Interestingly, One Hundred and One Dalmatians never drops a lighthearted tone, but still maintains its very morbid stakes. From the get go, the film goes for a quaint and funny style. It doesn’t deny itself flavorings of the 60s, Britain, and “charmingly offbeat and unrealistic”. Many shots look like a still painting, where pans are achieved with the image just moving across the screen. The characters also have a slight lack of fluidity, though this all adds to a surreal effect that matches the dialogue and narrative. Initially, the spirits of our leads are consistently high, with an arguably unnecessary part of the story serving to establish this world.
The proper story is about how the one hundred and one doggies will escape doom, but the beginning covers the romance of Roger Radcliffe, played by Ben Wright, that is barely even in the film once the stakes increase. His characterization is very flat, with him not much of a character. He is colored by a few moments. A favorite is when he offers the soaking wet Anita, played by Lisa Davis, a handkerchief, not realizing that he and thus the handkerchief are also wet. The other highlight is when he lays lyrics about Cruella de Vil on the melody he just wrote, singing about her like he personally knows and despises her, despite him only knowing of her that she’s a little rude. None of this really matters and it leaves you to wonder how Rog thought of as many lines as he did, but of course all of the movie has cute humor like this. There are many such flourishes to the narrative that do little more than get laughs, but are nice. Lisa also isn’t much of a character.
The film commits to being about either the scenery, the tone, or the story. As an example, the opening wastes no time pushing along to the point where the two lead dalmatians have puppies. Afterwards, two very expressive characters “Jasper and Horace Baddun” push their way into the story, with Roger’s maid making absolute sure you comprehend the gravity of the situation to the plot. Martha Wentworth acts her heart out with the music matching her. This scene only manages laughs instead of genuine dread. Afterwards, the heat is on. We don’t get inside anyone’s head. In fact, the scenes of all the various animals working together removes much individuality or personality to them. They are solely about this mission. One even says he’ll bark all night if need be. The effect of this is removing a sense of watching a real story, but the adventure being so exciting makes up for that. It takes the impotence off the characterization and puts it onto the action.
There are a few seeming exceptions to this, like when Rod Taylor as Pongo narrates the beginning of the movie. We see his wit and perspective, such as in considering Roger to be his pet. He also successfully pushes Roger wherever he feels is best. This dynamic and relative focus doesn’t last long. In fact, even Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella de Vil, who is often characterized as campy and manic, doesn’t ever have fun or not be all about serving her role in the story. She is simply extremely hotheaded and quick to yell. Cruella barely does anything when you’d expect her to stop to be memorable. Jasper and Horace at least go for laughs. People seemingly have projected more onto her, especially because her design is very distinct and her voice like that of someone like Bette Davis. Davis and Cruella would have a similar fanbase of film students and drag queens.
The best three roles here have got to be Sergeant Tibbs, the Captain, and the Colonel. The three have a humorous dynamic and back-and-forth, with various little gestures and novelties given to each, which does finally offer at least a bit of realism. You do have to extend your disbelief to accept that all these dogs will dedicate themselves to sending the message of the dognapped puppies, but those three cover how that would actually work. They carry honest souls and this natural aversion to the horrors they witness. You can tell by their expressions and actions that they feel like that if they fail then a real tragedy will have occurred. They take their role pretty seriously, though humorous things still happen. Their banter and even distinct appearances color them. The fact this is a dog, cat, and horse instead of all being dogs suggests they’ve somehow come to form a really unique and charming bond. They’re beyond any sense of tribalism.
We get a wonderfully lengthy and detailed look at how the events play out. The fun of the movie is in seeing what little issues the characters will be written into and how they’ll get out. Along the way are many quick jokes that serve as texture. This includes the dognapping apparently making the paper; Cruella’s pen exploding on Roger, giving him spots; some of the puppies unable to understand why they’d be asked to get dirty; and an apparent dog tv show and commercial, as if some human tv producers are out there feeling a need to give airtime to a show for dogs and also sell products to them. The threats are not particularly serious, but are very entertaining. There is arguably a logical explanation, the reason why issues befall Jasper and Horace is because of how idiotic they are, so it makes sense they would struggle to do anything meaningful. The movie commits to and pulls laughs from how silly they are, so their stupidity never feels convenient.
