Well, I have preemptively salted on this movie for so long now, that I'm betting at least some of you are curious to know my opinion on Thunderbolts* by now. Specifically Bucky's role in it.
Disclaimer, I have not actually watched the movie and I have absolutely zero plans to go to the theaters and spend money on it, but I have read several plot summaries for it and seen many spoilers. So I do know about 90% of what happens in it, and my opinion is solely based on that. And let me tell you, it's a strong one.
Spoilers ahead, if anyone cares.
Bucky is not a "NeW aVenGeR".
Because he already was an actual Avenger.
Because he already was working with Captain America and already had done heroic acts working beside him.
He was referred to as an Avenger onscreen, by Walker no less.
This movie refuses to acknowledge any of that.
You can throw all the technicalities you want at me, you can hit me with all the "Uhm, but aCTUALLY..."s that you want.
The truth is this movie takes away so much of what Bucky had already worked so hard to achieve. Including a stable and reliable friendship with Sam Wilson, a clear name, a newfound purpose...
But most importantly, they took away one my man's most defining traits, and one of the biggest reasons why I fell in love with Bucky in the first place: his loyalty.
The man who showed up for Sam Wilson time and time again (especially when he needed emotional support after his protegé was in critical condition), the man who reassured him, the man who was visibly, personally offended when his late friend's shield, title, and legacy was handed by the government to someone who hadn't earned it, the man who fought to give it back to the person Steve had actually trusted with it because he believed only he could carry that legacy with the respect that it deserved...
I refuse to believe that's the same man who tried to talk Sam into just "letting them" use the title of the Avengers, despite knowing damn well why Sam would be opposed to letting the likes of Valentina and the government in general just appropiate it so thoughtlessly. Or heck, even the same man who would just hear Alexei casually insult his best friend and just say nothing??? Like what have they done to him, that's not the Bucky I know!!!
I can and will only accept that ending if they confirm that Sam and Bucky are actually secretly working together to outsmart that woman, and have to keep up appearances in the meantime and pretend to be in a tiff. Otherwise, it does not make sense for either of them and just character-assassinates my fav.
From what I'm seeing and hearing, this movie probably should've just been Black Widow 2 and focus on Yelena and Alexei helping out Bob. Those three seem to be who the movie cares the most about anyway. It's certainly not Antonia. 🙄 (That's my second biggest gripe with this film by the way, I get that she wasn't the most popular character, but that was straight up NASTY of them)
So there may be many good things about this movie. But unfortunately, they decided to rope my favorite character into it in a way that ignores most of what was so great and inspiring about his character arc so far. And they also chose to shamelessly insult and undermine my second favorite character and paint him as a petty bully (which is very OOC for him I might add). And they also chose to do all of this with a cheeky little "LOL we're the New Avengerz now 🤪" attitude and publicity campaign.
And for that alone, they could never make me like this movie.
I thought I'd share my thoughts about it! Disclaimer, this isn't a proper review or much less an analysis, these are literally just some scattered personal thoughts and opinions. Yapping, if you will. 😬 Think of it as my Bluey Minireviews, but longer. 😅 You may disagree with me and that's fine, but please be civil in your interactions, thank you.
Oh, and just in case, spoilers ahead.
BNW movie wasn't perfect, but it was FAR better than the fanboys online led me to believe.
I don't care what anyone says, Sam is an amazing main character. A friend of mine pointed out how awesome it is that his first move is always to de-escalate conflict. His people skills and getting others to aid him and be on their side are honestly so underrated, and are actually a great skill to have when you're Captain America.
Also worth mentioning that his compassion and empathy are by far the best aspect about him, and I love that we have a hero that displays those qualities. But that doesn't stop him form being an incredibly cool hero and fighter all the same. Sam is just such a great role model and I love having him as Cap.
I've also really liked Joaquin ever since TFATWS, and this movie made me love him even more. He's just so funny and sweet and a great friend to Sam. I loved getting more of him. 🥰
Isaiah and his story also continues to break my heart and how he gets continuously used by others and treated so unfairly, but it also makes me very happy that he has Sam now and that he was able to once again bring some justice to Isaiah's name. Glad he ended the movie on a good note.
