Where Do You Think "Five Nights at Freddy's" Got Its Inspiration From?

First vine video of 2015!!!



Sources:

Chuck E. Cheese commercial

Five Nights at Freddy's



Courtesy: CEC Entertainment and Scott Cawthon

CHARACTER ANALYSIS #7- Hans from "Penguins of Madagascar" (TV Show)

...

I'm sorry. This character is so annoying and bizarre... AND not Dr. Blowhole. I'm just gonna be brief with this one.

But first...

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

Again, this character is just so bland that... He's just one of Penguins of Madagascar's least-favorite villains. It's Hans the Puffin, you guys.

For those of you who were fortunate enough to pass this villain up (no matter which episode he's in), AND were fortunate enough to disregard him in The Return of the Revenge of Dr. Blowhole, I'll give you the skinny: this villain is said to be one of the idiots that the main character Skipper feuded with because of a certain incident in Denmark.

-Why Denmark? And plus, the entire series doesn't fully explain this backstory...

As a result, throughout the series, Skipper grows to hate Hans.

Hans, in return, tries to get his revenge on Skipper any chance he gets.

Now here are my problems with this guy: Hans is voiced by Dr. Draken (Kim Possible) himself, John DiMaggio, which is kind of odd, because most of our Disney shows are already so odd. 

-Besides, DiMaggio plays other characters on the show, so that would be just as odd. 

Second, this is a villain that can be bad-ass, but constantly act childish to emphasize his being bad.

-Just call him a man-child(?) Or a bird-child, if you will(?)

Third, all he ever did throughout the whole series was try to take over the Penguins' lair and steal a laser gun.

-That's pretty lame... Dr. Blowhole can do better.

Lastly, when he gets caught, Hans gets shipped to Hoboken Zoo (a.k.a. this show's version of Arkham)... only to escape episodes later.

Overall, this was the show's way of phoning in a James Bond style villain for the main character. He doesn't seem to be a legitimate villain, because:

1. He's a man-child, and we all know what happens to man-children... [fill in your own insult here]

2. We never get the whole story of what happened in that Denmark incident with him and Skipper.

3. He's just annoying.

Now, if the Denmark story was presented in an episode, or at least presented in flashbacks, maybe this would've been a stronger villain. Other than that, Hans is bland, unoriginal, and I'm still scratching my head and asking myself why this villain is in that show to begin with.

Whatsoever Critic

Source: Penguins of Madagascar (TV Show)

Courtesy: Nickelodeon/DreamWorks Animation

"The Professor's House" Book Review

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

Today we're going to talk about another book that I had to read during this past fall semester. And, just like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, this book is also set in the 1920s. It's The Professor's House.

Written by Willa Cather and published in 1925, The Professor's House had strong themes of what materialism can do to a family; a lack of spiritual faith in the main character; and losing someone that he cared about. To order to fully understand this story, I'll give you a run-through.

The story revolves around a professor named Godfrey St. Peter, who finds himself depressed, even though the rest of his family is caught up with the materialistic world that the 1920s has to offer. We learn that most of his depression comes from losing a good friend named Tom Outland, who was responsible for inventing the vacuum. Now that Outland is dead, St. Peter's family, including one of his daughters, is wanting Outland's fortune, even though Outland's former associates want it. St. Peter discourages people for not remembering Outland for who he was, as a person, which deepens his depression to where he contemplates giving up on life. Although, he finds some kind of relief when he stays at his old house, even though he and his family had moved into another one.

Now, when I first read this novel, I was like: "Great. Our teacher wants us to read another depressy book."

-Believe me. Our professor had us read Heart of Darkness, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and the works. (No offense, Professor.)

Then again, reading those books taught me that the world isn't perfect. There's no such thing as a utopia, unless it's in fiction.

-That's a life lesson for you, kids.

