Sunday, September 6, 2015

More Episodes from "Veggietales In The House"?

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Ever wondered when Netflix will give us more episodes of Veggietales In The House? Welł, look no further, because according to Wikipedia (at least, that's what they think they're saying), the Netflix show is scheduled to release new episodes come September 25, 2015.

Now here are my predictions for the new episodes:
1. More hit-or-miss episodes
2. More hit-or-miss songs
3. A LarryBoy episode in the mix (I will unsubscribe if THAT'S not there)
4. Something we never knew about one of the characters

Anyway, Wikipedia goes on to say that three seasons "have been ordered"...
-So obviously somewhere in the thought process, they knew that the show was going to bomb in some ways... It's like they said: Well, now that we've changed the look of the characters, gave LarryBoy an updated costume design, and replaced Mr. Nezzer with a discounted version of himself... I'd say this Netflix show will only make it to only its third season. Yeah, seeing that a lot of Veggietales fans are probably pissed off with the changes... (pause)... I'd give it three.

So am I excited for this news? Yes and no. 
So far, the Netflix show has done little to nothing to redeem the character of LarryBoy; we have awkward characters and awkward situations; and most of the stories aren't that interesting to watch. We're lucky of we get decent LarryBoy episodes, but that's still not enough to make up for some of the horrendousness that the show is capable of.
However, I would give this show credit for trying to regain its audience, but it just needs to try harder. Here's my proposal for the show: listen to your fan base more; and DO NOT do everything in your power to piss them off.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Veggietales In The House

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks

Sunday, August 23, 2015

"Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4" Youtube Video Review

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Welcome back to another review!

It all started with a viral video. And then that viral video spawned a sequel, and then another sequel, and then fast-forward to the last day of March 2015 (the day before April Fools' Day), where the franchise surprises us with a sudden entry to the canon. How well did this go? Well, since I was a subscriber to their Youtube channel, I was one of the front-runners to do a react video on it.
So let's not waste any more time. This is Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4.

Opening:

The video opens with the same characters from last time, as they sit at a different table in a different room...
-which looks more detailed. Apparently, the studio that brought us these videos had a bigger budget this time. (sarcasm) Way to go, Kickstarter!
Red Guy: "Oh, I guess it's my turn to choose a card."
So apparently, these characters are playing a board game, where you have to answer questions(?)... I don't know.
Red Guy: "What is the biggest thing in the world?"
Robin: "Hmm. That's a tricky one..."
-Uh, nobody can answer that question. In fact, what kind of question is that?

Confused, the gang turns to a globe with eyes...

Yellow Guy: "Wow! Look...!"
Computer (behind them): (singing) "I'm a computer. I'm a computer-y guy..."
-Wait. I thought the globe was gonna sing to these guys.
-By the way, this was the April Fools' joke that the production played on us. It fooled us into believing that the globe was going to teach the gang, but instead, it was the talking computer. Yep. They had us fooled. Even the video's thumbnail shows the globe, NOT the computer, in order to keep the surprise hidden until the viewer watches the video.

Song:
Anyway, the computer goes on to talk about the uses of a computer. This interests the trio.
Red Guy: "Oh. Maybe you can help us answer this question. What is the biggest-"
Computer: (singing) "Never. I'm very clever-y guy..."
-Wow. What a douche.
And then the computer decides to take the characters onto a field trip.

Computer: "Now before we begin our journey, I just need to get some information from you..."
-Red flag. Stranger danger.
Computer: "What's your name? Where do you live? What do you like to eat?"
Robin: "I live in my house."
Yellow Guy: "Spaghetti!"
Red Guy: "My name is-"
Computer: "Great news!"
-Okay. I know something's gonna happen here.
-Plus, what was with that line: I live in my house? That was gold.
So as you can imagine, the crazy stuff happens after Red Guy tells the computer to shut up, which pisses off the machine.

Computer: "DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"
-FREAKOUT ALERT!!!

So after glitching out for a few seconds, we see our characters in animated form...

-What, they can't spend a lot of money on the animation. I mean, the money is all over their living room. Why not have a huge budget for the animation?
So the computer continues to show the characters more of what they can do on the computer, but Red Guy starts to catch on with the chaos of the Internet(?)...

-That's never explained.

At some point, Red Guy stumbles into a room, which is a Matrix-type setting. Recognize the setting?

It's a cheap copy of the setting of the first installment of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.
-I have no clue what is going on here...
The strange people in the room notices Red Guy...
-This is playing like a top secret thing going on... Are you sure we're viewing the right video?
...and for some reason, Red Guy's head explodes...
-Oh, come on, guys! It's a balloon with glitter inside it!

