Saturday, October 7, 2017
LarryBoy Fanatic PoV (Point of View)
(This was just a short video, but it was still fun to make.)
Curious to know how a LarryBoy Fanatic spends her time? Find out here!
TWITTER: @vygonza1
Link to DVD SCREENINGS Ep. 2:
ama-critic32.blogspot.com/2017/10/dvd-screenings-trick-or-treat-on-sesame.html
(or look in the October 2017 archive)
LarryBoy Fanatic
DVD SCREENINGS: "Trick or Treat on Sesame Street" (2017)
Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic, and I review just about anything.
As LarryBoy Fanatic teased in her video on Season 2 of VeggieTales in the City, we'll be viewing Sesame Street's newest DVD special: Trick or Treat on Sesame Street.
We never thought that we would see this less than a couple of months from Halloween, but the release date WAS August 29, 2017. What we did was bought this on the release date, and we planned on viewing this DVD a week ago, but with mail service taking long because of Hurricane Harvey, the DVD had finally showed up at our doorstep this past weekend.
And plus, we've being busy studying for exams... anyway...
So here we are, viewing this early Halloween special, courtesy of Sesame Street.
(DVD menu)
WC: Not much to say here.
LBF: Well, not much to say OR see here. Just like with Count on Elmo, the main menu to this thing is the same as the cover.
(Start of DVD)
LBF: Okay... Did we just enter a YouTube video?
WC: Uh, no. This is the DVD.
LBF: Wow. What a good way to start this, folks.
WC: Do you mean that with sarcasm?
LBF: (nodding)
(Title card)
LBF: Heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre we go.
WC: CG animation, as advertised. The trailer did NOT lie to us about that.
(The Count's introduction)
WC: (mimicking the Count) "I greet you in my CG castle!"
LBF: (laughing)
(The Count, Elmo, and Abby count Halloween decorations)
WC: See those 7 ghosts?
LBF: Yeah?
WC: That's the number of people who said yes to this DVD.
LBF: That's probably only 1% of the workforce.
WC: And what about the black cats on the doorway?
LBF: Oh geez! 6 days of bad luck after watching this!
WC: I HOPE NOT!
LBF: (laughing)
(Halloween segment on Sesame Street)
LBF: This is pretty neat. We get a song.
WC: Well, it goes well with this Halloween DVD.
WC: I'm gonna take a wild guess that Big Bird is barely in this.
LBF: I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. He was barely in Count on Elmo.
(Elmo shows off his Galaxy Stan costume)
LBF: Man, where's LarryBoy when you need him?
WC: What do you mean?
LBF: I mean, if I was in this Halloween special, I would've dressed up as LarryBoy. Man, I could make a better-looking costume.
WC: I don't know. Then again, you're right. This segment needs some kind of action. This feels like filler.
(In the Count's library)
LBF: Dude! The house tour continues! Dang!
WC: I gotta say that the Count has such a good-looking library... but then again, it's CG background. So that's a letdown.
LBF: I'm just waiting for something to happen...
WC: Well, I'm just waiting for Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to say "Send this vermin to the counting room!"
LBF: That's probably what they did to the counting organ. Remember that?
WC: Oh yeah. That segment was great.
(Counting pumpkins)
LBF: I'm gonna guess that the third pumpkin on the right is not like these other ones.
WC: Yes.
(The talking pumpkin makes off with Elmo's hat)
LBF: Are you kidding me?!
WC: Man...
LBF: They're ripping off Barney Live in New York City!
WC: I know--wait. What?!
LBF: Well, that was the first thing that popped into my head when seeing this!
(Abby: "Did anyone see a pumpkin?")
LBF: Just like in the trailer.
WC: Like this is their trailer phrase and pose.
LBF: That's a given.
(The Count just stands there, while our main characters chase the pumpkin)
WC: You know, you could help them, Count. We're in your house!
(The bats make Elmo and Abby play their pattern game)
LBF: You know that meme with the woman that says "Ain't nobody got time for that"?
WC: Yeah.
LBF: They need that.
WC: Or just tear down the tapestry and there you go.
LBF: But still, I would insert that meme in here.
(Elmo and Abby finally catch the pumpkin, and the pumpkin is sorry because he didn't have a costume)
LBF: This is EXACTLY like in Barney Live in New York City. A weird character comes around and takes something, and the heroes have to chase him the majority of the video. Same plot, same conclusion of not being hard on the weird character.
(Abby gives the pumpkin a costume)
WC: I would've turned him into pumpkin pie.
(Dress Up Segment)
WC: This is just more filler to pad this out into a legitimate direct-to-DVD special.
LBF: But in this segment, you can tell that the people in this production had fun with this. You can tell that by the puppetry.
WC: Point taken.
(Number Stomp song)
LBF: Wow.
WC: This is just the Number Stomp song, Halloween edition.
WC: Yeah, 13 as in Friday the 13th.
LBF: Also, they had to make the floor CG as well.
