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fly-pow-bye · 5 years

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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Man Up 4: The Donnyest Game”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Yup, he's back.

The epic Man Up saga gets yet another episode, turning the trilogy into a tetralogy, putting it in the same category as the Shrek series. I'd argue the quality is very similar, at least in my opinion. The second one was better than the first, one of the rare sequels that was better in every way, and the third one was just horrific. It was so horrific that I didn't even want to watch the fourth one, but somebody once told me that the world was going to roll me and The Final Chapter was better than the third.

I could talk about the Shrek films all day, but I don't think that's what you came here for. Maybe I'm just trying to delay the inevitable, since the very first character we see in this episode is...

...oh boy, Donny. I was sort of hoping that Donny in the title wasn’t referring to the comic relief, as unlikely as that would be. At least they continue the cruelty streak with him that started with Total Eclipse of the Kart, as he struggles to open a jar of strawberry jam without getting it all over himself and getting covered with ants. It's not that it isn't deserved. The Powerpuff Girls, who normally help other people with jars, don't seem to want to help, though Bubbles does give this lovely advice.

Bubbles: Stop, drop, and roll, Donny!

The joke is that he's not on fire, you silly goose! Get ready, because there's a lot of jokes like this. While all of this jam related insanity is happening, a familiar face is hiding in the bushes.

Because this is a part of the Man Up tetralogy, we get the one thing that linked all of them, and the only thing that linked all of them: the villain is Manboy, a man man man man who wants to prove that he is a man man man man by doing man man man man things. The most man man man man thing in this episode is to beat up this majestic unicorn. See, it's ironic, because this majestic horned pony is getting annihilated by ants. Or, "ant-nilhilated" as Donny puts it. He's trying. Oh McCracken, he's trying.

I'm surprised they didn't leave a pause between that pun and Blossom talking about the B-plot of this episode. She doesn't want to waste any time, because they have one hour before they have to participate in the Utonium Strawberry Picking Contest.

The winner gets their photo on the fridge, along with a photo showing the "4th year strawberry champ", which happens to be Blossom! Before I can ramble on about how this show's sense of time is out of whack, I can say that the episode proves that this is not referring to Blossom being the 4th consecutive winner of the strawberry picking contest, but the winner of the 4th year this contest was held. Then again, who would have participated in the 1st? Jojo back when he was a monkey? I'm putting way too much thought into this, am I?

Donny is super intrigued by this grand prize, as if the winds of destiny were whispering "Danny". Bubbles has to slowly move her Finn-faced head in to remind him that his name is Donny, in another amazing joke for this comic relief character.

Buttercup, that rascal, tells Donny he doesn't have a good shot at being the champion of giving Sitcom Dad his sweet, sweet free strawberries, but Bubbles comes in to defend her best friend.

Bubbles: It's okay, Don-Bon! You may not be the best strawberry hunter, but you’re still my best friend!

Yeah, great pep talk, Bubbles. Yeah, Donny is terrible at absolutely everything, but at least he's Bubbles' best friend because he has a great personality he doesn't treat his old friends like dirt when he makes new ones he's a unicorn! Donny seems to take it okay, at least.

Suddenly, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor that the Blimp Shrimp is on the loose, reminding us all that the Powerpuff Girls do indeed save the world before bedtime and aren't just strawberry pickers that can fly. There really isn't much else; we don't even get to see this Blimp Shrimp; I guess we're supposed to just find rhyming funny. It's not really on the money.

Well, there is one reason: it's so Donny can do something that isn't very bright, since he can't seem to use his common sense without the girls to guide him. While he’s hunting for strawberries using his strategy of saying he will not be distracted, he sees a churro on a napkin. This napkin happens to be right next to a lasso hanging off of a tree! He can't fall for this.

(Johnny Test Whip Crack)

At least, that's what Manboy thought. Manboy is bewildered by this specimen, as not only does he not look like the unicorn in his purple guidebook, he fell for the very first trap he put up! You'd think he would know all of this, since he was clearly looking at him getting defeated by ants.

Man Boy: It says here that unicorns are incredibly powerful, are experts at camouflage, and are capable of tracking their opponents across many miles! That doesn't really sound like you!

Donny: I know! I sound more like, "Hi, my name's Donny! D-O-N-N-Y!"

I am so glad to say this is the last time he appears this season. They couldn’t even be consistent with him not knowing his name. They could have at least had him misspell it. Actually, they shouldn’t. Manboy, finding no pleasure in beating up such a weakling, offers him some training that would turn him into a commando. “A strawberry commando?”, Donny asks, and Manboy just rolls with it.

So Manboy trains his own opponent through many tasks, like jumping across cliffs, catching fish, doing pull-ups over a fire, and a few other. This training montage is played a bit too straight to be that funny, but it does have this song about how montages are only here to speed things up. No, really.

Bet you can't guess what's happening here Time is of the essence, so we'll make it clear We only got a minute for a montage song Because this episode is ten minutes long

A montage is happenin'!

I am not going to lie, it's kind of catchy, and at least it gives a scene some sort of a joke.

There is one other thing: there's a scene where Donny gets taken away by what is unmistakably a bald eagle. Later, after he starts getting the hang of being a manly unicorn, he punches that eagle right in the face without even a hit flash. I don’t even know what to say.

After his training and his somewhat justified violence against the national bird of the country this takes place in, or at least it was in the original, he ends up becoming a Rambo-like muscled hero, looking almost exactly like the picture in that purple guidebook. I always wanted to see Donny get the Musclecup treatment, said no one ever. Thanks to this training, Donny stops telling bad jokes all the time and now speaks only in gruff action hero lines. Not sure if I would consider that an improvement.

Manboy: Okay, unicorn! It's time to play the most dangerous game...and you're it!

...so he wants to play a children's playground game with him? That is the conclusion one would expect Donny to consider with that line, but how else would somebody interpret that? I think he may have forgotten a sentence.

Suddenly, Donny starts shooting horn lasers at him. He tries, for the only time in the entire episode, to use his man man man man beard powers, but they get lasered off. Much like the Reboot Puffs in certain episodes, Manboy just knows that a punch would not be able to stop him, and just runs away.

Speaking of the Reboot Puffs, we do get a peek back at the B-plot, and I really mean a peek, because there's almost nothing here. After Sitcom Dad reiterates how this strawberry picking contest's prize is that fabled picture on the fridge, Buttercup boasts that she is for sure that she'll win this time. She has a secret weapon: a dust buster. Bubbles asks if she really learned nothing from that time she used a vacuum cleaner last year.

Insert cutaway gag where Buttercup chases triple chin Ranger Smith with a vacuum cleaner. Honestly, Bubbles should have just stopped at asking if she really has learned nothing, because the answer is usually yes.

Most of this episode is just Manboy getting chased by the Muscled Hellhorn, sometimes hiding in a bush to avoid him. Donny slowly walks, yelling out to Manboy to come out, come out, where ever he is. This is the big irony; he's this big and strong manly man, and he's getting chased away by a sparkly unicorn...who is also a big and strong manly man. I think the muscles and action movie one liners really lessen this.

