Showing posts with label Hanna Barbera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hanna Barbera. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

TV Show Review - The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1

I'm a big Jonny Quest fan from his original series in the 60s to his latest exploits with Tom & Jerry. I even have most of his comics.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1 is a 1996 26-episode season of a 2-season series based on the 1964 series Jonny Quest. It is rated TV-PG and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good


The Darkest Fathoms. This is a pirate story with a supernatural feel. It's very intense for an afternoon cartoon.

In the Realm of the Condor. This is a lost city story that has a good idea and good scenes, but is ultimately slow and a little underwhelming.

Rage's Burning Wheel. This is a space mission story that needed to be two parts to fully develop. The story is exciting with real peril.

Manhattan Maneater. This is probably the strongest and most exciting story. It's a dangerous animal hunt story in New York that is very intense. 

East of Zanzibar. This is a natural disaster story where Hadji and Jonny get lost in a big storm that has a great setup but not as much development as it needs.

Ezekiel Rage. This is an origin story of one of the major new villains and is very exciting and intense with a story in the past and one in the present.

Alien in Washington. This is a bit silly but really fun and clever. It involves real aliens and their involvement in the government.

Return of the Anasazi. This is an ancient alien story that has a great set up but needed more work to flesh out.

The Alchemist. This is a story about alchemy that again has a great idea and great set up but needed a little more development.

AMOK. This is a cryptid story that is pretty good but a little slow.

The Spectre of the Pine Barrens. This is  cryptid meets civilization lost in time story about the Declaration of Independence. The idea is really good. The execution a little slow.

Expedition to Khumbu. This is a story about the yeti that is fairly clever and well done. The surprise at the end isn't very surprising. 

Future Rage. This is a really interesting doomsday meets the supernatural story that is really entertaining.

Alligators and Okeechobee Vikings. This story easily ties for the best episode. Vikings live in the Everglades, dress as Alligators, and stop an evil businessman trying to destroy the Everglades.


The Bad



Escape to Questworld. This is a revenge story mixed with virtual reality. The story is weak as is the VR.

Ndovu's Last Journey. This is a story about a dying elephant that is just as boring as it sounds. There is a supernatural element that is a little interesting but predictable. 

Assault on Questworld. This is another revenge story in VR that is better than the first one but still needs more work.

Trouble on the Colorado. This is a sequel to Return of the Anasazi that should have been great,but didn't have enough meat to the story.

In the Wake of the Mary Celeste. This is a ghost ship story that should have been a lot better given the interesting premise.

Besieged in Paradises. This story concerns using whale songs to form and Internet and control them. It's as strange and disappointing as it sounds.   

Heroes. This is a Greek mythology in VR story. It's very boring.  

The Ballad of Belle Bonnet. This is a ghost story that is very predicable and prosaic.  

In the Darkness of the Moon. This a warewolf story that gets too preachy and needs more meat and originality. 

The Secret of the Moai. This is a clever ancient alien story that gets way too silly. 

Ice Will Burn. This is a lost civilization under the ice story that isn't very interesting.

To Bardo and Back. This is a miraculous cure to a paralyzing injury story that is boring and contrived.


What I Would Like to Have Seen


I would like to see longer episodes, maybe having some of the stories take two episodes. Several of the stories felt rushed.


Overall


The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1 is a fun re-imagining of a classic cartoon. Many of the episodes are well thought out showing real danger, real peril, and realistic action and equipment. There are a lot of aliens, cryptids, and supernatural elements to keep it fun, but all are handled mostly in a believable manner. Several episodes are brilliant while most are entertaining but need work, and a few are real duds. I highly recommend this show and give it 4 out of 5 remotes.


    
  

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086G6FKRV/

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Movie Review - Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery

I've been a Scooby-Doo fan for as long as I can remember. I haven't been a fan of all his incarnations, but they have been fun to see different ways he and his gang can be reinterpreted.

Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery is a 2014 direct-to-video action comedy film featuring Scooby-Doo and the gang. If it were rated, it would be rated G and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good


Visuals. This movie has really nice character designs and background designs. It has the right balance of cartoony and realism to make the WWE wrestlers look like real people but still like they fit in Scooby-Doo's world.

Story. The story is one of the strongest for a Scooby-Doo tale with some real thought to motivation and twists. It's still not going to win any awards.

Action/Animation. The animation is really well done with the wrestling looking smooth.

The Bad


Opening Titles. The song wasn't great and there was no logic or reason to show the villains from the first season. They don't make an appearance here. It looked more like an anniversary title sequence than WWE.

What I Would Like to Have Seen


A little more wrestling.

Overall


Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery is a fun direct-to-video movie appropriate for all ages--safe for the youngsters and entertaining for the older crowd. The animation is very smooth and fluid, the character designs are both cartoony enough to be Scooby-Doo and realistic enough to make the WWE wrestlers look like actual people, and the story is much stronger than most direct-to-video cartoons with actual thought put into motivation and twists. While nothing groundbreaking, it is a lot of fun with the usual troupes one expects from this kind of movie. I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.