OVERVIEW
One Hundred and One Dalmatians is a tonally consistent and solid blend of adventure and comedy. It plays best as a warm and quirky Christmas tale that never takes itself too straight, though note it does a little just to get you invested. You’re taken to a strange new world where a large group is nice to each other and works together for free. Not a world I know!
Just thought I’d add in that Roger and Anita not caring about their place getting covered in dirt is hilarious.
The greatest strength and weakness of Wall-E is its simplicity. The way that that’s a problem is how basic the story and its structure are. The lack of innovation there makes for a movie that is a little dull, due to lacking many tricks up its sleeve, as you pretty much always know what’s going to happen next. The best types of family movies have more that can appeal to an adult. This film does provide that, just not in the storyline. The animation and by extension aesthetic are very pretty, reminiscent of classic sci-fi, while giving its own twists. The dark subject matter it depicts has a soft edge to it, like it’s something a child would imagine, which creates a very unusual and extremely relatable feeling. Someone that worked on the movie said a planet filled with trash is the type of dystopia a child would imagine.
It is arguably a little strange seeing a robot character, the protagonist of Wall-E, be so much like a human child. An added “edge” to make him feel more distinct, but still inspired by that would help a lot in making him interesting. His almost complete lack of speaking makes for an endearing character, especially as we can sense whatever it is he’s thinking or feeling. Especially to a fan of silent cinema, this is not new, but it does add to the otherworldly and innocent sense. If this movie was made for adults with a human lead, you can imagine them doing something like getting hurt and cursing, which would create a very different vibe and make it too human. Also, as someone with difficulty speaking, I’ve always found Wall-E very relatable.
The character of Eve does have a few particularly sharp moments, such as when she is at her most vulnerable. Her character development is otherwise weak, with her dramatically switching from her more aggressive self to being a lot softer. The first thing she does when she meets Wall-E is too out of character with how she later is and makes her harder to relate to. There’s no reason she couldn’t have been simply neutral when meeting Wall-E, instead of how she is. Their romance is also very straightforward and uncomplicated. While not “realistic”, it mirroring a child’s understanding of a relationship is heartwarming. Thus, it works. Some of the character development the leads do have is emphasized very nicely with the romance. In fact, the scene of them where Wall-E has a fire hydrant is so warm and cinematic as to capture an undefinable sense of joy and love and be the best scene of the whole movie. It’s a work of art.
The vintage sounding song playing over a shot of space at the beginning sets the mood very well. Wall-E and the humans only have these artifacts to grasp to in terms of understanding their society and their future. This leads to contrast as the positive music continues over shots of the trash. Shots like the overly pristine ship and the planet of trash are very memorable images that also tell us about how the characters and their worlds are. It’s believable why Wall-E might be reluctant to be cleaned after living on a dirty planet, as it’s familiar to him and not apparently wrong. Seeing as he may be lonely, Wall-E just sorting things works as a way for him to ground himself and keep busy.
The appearance of old footage of live action people suggests this movie is set in the future of our current society. The intended message is that this is the future if we don’t take care of the planet. Otherwise, it is a little confusing why there would be live action people here. The little comedy moments throughout the film come off as forced and really aren’t needed.
SPOILERS
“A moment to be loved a whole life long.” playing as Wall-E sleeps alone in his dark place is really saddening. It doesn’t make much sense why Wall-E would fall for Eve, who is so hostile, so it seems likely he’s just falling for the first robot he sees. Wall-E accidentally destroys a lot of stuff and gets him and Eve labeled “rogue robots”. This really could’ve gotten Eve in a lot of trouble. This seems to go into a more common theme of the misfit robots seeing Wall-E as a leader, with them all essentially saving the day, showing the common but effective narrative of outcasts being what is ultimately needed to straighten out society. The complacency of humans has made them fat and apparently reliant on computers, which could’ve stopped them from ever feeling fulfilled. In fact, the antagonist is a well intentioned robot following humans’ now outdated orders.
When Eve shoots a “halt” sign, I hope she wasn’t killing a fellow robot. After never talking loudly, it’s chilling to hear Eve shout “No!” when Wall-E is injured. The humanity of her comes out here more than ever. Interestingly, if Wall-E was a human, he would’ve been killed by his injury, though instead he makes a full recovery later. Wall-E briefly being reset at the end doesn’t amount to anything. It just seems designed to tug on the heart strings. Admittedly, it does work at making you feel sad. It also mirrors the beginning when Eve was cold and Wall-E had life to him. The ending could’ve gone for something that plays off of the themes of the narrative before and not be so random feeling.