Almost every review and plot summary I read online about this movie made me think the plot was going to be hard to follow, too clogged, or convoluted. But in my opinion, it really wasn't, and I thought all plot lines actually came together quite nicely. I honestly could've done without all the Incredible Hulk elements, and yeah, it honestly does kind of suck that they gave Sam leftovers from not one but two of the MCU's worst-ever received movies (although in full transparency, I actually liked Eternals more than most people), but for what they did with it, it felt really well handled.
I'll also be honest about not being a fan of how this film tried to make us sympathize with Ross far more than I would've liked to, but to their credit, the film doesn't overly-victimize him or make an effort to make us think "Oh he's always been A Great Dude™ actually" or anything like that. It leaves clear that Sam still doesn't like him and that Ross is still an irascible jerk, but apart from him taking a very smart approach to working with Ross, it's very in-character of Sam to still give him opportunities to be a better person, because he sees that Ross wants to become a better person (even if he falls short more often than not), and him wanting to do so for his daughter was a believable motivation. And that line about Sam still seeing him as a soldier who needed support? Amazing. 10/10. Peak Sam Wilson.
Sterns as the main villain was another element I didn't like from the get-go, mainly because 1) I personally hate know-it-all villains, 2) his role in The Incredible Hulk was forgettable in my opinion, and 3) him having zero connection with Sam made me fear that he wasn't going to feel very impactful as a villiain. And unfortunately, I was proven right. 😬 Don't get me wrong, he was threatening, his plan was solid, and he played his part in the plot just fine. But that's about it. I honestly don't feel anything towards him other than annoyance, especially in that post-credit scene. Like, yeah, thanks for the reminder that the multiverse is still coming. Still doesn't make me look forward to it. 😑 (If the multiverse storyline does hype you, I'm glad, and please don't let me take that away, I just personally don't like it)
Also, I'd hate to become one of those people who only talk about this part of the film, because this film was about SAM and he's the one who should be getting the spotlight and be talked about. However, you all know me and my bias, and I'm sure you'll want to know what I thought of the Bucky scene, so here it is: It was beautiful. It was a gorgeous scene and really a prime, peak example of what the friendship between Sam and Bucky should be. Proof that Bucky isn't, in fact, emotionally unavailable, at least not with Sam. THIS is the Bucky I know and love, a Bucky who is nothing but supportive of Sam Wilson and is there for him when he needs him, even if he can't be there all the time. Funny how the writers of this film understood his character and made him more justice in 3 minutes than the Thunderbolts* writers did in 2 hours. You can tell clearly who watched TFATWS and who didn't. As far as I'm concerned, this is the last canon Bucky scene. "I love you, buddy." 🥹
So, to wrap it up, I enjoyed BNW more than I thought I would, not only because of the trolls and haters online, but also because I'm usually not a fan of political thrillers. Was this the best movie ever? No, it wasn't. But I think Sam and Joaquin carried it REALLY well and I was invested in their storyline and their interactions the entire time. I love those two and I hope their future MCU entries will get a better treatment by the franchise, because those two deserve the world. The Ross storyline was not my favorite but worked well for what it was. The emotion was hard-hitting and made the characters feel very human and relatable, and the action was also super engaging and proved unequivocably that Sam is a really cool and very capable Captain America.
Sam is my Cap.
This movie was a really good time. If you're on the fence about it, please go give it a chance, and hopefully, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I'd love to get a KPDH sequel as much as anyone else (and given the movie's rousing sucess, I'm positive we'll get one). But honestly, I'd love a prequel about the Sunlight Sisters as well.
We'd learn more about Rumi's mother, what her personality was like, as well as her relationship with Celine, which we can assume was a really close and important one given how the latter took in Rumi when her mother died, despite still having strong prejudices against demons which lead her to raise Rumi the way she raised her.
The third Sunlight Sister. What the heck is up with her and why do we never see or hear ANYTHING about her? Where is she?? We seriously need answers.
I'd love to know what the story between Rumi's mother and father was. Did they genuinely fall in love, or was it all a manipulation on her father's part? (I'm rooting for the first option hehe 🤭) I've seen some theories about Rumi's father actually being Gwi-Ma, which I don't personally support but would for sure make for an interesting story. Even if at this point it would feel too out of left field IMO. Either way, I'd like to see what happened there.
