I find it interesting when certain forms of media take classic works and modernize them with a unique spin and the TV Show, Empire, is no exception. Based heavily off of the Shakespearean tragedy, King Lear, this is a show that I've been hooked on ever since it premiered a little over a year ago, but I never would've expected it to be as big of a hit as it turned out to be.
I mean, for the entire first season, this show proceeded to increase in viewership every single week to the point that the finale was viewed by over 17 million people. This is the exact opposite of most shows that decrease in viewership each week and this season, with the exception of one episode, Empire has managed to stay in the 8 digit realm of viewership week after week.
In this episode, we see major changes happening as Lucious Lyon is voted out of his own company and his youngest son, Hakeem, sets his sights on becoming the new CEO. But Lucious isn't going out without a fight as Cookie tries to get inside Empire and overthrow the oppressive Camilla who's set on completely changing the company.
Now there are several things that I fell in love with with Empire when I started watching it and all of it is here. First is the characters and their interactions with each other. You truly believe everything that these characters say and do whether it be playful banter, snarky comments, heartbreaking laments, or even hostile threats. The many different relationships are always entertaining and well developed.
Another thing that I love is the way that the story plays out. I've always been of the mindset that watching an episode of Empire is like watching a well thought out chess match. Every moment has a reaction/consequence that always keeps me glued to the TV, wondering what's going to happen next and it never disappoints.
Finally, the music is always amazing. There's a show that's been going on for a while now on ABC called Nashville that, in all honesty, never really interested me. But, when I talked with people who liked the show, I found out that the show is popular for featuring completely original country music in each episode. I've therefore come to the conclusion that Nashville does for country what Empire does for Hip-Hop.
The music in each and every episode, produced by legend Timbaland, never disappoints and I always add it to my playlists on Spotify the next day. I actually have 3 playlists. 1 for Season 1, another for Season 2, and the final one for my favorites from the show. I listen to them pretty frequently throughout each week I love the songs that much.
With this latest episode, Empire comes back with a vengeance and has me completely invested in where they're going to take the show in the following weeks. With the show being renewed for a third season, Empire certainly isn't going anywhere but up from here on out.
And that was my review of the latest episode of Empire and I'd like to know your thoughts on it if you've seen it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on the next post. Take care.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
Once Upon A Time: The Brothers Jones Review
Something that I was definitely looking forward to from this episode was seeing the relationship between Killian Jones (AKA Captain Hook) and his brother, Liam. We've only had one episode from all the way back in Season 3 dedicated to the brothers which was decent, but not quite enough to flesh out their camaraderie in my opinion. This episode certainly did not disappoint by any means.
Not long after rescuing Hook from Hades' prison, our heroes soon come into contact with Liam who may have a way for them to defeat Hades. At the same time that this is going on, Henry is on a quest to find the Author's pen in an attempt to save those he cares most about which could end up with severe consequences. Also we're given a flashback to the earlier days of Killian and Liam when they had dreams of joining the King's Royal Navy.
Without even expecting it, I was surprised by the moral that this episode had at its center. We get to see that Killian has been living in his older brother's shadow for the majority of his life, viewing him as the noble hero he's kept up on a pedestal to the point where he doesn't even notice his own worth anymore. Killian, earlier on in particular, was always disappointed in himself on account of his irresponsible drunken nature which seemed to contrast Liam's supposed self righteousness.
It actually made me think of an MLP episode that I saw with my youngest brother recently. For those of you who don't know, I've been going through all the episodes and Equestria Girls movies with my youngest brother and the last episode we watched was an early Season 4 episode. This episode dealt with Rainbow Dash being starstruck by her hero, Daring Do, to the point where she almost forgets about her own value.
However, in this episode of OUAT, it also showcases the dangers of putting unrealistic expectations upon someone and how, in the end, the people we look up to the most are just as flawed as anyone else. In fact, it's revealed through the flashback that Liam's unfinished business in the Underworld has to do with a dark pact he made long before.
Also worth noting is the development given to Henry in this episode. After several seasons where his family members have been doing all the heroic deeds and making a positive impact, Henry decides that he's not just going to sit on the sidelines anymore, determined now more than ever to make a difference with his power as the Author. Not to mention the fact that from the final scene it looks like we're going to get some backstory between Hades and a certain "wicked" character come next Sunday.
Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. I wasn't going into it expecting to get any real moral out of it, but the moral that I got was an interesting surprise and I feel like it was even expanded upon in a way that you don't see many other shows do. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.
And that was my review of that Once Upon A Time episode and I'd like to know your thoughts if you've seen it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you tomorrow with my Gotham review. Take care.
Not long after rescuing Hook from Hades' prison, our heroes soon come into contact with Liam who may have a way for them to defeat Hades. At the same time that this is going on, Henry is on a quest to find the Author's pen in an attempt to save those he cares most about which could end up with severe consequences. Also we're given a flashback to the earlier days of Killian and Liam when they had dreams of joining the King's Royal Navy.
Without even expecting it, I was surprised by the moral that this episode had at its center. We get to see that Killian has been living in his older brother's shadow for the majority of his life, viewing him as the noble hero he's kept up on a pedestal to the point where he doesn't even notice his own worth anymore. Killian, earlier on in particular, was always disappointed in himself on account of his irresponsible drunken nature which seemed to contrast Liam's supposed self righteousness.
It actually made me think of an MLP episode that I saw with my youngest brother recently. For those of you who don't know, I've been going through all the episodes and Equestria Girls movies with my youngest brother and the last episode we watched was an early Season 4 episode. This episode dealt with Rainbow Dash being starstruck by her hero, Daring Do, to the point where she almost forgets about her own value.
However, in this episode of OUAT, it also showcases the dangers of putting unrealistic expectations upon someone and how, in the end, the people we look up to the most are just as flawed as anyone else. In fact, it's revealed through the flashback that Liam's unfinished business in the Underworld has to do with a dark pact he made long before.
Also worth noting is the development given to Henry in this episode. After several seasons where his family members have been doing all the heroic deeds and making a positive impact, Henry decides that he's not just going to sit on the sidelines anymore, determined now more than ever to make a difference with his power as the Author. Not to mention the fact that from the final scene it looks like we're going to get some backstory between Hades and a certain "wicked" character come next Sunday.
Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. I wasn't going into it expecting to get any real moral out of it, but the moral that I got was an interesting surprise and I feel like it was even expanded upon in a way that you don't see many other shows do. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.
And that was my review of that Once Upon A Time episode and I'd like to know your thoughts if you've seen it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you tomorrow with my Gotham review. Take care.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - The Crystalling Part I and II Review
Let me just start off by saying how happy I am that I didn't have to wait too long for this show to come back. After almost 2 years ago when Season 4 ended and the show didn't come back for Season 5 for 11 months, I was glad that the wait didn't need to be that long again. But now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the review of the Season 6 2-Parter.
Picking up not too long after the Season 5 Finale, these episodes see Princess Twilight taking the newly reformed Starlight Glimmer under her wing as a student. At the same time, the Mane 6 must travel to the Crystal Empire to help Shining Armor and Cadence with the "Crystalling" of their newest foal. Things get even more complicated when Starlight has to reconnect with an old friend of hers who lives in the empire and when the new foal turns out to be an Alicorn whose flying and unstable magic make the Cake twins look mild by comparison. Not to mention the fact that the empire is about to be plunged into an eternal winter unless someone can come up with a solution.
Starting right off the bat, Starlight Glimmer's development in these episodes is the best part of them. The Season 5 finale had her trying to ruin the connection that Twilight had with her friends by going back in time to prevent Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom from happening as payback for ruining her cult (call it whatever you want but that was definitely a cult) where everypony was forced to have the same cutie mark.
But, later on in the finale, we got to see that her reason for this was because of the fact that a fillyhood friend of hers named Sunburst got his cutie mark before her resulting in him going off to Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns and never keeping in touch with Starlight ever again. Some people thought that this was kind of a childish reason for her to act like she did, but what did you expect? She was a filly when this happened and therefore would have that deep seeded mentality in her mind going into adulthood.
In this premiere, Starlight is given her first friendship lesson by Twilight which involves reconnecting with Sunburst, but, quite naturally, she isn't quite comfortable with the idea. She's afraid of reconnecting with him not only because of the painful memories it brings back, but also because his cutting off ties with Starlight was part of what led her to create her cult. Not to mention, she feels inferior to him as she believes he went on to great things while she went on to less than honorable things that she's afraid to bring up around him.
Starlight actually reminds me quite a bit of Sunset Shimmer from the Equestria Girls movies (and not just because Shimmer rhymes with Glimmer XD ) as they both seem to have similar arcs when it comes to their reformations. One of the differences being that Sunset has been given a full arc in the following Equestria Girls sequels while Starlight is still at the very beginning of her reformation, leaving me interested in seeing where she goes in future episodes.
Another thing that was brought up was Shining Armor and Cadence's new foal, Flurry Heart, being the first Alicorn to have been born. This definitely caught some people off guard as the characters mention that the only way that one becomes an Alicorn is by completing a task worthy enough for them to ascend to that level. The fact that Flurry Heart is the first Alicorn to be born had me curious as to how Princesses Celestia and Luna ascended as plenty of people probably believed that they had always been Alicorns. This might rub some people the wrong way, but I'd be interested in whether or not they're going to give the two sisters more of a backstory in the future. Also, with this new piece of information, does that mean that all Alicorns are immortal? I'd like to see that expanded upon if they ever get the chance.
