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Wednesday, 5 November 2025

Worzel Gummidge Down Under "The Sleeping Beauty" Review


Worzel is a character that was for a long period of time a British institution with the hit Jon Pertwee show making the character move lovable then he has ever been. Yet even so with he's not remembered all that much nowadays which is a shame because when the series got it right it really did get things right it's only when the show moved to New Zealand that it start to get bad and while the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today isn't a bad episode persay it's also not a good one either and so then join me as I review the episode that introduces Worzel two human child friends into the show with the episode in question being called simply just "The Sleeping Beauty" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when Worzel catches wind of just were his beloved Aunt Sally is staying he and his new human friends Mickey and Manu set off to rescue her. 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 bad as while this episodes pot does have some things to set up it does also have a pretty weak plot even for this version of the show as the episode has to set up who Worzel's new human friends are and what there like as people which is fair enough but that eats up so much of the episodes run time that it leaves very little time for the episodes main plot which is something that is left more of an afterthought when compared to anything else in the episode and while this episodes plot isn't the strongest plot in this show as it is pretty weak at best due to it feeling like a typical Aunt Sally plotline from the later series of Worzel Gummidge instead of feeling like something that was more in line with the original shows first series for example but to be fair to this episode there are still moments of that first series flair coming through in the plot of this episode but he episode is bogged down by so much bad things just in it's plot alone that it makes would could have been a very passable plot seem really dull and while this episode isn't unwatchable by any means the plot doesn't do the episode any kind of favors whatsoever with the plot of this episode not really being really rather entertaining and nor is it really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge and Bruce Phillips as The Crowman. Also starring in this episode is Jonathan Marks as Mickey , Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally , Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler as Manu , Gerald Bryan as Rooney , Michael Haigh as Professor Pike , Patupatu Ripley as Mrs. Te Wheke , Joy Watson as Mrs. Peacock and David Copeland as Commissionaire Gilbert.

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 pretty much all of this episodes actors turning in some really good performances even the episodes kid actors which was something that was surprising as kids can usually be pretty annoying to watch and yet there the actors playing them were really good in the episode with of course the likes of Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs being really great to watch as well which is something that does make alot of sense as they are reprising their roles from the original show and would therefor have the best knowledge on how best to perform there respective characters with both of them even being the episodes best actors as do still have a lot of chemistry with each other and are both quite clearly having a lot of fun in playing there respective characters with both characters being perfectly well cast as both of those actors bring something that's uniquely them to the roles with that being something that really does help to sell you on these characters and while both Jonathan Marks and Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler aren't as good as Jeremy Austin and Charlotte Coleman they both really good actors in this episode with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script 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.


The episode does get a little bit better when it comes to it's characters as it does pretty much round out all of the side characters for this first series of the show. As while the side characters that we get fully introduced to in this episode won't be as good as the ones from the original show they all have there own unique charm to them that make them different from the ones on the original show with the best example of this being the kids Mickey and Manu who are the complete and total opposite of Jon and Sue as while those character were the typical good kids that all British kids TV shows seemed to have at the time it's clear right from the second that we see them in this episode that Mickey and Manu are trouble makers but ones that do have a heart of gold as while they trust straight up tell Worzel that there not his friends and there not surprised that he's a scarecrow they are willing to help him go and see Aunt Sally even tho it could get them into a lot of trouble with another good example of this episodes side characters being Rooney who is best described as being a handyman of sorts for the local town as he just does every little odd job here and there that's really needed of him which is something that does bring him into contact with both Worzel and The Crowman alot of the time and while he is portrayed as being quite dumb he can also be a bit wise something which doesn't really get showcased in this episode but in another episode he does tell The Crowman that if you want succeed in this town you have to be able to do many things as there's not much call for someone who just makes Scarecrows in the town anymore.  


Speaking of The Crowman it's in one his scenes that we actually get to find out about this series main villain The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as it's revealed by Rooney that he buys up all of the Mangal Worzel's to make his cheaper scarecrows with. This was a nice touch as you can tell right from how The Crowman talks about him that he and the scarecrow maker have a past with each other and it's one that does get revealed later on in the series and while he has nothing but pure hatred for The Travelling Scarecrow Maker he does have some what of a kinder relationship with Worzel as he does go looking for him when he leaves his post and while the two of them don't really get to spend any screen time together in this episode something which they really should have done to set up there relationship more fully it is nice seeing him care for Worzel and while yews this version of The Crowman doesn't let Worzel get away with much much like the original version did with the original version of The Crowman being more of a father figure to Worzel and this one being more like someone who is forced to look after him but starts to like him anyway and that is something that makes this version of the character alot more interesting as it shows that all scarecrow makers have to like alot of each others scarecrows as they have no reason to with this even being shown when he talks about The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as you can hear in his voice that he really doesn't like him and is really holding back his anger as not to reveal the fact that scarecrows can walk and talk with him even acting scared at the mere mention of him like he knows that that character is up to no good and that is something that does add some level mystery into this shows version of The Crowman.

