Dogmas, Karaoke, Shrooms, and Shorts! - Tooned Up #16
The latest episode of Tooned Up is a doozy, my friends! Up first, Mike and Cameron deliver all the latest animation news, which is a laundry list in itself. Plus reviews and discussions of Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers, Netflix’s hit show Aggretsuko and their newest arrival, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, as well as an animated series based on Capcom’s popular RPG, Dragon’s Dogma, and HBO Max’s latest, The Fungies. So sit back, grab a cold one, and hit that play button!
This episode was edited with great love and respect by the one and only Kawaii Kyle!
Here are Mike and Cameron with their takes on Netflix’s adaptation of Dragon’s Dogma:
“Dragon’s Dogma is an interesting series, to say the least. I’m not all that familiar with the video game on which it’s based, but what I can appreciate about the anime is how well it adapts the same storytelling structure. It’s your typical dark fantasy epic, but what gets uncomfortable to watch at times are moments when the darkness gets taken too far. This is not a show for kids, but if you were into Netflix’s Castlevania than I can comfortably recommend you check this out.”
“Cynicism and animation to me, mix as well as water and oil. They don’t mix. I think it’s because so many animated shows these days are dark and some are dark for the sake of being nihilistic and dark without the proper backing to be, well, dark. As an adaptation of the game, it’s pretty loyal. The action is okay, but it doesn’t really take advantage of the game’s action-oriented combat, and while it has a few decent sequences, it’s mostly boilerplate. Dragon’s Dogma’s biggest sin is that it’s mostly forgettable. If you liked the Castlevania adaptation, then you may like this, but at least Castlevania had way more interesting characters and way better action. ”
Day job got you down? Boss picking on you for no good reason? Rent a private room at a Karaoke lounge and start singing some METAL with Mike and Cameron as they review Netflix’s Aggretsuko season 3!
“So, I’m a little late to this, but here are my thoughts on the Netflix original anime, Aggretsuko. I just finished binging the show’s three seasons, and it honestly feels like this was made just for me. It’s a workplace comedy in an anthropomorphic world, and the main protagonist is an introverted death metal fan, what’s not to love! But the best part is, despite the short runtime of each episode, they pack a lot of well thought out character development and social commentary, especially in season 2. Now we come to season 3, which is so amazing that it actually kind of hurts to watch! I’ll dive deeper into this on the podcast, but this show has some of the most biting social commentary of any anime I’ve seen in the past decade, but you wouldn’t know that based solely on still images of the characters, or even scenes taken out of context. If you’re around my age, then you’re definitely the target audience for Aggretsuko!”
“When I think of Netflix’s signature anime, I think of Aggretsuko. Sure, you look at the visuals and animation and you think this looks super harmless. How could this be my flagship title for Netflix? Well, it’s because you absolutely shouldn’t look at Aggretsuko on visuals alone. In short, Aggretsuko is a slice-of-life comedy with drama splashed into the mix from time to time about a red panda accountant who uses death metal at a karaoke bar to voice her frustrations with stuff like work and relationships. You’d think that alone would get tiring super fast, but as the show is now in its 3rd season, they’ve found creative ways to make it work. It’s mature because it tackles realistic situations. You have stuff like toxic workplace shenanigans, traditional vs modern ideals, sexist bosses, the struggles with capitalism, relationships, marriage, social situations, friendships, Idol culture, stalking, and realizing what you find important in life. It’s a show that’s low-key but has some really compelling characters and story beats. Sure, some side stories are cliche, but they work within the overall net the show is casting to its viewers. Honestly, I’m so happy that shows like Aggretsuko exist, because while I love anime and American animation as a whole, shows like this one shake things up and show that you can do much more with animation aimed at young adult audiences. ”
Cartoon Saloon’s long-awaited Wolfwalkers has finally made its debut in film festivals and on Apple TV+! Let’s see what Cam and Mike thought of it!
“Wolfwalkers is the latest film from Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation studio founded by Tomm Moore and Paul Young. Co-directed by Moore and Ross Stewart and written by Will Collins, our story revolves around a young apprentice hunter and her father, who journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night. This movie is as close to perfection as one can get when it comes to traditional animation. Every minute feels like it’s overflowing with a passionate sense of imagination. Watching this movie really took me back to the works of Don Bluth and Genndy Tartakovsky, treating the medium of animation with respect without talking down to its audience. The relationship between Robyn and her father Bill, voiced by the incredible Sean Bean, was quite reminiscent of Hiccup and Stoik’s relationship from How to Train Your Dragon. I’ll have more to say on the next episode of Tooned Up, but for now, I would highly recommend checking out Wolfwalkers when it premiers on Apple TV+ later this year.”