Finally, it was nice to see Celestia actually doing something when the storm started to come in as she and Luna used their magic to try to hold the clouds back while everypony else was trying to figure out how to solve their predicament. I'm just soo happy at the fact that she actually did shit in an episode. I just like characters who do shit.
Something that I would've had a problem with is the fact that this premiere does have a "Liar Revealed" cliche in the second half that, fortunately, wasn't lingered on for very long, so I give it a pass. What I did have a problem with were several moments that fell into the "predictable" category which wouldn't bother me as much if they weren't as painfully obvious and many as they were. Finally, there were a couple of characters that I thought might've had OOC moments, but at the same time I'm not entirely sure about that.
In the end, this isn't my favorite 2-Parter but I still find it to be pretty decent enough. If I were to rate it like I do in my movie reviews I'd probably rank it at a 3.5/5 stars. Not sure this will be anyone's favorite but it's still worth a watch if you're interested in that kind of thing.
And that was my review of the 2 Part premiere of MLP and I'd like to know what your thoughts were about the episodes if you saw it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on the next post. Take care.
Picking up not too long after the Season 5 Finale, these episodes see Princess Twilight taking the newly reformed Starlight Glimmer under her wing as a student. At the same time, the Mane 6 must travel to the Crystal Empire to help Shining Armor and Cadence with the "Crystalling" of their newest foal. Things get even more complicated when Starlight has to reconnect with an old friend of hers who lives in the empire and when the new foal turns out to be an Alicorn whose flying and unstable magic make the Cake twins look mild by comparison. Not to mention the fact that the empire is about to be plunged into an eternal winter unless someone can come up with a solution.
Starting right off the bat, Starlight Glimmer's development in these episodes is the best part of them. The Season 5 finale had her trying to ruin the connection that Twilight had with her friends by going back in time to prevent Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom from happening as payback for ruining her cult (call it whatever you want but that was definitely a cult) where everypony was forced to have the same cutie mark.
But, later on in the finale, we got to see that her reason for this was because of the fact that a fillyhood friend of hers named Sunburst got his cutie mark before her resulting in him going off to Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns and never keeping in touch with Starlight ever again. Some people thought that this was kind of a childish reason for her to act like she did, but what did you expect? She was a filly when this happened and therefore would have that deep seeded mentality in her mind going into adulthood.
In this premiere, Starlight is given her first friendship lesson by Twilight which involves reconnecting with Sunburst, but, quite naturally, she isn't quite comfortable with the idea. She's afraid of reconnecting with him not only because of the painful memories it brings back, but also because his cutting off ties with Starlight was part of what led her to create her cult. Not to mention, she feels inferior to him as she believes he went on to great things while she went on to less than honorable things that she's afraid to bring up around him.
Starlight actually reminds me quite a bit of Sunset Shimmer from the Equestria Girls movies (and not just because Shimmer rhymes with Glimmer XD ) as they both seem to have similar arcs when it comes to their reformations. One of the differences being that Sunset has been given a full arc in the following Equestria Girls sequels while Starlight is still at the very beginning of her reformation, leaving me interested in seeing where she goes in future episodes.
Another thing that was brought up was Shining Armor and Cadence's new foal, Flurry Heart, being the first Alicorn to have been born. This definitely caught some people off guard as the characters mention that the only way that one becomes an Alicorn is by completing a task worthy enough for them to ascend to that level. The fact that Flurry Heart is the first Alicorn to be born had me curious as to how Princesses Celestia and Luna ascended as plenty of people probably believed that they had always been Alicorns. This might rub some people the wrong way, but I'd be interested in whether or not they're going to give the two sisters more of a backstory in the future. Also, with this new piece of information, does that mean that all Alicorns are immortal? I'd like to see that expanded upon if they ever get the chance.
Finally, it was nice to see Celestia actually doing something when the storm started to come in as she and Luna used their magic to try to hold the clouds back while everypony else was trying to figure out how to solve their predicament. I'm just soo happy at the fact that she actually did shit in an episode. I just like characters who do shit.
Something that I would've had a problem with is the fact that this premiere does have a "Liar Revealed" cliche in the second half that, fortunately, wasn't lingered on for very long, so I give it a pass. What I did have a problem with were several moments that fell into the "predictable" category which wouldn't bother me as much if they weren't as painfully obvious and many as they were. Finally, there were a couple of characters that I thought might've had OOC moments, but at the same time I'm not entirely sure about that.
In the end, this isn't my favorite 2-Parter but I still find it to be pretty decent enough. If I were to rate it like I do in my movie reviews I'd probably rank it at a 3.5/5 stars. Not sure this will be anyone's favorite but it's still worth a watch if you're interested in that kind of thing.
And that was my review of the 2 Part premiere of MLP and I'd like to know what your thoughts were about the episodes if you saw it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on the next post. Take care.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Random wonderings.
It's been about a month now since the show Gravity Falls officially ended, but something that I was slightly curious about is how many people ship Dipper with Pacifica? Personally, I've always shipped him with Wendy (for obvious reasons), but this thought came to me after watching the episode Northwest Mansion Noir. It really got me curious as to if anyone had paired them together after that episode. Currently I haven't found anyone yet who has.
While we're on the subject of TV Shows, last week I was watching the first (and only) 2 episodes of this show on ABC Of Kings and Prophets, a show that was supposed to center around King Saul's reign and eventual downfall in place of God's newly chosen king, David. The good things about it are very few. I really enjoyed the moments that stuck to Biblical accuracy (few though they were) and even the relationship that was portrayed between Saul and David.
Unfortunately, the show itself came off very much like a Game Of Thrones wannabe (even the opening theme and visuals I felt were too similar to Game Of Thrones' opening), the story played out like a soap opera, and what really annoyed me was the fact that way too much of the dialogue seemed to be severely modernized.
That last part really stuck in my mind as I was watching an episode of Sleepy Hollow last week when it got to the point of a flashback to the late 1700s. In that scene, I took particular notice of the dialogue that was used by the characters back then and it all fit the time period that it was set in. I had no problem with believing that they were in that set time period.
So if a show like Sleepy Hollow has the sense to make 1700s dialogue sound right for the time, why couldn't this show that's set thousands of years ago do the same? What's their excuse? Fortunately, I'm not the only one who found problems with Of Kings and Prophets because the show was canned after only 2 episodes (pulling a Lone Star if you will for anyone who even remembers that show).
Aside from that, I had my second interview at Six Flags for the security position this past Monday where they said that I should hear back from them within a week. Also, that same day, I found out that my friend and her group most likely won't be at the Midwest Media Expo this year as they weren't invited by them even though I could've sworn that one of the members of the group said they were going to be there a few months ago.
The only way that they might be there is if there's a large outpouring of requests for them to be there on the website for the expo and even then it's not necessarily guaranteed with less than a month away. This is really hard for me as it's been almost 2 years since I last saw her and now it'll most likely be even longer before I see her again. I also have no real way of getting my care package that I'd put together over the past several months to her
Anyways, that's pretty much it for me. Just letting out my thoughts. Hope y'all are doing O.K. and I'll see you guys this weekend with my review. Later.
While we're on the subject of TV Shows, last week I was watching the first (and only) 2 episodes of this show on ABC Of Kings and Prophets, a show that was supposed to center around King Saul's reign and eventual downfall in place of God's newly chosen king, David. The good things about it are very few. I really enjoyed the moments that stuck to Biblical accuracy (few though they were) and even the relationship that was portrayed between Saul and David.
Unfortunately, the show itself came off very much like a Game Of Thrones wannabe (even the opening theme and visuals I felt were too similar to Game Of Thrones' opening), the story played out like a soap opera, and what really annoyed me was the fact that way too much of the dialogue seemed to be severely modernized.
That last part really stuck in my mind as I was watching an episode of Sleepy Hollow last week when it got to the point of a flashback to the late 1700s. In that scene, I took particular notice of the dialogue that was used by the characters back then and it all fit the time period that it was set in. I had no problem with believing that they were in that set time period.
So if a show like Sleepy Hollow has the sense to make 1700s dialogue sound right for the time, why couldn't this show that's set thousands of years ago do the same? What's their excuse? Fortunately, I'm not the only one who found problems with Of Kings and Prophets because the show was canned after only 2 episodes (pulling a Lone Star if you will for anyone who even remembers that show).
Aside from that, I had my second interview at Six Flags for the security position this past Monday where they said that I should hear back from them within a week. Also, that same day, I found out that my friend and her group most likely won't be at the Midwest Media Expo this year as they weren't invited by them even though I could've sworn that one of the members of the group said they were going to be there a few months ago.
The only way that they might be there is if there's a large outpouring of requests for them to be there on the website for the expo and even then it's not necessarily guaranteed with less than a month away. This is really hard for me as it's been almost 2 years since I last saw her and now it'll most likely be even longer before I see her again. I also have no real way of getting my care package that I'd put together over the past several months to her
Anyways, that's pretty much it for me. Just letting out my thoughts. Hope y'all are doing O.K. and I'll see you guys this weekend with my review. Later.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Gotham: Mad Grey Dawn Review
I briefly brought up Edward Nygma's descent into insanity from the last episode as he feels himself being backed into a corner regarding the accidental murder of his former lover and I was interested in seeing where this would lead to. After last night's episode, all I can say is, "DAYUM!!! This just took a very diabolical turn that did not disappoint."