Buttercup shows up to suck up some strawberries with her dust buster, and she unintentionally sucks up the bush Manboy was hiding in. Hey, something that actually ties the Donny chasing after Manboy plot with the strawberry plot! Unfortunately, that's the only time the two plots really converge; Donny doesn't even seem to be interested in the strawberries in any of these scenes.

As for those strawberries, the next time we see a Powerpuff Girl is when the episode suddenly cuts to a scene where Blossom is picky about what strawberries she puts in her basket. At least that kind of fits her character, even if that seems to sabotage her plans to win. Sitcom Dad outright said the person with the most strawberries wins that coveted photo on the fridge. Honestly, that's really it for the strawberry plot until the end, and no attempt is made to connect this scene with anything else.

It's just more Donny from here on out. If there's any kind of progression, at least the training montage made him a little more competent at dodging traps. He easily dodges an arrow trap, and just walks through a fallen tree. The closest thing to an action scene in this entire episode, really. Eventually something's got to break this new character of his, and it's going to take more than a napkin with a churro on it.

Oh no, it takes a napkin with two churros to make him fall into a trap! He even reverts back to his usual voice just to yell out his love for churros. Manboy shows up that he finally bested this majestic and powerful unicorn...even though he not once tried to lay a finger on him like he said he was going to do. I guess he would take any victory at this point.

Unfortunately for Manboy, that victory doesn't last. Somehow, Donny managed to set up a trap of his own, as Manboy ends up walking backwards, stepping onto a green button, which covers him in strawberry jam. At least that strawberry jam scene from the opening has a point, as he then gets to succumb to the ants.

And not just ants, either, but he also ends up running into a beehive. It doesn't entirely reference the infamous Nicolas Cage remake of The Wicker Man, but we do get this line, which is almost as good:

Manboy: Oh my god! Bees! Bees! Gyaaah!

Okay, he says gosh, but that's not what I heard. Then he gets attacked by a shark, because random. Eventually, he does end up going into a river, which does cleanse him from the jam, the ants, the bees, and the shark. This river ends up going into a waterfall, and then goes into another waterfall. Both times, they have to point out where Manboy is with a giant yellow beeping arrow, as if the context wasn't clear enough. This scene was enjoyable, but that might be because this is the best beating Manboy ever gotten.

And now, the required "I'm so sorry I was such a doofus" scene, though we usually don't see it from a villain. Donny somehow managed to get out of the cage and run all the way down to the bottom of the twin waterfalls to confront Manboy. I honestly stopped questioning such things; maybe it's that same kind of unicorn magic that allows him to poof tickets to ice skating shows.

Donny doesn't accept this apology, and does what he wanted to do as a person who was called "It."

Donny: Tag, you're it! Now you'll have to chase me-e-e-e-e-e!

The conclusion one would expect Donny to consider with that "and you're it" line is exactly what happens. One might ask, if this was Donny's idea of playing tag, why was he trying to horn laser him? The answer, much like most other questions one could ask about this reboot, is pineapples.

Manboy, in his anger, finally decides to lunge right towards Donny to possibly fulfill his promise to beat up a unicorn. Donny moves his neck slightly to make him miss and hit a tree instead. Yeah, it wasn't as cool as when Blossom did that in the original.

In the end, they finally tie this all up with that strawberry plot I completely forgot about, since it barely shows up. Blossom has her pretty pile, Buttercup accidentally sucked up the park ranger, and Bubbles ate the strawberries she found. Since she's best friends with a character who is well established in this episode to be not too bright, Bubbles can't be too far off, you see.

Donny shows up with that tree Manboy ran into, and it turned out to be a strawberry tree. His muscular physique is suddenly gone for no reason whatsoever. Why shouldn't they just have him stay muscular at the end of the episode? The status quo never seems to bother them.

The Professor decides to give Donny that fabled photo on the fridge he always wanted, right next to a fridge magnet of a poorly drawn Texas. Yee haw. Yeah, I can't think of a better ending for this.

Does the title fit?

Sadly, yes, at least with the Donnyest Game. I guess Donny being made more "manly" does sort of continue with Man Up 3's themes, but that's as close as we get.

How does it stack up?

Out of all the Donny-focused episodes, this is the best Donny one by the virtue of having not as much to complain about. He’s not constantly whining and being an absolutely terrible analogy the writers had to deny. He’s not being a terrible friend by ditching him for a total stranger who happened to have glitter and crayons. The episode doesn’t prop him up as this incredibly important character while the characters we should be caring about are getting their butts kicked. Most importantly, it’s not Bubbs and Donny Get The Mail.

However, there really isn't much to praise, either. The strawberry plot doesn't really go anywhere beyond a cutaway gag, and this episode doesn't change my opinion on Manboy or Donny as characters. I don't hate this episode, but I didn't really want to re-watch it.

Next, another episode where a villain cowers in fear over a cutesy character. Will it be any better than this one?

← Watch It! ☆ The Oct-Father →

#fpb ppg 2016 #ppg 2016 #powerpuff girls #cartoon network #fpb reviews

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imjustthemechanic · 6 years

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The French Mistake

Part 1/? - A Visitor Part 2/? - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/? - Cutscene Part 4/? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/? - Breathless Part 6/? - Escape at Last Part 7/? - Fox in Socks Part 8/? - Things Go Wrong Part 9/? - Downey and Out Part 10/? - Road Trip Part 11/? - Temptation Part 12/? - An Awful Reunion Part 13/? - Unreality Intrudes Part 14/? - A Call for Help Part 15/? - Loki’s Guests Part 16/? - Stan Lee Cameo Part 17/? - Reassessment Part 18/? - Midnight Invasion Part 19/? - Elevator Fight Part 20/? - Courage Part 21/? - Unwelcome Back Part 22/? - Darkest Hour Part 23/? - They Are Here Part 24/? - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Part 25/? - Word of God

When you need to know the secrets of the Marvel universe, there’s only one person to ask.

“Sixteen hours?” asked Kevin. “Jesus.”

Steve wanted to tell her not to take the Lord’s name in vain, but he still remembered the weeks of ribbing he’d gotten the last time he’d asked somebody to mind their language.

“In sixteen hours,” she said carefully. “I might be able to draw a decent picture of it.”

“What if you skip all the testing stuff and just go for it?” Bob asked.

Donny cleared his throat. “I was in this movie a while back. The Martian. Did you see it?”

“You gotta understand,” Kevin added, “I’m just one person and I’ve got other stuff to do. I’m also trajectory on Europa Clipper, and there’s Mars 2020, and the Ice Giant mission we’re still trying to hammer out… Mike was very clear that it’s all gotta stay in the pipeline just in case we survive this.”

