The Slugterra movie reviews
This has been in the drafts for a while so buckle up for a longerish post
Ghoul from beyond was pretty cool and I liked the concept of the goon and the beginning of the Eastern caverns but the coolest part of the movie which is when Eli gets ghouled is way too short and it literally happens and is resolved in like ten minutes. But the movie for me is very nostalgic and it was a big deal when it first was advertised and when it first came out. Everyone was hyped the fuck up and I was too but watching it now it’s still fun but maybe not as exciting. Plus we get introduced to best boi Junjie. 7/10
Okay lowkey I have a lot to say about this movie that I will try to fit in here. First off we have a new member of the team: Junjie. And the gang doesn’t immediately love him and they have to work together and figure out how to incorporate a fifth person in their group. There’s so many little details that I love from the movie. For example, Blakk doesn’t immediately kill Eli and the Goon is furious with Blakk and he brings it up constantly
Then there is the second time the gang tries to cure the ghouled elementals but the gang doesn’t know that the Goon took two of them, so when Kord finds this out he tells him tell Eli. Junjie clearly can’t get to Eli in time so he tries to stop Blakk himself. Obviously this doesn’t work and Pronto goes to tell Eli who is pissed. Normally, I would hate this misunderstanding trope because they happen so frequently in media and it’s just so annoying. But in ROTE the stakes are so high so when you see the Goon and Blakk switch the slugs and they try the plan again you’re like oh shit this is not gonna work. Plus Junjie not following orders again might make Eli question him again.
Also Will comes back!! And we get the most heart wrenching scene of Eli running up to the hole that his dad jump in literally screaming for his father only to be pulled away literally seconds before he jumps in. Also can’t forget Blakk’s darkbane form and the reveal of his new form is literally so fucking cool. Also the dialogue is great like when Kord screaming “does it look like I know slug fu” 10/10
Honestly four points go to high Eli alone 😅 Which I literally made a post about. But anyway on a serious note I’m so disappointed about this movie. Literally it has the coolest premise which is Eli learning slug fu which is what everyone wanted him to learn the first time we saw Junjie do it. And don’t get me wrong Junjie teaching Eli slug fu is the best part of the movie. I also love that not only is Eli learning from Junjie, but Junjie is learning from Eli like how he learns to name his slug because of him. I love the dynamic that the two of them have. And it’s a constant thing for Eli and Junjie to learn and grow from each other. That literally sounds so queer but it’s true 😅
But other than the the rest of the gang really have nothing to do. Instead they are going around chasing the elementals around because every villian and their mom knows about the elementals and wants their power or something like that. And I know it’s so stupid that they figured it out because Pronto was on like national television but I think it’s funny that Pronto was the one they interviewed and not like literally anyone else in the gang. It is nice to see Sedo and the Hooligang again they’re pretty cool villains
Speaking of villains I have to talk about the villains in this movie. I honestly can’t remember his name and I’m too lazy to look it up but his plan to use the elementals to like destroy Slugterra because they would hit like the fault lines?? Like I don’t get it and it’s clear he was just added so Eli can just learn slug fu. I do think it’s really funny how the only way for Eli to learn slug fu is like under pressure because he’s like really resourceful. Like boy literally had to learn when the world was at stake and all of his friends are just standing around like staring at him. Like it just all felt way too fast. I know we watched him struggle but it just happened so fast. And I love Eli but this is a common theme with him in the later seasons. He kinda becomes a gary stu but you didn’t hear it from me 😅 5/10
So I honestly didn’t know that the next two were considered movies but according to the Wikipedia they are so I’m going to count them. Next up is Eastern Caverns. I would definitely say it’s probably closer to 4 episodes that connected to each other than a movie but whatever. The concept of the Eastern Caverns is so cool but initially I was a little worried they would be like a little racist because I’m pretty sure most of the writers for Slugterra were white but they weren’t. The bar is so low 😅
I mean some of the stuff I was like a little 😬 like Pronto clearly dressing up in drag for shits and giggles and them talking about Chi but it’s stuff that I feel has been seen in Western media before. Plus this came out in like 2015 almost a whole decade ago 👀
But anyway most of the movie is them trying to get their slugs back and trying to gain the trust of the people of the Eastern Caverns after Junjie destroyed it for 20 years!! Which 20 years is just crazy. Like how old is Junjie technically supposed to be then like 35!!
