Remember when Sony did those incredibly pointless Spidey villains spin-offs that nobody went to see except for the Venom movies for….some reason?! And remember how some of you actually enjoyed those Venom movies in an “ironic” way, even though that entire trilogy was nothing but big, dumb messes with tonal inconsistences, bizarre directing and acting choices, and having virtually no identity of their own whatsoever?! Well, here’s DC Studios equivalent of that except you can actually enjoy it in an UNIRONIC way, strictly because it is actually a smart and clever movie with a perfectly controlled tone, directing and acting choices that are actually ON point, and a film that has an actually identity of it’s own. To put it simply, if you wanted to see an actual good Venom movie that does NOT star Logan Marshall-Green, Clayface has you covered.
Premise: Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an actor whose face is disguised, and he turns to a scientist (Naomi Ackie) who transforms his body into clay, but begins to lose his sanity as he is unable to recognize himself.
The key to Clayface working as well as it does is by applying the formula that has worked for most modern horror films: win big by playing small. It’s no secret that Clayface has a budget that’s much smaller than your usual superhero film, reported to be around $30 to $44 million at best. However, it’s able to use it’s limited budget to it’s fullest advantage, proving the right amount of grossness and gnarly nature that feels appropriate for it’s story and titled character. Sometimes all it takes is only limiting yourself to a handful of tricks and you get some rather impressive results. While you do feel the budget restraint somewhat in it’s first two acts, by the time we get to the final stretch, it goes into full unleashed mode and does NOT hold back whatsoever.
What also helps wonders is the lead performance by Tom Rhys Harries. He’s completely buyable as the A-list Hollywood movie star that Matt Hagen has build his reputation as throughout his career AND his total transformation into one of Batman’s rose gallery baddies, using his new powers to get revenge on those that destroyed his lives. Even if you don’t 100% buy his motivations to want to get back on everyone that backstabbed him, you won’t be able to deny that it’s so damn satisfying to watch him return the favor. He also has pretty good chemistry with Naomi Ackie’s Dr. Corr, the woman that is responsible for Matt’s transformation and the only source of happiness that he has after he becomes the monster that he never believed he was destined to be. I’m so gonna dread the day when Batman has to go up against this version of Clayface.
Although Clayface does work pretty well as a “Venom but done right” experiment and fits perfectly in the same realm of compelling side adventures with Batman’s foes such as Joker, The Penguin, and Birds of Prey (That movie rocks! Don’t @ me!), it does feel lacking when you compare it to other recent horror flicks with limited budgets. Perhaps had this film came out a decade ago, it wouldn’t be as noticeable. But considering the 2020s had given us instant original horror classics such as Sinners, Obsession, Weapons, Talk To Me, and The Substance, all films of which were made with pure pennies compared to 99% of blockbusters today, it is understandable to be tad underwhelmed that Clayface isn’t quite in the same league as that.
And this also might be the least interesting version of Gotham City that we have ever seen in any live-action Batman medium. Nothing in here represents the Gotham City we have been accustomed too in any way, shape, or form. You could’ve replaced this with literally any other city and it wouldn’t make a difference whatsoever. And that’s not even taking away the fact that Batman is no where to be seen here. Between this, The Penguin, and the ungodly long wait for The Batman: Part II, our favorite Caped Crusader has been slacking off as of late (Can’t wait to see How It Should Have Ended’s next superhero parody!).
Also, while the slow burn direction of seeing the journey of Clayface in his final finished form is quite satisfying for me considering how compelling of a character Matt Hagen is here, for those that are expecting the actual Clayface itself to gain the majority of screentime will be very dissapointed here.
To give it a hint, Clayface himself has just SLIGHTLY more screentime here than the spider-women did in Madame Web! (At least here, it works for the development of the main character and not just in some random flashbacks sequences that could’ve been completely cut out of the finished film entirely!).
In the end, I still don’t think we needed a Clayface movie in the DCU before say we got Wonder Woman or even freaking Batman but for what we got here, it’s pretty damn good. It’s able to work as an engaging villain origin story, an intriguing character study, AND an enjoyable B-level horror flick all at the same time. The special effects are great, it moves at a good pace, and it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome, making for an enjoyable night out at the movies AND for a solid Halloween pick for the fall season.
If you happened to be that one sane individual that wanted to see a live-action R-rated version of the both “Feat of Clay” episodes from Batman: The Animated Series, you got your wish here!
Alright, I haven’t been able to be upload pieces on here like I’ve wanted to do for the past month for personal life related reasons. Because of that, I’ve decided to started doing more mini-reviews on here so that I actually have free time AND you all get reviews of recent movies. I’ll still plan to do a more in-depth review every now and then whenever I have the time to do so but I would expect more short and quick-to-the-point reviews for right now. There’s just too much going on in my personal life right now to stay 100% focused on here.