Concept art reveals that at one point, Celine was going to be revealed as being the one one who killed Rumi's mother, which I don't know if is still canon or not. And people have also speculated that she killed Rumi's father, which I can totally see being the case. If either of these is true, it'd make for a super dramatic and interesting story that I'd love to see.
If we get this prequel, we'd also get 90s/early 2000's style songs, which I'd be down for. Even more so if we get more Lea Salonga vocals, which BTW, it was criminal that she got cast in this movie but only got to sing for like 5 seconds. Give the queen the song(s) she deserves! 👑
At the very least, I think Sony should make a short about all this, or maybe explore more of the origins of Rumi's family/the previous generation(s) of hunters in the KPDH sequel.
Too many questions were left unanswered TBH, and I think many of us would like this particular part of the lore to be explore more in depth.
Hello again, people! I've been needing something to distract myself from a few media disappointments I've been getting lately from certain franchises I once enjoyed. And just in the nick of time arrive some short, sweet, lighthearted slice-of-life adventures from everyone's favorite Australian blue pup.
I'm talking, of course, about the new Bluey minisodes! I don't know about you guys, but to me these were a welcome break from... well, a lot of things happening right now. I reviewed the first batch of these back in July, so I thought, why not give my quick thoughts on these as well? I guess I've unofficially become a Bluey reviewer now? A minireviewer at the very least, LOL.
⚠️ As always, spoilers for these shorts below the cut.
🖍️ Tattoo Shop
Without a doubt, this short is the PERFECT representation of what it's like to be a Girl Dad™. 😂 Bandit knew what he was getting into no doubt, but I like how he still played along. Of course, this is Bandit Heeler we're talking about, so we wouldn't expect less. I think that's pretty much all I have to say about this one. Oh, and that the design of the tattoo the girls did was really pretty, I kinda want it as a sticker x)
🦄 Phoney
Unicorse returns! He's not exactly my favorite character (or, running gag, I guess?), but I admit that he does make for some fun scenes, especially when he isn't acting extremely annoying, and I found his annoyance levels in this short to be at just the right amount. Plus, it was satisfying to see the girls "defeat" him, so to speak, at the end. 😂 I just hope stuff like this doesn't happen with too much frequency whenever Chilli tries to relax, because otherwise, Bandit is in serious danger. 😅 (I'm joking of course, we've seen Bandit know when to give Chilli her space, and that's great. He can still have fun from time to time, he just better find his wife in a good mood x'D)
🏰 Blocks
Okay, I really loved this one. Definitely tied for my favorite from the batch with another one that I'll mention in a bit x) Some of you may know this, but along with mom-centered Bluey episodes, I also have a soft spot for grandmother-centered Bluey episodes, since I grew up with my mom and grandma until the latter passed away last year (and it's one of the reasons why I really love the episode "Charades" despite it apparently being one of the most hated once in the fandom, but I digress 😅)
Anyways, up until now, we hadn't seen all that much of Nana Chris and Grandpa Bobba interacting and just, y'know, being an old married couple, so we finally got that, albeit in the midst an unusual circumstance, but I still found it really sweet. ❤️ Especially the end. 💖 I also think this might be the first time we've seen time cards used in Bluey? I really like those for some reason, LOL. Another thing I loved about this episode were the background details! I was really nerding out about little stuff such as the colorful pillboxes, the porcelain dog ornaments, the photos on both the fridge and shelves, etc.! As someone who literally lives in her grandma's house, all of those details made it feel more like, well, grandma's house x) I love how much love and effort the designers and animators put into small things like that. They deserve all the praise.