This episode does also have the only time in which they directly reference the original Jon Pertwee show. As Worzel himself says that he's just left two little children right before he met up with Mickey and Manu and while the show would even directly use footage from the original show in a later episode and even have a photograph of Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman this show never really mentioned the original show all that much which I guess does make sense as you don't really want to remind people of other shows even if the show that your making is a sequel show but at the same time tho it was nice for this episode to reference Jon and Sue as they are Worzel's best friends so it does make sense he would make a reference to them in that way but it would have been nicer if we got to see them even if it was just a quick cameo at the start of the previous episode as that would have made sense given the fact that the previous episode started out in England and in the same village as the original show as well and while Mickey and Manu are good enough characters the fact that this episode does reference Jon and Sue does still remind you of the much more better show with that reference feeling like it was something that the makers of this episode felt like that they have to include as the fans of the original show would still be watching this new show as that reference adds nothing to the overall episode and felt more like fanservice but in the best way possible however what would made the episode even better was if the episode spent alot more time in fully fleshing out it's characters instead of just giving us the bare bones of characters as these are characters that we are goin to be spending the rest of the first series with and therefor we want to get to know more about them and yet when compare Mickey and Manu to Jon and Sue we got to find out more about Jon and Sue just from the first two episodes of that show alone then we did about Manu and Mickey from this episode.


In what was a bit of a shocking thing to see in this episode we don't really get to see an awful lot of Aunt Sally in this episode. Despite her being the main vocal point of the episode with her really only appearing in the episodes final five to ten minuets and that's really it which granted is mainly due to the fact that the episode also had to do some setting up for future episodes and to also introduce the shows new side characters as well but at the same time tho given that she is meant to be a main character in the plot of the episode it is weird that Aunt Sally barely shows up in the actual episode itself while yes granted they do have an in universe reasoning for that as Worzel is first trying to befriend Mickey and Manu before then being told where Aunt Sally is staying and so in that way it does make sense for her to only appear in a smaller amount of the episode but given the fact that the whole reason that Worzel went to New Zealand in the first place was to be with her it would have made sense within the episode to have Worzel find out where she's staying at the same time that he's trying to befriend Mickey and Manu and then have them bond over their expirences in this adventure instead of having them bond before it as that just makes it feel out of character for Worzel not to know where Aunt Sally is and go chasing after her however tho this episode does also mark a first in their relationship as it's the first and so far the only time that Worzel has actually successfully kissed Aunt Sally with that moment being treated as the right amount of silly and seriousness that it really needed but at the same time tho it not having her in the episode a whole lot more makes Aunt Sally feel more like an afterthought when she should have been more of the main focus of the episode.

Now then this episode has / has an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and fifty five seconds. Which is a perfectly solid running time for this episode to have as alot of the episodes for this show do have a similar running time as well with this episode having just amount the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time but in saying that tho this is an episode that really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the episode is more focused on setting up things for future episodes then it is in developing it's plot which does make this episodes plot also feel an afterthought when if the episode just spent more time in developing it's own plot then in setting up things for other episodes then we would have a slightly more better episode however tho this is also something that does effect it's characters as well as while it could be argued that both Worzel and Aunt Sally don't really need any kind of character development due to the fact that they were lead characters on the original show characters like Rooney , Mickey , Manu and The Crowman all needed it as alot of them are getting more screen time in this episode after just making a cameo in the previous episode with there characters really needing to be the most fleshed out due to the fact that they are new characters and while it could be argued that they get there development in future episodes which would be a fair argument to make it's something that should have started in this episode as this is our first real look at those characters 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 not that bad. With there being some really cute and funny jokes in this episode which is something that this show did do really best as those allow the characters to be there usual charming selves and with this episode having two returning characters it does mean that the episode can have some fun with there relationship to each other which is something that this episode does somewhat take full advantage of as the episodes best joke is when Worzel does kiss Aunt Sally which results in him being as giddy as a school boy and her being utterly shocked and appalled that a scarecrow would kiss her which is something that does feel completely in character for both of them as we know that Worzel loves Aunt Sally with all of his heart and would do anything for her much like how we know that she hated Worzel with all of her heart and would do anything to get away from him and so to them act differently to a kiss which was done just to wake her up with anther good joke when after escaping the museum Aunt Sally finds herself working as a local attraction once again getting balls thrown at her whilst Worzel finds himself being hung up onto a chimney with both characters not really being happy with there current predicament with this episode having alot of really good jokes in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall whilst this isn't the best episode of this show it's also not the worst one either as while there is a huge drop off interms of quality when compared to the original show this is an episode that can at times be really fun to watch it just needed more of a focus on it's plot and more Aunt Sally to make it better 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 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 well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk 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 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 are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Star Wars: Visions Volume Three SPOILER FILLED Review


When people think of animated Star Wars shows they always think of shows like Star Wars Rebels or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They do however never think of the anime show with this show being one of if not the most underrated pieces of modern Star Wars media as not alot of people talk about and well the new season of this show has finally dropped and well you all just knew that I had to check out this new season the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the season that sees us catching up with old friends and making new ones with the show in question being called simply just "Star Wars: Visions" enjoy.