But earlier this week, I attended the fan screening for Laika’s newest film Wildwood, a stop motion animated epic that is based of the 2011 novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis AND has been in development for 16 years. In the film, a teenage girl named Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her classmate Curtis (Justin Tremblay) travel into an enchanted forest in search of her infant brother after he is abducted. They find a manor and learn about a coming war from a mysterious woman who tragically lost her son.
To get to the main point, Wildwood is yet another impressive achievement in terms of stop motion and animation from Laika studios. The narrative hook of a young girl going through the ends of the earth to save her baby brother and learning fascinating revolutions about him along the way is incredibly engaging and refreshing, there is not a single moment of art or craftsmanship that feels lazy and phoned in, the set pieces are among the best in any animated film in recent memory (the flying sequences make the original How To Train Your Dragon look tame in comparison), the entire voice cast, regardless of how big or small their roles are, bring their absolute A game, and the soundtrack by Dario Marianelli adds an extra layer to the film that it likely wouldn’t have had if it were in the hands of any other composer. If this film really took 16 years to get made like they say it did, then those were 16 years that were very well spent.
I don’t think it’s the very best from Laika Animation or up to the levels that Paranoman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Coraline were. There are times where the pacing comes to a screeching halt in order to allow for more emotional moments to come into play during the middle stretch and the runtime can get on the wayside once we get to the second half of the film. There is also the resolution which makes sense in terms of arcs and themes but felt like it was missing an extra beat or two to really hit home, almost like it was requested from the studios to trim the runtime a hair so it doesn’t fall into the two and a half hour long trap that most live-action movies suffer from nowadays. None of these flaws are able to put a dagger on the film whatsoever but I DO think they do enough to prevent it from being the near flawless masterpieces of some of Laika’s other work. Then again, even middle-of-the-pack Laika far surpasses the middle-of-the-pack likes of say Illumination Animation and dare I say….modern Disney.
I should also give a big warning that this is NOT a film for young kids whatsoever. This is Laika’s very first PG-13 rated film and you can DEFINITELY tell. The very first scene of the film involves a naked child committing suicide for crying out loud! (No, there’s nothing too graphic about that moment but it perfectly sets the dark tone the film has going for!) Wildwood contains it’s fair share of cruelty and mild haunting imagery such as strong fantasy violence, mild bloody scenes, and a couple of characters saying some naughty words.
There is just NO way in hell that you can sell this movie as just being another hard PG rated movie like Laika’s previous work or even the kind of PG movies that studios had back in the 1970s and 1980s before PG-13 was even a thing! Coraline was able to operate perfectly as being little Johnny’s very first horror film. For the most part, Wildwood is able to operate as little Johnny’s very first stop motion epic, giving the glimpse feeling of what it felt like to be in the same cultural wave as The Lord of the Rings back in the early 2000s. Just make sure he has a parent with him in the movie theaters!
After hearing that this film took 16 years to make, I can’t help but think how far we have come since 2010, for both better or worse. While animation has been taking into new heights and it has now become a medium that is able to push the storytelling boundaries you couldn’t possibly imagine back before 2010, we also have seen AI come into affect since then, coming to terms with the fact that the days of actual craftmanship in film are being numbered as each passing day goes on. Wildwood is proof that pure art and craftmanship still holds strongly to this day and stands up anything that robots could do.
I’m sorry but you can NOT tell me that ChatGPT, Claw, Grok, or any other AI generated slop would be able to top the whimsical and wonder of every flying sequence with the birds, the enhancing world building of Wildwood, the dramatic and emotional scenes with Prue and her entire family, or even the (slightly) overlong yet still equally amusing subplot with Curtis trying to prove his worth to a girl he likes in class. I’m sure it can give a slight hand in detecting bugs and errors but that’s it and that’s the way it should be. (Or if you ask director Travis Knight, it shouldn’t be a way…..at all).
When that day comes and we see that it is no longer possible for any film production to function without having AI involved, I can only imagine that I will view Wildwood in the same spotlight that I do with ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Coraline, as being among the last remains of a golden era of animation and filmmaking. Still, even when Laika is not quite perfect, it still leaps and bounds ahead of plenty other animation studios working today. And Wildwood is certainly no exception to that!
But for now, I will give this film a very strong 3.5 out of 4 stars but put a pin in there for a potential 4 out of 4 stars for the near future.
Well, things are pretty tense in the world right now. Whether we are talking about wars raging on in the Middle East or two studios who have already merged before are preparing to merge once again, there’s a lot on the minds of people all across the world! Because of that, let’s take a break from doom scrolling through all of this chaos and have some fun by fan casting characters for the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise from Paramount Skydance, soon (?) to be Paramount Skydance X Warner Bros Discovery.
This is a franchise of films that has been a surprising success since the original film came out in 2020. A large reason for that has to do with some of the pitch perfect castings that have gone around with this franchise, being able to make fan favorite casting feel just right without coming across as forced or desperate. Even though the majority of them are big well-known celebrates, the Sonic franchise has managed to do celebrity castings about as good as it can be. These might not be roles that are gonna win them Oscars but it’s just something they can have fun with it without thinking too much about it.