OVERVIEW
One reason the leads have so much personality is because they barely talk, which gives a pretty and surreal vibe throughout the whole story. WALL-E does work best as a movie for kids. It thrives off of the sense of innocence and simplicity the story and tone have, with things frankly not ever being too serious. A strong message is sent with what we learn. Adult media could easily have been too heavy handed. Still, it would’ve been very much ideal to have a bit more depth here, at least some twists so you don’t really know what’s going to happen next.
A Christmas Carol can dazzle when its visual effects are at their best, but also suffer when a tone or spirit needs to be captured. It evokes an amusement park ride due to this. The visual aesthetic benefits from rich colors. It’s not like real life, but the browns and whites amplify the film more than if they were like real life. The film basically wins at being at least tolerable due to not looking quite like anything else. The movie beginning with an establishing shot where the camera captures the antics of the whole town exemplifies this. If you actually look at those characters and put yourself in their world, everything can seem silly. Everyone is so overly joyous and content that there’s no humanity here. Their inability to be anything except their best is a little creepy.
The movie is not a comedy, but there’s the occasional odd moment of it. Those moments can feel randomly selected, like after a dramatic sequence, Marley’s jaw becoming disconnected mid-conversation. That in particular is also strangely disturbing. Jim Carrey mostly does a straightforward Ebenezer Scrooge and he does a decent job at it, though when his vocal or physicalities channel Ace Ventura or other Carrey roles, it feels jarring, as if he felt a need to be comedic right then and there. The “dance with me” scene is one notable example, as it removes from the dramatic potential of the situation. One scene around the middle really needs a strong dramatic actor, but it being in the middle of the insanity of the special effects sequences and the plainness of Carrey’s acting make it flat. At least most of the movie can be appreciated for its high octane bits. They’re gratuitous, but that’s at least something.
The dialogue of the characters, main or not, is played too straight, making the story hard to take seriously. They might have worked better in a book or on a stage, where you can imagine better performances or be sucked in with the live experience. The characters’ faces and vocals are relatively subdued, while there also being some unintentional ham to the deliveries. Their acting only works on the level of being a novelty. “How extremely cheery or diplomatic or stingy can we get?” There’s no sense that that was intended, as the film is trying to just do the story as expected. One example is a scene of Colin Firth as Fred, who speaks and acts like he’s doing an audition and can’t handle his overly theatrical lines. Jim Carrey as the Ghost of Christmas Present is the best performance, having a lighter heart to this whole thing. Maybe if more people seemed like they were just having fun with this, the final product would be better? The lack of realism in the CGI could’ve made a nice contrast with realistic performances, alas not.
The visual effects have major weaknesses. Many characters, especially Marley, look as though they weren’t rendered properly. Their faces can be still when they should be very expressive. Certain characters’ feelings don’t come across clearly due to a lack of emotion on their face. Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchit is a prime example. The point of that character seems to be to show a way to demonstrate how someone closer to, but tolerant of, Scrooge would handle him. Such a character necessitates not only hearing what they’re saying, but seeing in their expression what they’re thinking. Characters like the Ghost of Christmas Past are uncanny and liable to make you uncomfortable due to awkward animation. Perhaps the main fault of the movie is the pacing. It can be so fast that nothing is tangible. It feels like just some stuff happens for a little, then it moves on suddenly to the next thing. We should see how and that the events affect the protagonist. As an example, the segments showing the past could’ve been longer.
SPOILERS
What was the point in Scrooge being shot into space? Visuals like that seem to just be here so as to be memorable or stimulating, without adding to the narrative. It seems Scrooge isn’t all bad, his humanity and kindness is suggested by his strong emotional reaction to Tiny Tim’s death. Characters like Fred and the mistreated Cratchit both seem to have a respect for him. The message of bad people being redeemable is an admirable one. One of the better funny moments is when Scrooge’s maid is shocked and horrified by Scrooge being nice.
OVERVIEW
Due to the visual aesthetics, A Christmas Carol can be a novel viewing, but don’t expect to take anything deep or meaningful from it, which seems to have been its hope.