“Right, right,” said Steve. His brain was starting to recover from the shock six months had given it, and he was now trying to figure a way around it. “So instead of snatching the wormhole machine out from under their noses and running, we’re actually going to have to permanently neutralize the Chi’Tauri. Then we’ll have to be on guard for a while in case the ones back in our universe get tired of waiting and send another group.” The promise of a quick victory had slipped away into the looming dread of a long siege, but they would just have to deal with it. “So we need to figure out how to capture or kill them.”

“I am not flying any nukes anywhere,” said Bob. “Just to get that out of the way.”

“You killed quite a few of them during the Battle of New York, didn’t you?” Hayley asked. “How did you do it then?”

“By hitting them really, really hard,” said Natasha.

That didn’t work here, as their attempt to fight in the convention centre had already proved – without the serum, Thor’s Asgardian strength, or Natasha’s enhancements, they just couldn’t hit hard enough. “They all collapsed when the nuke went off,” said Steve. “Fury said the scientists figured some kind of connection with the mother ship had been broken.” If they couldn’t get a bomb into space, doing that again was going to be difficult.

“They must have some kind of weakness,” Hayley said. “Aliens in comic books always do.”

Steve’s brain, which had been roiling a moment ago as he tried to think, came to a dead halt. Comic books.

“What?” Hayley asked, seeing his expression change. “Do you know what it is?”

“No,” said Steve, “but we know who does!” He reached into one pocket, then the other, and then realized they’d all left their phones back at the hotel in Canada during their hurried escape. “We need a phone. And we need… does anybody have Stan Lee’s number?”

Hayley brought her hands together, a delighted smile on her face. “Of course!” she said.

“I’ve got it!” Bob pulled a phone out of his jacket and scrolled through it.

“Use this one.” Kevin grabbed a yellowed 90’s cordless handset off another table. “It’s got a speaker.”

Steve picked up the receiver. “Isn’t that a new phone?” he asked Bob. “I mean, we left the hotel with nothing.”

“I saved my contacts in the cloud,” Bob said. “Our world might not have all that fancy hologram stuff, but we’re not barbarians!” He found the contact and showed the number to Steve, who started punching it in on the JPL phone. “Although Stan Lee didn’t create the Chi’Tauri,” he added. “I think that might have been Mark Miller…”

“Well, if Stan Lee doesn’t know, then he can probably give us the number of somebody who does,” said Steve. He turned on the speakerphone and set the handset in the middle of the table so everybody could hear and talk. It rang once, twice, then three times.

“He never answers right away,” said Bob, trying to sound encouraging. “And he doesn’t have voicemail. He says there’s no point because he’s not gonna listen to it anyway.”

A fifth ring, then a sixth… and then finally, on the tenth, there was the soft sound of a pickup.

“Stan Lee,” said the old man’s voice. “Marvel Allfather.”

“Hello!” said Steve. “This is Steve Rogers!”

“Oh, yes!” said Lee cheerfully. “I told you I’d run into you again. What can I do you for, Cap? No, wait, you gave up Captain America after Civil War, didn’t you? I’m still trying to convince the Russos to get you into the Nomad costume.”

Steve refused to let himself be distracted. “Stan,” he said, “we need to know what the Chi’Tauri’s weakness is.”

There was a pause. “What, you want me to just tell it to you?” Stan asked. “That’s cheating!”

“No, it’s not!” Steve protested. “We’re trying to save the world here!”

“No, no, no,” Stan insisted. “When the narrator pulls something out of nowhere to tie up the plot, that’s a deus ex machina and it’s been lazy writing ever since the time of the ancient Greeks! How would you feel if you woke up and found out this had all been a dream? You’d be disappointed, right? It’s the same thing.”

“Actually, I’d be okay with that,” said Steve. Waking up in his apartment in Wakanda and learning none of this had ever happened? He’d take it.

“Well, I’m not,” said Stan. “I’ve never approved of it, and I’m not going to start now.”

“This isn’t a story, Stan!” said Bob. “There are actual aliens in Houston and they’re gonna kill people.”

“It’s a story to somebody,” Stan insisted. “If the people in our stories actually exist in other universes, which they demonstrably do, then obviously we’re a story in somebody else’s, and I’d hate to give them a letdown ending.”

“Ah!” Hayley leaned forward. “But a deus ex machina is something that hasn’t already been established in the story’s world, right? Right? So you were pre-established! We met you in the hotel room and you gave us pointers there! It’s properly a part of the narrative universe, and you can do it again without cheating!”

There was no immediate reply. Steve waited, drumming his fingers impatiently.

“Stan?” asked Bob.

“I’m still here,” said Stan. “You know what? She’s right. Well done, Miss Atwell! Very well, then,” he decided. “The Chi’Tauri who are after you lot are drones. Remember when the wormhole closed in New York and they all just fell down?”

“Yeah, we were talking about that,” said Steve.

“They’re a hive-mind,” Stan explained, “and the center of their thought and initiative lies in the queen. If they haven’t got a queen within range, all they can do is lie there and drool.”

“So there are actually five of them here, then,” said Nat. “We haven’t seen the queen because they’re keeping her hidden.”

“Exactly,” Stan agreed. “Find the queen, and you can bring them all down at once and cart them off to Area 51 for dissection! Does that help?”

“Yeah,” said Steve. “That helps a lot.”

“Wonderful!” Stan said. “I’ll look forward to hearing about it later – bye now!” There was a click as he hung up.

Hayley reached out to turn off the handset. “I… I don’t think he really believes us,” she observed. “I think he considers this some big game.”

“No, he believes it,” said Bob. “Stan’s been waiting for something like this his entire life.”

“I don’t care if he believes it,” Steve decided. “As long as his advice is good.” He sat back and tried to make a list of tasks. “So… distract the Chi’Tauri, kill or incapacitate the queen, steal the wormhole machine and bring it back here so Kevin can figure out how to direct it, and then… deal with maybe six months more of Chi’Tauri incursions as they come after Loki again and again?”

“Optimistically six months,” Kevin reminded him. “I have honestly no idea.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds impossible,” said Hayley, discouraged.

“Nothing is impossible,” Thor assured her. “Some things are merely very difficult.”

“We’re used to impossible tasks,” said Nat. She rubbed her hands together. “Okay, where will they be hiding the queen? Loki, when you were working for the Chi’Tauri, did you ever…”

“I wasn’t working for them,” Loki interrupted her. “They were working for me. And I was never on board one of their frightful vessels. Those are for the rabble. I had better ways to get around. But,” he added, “they kept their queens on the mother ships that housed the Leviathans, far away from Earth where no threat could be present.”

“Okay, I can tell you categorically that there is no Chi’Tauri mothership in orbit of earth,” said Kevin. “We monitor earth orbit because it’s full of crap that can crash into satellites and make trouble. Besides, anything big enough to be considered a mothership, if it were between us and the moon you’d be able to see it from your backyard.”

“And we’re already pretty sure that one Leviathan’s all they’ve got,” Nat said, “because if they had more they’d send them. If they’ve got the queen with them, then she’s on board that.”