WC: Yeah, so it just looks awkward. Like when showing their feet.
LBF: It looks awkward.
WC: He's wearing these old-timey shoes in front of the CG floor, which makes this more awkward.
(The "Batty Bat" Song)
WC: Really? They reused footage of the original "Batty Bat" song with Jerry Nelson?
LBF: I don't know. It looks like it.
WC: Some of this, I can go to YouTube and watch, like the opening song.
LBF: Yeah, just to pad this out to an hour or so.
WC: I actually thought that Matt Vogel would do a rendition of this song, but no, they have this rehash of the original. I mean, don't get me wrong. I heard Matt Vogel sing this song a couple of times in the live Sesame Street performances at Sesame Place; and he does a really good job as the rendition. That would've at least been something new that this DVD could offer.
(Ending scene)
LBF: Yeah, dress up as bats.
WC: The sad part about this is that the trailer made us believe that they would wear these costumes.
LBF: But only for the last scene, which I think THIS is, I assume.
(The characters talk about how much fun they had)
LBF: (mimicking the characters) Wow! This was fun!
WC: No, it wasn't.
LBF: I wouldn't call this 100% fun.
WC: Right, if your DVD was more fun, y'all would've had the Count more involved in this. He was like in 10% of this whole thing. That's not good.
LBF: Yeah, it's his castle, so this special should've been his!
WC: He's just a babysitter.
(End credits)
LBF: Wow, that was it.
WC: Yep.
WC: Only one person was in charge of the CG animation of the Count's castle.
LBF: Wow. I hope they paid that person well.
Discussion:
LBF: We gave up 10, 11 bucks for this?
WC: Yep. And we had to wait over a week for it; we were supposed to get two-day shipping on it, but it was late.
LBF: Like it was trying to warn us about the actual quality of this DVD.
WC: Actually, the trailer on Sesame Street's YouTube channel was our first warning.
LBF: Speaking of the trailer, you could tell that the number of down-votes came pretty close to catching up to the up-votes. It's like some people want to forgive Sesame Street of the quality, but the fanbase is like: No, but look at it!
WC: One person in the comments talked about the CG backgrounds, and I gotta agree with them.
LBF: Look at it this way, this whole thing seemed rushed out: from the trailer to the actual DVD, you can tell that they rushed this out, because Halloween is when? In October? This came out in late August, which is two months prior to Halloween.
WC: After all these years of having a liking for the Count, I was hoping that they would do something great for him, besides what they TRIED TO DO with Count on Elmo, or the Count Tribute. But you're right; this was rushed out. Why? Because of Halloween coming, or they wanted to just produce another DVD.
LBF: But I'll give it this: at least they tried, even though some of this felt like a carbon-copy of Barney Live in New York City.
WC: You know what they should do?
LBF: What?
WC: They need to give the Count some kind of spin-off show?
LBF: Hmm...
WC: I mean, look at it this way: he teaches numbers, he teaches math... AND he's a vampire. That's a good concept for a spin-off show: kids can learn math and other stuff, still following the curriculum of what the Sesame Street creators wanted to do in the first place. This could work.
LBF: That would be cool. But... since he's a vampire, maybe he's a seasonal character, if he gets his own show. Or maybe... maybe have the show on Netflix or somewhere like VeggieTales in the House and City.
WC: So... going back to this DVD. Verdict?
LBF: I don't know what to make of it.
WC: Me neither.
Whatsoever Critic
As LarryBoy Fanatic teased in her video on Season 2 of VeggieTales in the City, we'll be viewing Sesame Street's newest DVD special: Trick or Treat on Sesame Street.
And plus, we've being busy studying for exams... anyway...
So here we are, viewing this early Halloween special, courtesy of Sesame Street.
(DVD menu)
LBF: Well, not much to say OR see here. Just like with Count on Elmo, the main menu to this thing is the same as the cover.
(Start of DVD)
WC: Uh, no. This is the DVD.
LBF: Wow. What a good way to start this, folks.
WC: Do you mean that with sarcasm?
LBF: (nodding)
(Title card)
WC: CG animation, as advertised. The trailer did NOT lie to us about that.
(The Count's introduction)
WC: (mimicking the Count) "I greet you in my CG castle!"
LBF: (laughing)
(The Count, Elmo, and Abby count Halloween decorations)
WC: See those 7 ghosts?
LBF: Yeah?
WC: That's the number of people who said yes to this DVD.
LBF: That's probably only 1% of the workforce.
LBF: Oh geez! 6 days of bad luck after watching this!
WC: I HOPE NOT!
LBF: (laughing)
(Halloween segment on Sesame Street)
WC: Well, it goes well with this Halloween DVD.
LBF: I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. He was barely in Count on Elmo.
(Elmo shows off his Galaxy Stan costume)
WC: What do you mean?
LBF: I mean, if I was in this Halloween special, I would've dressed up as LarryBoy. Man, I could make a better-looking costume.