Anyway, this book... I will probably read again in the future. Why? The characterization. Cather takes the time to develop her characters and make them complex, especially the main character St. Peter. We can see his struggle, his depression, and what he really wants in life. He interacts with the other characters. Plus, he learns something at the end.

-Unlike Lorelei (the gold-digger woman) from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes... who ultimately gets a pass for who she is... which is NOT a lesson learned, even though the book tries to pass it off as a lesson learned...

Plus, the story explains why St. Peter admires Outland so much. Outland is given a backstory, which works to the novel's advantage. That's why there's so much urgency for the characters to know who can rightfully take Outland's fortune. And that's why St. Peter is so desperate to keep the joy of Outland alive during his battle to get through the times.

Overall, the story worked well as a standalone novel. It conveyed emotion; it thought realistically; it was to the point all the way through; and it was consistent. If you haven't read the book yet, check it out and decide for yourself.

Whatsoever Critic

Source: The Professor's House

Courtesy: Willa Cather/Alfred A. Knopf Publishing

Editorial: Is "Veggietales In The House" A Hit or Miss? Pt. 3

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

Welcome to Part 3 of this editorial concerning the series Veggietales In The House.

Earlier this December, I saw a Youtube video about the show. Veggietales creator Phil Vischer is being interviewed by two people, explaining why the character Mr. Nezzer was booted off the show.

I was taken aback by this announcement, because, for one, Mr. Nezzer was a recurring character in the original show; and two, he wasn't that bad, but sometimes needed more direction.

For those of you that don't know, Big Idea is under DreamWorks now. That's why they have their own Netflix series.

In the video, Vischer goes on explaining that Mr. Nezzer was kicked off the show, because he was portrayed as a black stereotype; and, apparently, since that's against the policy at DreamWorks that a character with a specific ethnic stereotype HAS to be acted by an actor of THAT SAME ETHNICITY. Therefore, since Vischer is white, he couldn't have Mr. Nezzer on the show, because he plays him, and the character is apparently portrayed as a black stereotype.

-So, what is it? DreamWorks thought that was racist? That's not being nice to Vischer.

-First of all, I honestly have nothing against Mr. Nezzer. I mean, I was critical of him many times in the past. But that was because in the Veggietales videos that he's in, he just needs more direction at most times. He can he in over his head at times, but, unlike most villains, he sometimes shows remorse.
-Second of all, if Rob Schneider can get a pass on playing an Asian stereotype in Eight Crazy Nights, why can't Phil Vischer get a pass on playing Mr. Nezzer? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, in the world we live in now, you can look at the stand-ups of comedians like Carlos Mencia and Dave Chappelle, and you'll see that they make fun of different races, not just their own.
So how does Big Idea cope with this character rejection of DreamWorks? They create a white stereotype character for a white person to play. This character's name is...
-(Get a load of this...)
...Ichabeezer.

-(pause) Rhymes with Ebeneezer, right?

-Plus, this character doesn't look happy or jolly. He just looks old and cranky.
-What are we supposed to do with this character? Call him discount-Nezzer?

So, what do I think about Mr. Nezzer being booted off? I think the decision seemed silly. It shouldn't matter if a character is a certain race. I think that Phil Vischer has a right, as a creator of a TV show, to play whatever character he wants, regardless of racial stereotype. I mean, it's not like he's being racist, because he would never do that.
If y'all like this Ichabeezer character, good for you. But seriously. I believe that Mr. Nezzer should've never been booted off to begin with, because that was Phil Vischer's and Mike Nawrocki's creation, and nobody should've taken that away from them. It's as if a painter presents their painting, but a company tells them to paint the art a different color. To me, that doesn't seem right.
If you haven't seen the video of the interview with Phil Vischer, look it up on Youtube.

It's on the VeggietalesonYT Youtube channel, under the video title: "Why Mr. Nezzer was kicked off Veggietales."

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Veggietales In The House
"Why Mr. Nezzer was kicked off Veggietales" video

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks; and VeggietalesonYT (Youtube Channel)