Another Stupid movie to Overreact to...

[Drtooth]

There's no question about it. They're the ugliest things I've ever seen that don't come from a creepy, low budget, religious puppet show. Say what you will about Barney, he is kinda cute. I hate to admit that, but he is (paraphrasing a Garfield episode) nonthreatening looking.

There's too much ugly going on here. The colors are eye burningly bright, the faces are just hideous, and the big fake radio controlled eyes make that effect look worse, they have Popeye forearms that look like diseased growths. And overall, the look like giant fat gross kids.

I like the fish's design, though. Not much, but certainly better than these things. I'm going to guess it won't catch on due to them looking like they frighten kids. Then there's the whole obsolescence of big costume shows.

 

[mimitchi33]

Say what you will about Barney, he is kinda cute. I hate to admit that, but he is (paraphrasing a Garfield episode) nonthreatening looking.

Agreed with you! Also, you're ironically referencing The Beast From Beyond, right?

There's too much ugly going on here. The colors are eye burningly bright, the faces are just hideous, and the big fake radio controlled eyes make that effect look worse, they have Popeye forearms that look like diseased growths. And overall, the look like giant fat gross kids.

I like the fish's design, though. Not much, but certainly better than these things. I'm going to guess it won't catch on due to them looking like they frighten kids. Then there's the whole obsolescence of big costume shows.[/quote]

Also, not only do I remember the PSAs of this show, I remember that on a local PBS affiliate that only ran syndicated shows and not the whole lineup (meaning no Arthur, Barney, or Sesame Street, just stuff like Peep, Pocoyo, SeeMore's PlayHouse, Zula Patrol), this came on before Danger Rangers. I only ever saw the end credits, though.

Also, here's a blog's April Fool's Day review of the film, complete with jokes about Britney Spears, internet memes, and a comparison Toofie's pants falling down to swearing. The last thing isn't surprising-a lot of parents HATED that. One parent's daughter said their child didn't want to go after seeing that in the trailer.

I'm surprised nobody noticed that one of the later trailers used Starships as background music. You know, a song that talks about getting high, drinking Bud Light, and ends its choruses with a swear word! Here's proof:

 

[Drtooth]

The guy who wrote the film is a freaking crybaby.

Take a gander to this quote...

People have the right to hate our film. I just believe it’s not only possible but beneficial to criticize something constructively and respectfully, no matter how much you don’t like it. We’re talking about a kids’ film here, made with really good intentions, made to make young children smile. From some of the backlash our movie has provoked, you’d think we were trying to turn three-year-olds onto the crack pipe. I’ve never been a big fan of mean, and I honestly don’t see how we help anyone, and definitely not artists, by being hurtful and snide in the way we discuss their work. It’s not necessary, not in any way. I know we live in a hyper-judgmental twitterverse, where it can be addictive to be the most bitingly clever, but still, no one appreciates a bully.
As all of us adults know, we live in a tense and troubled world. Young kids will be exposed to plenty of real-life scares and violence on TV, in video games, on the computer and in daily life. Why do we have to expose preschoolers to anything but innocence and love in a 90-minute movie? Why isn’t it enough to show a gentle world where people are kind and help one another, in hopes that young kids mimic those sentiments over fighting and jealousy and revenge? There is something valuable in love for love’s sake, and in overcoming innocent obstacles that wouldn’t otherwise result in misery or death.

The guy clearly doesn't get the different between being a bully and just having a huge hatred of something completely idiotic. The Film is Bad. Pure and simple. There is a lot of violence in kid's media, sure. Kids need a safe, cartoony environment where nothing harms or scares them? Agreed with that too. But there are just so many better things that do that job. In fact, quite to the contrary, there's a humongous flood of preschool programming. You can't punt a football without hitting a Dora clone. Why we need a movie that's only remarkable for sucking on every level is beyond me. As for me, I don't think kids that young would really appreciate seeing something on the big screen vs the comforts of their own home with a DVD that you can pause. And I really don't think kids need a movie that rewards them for shouting and running around in the aisles (again, my experience with Bolt was a nightmare). A movie theater is a place where it's okay to get an audience reaction of laughing and the occasional audible "Oh SNAP!" but talking through out the film is a no-no. Getting up and running around should have the ushers throw your family out.