As with both of the previous seasons of this show this show is an anthology show and therefor doesn't have one main plot as all nine of the shows episodes all have different plots to them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very season well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very season was in all honesty very mixed. With there being some plots that worked really well like for example the plot for episode two "The Song Of Four Wings" was a really decent plot and one that really did fit well within the short film format of the show but on the flip side of that we have episodes like "BLACK" and "The Lost Ones" with Black not even having a plot as it's just a collection of animated images and that's really it and the plot to "The Lost Ones" just being kind of dull not bad persay but not good either but when we do get an episode with a good plot like episode four "The Bounty Hunters" it really does shine and stand out because it shows us just how good that this show could be when it has some decent plots to it and while we do get glimpses of that all throughout this season this is a case where the bad episodes really do bring the season down due to how bland or just OK that there plots are alot of the time and yet if the season had more good plots in it or just improved upon the episodes with the bad plots then the season as a whole would be a whole more stronger with the plots that are in this show also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this show is Brian Tee as Ronin , Emma Myers as Chita , Karen Fukuhara as F and Kimiko Glenn as Kara. Also starring in this show is Aki Toyosaki as Woopas , Anna Sawai as Sevn , Kenta Miyake as A Stormtrooper , Liam Karlsson as Yuko , Ronny Chieng as IV-A4 , Sonoya Mizuno as Nakime , Stephanie Hsu as Crane , Tsuyoshi Koyama as A Stormtrooper , Andrew Kishino as Juro , Frank Todaro as Unda , Freddie Highmore as Teto , Gary Littman as CZ-D16 , George Takei as The Toad , Harvey Guillén as BILY and Darth Bear , James Sie as Master , Jodie Turner-Smith as En O , Jonathan Lipow as Oyabun Que Dama , Joseph Lee as Jin-Sim Canbelon , Judith Light as Gleenu , Julian Paz Fedorov as Sola , Kimberly Brooks as Joona , Lincoln Bonilla as Leon , Major Attaway as Anda , Mark Strong as Shad-Rah Varcanella / Zero , Masi Oka as Ethan , Patrick Seitz as Homen and A Yakuza Trooper , Ryan Potter as Ron , Simu Liu as Zhima , Steve Buscemi as Fox Ear , Suzy Nakamura as Anée-san , Tanner Buchanan as Arloo , Trevor Devall as Admiral Kiucee , Victoria Grace as Aman , Will Sharpe as Grand Master and Zoe Rux as Karin.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show 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 show was in all honesty really good. Which is something that does make alot of sense as not only are a bunch of actor reprising their respective roles from Volume 1 of this show and there for have somewhat of an idea of how best to portray there respective characters but alot of this shows actors are a bunch of really good actors in their own right as well be from acting in front of the camera or voice acting with that skill really coming though in this season as all of this shows actors really do know how to turn in a good performance with there not really being a single bad actor in this show and while yes some actors are better then others in this season as Liam Karlsson is pretty wooden as Yuko but at the same time with an anthology show that was always going to be the case as your always going to get actors that are better in other episodes and that are better then other actors in this show with perhaps the best actor in this whole entire season being Freddie Highmore as Teto as he turns in a performance that can have you laughing one minuet and then in the very same scene he'll say something that is utterly heartbreaking and it is something that does come through in his performance as the character with it even making Teto one of if not the best character in the whole season with the acting that's in this very show really being helped by the fact that this shows scripts are just so good that all this shows 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 show.


Doing the animation for this show is Kamikaze Douga , ANIMA , Project Studio Q , Production I.G , Wit Studio , Kinema Citrus , Studio Trigger , Polygon Pictures and David Production. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show 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 show was in all honesty really good with the animation for the show as a whole being of a really standard but in saying that tho there are some episodes that don't have the best quality animation in them like for example "Yuko's Treasure" where the animation does look a little bit flat almost as if it's trying to copy Toei Animation's style instead of just being it's own unique thing but one things for sure tho and that's he fact all of this episodes animation is of a better quality then the animation seen in One Punch Man season 3 as here there's actual motion with things moving all of the time with all of the episodes having a lot of detail be it in there backgrounds in the character designs with newcomers to the series Polygon Pictures proving why they are the go to studio in Japan for 3D CGI animation as there episode "The Bird Of Paradise" is perhaps the best animated episode in this batch of episodes and while the studios that you expect great work from like Trigger , Wit and Production I.G it's the more lesser known studios really do shock you with how good that there animation is and while the bigger studios do still indeed have high quality animation in their respective episodes you expect it from them and therefor it's not all that surprising when it turns that there episodes have high quality animation but with the lesser known studios that's where you get to some truly wonderful piece of animation.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



If you were expecting a sequel episode to the episode The Twins then prepared to be let down as that's one of the episodes from Volume 1 that actually doesn't get a sequel episode this season with there being sequels to "The Ninth Jedi" , "The Duel" and "The Village Bride" with the rest of this season being new stories. However tho the fact that a good chunk of this season is made up of sequel episodes does say that the makers of those episodes either A couldn't be bothered to come up with original stories and so just went back to what they knew would work or B just didn't have the time to come up with original stories which is something that does seem to be case for "The Duel: Payback" and "The Lost Ones" as they both feel like there original episodes almost to a fault with even The Duel's sequel episode even having kind of a similar plot to it just with a different set up as in this new episode Ronin has to team up with a Sith when a Jedi seeking revenge for something that Ronin did in his past comes hunting him down with the only thing that sets this episode apart from The Duel being the fact that it has an action scene inside of an At-At and that's really it but with the sequel for The Ninth Jedi tho there is somewhat of an excuse as to why that episode is basically a pilot episode as there is going to be a spinoff show airing next yea called Star Wars Visions Presents with The Ninth Jedi being turned into a full length anime series with this seasons sequel episode basically being a pilot episode to that show with the episode even ending on a To Be Continued as well but for the other two episodes there really was no excuse for them to be as similar to the original episodes as they ended up being as all that does is remind people of the original episode.

