Search This Blog

Wednesday, 21 January 2026

The Colors Within Film Review


Anime is a medium that has the power to touch you and to make you feel things that you didn't know you could feel. Such was the case with this films directors previous film and yet it's something that they do try to replicate in the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today and it's a film that i've personally been excited to watch as I love A Silent Voice and I thought that the director of that film did a great job and so to hear that they had a new film out of course i'm going to be excited about it and so then join me as I review the film that is all about colors with the film in question being called simply just "The Colors Within" enjoy.

The plot of this film Totsuko a girl who can see people as colors finds herself drawn to the mysterious Kimi but when she tells her that she can play piano the two end up forming a band with Rui and find themselves confronting there own drama. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this films plot being as strong as it could have been as the setup for the film doesn't really allow for a strong film plot with this films plot feeling like it would be better suited for the plot of an anime TV series then an anime film as the plot is just so wafer thin at best that it is hard to tell just what the main plot of the film is meant to be at times with this being something that does sadly keep the film from being an enjoyable watch as you do spend half the time wondering what the plot of the film is meant to be and the other half working out ways to make the film better and while this films does focus of it's plot on just the three main characters it doesn't take the time to actually makes us care about them with the same thing even being true for the films plot as the film doesn't end in a natural way it just stops which is something that does do a disservice to it's plot as this is a plot that would have worked so much more better if it was the plot of anime TV series and not an anime film with the plot of this film not really being really rather enjoyable and nor is it really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Libby Rue as Totsuko Higurashi and Belle star Kylie McNeill as Kimi Sakunaga. Also starring in this film is Eddy Lee as Rui Kagehira , Pokémon Black & White star Eileen Stevens as Sister Hiyoshiko , Hinano Kuzukawa as Saku Momochi , Eden Harker as Shiho Nanakubo , Maxine Wanderer as Sumika Yatsushika and Burn-Up Excess and The Queen's Corgi star Lani Minella as Shino Sakunaga.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors being really good and even tho this review is being based off of the dubbed version of the film these actors were still really good in the film with them all turning in some fairly solid performances in the film with it being a bold choice to not go with established names for the films cast and instead cast more unknown for little known names for the films lead roles which is something that does pay off as it makes it easier to see the character and not just hear the actor something which the film very easily could have done if it went with bigger named stars for the lead roles with the films best actor being Libby Rue who just brings a certain authenticity to the character of Totsuko and which is something that does help to make this film character unique and stand out on her own and infact this film is perhaps this actors biggest role as her only other big role was the lead role in the Disney Jr show Alice's Wonderland Baker and you can tell that she has a bright future ahead of her as the two characters sound nothing alike and yet she brings the same amount of charm to both of them with the acting that's in this film not really being helped by the fact that the script for this film is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the really greats that are currently over at Science SARU. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this film going for a picture book type of look to it as the whole film does look like something that you'd see in a book that you'd read to little kids before bedtime which is in no way a bad thing as the film does have this rather relaxing nature to it something which does come through in the films animation as the film makes great use of having these rather simple designs for all of the characters and by having less detail in the films backgrounds which yes granted does have the adverse effect of making the film look more cheap then what it actually is but it is also something that does add alot of charm to the film as well with the characters having alot of really fluid movements to them which is something that does come alive during the films ending musical number which is were we get to see the film at it's most colorful which is the biggest issue with the film as while A Silent Voice played around with it's animation to great effect this film doesn't really take full advantage of the fact that it's leading character sees people as colors which is something that could have led to some really crazy and creative visuals something which the film sadly doesn't do but in all fairness tho this films animation is still solid with or without that little addition.


As was just mentioned A Silent Voice has fun with it's visuals by having the main male character see all of the other characters with X's all over there face. Yet when this film cuts to the POV of Totsuko they don't do anything like that when given the fact that she sees people as colors it would have made for a more visually interesting film if we got to see what things look like from her perspective like for example whenever a character is feeling cool and relaxed they could appear blue and when there feeling angry or upset they appear red just something like that would have made the film a more visual treat to watch and while yes A Silent Voice was based off of a manga something which wasn't the case for the film that means that the makers of this film could have done whatever they wanted to make the film alot more visually interesting instead of just going with more muted colors alot of the time and heck it could even be argued that by now showing us what things look like from Totsuko's point of view that it makes her appear to be a really dull character as she stays the same character all throughout the film where as if we got to see the world how she sees it and see how lying to her teachers affects how she views the world like maybe the colors co8ld become more muted the more lies that she tells instead of having of keeping it all the same and then when she tells the truth to them more colors start to come back into the world thus showing that she's grown as a character when you have a character that sees the world in a way that allows you to have these more visually interesting scenes then why not take as full advantage of that as you can do as that is something that would only make your film be all the more better in the first place.

