryeryetheferalkid]

futurama new episode review cuz tbh.. also uhh if you haven't seen the episode yet then i recommend watching it first cuz there might be spoilerzz

honestly i really liked it!!! it definitely felt like a reboot episode, lol.

pros:

felt like a very in-character thing for fry to watcg every tv show lol i love him <33

*randy voice* CALCULON'S BACK!

THE NB ROBOT JOKE MADE ME GIGGLE

GAY KISS GAY KISS

lots of references to other show which i liked :D

SHORT HAIR LEELA OMGG <3333

cons:

art style felt off/weird, like bender looked really square to me idk

a lot of hulu references, felt odd to me (FULU 😭)

they should have kept short hair leela /hj

overall, 9/10 episode!

#futurama #futurama reboot #ryzen rambles #review #futurama revival #futurama review

[thesoftboiledegg]

I had reservations about "Related to Items You've Viewed" because the plot sounded like an "Attack of the Killer App" rehash: a thinly veiled parody of a major corporation with Mom in charge, ready to take over the world again. However, instead of cracking unfunny Apple jokes for twenty minutes, this episode made "Momazon" the backdrop for Fry, Bender and Leela's emotional conflicts.

I was also dreading this episode because I thought "Oh boy, Fry's going to 'mature' and move into Leela's place, leaving Bender alone." Instead, I was thrilled to see Leela moving in with them. When Bender had a meltdown, the Frender shipper in me thought "Wow, Bender's not taking this well, huh?" Fry might've told Bender to screw off, but he worried about his feelings instead.

Most media portrays friendships as a diversion that you abandon when you enter a serious relationship. This happens in real life, too--how many people from older generations ditched all their friends after their weddings?

I always appreciated how Futurama never downplayed Fry and Bender's relationship. They date other people, but they're still each other's rocks. Instead of ditching their friendship, this episode strengthened it by having Bender overcome his jealousy.

Fry had several sweet moments where he worried about Bender: "Read it and weep, like I did" was so heartfelt. The Comedy Central run could be a little too mean-spirited, so I'm glad this season backed off on that. How can I care about the characters if they don't care about each other?

I also enjoyed watching the crew go on a delivery--haven't seen that in a while--and the jokes could've easily appeared in classic Fox episodes. Mom was also great. She was evil but still lovable in her weird way.

Anyway, some have criticized season eight for relying on nostalgia, but I mean--if the writing is good, I don't see anything wrong with bringing back fan favorites. Maybe I'd change my mind if we started seeing garbage episodes that relied entirely on callbacks, but right now, I just see them as loving tributes to the show.

People DO enjoy seeing old characters again. Why is that a bad thing? And some of these callbacks are "deep cuts," implying that the writers love the show as much as we do.

#futurama #futurama reviews

[neko-chan-13]

I posted 366 times in 2022

That's 247 more posts than 2021!

110 posts created (30%)

256 posts reblogged (70%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@crazysnor1ax

@wilson-percival-higgsbury

@neko-chan-13

@p-inkbrush

slightly-gay-pogohammer

I tagged 351 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#reblog - 236 posts

#dst - 146 posts

#friends stuff - 48 posts

#aled ;-; - 31 posts

#blabbering - 30 posts

#curses au - 17 posts

#willowson - 14 posts

#poutine posting - 9 posts

#dst willow - 8 posts

#the epik metheus speedrun - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#but like all my art projects my intentions are left to the viewer’s interpretation so if you had done wheeler or walani it would have been

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapter 5 is out you guys!

And yes this is what happens in this chapter, almost-

49 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#4

When playing the Gorge with @warlepidoptera ends ups with me buying the wrong cooking gears and her turning into a Wilson caricature while I try to work-

60 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#3

Maxwell rework spoilers out of context

See the full post

68 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

#2

See the full post

78 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

How are we doing Futurama Fandom?

Good thing I finished this yesterday am I right? :)

123 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #I wasn't going to post this but my first post is my futurama Art and I am getting emotional ;w; #aled ;-;

[historyhermann]

My Dad the Bounty Hunter Review

My Dad the Bounty Hunter is a coming-of-age animated sci-fi adventure series by Everett Downing Jr. and Patrick Harpin. Both have worked in the animation industry for many years, often as storyboarders or writers. However, this is their first series they have created on their own. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-fourth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 14, 2023.

This animated series centers on the story of Terry (voiced by Laz Alonso), a Black father who has a secret job: he is a bounty hunter named Sabo Bok. One day, his children, annoyed by his constant disappearances, stowaway in his flying car, and find themselves in a spaceship. Terry is forced to care for his precocious daughter Lisa (voiced by Priah Ferguson), and his nerdy, but anxious, son Sean (voiced by Jecobi Swain). All the while he faces his former business partner, Gorlox (voiced by Rob Riggle), and the Conglomerate, represented by The Fixer (voiced by Jim Rash) who is a bit like Agent Smith in the Matrix franchise.