Whilst the first Volume of this show is so far the best one due to the fact that it has the more engaging stories in it. This season does have some really good episodes as well with the likes of "The Bounty Hunters" for example being a really good example of that due to the fact that episode not only has a really good plot but also has some really good characters in it as well with Sevn being a good example of just how to do a modern strong female character as she does have a past where she was a slave only to be freed by a Jedi but when it turns out that in the eyes of the people that she was a slave for they saw it as her betraying them something which she denies with her even having this attitude where she thinks that she knows everything when in fact she knows nothing being something that does come back to bite her in this season as she and her robot companion get hired to take on what they think are a bunch of rebels causing harm to this one person's business but it turns out that the person that hired them is the true evil one all along and seeing her work that all throughout the episode and have this back and forth with her robot companion is something that does help to make the character seem alot more likable then what she really had any right and while Teto is the best new character for me just due to how entertaining that he was this is the character that could very easily lead a series of her own as there's so much to explore with her character that it really would seem like a waste to just have her in this one episode and then never hear from her again where as if the character was given more episodes in the future or perhaps even a full anime series of her own then she very easily could become one of the best new characters that Disney has ever introduced into the world of Star Wars


Episode was we do have alot of really good episodes this year with there really only being two episodes that aren't that good with those oddly enough being the last two episodes of the season. As those episodes "The Bird Of Paradise" and "BLACK" just aren't that fun to watch with "The Bird Of Paradise" being a confusing episode that is bor9ng at the best of times and confusing , hard to follow and just flat out boring at the worst of times as very little actually happens in that episode that advances what could have been a really good premise with a Padawan learning what it truly means to be a Jedi which is a really good premise it's just one that needed to be handled alot more better then what it actually was and that's it. With "BLACK" on the other hand despite it's really unique premise with it trying to tell the story of a stormtrooper going into battle but how it's done makes it feel like your high as a kite as none of the visuals barely make any sense whatsoever which does make that episode hard to follow with that episode being one that is better of being dropped from the show as a whole as much like with "The Bird Of Paradise" not much actually happens only here you can barely make it what's actually meant to be happening in the first place which is something that really does make that episode alot more hard to follow with "The Bird Of Paradise" being an episode that might have been better served being earlier on in the season as having to bad episodes released back to back does make the season come to an end on a bit of a bad note and while that would still be a case with "BLACK" at least then it would just be the one episode that ends it like that and not the two of them.

Now then these episodes has / had an exact grand total running time on no longer then twenty three minuets. With episode running times ranging from the shorter thirteen minuets with the longest one being twenty two minuets with alot of these episodes having just about the right amount of running time to cover there respective running times however tho in saying that tho alot of these episodes don't really use there running times all that wisely as alot of them don't take the time that they really do need to fully develop there plots and whilst this is understand for "The Ninth Jedi: Child Of Hope" as that episode is of course the pilot episode to The Ninth Jedi anime it's not excusable for an episode like "The Smuggler" where despite it having a really good premise and one that does hold alot of promise it's plot is one that could have benefitted from being alot more fleshed out then what it already was with the same thin being true for alot of this shows characters as well as all of the characters barring Sevn aren't that well developed but they all do have alot of promise to be really good characters they just needed to be alot more well thought out with characters like Yuko and BILLY being very one dimensional characters that were done better in early eighties family sitcoms but given that these episodes don't have alot of time to fully develop either the plots or there characters and still tell a good story it is understandable why alot of them aren't that well developed and it doers mean that we have to really get behind the characters that are really well done like Ronin and Sevn for example as those are good examples of just how to do good characters in a short amount of running time but I really will admit that these episodes really do have some really pacing to them tho.


