My Experience With… Happy New Year, Charlie Brown

Finally, as I’ve first mentioned at the beginning of the year [Link to the first post of the year], I’m starting on the Peanuts holiday specials series. And let me tell you, rounding them up was not an easy feat… at first. I first took a gander at Wikipedia, and got instantly overwhelmed. I then did a second search, and made it to this article, which did a nice “Year of Peanuts” compilation. I then hunted down these videos on the Internet, and reviewed each as such.

Without further ado, the first Peanuts to watch this year… Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

The story starts with Charlie Brown’s teacher assigning a book report over Christmas break at the very last second. She assigns the book War and Peace. Yes, that War and Peace.

I could easily trigger-type and grandstand about the horrors of school, the ineffectiveness of its education, the stress levels it puts on adolescents, the overbearing structure which stunts children’s growth, the vulnerability of students who don’t conform to classroom status quos, and how cruel it is to suddenly assign elementary school students a book that most adults struggle to read. But I won’t. Mainly because scenarios involving children reading War and Peace is actually hilarious. So let’s go back to a simpler time, when humour was not (completely) offensive.

Charlie Brown struggles with reading this (obviously), but Linus kinda guilt-trips him with a story of how Mrs. Tolstoy had to hand-copy the book seven times for Leo.

Is there such a thing called death by carpal tunnel syndrome?

I can’t even handwrite notes at a meeting anymore, I’m too slow

and have no stamina. Sometimes I don’t even want to type.

Peppermint Patty then invites Charlie Brown over for her New Year’s Eve party. (That should be fun, seeing as how they still look and sound young enough to have an early bedtime.) Charlie Brown is reluctant, even though his friends are going. Sally hopes to dance with Linus at the party, and Lucy wants to dance with Schroeder. The gang, except for Charlie Brown, gets enrolled in dance classes.

Charlie Brown sees that his book report is going to be even more difficult than he first imagined, so he tries to find a non-book version of War and Peace. There isn’t any, of course, so he returns home to try to read. To cure his boredom, he goes down to the dance studio to watch his friends.

Okay, the dancing here is NOWHERE CLOSE

to that in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Although Charlie Brown tries to read, Peppermint Patty convinces him to dance with her. Charlie Brown then returns home to read some more. The rest of the gang is all abuzz about the party, especially Peppermint Patty, to Charlie Brown’s chagrin. Charlie Brown then decides to invite the little red-haired girl, to Peppermint Patty’s chagrin.

Apparently, that child’s name is Heather. Forgot that.

While delivering Heather’s invitation, Charlie Brown gets stuck in the mail slot, as he feared. That night, he frets over his embarrassment and the party.

The next night, the party happens, and everyone there is having a good time, Charlie Brown arrives at the party, hoping to read some more, and hoping Heather will arrive. As midnight approaches, Charlie Brown tries to sneak outside to read some more. Peppermint Patty follows him outside and talks to him. Then, the countdown starts, and Peppermint Patty returns inside. Charlie finally starts again on his book, but falls asleep reading it, missing both the New Year Countdown and the arrival of Heather (and dancing with her). Charlie Brown wakes up too late for it all.

Charlie Brown finally finishes reading War and Peace and writing the report about it the morning of the first day back at school. He gets a D- for it. (Not bad for an elementary school kid reading War and Peace.) His troubles are not over, as the first assignment of the New year is … drumroll… Crime and Punishment.

Welp, can’t be any harder than War and Peace!

This was a cute little short film, that’s just right for the New Year, as it combines the anxieties of the New Year approaching, the hurry to wrap up the old year, and trying to find some fun in between. Plus, it’s Peanuts… you cannot really go wrong. There were tons of filler material, but that’s to be expected with these films, and for the most part, they add to the story, rather than detract from it.

By the way, if you happen to major in classic Russian literature,

maybe don’t send your resume to elementary schools. Just saying. 😊

That’ll about wrap it up for this month! I know you think I’m going to do the Valentine’s Day specials next… hold your horses. There is at least one “holiday” before Valentine’s. 😉

Plugging time! 