In what was a rather odd move for a dubbed anime is that while must anime that gets dubbed and that features the characters singing songs the singing never ever gets dubbed or it very rarely ever gets dubbed. Yet in this film the entire song sequence near the end of the film gets completely dubbed into English which was something that I wasn't expecting to see in the film and while it adds nothing to the film as a whole as the film would have worked just as well in the singing remained in Japanese it is something that does let you know that the makers of this dubbed version of the film were willing to go the extra mile and give us the whole film dubbed where as shows like the entire Love Live franchise for example they never dubbed the songs and singing is a bigger part of that franchise then it is this film with the songs themselves not really being anything special heck it's even quite hard to tell just what it is that the songs are even about in the first place but what did stand out was Kylie McNeill's singing was really good as she does have a great voice and while the lyrics are nothing special the fact that the makers of this film went through the trouble of dubbing the songs in the first place is something truly special to behold but it's let down by the fact that none of the songs are that memorable as they take up a huge portion of the ending of the film with there being three songs sung back to back all just because a character that one member of the band lied to can then come and see them performing together and that's it and that's not really something that requires three songs to do as you could have out the other two songs and just have all three of those characters walk into the concert that the band are having at the same time and it would still play out the exact same way.


The films main friendship between Totsuko and Kimi is one that could be viewed in alot of different ways with some viewers viewing there relationship as that of lovers. Which is a fine and totally valid way to see it as the film does present us with many different ways to view there bond like for example I personally see them as being nothing more then just good friends as all throughout the film we never once get to see them have any kind of romantic scene or a scene that could be viewed as such but what we do get to see is scenes with them becoming good friends and essentially telling each other through there music just how much they mean to each other with Totsuko viewing Kimi as like a cooler older sister type of character but on the other hand there are merits to viewing as something more then friends as well as the characters do get to spend alot of time together and when they are together you do get the feeling that one if not both of them might have romantic feelings for the other but it's the fact that none of them share a romantic scene or even disclose there feelings to each other in that way that does make that something that's hard to buy into especially when there's alot more evidence of them being nothing more then just good friends and heck even when Kimi is about to confess to her Grandma about all the lying that she's done it's Totsuko who asks if she wants her to come with her for emotional support and that doesn't seem like somethin that you'd do if you weren't good friends with someone and given the fact that none of the characters even Rui gets to have any kind of romantic feelings towards the other it does feel like that both Kimi and Totsuko are meant to be nothing more then just good friends and that's really it.

Now then this film has . had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and forty one minuets and fourteen seconds. Which to be fair to this film is a perfectly solid running time for this film to have with the film having more then enough there interms of plot to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and while the film doesn't really use it's running time all that wisely in the first place as it doesn't take the time to fully develop it's plot it really doesn't have to as due to the sheer nature of the film feeling like a loose series of scenes just edited together with the film being more focused on showing all three character bond and become friends then it is in giving us a well developed with this even being something that does effect the films character development as none of the films really go through anything to really earn any character development with this main being due to the fact that the film does feel like it would have been better of a being a TV series then a feature length film as then you could have as long as you need to tell your story which would then allow you to have episodes that do further develop the plot and that do make the characters come across as being more three dimensional and yet due to the fact that with a film you can't really be that long that is something that does mean that things like plot and character development can't done in this film and yet if the film was a TV show then it would have worked out alot more better as things would have alot more room to breathe and develop at a more natural pace then what they do in the film and heck even the films characters would have the chance to be more defined something that just isn't the case in the film but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a drama that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As when it wants to this film can have some really good drama that does feel very true to the characters yet at the same time tho the film really doesn't really build up to anything with anything that you think might make a big dramatic moment in the film being something that gets resolved right away which is something that does make it pointless for this film to be a drama as you could have made it a musical or a comedy and the film would play out the exact same way with there not really being a dramatic moment that stands out in the film as the resolves all drama as soon as it starts it as you'd think that there would be a big dramatic blowup when Totsuko tells Kimi that she can't play piano but no the film treats it as if it's nothing with the same thing being true for when both Rui and Kimi's parents find out that they've both been lying to them but again that gets brushed aside with the same thing kind of being true for when it's discovers that Totsuko has been lying to the teachers at her school as while she does get punished for it it's not treated as anything big for her character whereas as this is a drama film there really should have been that big dramatic moment that forces all of the characters to learn and grow from their mistakes with this again being something that could have worked if this was a show and not a film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall it's been said quite a many a time in this review but this film as good as it is is something that would have worked much more better as a TV show then a film as while the film is still good it would have been alot more better if it was a TV show and not a feature length film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very fil really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys an girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Monday, 19 January 2026

My SPOILER FREE First Impressions Of The A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms TV Series