The Snowman is a sweet film about a boy and a snowman. It’s not a movie to watch if you want a strong plot. It only really concerns seeing the misadventures of the two leads. Perhaps a more cynical mind would ask for a little more to the story. What are the logistics of things like the snowman going inside a house? Will he track water or mud on the ground? Can he smell, breathe, speak? That sort of analysis may very well be the fun of a movie like this for someone. For others, it’s simply for the little journey the boy, James, and the snowman go on. There is no conflict, just an excursion. This could pass as a litmus test for when a person gets too old to really appreciate a film like this. A child might be fascinated by what happens, especially the last third, while an adult might take it more as children’s fodder lacking in much substance.
It’s hard not to appreciate the music, a nice orchestral score. It compliments the visuals nicely, though it can get stuck in your head! The visuals are even better, being drawn like a children’s book that’s animated. The ending is also a little more interesting than you might think and a surprise based on the tone of most of the movie. A debatable criticism is that the first few minutes follow James’ day before the snowman comes alive. If you want snowman action, it can seem like filler. As a minor note, did we have to see James’ butt? Also, how is James not freezing cold touching snow with his bare hands and not wearing a jacket?
SPOILERS
How did the fire in the house not begin to melt the snowman? Also, why wouldn’t the family put it out before bed? How did the cat not wake up the parents, or the various other noises? The snowman at one point falls down right next to the parents and they continue to sleep. The snowman puts on James’ father’s pants and they’re too big. A moment later they fit perfectly. The dad is also clearly skinnier than the snowman. There’s a cool effect of words starting to be sung when the snowman flies. The song is alright, but the instrumental segments are more ethereal and dream-like. Perhaps a better song would make that diversion better? One funny moment is when a girl sees the snowman flying by and seems confused why he doesn’t look like Santa.
A male snowman appears to at one point hit on a female one, suggesting snowmen (snowpeople?) have gender roles. Seeing as the clothes of the main snowman were apparently chosen by James, if he had dressed the snowman femininely, would the snowman act feminine? Maybe not, as the snowman tries on James’ mother’s makeup and hat and his dad’s pants, suggesting he likes both types of presentation. He seems to be impersonating a farmer, so perhaps the makeup is for the red sunburnt-look and the hat for its large brim. If you gave all the snowmen access to masculine and feminine forms of gender presentation, would they try on a mix of styles or lineup with whatever gender they were dressed as? Would the distribution of who likes any given amount of what match human being’s distribution for such things? What if they’re initially dressed with a mix of the two? Would they be non-binary snowmen?
Seeing as James and the snowman go to a party of snowmen and meet Santa, maybe Santa has something to do with this? What if he makes the snow magical so it will in fact come alive and also know how to get to the party? What is the reason for the party, do they always bring a human with them? Are they doing it for humans? Seeing as James is the only child present, who made the other snowmen? What if all the other snowmen were created by a person, but they didn’t like the person so left without them? Scenes like the aforementioned “hitting on” could mean they have the thinking capacities of at least animals. They want to reproduce and go to parties. This is made tragic by the end. The snowman melting is honestly an emotional moment. The scene is made especially poignant by James having Santa’s scarf, proving what he experienced was not a dream. The final frame captures a somber tone in how sad he looks, being completely still, contrasted by the bright background. If Santa was the cause of this, why would he make them so they would just die? What is even the point?
OVERVIEW
While not more interesting or worthwhile than a lot of the famous Christmas animated shorts, The Snowman has some heart and is a good thing to compliment the Christmas spirit, even for an adult.
I thought this might be the first leading picture to an article to not have a caption.
This film makes me depressed and uncomfortable and sad. It makes me think about life and death and my slightly frayed happiness and continuously growing sadness. I feel I am Bill, the protagonist. In fact, we have similar names. His mother looks like my mother. I don’t look very much like Bill, though. While this seemed like an easy movie to watch and review before I watched it (it’s only an hour long!),during the viewing it seemed I had very little to say on it. The film was a constant stream of disturbingly beautiful imagery which haunted me as I viewed it.
It’s perhaps false to call Bill the protagonist. Maybe the film’s narrator, played by Don Hertzfeldt, who created the film, is the real protagonist, not that it changes much. I very much could relate to Bill. We had similar stresses, though I haven’t had nearly the troubles of the character. Despite feeling lucky I couldn’t relate to him, I was sad as I could relate to him with certain things. The monotony of life and a lack of understanding, but also an excessive amount of understanding. That’s something I think about a lot. This is not a good film to watch during the “COVID-19 Pandemic”. I like to think of the day when people reading this won’t be able to relate to that and then later, won’t know what that means. Perhaps by then we’ll be in another pandemic exacerbated by another leader of the country.