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My Xperience With… Surf’s Up 2: Wave Mania

***Warning: Lotsa spoilers.***

Okay. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooookay.

While the first movie was certainly not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, when I heard that there was a sequel I thought, why? It didn’t merit a sequel. Everything was stitched up well in the end. Why was this a need.

That’s when I saw the DVD cover.

What is that?

Why is it there?

Can someone please tell me why there’s a wrestling logo on a sequel to a half-decent, barely memorable, but still kinda good movie about SURFING PENGUINS???

Sigh…. Here I go…. I am not looking forward to this. NO, seriously, you don’t even see the original cast members’ names on the front! It’s all wrestlers! Like they said, “Remember those characters you grew to somehow love, well, forget them! We’re not even putting Big Z up there, even though he was THE plot point,” I guess someone needed to be on family-friendly entertainment? Well, this one looks even less memorable than the first. There will be spoilers.

Surf’s Up 2 starts with a where-are-they-now-type segment of Cody Maverick, including an interview in which Cody shamelessly plugs in his surfing school (by the way, check out my YouTube page and my G+ sometime! Both are pretty cool!) Tank also butts in with his online surfing school (he hasn’t changed a bit). Cody tries to get Tank off his case, but Tank reminds him that he’s the 9-time champ, not Cody.

Chicken Joe, on the other hand, became a professional surfer, touring the world with the Hang 5 – wait, who the heck are the Hang 5??! I don’t remember them? You know what else I don’t remember? Cody’s voice!!! What the heck?

Yeeeeeeeeahhh. I did some research. Hoo, boy.

It turns out there’s a reason none of the original cast members’ names were listed on the cover. It’s because the voice actors are all different. What was once an all-star cast, turned into some generic sound-alikes. So this really is a WW Studios movie, more than it is a Sony Pictures Animation movie. This is gonna burn, big time.

Sony: We either hit or miss!

Then again, given Shia LeBouf’s (original Cody Maverick) recent actions, I guess I’d pick a bunch of wrestlers over him, any day. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

Anyway, Cody gets visited by Chicken Joe, who is rich, famous, and more decorated than a NASCAR car. Joe shares his experiences with Cody, who is happy for Joe, but is also slightly jealous, in a sort of “What if it’d been me?” kind of way. Joe also gives Cody a Hang 5 poster, and he reminisces of his boyhood days when he for some reason has a vacation outside his home, and watched the Hang 5 surf.

Okay, last movie was all about Big Z. WHAT THE HECK—

It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s a WWE movie. It’s a WWE movie.

Cody shares his lament with Lani, who sensed something was wrong.

The next day, unexpectedly, the Hang 5 arrive. A fangirling fanboy Cody invites them over for a luau. At the luau, Mr. McMahon (the beefed-up otter… yeah, that’s an otter) – who has a highly disturbing desire to drink fish milk – announces that the Hang 5 will be surfing the Trenches, a legendary dangerous spot. Mr. McMahon is retiring, and wants to put a new member in his place, specifically Lani (who he saw parkouring to rescue a drowning baby penguin), although Cody thinks he will be the new member.

In the morning, it’s revealed that Lani’s the new member. Before the Hang 5 leaves, Cody shows off sweet moves, and J.C. wants to keep Cody. Paige wants to keep Lani, the Undertaker wants Chicken Joe (possibly as a meal), and Hunter wants Tank. It’s now a contest to see who gets the last spot, and the group goes to the Trenches at Slaughter Island. The first leg is through crushed-whale bones quicksand. Tank takes out Cody, putting his team in last place for the first challenge, and leaving them to wax everyone’s boards. Mr. McMahon likes Cody’s moves, but not his attitude. J.C. assures him that he’ll be okay. That night, J.C. lifts Cody’s spirits with a few words of encouragement.

The Hang 5 sleep above ground to avoid attacks. Tank refuses, challenging everyone’s bravery. Lani, Joe, and Cody also take up Tanks’s challenge. In the middle of the night, it seems something snatches the four rookies, but it was all a teamwork test. Cody and Lani watch the stars, taking in all the excitement from the day, and Cody shares that he feels more fulfilled in his life.

