Quandale Dingle

All you lot need to stop whining about accuracy. This is a CARTOON show, and it is set in a REPRESENTATION of Chicago. This show wasn't specifically made for Chicagoans, it was made for an international adult audience, hence the simplifications, generalisations, and representations. It's a funny show that has competent writing, I loved the characters, and I personally think the simplification and caricature of Chicago wasn't over the top, like SOME people are making it out to be in their reviews. Quit being a bunch of nitpicking crybabies and review the show based on characters, story, and writing - stuff that actually gives a show merit.

I really enjoyed the characters, but the way it attempted to explore real-world issues through metaphors and parallelism constructed using the demons was just weak and hamfisted. As a kids show, some of the cheesier narratives made sense, but I really didn't like the writing behind them. My BIGGEST peeve about this show is the way they advertised "LGBTQ+ romance" as if it would be a well written, thoroughly explored aspect of the story. It was not. There were so many opportunities here; as a trans man, I can say that falling for a guy is the most stressful, frightening thing. "Is he straight?", "Even if he is gay, will he hate me because I'm trans?", "Even if he is gay and likes me back, aren't I denying him a relationship with a REAL man?!"... There is so much questioning, and anxiety, and guilt involved. If the show has the time to address issues like Norma's anxiety, and Barney's home life (which I'd like to say, is nowhere NEAR as bad as it could be), then it has time to address the complexity of queer love, not just make a one-dimensional romance where the characters are both magically queer - especially considering the emphasis it seems to put on the fact that it addresses issues faced by minority groups.

100000 MORBILLION/FIVE STARS!!!! I SAT DOWN AND AS SOON AS IT STARTED PLAYING I GOT SO MORBED UP I MORBED ALL OVER THE THEATRE SEAT.

A self aware, strangely moving cinematic masterpiece. In an age of media where children's films are constantly being pumped out at subpar standards, simply because children will consume anything, movies that are filled to the brim with creative talent, like The Lego Movie, stand out. I know this was made eight years ago, but it is still a shining star in the world of children's film. I watched this as a child; and just recently found it again and watched it with my little brother. He's only five, but I think it still says something that a kid who only cries at death scenes was moved to tears at the climax of the film. God bless Lego.

Beautiful, thought provoking, and unafraid to push the norms of its craft. This is, and will always be, my favourite movie. 'Nuff said.

Miranda is the most insufferable, horrific character I have ever seen in TV; if I had a choice between a million dollars and kicking Miranda so hard she flew into the sun and died a painful, fiery death, I would choose the latter. Every single second she's on screen, every little thing she does, it all makes me want to tear my hair out and shove it underneath my eyelids... Which is actually quite the feat of writing. Never before has a character made me feel such visceral emotion; which I honestly think is a sign that the writers working on this have done an excellent job at bringing out the terrible, bratty, attention-seeking drama queen inside every performer and making a character of it. 4/5, would recommend to a friend.

I would give you a zero, but that's not possible so I give you... A one.

Horrible. Horrible, horrible horrible. The story was generic, and failed to present any real morals other than "friendship good!" - and even then, despite it being the most cliche plot, still managed to fall on its face. Animation was atrocious considering the time of its production; while the textures and rendering weren't that awful, movement and physics were awkward and lifeless. The character deisgn was subpar. Characters had awkward paws and eyes that gave them an uncanny appearance. Sound design was completely lacking, instead of focusing on ambience, sound effects, and actually playing loud, rousing music during fight scenes, it seems they put all their effort into have a character grunt every three seconds. The framing in many scenes was akward, and while it wasn't too bad, it was lacking. The dialogue, I think, was the worst part. It feels like an alien wrote it; it's soulless and extremely awkward to sit through; sometimes too formal, sometimes too casual. Some lines just plain stuck out like a sore thumb and didn't make any sense. Don't watch this if you want your sanity.

It's a fun, cheesy Christmas movie, but it feels forced; it feels like a straight woman wrote it. The movie keeps pressing that two gay people can be friends without being involved, and while I get that the movie is friends to lovers, it's a harmful misconception that genuinely exists and only perpetuates the stereotype that gay men are hypersexual deviants. At first I was happy it was bringing up at least, but it pushes it so many times it feels like it's trying to excuse the fact that it's perpetuating the stereotype that two gay men can't just be good friends. It, as a matter of fact, does not. (At one point it even felt like it was mocking the mom for pushing the point.) Oh well. I did enjoy it, but it felt awkward at times.