Loki sighed, and then took his glasses off with a scowl – but one that seemed to be directed at the glasses themselves rather than at anything else – and leaned forward. He obviously didn’t like talking about his time with the Chi’Tauri, but he recognized the need. “Considering the esteem in which the queens are held,” he said, “they would have had to alter the troop transport to let her live on board. They would not squeeze her into a little sleep pod like a common soldier.”

“Perhaps that is why there are a mere four of them,” Thor said. “Those we fought in New Yrok seemed to house dozens. We need to know what’s inside the vessel.” He looked at Bob.

Bob shook his head. “The whole thing was special effects, remember?” he asked. “A bunch of tech people put it all together in a computer while I was busy knocking up Susan. I don’t even remember what it was supposed to look like from the outside.”

“There were some people back down the hall who had blueprints or something,” Steve said, remembering the rooms they’d passed on the way in.

A quick search found the room in question – JPL employees ranging in age from twenty to seventy had a set of plans and concept art spread out on a table, and were poring over it while a nervous Marvel Studios executive hovered behind them, trying to discourage them from drawing on the original artwork with sharpies. Steve waited in the hall, leaning on the crutch the policewoman had given him, while Natasha marched in.

“Good afternoon, folks,” she said, and reached for the blueprint mockup they were examining.

They stared at her – especially the representative of the studio, a woman in a pea-green skirt suit, with gray streaks in her shoulder-length brown hair.

“Scarlett?” the woman asked.

“Natasha.” She held out her hands.

The employees started picking up the drawings and diagrams, loathe to part with them. Nat put her hands on her hips.

“Do you want us to beat up your aliens for you?” she asked. “Or should we just let them blow up Houston?”

“Give them to her,” the woman in green ordered. “I trust her with them better than I trust you guys.”

Word spread quickly, and soon it seemed like half the people at JPL had crowded into one of the big conference rooms, where three Avengers, three actors, and a specialist in orbital mechanics were trying to come up with a slightly more coherent plan. The woman in green, whose name seemed to be Iris, had loaded a 3D model of the Leviathan on a laptop, and Natasha was examining it.

“The single-person craft dock here.” She ran a finger down the side of the Leviathan as it rotated past. “So that’s where we’ll be going in, rather than at the mouth like Stark did.”

“The internal structure is relatively weak,” Bob noted. He’d found a packet of ‘astronaut ice cream’ somewhere, and was munching on the chalky-looking pink and white contents. “There’s been big arguments about that online – how Tony couldn’t scratch it from the outside but blew it up from the inside, and how it crumpled up when the Hulk punched it.”

“The vessels are not designed to operate under gravity, only within their own anti-gravity fields,” said Loki. “If your weapons or the monster’s fist damaged the anti-gravity generator, the whole machine could collapse under its own weight.”

“Like a sea serpent suffocating on a beach,” Thor agreed.

“So if we can lay some charges inside, we ought to be able to bring it down,” said Nat. “Especially if we can find the generator… that’s gotta be in the head,” she pointed, “if the Hulk managed to punch it.”

“Sounds good,” said Steve. They were starting to have a plan again, but there was still the matter of time. When he checked his watch again, they were now down to fourteen hours and twenty-six minutes.

#fanfic #steve rogers #natasha romanov

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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Review: Rise of the turtles, part 2 (TMNT 2012)

Here we go again, I know it’s been a while. Originally, I meant to get this review out during the quarantine last March but I never got to it. I got the first season on DVD during March and I thought of just watching the episodes from DVD instead of finding them online. During June I got myself a problem however: My TV broke (or more precisely: speakers broke) so I couldn’t really watch anything with any kind of audio. Now that I have my new beautiful TV, I thought nothing would be more suitable for my first watch than some TMNT.

With that, I decided to take a notepad, sit on my sofa and watch the second episode.

Continuing the last episode, Turtles realize who ever took April and her father, may have some answers to what happened to them 15 years ago so they end up interrogating Snake, the man who was driving the van. While they find out the “people” doing these kidnappings are called “The Kraang” and that they have been kidnapping scientists from the city, they don’t find out why. Snake himself doesn’t know the answer, he tells the turtles where they can find the Kraang but manages to get away from them later on. While he is listening in Leo and Raph trick him into believing they are going to use his van to drive in as they are attempting to save April and her father – which is not actually way they plan to use his van. The turtles return to the lair to gear up for their mission. Raph has a tender moment with his pet turtle while Mikey pops up and ends up being chased by Raph with spoon. While Leo is having doubts whether their plan will be a success or not, Splinter then encourages Leo by telling about his past, of how Splinter – as a man lost everything due to a feud with a former friend, Oroku Saki. While Splinter may have lost his family and his name, but he eventually gained a lot of things, like his sons. Leo not completely sure about things, he is positive they will make it through the mission somehow

In the Kraang headquarters April makes a hilarious attempt on escaping and failing at it, while Snake and the Kraang guards outside are waiting for the turtles to arrive. Turtles are on their way alright, using the van as a distraction while they themselves use a different way of transport. When the turtles have found their way inside the building, it turns out it is not something you’d see every day as the place is filled with alien robots. After a while they manage to find April and her dad, however once the turtles are about to get them out, the Kraang appeared and took both humans away. Turtles chase after them but a newly mutated Snake (later named Snakeweed by Mikey) shows up and turtles find themselves yet another battle. This leaves Donnie to save April before she’s taken away by the Kraang. While Donnie manages to save April, her father isn’t quite as lucky as he is still at the clutches of the Kraang.

In the end rest of the turtles manage to take care of Snakeweed – even though not permanently. April moves in with her aunt and is determined to get her father back somehow, the turtles (or mainly Donnie) offer their help in the matter and thus gain their first human ally. So, all is well – or as well as it can be at the moment.

Or is it?

As turtles find out, one of their shuriken ends up in the news, while turtles think it’s cool, Splinter tells them to be more careful from now on as they are mainly meant to say hidden for their own good. And he is right about that as we find out someone very sinister is seeing this very same news broadcast in Japan and plans on visiting an old friend…

What I liked about the episode:

+ Over all this was a very good episode, it had a solid plot, good pacing and great action scenes. Even that one where April tries put up a fight. I found that scene very comical and entertaining. However, my favorite fight scene had to be the one where the turtles face off newly mutated Snakeweed.

+ Speaking off Snakeweed, I’m glad we saw what his mutation process looked like. As far as I can remember I don’t think we have seen mutation scenes in previous shows, so I haven’t really payed the process much attention until now. From what I could tell the whole process was painful and it had horror-esque feel to it, so that’s a plus.

+ I know I didn’t give April much of praise on my first review and it is no secret I hate her with burning passion, but in this episode, I found myself kind of liking her character. She wasn’t someone I would go nuts over, but her personality showed off nicely. Nothing of her personality came off as forced and I liked her interactions with Donnie even though I do not ship Apritello in this version.