Also, I don't know if I'm crazy, but I'm PRETTY sure that when Bluey asked "Did you leave our blocks up?" near the end, that was the actual, unfiltered voice of her voice actress? Like, a lot of people have said that they've been digitally "de-aging" the kids voices as they've grown older so they don't have to change the actors, and I'm pretty sure her voice during that line sounded older, like they forgot to digitally alter the pitch on that one. Just something I noticed that I'm not sure if anyone else caught or not. 😬
Anyways, that review turned out longer than expected, but I can't help it. I love grandparent eps. 😋
📠 Government
I think this was the unofficial sequel to "Animals" from last batch xD The way they played the game was pretty similar, just with its own Bandit flavor and dad humor of course. I think the biggest take from both of those shorts is that Bingo is REALLY ticklish, but likes getting tickled. 😂 Oh and, the way Bandit curled Bingo into a little ball at the end? I had no idea they could do that, but uhm, okay I guess. 😅
🥁 Drums
Sooooo, Chilli wants to get Bingo into violin? Even though the latter doesn't really seem interested in that? I just hope that's not something that's going to get forced onto her eventually. 😬 I mean, knowing Chilli, I'm sure she won't make Bingo do it if she tells her that she doesn't like violin. And Bingo has been getting better at speaking her mind, so, I think it hopefully won't come to that.
But anyways, about the drums: Bingo's surprisingly good at them for a beginner! 😄 I'm pretty sure she gets it from her dad. 😉 I think this episode was another showcase of "Bingo may seem like a calm and chill kid, but there's also a bit of a wild side to her that not many expect" that's been happening in more recent episodes such as "Dragon". Even though I do appreciate and can better relate to calm characters, that's still a fun side of Bingo to explore, so I hope they keep giving us glimpses of that. Oh, and that they let Bingo play more drums. She seemed to like them. :3
🧸 Browny Bear
This is the other minisode tied with "Blocks" for my favorite of the new batch. 😆 From the title alone, I'm not sure what I was expecting from this, but a film noir parody starring Unicorse's puppet lawyer was definitely not it xD But it was still super fun! A lot of animated shows that I love have actually done film noir parodies, such as the original FOP, MLP:FiM, and Monsters at Work, and those episodes always end up being some of my favorites of their respective season because of how entertaining and funny the format is. Ironically, I've never seen an actual movie of that genre in my life. 😅 I'm not awfully sure if I'd like the real thing, but the parody is always fun to watch LOL. And even though they didn't make the episode black-and-white like is usual with this type of episodes, the way they worked with the sharp shadows through the half-open blinds was VERY clever, like this is how the family is actually playing this. Smart move, animators. 👏
I wouldn't mind seeing Browny Bear more often. He was quite funny and, in my opinion, more tolerable than Unicorse. 😅 (I like the guy, he's just a bit much sometimes 😬)
Oh, and like I said: Bingo gets it from her dad. 😉
🌊 Whirlpool
This one was just cuteness overload x) I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who got nostalgic flashbacks of playing in inflatable pools in the backyard as kids. ☺️ I personally never played this game, though, and even if I had thought of it, I don't think I could've, since the inflatable pools my family owned were very little even for a kid. 😅 But it looked like these kiddos were having a blast, and that made my heart happy. AND CHUCKYYYYYYYY!!! I love that they included him, I LOVE Chucky, he's such a sweet character with an ADORABLE design. I'd love to see more of him. More love for Chucky pls. 💛
Final thoughts:
Like I said, I've been needing more Bluey lately. These little shorts in particular always make for some great mind soap if you just want to watch something sweet and fun. Though, similarly to what I said in the last review, I would still like to see other characters besides the main Heeler family get explored in these. We did get a bit of that with Nana and Grandpa, besides Lucky's involvement, but again: Why not give us a Pompom short? Or a Calypso short? Maybe a glimpse of Winton and the Terriers ajusting to living together? While yes, we all love the core Heelers, this show also has so many other great, beloved characters, and these 90-second shorts could be cool opportunities to get a bit more from them.
But, I reiterate: I will never complain about more Bluey content. Could there be more done with these? Sure. Am I mad at what we got? Not at all! I still have a blast watching them, and a 15 minute break from both real life and fandom-related stresses is always welcome.
Can't wait for whatever Bluey content may come next. ✨
It's that time once again, folks! And I'll be honest, this time it arrived sooner than I thought, but I ain't complaining xD Even though these premiered on Disney+ on Monday, I am only reviewing them now because of a combination of me getting sick and needing to rest my hands a bit from drawing too much. I'm feeling better from both things now, btw! ^^
I guess these reviews have officially become tradition now. Will I do the same should more actual Bluey episodes ever premiere? Only time will tell I guess. 😬
I think there's a bigger chance that people are caught up with the new minisodes now that it's been a few days, but just in case, ⚠️ Spoilers below the cut.
