The Nostalgia Critic Thread Lives Again!

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Yeah, the sketch stuff usually isn't that great. But there have been some good recent episodes. And that's why I still watch the show, because for every couple of meh episodes there's usually a good one in there. Although, the best episodes are usually when they have less sketches.
But what I really miss is the way he used to get so riled up and start screaming and cursing over how bad a movie was. Back then he was like someone who was constantly being tortured by being forced to watch crappy movies. These days he's more calm and tries to teach the audience lessons while making wisecracks. Basically, it's like he changed from Daffy Duck to Bugs Bunny when the show was revived. But, I get it. Character progression and all that. But I still miss how he used to be.

Meanwhile, the 10th anniversary episode was alright. It was a review of Norm of the North, which people had been requesting for a long time. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed. I hoped there would've been cameos from popular characters like Hyper Fangirl and Devil Boner, and Satin, or Santa Christ, or Rob with the dinosaur head, maybe even some of his most famous guests (even just short cameos) like Lindsay Ellis or AVGN or Black Nerd. It could've been so epic, but the only mention we got was NC saying it was the 10th anniversary at the beginning of the episode. Granted, this is all just my expectations getting in the way, and not at all Doug and Rob's fault. But for a show as long running and influential as this, I thought it would've been bigger.

 

[D'Snowth]

I really don't like how he's reviewing movies that are already in theaters, which means we have to put up with his stupid, unfunny sketch crew for the whole episode as he can't use footage from the movies. If it were just a one-off with the one that started it all, Jurassic World, I would have tolerated it. But he had to violate his little "I will only review movies that are out on DVD" policy multiple times, so that's what makes me peeved. And he even did this for Suicide Squad, which was already out on DVD already!

IKR, that was one of his big unwritten rules when he rebooted Nostalgia Critic in the first place . . . but then again, just the fact that he started reviewing modern, recent, and contemporary movies in the first place pretty much defeated the purpose of Nostalgia Critic altogether.

As for doing sketches specifically in place of lack of footage, I heartell that was something they started doing in an attempt to try and work around YouTube's crappy copyright system, but apparently even that wasn't enough to put a curb on their copyright strikes or third party claims.

Yeah, the sketch stuff usually isn't that great. But there have been some good recent episodes. And that's why I still watch the show, because for every couple of meh episodes there's usually a good one in there. Although, the best episodes are usually when they have less sketches.

As I've said many times before, I find that the sketches or framing devices, whichever they use, just really disjoint and disrupt the whole review in general. I didn't mind it back in the day when he and/or Rob would do something brief and quick for comedic effect (like the milk commercial parody in the ERNEST SCARED STUPID review), but otherwise, including an entire cast for multiple sketches just add nothing to the show.

But what I really miss is the way he used to get so riled up and start screaming and cursing over how bad a movie was. Back then he was like someone who was constantly being tortured by being forced to watch crappy movies. These days he's more calm and tries to teach the audience lessons while making wisecracks.

Yes! That's what got me so hooked in the first place, I loved it when he would fly off the handle: the screechier and more outraged he got, the funnier ("He paid with wrenches? WHY WOULD HE PAY WITH WRENCHES?! IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!") Then again, he started out a little more subdued and a tad repressed in his ranting, and I remember listening to one of commentaries, in which he said it was because he wasn't sure what direct he wanted to go in with the Critic's demeanor, and actually figured if he kept getting more and more angry, it would be less funny, only to discover the results were the exact opposite. Like I said, that was one of the big draws for me when I started watching more and more: there's been times where his screaming like a banshee, pounding his fists on his desk, going into his little mind****s, and what have you had me laughing-crying/crying-laughing because it was always so hysterical. Sometimes it's not even the ranting that got the biggest laughs out of me, sometimes it was just in the delivery of certain lines, ("****ING BUBBLES!") or his voice imitations, ("Come on, She-Ra, let's go find some evil doers! Maybe we can stop by the cigar store on the where there!"), or stating the obvious of the strangeness of something he's reviewing (recreating the odd GORDY shot), or even just a zinger after a certain clip got some of the biggest laughs out of me too.

But I agree, the more somber and low-key Critic is like if Oscar decided to stop being grouchy, or if Grover decided he wasn't going to be helpful anymore, or if Telly stopped worrying about everything. I don't even know if this was a conscious effort, like if this was something Doug decided to do intentionally, or if it was some sort of a natural progression or what.