This current climate can really make you feel worthless and perhaps even selfish. Selfish as I, and many others, so badly want to rip off our masks, run around, breathing excessively, and give big, sloppy kisses to every cute boy or girl in sight. That sounds like a paradise right now. Perhaps it would be for Bill. He’s basically going through a pandemic in the film. The pandemic of depression and mental illness. He’s trapped in his own house and his job as that’s his life. Life for me is my house right now. I hate it. Bill probably hates it as well. Similarities, similarities.
It is good that I have avenues of expression, such as the written word, but it seems morbidly terrible the thought of being without that, which seems to be the case for Bill. He’s never shown really creating or doing anything. He’ll make a puzzle or some coffee, but it’s so nothing and meaningless. Just like me, stepping outside yourself to make connections with other people has become increasingly difficult. You feel like you’re still young, but age still is a factor and you might feel bad because of the various things that happen to you when you get even a little bit of age.
I give applause to Don Hertzfeldt for creating such a beautiful piece of art. The colors and the cinematography and the character designs, and the everything are so gorgeous. I love looking at this film. However, I hate that it’s hard to watch it without opening your eyes and thinking. I love that it makes you do that as it’s “productive” for life to do that, but it hurts. One of the biggest things about it that hurts the most is that you don’t know when it will stop. I really want to recommend this film and I really don’t. I don’t really know what kind of person would want to see this film. I feel that people “have to”, but then again, do they?
I watched the first two seasons of Battle for Dream Island as a kid and I really loved them. They led me to the cult of “Object Shows”. Now seems like the time to check out the original season again after many years. I’ve rewatched all twenty five episodes and all four hours in one day and it’s time to write about it! The premise of the show is simple. A group of (gendered) objects compete in challenges hosted by “the Announcer”. For a time, the contestants were in teams. Each episode, someone is voted out until one stands and they win dream island. The thing special about this show is that the viewers at home vote for who is eliminated and the beginning of each episode features the results and elimination set up last time.
The following paragraph headers are quotes from the season.
“A Teardrop Family Reunion!”
At the start, things felt rushed. There should be at least a little more subtlety in the characterization of the cast and the show. Fortunately, as soon as Episode 2, Barriers and Pitfalls, starts, the show gets more steam. Some jokes had me laughing quite a bit, though some jokes, like the “Needy” one, were annoying. People frequently refer to a character named “Needle” as “Needy” and she doesn’t like that. That’s the whole joke. Some of the characters eliminated early in the game lack a character to them. They’re basically filler. Fortunately, eliminated contestants often make guest appearances. While deep characterization is nice, such a cast allows for some thin characters that are good as they are. As an example, characters like Teardrop and Rocky work perfectly well without much character. Teardrop is a “straight man” comedy character and Rocky is the quiet, innocent character. At many points, the show is too fast paced. Even though every episode has character moments, there should’ve been more that aren’t covered in the show. There are some animation errors, such as characters with arms being briefly seen without them, with the most likely reason for that being the animators forgot to include them.
I love how stats are referenced in the show. Pencil seemingly keeps track of who hasn’t received an elimination vote and Golf Ball tracks her chances of being eliminated, which almost always would be the same number for all the other contestants. The show’s creators, Michael and Cary Huang, commonly feature projects on their YouTube channels that involve graphs, numbers, stats, etc. You can see their interest in this show. One of the best aspects of the show are the “budget cuts”. Sometimes they go against the laws of physics and it’s hilarious. It’s a humorous parody of how shows can go through budget cuts and lose things that could be needed.
“Icy, because you have no arms, I’ll have to sit on you.”
