Gravity Falls

You know what I haven't done? Reviewed  a TV show. So I can try. But what TV show to review? Whats that Waylon? You want me to review Gravity Falls......yes you do. Well okay this is my review of the first several episodes of Gravity Falls (Season 1). Quick note I will be revealing the endings. So since I am talking about multiple episodes I will just write the ending in italics so you know when to skip them. One more thing I have lost my pastels so there will be no cartoons until further notice.

Episode 1 Tourist Trapped:  Two twins named Dipper (Jason Ritter) and Mabel (Kristen Schaal) Pines are spending the summer at their great uncle Stan's (Alex Hirsch) house in a small town called Gravity Falls (it's a pun). Stan runs a place called the Mystery Shack which show people supernatural things that are fake. One day when putting up signs in the forest Dipper finds a mysterious book with the number 3 on it.  The book contains knowledge of real supernatural stuff. When Dipper gets back to the house Mabel says she has a boyfriend named Norman (Alex Hirsch). Dipper reads his book and realizes that Norman matches the description of a zombie.  So dipper films Norman but can't find anything weird. But when rewatching it he sees his hand fall off and that convinces him. So Dipper chases after Norman but it turns out that Norman isn't a zombie but instead a bunch of gnomes (no comment). So the gnomes turn into a giant monster (no comment) and chase Dipper and Mabel. But they escape and defeat the gnomes. Later that night Stan is seen going through a secret passage behind a vending machine (creepy music). The End


I think this is a good intro to the series. It shows who the characters are and how strange the world of Gravity Falls is. Also there is some funny foreshadowing in this episode. So a good start to the series and it gets better from there.

Episode 2 Legend of the Gobbelwonker: While on a fishing trip with Stan Dipper and Mabel hear the stories of a lake monster called the Gobbelwonker from an old man (Alex Hirsch) and they decide to go look for the monster with Stan's assistant Soos (Alex Hirsch). They go to an island out in the middle of the lake where the monster is supposed to be. On the island all they see is some beavers with a chainsaw. But they actually manage to find the Gobblewonker. But it chases them away and follows them. They corner the monster in a cave and drop a rock on its head. But it turns out that the monster is really that old man. He built it to get some attention and that he is crazy and has built many robots before. So they go back to Stan and spend the rest of the day fishing. The End.


This is even better then the first episode. It is a good combination of funny and suspencefull. Also the old man who tells them about the Gobbelwonker is a really funny because of how crazy he is. This episode shows how funny and silly Gravity falls cane be.

Episode 3 Headhunters: Mabel and Dipper find a room full of wax figures of famous people like Sherlock Homes and Groucho Marx. Stan says that it used to be the Mystery Shack Wax Museum. This gives Mabel the idea to make her own wax sculpture. So she sculpts a wax figure of Stan. Stan loves it so much that he reopens the Wax Museum with the Wax Stan as the main attraction. But people don't like it because of how egotistical Stan is and that Stan promised pizza when there isn't any. So everyone storms out angrily. That night Stan is murdered...well the wax one actually. So Dipper and Mabel decide to figure out who killed Wax Stan. After an investigation they think that it is a local reporter named Toby Determined (Gregg Turkington) but it turns out they are wrong. So they give up and go home where Stan is giving a funeral for Wax Stan. When Stan leaves the room the Wax Figures come to life and say that they hate Stan and that they meant to kill the real one. But Mabel and Dipper defeat all the Wax Figures and the only thing that survives is the head of Wax Larry King (real Larry King). The End.


While this isn't as good as the first two episodes of the show it is still pretty good. The mystery aspect has good build up and I like how it pay homage to classic mystery and horror movies (such as House of Wax). Over all not the best in the series but still it is really good.

Episode 4 The Hand that Rocks the Mable: The Mystery Shack is being put out of business by a child psychic named ,Lil Gideon (Thurop Van Orman). Mabel, Dipper, and Soos decide to check it out. Gideon tries to befriend Mabel and falls in love with her. The problem is Mabel doesn't love him. So Mabel breaks up with him. That makes Gideon angry so he uses his psychic powers that he gets from his amulet to kidnap Dipper. So Mabel comes to save Dipper. They destroy Gideon's amulet where he gets his powers and Dipper and Mabel return home. But in a quick scene before the credits we see Gideon has a book just like the one that Dipper found only this one has the number 2 on it. The End.

This is a good introduction to Gideon who would become a returning character. The best thing about Gideon is that he can go from being evil and menacing to being silly and goofy. So This was a pretty good episode of the show. Now for my final opinion of the show.

Gravity Falls is an amazingly animated, funny, and mysterious show. The characters have very distinct personalities. Another good thing about Gravity Falls is the mystery aspect it always keeps you guessing what will happen next. I am especially exited for the second season coming out in August. I will probably review the second season at some point. See you next time.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Hey guess what? It's my 50th review. So since it is my 50th review I think I will review one of my favorite movies, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. So it seems like time to start, so lets get going. Also at the end, instead of a cartoon I have put in one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes comics. Now as long as Bill Watterson doesn't sue me I should be fine.