+ I really liked the ending, it wrapped out the episode nicely but also brought up a new threat in Shredder while not giving away too much when it comes to his appearance. This helps to keep his character as sinister as he should be.

What I didn’t like:

Honestly, I don’t think there was a thing I didn’t enjoy about this episode, and that’s a first. My only complaint doesn’t have to do with the episode itself but the way the episode was put on DVD. I’m perfectly aware this episode was meant to be one parter, but it in some releases it was presented as a two parter. I remember seeing this one as parts 1 and 2 myself when it aired in my country. I would have liked if the DVD did the same, but oh well, at least I got to watch the whole thing as it was intended.

…I don’t have lot to say about the dub Finland eventually got, simply because I don’t remember much about it. What I do remember I did enjoy Shredder’s Finnish voice. He was voiced by Jarmo Mäkinen, who voiced Valtor from Winx Club as well as Savanti Romero and Zanramon for the third season of TMNT 2003. While he didn’t have deep voice like Kevin Michael Richardson but that didn’t stop him from sounding menacing. I think Mäkinen is similar Markus Bäckman who voices Splinter in a way they sound great as villains. What I like about Mäkinen is that he is able to portray his villains (and I’m mainly talking about his interpretation of Prime leader Zanramon in the season 3 of TMNT 2003) as chill one moment and threatening the next. So, I would say he was a good pick for Shredder. Now I only wish I could have a good memory of him voicing Shredder.

And now, some screen shots!

Turtles seeing the mutagen cannister. I really love their expressions here.

Raph about to do some interrogation....

...In a form of mutation roulette. One of my favorite scenes in the episode. I like the glowing effect they did with the ooze here.

Kraang base.

“What? I can be the only one who’s hungry.” - I can relate.

Everyone here: Mikey, weren’t you supposed to do something?

Leo and Raph looking for Snake.

Snake hiding.

Donnie at work.

Raph busted after having a sensitive talk with his pet turtle, Spike.

“Were you talking to your pet turtle? That is so adorable.”

Leo having some doubts. Luckily Splinter has a story to tell.

Last battle between Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki. I swear from this angle young Oroku Saki does remind me of Hamato Yoshi from 2003 series.

Tang-Shen with their baby daughter Miwa, during the battle.

Oroku Saki starting the fire...

...Which kills Tang-Shen (at least it seemed so before season two that is.)

April knows her rights alright..

But because the Kraang don’t care about their rights she comes up with a plan...

...Buuut it doesn’t look like it’s working.

“Well I guess we can just sit here..” - I must say I like coloring of their cell.

Snake and some Kraangdroids waiting for turtles’ arrival.

Snake mutation.

Turtles climbing the wall.

And they made it in. I really like they gave each turtle different eye color in this version but during action scenes they still have white eyes like in the comics.

Argument between Donnie and Raph.

Some alien robots.

...But now they are toast.

It’s a brain thing!

And now it’s biting Mikey!

This is what happens when you pause an episode at a random moment. Mikey looks cute though.

You heard him Raph, we are going that way.

Donnie manages to find April’s cell.

Action with Mikey.

Donnie picking the lock.

“Hey, do you think it’s easy to pick a lock with these hands?”

Not so fast...

...Because these guys are here.

And with them, more trouble arrives.

Like newly mutated Snakeweed for example.

April being taken away by the Kraang.

Leo figuring out the plan to get rid of Snakeweed.

...While Donnie is trying to save April.

And now it’s April’s turn to hang in there.

April saved by Donnie.

Leo in action.

Snakeweed electrocuted.

Turtles have gained themselves some new enemies.

It’s Kraangy! ...Wait, that doesn’t happen until season 2... or 3... can’t remember.

Turtles promise to help April find her father.

Maybe it’s just me but I find April’s pupils creepy looking. They make her eyes look souless... at least to me.

I swear Donnie has the cutest design ever.

Leo talking to Splinter inside the dojo.

Watching the news.

Okay, who dropped this?

Yay, they made it on the news!

So what’s the worst thing can happen?

Well there’s always this omnious person.

Ending still.

Okay I admit, I may have over do it with the screen shots but they are my favorite thing about these reviews, that and getting to watch some TMNT.

So, what’s next? For now, I’m going for the third episode of TMNT 2003. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as this post. We can always hope, right?

#tmnt2012review

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zoetekohana · 6 years

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I finally watched “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” and I wrote down all my reactions:

Here it goes... COWABUNGA MY TURTLE DUDES.

Ooooh I love the use of ninja throwing stars for the Paramount stars.

I’m also digging the music.

TURTLE FORMATION

Omg, Mickey, no squirrel formation. (I don’t want to see those creepy squirrels from the 2012 series.)

Honestly, even though the plot of the 2014 film wasn’t great (hopefully this one will be better), they had the personalities down to a tee, and it’s great to see that’s still the case.

The way they depict the sibling relationship between Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mickey is so awesome to watch. Not to forget: the fact that they actually act like teenagers is such a plus.

Case in point: Donnie repeatedly telling Raph to “do it do it do it do it do it [the shellskateboarding thing]”. I love it.

Hahahaah, Kevin the pizza guy. Such a nice Kevin Eastmann cameo!

Donnie: “When I say Knicks you say Go.” I’m reminded of the failed “When I say Vol you say Tron.” speech. But at least the bros got it right.

Vern The Falcon? Oh no....

Hahaha, shooting the little spit balls at Vern and then mimicking his falcon. See, such teenagers.

APRIL IS CALLING DONNIE.

I REPEAT APRIL IS CALLING DONNIE.

Yes, I ship them. Shush.

Also, that blonde wig + glasses look really good on Megan Fox?

Baxter Stockmann... He’d go with a FLY FORMATION.

Donnie to April: “Do you need us there?” Awwww.

April to Donnie: “That birthday present that you made for me?” AWWW.

Yes, April, explain Baxter the difference between geek and nerd.

Omg, Baxter, that laugh.

Ofc there needs to be some Megan Fox fanservice... /eyeroll (She was pretty badass going undercover, but still that was unnecessary.)

HAHAHA I LOVE THE DONNIE SMILEY FACE ON HER WATCH WHEN THE DOWNLOAD OF THE FILES IS COMPLETE!

Oh no, the pizza slice on the basketball court....

Poor Mikey, he just want to “LIVE UP THERRRREEE. Up there where flowers bloom.” (And now I have that South Park song stuck in my head.)

Also, a Transformers reference, really?

Wait;;; How are the copied files on April’s watch being deleted? She downloaded them? She wasn’t streaming them....

But good on her for discovering that Baxter is working with Shredder (where did that hunch come from though?) and that he + the Foot Clan plan on breaking him out when he’s being transferred.

Casey Jones as a law enforcer? That’s new?

Ngl, I don’t really like that detail. It doesn’t suit him.