This episode mostly deals with the case of Theo Galavan's murder being reopened after an anonymous source claims to have seen Jim Gordon, not Penguin, murder Galavan on the docks while also centering around crimes perpetrated by Nygma. Meanwhile, Bruce is trying to develop his street smarts with Selina and Penguin meets his father.
For my money, the most interesting parts of this episode were those regarding Nygma's crimes. Not only do we get to see the very beginnings of him eventually becoming The Riddler, but his crimes, which might seem entirely random at first, begin to build onto each other up until the end where the truly terrifying genius is revealed. I won't give anything away, but the crimes and their purpose are equally linked to the Galavan case mentioned earlier, paying off in a diabolical manner.
Seeing Penguin meet his father for the first time was pretty cool as he reveals his past with Penguin's late mother, but what I thought was really cool from a completely selfish and nerdy viewpoint is the fact that he's played by Paul Reubens. Now anyone who's a fan of Batman, like me, would know that this is the second time that Paul Reubens has played the Penguin's father; the first time being in Tim Burton's Batman Returns. Reubens' role in the movie was merely a brief cameo with hardly any speaking lines in the first few minutes, but, here, he's utilized much more and it looks like he'll be playing a somewhat larger role in future episodes.
Finally, we have Selina and Bruce attempting to rip off some criminals led by Butch Gilzean's nephew. Let's just say that some people, including Bruce, definitely get roughed up. We get to see Selina and Bruce's camaraderie as they have each others' backs during the whole situation. And hey, we get to see Ivy Pepper again.
Personally, while I don't hate Ivy by any means, it always kind of bothered me that the show's creators didn't go with her original name, Pamela Isely. I mean, c'mon people. You have Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot, Selina Kyle, Victor Fries, Jonathan Crane, and Hugo Strange for crying out loud. Why is it that this is the only character who doesn't have her original name? But that's just a nitpick.
So, with all that said, I found this episode to be pretty entertaining. The crimes by Nygma are really cleverly thought out when you see what it all builds up to and it'll definitely have you curious about what's going to happen next after it ends. Let's just say that it definitely doesn't end on a happy note for a certain someone.
And that was my review for last night's episode of Gotham and I'd like to know your thoughts on it if you've seen it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and stay tuned this weekend as I'm going to start reviewing another series who's 6th season starts this Saturday. All I'll say is that it's a return to a land of magic. Til then, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
This episode mostly deals with the case of Theo Galavan's murder being reopened after an anonymous source claims to have seen Jim Gordon, not Penguin, murder Galavan on the docks while also centering around crimes perpetrated by Nygma. Meanwhile, Bruce is trying to develop his street smarts with Selina and Penguin meets his father.
For my money, the most interesting parts of this episode were those regarding Nygma's crimes. Not only do we get to see the very beginnings of him eventually becoming The Riddler, but his crimes, which might seem entirely random at first, begin to build onto each other up until the end where the truly terrifying genius is revealed. I won't give anything away, but the crimes and their purpose are equally linked to the Galavan case mentioned earlier, paying off in a diabolical manner.
Seeing Penguin meet his father for the first time was pretty cool as he reveals his past with Penguin's late mother, but what I thought was really cool from a completely selfish and nerdy viewpoint is the fact that he's played by Paul Reubens. Now anyone who's a fan of Batman, like me, would know that this is the second time that Paul Reubens has played the Penguin's father; the first time being in Tim Burton's Batman Returns. Reubens' role in the movie was merely a brief cameo with hardly any speaking lines in the first few minutes, but, here, he's utilized much more and it looks like he'll be playing a somewhat larger role in future episodes.
Finally, we have Selina and Bruce attempting to rip off some criminals led by Butch Gilzean's nephew. Let's just say that some people, including Bruce, definitely get roughed up. We get to see Selina and Bruce's camaraderie as they have each others' backs during the whole situation. And hey, we get to see Ivy Pepper again.
Personally, while I don't hate Ivy by any means, it always kind of bothered me that the show's creators didn't go with her original name, Pamela Isely. I mean, c'mon people. You have Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot, Selina Kyle, Victor Fries, Jonathan Crane, and Hugo Strange for crying out loud. Why is it that this is the only character who doesn't have her original name? But that's just a nitpick.
So, with all that said, I found this episode to be pretty entertaining. The crimes by Nygma are really cleverly thought out when you see what it all builds up to and it'll definitely have you curious about what's going to happen next after it ends. Let's just say that it definitely doesn't end on a happy note for a certain someone.
And that was my review for last night's episode of Gotham and I'd like to know your thoughts on it if you've seen it. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and stay tuned this weekend as I'm going to start reviewing another series who's 6th season starts this Saturday. All I'll say is that it's a return to a land of magic. Til then, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Once Upon A Time: Devil's Due Review
As a long time follower of Once Upon A Time, if there's anything this show has taught me, it's that everyone is somehow connected in one way or another. Sometimes it's friendship, sometimes it's familial, but either way there's always a connection. I've also learned that when it comes to the familial connections, it gets really complicated and awkward most of the time.
A prime example of this is in the Season 2 episode Manhattan when Emma Swan goes with Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin on a trip to New York to find his son Baelfire. Things get complicated when she discovers that Baelfire is actually her former lover, Neal, who she had Henry with. So Mr. Gold turns out to be Henry's grandfather on his dad's side, Snow White and Prince Charming are his grandparents on his mom's side, and Regina/The Evil Queen is both his step-great-grandmother while also being his adopted mother. You guys keeping track so far?
The point that I was trying to get at is that for anyone who saw last night's episode, you know that that family tree gets even more fucked up and awkward which can work in the comedic sense, but, at the same time, I thought my head was going to explode. I remember thinking to myself, "Is there going to be a quiz on this? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail."
So after the previous episode, Hades has grown impatient with Hook's unwillingness to choose which 3 of his friends he wants to keep in the Underworld and therefore condemns him to being sent to the River Of Lost Souls from which there's no escape.
This is an episode that, while I did enjoy it, there were a few areas that came across as kind of predictable. Like when they were talking about the River Of Lost Souls, I knew that someone was going to wind up in there at some point and, sure enough, I was right. I won't say who, but anyone watching could most likely figure it out. There was also a moment where a character makes a deal with Hades only for Hades to go back on that deal. Seriously?!? This bullshit is such a painful, stupid cliche that we've seen numerous times already!!! When are people going to learn that you can't trust the devil!?! You... MORON!!!
However, even though those little details were a problem, there were plenty of aspects that I found interesting. I already knew about the cemetery with tombstones of the Underworld's inhabitants, but, through a pretty clever moment of dialogue, it's revealed that the state of each tombstone reveals each soul's fate: An upright tombstone means that they're still in the Underworld, a tipped over tombstone means that they've moved on to a better place, and a cracked tombstone means that they've gone to a worse place (which I can only figure would be Tartarus for any of you Greek Mythology and/or MLP fans out there).
The team ends up being successful in rescuing Hook, but that doesn't mean that they're anywhere close to leaving as the situation is revealed to be even more complicated than before. Additionally, the flashback to the Enchanted Forest, while tying up some loose ends, I was also amazed with how it showed a character's sins of the past which end up becoming the demons of his present as a contract that he thought he had found a way out of long ago by killing someone is still, in the words of Ursula from The Little Mermaid, "legal, binding, and completely unbreakable" as Hades drops a major bombshell at the end. As the old saying goes,
A prime example of this is in the Season 2 episode Manhattan when Emma Swan goes with Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin on a trip to New York to find his son Baelfire. Things get complicated when she discovers that Baelfire is actually her former lover, Neal, who she had Henry with. So Mr. Gold turns out to be Henry's grandfather on his dad's side, Snow White and Prince Charming are his grandparents on his mom's side, and Regina/The Evil Queen is both his step-great-grandmother while also being his adopted mother. You guys keeping track so far?
The point that I was trying to get at is that for anyone who saw last night's episode, you know that that family tree gets even more fucked up and awkward which can work in the comedic sense, but, at the same time, I thought my head was going to explode. I remember thinking to myself, "Is there going to be a quiz on this? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail."
So after the previous episode, Hades has grown impatient with Hook's unwillingness to choose which 3 of his friends he wants to keep in the Underworld and therefore condemns him to being sent to the River Of Lost Souls from which there's no escape.
This is an episode that, while I did enjoy it, there were a few areas that came across as kind of predictable. Like when they were talking about the River Of Lost Souls, I knew that someone was going to wind up in there at some point and, sure enough, I was right. I won't say who, but anyone watching could most likely figure it out. There was also a moment where a character makes a deal with Hades only for Hades to go back on that deal. Seriously?!? This bullshit is such a painful, stupid cliche that we've seen numerous times already!!! When are people going to learn that you can't trust the devil!?! You... MORON!!!
However, even though those little details were a problem, there were plenty of aspects that I found interesting. I already knew about the cemetery with tombstones of the Underworld's inhabitants, but, through a pretty clever moment of dialogue, it's revealed that the state of each tombstone reveals each soul's fate: An upright tombstone means that they're still in the Underworld, a tipped over tombstone means that they've moved on to a better place, and a cracked tombstone means that they've gone to a worse place (which I can only figure would be Tartarus for any of you Greek Mythology and/or MLP fans out there).