Pee-wee Herman (Manicus Chuldus)

We meet an eccentric man-child named Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) who lives in what can only be described as a re-purposed junkyard. After eating breakfast he takes out his wacky bike. But his neighbor Francis (Mark Holton) wants to buy the bike: Pee-wee refuses. So Pee-wee goes to the mall, locks his bike up and goes to the magic shop and the bike shop. While at the bike shop he talks to his kind-of girlfriend Dottie (Elizabeth Daily). But when he gets back to his bike it is stolen (dramatic music). Pee-wee goes nuts and will do any thing to get it back.

Large Marge (Nightmareicus Fuleicus)

So he goes to a con-artist named Madam Ruby (Erica Yohn) who tells him that his bike is in the basement of the Alamo. He hitches a ride with an escaped convict named Mickey (Judd Omen). While on the road Pee-wee almost crashes the car and Mickey decides to leave him on the side of the road. A trucker named Large Marge (Alice Nunn) picks him up. But after making a scary face, Pee-wee gets scared and escapes. He stops by a roadside diner. While at the diner he meets a waitress named Simone (Diane Salinger) who wants to move to France, but her boyfriend Andy (Jon Harris) doesn't want her to. Pee-wee convinces her to go regardless of what her boyfriend says. After that Pee-wee hitches a ride on a train. The train makes it to San Antonio. But it turns out that there is no basement in the Alamo. So Pee-wee doesn't know what to do. He goes to a bar where some bikers hang out. After making friends with the bikers they give him a bike. But then he crashes and wakes up in the hospital.

***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***

While watching TV in the hospital it turns out that his bike was given to a child actor shooting a movie in Warner Brother Studios. He makes it to the studios and finds his bike. So he dresses as a nun, steps in and ruins several different movies being filmed. He escapes with his bike, but a pet shop is on fire. So he goes in and saves all the animals. The police find him and take him away. But the head of the studio says  that he wants to make Pee-wee's story into a movie. The movie ends with Pee-wee, Dottie, and all the other people he met gathering to watch the movie (which is nothing like what happened). The End.

***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a great movie. It is really funny in how over the top and silly it is. The characters are really memorable. It's one of those movies that makes so little sense that you can't help finding it enjoyable. One complaint that I have is that there are some scenes in the movie that could have been cut. Like there is a scene in a rodeo that I skipped and there is another scene where he invades Francis's house. Other then those needless scenes this is a very good comedy-adventure. This has been my 50th review and i I hope to make many more.

Oh and before I go Waylon wants to say some words: If a Monkey sings throw it a coconut
 and it will probably kill you. I'm never letting you do that again.

Top Ten Most Cliched Character Types

I am back with another top ten list. This time I am talking about the character types you see everywhere. Oh, and by the way I was on vacation last week and I didn't have enough time for a cartoon. So without further ado I give you the Top Ten Most Cliched Character types.

10 The Comic Relief
Not all comic reliefs are bad. They just have to be done right. Like how Edna in The Incredibles helped Mr. Incredible and his family with new super hero costumes. Good examples of bad comic reliefs are Johnathon form Hotel Transylvania and Mater from the Cars franchise. They just seem to never shut up.


9 The Generic Love Interest
This could be considered cheating since the writing is what makes the character generic. But it is a cliched character type. They are just so one dimensional it hurts. It's like the only reason that the character exists is because the writer said "You know what this movie needs? A romance". A good example of this is Lola from Space Jam.





8 The Damsel in Distress
Not only is the character cliched but the set up is as well. In fact this set up is the plot of The Super Mario Brothers games, most of the Popeye cartoons, and the movie Labyrinth (however all of those thing are pretty awesome). Another thing about the damsel in distress that is confusing is that with some characters the character shows good ability defending themselves but hardly puts up a fight when getting captured.




                   

7 The Evil Businessman
One of the biggest cliche villains of all time. The guy who wants destroy a beloved something in the town and people don't like it blah blah blah. This has been used so much.  It's been used in The Lorax, The Country Bears, The Borrowers, Yogi Bear, Hey Arnold The Movie and so many more. The only times it work is in It's a Wonderful Life with Mr. Potter and The Muppet Movie with Doc Hopper.




 



6 The Dumb Parents
This character usually appears in movies and TV shows targeted at kids (kids not families). Normally they are just totally oblivious to their child's crazy whimsical adventure. Good examples of this are Timmy's parents from Fairly Odd Parents.




                                             5 The Dead Mother

This might be cheating but I don't think so. Normally when the writer doesn't  want to have the cliche of having the protagonist be an orphan they just kill off one of the parents usually the mother. Here is a list of movies with this cliche: Most animated Disney movies, A Simple Wish, Ghost Dad, Mr. Nanny, The Sound of Music and many more. Some of the few movie I have watched where the mother is alive and plays an important role is Brave and Coraline.