Anyway... while I do agree there should be some childlike wonder that has to require hiding children from harsh realities, if you go too far and show a diabetic unreality, you aren't doing kids any favors. Anyone hear of The Complainer is Always Wrong? That was a concept from the 80's that was dreadful. I don't know what it came from... parental groups, some political conspiracy (I don't want to go into it)... it just sucked and poisoned cartoons of that era. The worst being (and I apologize in advance if anyone likes this show, cuz you're gonna hear an ear full) the Bizketts. Everyone that isn't one of the little dogs and the villain pretty much has a freaking lobotomy. The one dog that isn't perpetually stuck with a smile on his face (well, okay... there's one that's always sad, but he doesn't count) is whiny and unpleasant. Of all the ghastly Smurfs knockoffs, it's one of the worst. Again, if you like it, no hard feelings. Our Garfield and Friends enthusiast here would probably know that's where the Buddy Bears came from (technically, it was from Mark Evainier's annoyed stint writing Dungeons and Dragons, but still...) I have no idea who thought that was beneficial... but it wasn't.

I agree we should shield kids from some hate and some jealousy, and some of the bad feelings... but if that's the case, how are we going to deal with those kids having those feelings? The characters seem like gibberish catchphrase spouting, constantly happy, lobotomized uniminds. That's not that great for kids. Then you have Oscar on Sesame Street saying "Hey! It's okay to be angry and grouchy. it's a human emotion."

 

[FunnyBear]

Yeah, Oscar is good to have.

 

[robodog]

Oscar is my hero.

 

[mimitchi33]

The guy who wrote the film is a freaking crybaby.

Take a gander to this quote...



The guy clearly doesn't get the different between being a bully and just having a huge hatred of something completely idiotic. The Film is Bad. Pure and simple. There is a lot of violence in kid's media, sure. Kids need a safe, cartoony environment where nothing harms or scares them? Agreed with that too. But there are just so many better things that do that job. In fact, quite to the contrary, there's a humongous flood of preschool programming. You can't punt a football without hitting a Dora clone. Why we need a movie that's only remarkable for sucking on every level is beyond me. As for me, I don't think kids that young would really appreciate seeing something on the big screen vs the comforts of their own home with a DVD that you can pause. And I really don't think kids need a movie that rewards them for shouting and running around in the aisles (again, my experience with Bolt was a nightmare). A movie theater is a place where it's okay to get an audience reaction of laughing and the occasional audible "Oh SNAP!" but talking through out the film is a no-no. Getting up and running around should have the ushers throw your family out.

Anyway... while I do agree there should be some childlike wonder that has to require hiding children from harsh realities, if you go too far and show a diabetic unreality, you aren't doing kids any favors. Anyone hear of The Complainer is Always Wrong? That was a concept from the 80's that was dreadful. I don't know what it came from... parental groups, some political conspiracy (I don't want to go into it)... it just sucked and poisoned cartoons of that era. The worst being (and I apologize in advance if anyone likes this show, cuz you're gonna hear an ear full) the Bizketts. Everyone that isn't one of the little dogs and the villain pretty much has a freaking lobotomy. The one dog that isn't perpetually stuck with a smile on his face (well, okay... there's one that's always sad, but he doesn't count) is whiny and unpleasant. Of all the ghastly Smurfs knockoffs, it's one of the worst. Again, if you like it, no hard feelings. Our Garfield and Friends enthusiast here would probably know that's where the Buddy Bears came from (technically, it was from Mark Evainier's annoyed stint writing Dungeons and Dragons, but still...) I have no idea who thought that was beneficial... but it wasn't.