So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I av e to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show 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 show was in all honesty really good. With this shows action apart from it's animation being the part of the show as its in this shows action that we get to see alot of really cool pieces of animation all of which do look really good with all nine of this shows episodes having some really good looking action in them and while none of them will match the action from the films these episodes are still worth watching just for the action alone with the best action in the whole show going to "The Bounty Hunters" as we not only get to see a really cool chase scene in space with our main heroes trying to out run a bunch of other spaceships while only just getting by herself but we also get to see a really cool fight in the end when she and her robot companion team up with the rebels to take on the evil boss who fights them whilst wrapped in robot armour which is just such a cool fight scene as it shows of not only how much of a bada*s that Sevn really is as we get to see her thinking on her feet alot of time whilst trying to keep her new friends safe but we also get to see that she can really hold her own in a fight something which is important for a bounty hunter to do and with her episode being done by Studio Trigger her action scenes do have that Trigger flair to them that makes them stand out from all of the action scene in this season which are also really good in their own right as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Overall with The Mandalorian And Grogu coming out next year it is save to say that we still able to get some quality Star Wars content with this season being a good example of that and even tho its not as good as Volume 1 was its still alot more better then what Volume 2 is 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 re in this very show in this very review and that really does mean that this very show really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out 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 the official Disney fandom wiki page , the official Star Wars fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very show 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 show with alot of them 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 are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Friday, 24 October 2025

Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi Review


We are less then a week away before not only the return one of the most really underrated Star Wars TV shows be it live action or animated but also the return of seeing Star Wars done in anime form. As Star Wars Visions Volume 3 will see the show be an anime again and with possibly the first three episodes of that new batch episodes all being sequel episodes to episodes from volume 1 it only really made sense that I check out one of those episodes and so then join me as I review the episode that sees alot of Sith really trying to kill this one girl with the episode in question being called simply just "The Ninth Jedi" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when her father is kidnapped his young force sensitive daughter must take six lightsabers to a temple in the hopes of finding six jedi who will help her rescue him the Sith. 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 not that bad as the plot of this episode is one that does work in he short film format with it being epic enough to be apart of the Star Wars universe but also small enough that it doesn't overtake what was done in the movies either with this episodes plot being one of the more underrated plots of the show as it shows how a father and daughter can and was effected by the Sith which was something that the movies never got into at least directly and because of that this episodes plot does come across as being more weird and quite out there as a plot which is something that is great as Star Wars can now be this thing that given the right show and the right plot can go to those weird places with the only thing that doesn't really work about this episodes plot being the fact that nothing is really set up with it just feeling like that these characters are just doing these things for no reason and while that is something that could get fixed in the upcoming spin off series next year for this episode it was something that does make the episodes plot seem more like one of the weaker plots of Volume 1 of this show with the plot of this episode also 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 Kimiko Glenn as Lah Kara , Simu Liu as Lah Zhima and Andrew Kishino as Margrave Juro / Steward Droid. Also starring in this episode is Heroes star Masi Oka as Ethan , Greg Chun as Roden , Eva Kaminsky as Niizo , Patrick Seitz as Homen , Michael Sinterniklaas as Hen Jin and A Jedi Hunter , Adam Sietz as Hanbei , Kyle McCarley as Toguro and A Jedi Hunter , JP Karliak as The Boatman Droid and Neil Kaplan as The Narrator.

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 all of this episodes actors turning some really good performances which was something that was kind of really surprising as alot of this episodes actors haven't done voice acting before and are most well known for doing live action work and yet they did still manage to turn in some really good vocal performances in this episode and while they won't ever be topping the episodes trained voice actors that's more due to the fact that those actors have had more experience in doing voice roles then what the more experienced live action actors have had and that's really it with the episodes best actor being Kimiko Glenn as she brings a warmth to the character that might have been lost in translation somewhere down the line whilst still managing to make her a bit of a cheeky character that audiences might like and while her character could be seen as being a bit bland her acting as the character was one that really good and was something that does show that when given the right script actors is a Disney Star Wars project can act really well with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script 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.


Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Production I.G. Now then interms of what I( personally thought / felt abut the actual animation 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 animation that's actually featured / presented to us in thus very episode was in all honesty really good with this being something that's not really all that surprising given that the fact that both the studio and the writer and director that worked on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex worked on this episode with Production I.G. being one of the best animation studios in Japan due to their high quality output something which was proven yet again in this episode as while this episodes animation wasn't as good as the animation in any of their feature films it was still top notch stuff with them blending 3D CGI animation really well with 2D backgrounds and 2D characters with there being a phenomenally well done chase scene through a forest and onto a frozen lake that is a good example of just how well done the 3D and 2D elements are in the episode with all of this episodes characters having some really nice and fluid movements to them with the episodes backgrounds being as highly detailed as they could have been given the fact that this episode mostly takes place in locations where it would have been hard to get the backgrounds to be highly detailed with the only thing that lets the episodes animation down the being the fact that there's nothing really done animation wise that makes the episode stand out from alot of the other episodes in this particular volume as alot of the other episodes have something in them that makes there animation stand out whereas this episode was lacking that despite the fact that the animation itself was of a really high quality.


Like alot of the episodes of this show this one does take place at a new point in the Star Wars timeline with this one being set thousands of years after the events of The Rise Of Skywalker. Which is a really solid idea as it then means that the episode won't be bogged down by either what's to come in the Star Wars timeline and nor would have it follow the continuity or what's come before it in the Star Wars timeline as this is an era that really hasn't been explored at all with it being discovered that in the years after that film the jedi had become basically extinct again with the sith once again raising up to take power and lightsabers basically falling into myth and legends which would be a good idea where it not for the face that the sith themselves are still using lightsabers which does defeat the point of them becoming myths and legends with this being something that could have been fixed if it was stated at the start of the episode that the sith now operate in hiding as to avoid loosing there power to the jedi once again as then it would be understandable why no one has heard of a lightsaber but because they don't do that it now makes you wonder why someone making lightsabers is meant to be a big deal as there still things that people know about in the first place but to give the episode credit the very idea of setting up thousands of years after the events of the last film is a good idea as now it means that the makers of this episode could do anything that they wanted and it could all possibly happen as this is meant to an episode that is potentially canon to the main films which is something that does make it exciting as anything could happen in this part of the timeline and it would all be fresh and new and if done right it would also be good as well.