When we think of Game Of Thrones we typically think of a show that is super serious but also has some lighthearted moments in it. Well the franchise has just launched it's latest prequel and unlike House Of The Dragon which was more serious then what Game Of Thrones was this show seems to be going the opposite route by being more of a lighthearted show and well you all just knew that I had t check the first episode of this show the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FREE first impressions of the show that takes place both ninety years AFTER House Of The Dragon and ninety years BEFORE Game Of Thrones with the show in question being called simply just "A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is a squire by the name of Dunk goes to enter a tournament after his mentor is killed but has to get the blessings from a lord in order to do so. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with this episode plot doing a good job of setting up the main plot for this season of the show that being the tournament that Dunk is trying to enter and what his relationship with Egg might be like as well but on the flip of side of that when compared to the other debuting episodes from this franchise this one is easily the weakest of the three as not alot really happens plot wise with it feelin like the makers of the episode only had enough plot for twenty two minuets worth of television but then were ordered by HBO into making this episode well over forty minuets which does mean that we get stuck with a plot that gets stretched really thin when it would have helped the episode out alot more if the episode was shorter as there's nothing in this episodes plot that demands it be this long but in saying this tho having it be this long does make this episode feel special as the plot does have alot of setting up to o and to be fair the episodes plot really is quite strong on it's own it's just not really as strong as the debut episode episodes plots for both House Of The Dragon and Game Of Thrones respectively with the plot of this episode being really rather entertaining and as well as bein g really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.  


Starring in this episode is Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan The Tall , Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg and Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon. Also starring in this episode is Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway , Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle , Danny Webb as Ser Arlan Of Pennytree , Henry Ashton as Prince Daeron Targaryen , Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion , Bamber Todd as Young Dunk , Jenna Boyd as The Innkeeper , Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer , Abigail O'Regan as Daisy , Carla Harrison-Hodge as Beony , Rowan Robinson as Red , Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway , Steven Calvert as A Stormland knight , Danny Collins as Ser Humfrey Beesbury , Ross Anderson as Ser Humfrey Hardyng and Ellie McHale-Roe as Lia The Lovely.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this episodes acting being shockingly good as you don't usually expect acting in the first episode of a new show to be this good and that's exactly what we get in this episode as it is made clear that the characters of Dunk and Egg were cast perfectly and as both Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell just embody the characters so perfectly and are a good fit as these characters with the pair of them even having some really solid chemistry which was the most important thing for this show to get right as this show lives or dies on there friendship being real to us the audience with the best actor in this episode being Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan The Tall as he knows just when this character would act goofy and when he act seriously and be this menacing threat of a man who is kind hearted and is just willing to do what he thinks his right and that is something that does come through in Peter's performance as the character with his performance being one of the few highlights of the episode as it's something that proves that the makers of this show knew to the casting of both Dunk and Egg down perfectly and that really is something that they pulled of wonderfully with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Character wise it might be a bit to early to fully judge this shows characters but as for right now we do have some fairly decent characters. As right now there's nothing all that special about any of this shows characters but given that this is the first episode of the show that is something that's to be expected as not all shows have good characters right away heck again just look at Game Of Thrones as proof of that as it took a good few episodes for there characters to really get going and so it does make sense that alot of this episodes characters wouldn't be the best characters out there right away with there being alot of potential for this shows characters to be some of the franchises best characters as Dunk is easily someone who could be a funny character and could be one that alot of people relate to further on down the line and a character like Plummer is one that alot of people could really hate by the end of this first season as his character does come across as being slimy and like he's up to no good with this being something where this franchise thrives as the characters that you think are going to be good guys end up being villains and the ones that you think are going to be villains end up being good guys of course there are expectations to this rule and we know that a character like Egg will go on to become a good guy so it will be interesting seeing hm grow into the person that he is when Game Of Thrones starts and see what it is that drove him to The Wall in the first place whereas with Dunk it will be interesting to see why he's not in Game Of Thrones and how a character like him could be taken down and given just how slow George R.R. Martin likes to write his stories we could find out in this show what happens to Dunk before it happens in the books.


Much like how House Of The Dragon was adapted from the book Fire And Blood this show is adapted from the Tales Of Dunk And Egg series. Which is a series of short stories that are set in the world of Westeros with the first story which was called "The Hedge Knight" being published in "Legends" it's sequel story was published in the sequel to legends "Legends II" with the third and so far mist recent story being published in 2010 in the book "Warriors" yet due to the fact that George hasn't finished "The Winds Of Winter" yet he has said that there will be no more entries in this series until that book is finished which does mean that we're not likely to see the next chapter of there story in book form for a long time but we are likely to see it happen in the TV show as jus after quickly glancing the Wikipedia page for the whole series this first season does seem to be sticking fairly true to that first book something which was kind of the case for House Of The Dragon as well altho given the historical nature of the book that that show is based off of they do have a little bit more wiggle room for changes to be made to the story something which can't be true here as the stories do seem to be greatly detailed and are told in the more traditional sense and given when this show is taking place it would be interesting to see these iconic landmarks from both shows appear in this one just so we the audience could see what changes happens to those landmarks inbetween all three shows as that is something that would be quite interesting to see even if it's just very briefly but at the same time that is something that could be seen as being to distracting as it could be seen as reminding us the audience that we could be watching two more better and more established shows.

