In Monsters, Inc, the blooper reel clearly shows that the movie was a movie, with outtakes by everyone including Randall indicating that they were just playing roles. But included in the blooper reel is the Company Play, titled “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From” and that seems to be in a separate continuity than the bloopers. So the question is, it is a silly play put on by the cast of Monsters Inc in “real life” or is it actually part of the movie continuity, occurring sometime after the events of the film?
No, this is probably not even remotely important to anyone besides me. And maybe Brian. This is what pops in my head while trying to get my youngest to drink her milk while playing the blooper reel of Monsters, Inc as a distraction.
Briefly, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped. The general idea is that it bridges Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, providing some backstory to the second film, and does so with a series of shorts done in artistic style inspired by various anime.
I seem to be going against the grain in my general disappointment with this. The best episode of the disc was the first one, because it plays to the image of Batman in the mind of the ordinary criminal as something supernatural or inhuman. Except, instead of criminals, it’s children, who are in a way just as susceptible to Batman’s mystique as the criminals are (though obviously in awe rather than fear). My only gripe was that the animation style was the same as Tekkon Kinkreet, with richly detailed cityscapes that take your breath away, but with bizarrely distorted character art, misshapen limbs and torsos and minimalist faces. Still, it was a good story.
Gotham City looks gorgeous. Still, a bit too NYC and not Chicago enough for my tastes.
The rest of the installments were largely forgettable, though seeing Bruce Wayne realized in Oyamada Masumi style (episode 3, Field Test) was a bit of a treat. Also, a supporting character from The Dark Knight gets some character development in episode 2 (Crossfire), and the recurring villain Sandman makes an appearance, as do Batman-universe minor villains like Croc and Deadshot. There’s a few tidbits about Bruce’s attitude towards guns, pain, and gadgetry, but nothing about Batman’s detective skills.
The animated sequel/prequel is not unique as a concept – the Riddick series has a anime-style bridge installment between Pitch Black and Chronicles, (Dark Fury) and that was far superior an effort both in terms of general art as well as advancing inter-movie plot and character backstory. Still, if you’re really a big fan of the Batman movie franchise reboot (as I am), it’s definitely worth watching.
Mark talks about Hellsing and manages to pique my interest – not necessarily because of the blood and gore, but because of the description of Alucard:
One of the big problems with the series for me is actually that Alucard is way too powerful. There are several villains who crop up in the series, but most don’t even come close to Alucard’s power, and even the one climatic battle in the series is kinda lacking in suspense because even when it seems like Alucard has been defeated, he always manages to come back somehow.
For some reason, I am reminded of Aang in Avatar here. In his Avatar state, Aang is essentially invincible, but those scenes are incredibly exciting instead of dull – especially the final episode, where Aang fights the ultimate villain of the series, and (not to spoil it too obviously) wins, big time. Another example of this is the Terminator (original movie), where Arnold is literally unstoppable and his eventual demise is almost purely providential rather than because of any strategizing by the overmatched human protagonists.
Regardless of whether its a hero, villain, or something in between – there’s something very satisfying about a character who wields sheer power. Handled deftly, it can be a fresh change from the usual “hero tested beyond his limits and then succeeds against all odds” formula.
In fact the ultimate example of this is probably the character of Superman – in my opinion the best stories are those where he has to use his powers, not the ones where he loses them, faces a more powerful being, finds himself weakened by Kryptonite, etc etc. Superman being, well, super is what makes Superman fun.
I love this song, almost purely for the sublime musical pun. It’s amazing how much of Sesame Street is written with the poor suffering parents in mind.
Omar ShamshoonThe stakes were high. The show was set to debut on Oct. 4, the first night of Ramadan 2005, after al-Ifatr (breakfast) at 7 p.m., the prime time of all prime-time slots. Almost the entire coveted Saudi Arabian market — 22 million people with nothing to do but watch television — would be tuned in, as would much of the rest of the region. (Ramadan is equivalent to sweeps season in the U.S., and advertisers pay top dollar for spots on shows they believe will be successful.) Although Fattouh and MBC will give no figures, the licence fees from 20th Century Fox could not have been cheap. Given the show’s status, to produce it appropriately would require enlisting some of the best writing talent in the Arab world, as well as three major Egyptian movie stars. Cairo, and to a lesser extent Beirut, have for decades been the Arab world’s Hollywood; all the creative minds in the Arabization process of The Simpsons were Egyptian. Mohamed Henedi, a comedic force and household name, was hand-picked by MBC to play Homer, sorry, Omar Shamshoon. (Shamshoon is a traditional Arabic name, with connotations of strong, powerful men.)