The crew resumes across an old abandoned bridge wire, and everyone makes it across relatively easily, but Cody gets too hotheaded in his attempts to outdo Tank, and has everyone fall down a cliff to their deaths.

Just kidding.

They find an ancient village with a surfer’s hall of fame. Cody wants to be remembered for his feats, but J.C. assures him that there’s more to life than just being famous. The other teams are in different parts of the ruins, with one team in a room full of treasure. Tank takes a gold and jeweled surfboard in exchange for his old surfboard. In the evening, Tank and Cody start a fight, which naturally leads to the actual WRESTLING part of the movie. It’s too short, in my opinion, but, then again, it’s a surfing movie, not a wrestling movie.

The next part of their trip takes them through lava. Obviously, surfing lava is pretty much impossible. Cody gets the idea to make a hang glider to fly over it. Cody, once again, quarrels with Tank, revealing this time that he has no plans to return home, to Lani’s dismay. Cody’s officially become too full of himself, looking out for himself rather than realize that he is a well-respected penguin already. Cody fights with Tank over the lava, causing Chicken Joe to lose his board and almost his life. The Undertaker saves his life, but everyone is disappointed in Cody’s attitude. Cody overhears Mr. McMahon’s disappointment in Cody, and leaves his board with Chicken Joe and leaves. Lani starts to look for him, but J.C. stops her, feeling fully confident that Cody will cool off. The remainder of the group goes off to the Trenches, where a storm is brewing.

In Cody’s meandering, he comes across a monument to a legendary surfer who protects his people by doing a ritual called RTL – Ride the Lightning. He runs off to tell them. The rest of the bunch arrives. Lani, being a lifeguard, practices caution, and stays out. Chicken Joe is not up for the challenge, either, but receives an honorary membership. Tank rides with the Hang 5, but freaks out at the crest and wipes out. The Hang 5 wipes out at the wave, and the Undertaker gets hit by a lightning bolt. Lani tries to revive him, but Chicken Joe revives him with electric jellyfish.

Tank gets stranded in the water, but Cody tries to save him. J.C. ends up saving them both. Cody essentially redeems himself, and he and Tank get along. Cody gets offered the final spot, but turns it down to stay home as a surf teacher. McMahon ends up staying to keep on enjoying adventures with the Hang 5...

…Thereby rendering this movie absolutely pointless. *sigh* What a cop-out.

The movie ends with the original commercial segment, but this time, the academy is advertised by Cody, Lani, Chicken Joe, Tank, and the Hang 5. There are also some “outtakes” in the credits.

What can I say about this movie? I had VERY low expectations, considering this was a surf movie done by wrestling pros. It, like the first movie, was not very bad, however. I kinda enjoyed it. It wasn’t a very good movie as far as plot goes, but it’s a nice afternoon feel-good flick for anybody who’s seen Surf’s Up (or not), and has an hour and a half to spare.

Oh, plugging? I did that earlier.

Who’s your favorite athlete?

My Experience With… Surf’s Up.

I know that I’ve mentioned that I would be doing a Peanuts series. And I will. I’m just going to do two weeks’ of blogging about CGI’d surfing penguins. Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, and any pets with a stunning ability to read, Surf’s Up.

Now, there was a long stretch I had when I was a youth of going to practically every animated and family film, accompanied by a parent, with both of us getting tickets for the price of a single standard ticket.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it at least

three times here: I love inexpensive

entertainment. It works either way.

If I saw a good film at a low price, I got a great deal! If the film bombed, oh, well, we didn’t even waste $10. In this case… it was average. Slightly above average. It’s a good film.

Since I will be reviewing the sequel to this next week, there will be spoilers.

In a nutshell, there’s a penguin named Cody Maverick, who comes from humble beginnings in Antarctica, where nobody really surfs. His mom is widowed, due to his dad being eaten by a whale while he was fishing. Cody also has a brother who constantly picks on him, as Hollywood thinks older brothers often do.

Cody’s beyond-mundane and lackluster life is changed when a legendary penguin surfer named Big Z...

(You know what, I’m gonna hold

my bad joke for later.)