Believe it or not this episode actually sees a return of sorts as while House Of The Dragon was mostly filmed in England and in Spain. This show was actually filmed in Belfast Northern Island much like Game Of Thrones was for many years with alot of the people who worked on that show returning to work on this one and well whilst you really can't tell the difference all that much it was nice to see this show return to the home if you will of Game Of Thrones as much like how it would feel weird seeing The Lord Of The Rings filmed in anywhere but New Zealand as that place just simply is the home of Middle Earth Belfast Northern Island just simply is Westeros and it does feel weird seeing a show that's based in that world filmed in anywhere but that country as there's jus so much beauty to be found in the Irish countryside that you just can't replicate inside of a studio and heck the makers of this show even built the entire village of Ashford for real as they knew that the whole first season of the show was going to be spent in that one location which does mean that everything that we see in that town from the tents to the castle all worked the exact way that they work in the show and that was just an insane amount of dedication to something that really didn't require that much dedication in the first place and it was the same amount of dedication that we got in both House Of The Dragon and in Game Of Thrones as well as it's that level of commitment to making this world feel real and lived that helps to make the shows even better as it makes those sets all the more impressive to look at in the first place and it's something that really should carry over into future seasons of both this show and House Of The Dragon as well.


Whilst this show is alot more lighthearted then the other shows in this franchise that doesn't mean that it's devoid of drama as it's really it. Rather the episode doesn't really give it's drama alot of focus which is something that does make alot of sense as this first season of the show is meant to be following the first book really closely heck both the first episode of this show and the first book share the same title with the books being alot more lighthearted then the Game Of Thrones books were with the amount of drama that this first episode does have being very minimal at best with it only serving to give us more information about the characters and even then alot of it is more played for laughs which is something that does keep to the show from being to drama focused but given that this is a drama show it would have been nice if the episode did allow more time for the more dramatic moments of the episode to have the time to breathe that they really did need instead of cracking a joke alot of the time as this franchise is known for having some fantastic drama when it really wants to and that is something that could have been in this episode and while there is a chance that the show might get more dramatic as the season goes on you only get one chance to start to build up that drama and that's something that this episode doesn't take full advantage of doing as it's more focused in trying to tell a joke when it could have done that and still give us some good drama but to be fair to this show it has so much to set up in this first episode that of course certain things are going to fall by the way side and just be forgotten about which was the case with this episodes drama.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly forty one minuets and fifty two seconds. Which for this show is actually double the length of what the average episode might be as the average episode of the show is going to be around thirty minuets which is fine for a comedy and the type of story that there telling in this first season and for a show in the Game Of Thrones franchise it's alot more on the shorter side of things with this episode having the right amount of plot there to cover that long amount of running time however it does feel like that the episode is being stretched from what was clearly a twenty two minuet plot to fit in with a much longer running and while the episode doesn't really use it's running time all that wisely by developing it's plot this is something that does make sense as this is one the first episode of the show and therefor of course the plot of the show won't be that well developed but it still would have been nice if the plot of the episode was a bit more developed as we don't even get to find out why Dunk is entering the tournament in the first place which is something that would have developed the plot of the episode and given the show some much needed the drama with the episode understandably not really developing it's characters either which again is understandable as this is just the first episode of the show and therefor you could argue that the characters are going to be getting to there character development in further episodes but this episode really did need to start them of in a way where that development would feel natural and while you can see how characters like Dunk and Egg could get there character development that's just not something that you can see happening to the episodes other characters but I really will admit that this episode episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With the episode having alot of really good jokes in it all of which do feel rather refreshing for this franchise but at the same time tho it still would have been nice if this episode had alot more better jokes in it as this is the first time that the mainstream audience are something these characters and therefor you do want to start this show of with your best foot forward and part of that does include putting your best jokes in the episode with the best joke in the whole entire episode not really being one that can be described not because it's spoiler but because it's hard to do so with out possibly getting the post removed but let's just say that the joke is the perhaps the best bodily joke that you could come up with purely for the fact that it has the Game Of Thrones music play over it with the episode having alot more cuter jokes in it all of which don't really undercut the tension of any scene that there in but in saying that they don't also really add to any scene that there in as there just there because of the fact that the makers of this put more focus on being funny then being dramatic which is something that does make sense as the books really were more lighthearted but at the same time Game Of Thrones found the balance between being funny and being dramatic and yet this episode really just couldn't do it despite it having alot of really funny jokes in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall whilst it might be hard to say on if this show is going to be better then House Of The Dragon as that show was so good that did restore alot of faith in Game Of Thrones as a whole what can be said is that this episode isn't of to the best of starts with the show having alot of room to grow in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this episode in this very post and as this is only my first impressions of the show there won't be a rating but if i'm still watching the show when the final episode airs then I will do a review of the show as a whole.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman Film Review


