Watcher Entertainment From the Perspective of a Casual Fan

This is posted long past but I just wanted to say my piece.

The initial announcement and the rescindment of the bad parts would be here. 

Let's discuss initial reactions and implications thereof. 

Well then, it looked like I won't subscribe to them there and won't likely after. While I never subscribed to Try Guys unlike Watcher, these guys have made a good apology but it's still a long road for a casual viewer who was forced into a position just to buy something I previously did not need to, and not least they never advertise anything. 

To note, they were willing to screw over anybody, Patreon and general viewers otherwise on Friday. I understand for those who are willing to forgive them and still watch them but for others, the trust is broken and people won't be subscribing to them ever again after how the awful way they presented themselves. I was a casual viewer and felt they had not earned anything after a weekend of their closest defending them blindly. 

So initial responses...

The news came out of nowhere with hints of big news and that's it. 

But nobody expected this. 

I'm more of a casual watcher of Watcher than anything else. 

This video just reeks of corporate and is clearly scripted with the false hipster to be relatable when they are anything but, revealing their true colors as ambitious business-poor TV producers wannabes who haven't even caught the eye of big networks or even in the YouTube ecosystem with just nary a 3 million subscribers that is not much to be popular enough to catch the eye of most popular creators like Moist. 

What I didn't expect was this big business decision that doesn't have the stability they need with their demographic expecting to cough up that much. 

Yes, there are entitled people and this is a small business and a business nonetheless. They want to be creative and allowed to spread their wings. 

The situation is nuanced but at the same time, they are failing to see the reasons why this isn't working. 

They want to spread their wings and make more creative stuff than just simply using a black background with respective colorful conversations. 

That is fine on its own and understandable for any creative. 

But jumping straight to a streaming service is a bad decision that bites them in the ass. 

At the time, they had not responded to anything, only retweeting news articles and disabling comments to the pinned comment on their video. They are deleting comments for Steven to step down as CEO and Ryan helping deleting on IG. 

Putting future formerly free media behind a paywall and much less not allowing discoverability is not the way to go about it. How the hell are people going to discover you now that they learn that to see more, they have to pay after seeing the first episode on YouTube? 

That is tanking even more potentially new viewers who don't have the cash to pay for that. 

This is a drastic move with no trickling down. People are still expecting to cough up for another streaming service in a world where streaming services are criticized and in overabundance that people cannot afford them all at the same time or none at all in an economy. 

Also, they have said in the original video and news articles they retweeted that the backlogged videos will be unlisted and put behind a paywall. Don't let them say otherwise that keeping everything up online was the plan. No, they backpedaled. 

I know a section wants to give them the benefit of the doubt but don't let them say otherwise about this!

I would like to give artists money but I also worry for my own budget so I often pick the tip jar at the lowest. 

This is the equivalent of career suicide because when streaming services are criticized as the new cable and the astronomically high prices with everyone getting minimum wages or below, why is a new streaming service the right one for your business? 

This is such a bad business decision in every conceivable way. It's as if whoever they consulted wanted to sabotage them. There wasn't any way they could make this a feasible way to continue. 

There is no Nebula or even Amazon Prime decision here. They want to be Nebula but without the infrastructure to get there, not when they have a measly 2 million subs that don't have the history like CollegeHumor that allowed DropOut to survive due to rotation of shows. 

The Watcher doesn't have enough popular shows to have a DropOut equivalent. They didn't even try a Corridor Crew route either. Just jump straight to streaming service without anything building up to it. 

And that's not getting into their international fans either. The new streaming service is entirely region-locked, forcing other countries' fans to get a VPN to even get access to it. 

And they are still going on tour internationally! Hard not to when so much money plunged into it. 

Worst yet, they can't backtrack this so easily. They sunk too much money into creating this streaming service to let it die quietly. The streaming service is gonna die especially when it's off-site from YouTube where there is little discoverability to be made. 

I found artists through Instagram and usually follow the public ones. 

I had liked Steven in the past but there is only so much creativity he can achieve with his food shows that are expensive as heck. Steven just isn't that charismatic and unfortunately wants to look the part of wealth. 

The fact the video focused on the expensive vacation Steven is going on is not much better. Steven's words have more impact because he's the CEO and he's the one who said that it's affordable to everyone. 

It's very easy to blame Steven as the perp of the colossal fuck-up with his expensive lifestyle but let's not forget that while Shane and Ryan stepped down as CEOs, they are still part of the board meeting that created this mess, and higher-ups themselves. 

Nobody had let Doug Walker slide when it was revealed that he was the final nail in the coffin for Holly to lose her job. Shane and Ryan are still responsible for this mistake just as much as Steven is. Andrew and Adam were recently got back on so they don't exactly have the same power that Steven does. 

The colossal mistake they can't walk back unlike the bit of walking back the content they were originally pulling and now staying on YouTube does not make up for the racism Steven and Ryan experienced in the wake of the disaster. They shouldn't have to experience that in response to a mistake they can't take back when they sunk so much money into it. 

They aren't greedy capitalist monsters, but content creators biting off more than they can chew because of their own poor business decisions and inability to budget accordingly but spend needlessly. 

Well, I can't afford most streaming services either. I'd rather donate to charity during CDawgVA's Cyclethon than pay so much for a streaming service that I cannot pay 6 dollars monthly. I can't even pay 10 dollars monthly for a sticker club as an international member. 

He wants to travel and eat expensive food and that is it. I'm sorry but him by himself isn't that great when I like it better he bounces off better with the people with them. I like it when he was creative on Dish Granted though the unnecessary no-expense is not good. 

The entirety of Watcher is built from the Unsolved fans who watch Puppet History and Ghost Files. 

They had said before that they are getting off the ground and isn't exactly profitable. 

Then why is hiring 25-plus people making that a decision for them? 

There are other ways to gain revenue. 

Keith's hot sauce had gained them revenue as well as Eugene's other pursuits in the creative field. The Try Guys still stumble as they did lock the Without the Recipe finales behind a paywall but did eventually release it after the contract was up. 

And they are barely keeping the lights on despite being bigger than the Watcher who doesn't have the stability to create a streaming service. 

Is the GMM method not going to work for you? 

The DropOut method seems more appealing to what they want to do but they don't have enough content and cast to get that going not when their company is comparably young. 

It was a goddamn miracle DropOut did well and the same cannot be said for Watcher who can only get more content in a year if that. 

The Watcher isn't likely ever going to release any future content beyond the first episode eventually. 

They are less greedy and more delusional about the way they want their growth and expansion. Again, there is nothing wrong with creativity and wanting more film production quality but it's another when in this economy, they have to do right by people in their demographic who can't afford this. 

Most people can't get Patreon to people they want to support. Especially when the value has to make it worth it. 

And rotating three shows isn't enough content to justify the price point for your streaming service. 

I consistently stayed in Mamobot and Nuwa's pin clubs in the tip jars tier on Patreon. The value of their tip jars is so doable at 3 bucks monthly. 

I can only afford to stay in pin clubs of tip jars and only go for rewards if I like it. I've been going for stickers of designs I like but not enough to get them as pins. 

I understand artists getting paid their worth. Not every artist can run their own shop and can only do commissions and a subscription service that is doable for everyone and themselves that allows them to get paid if they are either tangible merchandise or not. 

I'm considering running a small business with testing out some stickers and P4P stickers for now. I'm only considering making ORV stickers made from the official art for testing purposes because ORV rotted the brain and I needed art of them that is not my computer wallpaper. I don't think that's unusual since I saw people make duel disk stickers from official art. If I ever decide to sell them, it will be at P4P prices for stickers. Not the expensive prices for the P4P pins (to be fair, I often see PoP P4P pins which are expensive whereas the flat ones are less so though the cost would go up for effects and such), just the stickers I saw are just five dollars. 

I'm a major tip jar supporter of Mamobot and MadebyNuwa, whose clubs I can't fail to miss. If I miss a singular preorder drop that is exclusive to pin club members, I will cry. I am incredibly thankful I managed to snag my Fashion Gardevoir Shiny Mimikyu and Free to Dream Yzma as I know they will be popular and indeed when the latter came in hands for the April shop update, it sold out fast. Just thank god, I don't have to worry about that due to my perk as a monthly Patreon member who always got the early bird discount. I also got access to the Patreon-exclusive Moon Prism Project Saturn which is a beauty and zero regrets buying her if he does Moon and/or Serenity, I’ll think about it but if he does PGSM, it’s an immediate preorder no matter the budget. 

Tip jar is better for me hence why I can pick that. For any pin clubs that don't have tip jars, it's unfortunate I can't join you. I like your art but I can't justify spending that much when other pin clubs justified that price. Mamobot and Nuwa are just too good to me by their affordability as long as I'm selective. 

That's the thing about pin clubs that have the pin and sticker bundle or a sticker club with the sticker as the reward for Patreon. They offer physical rewards which includes the shipping that is already included in the tier. I love my Nuwa Sakura Kinomoto and Mamobot PokePageant Dragonair with the random sparkle magnets along with the monthly discount I got after I paid the first of every month which was November and January. 

These are physical rewards that are standard for enamel pin clubs. If I like an art but not enough as a pin since I'm not collecting that (having an expensive Hawks figure is enough for me in terms of MHA merchandise, I just want the Dabihawks pin for my OTP board and because it hits so many things I like about the ship), it's enough for me. 

Watcher has their own Patreon that is losing just as much from hearing the announcement. Now only their paid members were refusing, access to everything that was blocked off from them with no early access and to even get a shoutout, pay 100, every fan had to be paying rendering uselessness of Patreon, and not just Patreon ones too who have to pay on top of that. 

They weren’t even grandfathered in, forced to pay essentially a 10% difference so double dipping. They no longer have the perks they were promised or once had, being forced to pay twice rather than having a reward for being loyal paying fans for years. 

At least loyal fans of Mamobot with their reward points can get Mamo Reward freebies so nice and sweet rewards I refused to use the discount I could’ve gotten just so I could get closer to a reward. You also can accumulate points fast too with 5 points a dollar spent. 

Even when there are no reward points for Nuwa on her website, her art is still a reward for fans and she’s on time too. 

Mamobot is an outlier that not a lot of other reliable creators are like him. Self-funding first pin productions before preorders start is unusual as even Nuwa had samples on her Patreon newsletter but since she’s on time, it’s well into production by the time she posted the samples. 

Also, their updates are surprises and can kill me. The double whammy of two preorders in a month for these shops killed me. 

There are literally no perks to Patreon. Patreon to Watcher is just another money pot rather than I don't know to advertise Patreon in your videos. Make more exclusive content to Patreon. 

Not helped they refused to promote it, leaving many including colleagues and peers unaware of their existence.

The pin clubs I'm in offer perks such as early access, exclusives, and a discount in the higher tiers. The Patreon of Watcher doesn't seem to offer many perks outside of early access and whatever Watcher Weekly+ is supposed to be and yet they don’t promote it to any potential fan who is willing to spare them monthly. 

At the moment, I can't pay for Mamo's Twitch subscription even though I can just watch the recaps if it came to that. 

Watcher doesn't have enough content to even get me to want to get the subscription. Their current popular shows don't have enough in rotation to get that through whereas DropOut does. 