…makes an appearance at his home land and unintentionally inspires Cody to become a surfer himself. He practices using ice and whatever waves come his way. Years pass, and Cody gets picked up by a recruiter for a massive contest. Along his trip, he meets a way far-out rooster called Chicken Joe. Like Cody, Chicken Joe lost his dad at a young age. Unlike Cody, Chicken Joe’s dad was lost to what I can only assume was Col. Sanders.

As cruel as those untimely demises were,

I found the second one particularly hilarious.

During the tournament, Cody and Joe come up against 9-time champion Tank Evans, who is very skilled, but is a huge bully.

At first, Cody is very clumsy in the tournament, considering he is out of his element. Then one day, Cody comes across an old, washed-up penguin who seems to know a lot about surfing. Yup, it’s Big Z, who was presumed dead after his last match against Tank Evans. It turns out that Big Z chickened out when he realized he was old news and could not keep up with the young talent, so he faked his own death and lived in hiding, with his niece Lani, who was the only one who knew of the secret. Lani and Cody do fall in love, by the way. Kind of a no-brainer there.

When the old penguin is realized to be Big Z, Cody (of course) wants him to be his trainer. Or rather… his coach……. ready for my bad joke?

HE BECOMES HIS “COACH” Z!!!! ^_^

 

Why yes, I do still have my day job.

Why do you ask?

At the finals, it’s Cody, Chicken Joe, and Tank. They duke it out over the waves, with Tank being as big a bully as ever. When he’s after Chicken Joe, Cody disqualifies himself by taking out Tank, making Chicken Joe the champ. Big Z returns to the public eye, and everybody lives pretty much happily ever after.

Right?

You’ll read more on the details next week.

Now, this was just a bare-bones look at the movie, and it does seem rather cut-and-dry. However, one thing I (and my mother, who went with me) really enjoyed about Surf’s Up was the fact that it was well-done in a kind of reality show/documentary footage. This included little interviews with main and side characters, and steadicam was also done nicely… that’s a compliment from me. I can’t STAND unnecessary steadicam. I deliberately never watched The Office because of its constant steadicam. I don’t care how funny Steve Carrell is, there is no reason for every moment of an office building to feel like an intense moment!

I digress.

It was funny. It was cute. It wasn’t the most memorable, especially since I watched Happy Feet not long before that one. Plus, it’s kind of a Robots + Cars plot line, and neither one were bad movies. If you want to spend time watching a half-decent movie and you don’t know what to watch, definitely give this flick a rent from your local library.

Plugging time!

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My Experience With... "Michael Jackson's Halloween"

***Caution: Mild language in one video.***

Happy New Year! I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Didja miss me????

Okay, I’m rested, hope you all had a great couple of holidays (share your story with me in the comments, if you wish), and let’s kick off the end of the Christmas season with… [drumroll] …a Halloween special featuring virtually nothing but Michael Jackson music!

Okay.

Michael Jackson is no stranger to posthumous success. His estate’s currently making hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Also, he’s released his second – yes, second – album since his death in 2009, Scream. Which is pretty much just a mix of classic Michael Jackson songs.

Michael Jackson is also no stranger to movies. He’s got the film Moonwalker, the kids’ film Captain EO, and the short film Ghost, not to mention his classic music video, Thriller.

I guess that’s to be expected of a man

whose entertaining career spanned

for literally half a century in his lifetime.

Well, in 2017, the world was graced with an hour-long special featuring his hits, Michael Jackson’s Halloween. The special is rated PG, but that may be for the kiddie horror elements, the main villainess being a tad short of half-dressed, and the fact that they don’t edit some of Michael Jackson’s lyrics.

The special is short and sweet,

and the plot is kinda predictable,

so spoilers will be provided.

The main characters are Vincent, a wannabe-DJ who is a grocery store heir to an abnormally-passionate-about grocery-stores dad, and Victoria, a wannabe-dancer who works as a doormat an intern for a very demanding boss at MegaCorp. Meanwhile, a monkey lackey named Bubbles (who sounds like a slightly Brad-Garrett-y talking version of Mr. Bobo)…

…is driving Michael Jackson to his home, and orders

bananas from the local grocery store.