Personally, I was not planning on watching this series, and knew even less about it, as no one has even bothered to create a Wikipedia page for it! In an effort to watch more shows made by Black creators, I decided to give this series a chance, and I was impressed by what I watched. The voice actors and animation was top notch, as is the music selection.

In some ways, My Dad the Bounty Hunter felt familiar. That's because voice actors like Yvette Nicole Brown, Kari Wahlgen, Yvonne Orji, Christian Lanz, Keith Ferguson, Andrew Morgado, and SungWon Cho, who voice Krs, Lootbat, Tess and other assorted characters in this series, are all well-known voice actors. They are known for their roles in The Ghost and Molly McGee, Velma, Fairfax, Elena of Avalor, Victor and Valentino, Craig of the Creek, High Guardian Spice, Gen:Lock, and The Cuphead Show.

Furthermore, the plot line of this series reminded me, in more ways than one, of episodes of Dogs in Space and Cleopatra in Space, which share some of the same voice actors. It even made me think of the first season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, when Omega and the Bad Batch are on the run from various bounty hunters who want to kill or capture Omega.

Since the series is for all ages, there rarely blood spilled, just some laser battles, fights, and the like. Sure, no one is invincible, but also, no one gets seriously hurt, apart from Terry crash-landing on a planet and some scuffles. There aren't assassinations on the scale of the Immediate Murder Professionals in Helluva Boss or mass murder akin to the season one finale of Invincible.

All in all, I found My Dad the Bounty Hunter a fun watch. Even so, I would have preferred, just as I did with Season 2 of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, for 1-2 episodes to air every week, rather than all the episodes dropping at once on February 9th. That would allow for more time to take in what is happening in each episode. On the other hand, the series almost seemed to be designed for a binge, since a lot happens in a short period of time, assisted by music and fast-pacing. The series was undoubtedly affected by the fact that, reportedly, 99% of it was produced "at-home" because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was nothing to dislike when it comes to the show's cast. This is despite the fact that this is Laz Alonso's first major voice role, while Jecobi Swain and Priah Ferguson are new to voice acting. They only voice characters in Hamster & Gretel and Firebuds. The same can be said for the more seasoned voice actors, including, apart from those I mentioned earlier, Jamie Chung (as Vax) and Maddie Taylor (as Torga). There are other new voice actors such as Leslie Uggams (as Grandma), Everett Downing Jr. (as Bogdog), and Devin Bright (as Player 2). This gives the series life and makes the characters much more relatable.

Just as The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is likely to garner a Black audience, the same is the case for My Dad the Bounty Hunter. It is designed for families, especially, like many other all-ages series currently out there. In addition, characters like Lisa, who is sassy and intelligent, may become beloved. Some might even connect to the fact that she organized a gambling den at her local school and held high-stakes poker games. She is like Maya in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, in that she when she gets passionate and determined, no one can stop her. In fact, Lisa becomes skilled with a sword, and plays a vital role, especially when helping her dad out of some tough situations, as does her brother Sean.

As I've said in other reviews, 3-D animation is not always my favorite. For instance, I think the Tales of Arcadia can be a bit hard to watch at times due to the animation style. However, the animation is done very well in this series. It is as strong as the flowing animation in D4DJ. Computer generated images can be good if they are animated with a distinct style, but traditional, 2-D animation, is just as good. The series was supposed to be 2-D originally, but it cost less to do 3-D, as they didn't have to build sets, while flashback scenes were 2-D, which separated "the present from the past" as Harpin noted.

Due to the fact that My Dad the Bounty Hunter is only 10 episodes, there isn't much time for lore, or even exploration of everyone's backstory. There's some backstory given for Terry, Tess (Terry's wife), and a bit for Lisa, but that's it. Even so, this doesn't take away from some of the messages in the series, emphasizing the importance of family, togetherness, and overcoming obstacles. This creates a wholesome series which sticks with you, episode-to-episode.

This fades away when the story centers on brutal exploitation of the Chillas by the Conglomerate. These creatures are imprisoned and forced to mine minerals for no pay (i.e. as slaves), with the materials only used to make the Conglomerate that much richer. Unlike Qui-Jon Jinn, who only freed Anakin from slavery on Tatooine, Lisa, with the help of Vax and her comrades, frees all of them. She ultimately convinces her dad, Terry, to side with her, once he realizes he is doing the wrong thing.

Watching My Dad the Bounty Hunter made me think of the exploitation of the worms in Futurama, especially exemplified by Slurms MacKenzie, who caused the caves to collapse, when he parties one last time. There are similarities to the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi in more ways than one, or rescue missions in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which ends up freeing those imprisoned, often by the Galactic Empire, even if it puts their lives in jeopardy.