But anyway they finally get into the place which is definitely the coolest part of the movie but then my one problem comes into play which is mostly a problem with Eli for me in the Eastern Caverns story line. They just make him so beefed up. Not literally but he has like so many skills under his belt like trick shots, fusion shots, slug fu, whatever the fuck he does with Burpy and they just write it off as well he’s so connected to the slugs that’s why which is just so dumb and lazy. And he just figures out slug fu because slug fu is connected to chi and chi is like the slinger code???? Like Eli I have never heard of this code you are talking about. But honestly deep down I don’t really care because I love Eli too much 😂
Also like I am so disappointed they used so many old models from the old 99 caverns but it’s Slugterra what are you gonna do. Like they couldn’t put a little bit of budget into making new background characters. And don’t even get me started on the Dai Fu. Overall I would give it a 7/10
Another “movie” despite me not remembering it as one when it came out. Maybe it was considered one later on for marketing who knows. What I do know is that is has the coolest fucking intro I have ever seen with all the Shane gang walking out of the hideout looking all badass and then introducing the voice actors with the statue of the emperor in the back is so freaking cool
I will say that the word movie is kinda a loose term here as like with the last “movie” since it’s very obvious it’s just 4 episodes combined into one which I don’t know why they did that in the first place but whatever. So bizarre
First off the first episode err I mean part is about how Junjie became the dark slinger and the background of Yang vs the Emperor. It’s a great episode and it has really pretty drawing to go with the story.
The second part is great too with Pronto acting brave because of the emperor’s sword and the creation on an iron warrior which the gang can’t defeat so they have to retreat which like never happens in the show. I actually liked brave Pronto it reminded me of when they made Shaggy brave from the Legend of the Phantosaur.
Also the iron warrior was created to be powered by life essence and we see the Dai Fu take Underlord Holt’s life essence on screen which seems kinda dark for this show
Then in the third part her life force is taken away by the emperor, who is back, to power up two other unstoppable warriors. I think the unstoppable warriors have a cool design and I understand why they had to reuse so many models from the old show.
But honestly the coolest thing was the reuse of the Thugglet slug which hasn’t been seen since The New Kid episodes. It’s like one of the coolest slugs in the show and they never use it
And honestly the final episode with the battle against the emperor was pretty cool. Unlike the battle against Blakk which was just the Shane gang and the shadow clan, this battle involved all the friends I guess that they met in the eastern caverns and it was pretty cool.
Plus the emperor was actually smart when following Eli and Junjie back to the hole of the deep caverns. He brought one of his unstoppable warriors with him. Also the like traumatic moment when Junjie jumps into the hole to stop the emperor from coming back up and they frame it how Will jumped in after Blakk like why you gotta do that to me Slugterra writers 😩
Overall I didn’t remember this movie at all until I watched it a couple of weeks ago but I actually really liked it. I just felt like the stakes were higher and the way they defeated the emperor was fun and creative.
The one problem I do have is about the elementals like how do the shane gang get back to the 99 without them, why did Eli even learn slug fu if he’s not gonna use the elementals to save his dad. I mean in the end the show didn’t get an ending so it’s doesn’t really matter that much 😢 Plus this was the last we see of Junjie and they never like hug him goodbye or anything but I wouldn’t except that from a boy’s cartoon anyway. No sentimentality allowed 😂 8/10 for the revenge
I honestly thought I was gonna hate this movie because everyone else hated it when it came out in 2016. I know it was all because of Tad and how many plot holes he brings but (please don’t kill me) I like him.
Sure he’s pulls the exact same thing as twist (rip a real one) but what makes me like him is that he’s from the surface and Eli clearly bonds with him over that especially since it’s revealed that Eli had such a horrible life on the surface after his dad went MIA and that Tad did too. Kinda interesting that they both escaped their horrible realities to live in a fantasy world but I digress. And don’t even get me started on the scene of Will wishing Eli a happy birthday. I’m still crying 😭
But yeah the vibe I got from Tad and Eli was that they were like brothers. I mean Tad literally said surface bros. With Twist his betrayal was worst but I feel like we really didn’t see him and Eli bond personally. Twist was kinda just like Eli’s yes man. Just constantly hyping him up and just being like yeah I totally name my slugs and if Eli thinks it’s good than I think it’s good. Literally sucking his d*ck. What who said that!?
It was also pretty cool seeing how much Eli has grown from the show from newbie to teaching someone of slugterra himself. Also how excited he gets when he goes “I know right” clearly happy that he found something to relate to. Maybe I’ll make a long post on tad and how he’s not as bad as people thought he was as a character. 8/10 only one point higher than Ghoul from Beyond because of that beautiful fucking animation. Everything has this like gold tinge to it and I really like it. It makes everything just pop. But again 8/10 sorry everyone who hated it 😅
Into the Shadows (pls don’t kill me 😅)
Ghoul from Beyond/Eastern Cavern