BEBOP AND ROCKSTEADY!!!!! :D

It’s not a Michael Bay production without car explosions. /eyeroll (again)

Also, NYC believes that Vern stopped the Shredder. Why didn’t the NY police ask him to accompany this super important transfer?

Hahaha, that tmnt theme’d honk. I LOVE.

Great updates on the Turtle Shell, Donnie.

Raph when taking out the last of three foot bikers: “That’s how I roll. That’s how you roll.”

Why didn’t Raph stay on the bike? He could cover more ground that way.

Soooo, Baxter knows of the Turtles.

I love how personalised the Turtle Shell is.

Hi there, Krang!

So, lemme get this straight: Krang needs the three teleport devices he sent to Earth to join them into an arch capacitor to teleport the Technodrome to Earth to conquer it. But he was able to teleport Shredder to where he was. Something does not add up there...

So many plotholes.

But whatever, I’m still enjoying this. :)

Donnie and April make such a great team.

But how is she going to get to the TCRI’s mainframe? (Also, how is she going undercover everywhere? Isn’t she recognised as a television reporter?)

Chief: “Manhole covers?”

That was some nice exposition on Jones wanting to become a detective. Like really? It was so odd to tell your superior who’s clearly mad at you that.

The casting for Bebop and Rocksteady is so spot on.

It’s still weird not to have the Shredder vs Splinter backstory. It feels like Splinter is just there now? He’s more important than that. :(

Is that barkeep the Vulture from b99?

Quickly looked it up, yep, that’s Dean Winters. :D

It’s not a Turtles movie without some Vanilla Ice. ;)

Reporter thing aside... Why go on this important undercover mission on high heels? Everyone can hear you. That’s not stealthy there, April.

I get that the purple ooze is different (iirc from the 1987 series) - although I’m not a fan of a different kind of mutagen -, but why not mention the green ooze? They have the green mutagen from the previous film that mutated the Turtles and Splinter? Or am I completely remembering the 2014 film wrong?

Also, how did Shredder shoot two darts into two different directions?

Yes, that gun has two barrels, but he shot both darts practically at the same time?

Also, how are they mutating into a warthog and a rhinoceros without the DNA from those animals?

The way they transformed, that sequence, was pretty cool, though.

Hmm, so we all have a dormant animal gen. It’s an explanation for not needing the animal DNA, I guess.

YES TO HBIC APRIL O’NEIL!

So Casey wants to be a detective, but then suits up as the Hockey Vigilante we know and love. That really doesn’t make much sense.

April to Casey: “Stacey Moans?”

Stacey’s mom has got it going on.... And now I’ve got that song stuck in my head, haha.

Amell physically makes a good Casey Jones. But I’m sorry to say, he’s so stiff and mainly has two faces: this :| or this :D. I’m not a big fan of this casting. I’m okay with it, but idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And Koteas is forever my favourite Casey Jones.

Casey to the turtles: “Do not eat us humans.” Are we really going with that joke?

I love Mickey’s introduction of the Turtles to Casey. :D

DONNIE’S POSE . <3

Haha, Mikey and Raph keeping Casey out of the huddle.

Leo about Casey: “Raph, grab Friday the 13th.” Great reference.

Casey: “And have the most pretentious names ever.”

”Is it me you’re looking for?” ♫ Omg, Splinter listening to pop ballads. I love. xD

Of course Donnie could turn the ooze so they could become humans.

Don’t keep secrets from your brothers, Leo.

Awww, Mickey. The one who wants to be among humans the most. :(

A Turtle Christmas album?? I WANT!

Leo: “There’s only one vote that counts in this family: Mine!” Harsh, bro.

Awww, ofc Donnie loves museums. :)

Casey to Vern: “See you there.” Mikey to Vern: “See you there.” Vern: “He already said that.” That made me laugh more than it should have.

I love how Leo and Donnie are riding the subway like that.

They’re not monsters. :’(

I want to give Mickey a big hug.

Leo to Splinter: “I can’t get them all on the same page, to think with one mind.” Splinter to Leo: “You shouldn’t want them all to think the same. It’s their different points-of-view that makes the team strong. A good leader understands this. A good brother accepts it.” I love this.

Seriously, the personalities and the interactions are so on point.

Where did Beebs and Rock get a tank???

So many fistbumps in this film, omg.

I forgot to mention this before, but I like that Donnie isn’t as muscle-y as the others. I do like these different personal designs.

Also, Donnie easily jumping to go to the other plane. That was great.

Raph: “What would Vin Diesel do? No regrets, no fear.” Hahahaha.

Whoa, really, shooting from a tank inside a plan? “Dude seriously” is the right reaction.

Also, how is Donnie able to stay inside that open cockpit???

Lbr, Donnie is the mvp in this film.

“THIS PIG IS FLYING!” Hahahahahaha.

Raph seeing that turtle. A reference to Spike, maybe? :D

Okay, that entire river sequence was AWESOME!!!

I wouldn’t change one things about it: from seeing the turtles swim under water, to Raph saving Donnie from the tank missile, to the four of them hiding in their shell (along with that “ploemp” sound effect) when going down the water fall.

Leo (sarcastically): “Thanks, guys. Real time effort.” Wow, way to be a dick there. :/

”Justice comes in all shapes and sizes.” That explains Casey Jones suiting up in his hockey vigilante get-up, I guess. But idk, that little plot could have been written better.

Come on, Vern, you can step up. :)

Oh no, Vern missing the obvious there with the location of the data storage of that hidden camera. hashtag relatable

Leo: “We may be brothers, but we’re not a team.” That hurts....

But that portal technically isn’t your science, Baxter, it’s Krang’s. The names you mentioned might become footnotes, but so would you.

Donnie gathered all that information rather quickly? Unbelievable quickly?

But again, he’s the mvp!

I love that old video console on Donnie’s wrist.

They’re turtles forever. :)

I really thought Shredder was going to say that Baxter would always the same, aka “a fly on the wall” instead of “a footnote”.

Vern: “When something bad happens, you want to be with the turtles.” That is true.

Haha, oh u Shredder. You betrayed Baxter to have all the glory, but you didn’t consider Krang would betray you?

KRANG DOESN’T SHARE FOOD.

Oh, I noticed that Triceration next to Shredder! :D

Wow, Jade spoke for once. :o

I like the way the police protected the Turtles from being seen by the public.

Raph: “SURF’S UP, NY!”

Again with the heels, O’Neil?

I love that shot with the four turtles standing on the edge of the almost finished Technodrome.

Mikey calling Krang “a chewed up piece of gum” and then Leo continuing with “Bubblicious”, haha.

Mickey: “I’m vertical.”

Mickey is the second mvp this film.

I really really love that Donnie and Mickey get most screentime this film.

Great how Casey tricked Beebs and Rock like that. :)

TEAM EFFORT, BB!

Leo: “We got something nobody else has.” Leo, Donnie and Mickey: “Turtle power!” while Raph: “Garbage truck!” Hahahaha.

But seriously: TURTLE POWER!