Rhett and Link took twenty years just for them to feel secure enough to take a hit if a creative idea fell through. 

Watcher doesn't have any of that. They aren't even as big as the Try Guys. They don't even have enough to get their own TV show, not yet. 

They want big productions and I get why the DropOut route seems appealing but without taking into consideration what is DropOut and what they have on their own as well as what led them there. 

Having just three shows for six bucks monthly is not a good deal. There is not enough content on there for customer satisfaction to browse and choose. There is not much when only one person is gonna watch. At least my cousins who got their Disney Plus accounts consistently watch it with their families and turn it on for us at family gatherings. 

I get customer satisfaction when accessing the Mamo and Nuwa pin clubs where I can get exclusive designs and have preorder access to exclusives and designs that are locked behind a paywall like the Disney ones. 

Watcher are out of touch with their fans' wants and their own wants. They want bigger and better film productions whereas fans are here for banter and silliness. 

They can be that without losing the aspect fans love but it seemed Watcher is so focused on film productions they forgot what got them there. 

I get YouTube is not conducive to content creators much less for a team of more than 2 hence Nebula being a thing. Nebula has exclusive stuff on there that is legitimately peer-reviewed to make sure that it's legit and refuses to allow any mass campaigns to get in. James Somerton got into a Discord server just for Nebula and blew it because he's not the one on there and not the many queer creators on there apparently. 

It’s just for them, they felt that it’s the only way. 

But they didn’t lay out any groundwork or understand the circumstances of who they were attempting to follow. They want to be big when they are still young while it took decades of goodwill, luck, and management for their peers to make it a success. 

They want all the money and creative control for themselves while increasingly becoming out of touch with fans whose wishes don’t align with theirs. 

Fans have no problem supporting them but what fans didn’t expect is to be treated as customers who won’t get their value now. 

All their fans felt like they were taken for granted for Watcher expected the Patrons to follow them and severely miscalculated. They severely miscalculated the turn of events. 

Especially knowing they have the UK live tour which their British fans who can't pay for the service in addition to getting a VPN will give them an icy reception after the news they were given. 

So far their peers and colleagues have been diplomatic or rather Hank Green and the Nebula CEO. Note that none of them argue that is a good idea. 

Except for fans who are giving the benefit of the doubt and people with the privilege of having another streaming service on top of what they have. 

Oh, and some of their friends, adjacent to them that is, who don't seem to realize the problems like their wives, investors, and Simu Liu. Yeah, they are his friends but they are failing to realize due to their cushy lifestyle that not everyone can afford and the value is not great if it's just four episodes in a month. They argue just how much they are struggling and worst yet in their London stories, they are partying it up. 

Obviously, the Watcher team sees it as a good business decision. 

They are in for a rude awakening come Tuesday. Well, make that immediate given they have to film the update before leaving for the UK. 

Their friends who do see the problems are being diplomatic or not saying a word or simply not arguing that it's a good idea like the other friends are doing. Probably because they had run into troubles like what Watcher wanted to do because, for example, it's only after the Ned debacle, that the Try Guys found themselves in a spot they can begin anew and they are barely keeping the lights on top of it. 

This is goddamn hilarious because, through their sheer blinding arrogance, they disrespected their peers and colleagues in the industry. Really, Ryan, you don't think that since its inception, YouTube doesn't have TV quality? 

Try Guys got the Food Network show based on one of their most popular shows on YouTube and produced a documentary about themselves. 

Quinta Brunson made Abbott Elementary, the sitcom that was heavily praised. 

Rosanna Pansino was on several Food Network shows as a host and a judge. 

Bo Burham is one of the most well-respected comedians today and he got his start from YouTube. 

The Hot Ones had a TV game show and were well-respected in their own right. 

For fuck's sake, Aboard in Japan and Trash Taste got specials that are shot so well and always anticipated. An ambitious Hawaii special was released right after the Watcher apology. Just look at Abroad in Japan's Journey Across Japan road trip through biking or car depending on the conditions to make it safe. 

Markiplier is making his own movie so anticipated after his Emmy-nominated movie before. 

Talk to Me, the hit horror film was made by YouTubers RackaRacka. 

Short films from YouTube went on to premiere at film festivals and even in theaters. 

Web series of well-known television and movies existed on YouTube for decades. 

There have been movies and television made on a budget yet their dedication, creativity, and passion shine through. 

They truly lost all reason why fans love them in the first place with their ambition forgoing everything because they want it fast. 

The overall snobbery about YouTube more than just the restrictions and the very fact it's a large platform that Watcher is not considering is a telltale sign of just how much the traditional media versus YouTube has become with Watcher being part of the Hollywood out of touch problem. Watcher cannot see that due to their overspending and adversarial opposition to any changes to their creative process, they think they can just be funded in another way without seeing the nuances of how DropOut or any of their peers even stay relevant. 

Instead, they lost so much repute in their big-headed arrogance to think they can do the same while putting down their peers for the snobbery they show when their peers show they want creativity too in the traditional media sphere but TV rarely wants them unless it's an idea that is profitable or interesting like Try Guy's Without a Recipe. 

They overproduced their shows, thinking bigger productions equals better quality. They threw money that Buzzfeed threw money at just for anything to stick. However, they are a small business that is too ambitious to balance any kind of budget. They cannot see that if you make content good enough for TV, they would be on TV as indicated by the Try Guys. Too blinded by large productions that they don’t create enough good content for TV to reach out and make it based on them. Honestly, they want a blank check no questions asked, and no interference or feedback from anyone. 

They spoke about investors and wanting to be more than just a company that makes content online. They want to be more. They want to be TV producers and stars, having their own shows to the point of dropping their seasons once a week.

However, it should be noted that TV still has to answer to executives, advertisers, etc so these guys are blind and arrogant enough to believe they want it to be ad-free. Artists aren't beholden to that much freedom if they want to stay in business. 

Again, in the pin community, there are popular franchises pin makers are in to make business and they have multiple exclusives in what they do. 

Instead of I don’t know, instead of relying on investors, get a rich benefactor who is willing to fund everything at this point rather than forcing your fans to fund everything from on, only a fraction to boot. I’m sure there’s some rich guy that you rubbed shoulders with who is willing to throw money at you because they like you. They wouldn’t care if you’re wasting his money.

The Try Guys noted that they wanted to try something like that and indeed for the whole of 2024, there are monthly releases of planned stuff. One month was dedicated to pilots for example and better yet they budgeted all of it better than Watcher. They have to budget for the expensive ingredients for the yearly Without a Recipe. 

They had said in the videos about the beta streamer to work out the kinks though not saying that only three people at a time in the same account can watch it and there was no app or anything ready for launch unless they considered the end of May to be the actual launch. 

They speak of fans as customers with the Silicon Valley bro speak. 

Treating fans like ATM instead of considering other revenue streams, burning all but one stream of revenue, and only leaving their old library up due to backlash now a passive source without any sponsorships shows a lack of respect for their audience and fans as if disrespecting their peers and colleagues aren’t enough that they are the sole filmmaking YouTubers out there. 

Patreon was screwed over the most here, the willingly paying fans who knew there was a way to pay directly. Again, no advertisement for Patreon rendering it useless as if it wasn’t bare bones. 

They revealed they could care less they are discarding over 90% of the fandom just as long as the numbers are met on their service. Fans are numbers as they used fan submissions in a large number of their series which I have to mention they had done before the big announcement. 

No respect for fans and their audience, no respect for their peers and colleagues in the industry, and were so far up their own asses about their deserved TV shows they refused to listen to reason or advice from people who were in the industry longer than them and even nuance to what made DropOut the way it did. 

Their reputation is flushed down the toilet with their brand totally destroyed, revealing cracks of their lack of business acumen and forethought for arrogant ambitious men who want more from their young company who 

Now with the apology up, I still say they are bad at business and finances. They walked back everything instead of forcing fans to choose. The streaming service is essentially Patreon+. The compromises are fine yet there are many problems. 

They still won’t get a resub from me precisely because it should’ve been done from the start. Their original video had them emphasizing the Hollywood of it they want. 

Fans can see them just as actors now, as their characters clearly now. Their image shattered in the eyes of many with Shane taking the hardest hence sitting in the center to draw the eye. They are allowed to follow whatever dreams and whatever expensive food they want but I don't have to be with them as a casual viewer, not when they left me conflicted about how I know about them from their Buzzfeed days. Not help that their initial response was simply their closest loved ones defending them, revealing that they show contempt towards fans they chose to alienate. 

However, there is a point when the 6 dollars isn’t enough as seen with the other services they are competing with. 

I don’t think I would forget that they try to ‘clarify’ that they’ll take down the entire library from YouTube when they in the video and the Variety article said they would. The gaslighting is unforgivable and they should have said something about that. 

The initial deflection from their rich pals and wives shows they didn't understand at first so that's one of the reasons why. Sara Rubin was just so tone-deaf when her wedding venue was 55k and her previous post was a 100-dollar tote. Honestly, I think that caused the most damage. Not help that Shane deleted comments regarding the Tumblr post when most of them were perfectly innocent in pointing out the post in question. 

They could have just done so many things like publicizing Patreon more instead of a paywall. 

Honestly, I prefer to see their finances going and where are they spending them when they show they want a blank check for everything due to their extravagant film style that couldn’t be bothered to be creative in the restrictions they have as a young company. Tell me why a small percentage of your fandom has to shell out money is the one way for your solvent. Tell me the Patreon income vs ad vs view numbers that you're getting that you feel you still want to overspend money and overextend your staff. Even just the basic salary of your workers is enough, just something. 

Why on earth is Watcher going under? If you don't try anything but the nuclear option? Because at this point, people are asking how much you are spending and are still willing to spend if you are going under but will not stop spending needlessly on production costs? You still won't cut down on production costs nor say why fans are the only option to get the money from. 

They're not cutting back on anything as they said they want to expand bigger and better with the launch in the previous video. How on earth are they going under then if they are going to spend willy-nilly regardless? The streaming service was simply the best option to benefit your interests nothing more. 

Yeah, this is the part I have the most issues with, and really a big reason I won't bother returning to them in any form, even as an occasional view on a video. They simply had not addressed the mismanagement of money and will definitely waste fans' money on whatever extravagant and unnecessarily overproduced shit they will plan. Again, it's not matching the excitement of expanding to international locals for videos to suddenly saying you're going under thus needing a streaming service when other YouTubers found ways to survive and be better within the restrictions of the industry. 

Their fellows like Quinta Bruson succeeded outside of YouTube and inside of it like Safiya Nygaard. Why do they feel they cannot succeed and have to rely on fans only outside where there is no discoverability? 

The company is still much too young. While the controversy wasn’t as big as the Try Guys because they aren’t big enough yet in the ecosystem, it’s still a bit on their reputation that they still need to recover from. 

The initial video showed the cracks whereas the following video was a band-aid. We'll see if they'll keep the promises this time to better themselves after this debacle but time will tell. 

They have not said anything about the bigger concerns like the budget thing now that people realize just how stupid it is that they have a large staff for a Let's Play show of all things. Why on earth do they need a gaffer and director for Let's Play? 

They didn't think anything through even from the start of their new channel. They have yet to apologize to their peers and colleagues and they have yet to give them the numbers and how they manage things because now people are realizing they are poor business people who are willing to spend money frivolously and why they feel that fan money is the only way to sustain themselves for who knows how long. 