While Star Wars has lets be honest here had a lot of trouble with making female characters recently one of the ones that it seems to be sleeping on is this episodes main character Lah Kara. As while she's not as strong as how Disney and Lucasfilm wants us to believe that Rey Palpatine is what she is on the other hand is street smart with her having to outwit Jedi Hunters using nothing more then her wits and a lightsaber that her dad built for her to use and that's it as she's had no Jedi training and yet she still comes across as being this really lovable character that you want to see more off and that you want to spend more time with with her even being someone who does deeply love her father so much that she willingly goes on this highly dangerous mission to give these supposed Jedi in this temple some lightsabers even tho she knows deep down tat they might not even help her track and down and rescue her dad anyway but she does it because of the love that she bares for her father with this love being something that was never shown in any of the recent Star Wars movies as Disney and Lucasfilm think that the only way to make a strong female character to make her stronger then every other character there is and make her faultless when all that does is make the character boring as there's no were to go but down when you do that and yet here with Lah Kara she has her faults as she is to trusting of people and she isn't the smartest bulb out there and yet it's seeing her overcome those faults and make them into her strengths that makes her a strong female character and while yes she could have been done alot more better then what she was given the fact that this was only what is basically a short film she turned as well as she was ever going to be.


Whilst there are alot of pluses to be found with this episode there was one thing that doesn't really work with the episode and that's the fact that not only was a bunch of the Jedi that we meet at the start of the episode actually sith posing as Jedi to gain Kara and Ethen's trust but they also couldn't defeat just a small handful of people despite them having a huge numbers advantage. In fact Kara , Ethen and the hidden Jedi Juro end up defeating five of them whilst taking the sixth one with them after it's revealed that they were imposters influence when really FIVE trained sith should be able to take done to jedi and one force sensitive little girl if the makers of this episode were going to have our heroes in that kind of situation in the first place then at least make sure it's a fight with numbers that they could feasibly win against otherwise all that does is not only make you wonder why the sith didn't beat them handily as nothing in the episode is said about any of our heroes being a particularly strong jedi or force sensitive person and it also makes your villains look weak as they just got beat by a little girl who's only just worked out how to handle a lightsaber in the first place but tho the idea of the having the sith hide in the shadows is a good one as it does mean that any character they we meet in any piece of Star Wars media could be a bad guy and we just wouldn't know it yet which is a great way of creating tension as it means that are heroes could get attacked at any moment and it's an idea that could work so well in either the movies or other TV shows but in saying that tho it does run the risk of becoming played out if it's done to often and is really only something that would work if it's done well.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty one minuets and forty one seconds. Which is a perfectly fine running time for the episode to have as alot of the episodes in this show have very strikingly similar running times to them with this episode have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place but in saying that this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely in the first place as the plot of the episode isn't that well developed which is something that does make sense when you take into account that this episode was originally going to be a two parter with one episode focusing of Kara getting the lightsabers to the Jedi and the other focusing on the Sith with it being decided to put both plots together which is something that does make the episodes plot more epic but at the same time tho it does mean that that the episode can't develop it's plot as it has to squeeze two stories together and can't really focus on just one of them which is something that would have allowed for the episode to develop it's plot alot more instead of just focusing on the one plot with this episodes plot at best feeling like a pilot episode to a TV show. With the episodes characters not really being that well developed either with this also being as a result of the fact that the episode is squeezing two of it's plots together as we know nothing about any of the characters in this episodes coming out of it then we did going on but this is the risk you take when your doing something that's a part of an anthology series but to be fair tho this episodes characters do come across as being alot more better then what they really could have been but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 


So now then as this is an action episode that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt tat the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode having some really good looking action scenes in it all of which do take as full advantage of the fact that this is an animated show as is humanly possible but sadly tho this episode only has two action scenes and while both of them are really good it would have been nice if we had at the very least one more with the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the bike chase scene through the forest as even tho it's not something that lasts very long it is something that gives us a chance to see just how inventive that Lah Kara is as she spins her bike round on a frozen lake and runs towards her foe not aiming at her foe but rather his bike as that's something that will slow him down and will stop them from chasing her which whilst it is a small thing is something that does go to show you just how smart that she is a character and while the big fight scene at the end with her , Ethen and Juro being attacked by the five sith is a pretty cool action scene in it's own right it also something that could be seen as a being really generic whereas the bike chase scene is something that does make this episode stand out from all of the other episodes as it's not really something that was done in all of the other episodes of this show despite the fact that it is something that could have worked for any of this shows episodes due to how simple the basic set up of the scene is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall it's not hard to see why this episode along with The Duel and The Village Bride are due to be getting sequel as the ending of the episode itself does make it feel like a pilot episode to a TV show with this episode being one of the most underrated episodes of this show despite the fact that this episode really is a good episode in it's own right and is a good example of just how weird that Star Wars can be 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 a such that really does mean that this very episode 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 and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all pf the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Star Wars fandom wiki page , 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 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 are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Thursday, 23 October 2025