The team ends up being successful in rescuing Hook, but that doesn't mean that they're anywhere close to leaving as the situation is revealed to be even more complicated than before. Additionally, the flashback to the Enchanted Forest, while tying up some loose ends, I was also amazed with how it showed a character's sins of the past which end up becoming the demons of his present as a contract that he thought he had found a way out of long ago by killing someone is still, in the words of Ursula from The Little Mermaid, "legal, binding, and completely unbreakable" as Hades drops a major bombshell at the end. As the old saying goes,
(Yeah yeah yeah. You guys could probably tell I was waiting for another opportunity to use that.)
So this episode proved to be slightly flawed but overall still enjoyable with me completely invested in figuring out how the heroes will get out of this current predicament they're wrapped up in.
And that was my review of Devil's Due and I'd like to know your thoughts if you've seen this episode yet. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on my Gotham review. Later.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Good news on the job front and other stuff.
Hey everyone. David here again with a quick update. So, just yesterday, I had an interview at Six Flags for a Security position and it must have gone well because I now have another interview set up for this coming Monday at 11:00 AM. I would've mentioned this yesterday, but things were pretty hectic so I didn't get around to mentioning it until now. Anyways, I appreciate everyone who's kept me in their prayers for these past several months. Hopefully, this will lead to an actual job.
Also, the Midwest Media Expo is about a month away and I'm super psyched to be seeing some of my friends from the first time I was there. Though they haven't mentioned many of the special guests yet, I'm really hoping that Doug Walker will be there again seeing as I missed him the last time. It would also be nice if he were doing his "Movies Everybody Disagrees With You On" panel at the expo. Try and guess what I would bring up. *wink wink nudge nudge*
Finally, coming next weekend, I'll have a special 2 episode review for a show that's coming back for its 6th season at that period. Sadly, it's not Game Of Thrones because I can't afford HBO. :-( But, hopefully, you guys might still be able to enjoy it. I'm really not sure as I don't know what people's thoughts are about my TV reviews. Anyhoo, that's pretty much it and I'll see you guys on my Once Upon A Time review in a few days. Later.
Also, the Midwest Media Expo is about a month away and I'm super psyched to be seeing some of my friends from the first time I was there. Though they haven't mentioned many of the special guests yet, I'm really hoping that Doug Walker will be there again seeing as I missed him the last time. It would also be nice if he were doing his "Movies Everybody Disagrees With You On" panel at the expo. Try and guess what I would bring up. *wink wink nudge nudge*
Finally, coming next weekend, I'll have a special 2 episode review for a show that's coming back for its 6th season at that period. Sadly, it's not Game Of Thrones because I can't afford HBO. :-( But, hopefully, you guys might still be able to enjoy it. I'm really not sure as I don't know what people's thoughts are about my TV reviews. Anyhoo, that's pretty much it and I'll see you guys on my Once Upon A Time review in a few days. Later.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Gotham: This Ball Of Mud And Meanness Review
I already mentioned in my review of last week's episode of Gotham that I was kind of annoyed at the cliched situation it had set up where Bruce discovers who his parents' killer is and then goes back on his word that he'll let Alfred kill him by asking Selina Kyle to get him a gun. Some of that cliched nature made its way into last night's episode, but at the same time there were several moments that I was impressed with.
I was particularly interested by this episode's dichotomy of sanity and insanity. We have Oswald Cobblepot undergoing severe treatment to cure him of his aggressive nature under the direction of Hugo Strange. By the end of the episode, he's been declared sane and released from Arkham Asylum, but Hugo mentions that he still has plans for Cobblepot which I'm sure will be delved deeper into in future episodes.
In the realm of insanity, we've got Edward Nygma being confronted by Jim Gordon about his former love interest, Kristen Kringle's, whereabouts. Having covered up his accidental murder of her, Nygma's paranoia starts to set in as he begins to feel backed into a corner, determined to outfox anyone involved with trying to figure out what happened to her.
Bruce's journey to find his parents' killer leads him from a fighting organization to what I can only describe as a "fetish club" before he finally confronts Patrick "Matches" Malone for his parents' murder and... this is where the cliches start to pick up. From Bruce confronting "Matches" to realizing that he can't kill him even though "Matches" wants him to and oh my word why does this have to be this freaking cliched?
But, even with that, the episode ends on a very interesting note with Bruce completely changing his lifestyle and living conditions as part of a personal journey of self-discovery and knowing that this will end up shaping him more closer towards becoming Batman I thought was a very clever way of going about this. I'm really interested in seeing how his life will be changed by this and where it will eventually lead.
And that was my review of last night's episode of Gotham and I'd like to know what your thoughts were if you follow the show like I do. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
I was particularly interested by this episode's dichotomy of sanity and insanity. We have Oswald Cobblepot undergoing severe treatment to cure him of his aggressive nature under the direction of Hugo Strange. By the end of the episode, he's been declared sane and released from Arkham Asylum, but Hugo mentions that he still has plans for Cobblepot which I'm sure will be delved deeper into in future episodes.
In the realm of insanity, we've got Edward Nygma being confronted by Jim Gordon about his former love interest, Kristen Kringle's, whereabouts. Having covered up his accidental murder of her, Nygma's paranoia starts to set in as he begins to feel backed into a corner, determined to outfox anyone involved with trying to figure out what happened to her.
Bruce's journey to find his parents' killer leads him from a fighting organization to what I can only describe as a "fetish club" before he finally confronts Patrick "Matches" Malone for his parents' murder and... this is where the cliches start to pick up. From Bruce confronting "Matches" to realizing that he can't kill him even though "Matches" wants him to and oh my word why does this have to be this freaking cliched?
But, even with that, the episode ends on a very interesting note with Bruce completely changing his lifestyle and living conditions as part of a personal journey of self-discovery and knowing that this will end up shaping him more closer towards becoming Batman I thought was a very clever way of going about this. I'm really interested in seeing how his life will be changed by this and where it will eventually lead.
And that was my review of last night's episode of Gotham and I'd like to know what your thoughts were if you follow the show like I do. Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Once Upon A Time: Labor Of Love Review
So after last week's episode with the revelation of Hades as the main villain for the rest of this season, I was pretty interested in seeing where this was going to go and how the stakes might be raised. After all, the last episode had our heroes discovering that they could assist the souls currently dwelling in the Underworld by helping them accomplish their unfinished business, therefore allowing them to move on to a better place. And after seeing last night's episode, boy did they ever raise the stakes in the last few minutes. But, before I get to that, let's talk about the plot.
So this episode centers around our heroes still searching for Hook, but coming across trouble when they discover he's being guarded by Hades' 3-headed hell hound, Cerberus (or Fluffy for those Harry Potter fans out there. XD ). They then seek the help of young demigod Hercules, whose unfinished business was failing to kill Cerberus as the last of his 12 labors, to rise up and finally slay Cerberus.
Now anyone who saw my list of the Top 12 Movies I Dislike, But Everyone Else Loves will probably remember that I wasn't particularly fond of Disney's version of Hercules as I felt that there were far too many moments where it strayed from original Greek Mythology. Fortunately, the same does not apply here.
I absolutely loved the fact that this version of Hercules remained faithful to its roots by stating that he was a demigod whose mother was a mere mortal and even incorporating the 12 labors he was tasked with accomplishing before he could join the other gods on Mount Olympus. Even when they incorporated Megara into the story, she wasn't entirely the same damsel-in-distress character from the movie as she actually assisted Hercules with slaying Cerberus.
Also worth mentioning is that there continues to be temptations from some of the Underworld's residents directed towards out heroes. This episode's particular moment of that is also used to suggest that, even though Henry destroyed the Author's pen which was his, the power of the Author is far from gone and a certain black and white haired devil woman is milking that fact for all it's worth.
But now getting to the raised stakes I mentioned earlier. So after Hercules and Meg move on to Mount Olympus, Hades is fucking pissed. He hates the fact that all these souls that he's been keeping down there have been getting happy endings thanks to our heroes so he decides to link the fates of the Underworlders with the fates of our heroes, choosing Hook as the deciding factor of which hero becomes the Underworld's newest permanent resident when a soul goes on to that better place.
This particularly has me interested as there's currently no way for Hook to tell any of them about this so how will things turn out? All I know is that I'm fully invested and waiting very impatiently for the next episodes to come out.
And that was my review of Labor Of Love and I'd like to know did any of you guys see it and if so what were your thoughts? Feel free to comment below, keep loving Movies and TV Shows, and I'll see y'all on my Gotham review come tomorrow. Take care.
So this episode centers around our heroes still searching for Hook, but coming across trouble when they discover he's being guarded by Hades' 3-headed hell hound, Cerberus (or Fluffy for those Harry Potter fans out there. XD ). They then seek the help of young demigod Hercules, whose unfinished business was failing to kill Cerberus as the last of his 12 labors, to rise up and finally slay Cerberus.
Now anyone who saw my list of the Top 12 Movies I Dislike, But Everyone Else Loves will probably remember that I wasn't particularly fond of Disney's version of Hercules as I felt that there were far too many moments where it strayed from original Greek Mythology. Fortunately, the same does not apply here.