This is fascinating, and analogous in one sense ot redubbing Japanese anime for US audiences. However, as you might imagine, Islamic cultural values (as regards to alcohol and sex) and even Arab stereotypes and prejudices (anti-semitism, attitudes towards homosexuality) needed to be considered when changing the dialouge. As one might expect, this neutered some of the show’s humor:
an episode like Season 4’s Homer the Heretic — in which Homer forgoes church, is visited by God and starts his own religion — did not make the grade. Nor did references to Krusty the Klown’s father, Rabbi Krustofski. (An ex-Disney employee in Lebanon told me that if a TV station can help it, they’ll excise references to Judaism from shows meant for the pan-Arab market.)
…
“This guy Homer drinks beer all the time, but this is a sin to the Arabs. So I told them that he will drink she’er — which is a [non-alcoholic] malt drink, and close to beer in sound, so good for dubbing. But they refused this. They said we must make it ‘juice.’†And so on. Through a steady process of cross-cultural attrition — no bacon sandwiches, no Moe’s Tavern, church becomes masjid (mosque) — The Simpsons was whittled down to a shadow of itself. As for Smithers’s feelings for Mr. Burns? “I naturally tried to underemphasize that,†says Hosny.
What I find really fascinating about this is that it was precisely this cultural neutering that drew the ire from the young demographic who had been eagerly awaiting the show. And the producers themselves lamented the changes, because they felt that the essential appeal of Homer was somehow lost in the translation:
“They’ve ruined it! Oh yes they have, sob. … Why? Why, why oh why?!!!!†wrote a blogger, Noors, living in Oman. It soon became clear that something had gone horribly wrong.
…
It didn’t have to be that way. “I loved it,†says Hosny of the show. “I take off my chapeau: they are very good artists. And the writers are unbelievable. I loved the character of Homer. There is something very strange about this character. It’s very close to the Egyptian point of view. He’s a very simple and kind person; from some points of view you feel that he’s incredibly stupid, and from some points of view you feel he is wise. Sometimes I felt I was talking about an Egyptian person. Nothing is certain and taken for granted — it’s not ipso facto — and this makes good art.â€
It’s a strange endeavor but I thik that the producers’ comments reveal that they really Got It about the Simpsons. It’s a show that has potential to cross cultural boundaries if you reduce it to bare elements, but you can’t just excise those elements, you need to fill the void. Removing Smither’s lust for Burns is fine, but what can you replace it with that will also give depth to Smithers and Burns beyond mere boss and lackey? For all their 2D medium, the Simpsons are three-dimensional, and it’s these little details that matter most in fleshing out Springfield to something we look at as Americans and recognize and react to.
Fundamentally, the opportunity lost here was not to remake the Arab world with our cultural values, but rather the reverse – to humanize the view of America therein:
Shows like The Simpsons, pieces of pop art that explicate the ironies of North American life, play an important role in bridging cultural confusion. “When people from this Third World see that the American Dream is not perfect,†says Hosny, “that it is full of flaws, it can give to them some hope, and says that if you want to dream, dream here! And that over there, in Dreamland, they live in the same world of mistakes and flaws. I’m sick of how people think that going to the States means going to heaven. I understand that it still may be good to them, but it’s important, vital, for them to see the cracks in the façade.â€
No show did that better than the Simpsons, it must be acknowledged. I hope that where the Shamsoons failed, something else will eventually succeed. And maybe they can dub it into English for our benefit.
