Unique Cartoons from my 1980s Childhood

Cartoons I watched as a child that are relatively unique to the 80s.

• Smurfs (of course classic smurfs, and then the ones with the grandpa, and the three children, etc.)
• Snorks (Underwater smurfs, but of course a whole lot of fun, a definite favorite)
• Thundercats (Lionel, Tigra, Panthera...I loved it)
• Scooby Doo (I only later enjoyed these mystery stories, as a child found them pretty boring)
• A Pup Named Scooby Doo (gotta love baby scooby)
• Pound Puppies (thinking of little dogs...I even had a homemade pound puppy...thanks mom)
• Alvin and Chipmunks (I love the whole gang, including the girl chipmunks. Simon was my favorite)
• Wuzzles (I think I had a wuzzles book, plus I had an Eleroo stuffed animal...of course Eleroo was a combination between an Elephant and a Kangaroo. Other characters included BumbleLion, Better Bear, Rhinokey, Moosel, Hopopatamus, and Koalakeet)

• Dangermouse
• Mighty Mouse (I liked Mighty Mouse more than Dangermouse)
• Ducktales (my favorite...I love this whole franchise, I don't even know why)
• Tale Spin (It was okay, kind of trite I suppose)
• Darkwing Duck (I never was in to this, I didn't get it)
• Fraggle Rock (not really a cartoon, but close enough)
• Garfield and Friends (always thought the friends were more interesting than Garfield. I like the guy inside the egg and the pig, but not the duck)
• Heathcliff (definitly more fun than Garfield)
• Ispector Gadget (A definite favorite, Penny and Brain are the coolest)
• Maya the Bee (I get the theme song stuck in my head when ever I ever meet someone named Maya, but I never tell them)
• Paw Paw Bears (does anyone remember these? They were Indian bears with a magic totem pole)
• Gummi Bears (I'd only watch this when Disney did there free trial runs)
• Ghostbusters (I have friends now whose parents didn't let them watch this show because it dealt with the occult...yikes!)
• Shirt Tales (I recognize the characteres more than I can remmber the TV show)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (of course Donatello was my favorite)
• Captain Planet (what type of super power is Heart?)
• Muppet Babies (I loved that you only saw Nannys green socks, Roulf was the coolest, Kermit was annoying)
• Poppels (did I ever watch the show, or do I just remember the toys)
• Adventures of Johnny Quest (to be honest, I never got it)
• Adventures of Little Koala (do you remember this, I loved it, it was so warm and fuzzy)
• Babar (I liked the books too)
• Kwicky Koala (I even named a stuffed animal after this character, mostly because I thought his name was Kool)
• Bernstein Bears (the books were much better than the Television show)
• Denver, the Last Dinosaur (kind of a wierd show, not a favorite)
• The World of David the Gnome (kind of wierd too)
• Wacky Races (do you remember, the bad guys would only occasionally)

Pictures above (top to bottom) are from The Snorks, Wuzzles, Paw Paw Bears, and Shirt Tales

Related Tags: cartoons, children, 1980s, classic, animation, smurfs, snorks, wuzzles, paw paw bears

No Marley for Foxx, Just Michael Mann

Early June I drew up a post about Jamie Foxx playing Bob Marley in a a biopic directed by Rachid Boucharid.

Well according to cinematical and the Jamaica Observer, Jamie Foxx says he will not be playing Bob Marley. So...I stand corrected, and my cool graphic above was officially a waste of time. So I've X-ed it out.

In my earlier post on this picture andrea commented:
"Can he do it and pull it off...yes. Should he do it..hmmm probably not.The sad thing about Jamie Foxx is that he is through the roof talented, but his choices aren't selective enough."

I agree.

Obviously Miami Vice and Dreamgirls star Foxx. You probably already have opinions as to whether these are good or bad films for Foxx's carreer.

In 2007 he's doing a movie called The Kingdom directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights). Check out the imdb.com description for the Kingdom: "A team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East. " How's that for original (Jarhead costar Chris Cooper is also in this film) Michael Mann has a writing credit for this film and is also one of the producers.

Foxx also is also reported to star in Michael Mann's next film to direct (after Miami Vice) called Damage Control about a Lawyer worker to cover up stuff for a sports agent.

Related Tags: jamie foxx, bob marley, biopic, Rachid Boucharid, Jamaica, Maimi Vice, Michael Mann, The Kingdom, Damage Control, Peter Berg, Film, Gossip, Rumors

What are such things?

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

What is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy?


Related Tags: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, question, bible, Philippians

Little Children Movie - Not For Children

I don't think the movie Little Children will be a popular box office film, I don't think many people will buy it and put it on their DVD shelves. But I think it will be critically acclaimed and mentioned come award season.