🛏️ Strong Potion
As always with this show, major props to Bandit for always being such a great sport and improviser when it comes to his kids' games, not to mention the pain he's willing to endure to amuse these girls. 😅 It's honestly super adorable to me when dads play pretend that their kids are super strong and can take them down in a brawl, it kinda reminded me of episodes like "Featherwand" and "Tina" (the latter is not one of my favorites, but I enjoyed that bit more here 😅).
🪥 Robo Bingo
Bingo sure does love pretending she's a robot or machine, doesn't she? xD I mean it's the second time within these minisodes alone. But I guess kids love to play their favorite games over and over, so I'm sure it's accurate. 😅 It was pretty funny to see how specific Chilli had to get with her instructions to get Bingo to do what she needed while not breaking "character", and I appreciate that they used the "Wind-up Bingo" noise, because "Daddy Dropoff" is such a cute ep and one of my favorites, so I appreciate the callback.
The ending actually made me laugh, though. That caught me off-guard. 😂
🦜 Butlers
Episodes heavily featuring one of the character's drawing styles? I'm always here for that! 😉 There's something really fun and whimsy about them that really captures a child's imagination and how they view what they create come to life. Apparently, these butlers were voiced by popular Australian comedians, but much like 95% of the voice guest stars in Bluey, I have no idea who they are. 😅 But the gags where super fun, and these kids/writers came up with some really creative and crazy stuff for the Dreamhouse xD The bit with Harlow in the kitchen might have been my favorite, poor guy has to keep up with those crazy requests, I'd second-guess my carreer choices too buddy, I feel you there. 😂 Overall, this might have been the most fun short of this new bunch.
🪞 Where's Bingo?
This one was fine, I guess. 😬 It might have been my least favorite of this batch. Like, nothing inherently wrong with it, but I guess I just didn't find the game particularly fun or engaging, at least not to watch. It was pretty much just Bandit carrying Bingo around and pretending to look for her. It was cute though, that much it was. 😊 But it's Bandit and Bingo, so what else is new? 🤭
🐻 Goldilocks
Another Bandit bedtime story, YAY! 😆 Honestly love those, we should Bandit-fy every fairy tale in existence, just saying. 😉 This retelling might not have been as funny as the previous two (in my opinion), but it was MUCH easier to follow than "Three Pigs", which I greatly appreciate. And I also appreciate Bandit calling out how messed up it is that Goldilocks is basically a criminal and we're suppossed to be okay with that xD Old fairytales, man. Anyways, the fighting twist was funny, and I love how the kids always want to hear the story again, with Bandit always been like "Noooo I wanna sleep!", which feels super accurate. 😂
Side note that has nothing to do with the minisode itself, but "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" might have forever altered my mental image of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, because that version of them is all I could imagine. 😅
🎻 Alongside
You all know I've been asking to see other characters featured in these minisodes since the first ones came out, and we finally got a bit of that! Sort of. It still heavily featured the Heeler fam, but it was cool to see a bit of the routine of one of the side characters for once! Honey may not be my favorite supporting character, but she's definitely a pretty underutilized one most of the time, so it was cool to get a look at how a typical day is like for her in comparison to Bluey! Honey sure is a busy bee, and also appears to be quite self sufficient for her age.
Don't know about anyone else, but I found relatable aspects on both Honey's and Bluey's side of the day xD I personally watched this one twice and focused on a different side each time, but a friend of mine told me that she was pausing and rewinding through the whole thing. How did you guys watch it? I'm actually curious. 😁
This might have been my favorite (maybe tied with "Butlers") of this bunch just because of how interesting the concept is, all the details going on in the background, and how it finally featured secondary characters. Here's hoping it was sort of a testing ground to do so with more characters that don't typically get much spotlight in the future.
Final thoughts:
Even though I do miss regular-length Bluey episodes, these shorts continue to be a fun little way to still see our favorite cartoon dog family in short and sweet, lighthearted scenarios, which as I mentioned previously and will continue to mention, is always welcome in these trying times as a fun little distraction.
