Friday, February 13, 2015

Top 10 Dumbest Moments from "LarryBoy and the Bad Apple"

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

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple will always be one of my all-time favorite installments in the LarryBoy canon.

However, I also know that every success has its flaws and/or humor. That's why I'm bringing you the Top 10 dumbest (but not-a-big-deal) moments in LarryBoy and the Bad Apple.

Disclaimer: This is all based on opinion, and shouldn't be taken the wrong way. So why not have a good laugh every once in a while?

10. Alfred's monocle

Yeah, you may notice that Alfred's monocle would either glare continuously or reflect something like webbing (for example). I mean, no matter what scene he's in, the most noticeable thing about Alfred is his monocle.

-I found it kind of distracting in some scenes, because you can't help but look at the monocle, but miss important stuff like... LarryBoy, and... (pause)... LarryBoy!
But, to be fair, the animation is really good, compared to the first two LarryBoy installments. In fact, the animation was one of the risk-takers in this movie, pushing the shadows, the colors, and even the movie's environment. But again, the monocle was... well, that seemed a bit off.

9. Alfred explaining the chemical reaction between the web and the sports drink
Here's a fun question: Did anyone catch all of what was said there?
I mean, this was the scene where after a bottle of sports drink spills onto Alfred, releasing him from being tied up by webbing...

-...because I guess the web was a dissolving matter to liquid (I don't know)
...and then he goes into turbo speed, explaining the chemical reaction between the two object. Here's what I was able to catch:
Alfred: "Oh, well, what do you know? The potassium... [inaudible]... thus working like an acid..."
-Yeah, again: Did anyone catch all of what was being said here? Why not explain it in 8 words?: The web can dissolve in Gatorade! Holy shit!
Well, to be fair, if this clip made you laugh, then... yay! (sarcasm)

8. Pointless bathroom scene and burping moment
When LarryBoy returns home to the LarryCave, we can see that LarryBoy is sick from eating too much chocolate. But... why show us that he's going to the bathroom, and then return to it after cutting to the Bad Apple for one or two minutes?
-It's like they wanted us to forget that bathroom clip by showing us something different?
And plus, answering Alfred's question: "How much chocolate did you eat?" by saying: "Too much," LarryBoy burps.
-(jaw drops in disbelief) Wha...?

7. Alfred rushing into the LarryCave after the Bad Apple takes over the place

Yeah, this was one of the more obvious dumbest moments in this movie.

It's like: how come Alfred is able to come out unharmed after tumbling off of his scooter at a high speed?
-Um... I don't know. I'm not a scientist or anything, but I'm gonna call that bullshit... in a way.

6. What is up with the Bad Apple?


The way I see it: if you go door to door seducing people into temptation, while speaking in a seductive voice, in my book, you're a...
-[Fill in your own insult here]
Plus, notice how close the Bad Apple got in that one scene with LarryBoy.

-In my opinion, she violated the No-Touch zone. It's obvious that she's trying to hit on LarryBoy, while she's carrying out her plan to enslave Bumblyburg with temptation. Well, to be fair, men aren't smart enough to know when they're being hit on... so you can't really blame LarryBoy...

Oh, come on! The Bad Apple was violating the No-Touch zone! Would you get a clue?!
And lastly, the voice acting for this diabolical creature: it's obvious that Cynthia West (the actress that plays the Bad Apple) was trying to be Tim Curry. I mean, throughout the movie, I was like: Don't give up, LarryBoy! Put that wannnabe Tim Curry in her place! I mean, just listen to how she said this one line in the movie:
Bad Apple: "All will enter... but none will ever come out."
-(pause) Drake [from The Pebble and the Penguin]...

I thought your scary-as-fuck line was creepy... you know, where you said the line: "Marina is mine"? But after hearing the Bad Apple say a creepy line of her own... (pause) I think you may be on a run for your money. I think; I don't know yet...
Anyway, the Bad Apple was interesting... interestingly full of herself. And you'll probably ask the same thing: what was up with the Bad Apple?

5. Why do people welcome an obvious villain into their workplaces and/or homes without legitimately questioning it?

a. The Mayor was seduced by flattery.

b. Petunia Rhubarb was lured with the promise of a new video game to fuel her gaming addiction.

c. LarryBoy noticed a bar of chocolate, which served as an ace in the hole for our villain.
-Again... [fill in your own insult here]

4. "The Umph! has umph."