When people think of animated Batman films there's always one film that people seem to forget about as it is seen as being the weakest one. Yet it's that very film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today as this is a film that I genuinely haven't seen before now and I wanted to check out and so then join me as I review the film that was the last film to be set in the DCAU until 2017's Batman And Harley Quinn with the film in question being called simply just "Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when a new hero arrives on the scene dressed like a bat Batman tries to work out who she is all the while trying to stop the latest scheme from The Penguin. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as this is still a decent plot that would have made for a decent episode of the show and yet that's also the problem as this films plot doesn't make for a good Batman film plot as it just feels like an extended episode of Batman: The Animated Series and that's really it where as if you look at films like Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze Sub Zero they all had plots that made them feel like movies and that could only work in movies where as this films plot could easily have been the plot to a two part episode of the show with this not really being helped by the fact that the films plot s weak at best as the film does pick up and drop it's plot alot of the time so much so that it does get hard to work out just what it is that this films plot is even meant to be in the first place and yet even so when this films plot does get something right it really does get it right like for example the romance between Bruce and Kathleen was really sweet and the idea of Batman having to figure just who this new person is is a good idea but the film does nothing with either idea to make them work as well as they perhaps could have done with the plot of this film being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman , Kyra Sedgwick as Batwoman and Héctor Elizondo as Bane. Also starring in this film is Kimberly Brooks as Kathleen "Kathy" Duquesne , Kelly Ripa as Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine , Elisa Gabrielli as Detective Sonia Alcana , David Ogden Stiers as Penguin , Kevin Michael Richardson as Carlton Duquesne , John Vernon as Rupert Thorne , Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth , Eli Marienthal as Tim Drake / Robin , Tara Strong as Barbara Gordon , Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon , Robert Costanzo as Detective Harvey Bullock and Tim Dang as Kevin.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With the actors that you expect a good performance from like for example Kevin Conroy giving us exactly that and while there acting isn't enough to save the film it is something that does show you that the makers of this film really did try there best to give us a good Batman film with the films guest actors more then holding there own when it comes to acting opposite the series main actors with the best actor in this film being of course Kevin Conroy as the man just simply IS Batman so much so that he's not playing a role at this point he's just being himself as he had been playing this character for close to decade at this point in time and while yes actors like Kevin Michael Richardson and David Ogden Stiers are still really good in this film with David Ogden Stiers making for a shockingly really good Penguin they just can't top what Kevin Conroy does with the character as he really is just that good as this character in any piece of Batman media with the acting that's in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the greats that really are currently over at DR Movie. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with the films animation being alot more better then that it really had any right to be as while the animation isn't as good as the animation from the show was you can still tell that there was some form of effort put into making this films animation look really good with all of the films characters having some really fluid movements to them and while the film does indeed borrow the character designs from The New Batman Adventures the film makes everything alot more brighter and alot more colorful which is the only real issue with the film from an animation standpoint as a Batman film should look dark and it should look gritty as that's the world that these characters live in this was something that Batman: The Animated Series understood and yet here in this film despite it being set in the same world as that show it feels completely different due to the fact that things are now made to be brighter when it would have worked so much more better if things were kept darker as that's what people want to see a Batman movie but to be fair tho this films animation really does come alive during it's action scenes and heck it could even be argued that the films animation helped to make the action be all the more better then what they already are due to the fact that we get some nice fluid animation during those scenes.


Believe it not this film was actually the last feature film to be set in the confides of the DCAU until 2017's Batman And Harley Quinn film. As while alot of this films actors did reprise there roles in other Batman related films and TV shows they were classed as being apart of the DCAU and that to me at least is astounding due to the fact that the DCAU had alot of really good shows all of which could have had there own movies and while yes we did get film length episodes from certain shows shows like Superman and both of the Justice League shows never got movies of their own and yet both shows were extremely popular and could have gotten a movie or two of there own but for one reason or another people at either Warner Bros or at DC decided to instead just give Batman feature length films which is still great as that character does have alot of room to tell good stories but at the same time when you look at the wider DCAU there was more potential there to tell these stories that perhaps could have been told within a single twenty two minuet episode all of which would have been really cool to see like imagine how good an animated Superman movie based on Superman: The Animated Series would have been if it had the animation quality of Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm or how good a Justice League movie would have been if it had a one hour and thirty minuet running time to tell this truly epic story that could only be told in a film just because Batman: The Animated Series was the most popular DCAU show doesn't mean that there wasn't other shows that could have worked really well if they had there own feature length film.

