[SHORTS REVIEW] Too Many Cooks (2014)

 

OR

Title: Too Many Cooks

Genre: Horror / Surrealism / Fantasy / Comedy

Company: Adult Swim

Directed by: Casper Kelly

Year: 2014

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: TV MA

Buy on:  N/A

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE! 

So, the short introduces the Cook Family and the short basically started out as a spoof on the sitcoms of the 1980s and the 1990s.  But as the short goes on, it turns out that a certain serial killer has entered the show and he starts turning everything upside down...

So, when I heard about this short through Adult Swim, I was wondering about why everyone was talking about this short and why this short went viral on YouTube.  So, I finally checked out this short and man, was this short awesome and crazy!  What I loved so much about this short was how it subverted your expectations.  When the short first started, it was basically an affectionate parody of the sitcoms from the 1980s and the 1990s.  But as the short goes on, it suddenly turns into a surreal short full of horror elements, especially once the serial killer enters the scene.  Also, I loved how the short takes it time to build up the horror elements throughout the short and really made the tension in the story quite intense. Another thing that I liked about this short was the music.  The music essentially replays the theme song "Too Many Cooks" over and over again throughout the short.  Even though this would be something that would annoy many people, the repeating music actually helped made this short really stand out as the narrative is dictated by the theme song.  While the theme song sounds very catchy and lighthearted, it actually becomes much more disturbing once the theme song starts playing throughout the more morbid scenes of this short.

My only minor issue with this short is that it can be a bit confusing to understand, due to the short not really going into details about the characters' backstories.  Now, I understand that this short is not meant to be something deep (at least, on the surface).  But, I can't help but be curious about the backstories of these characters, especially of the killer.  I actually had to look up information about the killer in order to understand his character a bit more.

Overall, "Too Many Cooks" is easily one of the best Adult Swim shorts I had ever seen!  The fact that this short managed to subvert your expectations in such an intriguing and frightening way really made this a treat to watch!  I highly recommend this short if you are a fan of shorts that have unexpected plot twists and catchy theme songs!

• Face Like a Frog
• Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions
• Quasi at the Quackadero

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[TV SHOW REVIEW] Crashbox (1999)

OR

Title: Crashbox

Starring: Carlos Alazraqui

Genre: Comedy / Educational / Animation / Children’s 

Company: Cuppa Coffee Animation

Year: 1999

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: TV-Y7

Buy on:  N / A

"Crashbox" is an animated TV series that helps children be able to learn about various school subjects such as reading, history, math and science through several wacky games.  The games included in this show are "Eddie Bull" where the main character is eaten by a zoo animal and you have to guess what animal has eaten Eddie, "Distraction News" where you have to listen to what kind of information the news anchorwoman is saying while trying not to be distracted by the bizarre imagery randomly popping up, "Psycho Math" where a crazy looking math teacher gives you some math problems to solve and "The Revolting Slob" where the narrator gives you several words to define while we are looking at the Revolting Slob doing disgusting things.

Now, I will admit that when I first saw this TV show, I was more than a little weirded out by how bizarre the premise was (especially with the weird looking characters and everything).  But after I started looking at a few more episodes and actually starting to participate in the wacky mind games, I found myself actually enjoying this show a lot, especially with the weird imagery and the creative way that they present the games.  This TV series is definitely a brilliant way to teach children about various school subjects without feeling bored and I definitely found myself learning so much about history and math through this TV series alone.  Some of my favorite skits from this series are "Eddie Bull," "Distraction News" and "Psycho Math" since they are all done in an extremely creative way and they really show the true meaning of being bizarre with their presentations!

The only problem with this show is that it might be too difficult and bizarre for some small children, especially with how some of the information and the math problems might be aimed at children at least seven years and older.  Parents who are watching this show with their children might want to help their children understand the problems that this show is trying to teach children to solve.

Overall, "Crashbox" is definitely one show that you should check out and if you want to find an educational show that really teaches children about history, math and vocabulary while doing it in a creative and bizarre way, then this is definitely the show to watch!