This was something that LarryBoy said after Alfred explained the "epic" chemical reaction between the webs and the sports drink.

-Sounds kinda foreign, when I first heard this line.
-Kinda like saying: "Ok-lay-in-the-ag-bay." (Okay, we're not opening that door again!)

3. Why don't the mother and child move out of the way when the Funhouse grows chaotic during the fight scene?!

-I mean, nice thought in making LarryBoy look like somebody that would step in front of a train for someone else, but... MOVE!!! At least take a few steps back, instead of just standing there in fear!

2. Alfred is the worst spotter ever!!!
I say this because...
a. Alfred is "conducting," while overseeing Larry run on a treadmill.

-WTF was up with that?
-Did he get this mixed up with band class?
b. If that wasn't as bad, then get a load of this: Alfred watches TV, while Larry bench presses.

-(pause) Rule of thumb: do not take this guy to the gym. He is the worst spotter ever! He will act goofy and not pay any attention to you when you're dealing with dangerous exercise equipment!

And the number one dumbest moment in LarryBoy and the Bad Apple is...

1. "Promise not to tell anyone about my secret cave?"

This passes as your so-called "security clearance"? And for that matter, why ask this to somebody that shows up to your door, claiming that they know somebody that you know so well? It's called stranger danger! That should've came to mind...
-(pause)
Wait. Stranger danger... (thinking)
You know what this is?
This is a reoccurring factor that exists in each of the three Veggietales installments of LarryBoy: the lack of stranger-danger awareness. I mean, think about it!




a. strangers coming into people's homes w/o the homeowners questioning it
b. victims falling for anything the stranger says
c. the strangers becoming a bigger threat as their stories progress
It makes sense now!
But, to be fair, this dumb scene is only a plot device, which carries on the plot even further- fair enough. But seriously, who says that?!

And that was my Top 10 list. Just because this movie had its awkward moments, doesn't mean that it's a bad movie. I still love this movie regardless.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
LarryBoy and the Bad Apple
The Pebble and the Penguin (that one pic)
LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed

Courtesy: Big Idea Entertainment and Don Bluth.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Trailer Analysis: The Never-Before-Seen Trailer of "LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed"

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

As promised in my previous blog post, I'm here to give you my analysis on the never-before-seen trailer of LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed.


For me, I found out about this particular trailer two or three years ago when I was watching my DVD copy of the movie. When I first came across it, I was wondering if anyone else that watches Veggietales knows anything about this. Well, I know that this never-before-seen trailer is also on Youtube, but the full version of this trailer can be found only on the DVD.

When I first saw this never-before-seen trailer, I was a little amazed. In fact, it didn't have the same kind of quirkiness as any other Veggietales video. So let's get started.

Where To Find the Never-Before-Seen Trailer
Like I said before, this trailer can only be found on the DVD. It's hidden as an Easter egg on the DVD. And interestingly enough, it's not as hard to find it as you think.
When you get to the main menu soon after you start the DVD, just move the mouse arrow (or navigate your remote control buttons) to the menu options and move to the right of the option that says "Fun!" and you'll see a star.

(as demonstrated in this video here)

When you click on the star, it'll take you to the video where a person from Big Idea talks about the never-before-seen trailer. Note: If you want to see the never-before-seen trailer, you'll have to listen to the short interview first, so that they'll explain it more.
In the interview, Big Idea composer Kurt Heinecke explains that the trailer was done in one day, and commented that it was like scoring an actual movie.

This interview lasts for at least a minute, until it cuts to a disclaimer.

The disclaimer is self-explanatory.

Trailer Itself
The first thing you'll find out is that the voice-acting is in the work-in-progress stage, because like Heinecke said in his interview, the trailer was worked on in one day. Plus, the voice-acting didn't use any voice alterations, because the movie itself wasn't a finished product yet. So, the voices sound deeper and closer to the real-life voices of the actors themselves.
In this trailer, there's also no announcer. The trailer is explained through title cards. And to sweeten the "darkness" of the trailer, dramatic music is playing as the trailer progress. And to make the trailer look even more creepy... guess who emerges from the darkness in one clip!

