RJ Writing Ink

Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 13- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

When I started this month-long Halloween prep, I promised that I would get in at least a few movies. I haven’t had the time to do so, until tonight that is. While this film isn’t a Halloween film, it can put in October and tells a kid-friendly, and hilarious, version of a classic horror story. From the creators of Chicken Run, Early Man, and Shaun the Sheep comes this 2005 comedy, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Wallace & Gromit, Anti-Pesto

The town’s annual Vegetable Competition is only a few days away, but there’s a small, furry problem in the form of a rabbit infestation. Luckily, Wallace and Gromit are on the job as Anti-Pesto. They capture the pests and lock them where they can’t cause harm, but they keep coming. After accepting a job from a wealthy noblewoman, Wallace gets the idea to rehabilitate the rabbits do they won’t hurt vegetables.

However, Wallace’s attempts backfire in more ways than one. People start making reports of a giant creature, a were-rabbit that eats all vegetables. Is the were-rabbit a mutated bunny, or a man cursed to transform into a fluffy monster? Regardless, it’s up to Wallace and Gromit to stop the beast and save the town!

Fun With Stop-Motion

I think the premise of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is brilliant. Taking an established monster like the werewolf and recreating it into a family-friendly creature. The plot of the film and the actions of the were-rabbit would into a traditional horror film. Replace the were-rabbit with a werewolf and all the vegetables he eats with livestock or people, and bam! Instant horror story.

It’s not the best stop-motion horror film to watch for Halloween, but I think this British film works thanks to its sense of humor. It’s got a good blend of different kinds of humor. There’s snarky comments, puns, slapstick, and even a few innuendos. The whole thing’s really one series of jokes that will make kids laugh and elicit a smile or chuckle from adults.

Were-Rabbit is A Hilariously Hopping Good Movie

If you haven’t gotten the chance to see Wallace & Gromit, then I recommend you do. I know it’s not scary, but it’s a fun little film for the season. It’s free right now on HBO on demand (I think). I certainly liked it, after all. Happy Halloween

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.

My Hero Academia, Season 4, Episode 1 Review/Recap

Recap episodes can a difficult thing for a show to master. On the one hand, they provide established fans and newcomers a chance to get caught up. On the other, there’s those who want to dive into the action. Therefore, imagine my surprise when the first episode for the hit anime My Hero Academia is a semi-recap. Thankfully, I ended up enjoying it.

Recap

The world’s still dealing with All Night’s retirement and the ramifications it has. Everyone wants to get a scoop on All Might, but only one guy is able to figure out what All Night’s message really meant:

Now, it’s your turn.

Enter Tokuda Taneo, freelance reporter and the only one outside the main cast to figure out what the hero meant: he was talking to his successor. Convinced that it’s one of Class 1-A, he’s able to get on campus to spend a day watching Class 1A in their daily lives, all to find the next Symbol of Peace. Additionally, it serves as exposition reminding viewers of the students names and powers.

It doesn’t take Tokuda long to figure out that Izuku’s All Might’s successor due to how similar they are. However, it turns out he’s a big fan of All Might, too, and he and Izuku bond. In the end, he chooses not to write his article about All Night’s successor and keep it a secret. Not before a grabbing a selfie with the future Symbol of Peace, though.

Review

I was apprehensive about this episode at first, as recap episodes can be boring. Thankfully, My Hero Academia subverts this by breaking by not following the standard recap formula. All it does is remind us of the most important moment of Season 3, then give us the name’s and powers of the students. Admittedly, I have a problem with remembering their names at times.

The biggest surprise was how much I liked Tokuda. At first, I was worried that he was just someone looking to cash in on All Might and Class 1A’s growing fame. What we got, though, was a true fan who looked up to All Might for saving his father’s life. Truth be told, I think he did this less for the job and more as a way to reassure himself that there’s still light left in the world.

Tokuda’s Smart

I also have to give Tokuda credit. He was able to figure out the real meaning behind All Night’s message to the world. To the best of my knowledge, he’s the only one aside from Midoroya and Bakugo to figure it out. That’s impressive, and this guy wasn’t even in the manga. I actually hope to see more of him in the future, even if I found his Quirk to be a little too convenient for his job. Seriously, he can make cameras appear from his body; that’s weird, even by Quirk standards.

My Hero Academia is a rising star in the anime world, and in an age where superheroes dominate our culture, I don’t see any signs of it slowing down. This episode was a terrific, if quiet, way of starting a new season, and I look forward to watching it. I also look forward to reviewing every episode. That’s right, I’m doing My Hero Academia on top of SAO: Alicization and all my other things! PLUS ULTRA!

I give “The Scoop on U.A. Class 1A” a 4.5/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.

Jay’s Month of Scares, Day 12 (Late)- South Park

I would like to apologize once more for missing my Halloween quota last night. Therefore, to make it up, I’m doing two for one tonight: a Halloween special and a movie! Let’s start off with a classic Halloween special, “Pinkeye” from the earliest days of South Park.

Patient Zero

It all started like how many classic South Park stories do, with Kenny dying a gruesome death. His body gets taken to the morgue, and through the power of South Park writing, his body gets pumped with Worcestershire sauce, turning him into a zombie. Zombie Kenny then proceeds to infect the entire town. Since most of the adults in the town are dumb, they believe the infection to be pinkeye.

I can see why the writers consistently portray the adults of South Park as dumb or immature. While I normally get annoyed by this level of ignorance, South Park wrote “Pinkeye” in a way that makes it so funny to watch. One minute people are walking down the street with zombies, then they get devoured.

The boys are completely oblivious to all this, though. It’s Halloween, so they’re focused on having the best costumes and candy. This was a fun subplot throughout the episode, though I was more focused on Cartman’s costumes then Stan’s misfortune of dressing up like Raggedy Andy. Cartman dressing up like Hitler is what I’d expect from him; his “ghost” costume was even worse though.

Zombies, South Park Style

However, I think the real humor comes from how it parodies the zombie film. Once the boys realize the danger they’re in, the episode turns into a full blown parody of the zombie apocalypse film. The boys slash zombies up left and right with the preferred zombie deterrent, a chainsaw. It’s gory, but the episode makes it fun to watch.

In the end, the “pinkeye” infection is quelled by killing Kenny (you bastards!) and everything returns to normal. Or does it? Yes, it is. Kenny comes back next episode normal.

This was a classic South Park episode, and the first of at least half a dozen Halloween specials over the years. Its fun, and as far as gore goes, it’s pretty tame. If you want to watch a classic, 90s Halloween special, then this is a good one. Plus, it has Chef dancing as Michael Jackson!

Happy Halloween!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.