Little Children is Todd Fields first picture to direct since 2001's critical success In The Bedroom (which scored 5 academy award nomiantions including Best Picture).

Like In The Bedroom, Little Children seems like the type of movie that explores dark themes and gives characters a chance to explore challenging multi-dimensional characters.

The film is based on the novel by the same title by Tom Perotta (who also wrote the book which the movie Election was based off of). Despite the title, the book appears to really be about the parents of little children who's lives behind doors are incredibly bizarre and when they come in contact with eachother it becomes strangely dangerous.

The film stars Kate Winslet, who seems to have a great chance of not just getting her 5th academy award nomination for this film, but perhaps even her first win. Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly also stars in this film along side Patrick Wilson, Noah Emmerich, and others.

Come December, when this film opens in limited release critics will rave, while we watch warmer holiday movies and wait for the limited release to expand so that we can see what appears to be an impressive, satirically dark film.

Related Tags: little children, kate winslet, Jennifer Connelly, Todd Fields, Patrick Wilson, Noah Emmerich, Academy Awards, Oscars, Award Buzz, In the Bedroom, Film, Upcoming Movies

Superthoughts

Spent the rainy-afternoon part of Fourth of July watching Superman Returns.

For the record, Superman is not one of my favorite superheroes...he's too powerful (although the quote from Bryan Singer makes it clear that Superman is about power things then super powers).

Here are some of my favorite Superman post I've ran across in recent days:

- Screenwriter John August explains why of all the superpowers he would choose Flight (personally I would choose indestructability because if you aren't industructible, you start flying too fast and you'll get hit by random particles that will embed themselves into your skin.)

- Jeffery Overstreet has written a lot about Superman but my favorite post is this one: Top 10 Things to Do If You Get Bored During "Superman Returns"

- Will has a great post called "Superman as Christ-Figure?" where he explores the definition of what a Christ figure is, Superman's distinctiveness and examples of "blasphomous Christ figures." It's a great read.

- Peter Chattaway has been critical of how some people stretch Superman to be a religious alagory and in his post More wacky religious takes on Superman looks at Stephen Skelton's article for beliefnet.

As a side note, Bryan Singer is supposed to do a Superman Returns sequel scheduled for 2009...what do you think it'll be called? Superman's Still Here?

Related Tags: Bryan Singer, Superman Returns, Superman's Still Here, Christ-Figure, Superman, Superpowers, Flight, Movies, Superheroes

A Revolutionary Plan

So, it's pretty annoying having a day off on Tuesday but having to work Monday and Wednesday.

So, I've had a thought - from now on I'm calling 4th of July Independence Day exclusively.

I encourage you to do that same. That way some day down the road congress can easily change the date of Independence Day to the 1st Friday in July instead of landing on July 4th. Hence, Independence Day would always be a 3 day weekend.

Related Tags: 4th of July, Fourth of July, Holidays, Independence Day

Booth? McConaughey and other possibilities

A few weeks ago I asked...Who Should Play Booth? in Steven Spielberg's Untitled Abraham Lincoln film. (Note, Liam Neeson has been cast to play Lincoln)

And there was a tremendous responses.

Most people suggested Johnny Depp (3 votes), Matthew McConaughey (4 votes), and Jude Law (3 votes).

Anomie-Atlanta gets all the credit for starting the Matthew McConaughey train of thought. To be honest, when I saw the McConaughey vote, I thought...well he looks like him I suppose but I don't think he can pull off such a challenging part.

Part of why I think McConaughey would not be up to the role is because of what Jordon M. Poss said in his comment. "You have to find someone with enough screen presence to make what could be a small role very real and very memorable, since the actor would essentially be acting in Liam Neeson's shadow."

I imagine that's why there are so many suggestions for Jude Law. I think of Jude Law's role in The Road to Perdition, it was very similar to what Steven Spielberg might be looking for in the characterization of John Wilkes Booth.

Other mentions were Kevin Kline, and Adrian Brody both came in with two votes.

Also Freddie Prinze Jr., Harry Connick Jr., Jeremy Davies, Gary Sinise, and Hugh Jackman each were suggested as well.

I'm really surprised that no one mentioned John Malkovich. I can hardly get the idea of Malkovich out of my head since in In the Line of Fire his assassin character tells Clint Eastwood to call him "Booth."

But just as Tom asked if Kevin Kline is too old, I ask myself if Malkovich is too old. Booth killed Abraham Lincoln with Booth was 37 years old. John Malkovich is 52 years old and Kevin Kline is 58 years old.

Interestingly enough McConaughey is 37 years old, just like Booth at the time of the assassination.