I couldn't help but also notice how all the Minisodes so far have gotten grouped into "Season 1" on Disney+, and I'm assuming also in their Australian streaming service. I wonder if maybe, if they continue to make more and release them throughout 2025, those will be season 2? I guess we shall see.
Thanks to everyone who read my silly little opinions on these silly little shorts. If you've read this far, have a donut 🍩, my treat. 😉 Hope to see you all on the next Bluey!
Hello everyone! Here's another one of those rare text posts from me.
As most of you may know, I'm a Bluey fan. And as all Bluey fans know, today a new batch of Bluey shorts premiered on Disney+, also known as Minisodes (or previously "Bonus Bits").
And while most fans had likely already watched these minisodes, given how they came out nearly a month before in Australia, I myself chose to wait until they were available on Disney+ to watch them, in order to save myself the hassle of looking for them online. Call me lazy if you want, but I often find it trickier than it sounds like. 😅 Especially considering how quickly those tend to get taken down.
But I digress. I was going to do this on Twitter originally, but I thought it'd be more fun and easier to express myself without a character limit here. So, since no one asked for my opinion, I'm going to give it anyways! xD
⚠️ Spoilers ahead, of course.
Here are my brief(-ish) thoughts on each of the new 7 shorts that were released.
🍔 Burger Dog
I have a soft spot for any Bluey short or episode that shows the characters dancing, particularly if they showcase new dancesteps that hadn't been shown before and that isn't flossing. I just find it really adorable and well-animated, so I enjoyed this one.
Maybe this is coming from the perspective of a non-parent, and if I ever have kids I'll have a totally different opinion, but I personally didn't find the song THAT annoying xD At least not for a first time listening to it. If it were the 15th time they'd had it on, I'd understand Bandit's position, but if it really was the first time he heard it, I would've at least let Bluey and Bingo finish the song if I were him. But again, that's just me, and it's not like what Bandit did was anything too terrible, nor am I mad at him for it. Just giving my opinion here. 😅
Oh, and the ending made me chuckle. Clever girl, Bingo. 😉😂
🤖 Bingo 3000
Not really much to say about this one, other than it was cute xD It reminded me a lot of "Daddy Robot", but with the roles reversed. Honestly, the final scene of Chili calling Bingo 3000 with her arriving super slowly because her legs are still stuck and Bandit's all "Don't get me started" was my favorite part. 😝 Overall, it was fine.
🚚 Muffin Unboxing
DEFINITELY my favorite out of this batch xD Muffin may not be my favorite character, but she is definitely the most entertaining one, and I always love seeing her show up because you just KNOW some hilarious chaos is about to ensue. 🤣
What can I say? This minisode was classic Muffin from beginning to end. Her having a toy review channel just makes too much sense and I never knew I needed it until now xD Something else I loved about this one was seeing Stripe's poor video editing skills once again, with him leaving in parts of the recording that were definitely meant to remain on the cutting floor. 😂 Very "Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound," which is amongst my favorite episodes, so you know I loved seeing it.
And of course, I can't stop mentioning and appreciating Socks, my favorite, getting a cute little cameo at the end, and getting at least one line! AAAH! She's always so cute, I love Rock-Socks, you do you babygirl :'3 (And the ending was hilarious of course xD Again, classic Muffin)
I want to petition Ludo Studio to make a "Muffin's Toys" shorts series where we see Muffin parodying various types of YouTube Kids videos. Like, imagine Muffin doing challenges or a DIY? I feel like we need that. At least I do. 😜
📄 Letter
I liked this one quite a lot as well. Always love seeing tidbits of the parents' childhoods. And even though this wasn't on the same levels as "Fairytale" or "Dragon" when it comes to flashbacks or revelations, it was still pretty sweet to watch.
