Jason Toney

The Nightmare in 4D

"A pox? How delightful a pox." - Danny Elfman, Town Meeting Song

Per usual, my Halloween is consumed with Nightmare. I've spent two Saturdays this month singing the songs all around the Park; I bought Nightmare Vinylmations of my favorite characters; we've got a little Oogie Boogie hidden in the music category. And, finally, last night we saw The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D at the El Cap.

Really, though, it's a 4D experience with an assault to the senses. Ghosts fill the theatre. "Fire" bursts from the balconies. Spotlights track Jack. Fog envelops the audience. The chilly wind of Christmastown blows through the seats. The smell of gingerbread and pie arrives on cue. And, of course, there's snow.

Maybe all movie experiences should be like this. We got similar experiences this past Sunday with Captain EO and the Tron Legacy Sneak Peek at elecTRONica. If you're looking for real immersion, the glasses can help but when the environment truly comes to life, well, you get applause and smiles and a century old medium that can still inspire awe.

Next time, though, we're going to get there in time to enjoy a few cocktails at The Library Bar. There we can visit spirits of a different kind.

Oh, and if you happen to kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws, would you please ask him about my gift request? I needs it.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

"How come you can sleep at night?" - Arcade Fire, Modern Man

No deep thoughts this morning. Actually, there are  a lot of them, just none that I can share today, so, instead a question: what cartoons are you watching?

Considering where I work, it's probably not surprising that I'm a sucker for animation but I have a special affinity for the television cartoon. As a kid, I planned my life around afternoon cartoon blocks and Saturday mornings and USA's Cartoon Express. As the genre has changed—most cartoons have left broadcast networks for cable; the direct to video market has matured greatly—I still find myself making plans to watch 'toons.

Just this past week, I took in the World Premiere of Batman/Superman:Apocalypse (Supergirl) at the Paley Center For Media. I also might argue that the best of the young new tv season has been animated.

So, since I asked you, here's what's on that I'm loving:

Batman: The Brave and The Bold - Featuring a wide variety of characters from all eras (including one of my very favorite things about DC's animated Universe, the increased prominence of heroes of color) but with all stories told in a decidedly Silver Age style, this version of Batman is super-fun. He's the master detective and escape artist with very little of the brooding and torment that defines the contemporary Dark Knight. This bat has friends and cares about his relationships. Every week, I'm pleasantly surprised.

 Kick Buttowski - Not to be a company shill but Kick is awesome. The show is often stolen by his best friend Gunther and is told with impeccable comedic timing and charm. Kick just wants to be great and never let's his many failures get him down. Not surprising, given that he was created by our former Creative Director who has two phrases that I steal and use often, "Take Risks. Don't be afraid to fail." Kick falls down. He gets up again.

 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - I picked up this series in it's second season and haven't yet gone back to watch season one but I can safely say that there isn't another animated television series out today that consistently wows me with the animation itself. I still remember what this kind of CG animation looked like with series like ReBoot and The Clone Wars is just spectacular to look at. The storytelling is also very strong—much stronger than the second trilogy of Star Wars films that acts as it's source material and inspiration. Anakin and Obi-Wan are deeper characters with well understood motivations here and the expanded world of Star Wars is much more clear. The Jedis, the bounty hunters, and, especially, the clones that will make up the ranks of Storm Troopers in the coming empire are all much more nuanced and relatable in this "kids cartoon" than they ever were in episodes I through III.

 The Venture Bros. - The last of the great Adult Swim series. The show returned last week bringing the Phantom Limb back along with them as well as my most favorite thing about the show: the satirical roasting of comic book stories and characters. I'm hoping this season is much stronger than the uneven-ness of the last one and that Dr. Venture and the boys don't suffer the same fate as many of the Adult Swim shows: an uninspired, slow, painful decline in it's final seasons. I'm looking at you, The Boondocks.

Also on the radar is a new series from Disney Channel, Fish Hooks, which looks really promising.

Even Super Girls Don't Sell

"I made mistakes back then. I'll never do it again." - The Black Keys, Next Girl

What stuck with me last night was Director Lauren Montgomery's candor. Here she is, the director of many an animated film, sitting next to Andrea Romano, the top voice director in the business, who is sitting next to the voices of Wonder Woman and Artemis, and she's explaining why a collection of stories that in print are titled Superman/Batman: Supergirl, had to have a title change:

Since Wonder Woman didn't sell well, we were told we couldn't use Supergirl in the title. We even had to fight to have her on the cover...It's her skanky version.

Ugh. Ultimately, Superman/Batman: Apocalype is about women kicking ass. It's a retelling of the Supergirl origin featuring long periods with Wonder Woman and the Amazons on Paradise Island and battling The Furies on Apokolips. It has epic fight scenes where Supergirl (voiced by Summer Glau) takes it to one of the most powerful beings in the universe, Darkseid (voiced by Andre Braugher). It introduces/reintroduces fantastic female characters like Big Barda and Granny Goodness and, yet, she can't get proper credit?

Come on.

Look, I realize this is a trend in the industry and there's this belief that boys (apparently of all ages) won't go see movies about girls and I want these kinds of things to sell because I love animation and comic books and smart animated comic book movies but at some point, we have to get over ourselves. At some point, we have to call out people for being, if not sexist, then, at least, stupid.

I might quibble with some of the animation in this one--the late Michael Turner's great illustration style doesn't translate as well on screen--but this is fun and entertaining (although not nearly as good as that animated Wonder Woman that no one saw) and that we assume or that it's true that the fandom for this kind of entertainment wouldn't go see it because it had a girl in the title, well, just aargh.

I don't know who to blame for this epic lameness so I will just implore you, true believers, go check out some stuff featuring powerful women and not just because they are in skimpy costumes. And don't be mad if I call this flick by it's rightful title with it's female lead front and center.

Super girls rock.