Thomas & Friends: Sodor Sings Together Film Review


When people think of Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends nine times out of ten they remember either of the CGI era of the show or it's original model era. However they never ever think about the dreadful reboot that Mattel put together and well with the release of the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today it officially marks both the end of the show All Engines Go but also marks the last official production that Nelvana worked on due to them going bankrupt and being put out of busisness and so then join me as I review the fil that officially sees that dreadful All Engines Go series come to and end with the film in question being called simply just "Thomas & Friends: Sodor Sings Together" enjoy.

The plot of this film is with Sodor hosting it's annual music festival the engines have to help to set up but when a surprise gets ruined it's to Thomas and the engines to fix it before the start of the festival. 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 bad with the film not really having a plot to speak off with it seeming like that the characters are just going through the motions alot of the time with this films plot feeling like it's nothing more then an extended episode of the show as that's how bad this films plot really is but to be fair tho the plot of the film is strong enough to support an entire film it just needed to be focused on alot more and that's really it and also have things happen that actually advance the plot of the film but for some odd reason the makers of this film instead chose to give this film the most bare bones plot which might be fine for All Engines Go which also had very bare bones plots to it but for something that is a series finale and is meant to be a celebration of the show it feels like no effort and no thought was put into this films with everything that happens in the film only happening for random reasons and not because of the fact that the films plot demands that they happen with this being fine for a few minuets but the whole film is like that and heck there's not even a big incident for large portions of the film which really makes this plot feel like a plot of the show that out stretched out into that of a film with the plot of this film not even being really rather entertaining and nor is it really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Kai Harris as Thomas , Neil Crone as Gordon , Charlie Zeltzer as Percy and Joe Pingue as Whiff. Also starring in this film is Talia Evans as Nia , Will Bhaneja as Diesel , Scott McCord as Salty , Ivan Sherry as Winston , Jenna Warren as Carly , Glee Dango as Sandy , Ava Ro as Kana , Catherine Disher as Annie , Linda Kash as Clarabel and Reginald , Chuck Smith as Bruno , Milo Toriel-McGibbon as Terence , Jamie Watson as Bulstrode and Bruce Dow as Sir Topham Hatt.

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 not that bad. As the films actors are indeed trying to turn in a good performance which in the case of actor Neil Crone does make sense as he has played Gordon before in the god awful Thomas And The Magic Railroad and so he does have some experience with the character and does know just how this version of the character would act in any given situation and while the films kid actors are trying to turn in a good performance they are still kids afterall with there performances alot of the time being very wooden which is of no fault of theirs as rather that's something that the voice director for the film should have dealt with but it is something that does stop there performances from being as good as they could have been as you can tell right away that they are acting their hearts out in this film but there just not able to give the best performance as is humanly possible with there acting being at best OK as they are trying to turn in a good performance they just needed better direction to get that performance out of them and that's really it 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 film 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 were currently over at Nelvana. 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 not that good with this films animation being on par with that of All Engines Go with the film lacking any detailed backgrounds none of which is hard to tell on if there's any distance in the hills or nor and quite frankly the less about the characters just jumping from one set of tracks to the other the better look to be fair there are some decent things to be found in this films animation like all of the engines having these really cute designs to them which granted might not be alot of people's cup of tea but they are designs that do work for these versions of the characters at best this films animation is just passable which I guess is fine given this films target little kid audience but at the same time tho the Thomas brand is a brand that's beloved by both kids and adults and anything you do with it is going to have adults interested to because they grew up with it and therefor having animation that just looks cheap and rushed feels like a slap to the face of the fans that stuck with the property through it's many ups and downs and while the fact that the animation looks cheaply done might be a Mattel thing as Nelvana did usually turn in high quality animation heck just look at any of there stuff from the eighties as proof of that and yet here it just felt like that they were slumming up and only turning in half decent animation when that's not something that the Thomas brand deserves. 


Believe it or not this film actually marks the end of All Engines Go as a series with it being the series fourth and final film. This is a very good thing as nobody be it those that are die hard Thomas fans or those that are just casual fans liked the show to begin with and it's not that hard to see why as put it lightly this show makes Teen Titans Go look like a masterpiece by comparison as it was made by people that clearly didn't love the Thomas brand and was instead turned into something that's for lack of a better word dumb however perhaps the biggest insult of all is the fact that they made the American dub the official dub moving dub moving forward as for decades the show was made in the UK with the UK dub being the official dub which is something that makes sense as the characters are British and the franchise as a whole is a British franchise and therefor handing it over to the Americans feels like a betrayal of everything that came before it as now it's the UK dub is the one that's not the official dub of the show when it should be the other way around and while Teen Titans Go at least has some charm to it which does make you forgive it for alot of it's early faults this show on the other hand has none of that and instead just packs it's episodes with moments that leave you smacking your hand on your head several times like for example in an episode where Thomas had to teach Kana to go slow both characters end up stuck in a field not far from any tracks now in the original show or even the CGI show this would be treated as being a big deal and would even be a plot point in the episode but here both Thomas and Kana quite literally jump on to some nearby tracks which is just something that NO train would be able to do and that's how little that the makers of this show actually cared about what they were putting up on screen.