And that was Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4. So how was this video?
It wasn't too bad. I mean, there's still some shock value; however, the shock value isn't that major, because knowing the Youtube series, you already know that the crazy stuff is coming. It's pretty much predictable at this point in time. Regardless, this installment was an okay.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4

Courtesy: Blink Industries

Saturday, August 22, 2015

"Barney Live! In New York City" Video Review

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

It's been a while since my last review. First of all, ideas were scarce. Second, school is coming soon for me; so I'm trying my best to get ready. Anyway, I was lucky to stumble upon a video that I used to see when I was a kid. By that, I mean Barney Live! In New York City.

Not a whole lot has changed since I last saw this video, but as an adult, I know that it's not perfect. First of all, a little background...

Remember Barney In Concert? That was the Barney franchise's first-ever stage show that was performed in March 1991, and was released on video that same year in July. Barney Live! In New York City was performed a few years later, taped at Radio City Music Hall on March 6, 1994, and was released on video on August 26 of that same year.
-Now mind you: Radio City Music Hall, from what I've heard, is really hard to get into, unless you're either a good performer or you have a lot of money... But since the Barney franchise was already becoming huge, they probably had enough to get into this place and have a stage show.
Now with that being said, Barney Live! In New York City was said to be, by far, the largest stage show in the Barney canon. But... if this was the largest performance ever, then it wouldn't be so underrated, right? Well, let's see why this performance was huge and has yet to get any recognition in today's standards. This is Barney Live! In New York City.

Opening:

So the video begins with people going to see the show.
-Eh.
-By the way, the camera angles look like a newscast is going on. Are we trying to interview people, or are y'all just in the way of these people? Let the people pass!

As we're taken inside Radio City Music Hall, we see that there's a bigger audience than the one in Barney In Concert.
-Larger crowd and larger stage. What would be the budget for this stage show? We'll never know.
We then hear an announcer introducing the audience to Barney.
-Okay. What announcer did they rope in?
(researching) Charles Edward Hall? Who's that?
(researching) Oh. It turns out that he's an that's performed in Radio City Music Hall and has been in Sesame Street once. (Okay.)
But when Barney doesn't show up at first when his name is called, you can see some of the kids with their jaws dropped.

-Don't worry. They're just ratting with us.
After the second attempt, Barney the dinosaur finally comes out to thunderous praise.

-Again, big stage. I mean, that's a lot of stage for a dinosaur like Barney. Just saying.
So after the intro song and the first song of the night, the audience are already sucked into the excitement...
-Wait. One kid has two Barney plushies? Lucky!!!
>: (
Barney: "I'd like to thank you all for coming to see me!"
-Okay...

Barney: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you..."
-Oh. He wasn't joking... What a way to start the friggin' night. Good luck thanking thousands to people individually...This'll be a long night.
Barney: "(inhaling) Thank you. Thank you..."
-OMG! Get to the friggin' show already! Five minutes into the show, and we have to listen to this bullshit...
Barney: "Well, that's the first row..."
-NO! NO! Anything but that... (pause) Just realized that that was a Scar reference (Lion King).

So Barney finally introduces us to the kids that he hangs out with: Cathy, Julie, Derek, Carlos, Kelly, Tasha, Min, and Sean...
-I don't recognize Julie, Carlos, or Kelly.
... and they sing "Mr. Knickerbocker"...
-...which is a repeat from the previous stage show.

Backyard setting:
So the curtains go up, and we see a Sandlot-type clubhouse and yard. After a game of "Ring Around the Rosie," Baby Bop arrives...
-Uh, hi. Why are the kids lying on the ground?
Baby Bop: "They're all taking naps!"
-And that makes it better? What a way to justify something questionable.
Anyway, Baby Bop shows everyone her yellow blanket...
Baby Bop: "I'm so glad, I'm gonna sing about it!"
- Geez! They'll make a song about anything!
After THAT song, Barney and friends decide to make a surprise for the audience, thus leading to the Barney bag segment.

-Now, the Barney bag segment was one of the best parts of the franchise, because come on! Who doesn't like arts and crafts? Every time you see that blue decorated bag, it was exciting to see the bag be put to work, and the kids pulling out the materials. (pause) Sorry. That was some nostalgia for y'all.
So the kids work on "the surprise" inside the clubhouse; and afterwards, they tell the audience that it's in the Barney bag. But before they can show and tell, they help Baby Bop get her blanket unstuck from the clubhouse door...
-(pause) Why isn't anybody watching the Barney bag?
...and of course, a stranger...