The season one finale of My Dad the Bounty Hunter leaves the door open for more seasons. It remains to be seen if Netflix will go that route, or whether it will treat it like City of Ghosts, a curiosity which executives deemed as needing no continuation. I remain hopeful that despite all the shenanigans going on at Netflix right now, they will renew the series.

After all, since the series is based on the dynamics within the family of co-creator Everett Downing Jr., there is likely more to explore in that realm. There are other plotlines which could be told in a second season. Perhaps Lisa will have a boyfriend, or even a girlfriend, and family conflicts may erupt, changing this from a happy family-friendly series into a more mature one.

Even so, it is likely, more than not, that a second season would continue to portray a loving Black family, and have additional sci-fi elements, which the creators said they incorporated into the series the best they could. When asked about another season, one of the co-creators said he would like to focus on Tess and "give her a shot in the captain’s seat."

Furthermore, since the first season of My Dad the Bounty Hunter was said to be a "love letter to animation, science fiction, and Black families" rolled into a wild action-comedy, it is possible that another season would go even further. There is a lot which can be done with animation, unlike any other medium, which makes it apt for storytelling. Of course, not every animated series is superb, and some are subpar. But, when animation is done well, it shines like nothing else. This series shines.

This series is unique, even on Netflix. While the streaming platform hosts shows like Princess Power, Ada Twist Scientist, Dogs in Space, Hilda, The Dragon Prince, Bee and Puppycat, and Dragon Age: Absolution, nothing even comes close to this series. The same can be said for the upcoming Agent Elvis and Mulligan.

The only comparison with this series is on other streaming platforms, specifically in the Star Wars franchise, a flagship grounding Disney+ in the streaming wars. Perhaps, My Dad the Bounty Hunter is being used to compete with those series. Although, if that is the case, it would be absurd, since the other series are much longer lived, and likely have more money behind them.

In the end, while My Dad the Bounty Hunter is not my favorite series ever, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and I'd definitely recommend it, as it can be watched in its entirety during a morning, or an afternoon.

My Dad the Bounty Hunter is currently streaming on Netflix.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#my dad the bounty hunter #netflix #the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #sw tbb #the proud family louder and prouder #the proud family #pop culture #reviews #futurama #star wars #city of ghosts #capitalism #exploitation #animals #families #Youtube

[miloscat]

[Review] Futurama (PS2)

The darker side of licenced games.

Having recently played some Star Wars/Trek games, I thought I’d throw in this sixth-generation game based on an excellent show that pastiches both, released shortly before the first of its many cancellations (ie. when the show was still good). While some aesthetic aspects are authentic, for some reason development was handed off to a Swedish studio mostly known for low-budget racing games and the gameplay suffers.

The strength of Futurama: The Game is in its presentation: the voice actors reprise their roles, the script was written by one of the show’s writers, and the music by its composer. The cel-shaded style also works fairly well in rendering a convincing 3D version of the show’s colourful world (although you’re really not supposed to see Fry and Leela’s hairstyles from certain angles!). Showrunner David X. Cohen even considers the collected cutscenes a sort of “lost episode”, and included an edited version as a bonus feature on one of the movie releases.

The problem is all the stuff between the cutscenes, where you have to play the thing. Levels are split between characters with different playstyles: Fry takes on third-person shooter segments in the streets and sewers of New New York, Bender does some platforming and brawling on a desert asteroid mine (including a Crash Bandicoot-esque chase-towards-the-screen bit), and Leela does fisticuffs and puzzling in an ethnically-ambiguous city on the surface of the Sun. To round things out, Zoidberg pops in for another Crash-style animal-riding autorunner, then everyone gets another turn in Mom’s trap-laden robot base.

Out of all these diverse gameplay styles, the 3D platformer parts are probably the most competent and fun, but they’re still dragged down by some slipperiness into instant death pits at various points (stock up on lives early, you’ll need them!). The combat is only ever fine at best, and doesn’t really suit the setting too much, especially with the sheer volume of it. Special mention must be made of Zoidberg’s awful ride with its dodgy hit detection and frequent slowdown; at least the game seems to know it will take many tries, and writes around suspending the lives system for this sequence.

The real problem is that the game is in these two halves, with the major cutscenes seeming like excerpts from the show and the main gameplay levels feeling like nothing so much as bloated, dull filler. There’s the occasional one-liner aside, and the playable characters have their oft-repeated barks, but the promise of an integrated “interactive episode” that the developers’ website boasted does not ring true from a player’s perspective. Please save yourself the trouble and watch the edited cutscene package “The Lost Adventure” rather than forcing yourself through this!

#futurama #uds #review #ps2 #futurama the game

[angiefsutton]

#Futurama #review #television #animation