This also might be the first time people had ever heard of them considering Moist's video on them toppled them in terms of popularity. They have to set up an episode fast that shows they can still do it within the confines of YouTube and garner new ones. The disaster wasn't ever everywhere but it's on YouTube and people on YouTube would know the trending topics. 

I wish them the best moving forward but I won't watch them again, not even for their old videos I actually like Puppet History. Though considering I haven't been watching them for a while now including the later seasons of Puppet History, I think I dodged a bullet with the casual misogyny in an episode of said series and won't be returning either way so yay. 

There was a minor mishap with communications over in Patreon regarding the free subscription and how long it would be but it seemed to solve with an official newsletter, telling Patrons that they are still working out the kinks regarding the subscription to and from Patreon and the website they're using as well as getting a survey out for a focus group for feedback, a great thing to know since y'know the whole fiasco started without any of the fans' knowledge and the team's belief that the fans will be happy to eat it up but not expecting this big of a backlash. 

However, there is still an ego there if they like a comment for someone willing to cancel Disney for them which is what?? Disney has a far larger catalogue and at least I can watch my favorites. Watcher needs a bigger catalog and their starting catalog schedule does not leave anyone much to look forward to when there is one video per week. 

Just holy shit, I continued to watch Try Guys after the Nedgate. 

I never once thought that these guys would end up being the ones that would be the ones I would never watch again. It's simply that there are too many points that they haven't learned anything outside of focus groups now maybe. They still haven't learned to communicate first to their Patrons immediately after the video of the plans is for them and all they can do is help including sending the codes. The corporatism is still there and they won't back down that easily after plunging so much money needlessly. 

I'm just a casual viewer but I never once thought I would never have these guys on the list of people I would never watch or would watch again in my life. Any videos I ever like from them would be tainted with the contempt towards fans they feel they can Pie Piper to the paywall. Until everything dies down, I will freely proceed to let my YouTube know they won't be recommended again. 

There was a kerfuffle with extremely parasocial fans lashing out at ambivalent fans who still have the right to feel upset and disappointed with the betrayal. It's as if just because an apology is good enough, it's good moving forward. This is bad because now Watcher, all three of them and their closest, are protected by their most rabid fans even though there is evidence that Watcher still needs to learn and not put up a wall from viewers and themselves just because of their stupidity for ambition and refusal to cut down cost. 

Second Chances at Live Action Adaptations and Live Action Medium

 

So with the release of Netflix's ATLA live-action as well as Disney plus' Percy Jackson live-action adaptation, it certainly is adding to questions if they can be properly adapted with all the nuances that are present in the original source material or whether in the case of ATLA, a live-action adaptation is even necessary. Not to mention, that the nuances they believe are the darker, edgier, and gorier rather than any prominent themes and messages. Both of these had offered second chances of adaptations and while they differ in the delivery of entertainment and fun, they are just lacking. They have a chance to redo or be better come the second season but I worry. 

The new ATLA live adaptation is another case of a live-action that thought itself superior for being live-action and outright embarrassed that its source material was animated. 

Both the ATLA and Percy Jackson adaptations have an unfortunate habit of treating the audience as if they're stupid. Sure they have a budget to allow some semblance of the world imagined but that is all it stops. 

Whereas Percy Jackson fans became disillusioned with their Uncle Rick and now see him best having some level of creative control and freedom but best leaving him not to attend to everything, ATLA fans are just disappointed once again and just said to watch the show at this point because the live-action adaptations showcased different ways to mess up but sometimes still messing up on the same lines. 

Netflix is starting a new Narnia series this time. Narnia had never been able to be properly adapted in its totality. Yeah, Greta Gerwig is the head but this is Narnia, notoriously hard to adapt. While LWW is by far the easiest to adapt with maybe Magician’s Nephew coming close, the very fact that these guys need new internal conflict says it all. Except for Susan which has loads of possibilities as an adult story to regain her faith, Narnia is largely about faith and has a fun angle to worldbuilding even if the worldbuilding isn’t as strong. There’s a reason why Tolkien was often frustrated with his best friend. 

It can be done but there must be careful handling. Narnia had never been adapted in its entirety. 

Look at OPLA. The show was able to showcase the world, story, and characters to bring in new fans. It’s a show that knows its source material to toe the line of realism but still a dreamlike swashbuckling adventure. OPLA has its own problems but it knows what it is as well as its own heart while keeping its own thing that can stand on its own feet. 

The newer adaptations lack that conviction. It’s not coming from a place of fans being deep in the sauce and giving deep cuts. They probably have extenuating circumstances that became the flaws.

To list: 

NATLA - creators leaving, missing the point of character flaws versus writing flaws, missing the point of characters and their relationships, one dimensional and static dull flat characters, Aang not learning waterbending, people who probably have a surface level understanding or lack of understanding, thinking they are progressing when this product is more sexist than the original ever was if the original ever was this sexist in the first place. The purity culture problem is so self-inflicted that it's refusing to allow nuance and development in a meaningful way. 

Percy Jackson - lack of tension, one-dimensional characters and lack of development of relationships, exposition over showing, hype creating their own monster, inability to go all out because focus on exposition 

While Percy Jackson has the potential to get better, NATLA just doesn't. Their problems are far more in their lack of understanding of writing in general whereas Percy Jackson's problems stem from lack of tension. 

I wouldn't recommend watching the NATLA for newcomers if the NATLA managed to achieve the same level of newbie boom as OPLA did. 

I remember non-fans' fascination with OPLA's worldbuilding and falling in love with the characters portrayed in all their eccentricities and insanity. Even someone I noticed on Tumblr who never would've looked at One Piece before or ever heard of it got into it hard. 

While the NATLA and Percy Jackson shows garnered mixed reviews, I never heard once of newcomers falling in love with these characters. 

As I said before, OPLA has their characters changed or at the least toned down but it doesn't take away from the fact they aren't one-to-one with their original counterparts, probably they are aware they are living in the 'real' world rather than cartoon physics world. 

NATLA doesn't seem to realize this by taking away character flaws that are a proponent of their growth and mischaracterizing characters. Katara will remain the most mischaracterized character in any live-action adaptations at this point. 

While we can't expect them to be one-to-one to best fit the medium, NATLA seems to forget entirely that people love the characters in all their depth and nuance. To not allow any of that and promote bad messages that the show never did, NATLA isn't as progressive as they think they are. 

They think they can update with the times but there are ways to update with the times that aren't regressive or belief in one's superiority due to medium change or toning it down or understanding why fans love this or that. 

Fuck, even with the differences in culture, FF7R blew everyone's minds when Square Enix went all in with the Honeybee Inn Crossdressing section while acknowledging the changing times with Andrea's speech, giving us not only the original dress but three choices in total! 

The OPLA team toned down Sanji's...treatment of women to suave ladies' men rather than an outright pervert. 

You can change with the times but know when to acknowledge and know when not to be lord of your so-called superiority over another medium or another from a different time period or better yet be respectful. 

I don't like that the Coco Villagers never knew of Nami's plan when they did in the original when done in the live action. Zoro's idiocy is just visibly missable, but I wish he was a more outwardly jovial gadfly. 

It's amazing that two IPs have a second chance to be better and just squandered it. NATLA isn't as bad as MNight's movie at all as at least it kept the overall look but failed to consider the characters and the reasoning of their development at all. Percy Jackson's problem stemmed a lot from Disney and Rick's problems. 

Percy Jackson is just boring and not that entertaining while NATLA is at least entertaining even when their character stuff is so bad. 

There aren't any character bonding or moments. Think live-action Nami. 

We are given a scene of Nami letting down her guard as she laughs at Usopp and Luffy's argument. It's a sweet but succinct moment of what Nami is as a character at this point in time. 

We see the Strawhats bonding despite the plot going on. Fuck, we see Luffy and Coby bonding under the stars no less! 

We are given so few moments in the Percy Jackson series and NATLA. When they are given amidst the exposition dumps, it's a breath of fresh air. We spent little time with the characters getting their moments and development with others around them it's amazing we'll get to see fan favorites like Nico and Toph at this rate with their nominally important moments with other characters and as characters. I mean the team behind this adaptation can't mess up that, can they? 

The problems of Percy Jackson and NATLA were so obvious that I haven't seen a peek of something like people imagining bonding comedy as I have seen with OPLA. 

OPLA's first season was to see if it's possible to make an adaptation with One Piece. Now the second season is the make-it-or-break-it season as it's the Alabasta arc with so many characters people are anticipating. 

Percy Jackson and NATLA's second season isn't that. They aren't in the make-it-or-break-it season. They are to improve on the problems of their first season and fulfill what the show can be if it doesn't have the problems. 

At least people are happy Percy Jackson is getting a second season and reasonably excited this time around, hoping the criticism is at least taken into consideration and they do better. 

In NATLA's case, I have not seen a hint of excitement. Just mixed reviews. I don't think I ever saw a newbie boom of new fans going to the source material just to see where it left off. Instead, it's fans encouraging people to just watch the original when two live-action adaptations failed. Sure, there are people who hope that it could do better the next time around and hope it can achieve the potential it was supposed to have. 

One Piece fans on the other hand broke out the champagne and welcomed new fans with gusto though not without its own problems. Regardless, the show made LA-onlies, a term I never thought I would utter and anime-onlies are in the place of manga readers, trying not to spoil and encourage them to read or watch at their own pace. 

The live-action medium calls for different things but nuance still means development and stakes. In the eyes of the makers of Percy Jackson and NATLA, it's all about making things 'mature' without actually being mature as their source material. 

OPLA in its own treatment was a story of a three-act structure managing the arcs of East Blue. The other live actions focused so much on the plot that it failed to consider other parts that OPLA understood. 

I haven't mentioned the YYH live-action adaptation at all. YYH live-action is still somehow better but has its own charm. While still having its own problems, compared to NATLA and Percy Jackson, it's a godsend even if again one of the best arcs is reduced to a scene. 

YYH live-action has a similar failing to the Percy Jackson and NATLA, just the best hits of the arcs but at least we can get the characters we love in YYH adaptation. Less so in the Percy Jackson and NATLA. 

It's hard to pin down why these second chances were squandered when they knew that fans wanted a better product. Rick doesn't help matters by bashing the movie. Yeah, he has the right about feeling ignored during the production of the movie but sheesh at this point the past is the past especially when the movie while bad or even mediocre is still using the filmmaking whereas the show he helped make reads less like a visual medium. 

It seems that it’s less difficult to adapt but rather far too many factors involved that let basic storytelling fall to the wayside in the face of getting as much plot as possible in an 8 episode time. 

Unlike anime which is used to these time constraints to tell a story, streaming services refused to see reason for breather episodes and even basic character meaningful development with relationships. 

Why are live-action adaptations failing this except for some (OPLA; TLOU)? 

The basic thing of adapting doesn’t mean that things should fall by the wayside. These adaptations failed hard to get things right or sufficiently to justify their own existence and bring in new fans. 

They haven’t done a great job adapting and bringing in new fans. If anything, in NATLA’s case, it is fans running back to the original as remakes basically seem like we can’t move forward.