I agree we should shield kids from some hate and some jealousy, and some of the bad feelings... but if that's the case, how are we going to deal with those kids having those feelings? The characters seem like gibberish catchphrase spouting, constantly happy, lobotomized uniminds. That's not that great for kids. Then you have Oscar on Sesame Street saying "Hey! It's okay to be angry and grouchy. it's a human emotion."

Yes, you're right that I knew that fact, thanks to a fan page mentioning it. About people not allowing their children to watch stuff, Joseph R. Chambers told Christian parents not to let their kids watch Barney because it had New Age messages and magic in it. In the words of SuperGodzilla's friend SonicHog in one of his old videos, those people haven't seen the theme song, which clearly states the kids are imagining him, so the magic is fake. There are also some parents who don't let their kids watch Caillou because he gets upset too much, even though that is teaching kids that it's okay to be upset sometimes.

Also, Pretty Much It made a RiffTrax-esque commentary on the movie, that it meant to be watched while you play the actual movie. The bad thing is that you'll have to buy both the movie and the commentary (it's the first video on the playlist, since I couldn't link to the website since it didn't work for me, does it work for anyone else?)

When I was reading another forum on this movie, I came across this post that matched up the things in the movie with a band called the Oogieloves from the 60's, and decided to turn it into a Creepypasta. (WARNING: NSFW...)

 

[Drtooth]

Yes, you're right that I knew that fact, thanks to a fan page mentioning it. About people not allowing their children to watch stuff, Joseph R. Chambers told Christian parents not to let their kids watch Barney because it had New Age messages and magic in it. In the words of SuperGodzilla's friend SonicHog in one of his old videos, those people haven't seen the theme song, which clearly states the kids are imagining him, so the magic is fake. There are also some parents who don't let their kids watch Caillou because he gets upset too much, even though that is teaching kids that it's okay to be upset sometimes.

I'll try to word this as nonjudgmental as possible, and please understand I am a Christian too with a father who's an ordained minister (took him forever to become one, too). Certain far far far far far fundamentalist groups that call themselves "Christian" hate anything that they can't use as a recruitment in their favor, let's say. They tend to go after anything that's popular, and often through pretty idiotic rationalizations. I love this "we can't have magic" stuff. I'm shocked they didn't go after Barney for being a guy in a suit that loves to hug kids. But when they use the black magic (okay, kitty footing around this is making me nuts) Insane Troll Logic to take something down, you know they're just spreading fear. I HATE "Christian" organizations that rule through fear and hate. That's not even remotely Christian. But anything they can do to take down childhood wonder and turn it into a lifetime of blind servitude of being fear crazed enough to vote for the people the heads up want them to vote for.

However, that's not to say that they're the only group of crazies going after something. Just the ones that hold any power and clout.

Still, there is much else to hate about Barney, but at the risk of insulting the fans of it here, I'm not going to list them.

But as for Oogieloves... the guy is clearly offended that people think what he did was garbage. On the one hand, I'd be sure as crap offended too, but I'd shake it off. Let's face it. He has a THIN skin. Then you look at Michael Bay and Uwe Bowl. Not only do they not care when people viciously rip them apart (for reasons that are quite valid in most cases). they purposely suck because they know it gets a reaction. They revel in the fact that people hate them. I'm no fan of either, but I can respect that a lot more than the lame "this is for kids" excuse. As I said before, if it's for kids it doesn't mean "let's make cheap crap, as kids are dumber than a bag of pudding."

 

[snichols1973]

And finally, I found an Oogieloves iPhone game. Yes, it actually exists. And it looks sorta hard for toddlers...I can't even figure out how it works!

I can see it now: Andy and Randy Pig with a digital portable media device (a cheap version of a "smartphone") in their hands......

Andy and Randy: This game's tooooo hard!!!!!

 

[The Count]

Apparently, the writer behind the recent Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li movie has been hired to pen the script for another franchise reboot movie. The reboot movie? Disney's Jungle Book... The live action version movie. Kill this now!

 

[Slackbot]

Negaduck: Where's my shotgun?