Have you ever liked an animated movie/series, all while you thought that you shouldn’t? You know, you think; “This is so bad it’s awesome and why do I love it so much.” I’m sure you do…
For me it’s that Donkey Kong Country animated series. Being almost fifteen years old and being one of the first CGI cartoons, and made just a few years after the first fully CGI-rendered film, to today’s standards it looks… bad. However, I keep watching the episodes over and over and over just because I like it. May just be because I’m a fangirl of the games and it is nostalgic, but eh. The voice acting is strangely very good, too… and even the totally unfitting songs I could tolerate. Right now I’m torn between being a fan girl of the good guys and the bad guys, though, and that says something.
To a lesser extent for me also Don Bluth’s Rock-a-Doodle. As random as it is, I remember watching and enjoying that so many times when I was little.
I feel like I should hate it because I love world building and it just doesn’t make much sense at all when you get down to it.
But I really, really like it. I mostly have peeves about an astronaut apparently not having to be that smart. Astronauts have to be rediculously educated but in any case…
I also liked a fair bit of the humour.
Bar the cork joke that is.
I also liked it partially because I’m a sucker for the one of the protaganists going ‘screw it guys I’m not leaving him behind to die’ when it comes to someone who has just been making their lives so difficult. (Such moments generally equate to ‘Moments of Awesome’ for me.) Because then that person is finally a full on hero. Because like, you don’t just save people you like or strangers, you also save the life of the guy who has been trying to kill you and you maybe even hate with the fire of a thousand suns.
(This is ultimately of course also why Woody in TS3 rocks despite Lotso unfortunatly not returning the favour).
Also have a soft spot for the old version of the Ninja Turtles cartoon- I still prefer the newer one but I grew up on the older when it was re-running a lot here in the 90s but the old toon while cheeesy and horribly written as anything was still fun sometimes.
A good deal of video-game based cartoons - Super Mario Bros. Super Show, any incarnation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Kirby: Right Back at Ya (well, that’s not too guilty of a pleasure)…and a lot of kiddie shows.
The Barbie series of direct-to-video movies by Mainframe/Rainmaker Entertainment. My daughters are massively into this, which makes for maximum exposure to the movies and music. The CG animation is limited, but the music is almost always only a notch or two below Disney–and in rare cases is as good or better. Also, the sense of humor is sometimes worthwhile, especially in the Pixar-ish bloopers. And once in a while there are awesome character moments.
Land Before Time sequels and the TV series. Sure, the franchise has been stretched, to use Bilbo Baggins’ words, “like butter scraped over too much bread”, but I must admit I have a certain fondness for the characters that overrides that. Except in the last movie. That sucked on every conceivable level.
I must also proclaim some fondness for the Pokemon anime, even after it’s been similarly stretched out for too long. Hey, let’s face it, monsters fighting each other will always be cool.
I remember watching Rock-A-Doodle! But I’ve forgotten the story by now. I really should revisit some of Don’s older films.
I guess my guilty pleasure would be Pokemon. But gosh-darn, who doesn’t want to live in that kind of world? Where 12-year old kids can leave homes and make their fortunes? Where the worst kind of criminals are mere pet-nappers? Where you don’t need to go to school, earn money battling Pokemons, and occasionally save the world from super-monsters?
The Star Wars Clone Wars TV Show. For some reason that I can’t even explain I like that show. Even though I consider the movie to be the worst animated film ever.
[quote=“JustSteve”]
The Barbie series of direct-to-video movies by Mainframe/Rainmaker Entertainment. My daughters are massively into this, which makes for maximum exposure to the movies and music. The CG animation is limited, but the music is almost always only a notch or two below Disney–and in rare cases is as good or better. Also, the sense of humor is sometimes worthwhile, especially in the Pixar-ish bloopers. And once in a while there are awesome character moments.
I completely agree with Steve. I adore that one, um…Princess and the Pauper!! I watched them all when I was little. But PatP is amazing. It has nice songs, and, disregarding graphics that one rivals Disney Princess movies, IMO. I love some of the less corny Barbie movies, and it angers me a little when people trash them just because they’re for little kids.
Anyway, others for me are Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Meet the Robinsons, Brother Bear, Oliver and Company, The Black Cauldron, and…Kung Fu Panda and HtTYD. Now, Kung Fu Panda and HtTYD are, IMO, some of the best two animated films of the last ten years, point blank. I don’t feel bad because they’re bad or anything preposterous like that, but because they came from DreamWorks, and by extension, J Katz. Being a HUGE Disney and Disney/Pixar buff, I feel guilty for loving those movies. But I do. And as for the Disney ones I listed, they are considered bad. But I love them anyway. I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.
