TheCinematicBandicoot

thecinematicbandicoot is a local Seattle blogger who covers movies, television and video games old and new for various reasons: fun, holidays or nerd culture. He loves animation, platformers, comic books and novels, but is always for new experiences. Think of it like time traveling: there’s no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going next.

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Opinion - The problem with the Pixar standard

Cinematic Bandicoot Opinion - The problem with the Pixar standard #Elemental #Pixar #Animation #Disney+ #Disney #Review #News #Entertainment #

By Jose Anguiano Jan. 27th, 2024 During its theatrical run, Pixar’s “Elemental” struggled to make its budget back while audiences deemed it another disappointment from the beloved studio. After watching the film on Disney+, I can say that it is one of Pixar’s best offerings without comparing it to their golden age. Unfortunately, the internet does not let go of such nostalgia that shaped many…

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Where is the Cinematic Bandicoot? - Update 2

By Jose Anguiano Dec. 25th, 2023 It’s been several months since I posted my last review, and for good reason. I have changed majors in college from journalism to multimedia design and communication. What this means is that I won’t be churning out as many reviews because I am focusing on building my student portfolio for a future in tech and art, which offers more opportunities in the real…

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - TURTLE POWER!

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM #TMNT #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles #Paramount #Nickelodeon #MutantMayhem #Animation #NinjaTurtles #TMNTMovie #TMNTMutantMayhem #TMNTMikey #TMNTLeo #TMNTDonnie #TMNTRaph #SethRogen

By Jose Anguiano Aug. 7th, 2023 2012 2016 2018 Since acquiring the property in 2009, Paramount and Nickelodeon wasted no time in adapting the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for new audiences. Some were successful like the 2012 tv series while others were shellshocked like the Michael Bay produced live action duology. Then there was the short lived “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”…

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Disney's Haunted Mansion - another ride with no new soul

Cinematic Bandicoot Reviews - Disney's Haunted Mansion #TheHauntedMansion #Disney #HauntedMansionMovie #DisneyPlus #Summer #Blockbusters #SummerBlockbusters #Ghosts #Disneyland #DisneyWorld #WaltDisneyWorld

By Jose Anguiano July 30th, 2023 Unlike “Pirates of the Caribbean”, Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” failed to expand into multimedia adaptations. The 2003 Eddie Murphy vehicle by “Lion King” codirector Rob Minkoff was a critical and financial disappointment. Since then, other variations entered production like an animated series by “Kubo and Two Strings” character designer Shannon Tindle and a…

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The top 20 "Owl House" episodes

Cinematic Bandicoot Countdown - The Top 20 'Owl House' Episodes #Disney #Pride #DisneyAnimation #DisneyTelevisionAnimation #Television #TheOwlHouse #OwlHouse #DannaTerrace #LGBTQ #Pride2023 #HappyPride2023 #HappyPride #Animation #PrideMonth #Animation2D

By Jose Anguiano June 8th, 2023 Despite being canceled by Disney executives under Bob Chapek’s command, Dana Terrace’s “The Owl House” secured a giant following as one of the best animated shows of all time. With the final season concluded and pride month in full swing, it’s time to pick the best episodes that chronicled Luz’s journey through the Boiling Isles. Unlike the “Wander Over Yonder”…

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Spoiler Free Review)

Cinematic Bandicoot Reviews - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Spoiler Free Review) #Spiderman #AcrosstheSpiderVerse #MilesMorales #SpiderVerse #SpidermanAcrosstheSpiderVerse #SpiderGwen #SpiderMan2099 #SonyPicturesAnimation #Animation #SonyPictures

By Jose Anguiano 06/03/20203 Previously on “Spider-Man”… While the post credit scene from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was a laugh riot, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is anything but as Miles Morales gets tangled in a new situation with his friends in a multidimensional timeline housing hundreds of spider-people. The animation in the first film pushed the boundaries of what…

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Revisiting 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

Cinematic Bandicoot #Reviews - Revisiting 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' #Spiderman #SpiderVerse #SpiderGwen #Sony #Animation #SonyPicturesAnimation #SpiderManAcrosstheSpiderVerse #SpiderMan2099 #IntotheSpiderVerse #Animation2D #Animation3D #Marvel

By Jose Anguiano May 31st, 2023 It has been five years since “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” changed the animation landscape with its unique art style that influenced other animated projects – “The Mitchells vs the Machines”, “The Bad Guys”, “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”. In fact, it became the first Sony…

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The Little Mermaid (2023) - A dinglehopper tangled in seaweed

Cinematic Bandicoot Reviews - The Little Mermaid (2023) #TheLittleMermaid #LiveAction #Animation #Animation3D #Animation2D #HalleBailey #MelissaMcCarthy #Ursula #Ariel #JavierBardem #DisneyRemake #DisneyRenaissance #RobMarshall #MovieReview #Review #Movie

By Jose Anguiano May 27th, 2023 That’s a scene from “The Little Mermaid” tv series episode “Wish Upon a Starfish” which featured and African American mermaid in case anyone wanted to bring up that discourse. In an age where people accepted Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite him being Caucasian in the comics, it’s insane that we need to have this discussion…

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The Little Mermaid (1989) - A sparkling pearl under the sea

Cinematic Bandicoot #Reviews - The Little Mermaid (1989) #Disney #TheLittleMermiad #Animation #LittleMermaid #TheLittleMermaid2023 #DisneyRemakes #Animated2D #Movies #MovieReview #DisneyRenaissance #Renaissance

