When we last left off our heroes, they rode a Dialga, rescued Phillip, and got some sweet upgrades. Now, let’s watch the finale!
So Leo sets up a little ground rule that only applies to him, Benny, and Johnny (then why didn’t you just pull them aside and tell them what’s up?) and that rule? Never cross the streams on the swords. I’m dead serious. No. I’m sorry. Let me pause here. First, it’s predictable what will happen. Second, it’s a reference to Ghostbusters, which only adds to the predictability. They also don’t say how dangerous crossing the streams are. At least in Ghostbusters they explain what would happen if they were to cross the streams. Here? He just says it’s dangerous. Dangerous how? If there’s no actual danger to using the forbidden technique, then there’s no reason to make it a Dangerous Forbidden Technique. You don’t have to show us how dangerous it is, just tell us the consequences! Screw it, let’s resume the story. They escape and...
Leo: At least things can’t get any worse!
Oh dear fucking God! I can’t go one minute without massaging my forehead in annoyance. If this were a drinking game and the rules state to take a shot for every classic cliché that was added in here, I’d be drunk enough to spout enough nonsense to make a Gainax Ending! Suddenly a bunch of orcs come after them. Now I can use this clip!
Tulio: Excuse me, were you about to say WORSE?
Okay, despite me being annoyed by that, it was funny when Leo reacted. “They got worse! THEY GOT WORSE!” So they escape while they let Phillip take care of all the orcs. Sure, I can “pretend” to see the nine fighting as well, but then I’d have to considered how crammed they all have to be. So they escape, rocks were about to fall on them when the girls use their magic to turn them into bubbles. Soon arrows are fired while the guys turn them into flowers. Okay, I take back the “they escape while they let Phillip fight” thing back. These guys are actually doing something. Sure, they’re doing the fairies’ jobs, but they also do something too. That’s a step up from other Pooh’s Adventures.
But then you realize that they are still riding Dialga, a being that can stop time and allow them to go past everyone. Excuse me; I think it’s time to reintroduce my forehead to Mr. Brick Wall.
{offscreen sounds of pounding followed by Psyga saying “ow”}
Okay, back to the “fun”, the heroes go into the forest of thorns where Phillip begins cutting the thorns all by himself. Oh, and I don’t know why the others aren’t assisting in cutting the thorns. Maybe their swords can only shoot lightning beams. But then they could use those lightning beams to blast the thorns and... fuck it! Let’s move on to the best part in the entire film. Say it with me now!
Now shall you deal with ME! O Prince... AND ALL THE POWERS OF HELL!
It’s simply awesome. Mass "Oh, Crap!" time! Though the “Aw Crud!” bit makes it more of a comedic movie than an epic showdown. So they sit back, relax, and watch Phillip become a roast dinner. Or I can pretend that they are “helping” him. Bruma laments how it’s funny being killed by a fire-breathing dragon. This coming from someone who survived being crushed by a hippopotamus and drowning in the flood. Kairel tells Bruma that they need to know how to take it down once and for all. Uh... hey, here’s a suggestion, ROAR OF FUCKING TIME! YOU HAVE A FUCKING UBER POKEMON! USE HIM! God, what I wouldn’t pay to see Dialga take on Maleficent. Screw it. Let’s pretend Discord took away Dialga because it’s against the rules and replaced him with a less uber Pokémon. That way I won’t be rushed to the hospital for a head injury. To make it better, let’s say the less uber Pokémon can’t burn down (or blast) a forest of thorns, or fight a giant dragon. Hm... Let’s go with... a giant Caterpie! That sounds like fun!
Leo considers blinding Maleficent with their swords. I would go all “why don’t you just hit her” but then I realize that the bridge is out. But wait, at one point, Maleficent pokes her head into the thorns. She would be perfect for an ambush with so many swords clashing on her snout. But no, they decide to blind her. And guess how they do it? By crossing the streams. Which is exactly what he forbid in the beginning of this part. Okay, yeah, Ghostbusters did it too, but it doesn’t really excuse them to do this. Hell, even Xiro and Dagnino chew Leo out for even thinking that. Although I do like how Dagnino doesn’t know what Phillip’s name is, even though it’s been shouted out a few times and have been mentioned a few times. Leo’s all like: “There’s a slim chance we’ll survive this”. Okay, there is some implied danger there. That they won’t live through the attack. Okay, fair enough. Only problem is that we know what will happen because there’s more Benny, Leo, and Johnny’s Adventures. Foregone Conclusion much? Although I will admit that they are at least doing something by crossing the streams and that the moment’s kind of awesome in of itself. However, the other characters start crossing the streams as well. Yeah, remember, Leo pointed out that crossing the streams was forbidden to only him, Benny, and Johnny. So really, there’s no danger if you just have the El Arca Big Six do the stream crossing.
So Phillip slays the dragon, he wakes the princess, and everyone lives happily ever after until it’s revealed that Maleficent had a brother that can turn into a wyvern and he seeks revenge.
Wait, that was Snow White. And yeah, someone does seek revenge for her. Her lover, Deathwing. Yes, World Of Warcraft fans, you heard right. Deathwing is the lover of Maleficent. Kind of makes sense now, doesn’t it? Yeah, the Moon Princess (No, not Sailor Moon, but a separate entity) separated them. He seeks revenge by teaming up with Jafar, who ironically was established as Maleficent’s boyfriend in another Pooh’s Adventures I did. Kind of funny like that. Someone was kind enough to post a lengthy biography of Deathwing in the comments in case you want to find out how he plays a role in Benny, Leo, and Johnny's Adventures.
KAMEN RIDE: DIEND!
So that was Benny, Leo, and Johnny’s Adventures of Sleeping Beauty. Let me first get the good parts out of the way. This is a feast for the ears and eyes, especially when you consider the other Pooh’s Adventures. Some characters (and soon all) are dubbed so you won’t be stuck reading subtitles, the voices match the characters very well. Benny sound strong, Johnny sounds youthful, Leo sounds about right to me. Also the drawings are pretty good. These are some great artists if I do say so myself. They even manage to fit these characters into the background and even use background music from the movie to avert the awkward silence. The only problem is that the art style of the characters tend to clash with the old 60’s style animation.
Now I bring up the problems. It seems that every Pooh’s Adventures has the same problems, and depending on the writer, some problems are bigger or smaller. One key problem is the lack of interference from the Fantasy Adventure Team. I mentioned before how having a powerful ally tends to break the story when they can simply blast the enemy with an attack, or how their powers, or in one case, pre-existing knowledge, can solve problems that lie before them. I also mentioned subtly that they really don’t add anything to the table. Most of the time, they just sit back, relax, and watch things unfold, unless I am to assume that they are doing stuff. This is where the drawing has a flaw. Despite the fact that the artists can plop their characters into the background, it doesn’t dawned upon them to have them doing stuff as simple as baking cakes or cleaning a cottage. This seems to be the only big draw I have here, as everything else just seems subtle to me.
Despite that flaw and the many flaws I covered throughout the blog, however, this is a huge step up from all the other Pooh’s Adventures out there, and it does get better as the series goes on, telling from what I can see in later episodes. Despite my snark, it’s by far one of the best Pooh’s Adventures I’ve seen (currently the best I’ve seen since Pooh’s Adventures Of The Phantom Tollbooth is disqualified due to it being privatized) and I highly recommend this series to anyone who wants something different.
But we’re not done yet. I’m going to review a short that they did next time, so stay tuned for that.