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halletarvin
Reviews
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
A Simple and Sweet Watch
I recently watched the first Chicken Run, before I even knew there was going to be a sequel. It was a movie that I had on VHS as a child, and I always really loved the animation as well as its message and characters.
To address the different voice actors, I only noticed the absence of Mel Gibson, and I definitely cannot fault the filmmakers for not bringing him back. At no point did the new voice actors deter my enjoyment or immersion in the film.
I really enjoyed them ramping up the action from the original film, as contemporary chicken farms are indeed much more hazardous and huge.
I don't think any sequel would have captured the spark that the original film had. I genuinely appreciate the movie for not fixating on the child character too much. As an older fan, it's nice to get to see where the OGs are at in life. Rocky felt a little under-used in terms of dialogue, but the emotional core of the film was truly between the mother and daughter. A major theme of the film is the mother's suppression of how alike she and her daughter are, and I don't know if I've ever seen that exact dynamic in a children's movie before.
It's definitely a very fun watch, and it in no way tarnished the original film. I enjoyed myself and found it to be pretty great- especially for a Netflix movie. I feel like a lot of the negative reviews here are upset that the original voices are absent and I just don't know why that should discredit all of the hard work which clearly went into this pretty decent sequel.
The League (2009)
Hasn't aged well, not worth the watch beyond S2
S1 is good, but every season drags harder and harder. By season 3, plots get predictable, the sex becomes gratuitous, and the mean-spirited characters stop feeling fun.
To my credit, South Park and It's Always Sunny are my favorite half-hour comedies of all time.
This show depicts men as physically unable to remain faithful or abstain from watching porn. It consistently objectifies women, and punches down on any group lower on the social ladder than the main characters. It's not trying to say anything, but I think that's a part of the problem. It becomes distasteful.
There are good laughs here and there, depending on which characters you find funny. The best jokes to me are the silly puns, Taco's one-liners, football-centric ones, and self-deprecating ones. Many of the characters are beyond arrogant, greedy, and ungrateful. I love South Park and It's Always Sunny, but there's something about the social commentary, actual satire, and ironic tone that doesn't make everything seem so bleak in those shows; Eric Cartman IS the joke, Dennis Reynolds IS the joke. The boys/girl from the league? They're just court jesters. Jokesters which I assume the audience is supposed to root for at least one of every season- you know, to win the fantasy league.
Jokes get repetitive, characters lose their nuances, and I wonder how it lasted for so many seasons.
Watch the other shows I mentioned.
The Lorax (2012)
Just watch the (1972) TV Special
This version of the story absolutely obliterates any sense of Seuss' original message. If this movie moved you, I urge you to watch the TV special and see how much better this can be.
Every character was changed for the worse. Their motivations and the depth of their individuality were completely altered, which is contradictory to the point of this story.
Illumination even added a character, making the Onceler more of an antihero rather than the primary antagonist. I do not think that Seuss himself would've signed off on this and I think that this film negates the point he was trying to make about the anthropocene, global warming, and individual responsibility.