By Jose Anguiano May 24th, 2023 With “The Little Mermaid” remake due in theaters, it makes sense to lookback on the 1989 phenomenon that launched Disney back into the spotlight. History In the early 1980’s, Disney’s nine old men passed the baton to a new generation of animators, and yet the department was in danger of closing down following the box-office failure of “The Black…

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Defending "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (2023)

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - DEFENDING THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023) #SuperMairoBros #Mario #Luigi #Bowser #ChrisPratt #SuperMarioBrosMovie #SuperMarioMovie #VideoGames #Movies #MarioBrosMovie #MarioBros #Illumination #MarioBros #Animation #Animated

How ironic that the franchise that started the video game adaptation curse in 1993 received a second chance at redemption with the help of Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment. But while audiences were satisfied with the final product, critics were less compassionate to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and sparked another social media war. As someone who played the games and watched all of…

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Super Mario Bros. (1993) Extended Cut - 30 years later

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - SUPER MARIO BROS. (1993) EXTENDED CUT - 30 YEARS LATER #SuperMario #SuperMarioBros #SuperMarioBrosMovie

With “The Super Mario Brothers Movie” in theaters, it’s only fitting to lookback on the film that birthed the video game adaptation curse. History “Super Mario Bros.” was the first video game adapted into a movie, and production was akin to “Saving Mr. Banks” in how long it took to get off the ground, as documented in the book “Lights, Camera, Game Over!: How Video Game Movies are Made” by Luke…

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Super Mario Bros. 3 - The 8-bit crown jewel

CINEMATICBANDICOOT REVIEWS - SUPER MARIO BROS. 3 #SuperMarioBros #NIntendoSwitch #Nintendo #NintendoSwitchOnline #SuperMarioMovie #SuperMarioBrosMovie #SuperMarioBros3 #NES #Mario #Luigi #Bowser #SuperMario #Gaminglife #Videogame #Videogames #Television

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot March 31st, 2023 History During the 1980s, Nintendo remained the dominant video game company even with rising competition from Sega and PC gaming. But while “Super Mario Bros. 2” sold millions of units, players saw it more as an expansion than a true sequel. Thus, Shigeru Miyamoto enlisted Takashi Tezuka, as director to bring something new to the…

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The Last of Us (Season one) - A continuous outbreak of incredible adaptations

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - The Last of Us (Season one) #TheLastofUs #VideoGames #HBOMax #TheLastofUsHBO #PedroPascal #BellaRamsey #TheLastofUsFinale #LastofUsHBO #LastofUsSeasonFinale #LastofUs2 #JoelMiller #Cordyceps #PostApocalyptic #AshleyJohnson

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot March 13th, 2023 Despite the repetitive headlines from entertainment journalists, the 2010’s broke the video game adaptation curse. While not all adaptations are great, a majority of them are either critical hits like Netflix’s “Castlevania” or make enough money to justify a sequel like “Uncharted”. In fact, “Sonic the Hedgehog” accomplished both. HBO…

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Super Mario Bros. 2 - 35 years later

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - Super Mario Bros 2. #SuperMarioBros #Illumination #Animation #VideoGames #MarioMovie #MarioBros #MarioDay #SuperMarioBrosMovie #SuperMario #Mario #VideoGame #Gaming #GamingCommunity #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch #SNES #NES #Luigi

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot March 11th, 2023 History After “Super Mario Bros” saved the video game industry, many copycat games emerged forcing Nintendo to dish out multiple cease-and-desist letters. For the sequel, the company went in a different direction after players wanted more of the same. To cater to their demands, Japan received “Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels” after…

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Super Mario Bros (1985) - A classic with some fungus

CINEMATIC BANDICOOT REVIEWS - Super Mario Bros (1985): Time for a retrospective before the main event! #SuperMarioBros #VideoGames #Gaming #GamingCommunity #Mario #Luigi #Bowser #MushroomKingdom #Toad #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch #Illumination #Animation

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot March 4th, 2023 With Illumination’s “Super Mario Brothers Movie” releasing in Apr., it’s time to review as many of the main games from the past 40 years. History Before “Super Mario Bros”, the American video game industry nearly collapsed. Companies were jealous of Atari’s success in the home market and wanted a slice of the growing…

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Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania - A journey squashed by its own ambitions (Mild Spoilers)

Cinematic Bandicoot Reviews - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania #AntmanAndTheWasp #Antman #AntmanAndTheWaspQuantumania #AntmanAndTheWaspQuantumaniaReview #Quantumania #Marvel #MarvelCinematicUniverse #KangTheConqueror #AntmanAndTheWaspID #MarvelStudios

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot February 17th, 2023 Previously on the Marvel Cinematic Universe… The “Ant-Man” movies aren’t as universally praised as “Captain America” or “The Guardians of the Galaxy”. Part of this is because the first film is infamous for letting go of the original director, Edgar Wright: a visionary auteur responsible for pop culture films like “The Cornetto…

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Goldeneye (1997) - A rough diamond

Cinematic Bandicoot Reviews - Goldeneye - Shaken or Stirred? #Goldeneye #JamesBond #NintendoSwitch #NintendoSwitchOnline #XboxGamePass #Xbox #Movies #Films #Movie #VideoGame #VideoGames #Film #FirstPersonShooter #Nintendo64 #Microsoft #EONProductions

By Jose Anguiano – Cinematic Bandicoot February 13th, 2023 Rare’s “Goldeneye” pioneered first person shooters in 1997 after a lengthy development period so future games like “Half-Life” and “Halo” could build upon its foundation. Now that its been rereleased on both Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles for the first time in 25 years, it warrants a revisit. However, time has taken its toll on…

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