Yeah, some remakes can do their things. FF7R has the whole saving certain people and alternate timelines. Whether it weakens the story or not is up for debate. 

At least that game remake justifies its own existence. I know P3R is the only remake the Atlus team will be doing but at least that is trying something different. It helps it's the only remake they ever want to do. 

I don't think I heard Square Enix ever wanting to make remakes of other famous entries. If anything, spreading the FF7R into a trilogy is probably as far as they want to do in terms of remakes. 

You can make an adaptation different while not losing the heart and soul of what made the series famous in the first place. 

OPLA got that just as Oda knows when to delegate when things he doesn’t know are out of his expertise. Rick does not know when to delegate or at worse Disney not letting the budget show.  

Why is it the original telly shows can do the basic storytelling even if purity culture and other issues are straining it? 

These adaptations are focused so much on not being bad that they fail to be good, just mediocre pieces that have a lot of potential. 

NATLA is getting a second and third season after all whereas OPLA is only getting a second season. Again, while OPLA's second season is the make-it-or-break-it season, NATLA is gonna improve the many problems to actually redeem themselves. ATLA already has a conclusive story so that's a reason why Netflix was able to greenlit two more seasons. 

Netflix is going all in with One Piece with the streaming, new anime series animated by Studio Wit, and the OPLA's make-it-or-break-it second season. However, since the original One Piece animanga is ending in a couple of years, we don't have the conclusive ending that NATLA has in its favor. 

But whereas NATLA failed to use any deep cuts in a meaningful way or any deep cuts at all (the chicken insult when the original series never had a regular chicken in its world ever), OPLA does and tightens their story in the medium and restrictions that they got. 

As for any new people who want to get into ATLA, best to get to the original animated series instead of the live actions that do not offer anything of worth outside of some entertainment. 

Percy Jackson's series is just dull and boring. The second season better take the criticism and make themselves better from it. Rick basically disillusioned his own fanbase who don't see him as the best head in the writing team and basically broke his word with them. 

I hardly have any advice when what was said and criticized about these series already. 

For what it is, with so many things holding back these adaptations, the live-action medium may be a path for new fans or open possibilities to people who never heard of the source material. If done well, then they can achieve that and more. 

If not, well...there's always the original source material that has more time to achieve the story and characters they intend to, flaws and all. 

Mini Review: Disney’s Wish 2023

 

So, Wish, the 100th-anniversary movie. 

Let's not talk about the review in question yet. Just the initial previews that had been released to mixed responses. 

People have been frustrated with Disney's adorkable female protags but Asha is the breaking point since the previews do little to show what Asha has against her contemporaries or even her predecessors. 

A return to form with a traditional Disney villain after twist and complex...well 'complex' in terms on how the writing pans out can be pretty great. However, it depends on the execution. 

The music unfortunately is left to be desired. From the release before the movie without the context, the music is doing two things: a poor man's Lin Manuel Miranda and trying to be pop to chart at all. Not help the songwriters were pop songwriters instead of actual Broadway talents. There is nothing memorable enough to say that they are worthy of the Disney name. Even the songs that are remotely good are just okay by comparison. 

And this is all without the context of the movie! 

Talking about the context of the movie made me question if the development had ever gotten off the ground after the rough draft. 

Because at the end of the day, it's certainly a rough draft with massive executive meddling who think they know better. 

Everything is just meh and not particularly memorable. I don't think I could recall the townsfolk or the seven dwarves expy. There just isn't that much development to them or personality at all outside of being references or so bland that if there are details added in later scenes just makes everything vague as per usual. 

Valentino fulfills the animal sidekick but failed hard because he adds fuck all. It’s better that he never existed in the first place. He’s the animal sidekick people feared Perrito to be. He has no purpose but to make unfunny jokes and doesn’t move the plot forward in any way or interact with the characters meaningfully. Pocahontas’ animals are more useful than Valentino himself.  

The star is literally a prop. There is nothing about this character outside of cute and mischievous. Godoka, the concept for the Star with the romance and the shapeshifting has so much potential but nope, toys! 

Asha's relatives are just a plot device and nothing more. There is nothing to the mom's character. 

The only reason I know about the queen at all is just that she's the wife and that's all. There is nothing about her that is interesting outside of her love of the king which was washed away in the end. The only trait is that she's holier than thou because she's on the good side and that's it. 

Godoka, the concept of her being the bad guy and part of the villain couple as in Morticia and Gomez Addams but evil potential especially in a Disney film is just so good. I can't afford to think of it now else I will be sad at the loss of potential that already happened rather than the concepts that could've been. 

Because everything is vague in this movie. When they do explain shit, they just made the whole execution all the more worse because they don't do anything with it. Because the awful execution of vague worldbuilding and ideas are thrown about but nothing is done about it. 

The only thing conclusive is that a wish contains the person's everything in it because it's them. And even then, it's still poorly conceived because it sounds like people want the easy way out of getting their wish rather than working hard for it. 

Asha is the adorkable protag but there is no depth to her character. She doesn't change because she has no actual flaws or has made mistakes in the run of the entire movie. She is in the right therefore she doesn't need to change. She isn’t a Mary Sue, just super bland and static. Her ‘flaws’ aren’t showing that she is an actual flawed character. She doesn’t stand apart at all due to her lack of personality. 

Magnifico has a tragic story but somehow forgets all of that in his pursuit to keep the power to himself. However, it is said that the forbidden arts can corrupt and he did it out of desperation. There is literally no angle of bad wishes that can harm the kingdom, just the wishes that don't personally benefit him because that's all we have. 

Or simple math. There is no way that every wish can be granted and there will be bad wishes that can harm the kingdom. 

Is Magnifico's immortal or what hence the need to seal him away? 

Yeah, we can't forget that narcissism but that narcissism clashed with the corruption deal. There is no fatal flaw or bad traits that were later magnified here. 

Supposedly, the whole Magnifico and Asha thing is to be careful what you wish for. Are you kidding me with all the vagueness and poor worldbuilding and magic structure?! Asha does not change in the course of the movie. Magnifico’s development wants to have two cakes but can’t eat them because of the poor and vague everything. 

Magnifico's eventual fate and everyone including his wife who thought she loved the man just dropped him after the forbidden arts can corrupt, mind you. That is overkill for a villain that is barely developed outside of being the bad guy against the protagonist. 

Like, whoo, yay, happy ending. When the happy ending was not earned. It felt like going through the motions of what should be happening but with none of the finesse of previous Disney movies that is better at earning that ending. 

The songs are by far the most disappointing. Because they are trying to chart rather than have songs that are actually moving the story forward in any capacity, these pop songwriters have little knowledge of how to write original songs that move the story and characters only in their bare bones. 

The songwriters are talented in their own right but a terrible choice especially for the 100th anniversary no less. Disney has been known for the Sherman Bros and the Broadway numbers so of course point to the popification of Disney. While Tangled has a poppy sound, it’s still more Broadway whereas Let It Go is too poppy with the high notes the only indication that it is Broadway is the high notes. Encanto and Moana has the help of innovative Lin Manuel Miranda who at least has varied songs in his repertoire even if some of them have characters sing about their feelings though some don’t really move the plot forward if we’re counting individual songs. 

These guys are poor choices and trying to mimic their predecessors without having the knowledge. At worst, the pop song's repetition is harming the story. The songs desperately need rewrites because the atrocious redundancy and the lack of reviewing lyrics so that they make sense aren’t helping the plot or the characters. The characters already said it in dialogue so why is repeating it in song going to move the story forward?! The villain song is the worst offender with all the problems exemplified because how the hell did you mess up a Disney Villain song?! 

What is worse is that these songs are on their first draft. The songwriters weren’t involved in the process, only forced to churn out what the ideas they got from someone else instead of the actual writers. 

The only upside is the cast who are having fun. And even then that’s not enough to be rewatchable. 

The references don't even make it rewatchable in any capacity. It's not like Spiderverse where the iterations play a part or the OPLA due to the original animanga's length can foreshadow and make the world a lot bigger and tighter as a result. The references are supposed to have all the references as part of its 100th anniversary. 

The movie falls apart just by the references alone. When you are making references for the sake of references and aren't adding to the story by any means, then it's harming the story instead of building it. 

There is no need for the Seven Dwarves expy at all. No need to have that much especially when it contends with the story in question. Again, the side characters are forgettable. 

No, Valentino didn't make Zootopia nor is Asha the Fairy Godmother or Magnifico the Magic Mirror as its origin story. They are references only but due to the overall vagueness of the story, people can still make the logical conclusion that hey, these guys are the origin stories. 

Wish is not a deep story even though people try to posit that it is. Too much vagueness in a story that is told too complicated. Coco has a complicated system but it's a simple story at the end of the day. Wish had so many ideas with no structure. 

It's just so aggressive in its mediocrity that it's going to fade when it hasn't carved out its own identity. 

It's not even a shitshow that is The Lion King 2019 where everything about it is bad. It's bland and forgettable as a whole. Not even the cast can save a mediocre movie that is destined to fade even against the mediocrity of even its predecessors because at least their predecessors establish an identity. Wish has no identity to call its own. 

Superhero Movies and Other Media

 

So, superhero movies... 

Like I said in a previous post, I'm not a huge superhero fan but I can get into them with the right mindset and do adore characters and have grown up with both DC and Marvel even if Marvel only had X-men and Spiderman for me to know with just a hint of the Incredible Hulk. As for DC, it's mainly the DCAU here and all the media from video games and movies so yeah I technically grew up as a DC girl and had remained that way with a mixture of Marvel. Like most people, I only read comics after the fact and it's due to recommendations because how else I can be spared the really bad writing? 

MCU had been dying out since Endgame. While MCU and superhero movies as a whole are seen as popcorn flicks, it had been nasty since then, declaring it would go the way of disco or the Western. 

While superhero movies haven’t always won awards even in the early and mid-2000s when it thrived just as much as musicals had the revival whereas musicals have sustained interest since MR and Chicago, the superhero movies aren’t as lucky. 

Once upon a time, superhero films were event films. Now with the yearly releases of movies while TV just had a tad better even if it still has scathing reviews - just look at the Arrowverse and the Batman-adjacent TV shows like Gotham, Pennyworth, and Titans - it's not much better but still slightly better, just a slight since Secret Invasion did not have the greatest reception. 

The difference is that the TV and the movies of the MCU are so interlinked just as much as the new Disney canon has the new EU of the books, comics, TV, and movies that are so easily sapping people of enthusiasm because it's made for money and love for the series and just how vastly badly written with how apolitical it was with only Andor being the best show since ROTS's politicalness. 

It's just as bad as LMM being a part of Disney that his overexposure had led him to people making fun of him. Sure, there will be admirers, particularly from his ITH and Hamilton days but others don't have that rose-colored glasses because of the overexposure. They admit that he's still talented - TTB and some of his better songwriting on Encanto and Moana - but when having to be a part of almost every project basically, he came across as not writing his best - just look at Scuttlebutt. It’s better when he does his own projects at his own pace to let the creative juices flow rather than corporate Disney misreading his popularity and needing him on every project. Even Alan Menken didn’t have that since at least his creativity juices gave us Star-Spangled Man with a Plan and Galavant although his live-action Disney work doesn’t fail hard since we got the cushion of the Broadway musicals. LMM failed hard with Scuttlebutt. 