I mean just look at the casting we have gotten thus far!
Ben Schwartz as Sonic The Hedgehog
Jim Carrey As Dr. Robotnik/Gerald Robotnik
Colleen O’Shaughnessy As Miles “Tails” Prowler
Idris Elba As Knuckles The Echidna
Keanu Reeves As Shadow The Hedgehog
Alyla Browne As Maria Robotnik
Kristen Bell As Amy Rose
As the Sonic franchise continues to expand with live-action movies and shows, there’s no doubt that more characters are going to be translated onto the big screen in theaters or at home. Because of that, I’m gonna give you all my take and what I believe would be the best possible casting choice for each one of these characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Just a reminder, these are all just MY personal choices and fan casting. It’s nothing to write home about or take super seriously. This is all just for fun! Nothing more, nothing less!
Now, let’s dive deep into my castings, shall we?!
Ben Kingsley As Metal Sonic
Now granted, Mr. Kingsley has already been casted in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 AND it is widely spectacled to be a voice acting role. Nobody knows who exactly that will be but could you imagine if it was Metal Sonic?! Kingsley has played multiple kinds of roles throughout his career and he should be able to make voicing Metal Sonic look like a walk in the park! If you’re not convinced, just go back to his role in Iron Man 3 were he was “playing” the Mandarin, that should be more than enough to convince you that he’s more than capable of tackling a menacing villainous role! While there is certainly debates within the Sonic community as to whether or not Metal Sonic himself needs his own voice, Ben Kingsley as Metal Sonic would almost certainly answer that question with a definite “YES!”
Jennifer Lopez As Rouge The Bat
Fun fact: Did you know that the design of Rouge the Bat was inspired by the sexiness of Latin-American women, most notably Jennifer Lopez, who was the definite IT Latino girl of the 2000s. Because of that, who better to cast as Rouge than the woman who was basically an inspiration for her. JLO hasn’t had the greatest track record with voice acting roles with movies like Antz, Home, and a fifth Ice Age movie you probably didn’t even know existed until now. However, JLO feels like the perfect fit for Rouge the Bat, perfectly displaying that 2000s nostalgic vibes era for when Rouge herself originated from AND having that right, seductive voice presence for the character. There are rumors that Paramount is hesitating on introducing Rouge in these movies because they don’t want to “awaken” something in young boys but come on guys! Man up, put Rouge in your movies, and cast the Latino GOAT that is Jennifer Lopez!
Roger Craig Smith As E-102 Gamma/E-123 Omega
Yes, that’s right! I got not just the current voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the gaming side of things but also the current voice of E-123 Omega himself. If Jeff Fowler and company had no problem casting the current gaming voice for Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessy) in the movies, then I don’t see why they would have a problem of adding in Roger Craig Smith as well. Plus, it would be incredibly nice if the makers of these films can find any sort of role for Roger to play as in these movies, even if it just a nice little cameo like in the Wreck-It Ralph movies. Just because he can’t play Sonic in these movies doesn’t mean he should miss out on playing E-102 Gamma or E-123 Omega themselves whenever their time comes.
Karen Fukuhara As Cream The Rabbit
While most recognize Karen Fukuhara in live-action as Katana in Suicide Squad (Que the “THIS IS KATANA!” memes) and Kimiko/The Female in The Boys, she has had her fair share of experience in voice acting as well, with the likes of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Craig of the Creek, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts just to name a few. Because of that, Karen should have no problem in voicing an incredibly cutesy character like Cream the Rabbit (and even Cheese if she wants to do that as well).
Michelle Yeoh As Vanilla The Rabbit
Michelle Yeoh is a gifted actress who has played many different kinds of roles throughout her career. However, I always feel like the best kind of roles for her are ones where she plays the nice, caring figure that can give perfect guidance to those around here, just see her as Soothsayer in Kung Fu Panda 2. For a character that’s suppose to be super sweet and loving, what better woman to play here than Michelle Yeoh?! Some might argue she’s too old for this voice role (She is heading towards her mid 60s!) but considering Michelle herself is an award-winning actress, she would certainly find a way to make it work.
Nick Offerman As Big The Cat
Again, just like Ben Kingsley, Mr. Offerman has already been casted in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and is too widely speculated to be a voice role. If it were up to me, I would have Nick voicing everybody’s “favorite” giant purple (male) cat! The man has had plenty of experience playing comedic relief characters and basically acting as a comedian himself throughout his career. With his delightful voice and sense of humor, I think he could make even the biggest Big the Cat haters like myself change their opinions of the character drastically. He would make Duke Nukem himself proud (Yes, that’s who first voiced Big the Cat in the games btw!)
