The Chipmunks

[Drtooth]

I've spoken my peace about that. It's...insultingly unoriginal. I'm not the main audience for it, but it's...the collection of every single tired trope they pulled out of the Family Sitcom bag. I don't mean to purposely pick on something you enjoy, so don't take it too seriously and enjoy it if you want. Have to admit, I don't actually dislike the other kidcoms they have. Henry Danger is the best one, Thundermans is okay I guess. At least it has Dana Snyder in it. Master Shake on a live action show for kids? I'm totally on board with that. I can't say I care much for Game Shakers, but at least Kel is bouncing off the walls in that one. He's having waaaaaaaay too much fun with it. And I have to admit, School of Rock doesn't look too bad, but I just have to say why?

Somehow, I think Miraculous would have done better on Netflix or Hulu or at least Crunchyroll. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a Magic Girl fan. I can confidently say I don't dislike Sailor Moon, but wouldn't bother watching it unless my sister forced me to. You know me. I like either darkly funny anime, fighting anime, odd stuff from the 70's and 80's, certain Shonen stuff, Go Nagai stuff. Even stuff like Golgo 13 and Kochikame (though that one I had to watch raw, but that guy's giant M shaped eyebrows always interested me when I saw them on those cheap VHS tapes Asian markets used to rent out). Magic Girl eludes me, but I can respect it when done well. And in that "this isn't my thing" sense, It's a very good show. It hits the Magic Girl Tropes with efficiency and passion, giving France its own Magic Girl show they can be proud of. The dub is quality enough (I swear they're using Kill la Kill voice actors), and they don't shy away that its from France and takes place in France. It's a quality show with a sizable fanbase. Problem is, unlike CN or even Disney, Nick's still not on the learning curve of Tweenagers watching cartoons. That's pretty much most of CN's fanbase.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, FINALLY! Nick's put ALVINNN On Demand after all these months! Took 'em long enough! This works out great, because I missed the last two episodes, since Comcast didn't show up till today to restore service after the tree took out the power lines Thursday.

And if Drtooth was concerned about "Wax Dave" being a rehash of "Whatever Happened to David Seville?" I'm curious to see if "Lights, Camera, Uh Oh" will be similar to the ARTHUR episode "Director's Cut."

 

[C to the J]

If anyone's ever checked out Nickelodeon's Twitter account, you'll find that they use the hamster emoji for posts about the Chipmunks. Seems a little silly, doesn't it?

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I don't mean to purposely pick on something you enjoy, so don't take it too seriously and enjoy it if you want.

Oh no no, it's alright, I don't like "Nicky, Ri etc. etc." at all. All I was saying is that I found it to be a bit better than most of their other awful sitcoms. The show is still pretty awful.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm really disappointed in how Janice not only keeps going back to fart jokes, but has now even made Theodore a fan of them. I mean, come on, the Chipmunks have always been better than that.

 

[DePingPong]

I've spoken my peace about that. It's...insultingly unoriginal. I'm not the main audience for it, but it's...the collection of every single tired trope they pulled out of the Family Sitcom bag. I don't mean to purposely pick on something you enjoy, so don't take it too seriously and enjoy it if you want. Have to admit, I don't actually dislike the other kidcoms they have. Henry Danger is the best one, Thundermans is okay I guess. At least it has Dana Snyder in it. Master Shake on a live action show for kids? I'm totally on board with that. I can't say I care much for Game Shakers, but at least Kel is bouncing off the walls in that one. He's having waaaaaaaay too much fun with it. And I have to admit, School of Rock doesn't look too bad, but I just have to say why?

Somehow, I think Miraculous would have done better on Netflix or Hulu or at least Crunchyroll. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a Magic Girl fan. I can confidently say I don't dislike Sailor Moon, but wouldn't bother watching it unless my sister forced me to. You know me. I like either darkly funny anime, fighting anime, odd stuff from the 70's and 80's, certain Shonen stuff, Go Nagai stuff. Even stuff like Golgo 13 and Kochikame (though that one I had to watch raw, but that guy's giant M shaped eyebrows always interested me when I saw them on those cheap VHS tapes Asian markets used to rent out). Magic Girl eludes me, but I can respect it when done well. And in that "this isn't my thing" sense, It's a very good show. It hits the Magic Girl Tropes with efficiency and passion, giving France its own Magic Girl show they can be proud of. The dub is quality enough (I swear they're using Kill la Kill voice actors), and they don't shy away that its from France and takes place in France. It's a quality show with a sizable fanbase. Problem is, unlike CN or even Disney, Nick's still not on the learning curve of Tweenagers watching cartoons. That's pretty much most of CN's fanbase.

I find Nicky, Dicky, etc, etc. incredibly painful to watch. Like you said, I'm not the demographic for it, but come on Nickelodeon. They could easily put out content better than this. Henry Danger is okay at best, and Thundermans isn't too bad. Haven't caught any of Game Shakers, but it has Kel in it and ProJared was in an episode so that's neat. Haven't caught any of School of Rock either.

I saw a few episodes of Miraculous Ladybug and I enjoyed it. The animation is awesome, it's entertaining and fun to watch. I agree that Miraculous would've done much better on a streaming service though.

 

[D'Snowth]

I notice some people are complaining that Alvin has been dumbed down quite a bit for ALVINNN. . . . I'm not sure if I quite see it myself, however, I found it a bit out there that he was so convinced that Simon really had magical powers, but when Simon explains all of the science behind tricking him into believing that, he's still convinced he has magic powers and that he's just making the story up. Oh, that and of course, there was that one time he misspelled his own name.