The characters being certain objects is relevant. It affects how they progress. There’s jokes related to what they are. This gives more flavor to this series. Some characters, such as Bubble and Firey, easily die due to how their bodies are. Bubble is often popped. Sometimes this would require others to run to a “Recovery Center” to revive them. Golf Ball and Tennis Ball have no arms. This was a really clever way of showing the difference in characters and adding drama. If one relied on Bubble, they would be taking the risk of her popping. In Episode 14, Half a Loaf Is Better Than None, armless characters got sympathy points in a contest, which arm-having characters did not receive. However in Episode 16, Bowling, Now with Explosions!, the armless characters were not allowed to compete specifically because they were armless, but they could still receive the punishment of said episode. Like with Episode 16, sometimes factors out of the contestant’s hands (or feet) lead to them getting an unfair advantage or disadvantage. This generally didn’t work well as an unfair game isn’t as gripping or interesting.
As the show progressed, episodes were less eventful. A noteworthy example is Episode 24, Insectophobe’s Nightmare 2, it mostly just sets up the last episode and doesn’t have its own individuality. For the bulk of the episode, the remaining contestants chase bugs (which is not a competition) and the elimination results of Episode 23 take place at the end of the episode. It’s all filler.
SPOILERS
“So it looks like another ball is going home.”
There’s lots of things that don’t work here. Disappointingly, the friendship between two characters, Leafy and Pin in Episode 1 Part 1, Take the Plunge, lost relevance as soon as Episode 1 Part 2 started, due to them being on different teams. Why not explore that by having them miss each other or learn and change in some way? In Episode 18, Reveal Novum, Pencil wins fair and square, but is ultimately eliminated by having 105 points on a two-digit points system. The number in the hundredth place can’t be included, so she only has five points. This isn’t funny and it creates unnatural developments in the story. If the creators wanted Pencil on the block, she should’ve just lost so hard that she fairly got into that position. In Episode 9, Insectophobe’s Nightmare, a team, the Squashy Grapes, are disadvantaged by being split in half, despite not having done something to constitute that.
The relationships that the characters have is one of the most interesting parts of the show. If a certain character is eliminated, it’ll have some impact on the people that knew them. When Blocky was eliminated, Pen and Snowball were upset. Unfortunately, Tennis Ball didn’t react much to his best friend, Golf Ball, being eliminated. Match’s elimination led to a shift in Pencil and Bubble’s alliance. Ice Cube replaced Match in said alliance, but when Pencil was eliminated, Ice Cube divorced from Bubble in the alliance (despite having no reason to). Ice Cube was always less involved in the alliance than Pencil and Bubble. The series shifted to being about the characters of Bubble, Firey, and Leafy. Bubble and Leafy have a rocky relationship, while Firey and Leafy have a rocky, romantic relationship. It’s clear that the creators wanted Bubble to not be tethered to the alliance which had mostly been about Pencil and Match and instead have her play off of Leafy and Firey. It’s unfortunate that it was shoved off to the side and ignored unceremoniously.
“We choose the barf bag!”
Over the series, characters have been inconsistent with characterization. In Episode 15, Vomitaco, Pencil tastes vomit without any reason to, despite having been revolted by it earlier. Throughout the series, she goes from a valley girl type to more of a doer and “tomboy” for lack of a better term. She cares less than in the beginning about hurting people’s feelings. In Vomitaco, she deliberately pops Bubble as she’s annoyed by her. She wouldn’t have done that earlier on. She used to be portrayed as stupid, but got smarter. While the creator’s probably just stopped liking the initial character, this inadvertently shows character development. The creators often seemed afraid to set up something long term like character development. If they start the ball rolling, then that character is eliminated, the scenes dedicated to them changing are more or less redundant. It became somewhat obvious who would make it to the end, as these characters were the most popular, so they likely wouldn’t be voted out.
In Episode 25, Return of the Hang Glider, Firey and Coiny, both enemies, befriend each other, even though there is a reason, it doesn’t make sense. The two have nitpicked problems to have of the other person in the past. This suggests they felt a need to dislike each other. Admittedly, Firey did mature quite a bit once Coiny was eliminated and who knows whether Coiny’s personality changed once out of the game? If Coiny was to grow, we should’ve seen it. He actually gets more character development in Season 2. The Announcer initially said eliminated contestants would be sent home, but it was later revealed that even from the beginning, they were actually sent to the TLC, the Tiny Loser Chamber. Was he lying? What is even the point of the TLC. On another note, why is he giving away Dream Island? Why does he want to befriend Leafy and Firey in Episode 20, Gardening Hero? Many of these questions aren’t answered. Leafy often switches from being nice to mean, sometimes in the same episode. In Episode 17, The Reveal, she gives Bubble a gift… but takes it away later. Vomitaco features her giving Pen a taco, but only for an absurd amount of money. There should’ve been a reason for Leafy’s character shifts, but none was ever given. In the end, it seemed she was the antagonist, but that was seldom made explicit. She was nicer in the beginning of the show, when no one was getting character development. She was just “a nice one”.