-Yeah! Talk about creepy!

Imagine seeing this monster after watching this particular trailer!
After showing clips of the movie, you can hear LarryBoy say "Hasta la vista, weedy!" and then the movie's title abruptly comes on screen. It's there briefly until it's replaced by the word "July," which was when the movie was released to video (July 1999).

Analysis
Honestly, I don't see this as "dark" or anything. This trailer seems different from the one that's usually played in the previews in other Veggietales videos. I can tell that Big Idea had to take a step back and try again on creating a trailer, so that they wouldn't lose the kid audience.
-That's pretty much a good thing on their part, because why scare kids?
For me, this trailer didn't scare me. Even though I got a warning from both the short Kurt Heinecke interview and the disclaimer afterwards, it still wasn't scary. Sure, it sounded and looked strange, but for what it is, it's still worth mentioning to anyone that's a LarryBoy fan like me. I felt that it's my civic duty as a LarryBoy fan to share this with y'all.
So, I don't think there's much of a trailer, except to acknowledge that this is just Mr. Nezzer's "The Bunny Song" all over again, only we're not letting our kids sing "I won't go to church" and "I won't go to school."
Again, this trailer isn't scary. It was a little too dark to be released to the world, but it's still not scary. In fact, this trailer didn't even reach suicidemouse.avi standards. So there's nothing to worry about.
So to review, the banned trailer of LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed can be found on the main menu of the DVD. Move your mouse or the remote control to the star, and then you'll see the trailer.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed

Courtesy: Big Idea

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

CHARACTER ANALYSIS (Throw-Back Edition): The Mother Weed from "LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed"

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

Remember my character analysis on the Rumor Weed from LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed? Well, I've been getting requests on social media to do one on the Mother Weed, the ultimate baddie that LarryBoy is facing near the end of the video.

Now, this blog post was suggested by Facebook user Jeff Jackson; so thanks man! : )

For this character analysis, I'll be doing it in Top-10 list format. Plus, this countdown will contain spoilers; so if you haven't seen the video, feel free to check it out. Other than that, let's get started. The requested... character analysis on the Mother Weed.

10. The Rumor Weeds resemble their "mother."
This one wasn't hard to determine. The weeds, whether you like it or not, look like the stereotypical gossiping women that you would see on TV.

They all have blondish hair, wear earrings and pearl necklaces, and have these outrageously-whacked-out lipsticked lips.

And of course, the Mother Weed herself has much better bling, because, for one, she is the main antagonist.

9. The Mother Weed may have been inspired by the monster from Little Shop of Horrors.
For this one, it's a given, because if you both at both monsters side by side, you can totally see the resemblance.

Big mouths. Monstrous vine and plant features. And there's even the place of origin, which are their flower pots. This might have been Big Idea's intent, is for this LarryBoy adventure to be somewhat a parody of Little Shop of Horrors.

8. The Mother Weed has many connections.
The Rumor Weeds, as proven in one scene, are connected to a vast root system, which is run by the Mother Weed.

And yes, it's safe to say that the Mother Weed is responsible for the infestation, which leads me to...

7. The weed from the beginning may be the Mother Weed.
Before we seen the movie's title card, we get this brief scene where the plant that fell from the rooftop sits up and smiles at the audience.

Now, the reason why I have a strong feeling that this weed may be the Mother Weed, because (obviously) an infestation has to start somewhere. And as most of us know, weeds tend to start from a few to many in a short time period. By the time there is so many of these weeds in the movie, you can definitely link the Mother Weed to the one at the very beginning.
Although it's not known how she impregnanted herself to have all these offspring, other than the rumor, which is being passed on from person to person.
-(sarcasm) Thanks, Nature!

6. The Phone Lady
This ties in with the plant that fell off the rooftop.

There's a scene where after LarryBoy accidentally knocks a plant off the rooftop, the plant lands on a powerline. The powerline is live, because a lady in a window is talking on the phone, apparently gossiping, because of the "he said... she said" type of conversation.