But aside from that, I think I mentioned this before, but it's clear that with this season, the animation has improved greatly: after watching "Lights, Camera, Uh Oh" today, I liked seeing how the characters' hair had so much more natural movement that was lacking the previous season.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm really disappointed in how Janice not only keeps going back to fart jokes, but has now even made Theodore a fan of them. I mean, come on, the Chipmunks have always been better than that.

I gotta admit, if that's the most pandering to a younger demographic the show gets, it's still a huge step up from the poop eating from the first movie.

Seriously. What is it with Tim Hill and coprophagy? That and the Easter Bunnies crapping Jelly Beans in Hop. I'm pleasantly surprised that he didn't make Kermit eat his in MFS. Was his favorite movie Pink Flamingos (which I had to look up to get the term for poo ingestion for)?

Though...heh I did like when Dave yelled "Nobody's farting on ANYONE!!!"

New I notice some people are complaining that Alvin has been dumbed down quite a bit for ALVINNN. . . . I'm not sure if I quite see it myself, however, I found it a bit out there that he was so convinced that Simon really had magical powers, but when Simon explains all of the science behind tricking him into believing that, he's still convinced he has magic powers and that he's just making the story up. Oh, that and of course, there was that one time he misspelled his own name.

I get a feeling of that as well, but for me, I just see Alvin going from "getting his comeuppance" to having the universe totally kick his tail around anytime he even considers something wrong. Like a reverse of the Twilight Zone episode with Bill Mumy in it. The one about the robotic parental guidance app especially felt a little... sadist show-y. Other than that, I don't notice too much of a character swing on the boys. The Chipettes were altered slightly to have much more defined personalities. Brit's essentially the same, Eleanore is much more assertive. I actually like that.

But Alvin getting his butt handed to him through disproportionate karmic justice is something I'm mixed about. I really have those mixed feelings about that newish episode where Alvin tells the nerds to get more aggressive so they don't get bullied anymore. Feels like the payoff to that one is very much black and white, and I didn't care for it. It really seems like had they enough time, Simon and Alvin should have confronted the newly aggressive nerds and told them there's a difference between standing up for yourself and picking on others, and how they've became corrupted, turning them into exactly what they hate. Though, frankly, Derrick freaking deserved the Mathletes taunting him for being terrible at school. I loved seeing him crying and running away with his tail between his legs.

Also, I did like how in the episode about the foreign exchange student, even though it was for the wrong reasons and standard sitcom misunderstanding, Alvin aggressively stood up for his little brother, Theodore. While Alvin can be self centered, it shows that he does indeed care about his siblings, especially since Theo is so fragile compared to him.

 

[D'Snowth]

Also, I did like how in the episode about the foreign exchange student, even though it was for the wrong reasons and standard sitcom misunderstanding, Alvin aggressively stood up for his little brother, Theodore. While Alvin can be self centered, it shows that he does indeed care about his siblings, especially since Theo is so fragile compared to him.

I'm the same way about Brittany. Back in the 80s series, she could be such an unlikeable character that there were times I really wanted to risk child abuse charges and just strangle and beat the ever lovin' crap outta her for being such a little bratty beyotch - especially whenever she would mistreat Jeanette, however, she did have that quality that she would stick up for her sisters whenever she needed to, and that was really the only thing that kept me from completely hating her. With ALVINNN Brittany, they've really toned down her diva attitude and have made her more of an 80s Raph Deadpan Snarker type with a bigger heart of gold.

Then again, the general consensus among fans is a satisfaction with the character development we've had lately (well, okay, again, apparently many feel Alvin's been dumbed down), but at the same time, some do feel there's some inconsistencies with how the characters are being portrayed and utilized. I really wish they'd continue to expand more on Eleanor - she was always severly shafted and overshadowed in the 80s, and with her having a youthful edge and sass that she never had prior to ALVINNN gives her a new distinction from her sisters that I'd like to see more of. Ditto, but less pressing for Theodore: it'd be nice if he could be utilized more in general (and he has been so far this season) aside from just standing there and parroting whatever his brothers say, or throw in a one-liner; it's like unless he's the focus of the episode (the clown, the superheroes, what have you), he's just there.

 

[mr3urious]

Somehow, I think Miraculous would have done better on Netflix or Hulu or at least Crunchyroll. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a Magic Girl fan. I can confidently say I don't dislike Sailor Moon, but wouldn't bother watching it unless my sister forced me to. You know me. I like either darkly funny anime, fighting anime, odd stuff from the 70's and 80's, certain Shonen stuff, Go Nagai stuff. Even stuff like Golgo 13 and Kochikame (though that one I had to watch raw, but that guy's giant M shaped eyebrows always interested me when I saw them on those cheap VHS tapes Asian markets used to rent out). Magic Girl eludes me, but I can respect it when done well. And in that "this isn't my thing" sense, It's a very good show. It hits the Magic Girl Tropes with efficiency and passion, giving France its own Magic Girl show they can be proud of.

I enjoyed Miraculous as well. Ladybug's ability to create makeshift tools with the help of her "Lucky Charm" to defeat villains gives her an edge above other magical girl shows that use literal magic to do it. And although Hawk Moth's powers of corrupting those with negative emotions are too reminiscent of the powers of the Sorcerer from Randy Cunningham for me, it was likely a coincidence. Besides, Miraculous predated it by at least 2 years.

The dub is quality enough (I swear they're using Kill la Kill voice actors), and they don't shy away that its from France and takes place in France.

I also applaud the English dub for not hiding its French setting and keeping most of the French names, though I'm iffy about Chat Noir becoming "Cat Noir" rather than a full-on English translation into "Black Cat". Though I do understand the change from "Le Papillon" (The Butterfly) into Hawk Moth. Sounds more intimidating that way.