If you are looking for a comprehensive collection of spoilers about the upcoming Star Trek prequel/reboot film, then this is the place. I am actually pretty interested in this film; I’m a pretty dedicated Trek fan but I have been so disenchanted with the direction the franchise has gone that I didn’t even bother to go see (or even rent, or even netflix) Nemesis yet. What appeals to me about this is the chance for a fresh start and interpretation on the franchise; much like Batman and James Bond, the old formula for Trek movies has gotten stale, mainly because it was too tied down to the legacy of the TV shows. The only movie that ever really worked was Wrath of Khan; Search for Spock was just an extension. The rest were simply failures in terms of trying to recreate the magic of the show on the big screen, and TNG-era Trek never quite gelled either. The problem with translating a TV show with an ensemble cast to a film is that some of that ensemble suffer from lack of focus. On TV the various characters can rotate under the narrative focus from episode to episode, but there are only two hours to work with on film and a lot of that gets wasted in “backstory” needed to make the movie work for the supposed non-fanatic fans who might want to see it and justify the film’s (usually) enormous budget. It’s worth noting that Firefly was a singular exception to this rule, which is why this talk of hypothetical 7th seasons just made me melancholy. Sci fi seems to be a bad word in the entertainment industry, at least until someone comes along and rehabilitates it the way that Jackson did for LOTR and the fantasy genre. Will Star Trek X be the reboot for grand scifi film as a whole? I hope so. It is hard to be optimistic in the face of such disappointments, but then again Star Trek was always unique in valuing optimism first and foremost. That ethos has rubbed off on its fandom as well, which is why we tolerate the abuse. And usually come back for more.
I will admit to wincing a bit at the Apple-store chic of the redesigned Enterprise bridge, but am willing to overlook it 🙂
I wonder if this will be what Star Trek: Voyager should have been:
After unlocking the mystery of the Stargate’s ninth chevron, a team of explorers travels to an unmanned starship called the Destiny, launched by The Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion, but never completed.
What starts as a simple reconnaissance turns into a never ending mission, as the Stargate Universe crew discovers the ship is unable to return to Earth, and they must now fend for themselves aboard the Destiny.
The crew will travel to the far reaches of the universe, connecting with each of the previously launched Stargates, thus fulfilling the Destiny’s original mission.
I never got into either SG-1 or Atlantis, but this seems well-poised to recapture some of that epic feel from the original movie.
Dark Knight was a triumph. We haven’t seen any movies in the theater since the baby was born but we made a major effort for this one, and it was worth it. It was a brilliant, layered, intelligent, and genuinely original interpretation of the Batman mythos, which paid due homage to the best of Batman in print but also broke new ground. For example, the Trinity of Dent, Batman and Gordon was perfect – three men with the same aim, to save a city they love, each bound by their own constraints and rules but acknowledging that together they have genuinely transformative power. That’s straight out of the best of the graphic novels like The Long Halloween.
However, the concept of Wayne Enterprises as an active partner in Batman’s strategy was also fresh. In most tellings, Bruce Wayne’s playboy image serves to distract people from his identity alone, but here it’s essential to distract people from the more critical question of where the Batman gets his stuff. With Lucius Fox as CEO, and Wayne the frivolous trust fund brat who snores trough critical board meetings, connecting the dots is truly beyond the realm of even informed speculation, as the blackmail scene with Coleman Reese and Fox amply demonstrates.
The best part of course was Heath Ledger’s Joker. In a nod to Ledger’s most famous recent film role, Joker tells Batman, “you complete me” – but the meaning of that statement is perhaps better told here than even in Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. The novel edge of Joker as anarchist rather than just evil for its own sake, a man driven to watch the world burn, seems more fitting, and more menacing. The Joker believes that the veneer of civilization is superficial and that at the heart of things, the world is as morally empty as he is – he fancies himself the only one willing to rip the facade off and embrace the true nature underneath. From his perspective, everyone else is lying and he is the truth-teller.
These movies have totally erased the nonsensical Tim Burton versions that were as cartoonish in their own way as Adam West’s portrayal. Brian Tiemann says this better than I; for me, this IS the Batman movie franchise, not a reboot like the Bond films with Daniel Craig.
The question though of course is, what next. I can’t discuss that without straying from Vagueland to Spoiler Field, so follow me after the jump… (more…)
Is anyone watching this show? From this interview at ComicCon it looks like it might be as interesting as Smallville. I’ve no idea whether its the same continuity as the movies or the new movie coming out or not. Still, Summer Glau kicking butt is pretty appealing. And the evolution of John Connor also will be something to see – I am reminded of Smallville.