I understand what Martin Scorsese is saying about superhero flicks. There are just so many factors and popularization with the superhero movies of today that are linked for better or worse with the deterioration of Western cinema and the audience's interactions with it. Please note it’s in Hollywood whereas everywhere else is doing business as usual. It’s linked but in no way it is the ultimate nail in the coffin.

It’s not to say the MCU is the ultimate deterioration of Western cinema because I think that’s too cruel to say. MCU popularized so many things and there are many flaws with the franchise but superhero films of today have suffered too many and are blamed for it when it’s the studios exploiting workers and other nuances to discuss rather than blame the wider public for consumption. Blaming MCU and the superhero genre for the deterioration of cinema just made people look like dicks than actually having nuanced conversations. 

People even shocked at practical sets just show how much Disney and other major studios have been reliant on CGI and virtual production. 

For the most part, anyway, remakes are a frenzy in the video game and in the anime industries. However, those have their own trajectories that aren’t linked with Hollywood but are nonetheless notable because of the heavy franchise nostalgia money-making. 

The over-reliance on CGI with overworked underpaid CGI artists is doing quite awful. Cats show that well while the superhero flicks just showcased the unnecessary CGI which should be used carefully just as much as stylized fight scenes. It’s certainly not used carefully nowadays because, unlike Baz Lurhmann who used CGI in a way that is somehow more tasteful and age better as time went on, MCU and DCEU’s CGI aren’t aging as well. Deepfake movies certainly won’t age well even if the media in question is decent; I cannot rid the uncanniness and the dead eyes of a computer algorithm of dead people or of young people. They got the lookalike for young Luke, right, that isn't the little child Luke? Use a real actor than a computer algorithm. They basically asked for the deepfake after the Leia and Tarkin mess in Rogue One. Now, people are begging for the human face and recasting at this point. 

The no-spoilers culture certainly impacted that for sure. However, unless you are living under a rock, spoilers are natural to the process. Cultural osmosis certainly shows that. However, it’s a double-edged sword too as people feel nothing and asked questions why should they care? I'm not here to talk about the no-spoilers culture. 

Considering I was going through my usual interactions with media, I did notice the changes to how the audience interacts with the product, and let's not forget Twitter having normies exposed to the internet in the worst way and indulging in far worse behavior. Ever since Twitter was bought by Elon Musk, it's harder to access and use for one who doesn't even have a Twitter; I don't know why Reddit and other conglomerates want to follow in his footsteps. 

Pre-MCU movies are looked at with nostalgia and better critiques. Still, because of the varied history, it’s looked at better while at the same time, Fantastic 4 and X-Men had been dealt a bad hand. Fans do want a fitting movie deserving of other good and great superhero movies. 

Superhero movies have their ups and downs. There are lots of ways that it could go with a superhero experiencing a Hello Dolly or Blazing Saddles that was thought to kill off superhero movies except animation for decades. 

It’s simply for now, MCU is the target of derision along with the DCEU. Remember movies such as animated movies are exempt from this. 

The audience doesn’t like following the movie comic books style even if the movies are chronological. Comics have their own problem with the direct market, are not fiscally available, and are not easy to follow with any major crossovers to consider canon. There is a point for the movies to go comic books style for a while until only a saga at best is completed. 

Asking the general audience to fill a niche at the end of the day is only a niche. 

The MCU has a bad reputation for the lack of everyday people and heroes. The emotional through-line has also been fractured as seemingly after Endgame, Marvel seems to forget the ingredients to their success. It’s unfortunate that outside of a clique of friends, the Avengers aren’t a found family. 

The behind-the-scenes is also a mess with the secrecy of the script and the poor treatment of the cast and crew leading to a worse product. Anthony Mackie isn’t having fun neither does the cast. 

The over-saturation of superhero movies is also a factor in its decline. Every year, a DC or Marvel movie is released, and not for the better. Just as criticisms are lobbed at other franchises under Disney like Star Wars being sapped of its magic just by yearly releases of TV and movies as quantity is put over quality, it will make the general audience tired. Again, only after Endgame did the general audience feel that they can’t keep up anymore and that’s not including spoilers. The Flash 2023 does not help with the superhero movie's overall decline. 

Quantity over quantity is just one of the many problems of superhero films and franchises as a whole. 

There were spaces between Raimi and Webb's Spiderman and the Dark Knight Trilogy. Nobody was making any noise then because people were allowed to consume superhero movies with reasonable and varying levels of quality that aren't B-movies. The Fantastic 4 movies and X-Men movies that came out then definitely weren't dealt with the same vitriol post-Endgame DC and MCU movies had been dealt with. 

MCU was the start of the franchising of Hollywood. See the previous post for that. 

Superhero films won't exactly die out. People say it would go the way of disco or Westerns. Now the old Western classics are long gone because all the manifest destiny in them is no longer produced in newer Westerns. Yeah, westerns still exist but the true westerns no longer exist. 

Right now with the franchises that are still going on with surprise hits then and there, there is no mid-budget outside of television. 

Franchises are tentpoles right now just as the big Hollywood musicals used to be. The Hollywood musicals of old were killed due to roadshows and increasing realism. The musicals that popped up after it are outliers and more popcorn flicks until Chicago can show musicals are prestige hence all the hubris for the Oscars. I hesitate to call Moulin Rouge prestige as nobody expected it to even work or garner a sleeper hit; it wasn’t even made for the Oscar scene his future films were. I like MR but I know it’s not what the Oscars look for even when they were nominated in several categories as the sillier entry; the studio just did the FYC because it had legs. Chicago, while wasn’t campaigned that hard by Weinstein, was still the frontrunner even if it was on the periphery. After Chicago won, all bets are off. To the point of hubris that biopics have yet to reach. I don’t think Elvis pushed the level of audacity the way Les Mis and Cats did. Les Mis only slipped past that because it was just another musical that won awards. When the same director made another musical just for the awards, that’s audacious for the win-win situation with Universal. I wonder what kind of audacious FYC biopic crossed Cats’ level of infamy. While Baz Lurhmann does want to win an Oscar for himself, I don’t see him being that desperate to make another biopic just to win; his style has always garnered mixed responses but he sticks to his style in the muck of grayscale and darkness that it’s welcome. Who has the arrogance and hubris of Tom Hooper and Universal? I don't want to know the biopic equivalent when there is a Fred Astaire biopic coming up and Fred Astaire did not want a biopic!  

On a fun side note, one musical Dr. Dolittle was responsible for killing tie-in merchandise altogether in loads of investment until a little ditty called Star Wars reinvigorated tie-in merchandise. Just look at Lindsay Ellis about that. 

Superhero films aren't musicals exactly but it's just as good as a comparison with western films. 

The old West movies and Hollywood musicals are dead. They aren't tentpoles they used to be or have the popularity they enjoyed in their heyday. Yeah, movie musicals and western movies still exist and thrive as niches or have a revival but nonetheless the old are long dead and can’t be revived in any form because these genres have to adapt to changing tastes and knowledge of history. 

The musicals of today aren't made on a budget that is the tentpole franchises. Even the most Oscar-hungry of musicals from prestige directors don’t exactly have the big budget MCU has. They’re 50 million compared to the 220 million and that’s on what I look up and not adjusted for inflation. Even Cats with its 95 million can’t match up with an average superhero flick. That’s changing with Wicked, The Color Purple, and others coming soon but compared to a standard franchise, those budgets don’t mean much. 

What would future superhero films look like? Outliers are the ones people are willing to go see. Just look at the Spiderverse franchise for example. 

I still think with popular superheroes and original heroes that had no comic origins, the superhero genre might survive but not as the tentpoles. It would just be on the side. 

Honestly, future superhero films would just stand alongside the modern Western films that we do have. They are there, just not as popular, but the true westerns are long dead because of the dreamy manifest destiny and the racism that were so prominent in the old west films that it really can exist as time moved on from Lindsay Ellis. 

I'm talking about superhero films here. 

There are going to be heroes that will survive the superhero film apocalypse like Spidey and Batman. They are simply too popular even in the dearth because merchandise sales regarding them are enough to put them as one of the highest-grossing franchises. Seriously, when they are popular even when movies about them weren't released, it says everything they constantly fought for the no. 1 superhero spot but well-regarded kings of said genre nonetheless over Superman who consistently remained behind them. Iron Man was only popular because of RDJ whereas no matter the actor portraying the Big 3 of the Superhero genre remains popular regardless. Even Henry Cavill and Zack Synder did not dent the popularity the way Star Wars had done with theirs even with the OTrio. Outside of ST stuff selling extremely poorly, the PT and OT are still selling and selling well enough to maintain their grasp as one of the biggest moneymakers as a top-grossing franchise. 

I mean Brandon Routh can still portray Superman in the new Flash movie instead of the wrong act of CGI-ing dead actors. Brandon Routh was still portraying the same Supes from the same line of movies. I can't believe that nobody on the production team even thought of reshooting it with Brandon Routh. 

Spiderverse is what I consider an outlier because not only it's Spiderman, animated, but also because people like it. Heck, the DC League of Superpets was well-received enough to get a franchise to milk! It's not LBM's level of success and acclaim but it's enough. Lego Batman Movie is beloved but had a better start off because of the Lego version previously introduced in the Lego Movies. Teen Titans Go to the Movies was received better than expected, given how much the show itself was hated. 

Animated films are the outlier here as outside of TV animated films (see the DCAU and the DC animated movies catalog. Outside of X-men the series, the many Spiderman series, and What If, I can’t name a single Avengers cartoon or animated movie at all. Seriously, I know more of the DC animated movies than I do anything, Marvel). 

I don't know why superhero animated films are exempt from their live-action counterpart. They seemed to do fine whereas the live-action just seemed sapped of energy. Even direct-to-video and TV movies are doing better than film. Debatable for the dabbling in the darker stuff including Killing Joke. Can I get a better successor to the DCAU? Animation has and needs a purpose to be made rather than having reshoots so that's a plus. 

Superhero television, animated and live-action, are doing just fine. Invincible, Umbrella Academy, Harley Quinn, Peacemaker, and The Boys certainly show that. 

Even Teen Titans Go while aimed at a very much younger audience is doing well albeit even with its overloaded schedule. 

Seriously, My Adventures with Superman is what I remember from announcements and it didn’t spark anything about superhero television being bad unlike how almost every DC and Marvel live-action film sparked how superhero movies are bad. Probably because animation and television need time to develop whereas superhero movies are three to four years at this point barring development hell. I have heard no disagreement about race-bending at all outside of racists aside from fears of it being the worst kind of adult animation. Because adult animation has been lambasted for being immature even for kids' cartoons, that’s more of a concern considering the last IP degraded the characters so that nobody can see the characters they know and love though considering it was supposed to be on Cartoon Network at one point it’s a moot point. Also, it was the first Superman solo series since DCAU. And it had great reception. 

Superhero animanga is doing just fine. MHA and T&B certainly show that. Tokusatsu-inspired Sentai and Kamen Rider are doing fine with their ups and downs much like the PreCure franchise. 

Superhero comics… The direct market is still there, unfortunately. Superhero webtoons are doing just fine. 