-...a.k.a. a Ronald McDonald wannabe...
...comes by and snatches the bag.
Stranger: "Look what I've got!"
-See? I knew that was gonna happen. Called it!
So the gang gives chase, but the stranger brags about how fast he is... through song.
-By the way, this dude can't be really fast. There had to be stunt-doubles involved.
-Plus, is this warranting of a song? Well, since he's somewhat of an antagonist, or the King Julien, of this stage show, then maybe...
-Also, since the big surprise for the audience is in that bag that this guy stole, the audience should be booing the hell out of this guy for stealing!

By the way, this dude's name is the Winkster...
-(pause) Weird.
Winkster: "I don't try to be mean. That is not how I think..."
-And yet you're playing a mean joke on Barney and his friends. Have you no shame?
After that musical number, we see Barney and friends give chase once more, but the Winkster shows himself on the balcony to taunt them more.

Winkster: "Yoo hoo! Barney! Children! I'm up here just as quick as a wink!"
-Yeah, take a shot every time he reminds everyone that he's "quick as a wink!"
Winkster: "You'll have to catch me to see the surprise!"
-Challenge?
-Betcha this is what's keeping the show running...
So Barney explains the Winkster to the kids and audience. (Listen to this...)
Barney: "That was the Winkster. I know about him. He's not really bad. He's just a silly fellow who loves to play tricks and jokes."
-(pause) That's basically justifying the fact that the Winkster stole your bag...
Barney then enlists the help of the audience to point out the Winkster if they see him... but the show is still gonna go on. And as they do this, the Winkster arrives, another chase happens, and the Winkster vanishes.
Winkster: "Time for me to go bye bye, but I'll be back!"
-Whatever...
After that bullshit chase, we see Barney and friends go into another song...
Barney and kids: (singing) "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes..."
-How does this connect to what just happened?
And then BJ arrives and sings a song...
-Okay. How long are we in this video?
23 minutes into the video
Then the Winkster shows up again, and challenges Barney personally to try and get the bag back. Barney accepts, but of course, Barney ends up stumbling over a mop and bucket...
-I don't know...
...and the Winkster leaves.
-Yeah, expect that every time the Winkster is on scene. That's all he's gonna do at this point: he shows up, challenges people to try and catch him, and vanishes.

Then the gang plans to stage a baseball game, so that it would lure the Winkster into getting distracted and letting go of the Barney bag.
-(sarcasm) Makes sense to me!
The plan almost works, but then it starts to rain.
-Yeah, paper streams to indicate that it's raining.
-Plus, they just leave Barney in the rain, because he can't fit into the clubhouse? And they only give him an umbrella? How mean.
So after a short rip-off of Singing In The Rain, the kids come outside in raincoats and umbrellas to sing a medley...
Barney: "A little rain never hurt anyone..."
-Yeah, but... but... (and this is your big "but") The Winkster still has the Barney bag; and no one has been able to catch him yet! So...
And then they sing another song after the medley...
: /
After the rain lets up, the gang hear a noise coming from the ground...
-(pause) The Rumor Weed, maybe? Oh. Wait. The Rumor Weed wouldn't be around until 1999. This video is in 1994.

...and it leads to yet another song!
-Again, they'll make a song about anything.
Barney: "Is everyone having a good time?"
-Depends. Will y'all ever catch the Winkster?

Then a marching band takes everyone to intermission.
-How far are we into the video?
40 minutes in...

Act 2:

After the break, we're brought into a circus environment, hence Barney's Imagination Circus, with Barney as the ringmaster; and the kids with the clowns and dancing bears performing songs and tricks like an actual circus...
-Now the circus is okay, but... what about the Winkster? Let's not forget that.

Anyway, it's a good 15 minutes during the circus part of the show, until we get to the last circus act- the cannon.

The cannon gets fired, and it turns out the Winkster was inside that cannon all along, and the chase is back on.
-Talk about a rushed transition back to the clubhouse.

Winkster: "You see, boys and girls? Barney and his friends will never catch me!"
-Piss off.
Tasha: "I don't think we're ever going to catch the Winkster."
-Come on, guys. Really? Whatever happened to using y'all's imagination? Isn't that what this franchise is all about?!
Then after another pointless song... and then another pointless song when they get back to the clubhouse, the gang decides to turn to... not God... not whoever... but the stars to wish upon them.
-Well, why not? Apparently, these people aren't religious.
And of course, the Winkster is wishing on the same star... Why?
Winkster: "I took this bag because I wanted everyone to play with me..."
-So... all this stealing and running so that people can play with you? Well, first of all, the bag... HAND IT OVER.
But as you can imagine, Barney is forgiving, and he let's the Winkster play with them, on the condition that he learns to share and be good. And then after a song about saying please and thank you...