Lets talk about the villains of the film as it could be argued that the film has to many villains as you have Bane , Penguin and Rupert Thorne all as the films main villains. Yet then you also have Kathleen "Kathy" Duquesne , Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine , Detective Sonia Alcana and Kathy's father Carlton Duquesne as all four of those characters act like villains at some point in the film and that is just far to many villains to have in a film that isn't even one hour and thirty minuets long and while yes you could argue that Kathy , Rocky and Sonia aren't true villains as there meant to be Batwoman and therefor doing good there are times where they do act like there meant to be villains and while Carlton is just trying to look after his daughter he's also a gangster that is in league with The Penguin whereas this film is one that would have worked just by having Bane and Penguin as villains as together they are more then strong enough to be the main villains of a direct to DVD animated movie with even Penguins plan of just trying to sell these weapons just so he can make money not really being something that you'd expect to be the main villain plot for a movie as there you do expect the villains to go bigger with there plans so why not have Penguins plan still be selling weapons to make money but then reveal that he's putting tat money towards a bigger scheme like taking over the world as that is the kind of plan that you'd expect to see in a movie where as here his plan feels like the plan he would come up with in an episode of the show as it's just that small scale of a plan with this no doubt being done because of the fact that the film has to many characters who you could argue are villains in he film when having fewer villains would have worked all the more better.


This film does of course have a mystery aspect that being who is Batwoman and well to be frank this films mystery isn't that good. As the film does outright tell you who all three of them are the second that Bruce starts to suspect them whereas it would have been more effective if we didn't know who they were again look at Mask Of The Phantasm we don't see who the Phantasm is out side of the costume heck we don't even know if there male or female we just know that there evil and Batman has to work out who they are with the flashback scenes being the only pieces of clues that we get to the fact that this new character is someone that Bruce Wayne might know where as here it felt like they were trying to do everything that that film did only more poorly as here we get told who Batwoman and we don't get any clues as to she might be so that us the audience can work it out for ourselves both of which are things that do make this films mystery be all the more weaker then what it already is in the first place this wouldn't be a bad thing of course were it not for the fact that the film is literally called Mystery Of The Batwoman and yet it does feel like that so little effort was put into the films mystery when that is the first thing that should have been given alot of love and attention with the thing that could have helped this films mystery being if only got to see Batwoman very briefly and have the characters are her act so unlike her as they have to fool not only us the audience but also Batman the worlds greatest detective as well and when you have the characters straight up introduce things that Batwoman herself uses it makes Batman all the more dumb for not working out something that us the audience have already worked out or ourselves.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fourteen minuets and forty nine seconds. Which is pretty much the bog standard running time for these DCAU Batman movies to have but in saying this tho given just how many villains that this film has it is something that could have been with being at the very least one hour and thirty minuets with this film having just about the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place but tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the film doesn't take the time that it really should have done to fully develop it's plot with the film instead being alot more focused on giving us a forced romance between Bruce and Kathy then it in giving us a well thought out plot with there romance being very poorly handled due to the fact that the two characters don't compliment each other at all with the film no even taking the time to fully develop its characters either which is something that does make sense for characters like Batman for example where you could make the argument that they get there character development in the both the show and in the other movies but for the newly introduced characters they are characters that could have used the character development and yet because of the fact that the film is more focused on giving us a very poorly done mystery none of them can get it and infact we know just about the films new characters coming out of the film then we did coming into the film as that's just how poorly done that this films character development really is but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With the action in this film being the best aspect of the film as you can tell right away that the makers of this film really did know how to craft some wonderful action scenes with the films animation really coming alive during any of this films action something which does make this film action seem to be all the ore better then what it already is in the first place with the best action scene in the whole entire film being the films third act fight on the boat as we get to all three women as Batwoman team up to help Batman take down both Bane and Penguin after Kathy herself is kidnapped by Bane something which does lead to a truly awsome fight that gives you all of the things that you'd want to see in a Batman fight scene as we get lots of explosions which do look good in the film and it will always be cool tom see other heroes teaming up with each other something which the entire third act of this films is built around and heck Batman does even get into a pretty impressive fight with Bane something which does make sense as realistically Bane is the only villain character that could beat Batman so having him and Bane go toe to toe with each other is something that does add an extra layer of tension to the scene as Batman could die with the film having alot of other really good action scenes in it as well all of which prove that there is a good film in here it's just bogged down by a badly done plot in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Overall its not that hard to see why alot people not only don't like but have also forgotten about this film as this film is easily the weakest of the Batman DCAU films with it being made clear as day that the makers of the film really had no idea what to do for the film and so they just threw stuff at the wall to see what sticks and because of that we ended up with a really average films because of it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Sunday, 11 January 2026