Superhero video games are doing fine. I’m discounting that MHA gacha game - which is doing fine - and Jump Force. Honestly, anytime MHA had a crossover for a game, it’s all good regardless of the quality of said game and event. I’m talking about Spiderman and Arkham series as that’s mainly how people remember those more so than the MHA games unless it’s a crossover or an event. 

The other mediums are doing fine. 

It's just the live-action movies are bearing the brunt of the superhero fatigue or downhill slide. It's the most talked about of all the mediums. It isn't the superhero genre dying out as a whole across mediums. It's just the live-action movies. 

Whether or not you like MCU or the DCEU, they have to adapt to changing tastes that are disinclined since Endgame with hits like The Batman being successes then and there. Honestly, that is the way the superhero movies are going at this rate with The Batman showing that superhero movies can survive as a standalone or a set of movies, preferably well-written ones. Though at this point, well-written ones will be the survivors instead of mediocre ones or comically bad ones at the very least. Because we haven't yet reached Cats level of musical movie infamy, there have been stupid and bad ones of superhero movies but none as horrid as Cats. It's not B-movie level of bad like way before the MCU began. 

The baby in the microwave and shitty CGI of past Supermen are definitely not up there for the awkward and poor time-crunch of CGI human cats and badly done music that is not played for the beat and harmony with selfish celebs and directors aiming for the top prize, a director who doesn't give a shit about CGI and how it was done and how music worked in musicals at all and to transition it in his pursuit to take it to the real world. 

Yeah, DCEU showed that Batman can fail even with his brand name but the point was still DCEU showcased a Batman who was so unsympathetic to people who knew the character which is the strike against the movie at the outset. Regardless of what you say about Zack Synder, the way he understands comics is not what the comic telling what it is, just a certain darker 'deconstruction' without understanding shit of what goes in it. Even if he did understand, he still isn't the right fit because he saw the hero in a different setting than DCAU. I'm not hammering Zack Synder here, just his fanboys who seem to think he's a visionary of some kind for the DCEU when really all his work there was just disparate from the DC that people largely knew from the DCAU. 

James Gunn heading the new DCCU is a glimmer of hope for a chronicled universe as well as other jobs he’s taking with MCU given GOTG Vol. 3’s success. Honestly, we shouldn’t rely on one man for saving the superhero movies when Batman was a success. If Blue Beetle's reception is anything to go by, the DC movies under James Gunn would do fine but we shouldn't rely on him. 

Blue Beetle winning now shows that with heart and a good story, a live-action superhero movie can still win and strive alongside musicals just fine, just not as a tentpole it used to be. 

Tentpole movies that aren't superhero movies but franchises are getting a big dent because of inflation and too many choices leading to people picking what's going to make their money's worth. I'm going to talk it about in another post but seriously, Blue Beetle is winning hearts. 

The live-action superhero movies won't exactly die out. Hits will be made, just not on the level of money they used to have. Say just enough to show they care because movie musicals certainly show that even in the hands of directors who don’t necessarily understand the medium. 

The MCU needs a wake-up call and needs time to rest and rethink instead of yearly releases as if the fear of attention going elsewhere. Better that than the backlash after almost each and every entry both in telly and movies. Merchandise sales will be fine. DCCU is finally getting the stories the characters deserved after so long since their last great shot. 

What will die are tentpole superhero movies, the ones with the big bucks expecting big bucks. The whole CGI everything to the overworked and underpaid CGI artists. The virtual production though had taken to TV and commercials. 

Maybe it's my hope for a freaking Robin that isn't dead or only be the successor at the very last second no matter how much foreshadowing there is or edgy or a mashup. Robin is needlessly blamed for kiddifying Batman when Batfam is so good... Is it that bad for me not to ask for a live-action Robin who deserves their stories told? That isn't Titans? 

Apparently, James Gunn is introducing Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin decades after Dick Grayson in Burton’s Batman series. I honestly want to see the other Robins so please don’t disappoint me. Damian is a delicate character to write about because he can be extremely unlikable and unable to empathize or even sympathize with others in the wrong hands but in the best hands, he can be a complex character, especially with Jon Kent, Colin, and so many others. I want the other Robins fully realized and not Damian to be the first Robin - that title rightfully belongs to Dick and passed down to Jason, Tim, and Steph - but he’s the first Robin after so long on mainline movies so forgive my mixed feelings when I seriously just want the Batfam with everyone else there. Additionally, it was Tim Drake who have the longest Robin run ever not including New 52 who was the one who pulled Bruce out of his darkness and it was Dick who pulled Damian out of his darkness; the misinformation going around is annoying considering Tim’s long run was very good and extremely funny (problems aside) joined with the Young Justice’s reign of unsupervised teens who had international incidents because YJ 1998 is a trip. So yeah, James Gunn does what the original has because it’s not Bruce and Damian pulling each other out of the darkness. 

I know a popular trope for Matt Reeves’ Battinson is to throw Robin at him. Many fans do hope to see a Robin since it makes sense with the themes and this interpretation of Batman. 

Huh, since Matt Reeves and James Gunn are handling two different Batman in their respective series, I think people can handle with Lego Batman and all. If Robins are to be seen in future films, I just hope to see the title of Robin passed down to those I just mentioned while carving out their own identities. Though Matt Reeves is setting up a trilogy so I don’t think so but I just hope to see it, ya know?  

All I just want are Robins with each Robin getting the story they deserve. Is it that hard that we only scratched the surface of Batman’s character on the mainstream whereas the niche comics, video games, and animation tackled that albeit with mashups. I can’t help but laugh that they kept combining Robins rather than adapting them properly knowing the popular fanbase for each consecutive Robin. 

Honestly, Matt Reeves shows superhero movies can still be event films and not reduce an actor’s career to a stop as actors nowadays don’t want to use the easy way to stability for it also dented chances with roles they want to have. Hell, Battinson was the Batman I have really truly seen yet as Batman was unfortunately the face of masculinity just as Darth Vader was when Darth Vader was one of the most passive villains I had ever seen and Batman is a depressed barely past 25 guy when he started his vigilantism. 

Honestly, given Joker and the eventual fate of men seeing another thing entirely reputation, it just seemed that Joker is best a stand-alone this time around fully - really I will not take any more of it given how much those guys see it and it’s a perfectly fine movie, not my favorite but it’s like Frozen all over again - as Batman Begins and Man of Steel were supposed to be standalone but when one was able to tell a complete story while the other ended in a dumpster fire of incoherence and bad storytelling where one can’t even like the hero. 

I know that drama is there for a reason in the comics but can I just have drama that is well-written? I didn't care for TTG and why should I and why should I hate it with its different target audience and all? I know TT didn't have the ending it deserved but TTG didn't deserve the hate. It's the same thing with the PPG cartoon that in no way is a successor to the older series that made PPGZ look like a better successor and I like PPGZ. I don't hate the revived PPG and TTG but when compared to ATLA, AT, and SU, it's pretty bad with the Power Rangers which is pretty bad writing and morals without the better writing of its prior entries but at least doesn't have twerking. There is nothing wrong with writing for kids but talking down to kids is not going to get them entertained beyond fight scenes and toys. That's the main issue of just how it talks down and how the popular trends including twerking for kids are just awful. Even Miraculous Ladybug with its awful storytelling and refusal to advance the story is better than that but it's not by much. It's faint praise so that's just how awful ML is to PPG and TTG where at least the episodic nature is there but no overarching myth arc. ML seemed to have no arcs outside of character introductions that could be plot relevant but the myth arc is so poorly realized that I cry every time I see it. 

Batman is the closest thing we could get to the community thing that Batman got which is welcoming. A Robin fits the theme so much and a Robin who deserves the best is everything. 

Sorry about that tangent but I really want to see the Batfam, Superfam, Flashfam, Wonderfam, Arrowfam, and Spiderfam get the spotlight and writing they deserved to the mainstream audience for so long. Mayday Parker was enthusiastically embraced with open arms alongside Spider-Dad so there's hope. Jarro and Batcow need their live-action appearance! I want to fucking see Tim Drake in all his deserved glory instead of being adapted out and getting the damn relationships he deserves to have with a mainstream audience! A big disappointment with the DCAU later entries is that Tim was never introduced and made friends with the people best including Steph, Cassandra, Cassie, Bart, and especially Conner. I was so disappointed that we never saw Tim connect with Conner in the YJ cartoon. Listen, I like Terry but Godoka, could I have Tim, please? 

Tim was in Arkham Knight but he was so badly designed that I wasn't as interested in him as I was when I was reading the recommended comics. At least people know Tim there even if he didn't have the role he needed to be the character people loved in the comics. Even then, he's not Tim Drake as he's more Dick Grayson just as DCAU had Tim Drake be basically Jason Todd even though we have fucking Nightwing and Red Hood in the games! Why do I bother when I just want my bisexual Robin?! Is it the Red Robin thing even though Red Robin didn't seem to mind and it's a fun joke to be named after a restaurant chain? Let me sob in despair because DCAU had ignored or worst composited Tim's character making Tim's character unrecognizable when all I just want is Tim and the rest of the Batfam including Duke in all their glory with their characters intact and their relationships that were talked about and shown in great extent in the original comics memorability that I just cry about it, okay? It was so bad that the Batfam webtoon made me happier than any other Batfam including Tim ever did in the DCAU, YJ cartoon, Titans show, and Arkham Knight games ever did. Gotham Knights the game made me so happy because we actually got the Bat family including Tim being his own Robin and his own character, not the mashup I have to deal with in the Arkham games! While lacking the unhinged and manipulative nature of Tim out with that moral ambiguity, Tim feels more Tim than his Arkham Knights counterpart; while he was two steps away from a mad scientist, he wasn’t as morally ambiguous as he is in the comics, just something wrong with him. I can’t stress this enough he’s more Gun Batman than Jason or Damian could be had it not been for character development on Damian’s part; there's a reason why he's more likely to be a supervillain of the Batfamily and dozens of supervillain aus in canon. There’s a reason Cass Cain is always chosen as the true successor more so than Dick or even Damian. Cass Cain in DCEU’s Birds of Prey was so bad I cried; outside of that, BOP is fine and it's feminist that feels more validating even if it isn't quite the best but it's not mediocre either. Why is getting popular characters from the comics so hard to get?! MCU Peter Parker goes against the values of Peter Parker that I cry to think about; I don’t hate MCU Peter and appreciate him but I just can’t get into him. 

I think people are confusing tentpoles with individual superhero movies that will be doing just fine. Tentpole superhero movies will be the ones going to be gone while individual movies will do fine. Outside of some nominations and critical acclaim, don’t expect to see nothing less than popcorn flicks from the audience's point of view. 

Maybe it would go the way of Hollywood musicals that had died out but remained as either outlier successes or cult classics without the budget they used to have but only just enough to do anything at all. Just look at modern musicals that had enough to pull it off even in the hands of the poorest of directors who failed to understand the musical medium. The tentpole musicals are dead and since Hello Dolly has a budget that is 100 million at best though it's been climbing with Wicked total budget aka both movies are comparable to a big-budget DCEU movie or a Disney remake musical. It's not insanely expensive on par with the tentpole superhero films but considering it's climbing, it's still unlikely they are to reach anywhere near them. I just don't see the studios willing to spend more than needed for musicals, no matter how they are reliably to bring in money. They're one of the few mid-budgets that are still released in theaters today so I take what I can get. I am not counting the Disney live-action remake musicals because they cost just as much as a tentpole superhero and as a franchise. We just had to compare the budget and how much they were willing to spend on other things like advertisements. 