Lupita Nyong’o As Tikal The Echidna
Here we have the Helen of Troy herself as Tikal the Echidna. While Lupita Nyong’o has had plenty of success on the big screen with The Odyssey and her Academy award winning turn in 12 Years A Slave, she has also had her high points in her career in voice/motion capture roles such as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Raksha in The Jungle Book, and Roz in The Wild Robot. Because of all of that and more, I don’t see any working actress today that would serve as a more perfect parallel to Idris Elba’s Knuckles, the last of their kinds, than Lupita as Tikal.
Simi Liu As Espio The Chameleon
If it were up to me, to voice a character like Epsio, you should cast someone that has had experience with martial arts, his own independent agency, and standing firm on his own two feet. While someone like Jackie Chan might be a tad too far stretched, let’s have Simi Liu, A.K.A. Shang-Chi himself, to be the voice of this popular chameleon. It just seems all the more fitting to cast an actor that’s connect to some foreign ethnicity, as the character has some resemblance with fictional characters who have mastered martial arts.. Mr. Liu is Chinese in real life, which makes this casting for Espio rock solid.
Colleen O’Shaughnessy As Charmy Bee
Since we already have Colleen voicing Tails in this cinematic universe, you might as well keep her on as Charmy the Bee as well. There’s not much more I have to add to it than that.
(FYI, did you know that Colleen actually started voicing Charmy before she started voicing Tails?! She literally voiced Charmy in Sonic Colors DS (Yes, the character did appear in that version?) AND in the original Sonic Generations. The more you know!)
Jack Black As Vector The Crocodile
Oh, come on! You just know that Jack Black had to add SOME sort of role in this franchise! This is a man that has great experience with voice acting roles (Po in Kung Fu Panda) and ESPECIALLY in recent video game adaptions (Bowser in The Super Mario Bros movies, Claptrap in Borderlands, and Steve in The Minecraft Movie). And with it comes to amount of characters that are left in the Sonic series that haven’t been taken, him as Vector the Crocodile could absolutely work! Jack Black is masterful at adding the right mix of silly and resourceful that he has added with many of his voice acting bids and would be the ideal fit among the remaining Sonic characters that have yet to be introduced and/or casted yet. Oh, and PLEASE let him say, “FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM!!!!”
Hayden Christensen As Silver The Hedgehog
I remember when Hayden Christensenwas rumored to be playing Shadow the Hedgehog. While that role ultimately went to Keanu Reeves, Silver the Hedgehog should be completely up for grab for Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader himself. Much like his iconic character in the Star Wars franchise, Silver is a character that has his own unique force powers, a personality that borderlines between whiny and pure naiveness, and is someone that is willing do everything in their power to complete their mission for those that they care about. I was going back and forth between Hayden and Michael Cara for Silver the Hedgehog but when it comes to what actor would be the absolute GOATED casting that would get fans excited AND be the perfect fit for the character, my vote goes to Hayden Christensen.
Brie Larson As Blaze The Cat
This might be a hot take (No pun intended!) but I legit believe Brie Larson would be a great fit for Blaze the Cat. She has already had recent voice acting experience among video game adaptions, with Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and I strongly think she can apply that same level of commitment and energy to a character like Blaze. And much like her most famous/infamous role in Captain Marvel, Blaze is a character with special powers, struggling to keep her emotions in check, and must learn to work together with others because she can’t do everything on her own regardless of how powerful she is. Because of that, I can’t think of a current actress that would be a better fit for Blaze the Cat than Brie. Sure, many still fancast her as Samus Aran for a potential Metroid movie but I don’t see why she can’t voice Blaze as well.
Keegan-Michael Kay & Jordan Peele As Orbot & Cubot
Here we have everybody’s favorite comedic duo playing the two characters that basically act as the comic relief side duo of the Sonic series. Jordan and Keegan already got their time to shine as the duo they are in animation in Toy Story 4, with the latter already dipping his toes into the world of video game adaptions as Toad in The Super Mario Bros movies. With the star power these two have shared all across the world, they can easily make voicing Orbot and Cubot work by just playing themselves in voice roles once again.
Ryan Bartley As Sage
Just like with Roger as Omega and Colleen as Tails/Charmy, I see no reason to recast Sage and see every reason to just bring back Ryan Bartley as the character. She’s the only voice actress to voice Sage thus far and unless Sega decides to dump the current cast come Sunday morning, they might as well just keep Ryan, who is basically the definite voice for Sage at this point. So, yeah!
Adam Driver As Infinite
Let’s be honest, you all saw PLENTY of Kylo Ren within Infinite when you played Sonic Forces. An immense foe who claims to be all powerful and hot stuff but when you look underneath, he’s basically a whiny manbaby who throws a tantrum whenever something doesn’t go it’s way. (Never forget, “I AM NOT WEAK!!!!!”) So, why not just get Kylo Ren himself in Adam Driver to voice Infinite. Yes, you can argue that Mr. Driver would be basically playing a diet version of his character from Star Wars but the same could be said about the likes of Keanu Reeves as Shadow, who is basically a more kid friendly version of John Wick, and other examples that I’ve mentioned before. Plus, his recent casting as Mr. Sinister in X-Men (2028) proves that Adam is NOT opposed to starting in well-known IPs. So, yeah, Adam Driver as Infinite!
