Well, I guess I should do an about me page. I'm Spin-Out, a 19-year-old young man with Midwestern and New England blood. I'm an all-around nerd; I like video games, animation (I love anime and western animation equally), movies, literature (mainly the works of HP Lovecraft), and have a passing interest in tabletop games and comics. My major fandoms are:
- Transformers: This is my big one. I'm mainly into Animated, Beast Wars, and any of the comics by Roche, Roberts, or Barber, but I did enjoy Transformers: Robots in Disguise and the latter half of Transformers Armada. I also liked the first movie, but I consider Revenge Of The Fallen to be unbearable, and just didn't give a crap about Dark Of The Moon. I liked Transformers Prime at first, but I quickly grew bored of the excessive GRIMDARK.
- Pokemon: I'm mostly just a fan of the games now, particularly Pokemon Red And Blue due to Nostalgia Goggles and Pokemon Black And White due to how awesome the gameplay, new Pokemon and story are - I've outgrown the anime. I also have a love/hate relationship with Pokemon Gold And Silver and its overload of cloying, cutesy Pokemon (which is odd, considering my two all-time favorite Pokemon, Scizor and Tyrani tar hail from GSC), Pokemon Ruby And Sapphire and the overload of Surfing, and I flat-out dislike most of Pokemon Diamond And Pearl.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ah, the series that got me back into anime after years of indifference!
- The Legend Of Zelda: This is my favorite game series of all time. Although I’ve never played a Zelda game I didn’t at the least like, my least favorite is Phantom Hourglass due to that goddamned Temple of the Ocean King. I also felt Twilight Princess to be the weakest 3D Zelda, but that's probably because I loved Wind Waker.
- The Disney Animated Canon and Pixar (I'll actually put in blurbs on my thoughts of the films of the canon below this),
- Mega Man: My favorite series is X, but I also like Legends, the classic series and even Battle Network.
- Digimon: Digimon Tamers is by far my favorite season. Ever. I also enjoyed Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, and I have mixed feelings about Digimon Adventure Zero Two. I despised Digimon Frontier, though, and I'm waiting for a dub of Digimon Xros Wars - I've heard a lot of good things about it, but not so much about its sequel.
- Dungeons And Dragons: I just got into this, but I main a a Lawful Good Fighter with a Greatsword, a Good (Chaotic Good) Shifter Artificer, and a Good (Neutral Good) Warforged Monk. I kind of go for an over-the-top, Rule of Cool Dungeon Punk theming with my characters.
Blurb reviews of the Disney Animated Canon
- Snow White - A classic, albeit a bit overrated due to being the first entry in the canon. Regardless, I recommend it.
- Pinocchio - A superior work to Snow White in many ways - easily one of old Uncle Walt's best, and a contender for his Magnum Opus.
- Fantasia - This is Walt's true masterpiece. There's a segment for everyone - my personal favorite segments are Night on Bald Mountain and Rite of Spring.
- Dumbo - A good, but not great, film. I do love it, but not to the extent of Walt's other works.
- Bambi - Easily one of the best films Walt's made - Walt himself considered it his Magnum Opus, and I would agree with him if not for...
- Saludos Amigos - I've never seen this one.
- The Three Caballeros - A trippy and fun anthology film, and I personally consider it the best of his anthology works - other than Fantasia, natch.
- Make Mine Music - I've never seen the whole thing, but Willie the Operatic Whale, Casey at the Bat and Peter and the Wolf are all pretty good.
- Fun And Fancy Free - The Bongo segment and the live action interstitials are kind of weak, but Mickey and the Beanstalk is good.
- Melody Time - Again, I've never seen the entire film, but Pecos Bill and The Legend of Johnny Appleseed are little-remembered gems.
- The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr Toad - I've never seen either of these segments in full.
- Cinderella - Maybe it's because I felt most of the Disney Princesses made in Walt's era were more ciphers than anything, but Cinderella has more of a personality than Aurora or Snow White. The mice, Lucifer and the Fairy Godmother steal the show, natch.
- Alice In Wonderland - While it was viewed as a weak film even by Walt on its release, this is one of the best adaptations of Lewis Carrol's masterwork. Too bad they cut out the Jabberwock. While Fantasia is the superior film, I prefer this film, and place it at number five on my top ten Disney films list.