“Wow, it’s been eleven hours and still no one has blinked.”
It’s not an issue to have contestants joining/rejoining the game if done sparingly, but near the end it became way too common. The episodes where someone joins or rejoins are numbers 9, 14, 18, and 21. Things began to matter less as there were so many chances to rejoin. What’s it matter if someone’s kicked? They might be back next time! The characters of Flower and David both weren’t interesting or developed and were eliminated briefly after (re)joining. There was also a very large gap of time in which they were absent, so you don’t care about those characters as you haven’t been following them. This can happen with a show so dependent on how the viewers vote/think, but it doesn’t make good storytelling. It doesn’t make sense from a storytelling aspect to jam in characters that don’t do or add much. Flower served the purpose of showing that not being interesting gets one eliminated. She was the first person eliminated in the show. She was an example of how the format of this atypical show works. That’s all.
“Twenty-two cakes have come and gone, but none of them are nearly as magnificent as the Grand Cake.”
The last episode solves certain things and leaves other things open. Firey wins Dream Island. He then lets everyone in Dream Island except Leafy. Firey’s reasoning is that Leafy didn’t like Firey’s ferris wheel from Episode 24 and this means that Leafy is hateful. However, the only reason Leafy didn’t like it is due to a lava fall that painfully killed her. I can understand Firey getting offended, but he is a very forgiving person. In this same episode he forgives Coiny and lets him on the island. How could something so little cause Firey to not let in the person nicest to him? Did the episode just need a conflict or a comeuppance for how she treated Bubble? Leafy then secretly buys Dream Island, is caught, and is revealed to be a Football. That is completely out of nowhere. Next we see of Leafy, she’s a leaf again. What’s the point in the football? Why not pick something at least the same shape as a leaf? The contestants then suggest Leafy be killed and almost every contestant turns into a mob out for blood. This contradicts some of the characters, who seemingly wouldn’t do such a thing. Firey saves her before anything happens. Firey then says he doesn’t care about Dream Island, but he does care about Leafy. While this likely doesn’t happen based on the events of Season 2, one would think that Firey and Leafy go to and live in Dream Island happily ever after. There’s also a jarring shift as earlier in the episode, Firey was terribly offended by Leafy. We never saw him change his mind on that.
If the writers wanted Firey to stop being cool with Leafy, why not have Bubble tell Firey of how much of a jerk Leafy has been to Bubble? This would tie that loose plot thread into the episode. Leafy was quantifying how nice Bubble is as a person for some of the season. That would suggest a deep lack of respect Leafy has for people. While this would call for carefully crafting the story, what if Firey thought that he liked Leafy so much he couldn’t let her in? Leafy is also not the kind of person that would be vindictive enough to steal something like Dream Island from a bunch of people who didn’t do anything. Furthermore, some characters criticize Flower for killing some characters and their Recovery Centers, but then they’re fine with killing Leafy? Almost all the characters with varying opinions and personalities, turned to obsessing for revenge over something. These character flips are all over the place.
A subtle aspect of the ending is quite nice. Everyone except Firey, Leafy, David, and the deceased end up where they initially were. That’s a nice way to bookend the series. Note that in Episode 1 Part 1, the characters were just hanging out on this big, mostly empty plain. The Announcer also ends up with his people, an alien race, which presumably he was with prior to the series starting. If you ignore Leafy and Firey’s odd blip in friendship, it is nice how they get together, which built over the course of the season.
OVERVIEW
“Oh no, I’ve been dulled!”
This season lost a lot near the end. I wonder if the creators became eager for it to end or if they wanted free time, so they rushed together the stories. I appreciate how original it all is and Battle is a fun watch. It’s fascinating looking into the minds of Michael and Cary Huang, who were two kids that crafted this whole world. Battle for Dream Island sadly isn’t as good as I had thought and I doubt that most who bother to give Battle for Dream Island the 3 hours and 50 minutes will get anything more from it than I did. If anything, longer episodes would probably help the season by giving more time to story and character development. The show’s still okay, regardless.
The Filme Diary 