#IT WAS A THROWAWAY VISUAL GAG

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

Every time someone talks about Midnighter or Apollo or their relationship and ONLY talks about them "being a superbat pastiche" i kill a hostage.

[shheep]

idk what they put in those silly little trolls movies but I can't stop thinking about them

[that-one-kiddo-in-the-back]

The "Hot sister is like having 19 bucks" thing comes from Lorch's more blatant Yahtzee ripoff era where it was a quick throwaway line and visual gag to say "This is useless to me" in regards to... something, she mainly just wanted to include her incest kink in a video like always.

That's disgusting.

[oldbaton]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice really exceeded expectations. I was anticipating a ~for the fans~ type of movie but instead I thought it was a genuine return to form for Burton. Don't get me wrong if you didn't like the last one you will not like this and it isn't as good as the first. But Burton lost his magic a long time ago and he genuinely captured it again. It felt like Burton in his prime which I was NOT expecting.

Use of physical effects! The whole thing is a visual feast! It is SO FUNNY. (The Soul Train gag was so delightfully stupid).

Catherine O'Hara continues to be one of the funniest people alive. They gave her some great material and she knocked it out of the park.

Winona is such a good actor. Her Lydia is very distinctive and she did some great character work figuring out what a middle aged Lydia would sound like. She is also a fabulous straight man. Her response to the ridiculous is just as good as the ridiculous itself. She absolutely killed me in the final sequence.

And Michael Keaton! I posted this earlier but they did this thing to Beetlejuice in the last few years where it's like ~it's the genie from aladdin but spooky~~~ which could not be farther from the character. BJ is an undead tricker pervert. He is gross, disgusting, and selfish. And having Keaton back is so good because it's actually BJ again. It really is his character at the end of the day and there truly is only one. He was incredibly funny. They repeated a favorite bit from the film where when someone says his name he just screeches and it still kills me. And now that he has aged he looks even better in the makeup. And they kept the jokes nice and dark. There's a very graphic gag during his reunion with Lydia and it was like... THAT is what Beetlejuice should be doing. And like. One of the all time great character designs just seeing him in the costume again.

There are issues. The Lydia has a daughter now and they're trying to work on their relationship thing is a very obvious angle to take for a sequel. They find a way to make it interesting in the second half but it is very trying in the first. There is a bit with a dry cleaners run by a man with a strong Asian accent that is a little.... suspicious. It's a little Apu in The Simpsons coded. Also the way they wrote off the couple from the first film is very lame and throwaway.

But yeah I loved it so much it felt like a palette cleanse from the horrible musical

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

Hey, everyone. Asks are being turned off as of right now because I am overwhelmed. I also want to talk about something regarding that. I'm not angry, I have no hard feelings towards anyone, and this needs to be addressed:

"Too long, didn't read" at the bottom:

I have 433 asks in my inbox. It is very difficult for me to get the energy to answer every single one of them. I am going to delete them all (unless I find something I really do not want to delete) and clean my inbox out. Don't get me wrong, I do have fun with these a lot. That being said, being spammed with questions, especially the same ones I have answered multiple times, is not fun for me.

The Jonny Headverse stuff is fun, and I can have negative feelings about it. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but I never wanted to ruin anyone else's fun. I feel it is time to speak up about it anyway.

Please give me a little space. I do not dislike you, I am not angry, I am overwhelmed and a bit disheartened. I very much appreciate the fan art, the writings, the jokes, and everything in between. However, every time I do an event that is only supposed to be for Vanilla, TipVans, Bel, or an f/o takeover of some sort, it is always somehow about Jonathan and the other heads.

It, admittedly, hurt my feelings when it was mine and Vanilla's anniversary and I got asks that were mostly about the heads. I even had a few that were, "Okay but what about Jonathan and Erina's anniversary?" (which we actually did earlier in the year)

It all started with a visual gag I made in a mini comic about my s/i raiding the fridge. I got the idea from Futurama yes, but mostly this one DIY Halloween decoration where you print out a picture of a face, put it in a pickle jar filled with oil and put it in the fridge. Which is why he was next to the pickles in that drawing. I have no qualms about other artists and writers doing the Jonathan head thing. If somebody decides to make that their shtick, then that is wonderful. Yes, Jonathan's Head is an important character in my fanfic, but he is not the focal point.