I absolutely loved the fact that this version of Hercules remained faithful to its roots by stating that he was a demigod whose mother was a mere mortal and even incorporating the 12 labors he was tasked with accomplishing before he could join the other gods on Mount Olympus. Even when they incorporated Megara into the story, she wasn't entirely the same damsel-in-distress character from the movie as she actually assisted Hercules with slaying Cerberus.
Also worth mentioning is that there continues to be temptations from some of the Underworld's residents directed towards out heroes. This episode's particular moment of that is also used to suggest that, even though Henry destroyed the Author's pen which was his, the power of the Author is far from gone and a certain black and white haired devil woman is milking that fact for all it's worth.
But now getting to the raised stakes I mentioned earlier. So after Hercules and Meg move on to Mount Olympus, Hades is fucking pissed. He hates the fact that all these souls that he's been keeping down there have been getting happy endings thanks to our heroes so he decides to link the fates of the Underworlders with the fates of our heroes, choosing Hook as the deciding factor of which hero becomes the Underworld's newest permanent resident when a soul goes on to that better place.
This particularly has me interested as there's currently no way for Hook to tell any of them about this so how will things turn out? All I know is that I'm fully invested and waiting very impatiently for the next episodes to come out.
And that was my review of Labor Of Love and I'd like to know did any of you guys see it and if so what were your thoughts? Feel free to comment below, keep loving Movies and TV Shows, and I'll see y'all on my Gotham review come tomorrow. Take care.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Gotham: A Dead Man Feels No Cold Review
Out of the many superheroes that I'm a fan of, Batman has always ranked among one of my favorites. I loved watching the Tim Burton movies, the animated series, and even the Christopher Nolan movies (for the most part. The Dark Knight Rises was a disappointment but I digress.). Something that might surprise you though is that, out of the various villains that the Caped Crusader has to face off against, my favorite Batman villain isn't Catwoman, Scarecrow, Penguin, or even the Joker, but instead is actually Mr. Freeze.
I've always loved the character of Victor Fries and the very tragic backstory that was given to him about his attempts to cure his wife, Nora, of a debilitating disease. Naturally, I avoided watching the godawful Batman and Robin because of how goofy and cartoony he was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. So when the show Gotham was first starting out about a year and a half ago, I was eager to see when and how they would bring in this character and I'm pretty impressed with how they pulled it off.
Admittedly, I can't remember much of Mr. Freeze from my earlier days of watching the animated series, but the guy they got to play him in Gotham, Nathan Darrow, is very believable. This is how I always pictured Mr. Freeze being portrayed. You really feel the pain he's going through as he's trying to find the proper solution for cryogenically freezing his wife and reanimating her once a cure is found, all the while going through many human test subjects that have constantly failed.
Also worth mentioning is the character of Hugo Strange (BD Wong) who works as Chief of Psychiatry at Arkham Asylum where characters such as Penguin and Detective Gordon's former girlfriend, Barbara Kean, are locked up. Before this show I mostly remembered BD Wong from such movies as Father Of The Bride I and II, Mulan, and apparently the first and fourth Jurassic Park movies and while I mostly remember him being a humorous character from both Father Of The Bride movies he was absolutely eerie and terrifying in this show. You just immediately sense this sinister aura about him whenever he's on camera.
The relationship between Victor and Nora is perfectly portrayed in this show as he's trying to save her and she's feeling responsible for all the people he's killed but still standing up for him. Victor himself even has remorse for those he's killed while at the same time realizing that he's killed too many people already for him to just go back now. The way the episode ends for both of them is almost like something out of a Shakespearean tragedy. It's just heart-breaking. I also really appreciated the fact that when his wife does meet her end, Victor doesn't lash out in anger like most others would, blaming them for her demise. I feel like that's something all too common and was glad that they went a different route with that.
The further development of the story with Gordon and young Bruce Wayne were still kept interesting as Bruce discovers a lead on the man who murdered his parents. Sadly, though, this leads to the predictable route where Alfred makes him promise that he won't kill the guy but then Bruce plans on going behind his back to do it anyways and why does it have to do this? That's just soo blatantly cliched that I'm sick of it.
Still, all things considered, I hope that they'll be able to do more with Mr. Freeze in later episodes as the 2 that he was in weren't quite enough for me. I'd be interested in seeing what direction he goes now that he's got nothing to lose. Anyhoo, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on that.
So if you guys follow Gotham like me, I'd like to know your thoughts on this episode and also "Who's your favorite Batman villain?" Feel free to comment below and I'll hopefully have another review out in the near future. Until then, keep loving movies and TV Shows and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
I've always loved the character of Victor Fries and the very tragic backstory that was given to him about his attempts to cure his wife, Nora, of a debilitating disease. Naturally, I avoided watching the godawful Batman and Robin because of how goofy and cartoony he was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. So when the show Gotham was first starting out about a year and a half ago, I was eager to see when and how they would bring in this character and I'm pretty impressed with how they pulled it off.
Admittedly, I can't remember much of Mr. Freeze from my earlier days of watching the animated series, but the guy they got to play him in Gotham, Nathan Darrow, is very believable. This is how I always pictured Mr. Freeze being portrayed. You really feel the pain he's going through as he's trying to find the proper solution for cryogenically freezing his wife and reanimating her once a cure is found, all the while going through many human test subjects that have constantly failed.
Also worth mentioning is the character of Hugo Strange (BD Wong) who works as Chief of Psychiatry at Arkham Asylum where characters such as Penguin and Detective Gordon's former girlfriend, Barbara Kean, are locked up. Before this show I mostly remembered BD Wong from such movies as Father Of The Bride I and II, Mulan, and apparently the first and fourth Jurassic Park movies and while I mostly remember him being a humorous character from both Father Of The Bride movies he was absolutely eerie and terrifying in this show. You just immediately sense this sinister aura about him whenever he's on camera.
The relationship between Victor and Nora is perfectly portrayed in this show as he's trying to save her and she's feeling responsible for all the people he's killed but still standing up for him. Victor himself even has remorse for those he's killed while at the same time realizing that he's killed too many people already for him to just go back now. The way the episode ends for both of them is almost like something out of a Shakespearean tragedy. It's just heart-breaking. I also really appreciated the fact that when his wife does meet her end, Victor doesn't lash out in anger like most others would, blaming them for her demise. I feel like that's something all too common and was glad that they went a different route with that.
The further development of the story with Gordon and young Bruce Wayne were still kept interesting as Bruce discovers a lead on the man who murdered his parents. Sadly, though, this leads to the predictable route where Alfred makes him promise that he won't kill the guy but then Bruce plans on going behind his back to do it anyways and why does it have to do this? That's just soo blatantly cliched that I'm sick of it.
Still, all things considered, I hope that they'll be able to do more with Mr. Freeze in later episodes as the 2 that he was in weren't quite enough for me. I'd be interested in seeing what direction he goes now that he's got nothing to lose. Anyhoo, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on that.
So if you guys follow Gotham like me, I'd like to know your thoughts on this episode and also "Who's your favorite Batman villain?" Feel free to comment below and I'll hopefully have another review out in the near future. Until then, keep loving movies and TV Shows and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Once Upon A Time: Souls Of The Departed Review
Hey guys. David here again with something different this time around. As I was thinking about how I've recently started doing reviews of movies that I've seen in theaters and the fact that these type of reviews will be a rarity for me, on account of my current financial situation that prevents me from seeing many movies in theaters, I decided that I could do the same thing for TV Shows.
Now keep in mind that these are not reviews of every single show that I see as that would be way too time consuming, but of a select few that I follow rather closely. Also, these reviews will somewhat differ in comparison to my standard movie reviews as they have ongoing storylines week after week as opposed to movies that are just one and done (at least until the inevitable sequels come out). So with that said, I give you my review of last night's Once Upon A Time episode "Souls Of The Departed".
Keep in mind that while I'll try to avoid giving away major plot points there might be some potential spoilers in my review so keep that in mind if you're reading this. With that out of the way, let's dive in.
I'm probably one of the most loyal viewers of Once Upon A Time that you'll ever find, however something that I wasn't aware of when I started watching this episode after a few months' hiatus of the show was that this was officially their 100th episode. I didn't find this out until afterwards as there seemed to be very little mention of that fact by the show's creators when compared to other shows that do something really special for their centennial episode (e.g. Psych had an audience interactive episode, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic had an episode focusing on background characters, etc.). However, even without any major advertising of this fact, I feel that Once Upon A Time still managed to do something special with its 100th outing.
After the events from the previous episode of Dark Hook being killed and the darkness in Emma being destroyed (or so we're meant to believe), she and several others take a trip to the Underworld to bring Hook back, with Emma stating that she can just share her heart with him much in the same way that her parents', Snow White and Prince Charming, did. When they arrive, they discover that the Underworld is a red-tinged, Post-Apocalyptic version of Storybrooke where all the souls with unfinished business roam, including several villains that our heroes had previously defeated.
One of my favorite aspects of the show is how it takes characters that we all are familiar with and adds its own special spin to it. Our favorite heroes may not be as righteous as we were led to believe and some of the villains may be a little bit more sympathetic than we last remembered. Another aspect I enjoy is how it seamlessly ties all these stories together into a cohesive whole and even brings up events that happened seasons ago.