Meanwhile, the 10th anniversary episode was alright. It was a review of Norm of the North, which people had been requesting for a long time. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed. I hoped there would've been cameos from popular characters like Hyper Fangirl and Devil Boner, and Satin, or Santa Christ, or Rob with the dinosaur head, maybe even some of his most famous guests (even just short cameos) like Lindsay Ellis or AVGN or Black Nerd. It could've been so epic, but the only mention we got was NC saying it was the 10th anniversary at the beginning of the episode. Granted, this is all just my expectations getting in the way, and not at all Doug and Rob's fault. But for a show as long running and influential as this, I thought it would've been bigger.

I kind of would have liked more of a clip-show kind of thing, but I know how much people hate clip-shows nowadays since the internet has rendered them mostly pointless . . . and, I guess considering he's done commentaries and reviews of his own reviews, that wouldn't have been necessary. Regardless, a 10th anniversary retrospective as such would have been nice.

He did, however, also do a thank you video as well. I guess in the old days, he literally was doing NC in his parents' basement. ><

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

But, anyway, i'd like to step away from complaining and go back to the positive.

I've been watching NC since 2011. It's really changed my life. My sense of humor, my outlook on life, and the way I view movies are all different because of it. And it's lead me to even more internet critics I love like Cinema Snob, Rap Critic, the Nostalgia Chick and many more.

I'll never, ever forget the day I discovered the Nostalgia Critic. It was a really boring summer day, and I had been looking at a bunch of Sesame Street videos on YT. I saw the NC's review of Follow That Bird in my recommendations, so I decided to check it out. Boy, did it exceed my expectations! At the time, I thought it was the funniest thing i'd ever seen. Plus, Follow That Bird was and is my favorite movie, so that's extra points in my book. My sisters and I still quote the episode to this day ("And they're like jump, and he's like no, then they're like jump, and he's like no, and they're like jump, and he's like okay") and ("Dude, this is his home. What is your deal? Go back to Russia!"). Now i've seen literally every single episode of the show.

 

[D'Snowth]

I've been watching NC since 2011. It's really changed my life. My sense of humor, my outlook on life, and the way I view movies are all different because of it. And it's lead me to even more internet critics I love like Cinema Snob, Rap Critic, the Nostalgia Chick and many more.

Don't forget the Mysterious Mr. Enter as well.

But I will say I do believe that Doug probably has had some of the biggest influence on the internet like Jerry Seinfeld had for television: so many other reviewers and critics who have followed and cropped up in recent years probably have him to thank for essentially paving the way and setting the standard for such reviewing formats.

I'll never, ever forget the day I discovered the Nostalgia Critic. It was a really boring summer day, and I had been looking at a bunch of Sesame Street videos on YT. I saw the NC's review of Follow That Bird in my recommendations, so I decided to check it out. Boy, did it exceed my expectations! At the time, I thought it was the funniest thing i'd ever seen. Plus, Follow That Bird was and is my favorite movie, so that's extra points in my book. My sisters and I still quote the episode to this day ("And they're like jump, and he's like no, then they're like jump, and he's like no, and they're like jump, and he's like okay") and ("Dude, this is his home. What is your deal? Go back to Russia!"). Now i've seen literally every single episode of the show.

One of my favorite episodes too.

"MeanwhileBertandErnieareflyingandSuperGroverisflyingandOscarisflyingexceptonthegroundandCookieMonsteratehiscarbecausehethoughtitwasacookie! I thought my car was a cookie once too! But it wasn't a cookie. Or a car. It was man."

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

But I will say I do believe that Doug probably has had some of the biggest influence on the internet like Jerry Seinfeld had for television: so many other reviewers and critics who have followed and cropped up in recent years probably have him to thank for essentially paving the way and setting the standard for such reviewing formats.

Yep. Well, him and AVGN. I don't think they could've started their shows at a more perfect time.

 

[D'Snowth]

I confess that while I don't necessarily watch a whole lot of AVGN (mainly because I'm not a gamer), James Rolfe's story hits very close to home:

I'm not lying, much of what he did in his earlier years are some of the exact same things I did as well: stopping and recording with the raw footage being the completed project because of no way of editing? Exactly what I had to do as well. I also agree with his sentiment that cheap and fake special effects and props and such are much more engaging and really shows off the creativity moreso than a lot of the CGI stuff done in movies today.