My fanfic is all supposed to be from the viewpoint of Vanilla. My own s/i isn't even the main character, he is. It's not only about the romance between Vanilla and Tippy, but it tells a story about what would happen if two complete opposites of people (Vanilla and Polnareff) got a second chance. Polnareff remembers everything, but Vanilla remembers nothing. The tension, difficult decisions, the "what would you do in this situation?" feelings, and giving a backstory to a throwaway mini boss type villain.

I digress. To add on to what I said previously, it is discouraging to draw and write my heart out about something only to have it derailed by another subject. I have tried to take it all in stride, but my feelings are hurt. I would talk about Vanilla doing something, it gets derailed to Jonathan even when he wasn't even relevant to the conversation. I would say something about TipVans or Bel or Ramon or Emmanuel, it would get derailed so fast and I would get 20 asks about the heads doing the same thing my f/o or other characters are doing.

When I would do the f/o takeovers, not a single question I would receive was about the relationship Vanilla has with Tippy (although I could be wrong and don't remember. I only remember getting asks about taking care of the disembodied heads).

I don't want any of you to feel bad or think that I am mad at you. I am very overwhelmed and disheartened. I put a lot of passion into my art work and writing. I am very grateful for all of the kind words I receive and all of the wonderful encouragement I get on tags when my art gets reblogged every now and then.

There's this one drawing I have worked my best on and put my all into, which is a semi realism digital painting, I am very proud of (here). When I first uploaded it, I had somebody go, "Okay, now do semi realistic Jonathan's head." I can't just do a semi realism painting. It takes a lot of patience and energy.

I'm asking for a little bit of space, and a little bit of grace.

Like I have said before, I am in no way, shape, or form angry with anyone. Please, by all means, continue drawing, writing, animating, and talking about the Jonathan Head universe. I want you all to have fun and continue having fun. Do what makes you happy, create to your heart's content, please

I only ask 2 things: please, do not derail my other art works or writings anymore with Jonathan's Head stuff unless he is in them. And please do not bombard other artists/writers with asks, especially if they are uncomfortable and expressing their discomfort.

For now, asks are closed because I am overwhelmed with things and this (unfortunately) was the final straw.

Please don't think I will be angry with you if you decide to tag me in something Jonathan's Head related. I will still like it and share it and be happy for you and/or the person who created the work.

Once again, I am very grateful and thankful for all of the kind words and feedback I have gotten on my fanfic and drawings. I will let you all know when asks are turned back on as well. Then one day we can roleplay and stuff again💙

TL;DR: Overwhelmed with asks. Asks are turned off. Disheartened by my art and writing being derailed by Jonathan and the rest of the heads. Not mad, very supportive of your creativity. Wish you all the best 💙

[agentnico]

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) review

Bag-pipes- that’s a choice!

Plot: Gromit's concern that Wallace has become over-dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a "smart gnome" that seems to develop a mind of its own. As events spiral out of control, it falls to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces - or Wallace may never be able to invent again.

I genuinely have so much respect and cherish Aardman Animation studios as a company, as they have developed their own distinct style of stop-motion claymation and have stuck to it through thick and thin. So much so that after a few box office bombs it looked like they were going to go out of business, yet luckily Netflix (and the BBC) came to the rescue and allowed their films to live on through streaming. I’m a huge ambassador for the cinematic theatrical experience, but it is times like this when a streaming platform has its benefits. Hence with last year’s Chicken Run sequel and now a new Wallace & Gromit feature, Aardman is back to its old tricks, and we are here for it. That being said, this was my first entry into the Wallace & Gromit franchise, so my opinion is based sorely on this individual film, rather than comparing it what has happened to these characters before.

The BBC really knocked it out of the park with its festive releases this time around. The Gavin & Stacey finale episode was one of the best sitcom show endings ever, and now Wallace & Gromit is a true belly of laughs and heart. This movie is utterly charming, from the many visual gags and throwaway jokes, to the character animations and voices - it’s all really cute and amusing. However, someone’s got to say it, and by someone I mean the entire internet has been discussing it heavily these last few days (at least on Letterboxd), and I will add fuel to the fire by agreeing that Wallace is an utter tw*t of a character. Honestly, he’s a diabolical self-centred narcissistic a-hole who deserves to be assassinated. He’s so mean towards his pet/housemate Gromit, who he treats like a slave and scum of the Earth, and is endlessly dumb and stupid, and what’s worse is his silly actions cause so much chaos and problems for everyone else. And all Wallace has to say for himself is “oh dear” and then proceeds to blame everyone else. This ugly bald chap is a piece of work, and had I been Gromit, I would have long sunk my teeth into and ripped the skin off his neck. Wallace - you’re a wally and deserve the worst of it all! He’s so annoying that for the first 20 minutes or so of this film I was actually questioning if I should stop watching, as Wallace’s personality and actions were so diabolical and horrible.