Finally, April being a reporter again.

Chief to the turtles: “Last name?” Hamato immediately came to mind, tbh.

Some Capril flirting. ;)

HEROES IN A HALF SHELL! ♫

I love the comic style in the end credits.

But see: Splinter’s actor isn’t even mentioned in the special part of the end credits. He deserves better and more.

All in all, despite its flaws (too many expositions or Krang being the main villain with hardly any screentime f.e.), I really enjoyed watching this. It’s so much better than the 2014 one.

(I do hope for actual one on one friendship between Donnie and Mickey next time, though. I love the turtles most together, but separate friendships I love them the most.) (And on that note: Where was my Raph&Casey romance friendship?)

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt out of the shadows #tmnt 2016 #apritello #capril #zoe liveblogs #zoe liveblogs tmnt #i'm so incredibly late watching this i know #unfortunately i didn't get to see this one at the cinema #unlike with the 2014 film #when my stepsis and i got the entire room to ourselves #that was so awesome!#but i'm finally watching it now #because i've been working hard the past couple of days and dealing with a lot of irl stuff #so tonight i'm going to relax by finally watching this #and liveblogging as i watch it

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fly-pow-bye · 7 years

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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “The Last Donnycorn“

Written by: Jake Goldman, Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Kyle Neswald, Benjamin P. Carow, Julia Vickerman, Cheyenne Curtis

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

The last Donnycorn is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace. Oh, I wish.

It’s a start of a brand new season of PPG 2016, to the delight of very few people. The ratings weren't very good, and the merchandise isn't selling. What could possibly salvage it? How about a special episode that is a whole half-hour long? It’s so special, the title card has all three colors! And who else should be the main focus but the character everyone wanted to see the least?

Donny: Help me, help me! They’re after me!

For those who are lucky to not know, this is Donny the Unicorn. This is Bubbles’ “BFF” that has once beaten her to a pulp in a “transformation ray”-caused rage, and ditched her for a “friend” who turned out to be a killer robot in disguise. I would write about any of the positive experiences Bubbles has had with Donny if she had any, but she’s still his BFF anyway because...he has a horn?

The two times he actually affected the plot in a way that serves the girls is in a situation that he caused the girls to in in the first place. That’s counting the comic he was in; Donny did nothing good in Horn Sweet Horn. Let’s see if he’s any better here, I say not knowing the answer immediately. Just letting you know, I might not be honest about that.

As one can tell from that opening quote, the episode starts with Donny waking the girls up at night because he is in danger. Bubbles immediately starts running and screaming along with him, because she's his BFF, and that means she just does everything Donny does. Blossom comforts Donny, saying he’ll be safe with the Powerpuff Girls. Donny accepts this, saying that he’ll be safe in the only place he knows outside of Unicorn Land. I think that's supposed to be a joke.

By the way, they were apparently sleeping in their normal clothes instead of their pajamas. Clearly, the animators must be paying more attention to that kind of thing since this is the special half-hour episode. How can the writers distract from this? Cue an explosion from a Terminator Unicorn.

Terminator Unicorn: (looks at Bubbles) Sugar.

(looks at Buttercup) Spice.

(looks at Blossom) Everything nice.

(looks at Donny) Wimp.

I can think of a thousand different insults for Donny, and I guess that could be one of them. Donny’s being followed by a muscular unicorn who is eventually called a Killercorn. He may as well be the Terminator Unicorn, as the only way this reference could be less subtle is if he was also a governor.

The Powerpuff Girls attempt to fight him, as I cringe for the inevitable Monster Punch, Girls Down scene, but Donny stops them before they even try. He uses his teleportation ability, because he’s a magical unicorn, to transport them...

...to a bowling alley. Donny has the ability to teleport, but only to bowling alleys because the episode felt that would be funny. Buttercup yells at Donny for being a chicken, which Donny responds to by...acting like a chicken. The main problem of the episode makes itself apparent: the episode's plot hinges on him being the comic relief, and like most comic reliefs, he's not funny.

Donny tells his story on how he got in his situation, asking the Powerpuff Girls to go to the bathroom first so he doesn't have to interrupt himself. Buttercup tells him to get on with it. Anyone who can guess what happens during the middle of this exposition gets absolutely nothing. No, it doesn't turn into an Austin Powers reference to fill the half-hour running time, though I was expecting that.

Donny’s story starts in Unicorn Land, which, of course, comes with a chorus saying its name. Donny is playing Frolicball, just go with it, but he accidentally makes the ball roll into a dark, black forest. He falls into a hole into a dark, black cave with a magic mirror in it. He decided the best course of action is to make funny faces at it, which somehow causes 5 evil unicorns to come out of it. He does the most courageous thing he could think of: running away. To be honest, I wouldn't blame him.

However, the Powerpuff Girls do; even Bubbles sarcastically tells her BFF that he ran away like a coward. Before Donny could defend himself, the Killercorn arrives in a stolen helicopter. Donny attempts to transport them to the bowling alley in Citiesville, but the Powerpuff Girls aren’t having any of it. Even the original writers couldn’t do Citiesville justice, I have no hope for the reboot writers.

The Powerpuff Girls rush in, and to nobody’s surprise...

...they actually beat him up. Wait, what? Sure, the punches and kicks are covered up by hit flashes, but I was not expecting that from the reboot that takes the Puffs down with glitter and crayons. It helps that these are the same relatively good hit flashes from People Pleaser and not the slow Nike swooshes.

Buttercup: I call that three strikes, you turkey!

Wow, a decent one-liner that ties into the setting. Hopefully they had enough faith in it to not outright tell people it was supposed to be funny...

Blossom: Nice! (fist bumps Buttercup)

Damn it. Speaking of damn it, the Killercorn gets back up. Buttercup forms a bazooka aura, and actually blow him full of hole with bowling balls! Wait, we can have a robotic unicorn get blown full of holes by what is essentially a gun, but we can’t show him getting punched in the face? Whatever, it’s still a decent scene.

Unfortunately, he’s able to put himself back together Iron Giant-style, and finally take two of the Powerpuff Girls down. Just in case you didn't who the Killercorn is supposed to be, he says a big twist on the most famous line of the movie.

Killercorn: Hasta la pasta, Donny!

Wait, why replace the word that doesn't rhyme with pasta? What does pasta have to do with anything? I expect better from the writers who came up with "A Star Is Blossom", "Odd Bubbles Out", and, well, "The Last Donnycorn". The Killercorn fires his laser at Donny, only for Bubbles to fly in and take the shot for him. This, of course, knocks Donny's BFF out, and he reacts in a realistic manner.

Donny: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I get that he's the comic relief, and doing a big no after someone dies is a common thing in fiction, but the way the face is drawn feels like this is being played for laughs. This could have been an emotional moment as Donny is all alone, his all-powerful BFFs defeated, against an unstoppable foe that cannot be reasoned with. This should be a dark time, but that face ruins it. Eventually, even Donny realizes he ruins everything, but not now.