Glen Powell As Jet The Hawk
We got the hottest shot actor currently working in Hollywood playing the hottest shot character in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Talk about a match made in heaven! Glen has already had recent voice work in the realm of video game adaptions by taking on the surprise character in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, A.K.A. Fox McCloud, and in the realm of animation such as Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Rick and Morty,All Hail King Julien, and Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous. While I’m sure Powell’s schedule is busier than ever at the moment, I’m sure Paramount would find some way to get him in the recording booth for a few days if Universal was able to do so with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie without a problem.
Issa Rae As Wave The Swallow
Here’s another fancast that I have in mind for no other reason than just why not?! Issa Rae has took a handful of voice acting roles in recent memory such as Jessica Drew in Across the Spider-Verse AND the Honey Queen in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. A brand new voice role in the Sonic franchise should seem like a no-brainer to her. She is already locked in to an exclusive deal with Paramount to do her own work, I imagine they would offer her a role in one of their most successful franchises at the moment if she wants too. Because of that, I have her as Wave the Swallow.
Jason Momoa As Storm The Albatross
I’m gonna say straight up front: THIS is who I originally wanted to voice Knuckles before anyone was casted. There is no other current actor that is perfect at playing a lovable knucklehead (No pun intended!) than Jason Moama and Knuckles just seemed like a perfect fit. However, since Idris Elba now helms the role (perfectly) as Knuckles, that would still make Jason available to play Knuckles’ rival in the Sonic Riders series in Storm the Albatross if Jeff Fowler and crew ever wanted to adopt those games into live-action. Everyone likes Jason Moama and this casting would certainly work wonders as Storm.
Clancy Brown As Zavok
One of the GOATTEST voice actors of all time playing the lead of the most forgettable foes ever in the history of Sonic the Hedgehog! Of what amount to basically Dollar Store Bowser, Clancy is more than a capable actor to find some sort of depth and dimension in a character that is rather shallow in the games. I can only see Jeff Fowler taking on the Deady Six when they are finally running thin on ideas to keep this cinematic incarnation of Sonic going but if he gets around to it, casting Lex Luthor/Mr. Krabs/Savage Opress as the main baddie of the Deadly Six in Zavok would work perfectly.
Ke Huy Quan As Master Zik
As a young child actor, Ke Huy Quan always tend to play the role as the “student” when it came to martial art roles or as a fight choreographer, whether as Short Run in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or as an assistant fight artist in X-Men (2000). However, now that he is older now, it’s time for him to play the role of the teacher. He got a taste of that in his Academy award winning role in Everything Everywhere All At Once (along with Michelle Yeoh herself), and it would be ideal if he got a chance to voice a character that has one main trait as basically discount Mr. Miyagi. Key Huy Quan as Master Zik would be that right role that I imagine he has been waiting for to tackle in voice roles.
Matthew Lillard As Zazz
Is there anyone better that can voice the most crazy and over-the-top character in the Sonic franchise than Shaggy and Stu himself?! I’m pretty sure your answer is No! Because of that, cast the GOAT Matthew Lillard as Zazz!
Danny Devito As Zomon
Anyone that has Danny DeVito fancasted as either Big the Cat or Vector the Crocodile is dead wrong! However, Danny DeVito as Zomon would be dead RIGHT! I just hope age doesn’t play a big factor in his vocal performance (He is now 81 btw!). If he’s still in the mood to do voice roles, this would be the right fit for him within the Sonic franchise.
Keke Palmer As Zeena
I don’t know very many actresses that can make a character whose whole personality basically amounts to, “I’M A GIRLY GIRL IN A GIRLY WORLD!” but man, would Keke Palmer find some entertainment in playing exactly that character. Also, I just like Keke Palmer and want to see her in more stuff.
Pete Davidson As Zor
Everyone’s favorite “emo” actor voicing the most “emo” character in the Sonic franchise. Plus, Pete Davidson’s more fun roles usually are among voice acting, at least if Dog Man and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is any indication.
Tony Hale As Chip
Tony was able to play the most lovably annoying character in the Toy Story franchise as Forky. It makes all the sense in the world that he would be able to voice the most lovably annoying character in the Sonic franchise as Chip, A.K.A. *SPOILERS FROM SONIC UNLEASHED*! I’m sure there’s plenty other well-known actors out there that can voice Chip easily but just because Toy Story is still on my mind at the moment, I think Tony Hale would work well as Chip.
Bob Odenkirk As Professor Pickle
The GOAT Saul Goodman playing the GOAT Professor Pickle!
I don’t think I need to say anything else other than that!