A perfect example of this is shown in a flashback to The Enchanted Forest where the Evil Queen is still focused on getting her revenge against Snow White (who ruined her life when she was younger), but her father is trying to convince her to put this all behind her. What followed was a turn of events that, at first, left me wondering how this would fit in with prior events that I remembered from previous seasons, but then skillfully managed to solve other problems from past seasons that I had never even thought of until they actually happened.
Additionally, it's explained early on in the episode that, once one enters the Underworld, it's very difficult to get back out. This proves to add tension when some characters are given opportunities to leave their team members behind for either their own benefit or the benefit of a loved one. Will they choose to leave? Will they stay with the others? Who knows? It's not always as clear cut as it may seem.
Something else worth noting is when one of the souls has their business taken care of and moves on to a "better place". This makes the simple mission of finding and bringing back just one soul even more complicated as they're clearly trying to set up the fact that they're attempting to give other souls their happy endings. However, this doesn't sit well with a certain flaming-headed ruler of the Underworld revealed in the final minutes (who they're very clearly setting up as the main villain for the rest of the season).
Overall, this episode has got me very interested in seeing where the story will go and the fact that the series has already been picked up for a 6th season starting in the latter half of this year has got me all the more excited.
Anyways, if you happen to be a loyal Oncer like me, I'd like to know what your thoughts are on this episode. Does it have you excited to see where the show will head? Does it leave you feeling kind of underwhelmed? Mixed? Leave your comments down below and stay tuned as I'll be giving you another review tomorrow centering around a rather "icy" villain. Plus, speaking of 6th seasons, I'll be providing a review for another show that's starting its 6th season 3 Saturdays from now. Until then, keep loving movies and TV Shows and I'll see you on the next review. Later.
Now keep in mind that these are not reviews of every single show that I see as that would be way too time consuming, but of a select few that I follow rather closely. Also, these reviews will somewhat differ in comparison to my standard movie reviews as they have ongoing storylines week after week as opposed to movies that are just one and done (at least until the inevitable sequels come out). So with that said, I give you my review of last night's Once Upon A Time episode "Souls Of The Departed".
Keep in mind that while I'll try to avoid giving away major plot points there might be some potential spoilers in my review so keep that in mind if you're reading this. With that out of the way, let's dive in.
I'm probably one of the most loyal viewers of Once Upon A Time that you'll ever find, however something that I wasn't aware of when I started watching this episode after a few months' hiatus of the show was that this was officially their 100th episode. I didn't find this out until afterwards as there seemed to be very little mention of that fact by the show's creators when compared to other shows that do something really special for their centennial episode (e.g. Psych had an audience interactive episode, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic had an episode focusing on background characters, etc.). However, even without any major advertising of this fact, I feel that Once Upon A Time still managed to do something special with its 100th outing.
After the events from the previous episode of Dark Hook being killed and the darkness in Emma being destroyed (or so we're meant to believe), she and several others take a trip to the Underworld to bring Hook back, with Emma stating that she can just share her heart with him much in the same way that her parents', Snow White and Prince Charming, did. When they arrive, they discover that the Underworld is a red-tinged, Post-Apocalyptic version of Storybrooke where all the souls with unfinished business roam, including several villains that our heroes had previously defeated.
One of my favorite aspects of the show is how it takes characters that we all are familiar with and adds its own special spin to it. Our favorite heroes may not be as righteous as we were led to believe and some of the villains may be a little bit more sympathetic than we last remembered. Another aspect I enjoy is how it seamlessly ties all these stories together into a cohesive whole and even brings up events that happened seasons ago.
A perfect example of this is shown in a flashback to The Enchanted Forest where the Evil Queen is still focused on getting her revenge against Snow White (who ruined her life when she was younger), but her father is trying to convince her to put this all behind her. What followed was a turn of events that, at first, left me wondering how this would fit in with prior events that I remembered from previous seasons, but then skillfully managed to solve other problems from past seasons that I had never even thought of until they actually happened.
Additionally, it's explained early on in the episode that, once one enters the Underworld, it's very difficult to get back out. This proves to add tension when some characters are given opportunities to leave their team members behind for either their own benefit or the benefit of a loved one. Will they choose to leave? Will they stay with the others? Who knows? It's not always as clear cut as it may seem.
Something else worth noting is when one of the souls has their business taken care of and moves on to a "better place". This makes the simple mission of finding and bringing back just one soul even more complicated as they're clearly trying to set up the fact that they're attempting to give other souls their happy endings. However, this doesn't sit well with a certain flaming-headed ruler of the Underworld revealed in the final minutes (who they're very clearly setting up as the main villain for the rest of the season).
Overall, this episode has got me very interested in seeing where the story will go and the fact that the series has already been picked up for a 6th season starting in the latter half of this year has got me all the more excited.
Anyways, if you happen to be a loyal Oncer like me, I'd like to know what your thoughts are on this episode. Does it have you excited to see where the show will head? Does it leave you feeling kind of underwhelmed? Mixed? Leave your comments down below and stay tuned as I'll be giving you another review tomorrow centering around a rather "icy" villain. Plus, speaking of 6th seasons, I'll be providing a review for another show that's starting its 6th season 3 Saturdays from now. Until then, keep loving movies and TV Shows and I'll see you on the next review. Later.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
My Top 12 Disney Villains
As I've stated in a previous list, I love villains of all different types. However, there's no denying that those at Disney are masters of creating memorable villains. Their designs, their styles, their personalities, they're very easy to remember and oftentimes can be our very first exposure to villainy. So with that said and in honor of Disney's latest animated feature Zootopia opening this weekend, I'm going to be counting down My Top 12 Disney Villains.
For this list, I'm going to be looking at Disney Villains specifically from Disney's animated library, whether they be hand drawn animated or CG animated. If they have a live action counterpart, I might consider giving that version some mention. With all that said, this list is strictly for Disney villains, so villains from any of Pixar's movies won't qualify.
Additionally, it's possible that there might be some talk about the plots of these movies so SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen them (though I'm guessing that y'all most likely have seen at least some of them). Finally, as I feel I have to mention in every list I make, these are all based off of my opinions. So, with all that out of the way, sit back and enjoy My Top 12 Disney Villains.
XII. Gaston - Beauty And The Beast.
NO not that one!!! That's not even the Queen Of Hearts. That's the Red Queen. Look it up there is a difference.
NO DAMMIT!!! Why is it that just because I showed ONE live action Disney villain ONE time that now this has to pop up? Can we PLEASE get back to regular animation here!?!
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?! Why does this keep going to the live action portrayals? I'm NOT doing anymore of these!!! GOT IT?!?
For this list, I'm going to be looking at Disney Villains specifically from Disney's animated library, whether they be hand drawn animated or CG animated. If they have a live action counterpart, I might consider giving that version some mention. With all that said, this list is strictly for Disney villains, so villains from any of Pixar's movies won't qualify.
Additionally, it's possible that there might be some talk about the plots of these movies so SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen them (though I'm guessing that y'all most likely have seen at least some of them). Finally, as I feel I have to mention in every list I make, these are all based off of my opinions. So, with all that out of the way, sit back and enjoy My Top 12 Disney Villains.
XII. Gaston - Beauty And The Beast.
I've mentioned before in my Top 12 Villain Songs list that Gaston is one of the more interesting villains to come out of Disney. Being the front runner for the "Handsome Villain" character type (that would later be parodied by Prince Charming in the Shrek movies), Gaston has all the local girls swooning over him. However, he only has his eyes set on Belle, despite the fact that I. Everyone else sees her as odd (as does Gaston in a sense) and II. She has absolutely no interest in him.
Still, even with her not being interested in him, he's willing to go towards any length to try to get her to marry him, even going so far as threatening to have her father, Maurice, committed to the asylum. In addition to that, he has a pretty strong influence on all the other townspeople who view him as the hero. Even when he's going off to kill the Beast, he has the full support of them as they stage a full on attack on the Beast's castle.
However, even when battling the Beast and when the fight turns in the Beast's favor, Gaston is willing to resort to such despicable acts as admitting defeat only to stab him in the back when he's not looking. I guess Belle was right: The Beast wasn't the monster, Gaston was.
XI. Cruella de Vil - 101 Dalmatians
Particularly famous for the song that was written about her, Cruella can often be found swath in fur, her only true love. She very easily lands on this list for her plan to obtain 99 Dalmatian puppies to turn them into a fur coat. I mean, how despicable can you get? Puppies have absolutely no way of defending themselves and, from a business standpoint, it doesn't make much sense.
Sure, in the 1996 live action version, it's made clear that she's stealing puppies for her coat because their fur is much softer than an adult Dalmatian's which is more coarse, but even taking that out of the equation, she's willing to have domesticated animals slaughtered all for the sake of fashion. Speaking of the live action version, I feel it only necessary to also bring up Glenn Close's portrayal of the infamous villain (shown below):
While I do like both portrayals of Cruella from both movies, Glenn Close's version is particularly memorable (and even just as intimidating) because of how batshit crazy she gets in her performance. Doug Walker put it best when he said that she's almost like a female Tim Curry in this role. You can just tell that she's having the time of her life yukking it up in this movie. Nevertheless, with this villainess, we get 2 great portrayals for the price of one.