I have not seen this film...

4 The Underdog Hero
This is the hero who no one believes in but it turns out that he has the power and you know how the rest goes from there. This has been in too many movies. Mostly in family movies or sports movies. A more recent use of this character is Emmet in The Lego Movie.






3 The Conflicted Secondary Villain Who Will Eventually Become a Good Guy
In certain circumstances this set up can be good. But if the character isn't given enough development they can come off as very one dimensional. A good example of this is Good Cop/Bad Cop from The Lego Movie.







2 The Neglectful Father
While the Mother is dead the father is always at work and forgetting his children. But by the climax of the movie he has learned his lesson. Man this one has been done to death. Now for another list: Ghost Dad, Mr. Nanny, Mr. Poppers Penguins, The Haunted Mansion, Coraline, Jingle All the Way, and so many more. This cliche has worked a few times in movies such as Hook and Mary Poppins.





 1 The Crackpot Inventor
Yep this is the most cliched character type of all time. The Inventor who everyone thinks is crazy but then he builds a machine that will become the main plot device. There are so many movies with this: Gremlins, the Back to the Future movies, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Meet the Robinsons, The Nutty Professor, The Absent Minded Professor, all the Wallace and Gromit cartoons, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and many many many more. By the way another thing I noticed is that a lot of inventors like to make an insane breakfast making machine whats up with that?

Anyway this has been another top ten list. I hope you like it. But seriously what is up with the breakfast making machine? Anyway, see you next time.

Pete's Dragon

It is time for another review. This is Pete's Dragon. After the success of Mary Poppins, Disney decided to try and recreate the success by making movies that combined animation with live action. This is one of the movies. So it is time to start; this is Pete's Dragon.

The movie starts with a boy named Pete (Sean Marshall) running away from his evil step family lead by a woman named Lena (Shelly Winters). Fortunately Pete has a magical dragon named Elliott (Charlie Callas) (don't we all). Elliott has two abilities to talk like Scooby-doo and to turn invisible. They escape from the step family and after a musical number Pete and Elliott make it to the town of Passamaquoddy. But even with Elliott invisible he gets Pete in trouble. Eventually an old drunken lighthouse keeper named Lampie (Mickey Rooney) (yes his name is really Lampie) sees Elliott and he gets scared and tells his friends....in song. After the musical number "I Saw a Dragon" Lampie returns home with his daughter Nora (Helen Reddy). Pete and Elliott hide out near the lighthouse. Nora sees Pete and invites him in. Nora tells Pete about her boyfriend Paul (Cal Bartlett) and that he was a sailor and his ship sunk at sea. Pete asks Nora if Elliot can find him and Nora (thinking Elliott isn't real) says yes.

Dr. Terminus

 The next day a con man named Dr.Terminus (Jim Dale) and his bumbling sidekick Hoagy (Red Buttons) (wait Hoagy and Terminus? What is with the names in this movie?) come to town and start in selling ineffective medicine and tonics. Two musical numbers later the local fishermen complain about the fact that all the fish seem to have gone and they think that Pete is the reason that the fish are gone. Nora sings a song welcoming Pete which makes Pete and all the other kids late for school. The teacher Miss. Taylor (Jane Kean) punishes Pete for being late and talking about dragons. But Elliott bursts through the wall and saves Pete from school (well so much for staying invisible). Meanwhile after seeing this Dr. Terminus is convinced that Elliott is real and he wants to catch him, chop him to bits and use him to make (effective) potions. He even sings a song about it. Later Lampie and Nora say that they want to adopt Pete. They are so happy they sing the song "Brazzle-Dazzle Day". If you want to know what the song is about...I haven't got a clue. However Pete's original step family comes to town.

***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***

Pete's step family find him Lampie and Nora and they sing the song "Bill of Sales". Fortunately Elliot makes the boat explode. But Dr. Terminus teams up with them and they form a plan. Meanwhile Pete says Elliot found Paul. But Nora says Elliot doesn't exist and that he should stop pretending. Wait why doesn't Nora believe in Elliott she saw a boat of singing hillbillies explode (I can't believe I just said  that) and how did the news about a giant dragon shaped hole in the wall of the school not reach her attention. Regardless, Dr. Terminus and the step family catch Pete and Elliott. But they manage to escape, defeat the villains, and Paul even comes back. So everything seems to be going well but Elliott has to go. So Pete say goodbye and they all live happily ever after. The End.

***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***

Pete's Dragon is relatively good. The effects on Elliott are impressive and Dr. Terminus is a really funny villain despite how over the top he is. Most of the songs are pretty good as well. But Pete doesn't have much of a personality besides being just a nice normal kid (with a dragon as friend). A lot of the songs go on for a while and start to lose focus. In my opinion Pete's Dragon is worth watching just be ready for some corny and over the top moments. See you next time.

AT THE HOT POCKET FACTORY