Little Bandit's spellings made me chuckle xD I also weirdly like how it was revealed that he used to have a bird, mostly because it reminded me of a few pet birds my grandma had when I was little. I got a bit worried that Chris was going to get sad or offended about Bandit's comment on her cooking, but glad she took it with humor. 😜
I know Bandit never really liked his artstyle, but honestly, I find it kind of charming and cute. And pretty good for a five-year-old. 😉
🍴 Hungry
Another one that was just okay for me, personally. I mean, Bandit playing like this with the girls and making them laugh is always adorable to watch. And the dad jokes were strong with this one. A lot of people are probably not going to like the gross humor, but eh, it honestly doesn't bother me.
So yeah, this was classic Bandit. I think that's all I have to say. 😅
🐷 Three Pigs
Since "Cinderella" was one of my favorites of the original batch of Bonus Bits, I had high hopes for this one. And well, I won't say that I was disappointed, because I wasn't really. I just didn't enjoy it as much as "Cinderella", mostly because this one felt a LOT more fast-paced, and I was having a hard time keeping up with Bandit's story at one point. Mmmh, is the duration of this shorter than "Cinderella"? I'll have to check it out, but I don't think it is, which makes the fact that it felt so much more fast-paced kind of interesting. 😅 Maybe he just spoke more, I guess.
It was still pretty fun. Bandit naming two pigs after the girls was cute, and sending the other one away to make things easier for himself was really funny. 😝 I wish I had his improv skills, not gonna lie. 😅 As a little side-note, I'm a bit surprised Disney didn't change or omit the "It's against my religion" line.
But yeah. Didn't like it as much as I would've liked, but still a good time.
🍃 Animals
I think this might be my second favorite out of these new shorts. Keep in mind that I was raised by a single mother, so as much as I love Bandit, I'm always going to have a soft spot for episodes that focus on Chilli hanging out with the girls in some way. 🥹
I don't know, I just found the game really cute for some reason. 🧡 It's so simple, and pretty much just an excuse to tickle Bingo in different ways, but I like how creative they got for each animal's walk. And from a character design standpoint, it made a lot of sense to make Bingo's back a "field". Like, for some reason, that made me chuckle, I don't know xD These dogs are so cubical, it felt logical, LOL.
Chilli's games have always been lot more, well, chill than Bandit's xD But I've always been a calm kid, and once again, they remind me of things my own mom and I used to play, so they resonate with me. Despite the surprising ending, this minisode was just very sweet. 😊
Final thoughts:
Even though there wasn't really anything that extraordinary about these minisodes, one must keep in mind that they're not really meant to be compared to the regular Bluey episodes, which themselves have set a pretty high standard. These are just bite-sized, mostly slice-of-life little adventures to keep us interested in these characters in-between seasons. I've always been a lover of simple slice-of-life stories when characters I love are involved, and I love these characters a great deal, so I'll always like seeing them in any capacity, especially in official productions.
I do wish we could get a few shorts of other secondary characters such as Bluey's school friends, Bingo's school friends, the neighbors, or even Rad and Frisky. But I do think more of these are coming, especially considering that some of the stills that have been released as promos (such as Chilli measuring the girls or them arriving at Nana's house and Grandpa Bob being there) didn't appear in any of these. So I have no doubt we'll be getting more minisode batches soon, and hopefully, other characters will make appearances similarly to how they did in the first Bonus Bits.
Any Bluey content is always a win for me, so I'm happy we got these. 💙
A very specific nitpick I have with 'Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate'
I don't do text posts here very often. This feels odd, let's just get on with it.
I was originally going to write down a full-on review expressing my utter disappointment and disgust dislike towards the horrible and cheap "sequel" to my favorite Dreamworks movie, Megamind. A sequel which, by now, we all know was nothing but a glorified extended pilot for a Peacock series that I have not watched, but it honestly looks just as mediocre, so I have no current plans to.
Hoooowever, I have since seen many reviews of this "movie", most of which have been able to express my feelings and thoughts pretty well. So it felt like I didn't have much else to contribute to the discourse.
Except for one thing that I have not seen anyone talk about (or maybe they have talked about it and I just haven't seen it), and it was one of the things that bothered me most about the film. So this post's entire purpose is to publicly point it out.
No, I'm not talking about Keiko herself (although yes, she was my least favorite character and completely ruined the movie and this franchise for me thanks for asking). It's more the purpose of her character.
