Category: TV

“Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” – Review

andertoons6 Comments

Unsightly Christmas Movie

I swear to God, if I hear “razzleberry dressing” once more I’m going to scream.

Originally broadcast in 1962, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was the first animated holiday special made solely for TV. Jim Backus voices the UPA character as he plays Scrooge on Broadway.

Things begin with your typical Magoo-ish sight (or lack thereof) gags, but quickly move to a very standard performance of Dickens’ classic, and, oddly enough, it’s the faithful rendition that really cheesed me off.

Where’s the fun?! Not once in the entire Christmas Carol portion is Magoo really Magoo. I mean he’s counting stacks of coins for crying out loud! Somehow Magoo is able to give a brilliant performance on stage, but once he’s off he’s back to walking into the women’s’ dressing room?! What gives?!

Honestly, what’s the point of having a Magoo special if you’re not going to take advantage of the comic possibilities? Why not just do a non-Magoo version and save me the disappointment? (Gerald McBoing-Boing as Tiny Tim is irritating too, but still not as bad as Magoo.)

Sadly, not only did they drop the ball character-wise, but decided to make it a musical to boot. Jules Styne’s and Bob Merrill’s music is grating at best. Take this lyric, sung by thieves looting Scrooge after his death – “We’re reprehensible / we’ll steal your pen and pencible!”

“Pencible?!” What the hell is that?!

And the “razzleberry dressing” and “wooflejelly” stuff simply made me want to beat little Gerald McBoing-Boing to a pulp. Seriously, I can see myself walloping Tiny Tim with his own cane as we speak.

A lot of people have told me they have fond memories of this special, including the librarian that recommended it to me (curse you librarian!), but for the life of me I can’t fathom why – Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol is about the least special Christmas special I’ve ever seen.

Bah humbug!

“Christmas With The Simpsons” – Review

andertoons

I do so love The Simpsons!

Christmas With The Simpsons is a collection of five Christmas-related episodes. Well, four really. “Mr. Plow” takes place in Winter, and there’s that snappy Mr. Plow theme song, but as far as I can tell there are no holiday references.

The other four episodes are as follows:

“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” -The episode that started it all!

“Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” – Bart burns down the family’s plastic Christmas tree and then lies about it. When the truth is found out, the town, as usual, resorts to angry mob justice.

“Grift of the Magi” – When the school is run by a private company, the children are used to design the next big Christmas toy.

“She of Little Faith” – Lisa converts to Buddhism after the church becomes commercialized thanks to Mr. Burns. This episode contains one of my favorite Simpsons quotes: Lovejoy – “That is a false analogy!”, Lisa – “No, it’s not. It’s apt. APT!”

There’s also another Simpsons Christmas DVD available, but neither has one of my favorite Christmas Simpsons, “Marge Be Not Proud” where Bart steals the video game. How’d they miss this one?!

Anyway, if you’re a big Simpsons fan you’re probably buying the boxed sets of the seasons, but if you’re a casual Simpsons junkie, then Christmas With The Simpsons is probably for you.

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“Futurama: Voulme 2” – Review

andertoons

Buy my shiny metal ass!

I’m a huge Simpsons fan, so it’s only natural that I’m drawn to Groening’s Futurama as well, and the second set of DVDs is as good, if not better, than the first.

I think the writers, having gotten the first season under their collective belt, feel a little more comfortable in the show’s skin and really let loose with some outstanding laugh-out-loud stuff.

Episodes include:

“I Second that Emotion” (Bender and his ‘shiny metal ass’ learn, OK, are forced, to feel.)

“Brannigan Begin Again” (Oh how I wish Phil Hartman were around to voice the Shatneresque Brannigan!)

“A Head in the Polls” (Again with the Nixon bashing!)

“Xmas Story” (John Goodman stars as killer robot Claus.)

“Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?” (A look at the sci-fi “I must return to my planet to mate” staple.)

“The Lesser of Two Evils” (Bender’s evil twin sports a nifty goatee.)

“Put Your Head on My Shoulders” (Amy and Fry share Amy’s body in more ways than one.)

“Raging Bender” (Favorite line from Professional Robot Fighting League bad guy, The Foreigner – “I’m not from here! I have my own customs! Look at my crazy passport!”)

“A Bicyclops Built for Two” (Shape shifting romance in bloom!)

“A Clone of My Own” (The professor produces his clone Cubert.)

“How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back” (Love the naughty neat freak replacement for Hermes! “You dirty, DIRTY boy!”)

“The Deep South” (Fry falls for a mermaid. Kind of a weak episode.)

“Bender Gets Made” (Bender joins the mafia. It was only a matter of time.)

“Mother’s Day” (The professor’s only hope of saving mankind is getting it on with Mom.)

“The Problem with Popplers” (A great takeoff on Tribbles.)

“Anthology of Interest” (My favorite episode on the set! Brilliant stuff from beginning to end!)

“War Is the H-Word” (Brannigan – “You’ll be negotiating with the aliens’ mysterious leaders: The Brain Balls. They got a lot of brains and they got a lot of chutzpah.”)

“The Honking” (HONK HONK!)

“The Cryonic Woman” (Fry gets back with his old girlfriend and doesn’t “regret this. But I both rue and lament it.”)

Why Fox never gave this show a better slot (every week the damn NFL ran long) is beyond me. Anyway, if you’re looking for some really smart/naughty cartoon fun, give Futurama: Volume 2 a place in your Netflix queue.

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“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” – Review

andertoons1 Comment

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown first aired in 1966, and, to quote Linus, it’s still “nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.”

To be honest, I was ambivalent about seeing it. Although I’d decided not to sugarcoat my review of this “timeless classic,” I had planned to be kind. Peanuts was one of my big influences as a cartoonist, and I’d figured this would mostly be some nice holiday fluff for the ol’ blog and that would be that.

But once the Guaraldi music began and Linus was accusing Lucy of pumpkincide, I found myself reveling in the sweetly humorous humanity that is Schulz’s legacy.

There’s an embarrassment of comic riches here including Lucy’s football pulling, Snoopy’s pantomimed Red Baron dogfight, and of course, Charlie Brown’s “I got a rock.” (I laughed out loud every time. Honestly, who gives out rocks?!)

If you haven’t seen It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in a while, treat yourself to it on DVD. (The disc also includes the 1972 You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown in which Linus runs for student body president. Talk about good timing!) I think you’ll agree that while it’s no Charlie Brown Christmas, it’s a close second.

“I got a rock.” Hee-hee-hee… Gets me every time.