As the phone lady is talking, the weed is getting electrocuted by the powerline, until it falls down into a gutter, and eventually into a sewer.
Now, the reason why I bring up the phone lady, is because I have a vague but stand-out theory that the phone lady's soul may have transferred to the weed; and that's how the weed has a personality. Think about it: the phone lady and the weed are voiced by the exact same person; and the only other evidence that we have is the phone lady's shadow: big hair, outrageously big mouth, and the talkative demeanor.
Then again, Big Idea would never associate soul-transfer with any of their movies, because that's an abomination to Christianity. And plus, as soon as the weed falls off the powerline, the phone lady stops and asks off-screen "Did you hear something?" before going back to her phone conversation.
-Maybe part of her soul went into that weed? IDK.

5. Did she swallow a cat?!
(I'm not joking on that subtitle.)
What stood out with the Mother Weed is when she tells LarryBoy that nobody can stop her. And I think I've mentioned this in my review of this movie, but I'll bring it up again. There's one point where she says, "Thanks to your friends out there, I'm getting bigger by the minute!" And then afterwards, she laughs diabolically.

Listen to how she laughs at this part; you'll definitely laugh at this. Her laugh sounds as if she swallowed something and has a hairball... kind of like a cat.
-So, did you get my joke about her sounding like she swallowed a cat?

4. Magic Lipstick?
I'm thinking that this was a minor animation mistake on Big Idea's part. There's the scene where the Mother Weed pops out of the ground in full force and captures Alfred in front of everyone. On the first shot of this scene, you see that the Mother Weed's lips are bare; no lipstick.

But the next time we see her when she perches herself on top of the Town Hall building, her lips are back to red.

-Maybe (as a joke), she had a stylist helping her do her makeup in between sets. LOL.
Anyway, this was a minor mistake that Big Idea may have overlooked.

3. The fight scene between the Mother Weed and LarryBoy is off-screen.
Sure. it would've been nice to have seen an epic boss fight between hero and villain. However, knowing Big Idea, they wouldn't want to show that much violence in a kids' video. I mean, just see how LarryBoy is all banged up after that ordeal off-screen.

-Bruises. Band-aids. Okay then. But still, show don't tell, movie.

2. Defeating the Mother Weed is simple...

The movie shows that saying nice things about a person that's on the brink of having a ruined reputation is the only way to effectively stop a rumor.

Well, that sounds logical enough. But just remember that the very first suggestion that was made in regards on how to stop the Mother Weed was to attack her roots by means of force. This proves to be ineffective, because of the Rumor Weed musical number from earlier, and because of LarryBoy's failure to destroy her with the machine gun that he apparently had.

-I'll admit, that machine gun thing was never explained in the movie, unless that was what Alfred meant when he said, "I'll be right here giving you instructions as you need them." Then again, he and LarryBoy lost contact at some point in the story, so yeah.
So, yes. The solution is straightforward...

...even though the Mother Weed turning into a flower afterwards was just a freebie for the citizens of Bumblyburg to see to prove that the monster has been defeated.

1. The never-before-seen trailer for this movie may have made the Mother Weed even more scary!!!
I don't know if y'all know this or not, but there was an original trailer for this movie that didn't make the cut to be distributed as the official trailer, because it was said to be too dark for kids. This particular trailer can be seen on the DVD of this movie, but it would require some digging on the DVD.
Anyway, there's this one point where it cuts to the scene where LarryBoy comes across one of the small weeds and starts talking down to her, until the Mother Weed emerges from out of the darkness.

That scene alone would deem this trailer too intense for a kid to sit through.
-It's kind of like a Rumor Weed version of Foxy emerging from his stage curtain in Five Nights at Freddy's.

It's that intimidating.
-Even one of the people that made this movie was saying in an interview that the trailer was too much for the kids, which is stated at the beginning of the video when you find it on the DVD.

You know, I may not be a kid, but I can honestly say that that scene with the Mother Weed emerging from out of the darkness is, by far, one of the creepiest scenes in LarryBoy history. In fact, this trailer will be the subject of my next blog post.

So there you have it; this was my first throw-back character analysis, which was requested by you guys. That was pretty fun, actually. So if you want to request a review or anything, leave a comment or suggestion below, or follow me on my Facebook page, and also on Twitter: @vygonza1.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
Little Shop of Horrors
Five Nights at Freddy's

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks; The Geffen Company/Warner Home Video; and Scott Cawthon