-FINALLY! A song that connects to the story...
...we finally get to see "the surprise"... which is a small heart made of lace and glitter.
-(sarcasm) Oh. Not the Sega Genesis?
So seeing that the heart is too small for the audience to see, Barney has the audience "imagine" a big heart, and of course, a big heart (a banner) hangs above them.
-Impressive?

Ending;
And the show ends with one more song...
-Was a kid crying in the audience?
...and Barney blowing a kiss at the audience.

End credits:

As the credits roll, we see screenshots from the performance.
-Why are the screenshots fuzzy?
Also, we see that 5 charities benefited from this production.
-5 charities? Does that mean all the proceeds went to these charities?

And that was Barney Live! In New York City. So seeing that this was the biggest stage show in the Barney canon, and that this production is almost as old as I am (21 years, to be exact), why is this still underrated? And does it still hold up?
Well, unlike Barney In Concert, this production put a lot more effort into the set-up, the story, and the production itself. In fact, there may have been more budget money put into this than last time. You can totally see dollar signs galore in the background and foreground. Clearly the money is on the stage!
However, this may have also fallen flat, because the show didn't get to the point fast enough, and it bombarded us with pointless songs every once in a while. Plus, I don't think the Winkster has learned anything, because they don't show him redeeming himself, other than giving back the Barney bag at the end of the show.
Plus, I didn't even show you half of the stuff that was just awkward. I mean, that would be questionable in today's standards.
Nonetheless, I can't be too harsh on this one. In fact, remember my review on Barney's Great Adventure? Well, the same consensus applies here: it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. It's a stage production that's the equivalent to a road trip- it's to have fun and not worry about the technological side of it. So, despite the imperfections, I'm still I got to watch this as a kid. And yeah, I would like to see this again, even though I'm grown up now.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Barney Live! In New York City

Courtesy: The Lyons Group

Thursday, August 13, 2015

WC's Top 10 Facts about "LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed"

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

I recently uploaded a video of Part 2 of my LarryBoy Fandom Storytime segment. Go check it out on my Youtube channel, or look in the August 2015 archive to access the video there.

Anyway, still in the spirit of LarryBoy, today I wanted to show you my Top 10 facts about LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed. This idea came after I did a Top 10 list for LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space. So, just like in the previous Top 10 list, warning: SPOILERS.

10. Sequel to Fib
-Obviously (for LarryBoy fans).

Rumor Weed came about two years after the release of Fib from Outer Space. Rumor Weed acts as a continuation of Fib, because of some of the dialogue telling us so...

Percy Pea (to his brother, in reference to Fib): "Hey, do you remember what we saw the last time we were here?"

Officer Scooter (as Milk Money Bandit falls into the police car): "It's another space alien! (pause) Oh. It's the Milk Money Bandit! We've been looking for you for months!"

...and because some of the scenes are either recycled from the first movie,


or it gives you product-placement of Fib in the background or somewhere.

9. What is this a spoof of?
From what I've looked up on the Internet a few years ago, this movie was said to be a parody of the plant monster from Little Shop of Horrors. And the obvious spoof is how LarryBoy is portrayed as the movie's Batman.
-Kudos!

8. How would this movie set itself apart from Veggietales?
This would be the second Veggietales video to start itself without the usual Veggietales intro (excluding the Silly Song videos), with The Toy That Saved Christmas being the first VT video to establish its own intro within its story.
When I first saw Rumor Weed, I was surprised to have seen that it didn't start with the usual Veggietales intro, as did the Fib from Outer Space. Well, back then, I just found that extremely odd, because what was the motive behind that? Did the animators want to get to the point faster? Did they want to cram in more time to tell the story?
-We may never know.

7. What is the lesson of this movie?
In this movie, the message is to say nice things about people, instead of putting them down with words "that can hurt." As for the cover art of the VHS/DVD, the message is simply "the power of words."
What can this mean in today's day and age? Well, it's open for interpretation, because where we live in now, social media: People troll each other on the Internet; they say hateful things via Facebook, Youtube, etc.; it's like people can easily get away with saying scandalous things either in the media or in real life.
However, I don't want to delve in too deeply into the situation, because all this movie is trying to say is to just be aware that whenever you repeat something you've heard, it may or may not carry along consequences.