X. Professor Ratigan - The Great Mouse Detective
Certainly one of the more under-appreciated villains to make this list, the evil professor is very unpredictable as there are many occasions where he acts very refined and sophisticated, but you can tell that he's waiting to snap should anyone cross him. He seems to fight between these 2 sides til the very end in the epic battle on Big Ben between him and his nemesis, Basil Of Baker Street (BTW that fight was soo intense for me to watch as a younger kid and it's still intense even now).
What makes this villain particularly great is the voice work of the late great Vincent Price, who was perfectly cast in this role. He skillfully managed to balance the proper and giddy side with the loud and furious side. He does such a good job with playing this villain that you almost wouldn't be able to notice it's him as he just gets lost in the performance.
Ratigan himself is a very diabolical character with his complex plan to rule over all the mice in England by ousting the queen and having a mechanized version of her declare him the new ruler. He's everything you'd expect to find in a classic Sherlock Holmes villain, just as a rat. But don't let him catch you calling him a rat.
IX. Scar - The Lion King
Scar definitely ranks pretty highly for most in the realm of memorable Disney villains. He was inspired by the character of Claudius from Hamlet, he's a skilled manipulator, and he's one of the few villains to actually get a kill in the form of his brother, Mufasa, leading to him taking over the Pridelands.
So, most of you are probably wondering, why do I have him this low on the list? Because he stops being very interesting after getting what he wants. He was diabolical in the fact that he killed his own brother, tricked his nephew, Simba, into thinking he killed him, and then banished Simba, leaving him to be killed by his hyena lackeys, but, once he becomes ruler of the Pridelands, he turns into a prissy little diva.
Still, even with that said, he deserves to be talked about for the interesting aspects about him. He has a great voice actor in Jeremy Irons, has one of the most memorable villain songs ever with Be Prepared, like I said, he killed his own brother off (scarring young me in the process, no pun intended), and he manipulated young Simba into thinking that Mufasa's death was his fault, which continued to haunt him even into maturity.
Scar is kind of incompetent though in the sense that he passes the job of killing Simba off to his hyenas who failed the first time around. Not to mention, when he's about to kill Simba off at the end, he decides to tell him that he killed Mufasa, which then backfires when Simba turns the tables on him. Scar then continues to lie when Simba seems to be about to kill him just so that he can save his own skin, but even when Simba spares his life and banishes him, Scar continues to fight dirty by kicking embers in Simba's face and then attacking him like a bastard while he's distracted. Although, he does get what's coming to him in the end (a list for another time).
VIII. Mother Gothel - Tangled
Yeah. I know I know. Many of you are probably shocked to see this entry on the list. Mother Gothel is remembered by most people for having a particularly snarky relationship with Rapunzel that could get pretty grating at many times. She's also determined to keep Rapunzel as close to her as possible as she only wants to use her hair to stay young forever, which might not be particularly interesting for most. So why do I even have her on my list?
The reason (courtesy of Chad Lewis AKA LewToons on YouTube) is that Mother Gothel is quite possibly the most murderous Disney villain on the list. I mean, think about it. It was stated early on in the movie through narration that she hoarded the magical golden flower for herself to stay young for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Can you imagine how many people she's inadvertently killed by keeping the flower to herself for that whole time? She's probably prevented the salvation of hundreds if not thousands of people with illnesses or infirmities that could've easily been cured. What a bitch.
Mother Gothel also is one of 2 villains on this list to resort to manipulating the young individual in their charge into staying with them under the false pretense that it's in that individual's best interest, leading said individual to develop Stockholm Syndrome in the process. I remember a quote from the movie Sleepy Hollow where Ichabod Crane said "Villainy wears many masks. None as dangerous as the mask of virtue." and Mother Gothel seems to fit that phrase to a "T" (as does another villain to make this list later on).
VII. Hades - Hercules
As much as I didn't like Hercules the way many others did, I can't deny that Hades was the most enjoyable part of the movie. But the truth is that he almost didn't end up the way he did when the movie was being made. Hercules producer, Alice Dewey, originally intended for the character to be a very slow, sinister, overall menacing character, but Hades' voice actor, James Woods, turned the character into more of a fast talking, Hollywood agent type of guy, ad-libbing most of his lines to the point that it took animator, Nik Ranieri, 2 weeks just to animate a one second scene with Hades.
Even though the movie deviates very heavily from the Greek Myths it was based on, Hades was a ton of fun to watch. He's also very famous for making deals with certain characters, including Hercules, which he uses in his attempts to overthrow Zeus and the other gods and take control of Mount Olympus. This ends up proving to be his downfall as he keeps making deal after deal when things suddenly go south for him. Either way, Hades is still enjoyable nonetheless.
VI. Yzma and Kronk - The Emperor's New Groove
To be completely honest with you guys, I almost entirely forgot to put these 2 on the list which would've been a shame as they're easily the most enjoyable part of the movie. The Emperor's New Groove was a movie that I felt was O.K., but wouldn't necessarily put it up there as a favorite of mine (at least, it wouldn't make a Top 12 list). However, easily the best part of the movie is Yzma and Kronk.
These 2 are an absolute riot anytime they're onscreen. They literally steal the movie from every other character involved. Their back and forth banter, their complex chemistry, the hilarious situations they find themselves in, even the moments when they're by themselves they're such a delight to watch. Kronk even has some funny moments in which he debates on what he should do while listening to the urgings of his "shoulder angel" and "shoulder devil".
The late great Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton brought soo much to these characters that you're always wanting more, waiting for the next time they're onscreen again. With a villainous duo like them, what more could you ask for?
V. Shere Khan - The Jungle Book
In my honest opinion, Shere Khan is the type of Disney villain that Scar should've been. This character has a pretty good amount of the movie dedicated to just building him up (much like Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender) with many characters talking about him with a fearful tone and, when he's finally revealed in the end, he's a very intimidating character. He has a very proper tone to his voice (thanks in part to his voice actor, the late George Sanders), but won't hesitate to kill any man he comes across.
He's easily one of those characters who has absolutely no fear of anything (except for fire but hey what animal wouldn't be) and has a very sinister aura to him. Even when Kaa the snake is lying to his face about Mowgli's whereabouts, Shere Khan just smiles and nods, all the while knowing that he's being lied to. You just know that he's in full control of the situation. He even makes Mowgli regret not running for his life when he nearly lunges at him. Had Baloo not been there, it wouldn't have been a pretty picture for Mowgli. Sinister and yet ever polite, Shere Khan makes the #5 spot.
IV. The Queen Of Hearts - Alice In Wonderland
NO not that one!!! That's not even the Queen Of Hearts. That's the Red Queen. Look it up there is a difference.
There. That's better.
The Queen Of Hearts isn't often mentioned in many Disney Villain lists which is kind of sad because she's such a fun character. She's a grown woman who rules over Wonderland and yet she has the mentality and temper of a child. Quick to demand that a character's head gets chopped off, she is completely ruled by her emotions.
One of the most enjoyable scenes is at the very end with the courtroom scene with Alice where the queen is soo focused on having Alice sentenced before there's even a verdict, but then she'll get distracted by the fact that it's her un-birthday and almost ends up liking Alice. She just switches back and forth between the 2 soo easily.
It gets even funnier though when Alice becomes larger than the queen and starts badmouthing her. Meanwhile, the queen is completely fearful that Alice is going to bite her head off, but Alice continuously insults her as she's getting smaller, only making it worse for herself. It's easily the best scene in the movie. The queen herself is just a very hilarious character and definitely better than the Burton version.
III. Ursula - The Little Mermaid
Easily one of the more iconic Disney villains, Ursula has a design that is swiftly recognizable with a half-human, half-octopus look that works out very well. She's also very similar to Hades in the sense that she likes to make deals. She famously sings the song Poor Unfortunate Souls in which she presents the deal to Ariel: give her legs in place of her voice and get a kiss of true love before 3 days are up or else she belongs to Ursula.
Ursula is also a very sneaky villain as she keeps a close eye on Ariel's time with Prince Eric, even going soo far as to have her pet eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, sabotage a perfect moment for Ariel to get her kiss and then show up on land to steal Eric from Ariel, fucking her over in the process which actually results in her fucking over King Triton as Ariel was simply a means to an end in this elaborate game of Mousetrap.
I remembered seeing a piece of concept art from earlier versions of The Little Mermaid that actually had Ursula having more of a half-human, half-lionfish appearance, which looked good, but the final version is best. Her voice actress, Pat Carroll, would go on to voice Ursula's sister, Morgana, in the movie's sequel, though, sadly, a song for Morgana was cut from the movie as Carroll's voice had sadly deteriorated by that point. Still, we have this memorable villainess crawling her way to #3.
II. Dr. Facilier (AKA The Shadowman) - The Princess And The Frog
AND
Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty
NO DAMMIT!!! Why is it that just because I showed ONE live action Disney villain ONE time that now this has to pop up? Can we PLEASE get back to regular animation here!?!
Thank you.
It might seem very odd for me to have Dr. Facilier this high up on the list, let alone have him paired up with someone as popular as Maleficent, but I actually paired these 2 together as I found them to be pretty similar. Both of them are clothed in black and purple, both use magic, and both are very striking in their respective appearances.
Facilier is a voodoo witch doctor who scams people with promises to make their dreams real with help from his "friends on the other side". He also proves to be very slick and charismatic with a silver tongue (a huge part of that coming from his voice actor, Keith David), which is how he convinces most people to accept his "services".