Luckily the movie does find its footing once the villainous penguin Feathers McGraw appears, as honestly anything this character did was absolutely hilarious. He doesn’t speak at all, and has a really plain and simple design, so his entire expression and delivery comes from his eyes and wings, yet they animators manage to craft some truly hilarious sight gags with him. Truly, anything with McGraw was top tier comedy. Nice to also hear Peter Kay voicing the chief inspector - it’s good to have him back really. You have to give huge credit to Ben Whitehead, I honestly had to check that AI wasn't used to recreate the voice of Peter Sallis, it was seamless, what an incredible vocal performance as Wallace. Even if Wallace is an annoying c**t.

Vengeance Most Fowl is a wonderful watch, which I am sure will please fans of the franchise, but also is a great entry point for newcomers such as myself, and in fact since seeing this me and my wife have already began delving into the previous entries of Wallace & Gromit. Have now watched Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and who would have thought Ralph Fiennes was in that? And on top comedic form too mind you.

Overall score: 7/10

[adamwatchesmovies]

Shrek the Halls (2007)

If your kids can’t get enough Shrek and it happens to be close to December 25th, then Shrek the Halls is a good pick for the family. Though it’s essentially a bonus feature - meaning if you skip it you’re not missing anything - there are plenty of clever gags throughout.

Set between Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, Shrek (Mike Myers) is feeling pressured by Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to put together a special holiday surprise for the household. His plans go awry when Donkey (Eddie Murphy) invites himself and the entire “family” to partake in the celebration.

Clever title aside, I bet most people would look at the DVD cover and label this film/special as a cash grab. They'd be wrong. This is no half-baked effort churned out in a hurry to have some content for the holiday season. The visuals look just as good as they did in the films it’s set between, all of the voice actors are back and the characters you love are pretty much all there, ready to deliver the same type of gags that made them favorites. Particularly funny is Gingy (Conrad Vernon), whose interpretation of Santa Claus is radically different from everyone else’s. There are plenty of in-jokes, off-hand comedic remarks and throwaway visual gags (check out Pinocchio’s stocking). Basically, this special is cut from the same tree as the previous films. You get pop-culture references and clever wordplay mixed in with low-brow fart jokes and before you roll your eyes at that one, remember that they've practically been a staple of the series.

While the other Shrek films skirted the line between being appropriate for adults rather than kids, this one’s strictly for younger viewers. I say this because of the film’s ultimate message and the way it’s resolved. Though Shrek is an adult, he’s never celebrated Christmas before. To him, the holiday’s true meaning has yet to be discovered. When Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), the Big Bad Wolf (Aron Warner), the Three Blind Mice (Christopher Knights), Three Little Pigs (Cody Cameron) and the rest show, he's annoyed. “Why does Christmas have to include all of these people?” Kids have no say in who comes to the Christmas party so it makes sense to tell them why they need to get along with everyone and doing so through Shrek is organic.

Also cementing this as strictly for youngsters is the way Fiona reacts to Shrek being so irritated. As an interquel, there was no way to have the characters react any other way but from an older viewer’s perspective, it’s getting a little repetitive to have them clashing like this AGAIN. Maybe the conflict could’ve been somewhat smoothed out if the film was longer - we could actually see Fiona having a great time while her husband is miserable - but at just 21 minutes long, there wasn't time. These are not serious issues but they’re what prevent it from being a must-see unless you eat up anything that's green and living in a swamp.

Though Shrek the Halls is a Christmas-themed special banking on a pre-existing love for a franchise, it feels earnest. All of the characters and voice actors are back. The jokes are on the same level as they've always been. It’s just that this is an inconsequential holiday special, which, to be fair, is exactly what it advertises itself as. I wouldn’t spend money on Shrek the Halls but if it happens to be playing, it's a pleasant distraction. (December 27, 2021)

[imminent-danger-came]

Unhinged Anon back with something thankfully shorter then last ask, but also incredibly stupid and driving me far crazier then it has any right to.