6. Better music
The soundtrack for this movie sounds a lot better than in Fib. One of the major reasons, as discussed in the bonus featurettes on the DVD, is that the creators put a lot more effort into this movie than they did in Fib from Outer Space. That makes sense, because Fib, according to them, was a work-in-progress video for the LarryBoy franchise, and that was to pave the way for Rumor Weed.
As you watch the scenes and listen to the musical compositions, they tie together perfectly to its story.

And kudos to that mens' choir, who you can hear every time LarryBoy steps onto a scene- the choir gives more emphasis to how badass LarryBoy can be.

5. Is the villain scary?
Well, yes and no.
In some of the scenes, where the Mother Weed emerges in her terrifying glory, she may seem a bit scary for kids.

Plus, some of the animators, in one interview featured on the DVD, said that one time they were trying to design the Rumor Weed, until one of their kids saw the sketches and were afraid of them, because they felt the sketches were scary.

However, there were also times where I couldn't take the Rumor Weed seriously enough to believe that she's full-blown scary.

-Just wait until you hear the Mother Weed laugh in one scene. You might agree that she can't fully be taken seriously...

4. Better animation
Just like the music, a lot more effort was put into the animation for this movie. The skies look majestic; you have more buildings than before; more detail is put into the stuff around our characters (buildings, cars, objects, rooms, and even the LarryCave); and also the shading and lighting are better presented.
When talking about the animation in the DVD bonus features, the animators claim that they had to "push everything." This means that they took more chances/risks in conceiving this movie, which is very impressive for a show like Veggietales.
-And seriously, they didn't need Kickstarter for any of this... Kudos.

3. What this movie ultimately led to...
You'll also hear the creators say in an interview on the bonus features that how they came up with Rumor Weed was what paved the way for making an actual movie- a feature-length film, if you will. And they even talked about how this movie ultimately led to making the show's first-ever movie on the big-screen in 2002 with Jonah: A Veggietales Movie.

-What I don't get is why the feature-length film- the first official Veggietales theatrical release- had to be about a Biblical story as confusing and open-ended as Jonah? Why Jonah? What was the purpose? In fact, the theatrical release could've been for LarryBoy. It's like trying to decide which of the following games should get a movie: Five Nights at Freddy's or Candy Crush Saga? I betcha that people are gonna lean more towards FNaF...

and a movie's already in the works for FNaF!
Long story short: the creators were like: Wow! We really have a lot of potential as an animation studios, now that we whored out Rumor Weed. Now let's make a real movie... 

only have Archibald Asparagus star in it, throw a stupid turban onto his head, and name the movie Aladdin- I... I mean... say that the movie is about a Biblical prophet that's more common and overrated than all the other prophets in the Biblical canon. Yep. This feature-length film will be a big hit... (for anyone high).

2. Edgier than Fib
Compared to the original, Rumor Weed takes a slightly darker tone than Fib. One example is the cinematography- the camera shots and angle emphasize the tone of each scene to where it makes the story more believable... well, for the sake of gaining and keeping the audience.

Just look at this scene where LarryBoy and Alfred are learning more about the Rumor Weed and coming to the horrific truth that there may be a Mother Weed to battle, seeing that the weed has a vast root system under the city. This leads to a dramatic zoom-in on both characters to emphasize how dire the situation is.

-To me, that felt over-the-top, but still effective. Just saying.
Plus, the situations are more serious than in the first movie. From physical fights to the dramatic spewing of lines in an action scene, this movie lends itself into all the suspense and drama of the story.
And this leads me to...

1. The rare trailer
I've talked about this in a past blog, but I'll bring it up again.
-BTW, check out the trailer analysis of the rare trailer, in the February 2015 archive, after reading this post.

This trailer was never used when promoting Rumor Weed. However, instead of trashing the trailer, the creators decided to throw it into the DVD as an Easter egg, which will take some digging on the DVD.
Anyway, when you access the Easter egg,

you'll come across a minute-long explanation of the trailer- well, more or less, the music scoring of the trailer.

The clip is followed by a disclaimer, which is basically saying it portrays a "dark side" of Veggietales...
-...I didn't find it creepy at all. I'll admit that it was different than what to expect out of Veggietales, but the trailer didn't scare me at. I mean, if kids can handle Spongebob Squarepants, then they can totally handle this rare trailer.

So, that was my Top 10 facts about LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed. I hoped you enjoyed it.
Be sure to check out my videos on my Youtube channel. I've been uploading videos lately from reactions to Storytime segments, and they took a lot of time to make. So please support my channel by subscribing, liking, and sharing.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
Five Nights at Freddy's franchise
Jonah: A Veggietales Movie

Courtesy: Big Idea Entertainment; Scott Cawthon/Warner Bros.