- Peter Pan - If you ask me, the films of the Walt era that didn't have princesses were usually superior to the ones with princesses - Peter Pan is no exception, and one of the best works Disney made.
- Lady And The Tramp - Although it's not exactly unknown, this movie's an unsung classic.
- Sleeping Beauty - This is the best of the Disney Princess films released during Walt's lifetime. While Aurora and Phillip are both kind of bland, but Maleficent is one of the all-time great villains Disney has produced.
- One Hundred And One Dalmatians - The start of the "scratchy" era, it's a rather good film, but not perfect.
- The Sword In The Stone - While vastly Disneyfied from the original story, it's still an entertaining film, and one of my personal favorites - it's more a comedy than Walt's previous films, but it's a darn good one. I recommend it, and place it at number nine on my top ten Disney films list.
- The Jungle Book - It's good, but I'm still irked that Kaa was made evil just because he's a snake. Then again, I love snakes, but I can put that aside for this good film.
- The Aristocats - While not BAD - far from it, actually - it never really reaches the heights of Walt's films, and signified a downturn. It also signified a downturn in the quality of villains, who would become more Laughably Evil for years.
- Robin Hood - While better than Aristocats, it also isn't one of the greats - it's still a good, fun film, however.
- The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh - A classic, although it was actually partly made during Walt's lifetime.
- The Rescuers - It's kind of yawn-inducing, but not awful. For once, the sequel was actually BETTER.
- The Fox And The Hound - Definitely one of the more Tear Jerker films of the canon - in a good way, of course. Pretty decent overall.
- The Black Cauldron - I haven't seen this film in a long time, but it was decent, if not very Disney-ish.
- The Great Mouse Detective - The illustrious start of John Musker and Ron Clements' career, this film not only saved Disney animation from dying, but set the stage for the Disney Renaissance. I highly recommend it, especially because of Vincent Price playing Ratigan with devilish glee. The very large mouse was even one of Mr. Price's favorite roles! Highly recommended, and sitting at the position of number six in my top ten Disney movies.
- Oliver And Company - Decent, but not great. It still had a great soundtrack, though.
- The Little Mermaid - Even though it's VERY good, it's a little bit overrated. Ursula, however, is the most frightening Disney villain ever crafted. Another part of the always-good pantheon of Musker-Clements films, and Alan Menken, as always (except for Newsies, but that's not an animated film, so screw it), provides an excellent soundtrack.
- The Rescuers Down Under - Think Disney does Indiana Jones, but in Australia with a rather well-handled Green Aesop. It's superior to the original in every way, and is a hidden gem. I highly recommend it, and place it at number seven in my top ten Disney movies.
- Beauty And The Beast - Easily one of the best Princess films, this movie is an undisputed classic - It really deserved to win Best Picture.
- Aladdin - Another Musker-Clements masterpiece, this film was sadly the last Disney film Howard Ashman worked on. It's funny, it's heartwarming, and it's one of my all time favorites. Highly recommended.
- The Lion King - This is it. This is the biggest and best film of the canon - The one film that not only lives up to Walt's greatest creations, but exceeds them. It's the crown jewel in the Disney pantheon, with a great cast, an amazing soundtrack, and one of the best stories. A masterpiece that I recommend more than any other film in the Canon, and the number one greatest Disney film of all time.
- Pocahontas - This film was painfully boring for me when I went back to it as an adult. While it isn't BAD, it was too preachy, too pretentious, and couldn't hope to be a worthy successor to The Lion King. I don't recommend it, but it's not a bad film - it's up to you to decide the quality.
- The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - If nothing else, Hunchback is a step in the right direction after Pocahontas. It's a flawed film - It's far too short, and the Plucky Comic Relief doesn't fit in with the tone at all (although Victor is okay, and Laverne is Actually Pretty Funny what with the pigeon Running Gag) - but otherwise, with a great villain and Alan Menken's finest soundtrack, it's able to stand on its own merits as a good film. Recommended.
- Hercules - Despite being a myth buff and being a bit peeved by the, ahem, "liberties" Disney took, I still love this film. While it defines In Name Only, it's a solid, funny film - granted, some of the Anachronism Stew is hit or miss, but that's intrinsic to that type of humor. However, having a good soundtrack, an Adorkable hero, some of the best humor since Aladdin, buttloads of bonuses for the myth buffs in the audience showing that, yes, they did in fact care, and, of course, Hades, this film is on about the same quality level as The Little Mermaid. That said, I prefer Herc. Recommended, and sitting comfortably at number eight on my top ten Disney films list.