One person even jokingly suggested Liam Neeson play Booth, even though Neeson's playing Lincoln.

(and Jim your vote of yourself to play Booth, well...it just doesn't count)

Related Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Steven Spielberg, John Wilkes Booth, Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp, Matthew McConaughey, Jude Law, The Road to Perdition, Casting, Kevin Kline, Adrian Brody, Freddie Prinze Jr., Harry Connick Jr., Jeremy Davies, Gary Sinise, Hugh Jackman, John Malkovich, In The Line of Fire, Clint Eastwood, Age, Assassination, Bio Pics, Film

TCM Documentary: Edge of Outside

Just watched a preview copy of the Turner Class Movies' original documentary EDGE OF OUTSIDE.

The documentary deals with filmmakers who have historicly worked outside of the big-studio Hollywood scene. In the documentary the interview Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Spike Lee, Henry Jaglom, Arthur Penn, Gena Rowlands, John Sayles, and others. The documentary is to help kick off a special series of films who fall under this catagory.

It is very interesting to hear these directors talk about doing original work that might not be completly in line with popular culture and the large studios.

I think this documentary is a timely reminder that independent and non-main-stream film has long been a part of the American film culture. And it is important because, while it might not always gain the award nominations or have sweeping box office numbers it sometimes works as a rudder which can have the power to direct the course of films to come. It also really makes some strong points to what film art in America has been in the past.

Sometimes we need reminders that filmmakers like Frank Capra and Charlie Chaplin made films that were poorly received at the time but later greatly appreciated down the road.

This presentation is especially made for Turner Classic Movies fans. It is filled with great interviews which offer a unique opportunity to hear people like Scorsese talk about film art adn the work of other great film makers.

It airs on Wednesday July 5th 8PM Estern, and then other random times on Wednesday's through out the month of July.

Films that are a part of the July Series include: Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, A Child Is Waiting, A Woman In Paris, Queen Kelly, Meet John Doe, Othello, On Dangerous Ground, Killer's Kiss, The Naked Kiss, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, The Conversation, Nashville, and Raging Bull.

Pictured above is Martin Scorcese on the Goodfellas set.

Related Tags: TCM, Turner Classic Movies, Edge of Outside, Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Spike Lee, Henry Jaglom, Arthur Penn, Gena Rowlands, John Sayles, Independent Film, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Capra, Documentary, Television

Community: Sustainable Relationships

Apart from a familial or love interest, many films often highlite the deep forming relationship that form in the midst of a shared mission, shared space, or a shared relationship.

Recent examples of movies where people develop meaningful community because of...

Shared Mission:

• Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly) in A Prairie Home Companion
• The Soldiers in Saving Private Ryan (or any war movie)
• Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption
• The Fellowship in the Lord of the Rings series

Shared Space:

• Crew members of United 93 (remember the woman who shared her phone)
• Pedro and Napoleon in Napoleon Dynamite
• Jack Black with his music students in School of Rock
• Harry and Ron in the Harry Potter series
• Todd and Neil as roommates in Dead Poet's Society
• Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story

Shared Relationship:

• Ashley (Amy Adams) and Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) in Junebug
• Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult (the boy) in About A Boy
• Sir James Barrie (Johnny Depp) and the boys in Finding Neverland

But coming up with films that show deep sustainable relationships that last on a day-to-day level is challenging. Are there stories that are about not just community being created but movies about people who make decisions based on the community and friendship that they have.

This is very challenging if you exclude familial relationship and romantic relationships. The film The Motorcycle Diaries seems like a good film to mention because the film begins with a deep friendship between Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De la Serna). And although the film begins with them having a deep relationship that only gets deeper through the course of the film, the film ends with Guevara and Grandado going there own ways and allowing life to play out independently.

There are many films that show people that form deep, honest, and meaningful relationships. But why is it so hard to come up with a list of films that show that relationships and community like this is sustainable and last beyond the shared mission, the shared space, or the shared relationship?

Click here to see my previous Community: What Does Film Have To Say post.

Related Tags: community, relationship, film, shared mission, shared space, shared relationship, the motorcycle diaries, friendship

Altman's A Prairie Home Companion

It was the perfect setting...my wife and I were to only one's in the theater watching Robert Altman's film, A Prairie Home Companion.

My wife and I laughted a fair amount, especially with the permission the empty theater allowed.

Ben Witherington has an excellent post on his blog that reviews the film along with some of his personal thoughts: A Prairie Home Companion-- A Eulogy to Things Dying from the Heartland.

With the movie being all about death I was sort of surprised they didn't work an Emily Dickinson poem in with all the references to death.

The cast was, of course, excellent and the movie relatively plot-less but theme & dialogue full.