Also, Victoria is commanded to watch her boss’s Dog, Ichabod (whom she nicknames Icky for his natural “going” behavior – I have 4 dogs, I’m used to that). The two kids run into each other, which causes Victoria to lose Icky, but leads them to the exact place of residence – 777 Jackson Street.

(Nice one, guys.)

From there, they go down an elevator which is an interesting combination of what I can only guess is Dr. Who, The Great Glass Wonkavator, and that portal scene from Barbie in the Nutcracker.

This leads to a pumpkin patch of enormous proportions, where a bunch of groundskeepers, led by a fleshed-out Jack Skellington named Hay Man (voiced by Jim Parsons), are dancing to Dangerous / Jam. They freak out and flee temporarily upon spotting the kids. They explain that they’re having fun, when the boss and villainess, Conformity (Lucy Liu) arrives. She turns one of the groundskeeper into a zombie. Yeah, if you’re a Michael Jackson fan in any capacity, you can see where this is heading. By the way, her theme is Dirty Diana. WHAT!

They follow the music (and Michael Jackson insignia) to a room full of spiders who entrap them. Victoria challenges the leader to a dance-off, which leads to their escape, and a battle between Conformity and her Crows and the spider army.

The two kids eventually get caught by Conformity, and are mistaken as rebel leaders against her machine. A scientist cat plans on stealing music and destroying it all forever, until the kids talk some sense into him. He, in turn, grants them his old musical inventions to battle against her. One more Michael Jackson pose brings the kids and Icky back to the elevator, where Bubbles is waiting for them. They return to the foyer, but instead of running for the hills, they instead decide to battle Conformity in a showdown.

The kids collected musical amulets from their newfound friends, and they install them into the machine that was meant to destroy music, reverse its effects, and with Vincent’s mixing, combine the three friends into surprisingly black Michael Jackson – well, I guess not surprising, since Thriller’s being played here -- who reverses Conformity’s spell. Conformity returns, however, stronger, and in a live gargoyle formation. She re-enslaves her zombie subjects, and just as it seems Michael is captured, he puts a hand on her, and reverses her magic again, this time turning her into a good girl. They then dance together to Thriller, along with the two kids, and the unzombified inhabitants. And let me tell you, CGI Michael Jackson does NOT have nearly as impressive moves as the real McCoy.

Of course, all of this ends up with this being “possibly a dream,” Michael and the Monkey going to their next mission, Michael Jackson’s face appearing in the moon and winking at us, and Victoria and Vincent being a couple and a DJ/Dance duo that everyone (including the dad and the boss) all enjoy. Don’t ask where Victoria’s parents are, clearly nobody knows!

There is a TON of Michael Jackson-esque music and dancing, which I found great, because my Daddy made me into a mini-fan myself – and trust me, he’s a HUGE fan… he bought TWO Thriller vinyl albums because he wore one out. Now, this special does fall privy, as I said before, to “rude humour” that is oft found in children’s / family media these days, not to mention that the plot is semi-pointless and really hastily thrown together, but I still enjoyed it. It doesn’t top The Great Pumpkin, in my opinion, but it’s a nice thing for the Michael Jackson geek in me to get a few bars and dance movements out. Honestly, it reminds me of one of those old PC games I used to play as a kid, where there’s really no way you could lose, the characters look a little stiff, but you enjoy it, anyway, in all its cheesiness.

This was fun to write. I think I’ll try a new series out, actually. I mentioned The Great Pumpkin, so… how about the Peanuts holiday specials?

What a way to ring in the New Year! Hoping the best for you in 2018! Bye!

Plugging Time!

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What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song? Mine would have to be Beat It. Check out why below!

--- Sorry, guys, very serious moment coming up ---

This past Christmas, a friend of mine died and went to be with the Lord. I remember meeting him in theater, as well seeing him in a part of college ministry. He was a good friend, and I'm going to miss him, although I am happy that he's gained eternal life. I'll see you in Heaven, Hunter! ,^_^,

- In memoriam, Hunter Gillette -

1994-2017

Thanks to my friend Emily for not

being upset about my using her photo.