Even the Western genre didn't exactly die out. Yeah, the true Western oldies are long dead. 

The Red Dead Redemption series is not like the old West movies at all just for a clue. I mean, Charles and the Wapiti people are shown as people rather than stereotypes. Sure, there's True Grit gaining prestige but not enough to say it saved the Western in any form. Blazing Saddles killed off the Western for good. 

Moulin Rouge has an important legacy for reviving musicals that it can bring mega bucks. Chicago made sure that the musicals could win awards again after decades of nothing. Grease, Cinderella 1997, Little Shop of Horrors, and Rocky Horror Picture Show are cult hits or outlier successes but it's not enough to bring back the mega-bucks that old Hollywood musicals used to with just as much budget. Musicals after its death with Hello Dolly are seen as popcorn flicks that even with Chicago and all the prestige directors trying their hands on movie musicals to win awards, it's not even a big-budget tentpole the genre was in the past. Any possible depths are disregarded because popcorn flicks at the end of the day. Mamma Mia wasn't here to win any awards and it's fine. Les Mis was here to win awards to the point it's just stupid to watch Tom Hooper want more of it and Les Mis just failed as a whole to get across what was great about the musical in the first place. Dear Evan Hansen even with its topic matter does not help the case that movie musicals are popcorn flicks. 

These genres still exist but their original forms are long dead and will never be revived. 

One of these days, the tentpole superhero movies will be killed off by a combination of factors just like they did the old Hollywood musicals and westerns. 

It's inevitable that this point the modern superhero movies will die out. Yeah, there will be successes then and there with the surprise hits but it won't be the same. The only exception of people liking superhero films are the animated ones as that remained consistent enough. 

Superhero as a whole won't die out. In other mediums, it's thriving and people don't have that much of a backlash as opposed to the live-action movies. 

Honestly, this feels kinder than the doom people posit that superhero movies will go the way of disco. That superhero movies are the downfall of cinema and audience interactions thereof. 

Mini-Review: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir Awakening Movie

 

Even I made previous posts about my disappointment with the series in general because it just won't take advantage of its potential and when it does, it was undone quickly by Astruc who is an incompetent writer who writes according to his personal feelings. Just look at my rants because I'm just disappointed in the show for not even taking the potential of anything and the abuse apologism which perhaps is stronger than my feelings about the writing now that I think about it more. 

The show and movie are two totally different beasts and they coexist. If one person prefers the show over the movie, go do you, I suppose even though I would point out that the common saying is 'nobody hates Miraculous more than the fans'. It's inevitable there will be comparisons but just to be clear, one is Astruc's vision and the movie was Zag's. 

Not to mention they are two different mediums. Though we can compare the movie's writing with the show's movies and specials like Shanghai, Christmas, New York, etc. Those specials are definitely movies as they clock over an hour at the least. At least that can cover a relatively standalone adventure next to a completely different universe.

I'm trying to be diplomatic so that anybody who is saying that they prefer the show over the movie can just do their own thing and allow that opinion. 

The movie has pacing issues and time constraints which means important information would be sacrificed. 

The movie is not introductorily friendly. It required just a tad bit of knowledge of ML but not much more, just at least seasons 1 and 2. 

For a newcomer, it's not friendly but for fans, it's a treat to see better execution. 

Just to be clear, the show and movie's characters are different but the movie's characterization is far more logical and realistic while the show does not follow anything logically. 

The movie is bare bones but when it does really well, it's really good. 

The Agreste Family arc is far better this time around. Whereas Gabriel treated Adrien like a doll in the series, the movie had Adrien be an ordinary student albeit rich - think of the many anime-rich kids that attend school with the other middle class like Tomoyo Daidouji and Sonoko Suzuki. He's quiet and withdrawn yet he has a lot of energy as Cat Noir, finding the identity free from all his troubles. 

Adrien was grieving after the loss of his mom and only found the Cat Noir identity freeing from his mental isolation caused by grief that he fell hard back on from rejection. 

The downside is that there weren't any scenes that show Adrien's transformation or even a song for him to Gabriel. While the movie knows the final battle for Hawkmoth must be given to Adrien, it's still a major flaw. 

Still, Adrien in the movie is still treated much better than the show as he was allowed his own agency and he did outright tell his partner why he's Cat Noir in the first place so it's just a tad bit better but could've been stronger. 

However, there is so much controversy over Adrien showing flaws and his emotional needs taken into account in the movie when the show does show flaws but expects people to see him as the good boy to ignore his needs. Considering media literacy is so awful due to Twitter and binging and so many other factors, people did seem to fall for the perfect victim propaganda. It gets to the point they spew out abuse apologism as they side with characters unable to help each other emotionally due to the bad writing in unable to grow from their flaws and plain badness. No characters are able to grow from their flaws especially helping each other emotionally but only for one but even that one can’t grow either. I think people failed to realize that the show never developed the characters in a logical way. It isn't a fucking slow-burn, got it when people just want a satisfying conclusion when ML will never be satisfying with the abysmal S5 finale. 

Gabriel is much more redeemable this time around or at the very least earned it. He was still distant but his love for his family triumphed. Though with the stinger, Gabriel might have given up but Natalie certainly didn't and the Peacock is out there. 

Fuck, unlike the season 5 finale aka the end of the fucking Agreste family arc, Adrien gets to confront his dad in both forms! The movie has the decency to know the emotional weight belongs to Adrien, not to Marinette because it's his fucking father who needed to be confronted by his son! 

Seriously, I was squealing when I realized that Dabi would get his confrontation with Endy in the final arc! That Shouto will save him at last with his family! Yeah, that fight only slightly dented Dabi but at least he called Shouto his brother! Dabi has to confront his dad prior to his saving! 

Because that's the fucking point! That's just another example where it has to happen and the series refused to make that confrontation happen because 'Adrien must be a perfectly good boy well-behaved, no sneaking around, and he is so weak-willed even though there should be growth there for independence!'. At this point where magical boys were brainwashed in magical girls' shows, they at least grow! 

Moving onto Marinette, her character is much better here as she is believably clumsy and not exactly proficient. It's only as time went on with her time as Ladybug blossomed her confidence and self-assurance. It was enough to have Chloe respect her when she did fight back. It was dizzying to see Marinette as Marinette ask out Adrien when I spent years just watching a girl who just can't do anything but be stalkerish instead just to get the boy she likes. 

As for the Kwamis, they are literally gods who decide their users and don’t bend to the guardian’s will if anything the poor guardian has to play peacemaker for the argumentative ones. 

Let’s get the bad out of the way first: Plagg is reduced to a fart joke, nothing to show a different dynamic with a much different Adrien. I understand that Adrien went out of his shell on his own but it was with the Cat Noir persona he allowed himself that. So Plagg being reduced to a joke doesn’t help. 

I like Tikki in this one as she refused the refusal of the call and just downright won't take no for an answer. 

Now onto the secondary characters that didn't have much of a role. All Alya and Nino done had shown that they're friends with the titular characters, and tried to matchmake, and it was hinted that Nino have feelings for Alya long before this and tried to make his move. 

Nino was already Adrien's bestie at the start. Since Adrien is no longer a model for the Agreste fashion brand and is simply a rich kid, it's fine. It's not like we need to know that just as we know Tomoyo and Sakura are friends in school without knowing if they had met as cousins but given how Sakura reacted to Sonomi, the Daidouji mansion, and knew fuck-all about her grandpa, it's unlikely they met as cousins. The worst Nino did was just the well-meaning advice he gave to his bestie. 

Alya became friends with Marinette at the beginning of the school year. While I don't think she's running a blog here, she is still a photographer. 

Chloe has much better treatment here. We don't know if she's still the mayor's daughter or not but it's still likely she's still a rich kid. She's petty and she focused a lot on her reputation but she has a limit. A mean girl but not the bully Astruc always wanted her to be. 

Sabrina got a spine too! She had the agency to know and let Marinette sneak away from Chloe. 

The background characters are Luka and all of Marinette's classmates. We got a speaking line from Luka pointing at the rooftop and that's it. 

I mean it's fine since we aren't getting Lukanette or Adrigami with the reveal. It's unlikely we're getting the jealousy tactic or moving on briefly when there's no need for it. It's unlikely Luka is ever gonna be a superhero as this isn't exactly going on forever because I think unlike Astruc who would push for more seasons instead of building any type of long game like One Piece, Bleach, and fuck even Naruto has a better building of the long game and have proper climaxes and themes than the mess Miraculous is, Zag knows when to stop. 

The movie might've needed more time, preferably 20-35 minutes more to flesh out more and add more information for the newcomers. 

Pacing is standard as movies tend to clock an hour or so while absorbing visual film language. Animated films didn’t go for the two-hour mark until ATSV. Now we don’t know if any future animated films made in the US will follow in their footsteps when ML Movie and anime films are doing well in their regional and international releases that are not streaming. 

At the time being, the Miraculous isn't as bad as the series. When there are repetitive powers that are situation-only than anything creative, negating the supposedly powerful Miraculous, then it says that they are not thinking it through. 

When I have been exposed to better magic systems, Miraculous is just plain weak. 

Here, the Miraculous was distilled, and as the users grow more powerful, so do they. Cat Noir learning about Cataclysm is awesome as he knew he had the power of destruction but did not know what that meant. Likewise, the Ladybug is the power of creation that Marinette only learned what it really means at the end, and the Lucky Charm is not used for some quick-thinking problem-solving crisis of the day but instead of the original purification of the Akumas and its sentience; the Lucky Charm didn't reset everything just purified the Akumas, just Marinette using her Creation Miraculous Cure powers to rebuild everything but not reset everything back to normal. 

Really, outside of that one purification, I don't think I ever saw a single Lucky Charm item that saves the day. Both Cat and Ladybug have to use their creativity to save the day such as the fair instead of the Cataclysm and whatever Lucky Charm item of the day it was meaning mostly the yo-yo and the staff. 

Honestly, that's better as it raises the stakes and it's not quick and easy to just reset, just rebuild with magic. 

The Ladybug and Cat Miraculous are far more equal, befitting the nature of the dual protagonists. Because that's the point that they are partners, not heroes and sidekicks like the show wants to say it ever was. 

I believe the other Miraculous that we have seen so far are the Bee, Turtle, Fox, Butterfly, and Peacock. The Butterfly not only returned at the end but seemed to be used to make Akumas more than anything else. The stinger at the end with the Butterfly charm on Emilie's preserved corpse made it clear that it's now Natalie is to take up the mantle. I don't think I ever saw the Bunny - the time travel one - or any of the more repetitive powers which thank Arceus because in the original the time travel Miraculous was not even utilized to its full potential just to say that 'yeah Adrien is weak-willed therefore he can't know anything even though keeping secrets from him will break his trust'; why add the time travel one at all if you aren't gonna use it well? I have seen better time travel stories with said power. 

I don't know how many movies will be but a sequel had already been written and announced. With the other known Miraculous shown in the intro of the first movie, it's best they shrunk it down to just five heroes and two villains rather than having an entire class be the superhero team. 