I've watched some of his films, and they're really interesting; while horror is not usually my thing, he's a very good storyteller (even if the acting in his films is only subpar), and I can appreciate the lengths he went to to tell his stories.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, as long as we're discussing the 10th anniversary, why don't we discuss some of our favorite episodes from these past ten years? I pretty much already got the Cartoon All-Stars and FTB reviews out of the way, a few of my other favorites include. . . .

• SUPER MARIO BROS. - My biggest laugh is the brief Brokeback-esque montage of Mario and Luigi when the Critic's literal mind mistakes them for father and son and brothers.
• SPACE JAM - The Critic flipping out over Lola and her bunny boobies makes me laugh (and FYI, bunnies actually do have something similar to boobies).
• CAPTAIN PLANET - The show never bothered me, but the Critic's take on it is interesting; I also like his reaction to the times they tackled heavier issues like HIV and gang violence ("Yo-yo, I'm gunna drop a wicked-dawg dookie in the back of yo be-hind, mindly annoying acquaintance!")
• TOM AND JERRY: THE MOVIE - The Mind****. Need I say more? Well, that, and the reaction to Dr. Applecheeks seemingly about to attempt to sexually assault the ice cream cart.
• GOOD BURGER - Mainly for his memeworthy comments about Abe Vigoda.
• TWISTER - His comments about Cary Elwes, this fake product shilling throughout, Ozzy Osbourne, "HOOOORRRRRRRSE!!!"
• ROCK-A-DOODLE - A movie I really liked from my childhood.
• THE HE-MAN & SHE-RA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Mainly for his imitation of Orko in the end, but some of the other comments are funny as well.
• TOP 11 VILLAIN SONGS - This episode really got me through an awkward dark period I was going through.
• HOME ALONE 3 - While he gets a lot of the movie's details wrong in his review, the way he plays up how John Hughes went from slightly dark humor to overly kiddified slapstick movies is amusing to watch.
• A TROLL IN CENTRAL PARK - Seriously one of the worst movies ever made, and certainly Don Bluth's worst of all time, and the Critic really serves as a reminder of how and why the movie was so bad. In all seriousness, I saw the movie once as a kid when my daycare group was taken to it, and honestly, the Critic mentions in the review that he didn't even show half of the junk from the movie, and what he does show is actually even more than what I remembered seeing - that's how bad the movie was. That, and his running gag of calling up Stanley the Troll to chew him out and Stanley oblivous to his rage is hilarious.
• ERNEST SCARED STUPID - Highlight is the Critic's almost fangirl-like excitement when Rimshot lives. That and his tongue-in-cheek comment about how ***** the little girl must have been while filming is chuckleworthy.
• IT - No specific reason.
• ROVER DANGERFIELD - Again, no specific reason.
• THE MAGIC VOYAGE - The torture he goes through just reviewing this one.
• GORDY - The little moments, like the crap-loaded conversation between Gordy and the rooster, recreating the awkward "Virgin Douchebag" shot, and his enthusiasm over "Pig Power in the House."
• JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH - "Rhinoth. They thcare little boyth. Athathinating parenth won't bring 'em much joy, that'th Randy."
• FELIX THE CAT: THE MOVIE - Again, the sheer torture he goes through reviewing this one is hysterical.

Just to name a few.

 

[mr3urious]

NC just reviewed Cats Don't Dance, which was something he once said he would never review, at least like he would normally do. And I gotta say, it felt more like a classic review in spite of him not being harsh on it. No stupid sketches that drag on forever or anything like that.

And I think this has some level of watchability for adults in that it satirizes Golden Age Hollywood, something that kids wouldn't pick up on until they rewatch the film when they grow up. Same deal with Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

https://vid.me/vU0fh

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

NC just reviewed Cats Don't Dance, which was something he once said he would never review, at least like he would normally do. And I gotta say, it felt more like a classic review in spite of him not being harsh on it. No stupid sketches that drag on forever or anything like that.

I honestly think they're phasing out the sketches a bit. They haven't been used much recently. But maybe that's because of those reviews that are entirely just sketches and no clips from the actual movie.

 

[D'Snowth]

This is exactly the reason I always wanted NC to review certain movies: not because they were bad, but because they had an impact on those who saw them . . . that, and I just wanted to see his reactions to them as well - like PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE, I always wanted to see his reactions to some of the bizarre and strange things that happen in that movie.