Spongebob Squarepants: Help Wanted , Reef Blower and Tea At The Treedome Review


There are some shows that are for lack of a better word iconic as there've been with us now for so long that everybody knows what they are with a good example of this being The Simpsons. Another such example is oddly enough Spongebob Squarepants as even if you've not seen a single episode of the show you are still aware of the character be it due to the show or one of the characters SEVERAL movies and well I thought that now would be the right time to go back and look at the very first episode of the show and so then join me as I review the episode that introduced the world to a yellow sponge and his square pants with the episodes segments being called simply just "Help Wanted" , "Reef Blower" and "Tea At The Treedome" enjoy.

The plot of "Help Wanted" is Spongebob finally has the chance to work as a fry cook at his favorite restaurant but when several fish come in at once demanding service it's up to the young cook to prove his worth in "Reef Blower" Spongebob causes mayhem when a reef blows near his house and he has to clean it up and finally in "Tea At The Treedome" Spongebob and Patrick meet a land squirrel called Sandy and when they go round to her house they discover that she does things a little bit differently to them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with "Tea At The Treedome" having the best plot of the episodes three segments just due to the fact that "Help Wanted" had to do alot of the heavy lifting as it had so much to set up for the rest of the show and "Tea At The Treedome" was therefor more free to just go and do it's own thing which is something that it did really well how much like with "Reef Blower" the plots for these segments weren't the strongest that they could have ben with this being something that does make alot of sense as this is a show that only has segments that last a few minuets and nothing more then that therefor none of this episodes can be that strong in the first place and this is great as it does mean that all of the episodes segments can be more focused on giving us good jokes without having to worry about the plot of the episode making sense with the plot of this episode being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants , The Narrator , A Sub Driver , Gary and some Anchovies . Also starring in this episode is Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles , John Wick: Chapter 4 , Green Lantern 2011 and A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 star  Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs , Jennifers Body star Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star and some Anchovies and Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this being something that was quite surprising as you usually don't expect the first episode of a TV show to have good acting in it and while yes this shows acting would of course get alot more better over the years the fact that this episode and these three segments all had some really strong acting in it from all of the episode actors is still something that was truly shocking to behold with it just going to show you that these bunch of actors are a really good group of actors as they knock out of the park with there characters right away with all of these characters being really well cast and while this is kind of obvious now looking back n this episode but it is really hard to picture anyone else playing these characters with it really being hard to say just who the best actor in this episode really is as by all rights anyone of this episodes actors could make that claim and it would be totally justified but if push did indeed come to shove then i'd have to say that the best actor in the episode is Tom Kenny just due to the fact that he voices more characters in this episode and each one of them sound distinctly different from one another with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that the scripts for this episode are just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Rough Draft Korea. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good as really all three segments of this episode have some really high quality animation in them even taking into account that not only was this episode made in 1997 before being aired in 1999 but also the fact that this is a TV show and therefor it would have been understandable if the makers of this episode did indeed cut corners to make the episode for alot more cheaper and yet you can tell right away that the people who worked on this episode from an animation point of view put al of there love an attention into all three segments as all three segments look really good with all of the episodes characters having these really nice and fluid movements to them that help to make the animation in this episode feel more alive then what it really should have done if there's one grips to be had with the films animation it's that they don't go zany enough with it as this is a show that does allow you to have those more zany character movements and yet for some odd reason the makers of this episode don't go that route which has the add on effect of making the show feel alot less fun to watch in the process and yet if they did have some zany animation then it would have made scenes like the big anchovy scene with Squidward and Mr. Krabs be all the more funnier then what it already is in the first place but credit where it's due this episode still does look really good even all of these years later.


In what could be seen as being a surprising move this episode does have it's middle segment "Reef Blower" be pretty much a silent cartoon. With this being something that does work really well as it does harken back to those early days of Hollywood where there would be no lines of dialog and all of the action came from the characters body language and that is present in that segment with that segment being all the more better for it as not only is it the shortest of the three segments its also one that doesn't really need any kind of dialog to put across just what the story of the segment is meant to be in the first place and infact the only piece of sound that we hear in that whole segment is just the musical score for the segment and that's really it and that is something that does work really well for this segment with it also making you wonder why there aren't more Spongebob segments like this as it's segments like this that do force the animators to step up their game as usually you could have a voice actor express what it is that there meant to be feeling but now that you don't have that to rely on it all has to come across in the animation and while that doesn't exactly work alot of the time the times that it does work is where that segment really does shine it's brightest with the even the idea of the segment just being Spongebob wanting to remove this one reef from the front of house being such a simple one as it allows the characters to go as crazy as they need to and be as cartoony as they need to and while this might have been shortest segment the idea of making it a silent cartoon is weird enough for this show that it could have worked as a full twenty two minuet episode of the show due to the fact that the idea itself is more then strong enough to support it in it's own right.