Mason Thames As Professor Pickle’s Assistant
This was honestly the hardest one to find since there’s not many well-known male actors working today that have plain red hair and has the tendency to be playing comedically awkward characters that are solely designed to be a meme. In this case, let’s just go with Hiccup from the live-action How To Train Your Dragon movies and leave it at that!
Stephen Lang As The G.U.N. Commander
Technically, there’s already several G.U.N. commanders in the Sonic movie franchise thus far but, just in case they decide to put the focus on the OG G.U.N. commander from Shadow the Hedgehog, you gotta go with Stephen Lang. The man proved in the recent Avatar sequels that he’s still in great shape and still capable of playing these action roles despite his older age. If Paramount decides to give him a call to play basically the same character he’s played in the Avatar movies, he will certainly walk away with the easiset paycheck in his life.
Scarlett Johannsson As Topaz
Scarlett Johansson might just be the most popular actress in Hollywood through the past decade. Whether she’s kicking ass as Black Widow or in the Jurassic World franchise, audience are STILL showing up to see her in action whenever she has a new movie coming out. I have no doubt Paramount will want to continue to ride that wave by finding some role for ScarJo in this franchise. While many still fancast her as voicing Rouge the Bat, I think playing a human character in the Sonic franchise feels more fitting for her. You will certainly have to age up Topaz than how she was in Sonic X but Scarlett should be able to make this character work in live-action without a shadow of a doubt.
Kevin Michael Richardson As Black Doom
Ngl, I was REALLY wanting the late great Tony Todd voicing Black Doom, especially after his great performances as Venom in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Locus in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us (RIP King!). However, another actor who would be perfect as Shadow’s biggest arch nemesis would be Kevin Michael Richardson. Richardson is one of the best and most beloved actors in the voice acting community for at least the past 25 years, finding roles into every single one of your favorite cartoons as a child and even in recent animated films such as Minions: The Rise of Guru, Trolls: Band Together, and The Super Mario Bros movies. He may not be a well known Hollywood celebrity but he would damn sure make voicing Black Doom seem like an absolute cakewalk. So much so that I’m shocked that SEGA never hired him to voice the character in the first place.
Stellan Skarsgård As The Duke of Soleanna
Would Jeff Fowler and company DARE to tackle the story of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)? Well, considering the Knuckles series made our favorite red echidna having the flames of disaster as main canon, then I’m willing to bet Yes! If that ever does happen, Stellan Skarsgård seems like a solid match to play the Duke of Soleanna. I was originally thinking of Anthony Hopkins here but he’s getting too old in age, whereas Skarsgård still has a few more years left in him to be able to take on a role like this.
Mckenna Grace As Princess Elise
There’s probably no young actress that you have seen being inserted into every one of your favorite franchises that is NOT Zendaya or Sydney Sweeney. Whether it’s Marvel, Ghostbusters, Scooby-Doo, Paw Patrol, or anything else, McKenna always has plenty of presence both on screen AND in the voice booth. Much like with other human characters mentions, you would have to aged up Elise a tad bit to make this casting work but Ms. Grace would fit the role as the princess of Soleanna like a glove and make a more than believable friendship bound between her and Sonic. Just PLEASE leave out all of the bestiality stuff from the game, please and thank you!
Josh Brolin As Mephiles
That’s right, I’m going ALL the way here! I have the most diabolical villain in Sonic history being voiced by the most diabolical villain in Marvel history in Thanos himself! Granted Brolin hasn’t had THAT many voice roles outside of Thanos in Marvel Animation and as George Washington in Ken Burn’s The American Revolution miniseries but I’m sure he would have plenty of fun in the voice booth as the character who did the unforgivable sin and actually killed our beloved blue hedgehog. You know you want to see Thanos as Mephiles as much as I do! Dread it, run from it, destiny will ALWAYS arrive!
Fadel Ragheb, The Hype Guy As Sonic Man
I mean………if there has to be a Sonicman in the movies……why not him?! JS!
This is gonna be a review where the subtitle of the movie is gonna make it sound much worse than it actually is. If you are someone that goes into one of these movies looking for nothing but laughs, stunts, and your favorite MTV cast and crew putting each other up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will get plenty of that with Jackass: Best & Last. However, if you are someone that is looking for brand NEW stunts, brand NEW laughs, and brand NEW ways of your favorite MTV cast and crew putting up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will likely be disappointed here.
Jackass: Best & Last is not so much it’s own complete Jackass movie as much as it is a full presentation special for Paramount Plus with a bunch of deleted scenes from the other Jackass movies shoehorned in. Whether this became a theatrical release because Johnny Knoxville and company couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to his franchise on a streaming service or to follow through on David Ellison’s ill-conceived promise of releasing 30 films a year once it snatches up Warner Bros Discovery is beyond me, but you will find yourself with just as much laughs and giggles looking up Jackass YouTube videos or watching any other Jackass film on Paramount Plus than you would watching Jackass: Best & Last in theaters.