As for the musical aspect, I didn't know what to do about it. I like musicals and at least the musical has the motive of pushing the story. it still feels weird. However, after the badness of the Christmas musical of the original series, these songs are actually better. Stronger Together is somewhat a lesser form of Rewrite the Stars but still pretty nice. You are Ladybug and Courage in Me is pretty nice. My Lady and Chaos Will Reign are a fun romp. There was actually a cut song too. 

The issue is primarily the dissonance of Lou and Christina Vee's voices which still doesn't help much in the French version either from what I heard. Why is Christina Vee not able to sing whereas Keith Silverstein was able to? They aren't Broadway singers by any means but competent and should be able to fill it in. Lou shouldn't have to sing the English parts unless it's to spread her skills to a fanbase who have only been exposed to her singing the theme prior. Lou is a pop singer hence the pop songs flavor in the movie. 

There are deleted scenes that should've made it into the final product such as Adrien and Marinette's conversation about Adrien's mother with him showing her the locket. It was instead cut into the montage instead but it could've been so much powerful. There's also Marinette's morning routine on her first day of school too. 

For what it’s worth, it does seem to be based more on the anime 2D PV with Zag’s vision. What little of Astruc’s original vision only carried over in tiny doses because it’s only the initial promises made with some themes carried over. 

It really does seem more based on the PV than anything. 

The Mime in the series is a good guy while the PV shows that the Mime was a criminal which the movie runs with. 

While Adrien isn't the Felix of the PV, he still has a bit of an edge and is a loner with a limited friend circle. 

Marinette is actually a normal girl and isn't a rich girl too with a family that has generational wealth and a grandma who can travel around easily rather than say knowing the best deals with her budget and so forth. She isn't rubbing elbows with the rich, powerful, and famous. She is just a normal girl who happened to be friends with a rich kid. She isn't babysitting for Paris' prominent news reporter or doing anything that could even be said she had an in with any powerful fashion industry. Fuck, Chloe is definitely still rich from her attitude but I don't know if her family is running a top hotel catering to the rich. 

It's just what I always thought about how Miracullus would handle it given its anime inspirations. All the middle-class friends with the rich as the big fancy houses in anime are shown off spectacularly. Given the space in Japan, it's understandable something like a big mansion like that would garner a reaction. 

Heck, given the ball at the end of the movie, that is likely open to everyone since Marinette is actually a normal girl this time around. There is no Gabe around to help her or a rockstar asking for a commission. 

The animation is amazing and yet still uses cartoon physics rather than realistic ones. The best animation is in its subtlest moments like glitter on the masks or chimes of the cat bell or emotions. It is after the most expensive French animation movie ever. 

It’s like night and day with the animation of the movie and the show. The show has the dubious honor of multiple studios working on it and often it’s not consistent. I don’t hammer too hard on it because at least compared to other shows that had reduced episodes that are downright comparable to 12-episode anime series though it shouldn’t be the case over here, at least it had those episodes even if they don’t do anything with it. I am not letting that go considering how the story refused to do anything logical plot-wise, trying to have two cakes and eat them but failing to reach both cakes on the same table no less. 

Yes, I seem to be hitting the show hard despite the diplomacy. I’ve been with the series since season 1 and it felt like the movie answered my prayers. Basic it may be but it fulfills the basics of storytelling. It’s really hard when ML has been in the lost potential pile with VLD, RWBY, and others I won’t mention. Genshin Impact seemed to have the worst repute nowadays despite its popularity and the merch here; it feels similar to its previous hate but with Sumeru, it escalated?? Gacha gamers are self-deprecating because they know what they are getting into. This feels different somehow. 

Flaws aside, the movie is still one of the best things that came out of Miraculous's official canon that is not fanworks. It stands side by side with the manga version quite well honestly since that also fixed stuff and streamlined it into a cohesive story that has more thought and effort put into it than Astruc ever did. When all Astruc can think of is spite and just being bad at writing in general because he can't even write slow-burn correctly or even proper character development in any way when Jeremy Zag knows how; his old fucking boss knew how to write better than Astruc! or at least show-run better! 

I apparently heard a lot of good things from the multiverse special featuring the bad guys version of our protags. Apparently, there's actual development that was not there in the last five seasons and specials for these guys. On one hand, it sparked hope there might be better writing for S6 but on the other hand, it could be an isolated incident just like the movie where it featured no behind-the-scenes shenanigans from Astruc. 

For a longtime watcher of Miraculous and making my brain melt because nothing of the story is moving forward and if anything moved forward, it is quickly shot by Astruc. Astruc is the French Butch Hartman but he's milking Miraculous for all its worth instead of finishing everything else in one more season. Then again different times.

The movie and the manga were all I ever asked for when the series began. The series is white noise to me as I do chores but I will watch the movie as entertainment any day of the week if I ever grew frustrated with the series when I do watch the series. 

I wasn't expecting gold but silver was what I came away with it. I'm far more satisfied just as much when I did read the manga version. 

It's amazing when more competent people band together rather than be overseen by an immature manchild who cannot take criticism. Zag at least understands constructive criticism better than Astruc ever will. 

Astruc is still gonna remain on the team even when he’s not gonna be the writer or showrunner in later seasons. So even with Zag’s better writing skills, he is still blocked by Astruc. 

This is me ignoring any ego that either man has but Godoka, when Zag demonstrates basic storytelling while Astruc goes for twists without correct plot progression or just attaching to the themes because what is consistent is abuse apologism wrongness. Kishimoto and Horikoshi may have weird story events but the themes are tight with those weird dips. Astruc like Steven Moffat made plot twists without logic or even keeping with the themes. The reason why I let Kishimoto, Horikoshi, and Kubo slide is because they stayed consistent with the themes with the weird events that looked like they don’t make sense but they do with the themes in mind. They know the themes whereas Astruc and Moffat sacrifice narrative and themes for plot twists that don’t make sense with the themes if they even bothered or forgotten the themes in favor of surprise. Seriously, ML seemed to forget the theme is about love past season 3 if people like the finale anyhow. Even Code Geass R2 keeps to the themes even when the movie doesn’t except on a surface level. There is little that Zag can do with the specials with Astruc’s overseer even with his name on it so the best he could do is make the movie his vision away from Astruc’s grasp. It’s as if ML moves along, it forgets its core themes and values which is love because it seems to forget it even when breaches of trust and inability to grow up naturally are made often. Because while there are additional stresses, Marinette and Adrien did not grow from their flaws. 

So yeah, with the ending of the Agreste family arc which ended with the villain winning even though the wish had always been said to be bad and should be prevented no matter what with no consequences to his image and his son looking up to him even though Adrien should know he was emotionally abused and the Butterfly Miraculous never recovered despite Marinette right there, Zag is fighting an uphill battle to have the next arc, the Butterfly Lila arc. 

Which fans have been clamoring for but do you think even with Zag’s help, Astruc is still there? Miraculous Ladybug has been going on for far too long and didn’t grow with its audience nor it does slow burn correctly. Look, I have been exposed to long fics for years (I’ve followed two of them so far, maybe three. I’m discounting pre-written fics that update in a schedule, erratic or otherwise, and fics that had hiatuses that lasted years due to failing interest or lack of inspiration or real life or WIPs or writer’s block. I’m counting ongoing only that does have an erratic schedule too but it’s still updating.) that are the definition of a slow burn but even they have a clear purpose than whatever the hell ML is doing. Pokémon is a long runner but they have a clear purpose for the plot and characters. Unlike ML, they actually earn it as we do see growth, logic, and sticking to the themes. 

Well, there is a clear purpose in the show but it’s never logical or worse characters act like idiots. There is no consistency where it matters. 

Fans have theories Astruc runs with but he fails to consider the writing progression or logic. At the end of the day, they are just theories, and creators from the outside should observe. Theories may seem to be presented with canon evidence but in no way that’s planned as even creators admit that. Astruc seemed to play it off as ‘I totally planned that’ when the writing with its lack of logic and progression made it clear he did not. 

Awful writer, awful magic system, awful story, awful characterization…

Magic Girl and superhero shows are better than this. Even though I was never a fan of Young Justice the cartoon that seemed to try for a Teen Titans spiritual successor, the fact the core four was ruined made me cry and SuperMartian remained one of my ugh ships that aren’t quite the level of my most hated but certainly an avoidance. And even then the show shows a better plot and characters than the mess that is Miraculous Ladybug. 

Yeah, YJ the cartoon isn’t my favorite DC show when the DCAMU got Kon right but again no Tim! Not even the Titans show got them right not try to make them besties. Why is DC ignoring them as bestirs in other media? While Timkon is a popular ship, I don’t think it reckons this much change because Gotham Knights and Wayne Family Adventures still have them as besties with Tim dating Bernard. Damian and Jon get to be besties and so do Clark and Bruce. Why are Tim and Kon avoided in media just to be besties and not because Tim is usually adapted out? Even if you already paired off Kon with someone else, having them as besties is better than leaving Tim lonely when he shouldn't be even when he's dating someone else like Cassie in the YJ cartoon which is a why from me then again Tim is a non-character anyways so why does it matter who he's dating the cartoon when Cassie was dealt badly in the core four just as much as the others were. A major point of Tim's character is how he will help Batman and create a support system for him and he's the reason why the Batfam exists at all in its current form when in the past the Batfam were separated and out doing their own thing to tragic results as in the case of Jason but for Jason, that was many extenuating factors. Oracle was doing work not for the Batfam specifically but for the Sirens but only when Tim came along that she became a Batfam member that people didn't realize that she wasn't originally even though she was Batgirl. 

Why isn’t the actual Young Justice animated because they have wacky adventures with an unhinged Robin? Imagine the YJ team the one teen superhero team that has no supervision ending with the Robin most likely to be a supervillain and they have a how many days since board to keep up with it. 

I’m just in despair we’re never getting the wacky adventures and the crimes of an unsupervised team with Batman none the wiser because Robin lied to him proudly and got away with it. 

No blowing up Mount Rushmore (honestly, the fact idiots think Naruto is somehow copying Barbie when Mount Rushmore is so famous as a landmark made me want to die. Mount Rushmore, one of the famous American landmarks to the point other countries know about other famous American landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Hollywood Sign somehow existed as a Barbie thing even though Barbie didn't exist when Mount Rushmore was created just a decade before Barbie was ever released) or invasion of countries, or baseball games to save worlds or war crimes. So unsupervised with two leaders. 

Anyways, I would still watch YJ even if it’s not the YJ I wanted. It’s still a hell of a lot better than Miraculous. It actually has a consistent story and themes with the best episodes for example being the therapy and ethical nature of child soldiers inherently in child sidekicks or heroes like Captain Marvel. There is still some really bad stuff in it because of how it dealt with the core four. I didn’t care for SuperMartian at first but my opinion of it turned negative when the show excused the abuse. 

Just go watch the movie. Read the manga. Read the fanworks. 

If you can enjoy the show in spite of its horrid writing, you do you. There are better shows than Miraculous Ladybug out there that has better writing ML deserved to be thrown in the pile of lost potential with VLD and RWBY. 

Fuck, if you want a superhero shoujo fix, go watch My Adventures with Superman. ML is definitely superhero shoujo but it failed to do shoujo right just as it does the superhero genre badly.