So, we’ve all been so busy theorizing about the blue flower, Shadowpeach lore, EAMK theory, general ‘wtf is going on with MK’ theories, etc., right? But in our theorizing and analyzing and whatnot, we’ve been ignoring the REAL mystery here: Why tf does Tang’s Vitruvian MK from S4E5 say that friendship is ‘stored in the shoulder’?! Not even ‘his shoulders’, it’s just ‘The Shoulder’.

…What does that even mean???

And, yes, I acknowledge that this could just be a throwaway visual gag. But also, this is a show with a habit of tossing jokes at us and revealing later down the line that, 'Oh, that 'becoming a master of focus' bit from S1E7? Yeah, that wasn't just a gag. It's a set up for multiple call backs, one of which is coming later this season. And those 'Big Brain Boy' moments? Yeah, that's building up to MK eventually becoming the designated Plan Man'.

So... what if this is more than a background joke?

It is an indisputable MK fact!

But yeah, lmk has a habit of going "teehee look at this joke~ SIKE IT WAS JUST MEAN FORESHADOWING" with pretty much everything *stares at "Monkey Man" so hard my eyes explode*.

So at this point it's like, friendship is stored in the right shoulder? Sure! Maybe that will come back in some way! Why not.

Here let me think too hard with you:

MK, after destroying his own friendship armor activating Monkey Form, specifically destroys his sleeve from the right shoulder down.

[petewentzisblack1312]

I feel like Jacob Geller is the only guy on youtube that can claim to be an essayist. I also hope you’re safe rn.

i do feel like there are other youtubers who are definitely essayists but the tone of their video essays concedes a lot to the medium of the internet, they do the ironic wink and nod, the cut away gag, the throwaway line, either in the actual script or in the visuals or both. and i do like that, it has its place and it does not necessarily cheapen the essay, its just the rhetorical tools they have decided to use. but jacob gellers video essays feel to me as though they dont make that compromise. theyre just essays presented as essays, seriously, candidly, honestly. when he makes a joke in the body of his video essays, which i honestly cannot recall him doing in a noteworth fashion in any essay ive ever watched of his, they are jokes presented seriously as an academic would, in the language of an essayist, instead of in the language of an entertainer, and its refreshing.

[serpercival]

FIRST NEW EPISODE OF FUTURAMA IS OUT NOWWWWWWWWWWW

You can tell they're doing a lot of set-up, but it's so so so fun. The tiny throwaway visual gags are there, they've got the same brand of topical humor as ever, and it's good. I am so ready for next week already.

[macateallthespookings]

completely obsessed with this poster it feels like a throwaway visual gag in a coen brothers movie

[turquoisewaves07]

channel 4 big boys is a good show but it has some issues.

spoilers below for series 2

e.g. the fact Shan sexually assaulting an ASOS delivery driver is a throwaway 1 second visual gag. And then also that delivery driver (Tariq, who is I think Indian, in a show with not many ppl of colour), becomes a bigger part of the plot but is just completely a fool stupid joke character who's the butt of the joke all the time and misses his own child's birth...

Also I wonder if there's anything written recently about Black gay male bff characters being kind of a merge of the mammy/Black best friend archetype and GBF (I think sex education also suffers from this). I love Yemi but I think he's sexualised in a racialised way (like way more than the white characters, there's more specific examples but I can't think of one rn), and not permitted much interiority or actually being mad at the main white characters. E.g. he tells them off for something but then he just basically says "more importantly [than the fact you invaded someone's privacy around their sexuality], you ruined my slay outfit reveal!!!" 🙄 I'm gay and completely harmless!

Also Corinne doesn't have much interiority either or much life motivation except being besties with the boys (and in love with danny). There's also NO queer characters except gay dudes afai remember. Which ok since it seems to be a memoir esque thing then I can almost let it go but it's also ANNOYING

Something else that annoys me abt S2 that isn't about disrespectful things, but more style, is the ominous figure of presumably future Jack. cut that shit out it's unsettling

[nadekofannumber1]

The thing with shino2 is it has a lot of visual gag potential. There’s so much media they could pull from but my current idea is just have a random throwaway gag abt it emulating like at least one of those shitty mobile game ads, they could like recreate the crafting animation of a video game for shits and giggles, there’s so many bits to run with.