I have no doubt Jackass means much to this cast and crew, especially if putting up with over 25 years of taking shots to the nuts and getting a million different concussions until you’re 50 is anything to go by (which, YES that infamous part of the Jackass Forever trailer DOES get brought back here). And to the film’s credit, the opening sequence with Johnny performing his very first stunt and the end credits that acts as a tribute to the history of Jackass is very well done, making for the only times where bringing back certain scenes from the other movies is justified (Other than that one bit taken out of Bad Grandpa of course! A.K.A. Easily the best of the Jackass franchise).
The rest of the film is either a compilation of cut out stunts from the other Jackass movies that never should’ve been cut out in the first place, member-barries that references other jokes and sequences in this franchise that you’ve already seen before, and new stunts and sequences that don’t feel as fresh because it involves our cast and crew who are clearly growing out their roles of taking so much hurt to their bodies. I certainly did get some laughs along the way but I could have easily gotten as much by just watching other Jackass videos or popping up any other Jackass movie.
I’m not gonna act like every Jackass movie is a masterpiece, except for Bad Grandpa (That is as much of a comedic masterpiece as it gets, but at least each one offers fresh perspectives while unlocking new, creative, and downright STUPID ways of making you belly chuckle and get tears out of you from laughter. Jackass: Best & Last seems to just exist to get one last nostalgic dollar out of you before Johnny, Steve-0, Chris, and Wee-Man become too crippled to even imaging doing dangerous stunts out of a wheel chair.
I get that these guys are getting old and have their limits now but if that was the case, this could’ve easily worked wonders as either a tv special on MTV and/or a streaming special for Paramount Plus. It would given these guys the right amount of length to do their stunts without going too overlong over it and would have easily killed it in the ratings. But because these flicks are as cheap as they come, squeezing in a few extra bucks wouldn’t hurt. Which, hey, in this day and age, I ain’t complaining about theaters getting more movies to play that people want to see but it certainly doesn’t help in the case of Jackass: Best & Last.
Although this is ultimate a negative review for me, I don’t have any strong emotions or ill will to Jackass that this mid final installment will have a lasting impact on me for the near future. Johnny and friends clearly have had the time of their lives putting through pain and scrutiny just for our own amusement. Even if that is incredibly dumb, I tip my caps to them for having the literal balls to go through all of that. However for me, when it comes to Jackass, I’ll just pop in Bad Grandpa and call it a day!
There’s a line in Hoppers that is quite the eye roller. You might’ve already seen it in the trailers but it’s when the two doctors, Sam and Nisha, explain to Mabel, the main protagonist, what the actual concept of Hoppers is suppose to be. And it’s during that moment where Mabel says how the concept of a human using sci-fi tech to transferring themselves into a nocturnal animal in the hopes of forming a relationship within the inhabits of a forest and preventing a demise of that said forest from the government is just like the movie, Avatar! It’s in that moment where you think you know which movie you are getting with Hoppers because the film directly tells you it! And for the first half of Pixar’s latest original, that is basically the movie you get.
Yes, we get to see the main protagonist’s hivemind be transported into that of a realistic beaver robot. Yes, we get to see to see the main protagonist interacted with other beavers and animals among an enchanted forest, which she realizes they are all just as human as her. And yes, we get to see a town’s government try to destroy that forest in favor of their own personal wants and needs for that forest. While that is all competently done in an entertaining enough way, it’s when the second half comes around and pulls the rug from underneath you (everyone will know EXACTLY the moment that I am talking about) that Hoppers fully forms into it’s own unique identity. And that identity makes it the best Avatar movie since well…...Avatar. And even then, it might just be better than that!
Hoppers is a showcase of what happens with Pixar allows themselves to let loose and forge their own path to creativity. The film has it’s own distinct animation style that compliments the storytelling without it being too overbearing or “in your face”, the characters are all likeable with their own relatable goals that anyone can get behind, it’s easily among the funniest Pixar movie in years, and despite prior reports of Disney’s efforts to downplay the themes of environmentalism, it’s able to get that exact message across in as much of a profound way as Pixar was able to in 2008 with Wall-E. It may take it’s time in getting to that exact point in the ways that it was intend but the pay-off by the latter half makes it all the more worth it.
Premise: When scientists discover a way to transform human consciousness into robotic animals, Mabel (Piper Curda) uses the new technology to uncover mysteries of the animal world that are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.
Hoppers is an animated feature with a lot on it’s mind, not so much interested in pushing itself in one certain directions but multiple, imaginative directions. Director Daniel Chong is able to explore the wonders of it’s premise, trying to create a world with logical problems that ben solved with the most logical answers imaginable. We see that perfectly through the main protagonist Mabel, a college girl who is fighting for animal and environmental rights, who wants to make a positive change in her hometown. However, as the film constantly states over and over again, it’s not as easy as it seems because the world itself isn’t one for solving logical problems with logical answers.