The dark time ends when, in a plot point taken directly from his last full-but-not-as-full-as-this-one-length episode, Donny uses a macaroni trophy, a running gag in the first part of the episode, to reflect a laser beam right back into the Killercorn. While disintegrating into a sock, just go with it, he slowly mentions that Donny is the chosen one. That is a saying that gets brought up a lot in this episode, and it never feels more than forced.

The Powerpuff Girls instantly wake up and realize that Donny gained the courage to save them. To celebrate, he decides to teleport to a different bowling alley in Unicorn Land...

...which is currently in ruins. They even get surrounded by the evil gang of unicorns! For the first time in the series, we have a commercial break.

In a great twist, it turns out it was not the evil unicorn gang, but Donny’s parents in disguise. I read Goosebumps books that had better chapter break twists. Oh, and there’s also Gretel, a chunky unicorn that speaks entirely in raspberry noises. See, it’s funny because she’s different!

We get even more exposition about the rest of the evil unicorns. They’re known as the Four Unicorns of the Apocalypse, and their leader, Stanicorn, is stealing the magic of all of the unicorns so he can break free and rule the universe. They got banished into a mirror, Donny freed them with the power of silly faces, and we’re all doomed. However, if they can get to the evil mountain lair and make that funny face to the mirror again, they'll be re-banished again.

The Powerpuff Girls get dressed up in unicorn disguises, available at your local Sears for just $49.99. Unfortunately, an argument between Bubbles and Donny over where a bathroom is causes them to rip each other’s costumes apart, revealing themselves to the guards, and getting them thrown in a jail cell. Well, at least there’s one problem in the episode that wasn’t caused solely by Donny.

Just outside of the jail cell, the four unicorns of the apocalypse finally introduce themselves. There’s Joeicorn, who symbolizes War, Petercorn, who symbolizes rock and roll, Tanyacorn, who symbolizes being a token female, and I already realize they gave up on the whole “four horsemen of the apocalypse” reference a quarterway through.

Oh, and there’s the aforementioned Stanicorn, who apparently symbolizes not having a sense of humor. He shows this off with a zoomed-in face gag, and lasering Blossom’s bow before she can fist bump Buttercup after making fun of his height. Is he supposed to be this show's haters?

They leave the room to get some shepherd’s pie, and Donny cries some more about how he’s a “big dumb-dumb” while they’re trapped in a jail cell. This is the equivalent of a He-Man episode where Orko whines about how he's a useless magician. I'm sure that episode exists, and it probably wouldn't be very good.

One would think a jail cell would be nothing to a group of girls that can lift buildings full of people. In the original, they broke out of jail by busting through a wall, but I assumed the reboot wouldn't do that. I mean, these are heroes that got their arms broken when they got tail whipped into a wall.

However, that's what they actually do! Or at least Buttercup does with an off screen supersonic punch. They immediately go to the mountain, which is apparently unguarded now, and confront the evil unicorns. This kind of makes the jail scene pointless as they could have just combined the fight scene with these introductions, but I appreciate that the reboot knows how strong the Powerpuff Girls are supposed to be. Blossom tells Donny to get to the mirror while they take care of the unicorns.

Here’s a rundown:

Blossom uses her ice breath to break the rocker-corn’s guitar. It’s later implied that she then gives him an off-screen beat down.

Buttercup’s fight is a little gross, as the war-corn literally pulls his horn off, only to get it chopped in half by Buttercup’s sword aura. Kind of noticed that only Buttercup uses the auras in this whole episode; I guess animals and office equipment weren’t needed.

After Blossom yells at Bubbles for having a pillow fight with the token female-corn, Bubbles hits her with a pillow so hard, she spits out blood.

Wait, WHAT?

Well, okay, it’s actually Valentine hearts, but this episode sure fooled me for a second. While these fights aren’t perfect, I still wish they could punch people on screen, they’re great compared to the Monster Punch, Girls Down scenes of the first season.

Instead, we get Annoying Unicorn Does Random Things. Every time they cut to Donny, he's getting leg cramps, playing video games, and, even when he finally gets to the mirror, he gloats about how he did it instead of doing the thing that he was supposed to do. Which, by the way, is to make a funny face, something he does at random most of the time, like when he's mourning his BFFs.

While Donny is doing all of that, Stanicorn finally gets enough unicorn magic to...

...get super buff. He fires some rainbow beams at Donny, but the Powerpuff Girls seemingly make a sacrifice and fly into it. This, of course, knocks out the Powerpuff Girls, bringing Donny to the same low point he was in 12 minutes ago. He does get some help from Obi-wan Kenobi his mother in a bubble.

Donny's mother: What's the most important thing about you?

Donny: That...that I'm terrible at everything?

Donny's mother: No. That you bring joy to others around you!

Yeah, I don't think so. After destroying the bubbles, Cho Aniki-corn grabs Donny to steal his unicorn magic. Because I guess he didn't have enough already. Donny counters this with a face so funny, this reboot's animators couldn't possibly animate it. Stanicorn finds this so funny that he explodes! See, if the most cynical person can find Donny funny, why can't you? The day is saved, but we can't have a Narrator to talk about it anymore. I guess he decided to skip Townsville. Wise choice.

New season, new rules for the last segment. I barely used the Remarks, so that's no longer here. There was one question I've answered in there in the recent reviews, so here you go:

Does the title work?

The title is a pun on the movie The Last Unicorn, except it’s not really a pun when you’re just combining a character’s name with what he is. It would be like calling Blossom a “Blossom-puff Girl”. It doesn’t really work.

How does it stack up?

The Powerpuff Girls actually act like superheroes and actually have some good scenes. The villains aren’t too bad either. The fight scenes between them are above the very, very, very low average of PPG 2016 “fight scenes”. By far, not only is this the best episode that has Donny in it, it's not that bad of an episode in my opinion. No surprise, they probably spent a lot of time on a double-length episode.

Part of this might be because of that abomination that came right before this, but none of this has to do with Donny himself. He may not have been infuriating as Mr. I Made A New BFF But You Better Not Be Jealous, but all he really does is whine about how useless he is and prove that he is, both in action and in humor. 30% exposition, 30% unicorn whining, 40% okay-at-worst action comedy.

So despite Donny’s best efforts, this episode breaks the streak of Disgusted Buttercups. I originally gave this a Happy Buttercup at first, but after some consideration, I decided to change it on 4/7/2017. Mostly to be consistent, while the good scenes are on the upper end of the scale, when this episode is bad, namely the scenes with the hell-horn in it, it's bad. As a whole, it's not that bad.

But that's my opinion.

And so the new season begins with a sort-of bang. Next episode is something the Powerpuff Girls clearly haven’t done before: an episode where a Powerpuff Girl meets up with an old superhero! Yeah, this season’s quality is probably going to be falling like the arches.

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#fpb ppg 2016 #fpb reviews #ppg 2016 #powerpuff girls #cartoon network

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