- Mulan - After the disappointing Pocahontas and two films that, while good, still couldn't live up to the earlier entries in the Renaissance, Mulan, I think, can stand toe to toe with Beauty and the Beast. It's one of the best examples of Adaptation Distillation Disney has done, in fact.
- Tarzan - What is it with Disney films set in Africa and being so good? Tarzan, like Mulan, lives up to the earlier Renaissance entries quite easily. With a fine soundtrack by Phil Collins, and the smart decision to change the imaginary "mangani" apes from Burroughs' novels into gorillas to reflect how gentle we know gorillas are now, Tarzan is a fitting last hurrah for the Renaissance.
- Fantasia 2000 - While it isn't as good as the original, the film still has some truly great moments - The Firebird Suite and Rhapsody in Blue stand toe-to-toe with the best of the original Fantasia, if you ask me.
- Dinosaur - The first truly bad entry in the canon. While Pocahontas and The Rescuers were boring, and Aristocats was merely subpar, this film is both genuinely bad and boring. Avoid this one.
- The Emperors New Groove - This is, without a doubt, one of Disney's best movies, and definitely their funniest - not just that, but I'd daresay it's the best animated comedy of all time. Genuinely witty and funny, Shrek and its copycats will never equal the laughs I get from this comedy masterpiece. Highly recommended, and placed at number four on my top ten favorite Disney films list.
- Atlantis The Lost Empire - It's not a bad film, but it never becomes anything more than decent. While there are some questionable twists in the plot, the art design by Mike Mignola and the Scenery Porn and Technology Porn make this an unsung favorite.
- Lilo And Stitch - The rare film that deftly balances comedy and bittersweetness, Lilo and Stitch not only blessed the world with my favorite Disney character, Stitch, but also was the first movie directed by the always great Chris Sanders, who Lasster should NOT have fired. Highly recommended - it's number two on my top ten Disney films list.
- Treasure Planet - Despite being IN SPACE!, this is one of the more faithful retellings of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel - It has some of the most beautiful animation in the canon, and James Newton Howard provides an amazing Celtic-influenced soundtrack. It's an underrated classic that I highly recommend. I place it at number ten on my top ten Disney films list.
- Brother Bear - While not a classic, Brother Bear does what it sets out to do reasonably well. Phil Collins provides a soundtrack, that, while not reaching the heights of his work on Tarzan, still provides an excellent mood to the movie. Still, it's never any better than decent.
- Home On The Range - There's a reason this cowpie nearly killed hand-drawn animation. An asinine attempt to rip-off the Shrek formula, and containing a Take That! at one of Dreamworks' better works, the film reeks of intentional sabotage of traditional animation by Eisner. Even our old friend Alan Menken can't save this film from being a steamping pile of dung. Avoid at all costs.
- Chicken Little - "Okay, Dreamworks, you guys are churning out movies, that despite being clear rip-offs of Pixar and having humor that ages worse than a carton of milk, are hits. So we'll just try and apply that treatment to Chicken Little." In other words, it's not as god-awful as Home on the Range, but it's still a piece of crap.
- Meet The Robinsons - After two awful movies in a row, everyone's expectations were lowered for this one. However, this movie actually defied those expectations - it was a genuinely good movie that made up for its two predecessors.
- Bolt - Although this movie was good, I can't stand Miley Cyrus, and I'm still bitter Chris Sanders got fired from the project. In its released state, it's just okay.
- The Princess And The Frog - Yet another good movie from Musker and Clements, I'd daresay this is their Magnum Opus - with the best Disney villain since Yzma (and he's voiced by Keith David, no less!) and a soundtrack that proves Randy Newman can stand toe-to-toe with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, I highly recommend this one.
- Tangled - I was skeptical of this movie - It looked like a rip-off of Dreamworks terrible formulaic "comedies." However, I was proven wrong - What I got was the single best Disney Princess movie of all time, with some of the most three-dimensional characters since Lilo and Stitch. I highly recommend this movie, due to being the best non-Pixar CGI-animated flick ever crafted - Hell, I enjoyed this flick more than some of Pixar's work! I place this film at number three in my top ten Disney films list.
Vandalism