Like alot of the Thomas films this film is also a musical with the film having really quite alot of songs in it. To be fair the films songs aren't that bad as they are pretty well done but in saying that tho this films songs aren't also that good either with them just being passable at best but credit where it is due tho the makers of this film did at least know to give us some pretty catchy songs with the best example of this being the films title song "Tonight Is The Night" which is a pretty decent number that does get sung quite alot of the time all throughout the film with the rest of the films songs like "Make Room For Music" and "Just Think Of It" being songs that are just there to pad out the films running time as they add nothing to the overall plot of the film but to give this film some credit all of the films songs are decently well sung with it being clear as day that all the members of the films cast can sing with even some of the songs being decently well written as well but tho that doesn't mean that the film needs to have as many songs as it has in it as this film has five songs in it each one is about two minuets long in total and with the film being as short as it is that is something that does make you wonder if the makers of this film knew that this would be the final Thomas film that they'd be working on and so they just threw alot of songs in it because they knew that they weren't going to make another one which if so then that's just not that good as you should always leave them wanting more and with a more manageable three songs you can that especially if you space them out a bit more better then they do in the final film as here it feels like that they do a song number every few minuets and nine times out of ten its for no reason whatsoever.


This film does actually a feature a few returning characters with the likes of Toby and Salty making there return to a Thomas movie. With the biggest surprise being Duck who hadn't been seen in any episode or movie of All Engines Go at all and while it's only Salty that plays a role in the film it was nice to see these returning characters and it was something that did say that the makers of this film do somewhat know what characters that the fans want to see as both Toby and Duck aren't the best known characters and yet they still got some love in this film and while it would have been nice to see them play a role in the films plot or even a speaking part would have been nice it's the fact that they got featured in the film at all that makes all the difference but at the same at the time tho given just how badly all of the of the other characters where done in this film and in the show itself as they all went from being fairly competent engines that whilst yes they did have there more dumber moments they were still more well rounded characters to being characters where all of them are the dumb one of the group with even Gordon being the main engine to pull both Annie and Clarabel which makes no sense as those where Thomas's carriages and Gordon always pulled the express something that he was proud of doing and yet here in this show all of that was gone for no reason with this film not even making a hint at Gordon pulling the express which was something that his character loved to do and yet here his character is basically the father figure to Thomas , Nia , Kana , Percy and Diesel which for the steam engines makes sense but for Diesel who hates steam engines it doesn't make sense.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty seven seconds. Which to be fair is a decent amount of running time for this film as alot of the other CGI Thomas films had very similar running times to them but this film really doesn't have the right amount of plot to cover that running time as this films plot really only has enough plot to cover about twenty minuets once your cut it down to bare essentials with this film not even using it's running time all that wisely either as the films plot isn't that well developed as the makers of this film are alot more bothered in fitting in as many songs as they can do then they in telling a good and well developed plot and while this film doesn't have alot of plot there to begin it is something that could have been better developed just by cutting down on the amount of songs that are in the film in the first place as that would have allowed for the plot to be well developed with this even having the added benefit of allowing for the films characters to be well developed as well as the makers of the film didn't bother to give any of the films characters any kind of character development in the first place which granted might be due to the fact that the characters could have gotten there development in various episodes of the show but at the same time tho it would have been nice to see the characters get some kind of character development as that would have made them feel like more well rounded characters but for whatever reason the makers of this film thought that packing in the film with more songs would make the film better rather then developing it's characters but I really will admit that this very film 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 film 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 film was in all honesty not that bad. As there were some cute funny jokes very early on in the film like the farmer conducting his animals like an orchestra or Sir Topham Hatt getting worked up about his opera not quite going right which was something that whilst it was against his character to act that worked up in the first place did result in some funny facial expressions from him however tho alot more of the films jokes just aren't that funny with there not even being a single joke that can be pointed out as the films best joke as to be frank alot of this films jokes aren't that funny in the first place with another joke that's somewhat decent being when Bruno doesn't want to hear loud things he steams up some airphones to put on and that's it with it being quite obvious that the makers of this film took the fact that this is a kids film quite seriously as there's nothing in this film that alot of people would find that funny inn the first place and while the Thomas brand has always been for kids they always made sure to include some actually funny jokes that alot of the family could laugh at where as here all of that wasn't present say what you will about Teen Titans Go but at least that show trys to make you laugh from time to time where as here the film doesn't bother to try to make you laugh in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall thank god that All Engines Go is done with as now we have some new Thomas content to look forward to in 2026 and whatever it maybe we at least know that it won't be as bad as All Engines Go was with this film being the perfect send off to show a show that nobody liked as this fil doesn't try to fix any of the issues of the show and instead doubles down on all of them 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 4.5 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 the official Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go fandom wiki page 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 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 are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.