You see, and allow me to put my cranky old lady pants for just a moment, I believe most people have been able to guess that the entire reason this character was put into the movie was to be a target audience insert. So the 8 to 12 year-olds watching can go "Hey! This character is around my age and has the same interest as me! I'll keep watching for her!" (Do no ask me how well that's going because I personally do not find the excecution of it all that great, but I digress). And although, as a more mature viewer and long-time follower of the franchise, this does feel a bit annoying, having this kind of character when you're trying to appeal to a new audience is, technically speaking, not a bad thing in itself. And when executed well, this can totally work.
But here's the problem.
It makes no sense for a character like this to form part of Megamind's story.
You see, my friends, for those of you who have not seen this movie (which, for your own good, I sincerely hope is the majority of people who are reading this), "Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate" is VERY explicitly supposed to take place two days after the events of the first movie.
Just two days.
This is explicitly said at least two or three times in the first act of the movie alone (I value my sanity too much to rewatch the film to double-check that fact, but I'm fairly confident in that).
If you all remember, the masterpiece known as the original Megamind movie came out in 2010. Therefore, the most logical thing to assume is that the events of the film itself also take place in 2010, if not before that, right? It's never explicitly stated, but since there is nothing that confirms or denies this, I think it's the default assumption we as an audience should make.
Now, I did not own my first cellphone until the year 2012 when I turned 13 (don't make fun of me for that fact), so, correct me if I'm wrong. But I don't think in 2010, we were seeing thing such as:
Smartphones like the one Keiko has throughout the film,
People using said smartphones to make livestreams in which people leave likes and comments in real time,
Kids who are content creators gaining half a million subscribers in TWO LITERAL DAYS (I cannot stress this enough) by getting information and newsflashes from goodness-knows-where,
App equivalents to TikTok and Instagram with as much popularity as we saw in this,
And overall, just social media getting the same treatment and functioning the same in 2010 as it does in 2024.
I mean yes, in 2010, things such as the ones I listed above were probably beginning to take popularity and to become a thing. But they surely weren't as well-established as they're being presented to us in Megamind "2".
This cheapquel "sequel" is suppossed to be only two days after the first one, and yet, everything that revolves around THIS KID'S existence suggests to us that we're in the 2020's era of internet, influencers, and social media. Heck, the earliest I could buy any of this believably happening is like, 2018. 2015 as a stretch.
We went from 2010 to (at least) 2015 in two stinkin' days.
No sense whatsoever.
Logically speaking, there's no way TikTok Childstar Keiko was even born in the year the first Megamind took place. Like, her birth year is 2011 at the earliest, and you can't convince me otherwise. Why do you even exist two days after Megamind was renowned as the hero of Metrocity? Please go back to the womb.
(That got personal, sorry. This kid gets too much on my nerves)
"Well, TECHNICALLY since it's never stated when the first Megamind took place, nothing's stopping them from making it so that it's been 2024 all along"
If that seriously does not sound like gaslighting your audience in order to force "hip" references that resonate with the kids watching almost a decade and a half after the original film came out to you, then I don't know what does. I don't even care if "you're not suppossed to think too hard about it" (which is a lame excuse for lazy writing btw), just watching both movies back-to-back, the tonal differences and any chronological references just clash way too much for me to buy this as a legitimate follow-up taking place in the same universe, same city, and even same week.
So yes, "Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate" sucks, and the inclusion of this character and this anachronistic plotline, for me, is a huge reason why. It's insulting to the audience and a clearly desperate attempt to appeal to a new generation of kids that frankly, if Megamind had gotten a genuinely good sequel, they would've liked it all the same, even if it didn't include a 12-year-old TikTok influencer with a half-baked personality and forced role in the story. Because seriously, don't even get me STARTED on how forced her joining the gang felt, holy crap. 😓 But that's a tangent for another day. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'll just leave this meme here and move on.
This was, of course, only one of many flaws this movie had, but I feel like other people have ranted enough about how the writing, character portrayals, poor animation, bad humor, and lame attempts at world-building did the original Megamind dirty.
Here's hoping one day Dreamworks wakes up, thinks smart, and decides to give us the Megamind 2 we deserve, so we can all happily toss this... project, into the realm of non-canon media, where it belongs.