Of course, his whole plan for trying to take over New Orleans is pretty convoluted, but even then he's still enjoyable. His song is particularly fun as his movements are soo enjoyably cartoony. He's such a smooth talker that he almost convinces Tiana to give him his talisman back with the promise that he'll give her the restaurant that she and her dad had always wanted to open (which I'll bring up more about it some other time).
Maleficent is without a doubt one of the most easily recognizable villains with her clever design by one of Disney's "Nine Old Men", late animator Marc Davis, famous for creating such characters as Snow White, Alice, Tinkerbell, and Cruella de Vil among others. Something quite intimidating about her is the fact that she puts a death curse on a baby just because she wasn't invited to her birthday party. DAYUM!!! She makes that one little snub look like an act of war.
The voice actress for Maleficent was Eleanor Audley (famous for another villainess who I'll mention later as well as Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland and Disney World) who also served as the live action model for the character. Her voice for the character was absolutely perfect as it adds a very dignified yet equally sinister feel to Maleficent herself.
So yeah. Couldn't decide between one or the other, but I feel confident with this selection.
Before I reveal the possibly obvious #1 pick, I'd first like to bring up some Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mentions:
Stromboli and The Coachman - Pinocchio
Two villains from the same movie who often (once again) aren't typically brought up in many Disney Villain lists. What gives them my mention is the fact that both of them are the rare few villains in Disney's history who aren't defeated in the end. Stromboli actually won against Pinocchio by locking him up where even Jiminy Cricket couldn't bust him out and he would've been stuck there had it not been for the "Deus Ex Machina" Blue Fairy to release him.
As for the Coachman, he gets off completely scot free as well. When Pinocchio witnesses Lampwick turning into a jackass at Pleasure Island and he himself begins to turn, he gets the fuck out of Dodge, leaving all the other boys to their fate so, for all we know, the Coachman could just still be bringing boys there to become jackasses to be sold off for manual labor. This is part of what makes Pinocchio one of Disney's greatest movies ever in that it doesn't all end happily for everyone. So that's why they make this category.
As for the Coachman, he gets off completely scot free as well. When Pinocchio witnesses Lampwick turning into a jackass at Pleasure Island and he himself begins to turn, he gets the fuck out of Dodge, leaving all the other boys to their fate so, for all we know, the Coachman could just still be bringing boys there to become jackasses to be sold off for manual labor. This is part of what makes Pinocchio one of Disney's greatest movies ever in that it doesn't all end happily for everyone. So that's why they make this category.
King Candy (AKA Turbo) - Wreck-It Ralph
This is a character that I've often heard described as a candy-flavored Mad Hatter if he were a villain. Formerly known as Turbo, the hero of racing game Turbo Time, King Candy is hilariously diabolical as he attempted to take over Sugar Rush by trying to delete Vanellope's code (turning her into a glitch in the process) and stealing everyone's memories, appointing himself as the new ruler afterwards. The twist during the race where it's revealed that he's actually Turbo is still one of my favorites to this day as I never saw it coming.
The Horned King - The Black Cauldron
Considered to be the "black sheep" of Disney Villains, The Horned King is still an intimidating figure as he appears to just be a walking skeleton with skin on it. Whenever he appears in a room, everyone just goes silent. John Hurt (famous for roles like Kane from Alien and Spaceballs, Harold Oxley from Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, and Ollivander from the Harry Potter series) voices this character with much eeriness and fear invoking. While The Black Cauldron was a box office bomb, it has gotten a strong cult following, as it should, and the Horned King is definitely a good reason why.
Lady Tremaine - Cinderella
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?! Why does this keep going to the live action portrayals? I'm NOT doing anymore of these!!! GOT IT?!?
Sorry about that. This is the last time that'll happen. Let's continue on then.
This was the other Disney Villain to be voiced by Eleanor Audley. Lady Tremaine may not have magic or anything along those lines like other villains have, but what she does have is complete control over Cinderella's life and she loves to take advantage of it whenever she gets the opportunity, turning Cinderella's world into a living hell. Why? To quote The Nostalgia Critic "All because she didn't push Cinderella out of her cooch". Her character is actually quite similar to Maleficent with the only major difference being that Maleficent has the power to control just about anything, but Lady Tremaine still deserves to be mentioned nonetheless.
This was the other Disney Villain to be voiced by Eleanor Audley. Lady Tremaine may not have magic or anything along those lines like other villains have, but what she does have is complete control over Cinderella's life and she loves to take advantage of it whenever she gets the opportunity, turning Cinderella's world into a living hell. Why? To quote The Nostalgia Critic "All because she didn't push Cinderella out of her cooch". Her character is actually quite similar to Maleficent with the only major difference being that Maleficent has the power to control just about anything, but Lady Tremaine still deserves to be mentioned nonetheless.
And finally...
Jafar - Aladdin
Another pretty popular villain from Disney's catalog, Jafar has a very striking appearance as a, in the words of the Genie, "tall, dark, and sinister, ugly man". XD Aside from that though, he doesn't have much other than his constant hunger for more power. First becoming a Sultan, then becoming the most powerful sorcerer in the world, before ultimately wishing to have the unlimited power of a Genie. This would prove to be his undoing as he is bound by the laws of all Genies, going to show that, in the words of Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon A Time, "all magic comes with a price".
So we've gone through a great number of popular, and even lesser known, Disney Villains and it all comes down to this. Many of you might have figured it out by now, but for those of you who haven't, let's not waste any more time. And with that, my #1 Disney Villain is...
I. Judge Claude Frollo - The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
The name Frollo may not be a particularly intimidating name to many people, but everyone who knows about him knows that he's the worst of the worst. Ranking very highly on many peoples' lists of Disney Villains, Frollo is a judge who views himself to be very holy to the point where he tries to justify his actions through either the law or the church. One of those actions in particular is his attempts to commit genocide against the Gypsies (though he's willing to let some like Esmeralda live if they agree to sleep with him).
I had mentioned before about how despicable Cruella de Vil was in the sense that she was going to kill off puppies for her fur coat, but Frollo goes even further by attempting to drown baby Quasimodo in a well and this happening just after he killed Quasimodo's mother on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral while she was trying to claim "Sanctuary". As I watched this scene playing out with the Latin Choir in the background as he's about to drop the infant in the well, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Good thing that the priest showed up to stop him, resulting in me breathing a massive sigh of relief.
Even when Frollo is charged with raising Quasimodo as his own as penance for his actions, he continues to be heartless towards him in that he lies about his mother, continues to point out his hideousness, and refuses to let him go outside the cathedral, saying that he'll never be accepted (proving to be much like Mother Gothel in the sense of creating Stockholm Syndrome in the individual under his care as well as the Sleepy Hollow quote I mentioned earlier applying here also), while only utilizing him when "the time is right". Even the name that Frollo gave him, Quasimodo, means "half-formed", a cruel joke to play on his deformity.
I also feel like I should talk about the spectacular voice work by the late great Tony Jay who amazingly managed to make him sound threatening even with his deep monotone voice. Because Frollo tries to justify his actions and even struggles with his lustful desires, he's undoubtedly one of the most 3-dimensional and well developed villains that Disney has ever put out and, while there may be many more villains to come down the line, few (if any) will ever compare to Frollo which is why he is my #1 Favorite Disney Villain of all time.
And that was my list of the Top 12 Disney Villains. I hope you enjoyed it and I'd like to know what your thoughts were on the list. Did you agree with my selections? Disagree? Do you feel like another villain should've been mentioned? I'm sure that with all the Disney movies that have come out that I must have forgotten some so feel free to comment below with your favorites and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
I had mentioned before about how despicable Cruella de Vil was in the sense that she was going to kill off puppies for her fur coat, but Frollo goes even further by attempting to drown baby Quasimodo in a well and this happening just after he killed Quasimodo's mother on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral while she was trying to claim "Sanctuary". As I watched this scene playing out with the Latin Choir in the background as he's about to drop the infant in the well, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Good thing that the priest showed up to stop him, resulting in me breathing a massive sigh of relief.
Even when Frollo is charged with raising Quasimodo as his own as penance for his actions, he continues to be heartless towards him in that he lies about his mother, continues to point out his hideousness, and refuses to let him go outside the cathedral, saying that he'll never be accepted (proving to be much like Mother Gothel in the sense of creating Stockholm Syndrome in the individual under his care as well as the Sleepy Hollow quote I mentioned earlier applying here also), while only utilizing him when "the time is right". Even the name that Frollo gave him, Quasimodo, means "half-formed", a cruel joke to play on his deformity.
I also feel like I should talk about the spectacular voice work by the late great Tony Jay who amazingly managed to make him sound threatening even with his deep monotone voice. Because Frollo tries to justify his actions and even struggles with his lustful desires, he's undoubtedly one of the most 3-dimensional and well developed villains that Disney has ever put out and, while there may be many more villains to come down the line, few (if any) will ever compare to Frollo which is why he is my #1 Favorite Disney Villain of all time.
And that was my list of the Top 12 Disney Villains. I hope you enjoyed it and I'd like to know what your thoughts were on the list. Did you agree with my selections? Disagree? Do you feel like another villain should've been mentioned? I'm sure that with all the Disney movies that have come out that I must have forgotten some so feel free to comment below with your favorites and I'll see you on the next post. Later.
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