“What’s probably going to be one of the most striking things about this movie is the level of maturity at hand. While Cartoon Saloon’s films have always had a mature edge to them, Wolfwalkers is probably the studio’s darkest film with a lot of themes to juggle around including humanity, environmentalism, colonialism, freedom, sexism, identity, discrimination, and it mixes them all so well with the studio’s best female leads. This might be the studio’s best-looking film, as well, with its mix of 2D animation with the visual color palette of Celtic folk art, and its rough sketches, mix of split screens, and lighting makes for an incredibly atmospheric experience. It might have similar design philosophies compared to previous works, but it does stand on its own compared to the studio’s other films. If I had one super minor nitpick, it’s the development of one of the characters, but I don’t want to say who it is, to avoid spoilers. Other than that, Wolfwalkers is quite possibly, unless Pixar’s Soul can top it, 2020’s best animated movie. It’s gorgeous, complex, mature, and is a perfect animated film. ”
The world belongs to the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Netflix’s animated tie-in to the cinematic mega-franchise. Let’s see how they did with it!
“Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is kind of a mess. The animation is okay, but it’s too realistic with too little a budget to execute it properly. As for the story, putting children in danger is not exactly breaking new ground for this franchise, but I really enjoyed following THIS group of kids trying their best to survive all the obstacles with which they are faced. The first couple episodes didn’t do much to grab my attention, but by the time we got to the halfway point of the season, I was all in! Given the size of this IP, I’m positive that this series will last about as long as some of Dreamworks Animation’s other Netflix series. ”
“Camp Cretaceous has one of the worst first impressions and one of the most whiplash change of tone shifts out of any US cartoon of this year. For those that are curious, it’s a show that takes place before, during, and after Jurassic World. The story, as far as I can tell, is going to run parallel throughout this entire trilogy, and it’s a really weird set up, because now I can’t get it out of my head next time I watch the World films, and know a group of kids are trying to survive this island as well. Unfortunately, I think this show needed either a bigger budget, or needed to change animation styles. The CGI is fine, but it’s a bit janky at points with the humans. The dinosaurs are as good as they can be with it being a TV show, but they are off-putting compared to the more cartoony humans. I’m not super sure how I feel about the first season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. It’s a solid above-average series on Netflix, but I also think it needed to commit to being maybe a touch more mature or intense. Kids can easily handle it, but I get it. They want to cast a wide net and they can’t afford to alienate anyone. Still, if you are curious about checking it out, I would do so, but I don’t know if everyone has the time or the investment opportunities to sit through half of the 8 episode season to get to the good stuff.”
Finally, we have the Fungies, a brand new HBO Max series that features… some kind of creatures as their main characters? I’m confused. Take it, Mike and Cameron!
“Another series I happened to have caught late is The Fungies on HBO Max. Of all the shows I had to watch this weekend, this one felt the most laid back. This world that Stephen P. Neary created is wonderful, and I love the combination of that old school Hanna-Barbera style of storytelling combined with Cartoon Network’s modern visual aesthetic. Each episode is only 11-12 minutes, so it’s an easy lazy Sunday binge.”
“On paper, this looks like a pretty normal new cartoon, but it’s more like a more dry wit retro throwback to 80s cartoons. It even has a very 80s theme intro song that looks like it was absolutely made to show off all the different characters/sell you toys. Even the Fungies’ ability to break apart and form different configurations would have made a great toy gimmick back in the day. In terms of comedy, this might be the strongest aspect of the show. It took its time and the punchlines were landing pretty much every single time. It also has some fairly likable characters and some progressive themes. It’s an overall entertaining tone that makes for the twenty 12 min episodes a lot of fun to go through and it’s easy to binge. Overall, outside of Close Enough, I think The Fungies is the other best new Cartoon Network show of 2020. I don’t know if it would end up in my top 5, but it’s easily top 10, but who knows where it will end up as the year wraps up. I would highly recommend checking this show out.”
And with those remarks, we have come to the end of yet another Tooned Up! Such a great show, and I always learn so much from the Captain and the Animation Guru! They have much to teach us! Always a pleasure to work with the great Kawaii Kyle, man of mystery, as well!
That’ll do it for us, Renegades! Be kind to one another, wear your masks, and take care of yourselves! This weekend sees the return of the Free For All podcast, which should be loads of fun! Until then, we’ll catch up with you on the flip side!
Featured
Previously on Renegade Animation, Captain Kaye, The Animation Guru, Haley, and Teresa dove head first into the Spring anime season and took in the good, the bad, and the bizarre. And now… Squid Game: The Anime.