[notwhatyoucameherefor]

The term "invertebrother" is used a notable amount of times between trolls in homestuck, but like, they have spines

[bloomdigital]

Alright folks, it's the last post of my Tumblr takeover. On Monday our preordering campaign will be done and I will be back to being a lowly writer, scrabbling for words in the dirt, my fingers anxiously picking at adjectives and adverbs.

I found this post as I was digging around in the ancient LongStory Tumblr archives and thought it'd be fun to tackle these questions again as a way of saying "adios." It's been an absolute pleasure, thanks for all your support for LongStory 2, we're so excited to share it with you!

MJ LYONS: WRITER AND SCRIPT COORDINATOR

What’s your favourite part about working on LongStory 2?

I started doing some writing on LongStory 2 for episodes 2-5, but I came on as script coordinator because our amazing narrative lead, Heather, is all out working on [redacted secret game]. I got to learn a lot about QA and playtesting getting episode 1 in shape, and it also turns out that when I'm left to my own devices with scripts I take 'em and run. My favourite has been writing Hanna, especially taking the Surfboard Boys gag and running with it. I'm pretty sure it was originally supposed to be a total throwaway line, but I convinced the team to put in a "Surfboard Boys fan" variable, and now there's deep Surfboard Boys lore. Radical.

Why do you think a game like LongStory 2 is important?

Social progress is, unfortunately, not a straight line. It's always two steps forward and one step back. I think we're seeing that a lot these days. It'd be easy to say it's "just in the States," but Canada's facing anti-trans bills, my home province of New Brunswick was one of the early adopters of discriminatory legislation. F***, allow me to say, that. It's easy to feel scared or hopeless, so writing an explicitly pro-LGBTQ, trans- and non-binary-celebratory game that brings players, especially young people, joy is exactly the kind of thing I want to do with my life. In the immortal words of my favourite writer, Ursula K. Le Guin: "Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words." Let's all keep fighting for what's right.

You can also follow MJ here on Bluesky and Instagram :)

BECOME A BACKER BY PREORDERING LONGSTORY 2 NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE COPY OF LONGSTORY 1! THREE DAYS TO GO!

MICHAEL LYONS: WRITER

What’s your favourite part about working on LongStory?

My favourite part working on LongStory is definitely writing the dialogue of Weasel Height’s resident enormous, feathered sweetheart, Turkeyhawk. Completely unplanned, another writer and I ended up having Turkey quote 19th century poets in our episodes. I think that says a lot about our magical, humungous, flightless darling.

Why do you think a game like LongStory is important?

I identify as queer and I’m from a small town, so I had no access to any stories about LGBTQ people or relationships until I was well into high school. When I first played LongStory I remember thinking, “I wish I had this game when I was younger.” It’s so exciting to work on a game like that, and I hope young queer or trans kids will play it, see themselves in the story and know they’re not alone.

You can also follow Michael here on Tumblr and on Wordpress  :)

[super-paper]

*POINTS*

THAT’S MY BOY. 

The pupils coming back, the little “huh?”-- this is 100% vintage Tomura. AFO spent fifteen years wringing any and all sense of joy outta this boy only for Mirio to undo it in second with a silly visual gag. idc what anyone says, using non-violence and humor to bring Tomura back to the forefront is an A+++ writing decision. 

Because the key to “beating” Tomura has never been through use of violence-- even when Tomura was a child, his father escalating into physical abuse and the rest of his family failing to protect him from that violence was the trigger that led to the total destruction of the Shimura family (which is especially on-the-nose, since the Shimuras are meant to be a small-scale representation of current hero society). Attempting to beat Tomura down over and over and over again has created a cycle where he comes back stronger each time, falls further into despair and the belief that things will never change, and then doubles down on his efforts to destroy everything. Hori has already spelled out the best way to break that cycle and stop Tomura, every step of the way: 

insert daily crying about how the Shimuras were 0.1 centimeters away from breaking the cycle and changing for the better, but that change was cut short by tragedy. 

Bakugo channeling the spirit of MHA Reddit hardcore rn

I mean?? This is literally the state of the current war lmao.

Anyway! I love stuff that builds on things that initially seemed like a gag or a throwaway line bc it shows us that every single arc is important-- every arc introduces a piece of the puzzle of what MHA is ultimately attempting to say.