[MOVIE REVIEW] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

OR

Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Starring:  Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Ken Page

Genre: Horror / Fantasy / Halloween / Romance

Company:  Touchstone Pictures

Directed by: Henry Selick

Year: 1993

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: Rated PG - For Some Scary Images

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Best Buy  //  Blu-Ray.com

Every Halloween, Jack the Pumpkin King, would go out and scare many people with his frightening theatrics.  Unfortunately, Jack has grown tired of doing the same routine every year and wanted to do something different.  It was then that Jack accidentally ended up in Christmas Town and he was so awed and amazed at the Christmas visuals and the figure of Santa Claus (who he mistakenly calls "Sandy Claws"), that he decided that he should take over Christmas for the year!  This then leads to Santa Claus being kidnapped by Oogie Boogie and Christmas nearly put into disaster!

Can Jack fix all of this before it's too late?

Seriously, this is probably my most favorite film made by Tim Burton (well technically, it was produced by Tim Burton and the poem was written by him, but Henry Selick directed the film).  I just loved the cute yet nightmarish visuals in this movie as they gave the movie a creative vibe and I really loved seeing the different kinds of characters that pop up in Halloween Town, with my favorite creatures being the Clown with the Tearaway Face and the Vampires!  I also loved the characters themselves as they were all interesting and amusing to look at.  Probably my most favorite character in this entire movie was none other than Jack Skellington himself as he was a truly charming and charismatic character!  I just loved the way that Jack went about trying something different for a change and it was cute seeing him lit up with enthusiasm as he tried to become the new Santa Claus.  I also loved the character of Sally the Rag Doll as she truly cares about Jack and would do anything to prevent Jack from ruining Christmas!  The visuals were amazing as all the characters look truly nightmarish (especially the werewolf and the witches) and yet, their personalities are so likable that you cannot help but actually care for these characters.  Probably the best part of this movie were the songs themselves as they truly capture the true essence of this film, with my favorite songs being "What's This?" "This is Halloween" and "Sally's Song."

The only problem with this film is that the reason why this movie was rated PG was because of the scary imagery.  So, there may be some images, like the various monsters that show up in this film, that might scare smaller children for the most part.  Also, there is not enough back stories with any of these characters to really get to know their true motives and their existence, so some people might be a bit confused about where some of the motives of the characters came from, like in the case of Oogie Boogie where we don't know much about his character other than he despises Jack Skellington.

Overall, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a fantastic animated film that you can see either during Christmas or Halloween ( a two in one deal, how cool is that)?  and it will forever be remembered as a classic film that Tim Burton and stop motion fans will love for many years!

 

[TV SHOW REVIEW] The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991)

OR

Title: The Fool and the Flying Ship

Starring: Robin Williams

Genre: Comedy / Russia / Fantasy 

Company: Rabbit Ears Productions

Directed by: C.W. Rogers

Year: 1991

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon

Once upon a time in Russia, the Tsar had made a proclamation throughout the land that whoever brings him a flying ship will marry his daughter, the princess.  When a country bumpkin, known as the Fool, hears about this proclamation, he decides to go out and build himself a flying ship.  Once he is able to obtain a flying ship, the Fool meets up with several strange men who have unusual abilities and they head off to the Tsar's palace together.  But, when the Tsar saw that the Fool and his friends were nothing but peasants, he decides to set them three impossible tasks for them to complete before the Fool marries the princess.

Will the Fool and his friends be able to complete these tasks?

Honestly, this is my most favorite story from the Rabbit Ears series because it has everything that you would want to see happen in a fairy tale: comedy, fantasy and creative storytelling!  Robin Williams was brilliant in narrating this story as he gave each character a distinctive voice and brought so much life to this story!  I really enjoyed the creative tone of this story as the idea about having a flying ship that can take you anywhere in the world and having friends who have special abilities that can help you in a tight situation was really amusing to me!  I also loved the characters in this story, with my favorite characters being the Runner and the Fool as they were extremely hilarious and interesting to look at.  I also loved the focus on humor in this story as it made the situation and the characters much more memorable and lovable.  Henrik Drescher's artwork is what truly made this story worth watching as the illustrations are bizarre yet hilarious to look at and I always loved the artwork of all the characters, especially of the Fool (who almost looks like Pinocchio), the Runner who has antlers in his head and the Puffer who looks like He-Man when he transforms into his muscular self.

The only problem with this story is that Henrik Drescher's illustrations might be an acquired taste for many people.  Some people might like Henrik Drescher's illustrations for its creativity and its bizarre style while others might hate the artwork for being too ugly or too bizarre.

Overall, "The Fool and the Flying Ship" is a fun and creative video to watch and I am sure that many viewers will enjoy this story for its surreal humor and creative tone!