WC: I don't know. Then again, you're right. This segment needs some kind of action. This feels like filler.
(In the Count's library)
LBF: Dude! The house tour continues! Dang!
WC: I gotta say that the Count has such a good-looking library... but then again, it's CG background. So that's a letdown.
LBF: I'm just waiting for something to happen...
WC: Well, I'm just waiting for Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to say "Send this vermin to the counting room!"
LBF: That's probably what they did to the counting organ. Remember that?
WC: Oh yeah. That segment was great.
(Counting pumpkins)
WC: Yes.
(The talking pumpkin makes off with Elmo's hat)
LBF: Are you kidding me?!
WC: Man...
LBF: They're ripping off Barney Live in New York City!
WC: I know--wait. What?!
LBF: Well, that was the first thing that popped into my head when seeing this!
(Abby: "Did anyone see a pumpkin?")
WC: Like this is their trailer phrase and pose.
LBF: That's a given.
(The Count just stands there, while our main characters chase the pumpkin)
(The bats make Elmo and Abby play their pattern game)
WC: Yeah.
LBF: They need that.
WC: Or just tear down the tapestry and there you go.
LBF: But still, I would insert that meme in here.
(Elmo and Abby finally catch the pumpkin, and the pumpkin is sorry because he didn't have a costume)
LBF: This is EXACTLY like in Barney Live in New York City. A weird character comes around and takes something, and the heroes have to chase him the majority of the video. Same plot, same conclusion of not being hard on the weird character.
(Abby gives the pumpkin a costume)
WC: I would've turned him into pumpkin pie.
(Dress Up Segment)
WC: Point taken.
(Number Stomp song)
LBF: Wow.
WC: This is just the Number Stomp song, Halloween edition.
LBF: Also, they had to make the floor CG as well.
LBF: It looks awkward.
WC: He's wearing these old-timey shoes in front of the CG floor, which makes this more awkward.
(The "Batty Bat" Song)
LBF: I don't know. It looks like it.
WC: Some of this, I can go to YouTube and watch, like the opening song.
LBF: Yeah, just to pad this out to an hour or so.
WC: I actually thought that Matt Vogel would do a rendition of this song, but no, they have this rehash of the original. I mean, don't get me wrong. I heard Matt Vogel sing this song a couple of times in the live Sesame Street performances at Sesame Place; and he does a really good job as the rendition. That would've at least been something new that this DVD could offer.
(Ending scene)
WC: The sad part about this is that the trailer made us believe that they would wear these costumes.
LBF: But only for the last scene, which I think THIS is, I assume.
(The characters talk about how much fun they had)
LBF: (mimicking the characters) Wow! This was fun!
WC: No, it wasn't.
LBF: I wouldn't call this 100% fun.
WC: Right, if your DVD was more fun, y'all would've had the Count more involved in this. He was like in 10% of this whole thing. That's not good.
LBF: Yeah, it's his castle, so this special should've been his!
WC: He's just a babysitter.
(End credits)
LBF: Wow, that was it.
WC: Yep.
LBF: Wow. I hope they paid that person well.
Discussion:
LBF: We gave up 10, 11 bucks for this?
WC: Yep. And we had to wait over a week for it; we were supposed to get two-day shipping on it, but it was late.
LBF: Like it was trying to warn us about the actual quality of this DVD.
WC: Actually, the trailer on Sesame Street's YouTube channel was our first warning.
LBF: Speaking of the trailer, you could tell that the number of down-votes came pretty close to catching up to the up-votes. It's like some people want to forgive Sesame Street of the quality, but the fanbase is like: No, but look at it!
WC: One person in the comments talked about the CG backgrounds, and I gotta agree with them.
LBF: Look at it this way, this whole thing seemed rushed out: from the trailer to the actual DVD, you can tell that they rushed this out, because Halloween is when? In October? This came out in late August, which is two months prior to Halloween.
WC: After all these years of having a liking for the Count, I was hoping that they would do something great for him, besides what they TRIED TO DO with Count on Elmo, or the Count Tribute. But you're right; this was rushed out. Why? Because of Halloween coming, or they wanted to just produce another DVD.
LBF: But I'll give it this: at least they tried, even though some of this felt like a carbon-copy of Barney Live in New York City.
WC: You know what they should do?
LBF: What?
WC: They need to give the Count some kind of spin-off show?
LBF: Hmm...
WC: I mean, look at it this way: he teaches numbers, he teaches math... AND he's a vampire. That's a good concept for a spin-off show: kids can learn math and other stuff, still following the curriculum of what the Sesame Street creators wanted to do in the first place. This could work.
LBF: That would be cool. But... since he's a vampire, maybe he's a seasonal character, if he gets his own show. Or maybe... maybe have the show on Netflix or somewhere like VeggieTales in the House and City.
WC: So... going back to this DVD. Verdict?
LBF: I don't know what to make of it.
WC: Me neither.
Whatsoever Critic
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