When I discovered Lindsay Lohan was in the cast I wrote the post: "That's weird" or What I thought When I saw Lindsay Lohan in the A Prairie Home Companion Preview. Lohan did a good job...but she certainly was no June Carter, if you know what I mean.

(Christopher Campbell in talking about Running With Scissors recently claimed that Evan Rachel Wood would win an academy award in her lifetime, perhaps in the next decade. And also that she could be effective in any of the roles going to the likes of Kristin Dunst, LINDSAY LOHAN, Kate Bosworth, and Bryce Dallas Howard. And in response, yea, I bet Evan Rachel Wood would have done really well at this part...I wonder if she can sing?)

In conclusion a couple lines from the songs of A Prairie Home Companion that made it into the film:

"Goodbye to my Mama, my uncles and aunts,

One after another they went to lie down.

In the green pastures beside the still waters

And make no sound.

Their arms that held me for so many years,

Their beautiful voices no longer I'll hear,

They're in Jesus' arms and

He's talking to them

In the rapturous new Jerusalem."

--Sung by Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin

Related Tags: A Prairie Home Companion, Robert Altman, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Evan Rachel Wood, Death, Eulogy, Film

 

Oscar Best Picture Nomination Predictions

Oscar time is months away but...it's the last day of June and the award nominations for the 79th Academy Award ceremony isn't THAT far away...2007 is just around the corner.

Best Picture Prediction (June 30, 2006)
Flags of Our Fathers
Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
Little Children
The Good German

My next tier of 10 would be: A Good Year, The Departed, United 93, A Prairie Home Companion, Breaking and Entering, Red Sun Black Sand, All The Kings Men, World Trade Center, Babel, & Goya's Ghosts.


Related Tags: academy awards, oscar, film awards, award buzz, best picture, Flags of Our Fathers, Dreamgirls, The Good Shepherd, Little Children, The Good German

Who is that drinking with the Baboons?

If you guessed Steve Carell on the set of Evan Almighty then you're just really smart.

(This picture accompanied an article in USA today)

Related Tags: noah, evan almighty, ark, steve carell, upcoming movies

11 Thoughts for Thursday

Why did the administrative assistance bring a tarantula to work?

That's pretty funny that there was a major typo on the Word Play promotional material (see it here).

Why are they putting three wise men in The Nativity Story coming out Dec. 1st of this year?

Ang Lee's next film is called Lust, Caution. Is this a sequel to Brokeback Mountain?

Speaking of Ang Lee do you think he could higher the Men in Black to make everyone forget he ever had anything to do with the movie the Hulk?

Speaking of bad projects...I wonder if Matt Damon will get an academy award nomination for the Good Sheperd or the Departed, because he might need to do some career building after he appears in Star Trek XI.

Dakota Blue Richards is a new little girl actress chosen as the lead of the film the The Golden Compass...I wonder if Dakota Fanning is angry?

Dying because of a roller coaster ride is a horrible way to die.

I wonder if M. Night Shyamalan's kids are messed up...Apparently Lady in the Water is based off a children's story he used to tell them...and man, it looks like one freaky children's story...especially if when he told them he had Paul Giamatti listening to Josh Groban music.

Could Johnny Depp even have a chance of getting another academy award nomination for playing Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest since he got one for the last time he played the role.

Similarly, could Cate Blanchett get nominated again for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur film The Golden Age since she got nominated for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur film Elizabeth.

Related Tags: Tarantula, Word Play, promotional material, typo, The Nativity Story, Ang Lee, Lust, Caution, The Hulk, Matt Damon, The Good Shepherd, Star Trek XI, The Departed, Dakota Blue Richards, Dakota Fanning, The Golden Compass, Dying, Movies, Roller Coaster Rides, Lady in the Water, Paul Giamatti, Josh Groban, Fairy Tale, Johnny Depp, Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Cate Blanchett, The Golden Age, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth, Shekhar Kapur, Academy Awards 

Is M. Night Shyamalan afraid of Water?

Reflecting on past M. Night Shyamalan movies I've begun to wonder... is Mr. Shyamalan afraid of water?

Aquaphobia (or as some people call it, hydrophobia) is a very real phobia. Most people have it when it comes to deep water, not the general substance of water...but I think Shyamalan might have an extreme case of Aquaphobia.

With out any major spoilers, I will just through out a few titles...Unbreakable? Signs? Do you see how a fear of water is shown in the films.

And now Lady of the Water...is Shyamalan trying to express his deepest of fears through this film? I think this might be his last cry for help.

Related Tags: bruce willis, lady in the water, unbreakable, signs, water, aquaphobia, hydrophobia, m. night shyamalan, fears, film