Like alot of debut episodes the first segment of this episode did have alot of heavy lifting to do as it had to set up four of the main characters, get across what there personalities are like and set up the relationships for the show moving forward. Which is something that would have been seen as doing far to much for a short segment and yet to be frank it was something that did work but it didn't work as well as it perhaps could have done as while Patrick is formally introduced in that segment the segment doesn't give him alot of screen time with him only appearing at the start and at the end of the segment and that's it which is fine as the segment did have more important things to do but at the same time tho given just how beloved he is as a character in his own right it was weird to see that they fully didn't set up just who Patrick is and what his relationship to Spongebob is in that or even the final segment for that matter with this being something that they very easily could have done just by having one of the characters say to the other that there friends and that's it as it could have been said when Patrick is trying to give Spongebob a pep talk and while nothing is lost from not fully setting him up as a character in this opening segment as it could be argued that the segment was made before the creators of the show even had any real idea just what there relationship was meant to be like it is still something that is weird to see them not set up as first episodes by right of passage have to set up alot of things and one of those things is character relationships heck Spongebobs relationship with both Squidward and Mr. Krabs is set up in that segment and there not even meant to be his best friend but his best friend doesn't get his character fully set up at all.


Whilst the Spongebob movies especially the first one are known for having really dark and dramatic moments in them, This is something that was actually set up in the third segment of this episode "Tea At The Treedome" where Spongebob starts t slowly die and dry out after not having water for a long time with both him and Patrick pretty much dieing for a small portion of that episode which for a kids show is pretty dark and even tho that scene is played for laughs it is something that does let you know right away that this is a show that's not afraid to go to those dark places albeit in a more kid friendly way with the thing that makes it more dark being the fact that we see Spongebob suffer and grasp for air all throughout the segment with this being something that alot of kids shows even today dare not do and yet here it is in the first episode of an iconic series and while yes alot of it is played for laughs as we the audiences know full well that Spongebob can't breathe without water its the fact that we see him and later Patrick grasp for air and then dry out that makes it a really dark moment and while the show really doesn't go to those dark places all that often the fact that they still did it in the movies does show you that the makers of this episode really did  know what they were doing with the only thing that could have made it better if we got to see both Spongebob and Patrick running around the Treedome looking for any bit of water as that is something that would have made that really dramatic scene all the more funny and heck you could have had them run into Sandy alot of the time but without her knowing it and just to hit home how much they've learnt from being in the Treedome Spongebob should have said to Sandy that they needed water on screen and not have it happen off screen.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty three minuets and forty nine seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this episode to have with all three of the episodes segments ranging from six to eight minuets with the second segment being around about two minuets and forty eight seconds with all three segments having the right amount of plot there to cover there respective running times and yet in saying this tho both "Help Wanted" and "Tea At The Treedome" don't use there running times all that wisely as they don't use there respective running times to fully develop there plots which in the case for the first segment does make sense as they have to set up alot of things for the show moving forward and yet it's also the case in the third segment with it feeling like that things are just happening for the sake of happening rather then because of the fact that they make sense in context of there plots with this slightly being true for the episodes character development as well as both of those segments don't really put there characters in situations that help to fully develop them as characters but it could be said that those segments don't fully develop there characters because of the fact that they get there character development in all of the other episodes and movies however the character still need to be have that development started which is something that both the first and final segment don't do however it is understandable that the second segment doesn't fully develop it's plot and characters as that segment isn't even three minuets long but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode on the whole having some really funny jokes in it all of which work really well because of how well done that the episodes characters are with all of the episodes jokes feeling there very character driven and heck it's even in the episodes jokes where the episodes animation on the whole gets to really come alive and make them as funny as they could possibly be due to the fact that we get some really funny facial expressions which help to sell us the audience on the joke with the best joke in the whole episode being in "Help Wanted" when Spongebob goes to lift weights and we see that his weights are two teddy bears which he struggles to lift which is a dumb joke and an easy joke to make but that's exactly why it's so good and why it's so funny in the first place as it is the obvious joke with all three segments having some really good jokes in it as well and heck even "Reef Blower" could be argued is one big joke due to the fact it's just Spongebob trying t get rid of one reef and that's really it but it's that simple joke that works all the more better because of the fact that you could see a character like Spongebob actually struggle to life up to kids toys with the sound effect being made when the toys hit the floor again being the icing on the cake and heck really of this episodes jokes are some really good and funny jokes as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall if this first episode was anything to go by then it was easy to see why Spongebob Squarepants become as big as it was and still is as this first episode had three really good segments in it and while yes some where better then others the episode on the whole was really good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.