As much as Hoppers makes it’s case of being a story about optimism and unity, it’s not naive. It’s able to have that right brain in it’s head throughout the actions made by the characters without needing to contradicts itself to get it’s point across (Alyas, Raya and the Last Dragon!) A good example of this is with the character of King George (Bobby Moynihan), the leader of the beaver monarch. King George is someone that believes that everyone is a good person deep down, something which Mabel clearly disagrees with because of her past experiences with people. As much as she wants to be on King George’s side, she can’t because she know deep down that the ideal world that King George has in his head doesn’t exist. There’s a difference between an idealist and being a realist (something which a certain silver hedgehog from another certain franchise led by furry animal can attest to).
However, just because everyone can’t be a good person doesn’t mean you can at least change who they are if you work hard to do just that. Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) may seem like a one-sided greedy mayor on the service but allow him to see a different perspective on the way things function and how it affects others and it might just lead him down a much better path than he expected. It’s further proof on how Hoppers isn’t just a story about how everyone should be kind and good-hearted when they are not but some might just be able to when they are given the perspective of someone from the “other side”, or in this case….a beaver.
This is basically what makes Hoppers a distinct animated parallel to that of Avatar, and in many ways is a better film than any of the three hugely successfully but ridiculously expensive sci-fi opera adventures. While James Cameron was able to use the premise of a human being leaping into the body of another species to tell a story of a man going against the grain of his own kind in favor of helping out an indigenous tribe, Hoppers uses that exact same premise to tell a more complicated and layer story about an interloper who wants to make a positive impact on a community and have it lead to the best of both worlds for both her kind and the endangered animals she is trying to save.
When it comes to the other aspects as well, Hoppers is still quite rock solid. While the animation style won’t be to everyone’s taste (especially if the “civil” reaction to the animation style of Turning Red had anything to go by), it has enough novelty in it’s own cartoony style that benefits the way it tells it story in ways that are both funny and effective. The voice cast is quite strong, with Piper Curda and Jon Hamm being the main standouts as the main protagonist and antagonist respectively, with other worthy work done by the likes of Bobby Moynihan, Dave Franco, and Merryl Steep respectively. And despite having plenty of moments of levity, emotion, and even some shock value (again you will know EXACTLY the one turning point scene I’m talking about, it’s able to have a perfectly controlled tone that never contradicts one scene or the other. Oh, and it’s ALWAYS nice to hear SZA’s voice when doing music.
I won’t said that Hoppers is an instant Pixar masterpiece on par with the likes of Up,Inside Out, Coco, or Soul. As I said, the film takes a while to get it’s engine going, playing like the standard “human turns into animal” premise the trailers depicted it as along with one or two cringeworthy lines about how aware and “meta” it is of the kind of premise it is taking inspiration off. It’s once things are put into place and the film starts throwing more twists and personal dilemmas into it’s conflicts that the film become more than meets the eyes. It’s a film you have to be patient wait but I assure you, your patience will be awarded by the halfway point.
After last year’s Elio, it seemed like Pixar was no longer able to make original and thought-provoking animated films with a distinct message of it’s own without it getting gutted like a fish by the higher-ups of Mickey Mouse. However, Hoppers, seems to prove otherwise. It’s prove that Pixar is still allowed to make original films that are smart, wacky, funny, complex, and enough relatable and charm that it might just become a hit among mainstream audiences. While it might fall just short of a classic, Hoppers is prove that perhaps we can make a difference! Enough said!
SpongeBob SquarePants has been going on for over 25+ years now. And in that 25+ year long gap, he has started in six different feature movies. While the original SpongeBob SquarePants movie was designed as being the epilogue of the entire television series back in 2004, his popularity for Nickelodeon has been off the charts for the past two decades, leading to the show’s continuation to this very day and five more feature movies that have been released since then. Since Search for SquarePants is now out on in theaters, it’s time to rank the six feature-length SpongeBob movies we have thus far from worst to best.
6.) Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Saving Bikini Bottom: A Sandy Cheeks Movie is one of the worst things to ever happened to SpongeBob SquarePants and is perhaps the worst of all of the SpongeBob movies. It takes nearly every problem of the very worst of SpongeBob medium and cranks it up to 11. The plot is non-existent, the characters are at their most one-note and nonsensical, there’s not a single joke that isn’t stolen from older SpongeBob material, the direction and special effects for the live-action sequences are jaw droppingly awful, and the main villain is one of the worst, obnoxious, and most cringeworthy villains ever put to film. Not even previous saving graces from other bad SpongeBob movies and episodes such as the animation and voice work are good here. It’s ironic how the main thing going with the villains is that they are a big corporation that is wanting to capture SpongeBob and the rest of Bikini Bottom for the sake of merchandises and branding. When watching the movie, it comes across as Nickelodeon patching itself on the back for letting SpongeBob be what he has become for the past two decades. And especially after the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, that is about the worst possible feeling imaginable.
5.) The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run
There are plenty of things to talk about with Sponge on the Run that has been talked about in length by hardcore fans. Like how the film acts like snails are incredibly rare now in the ocean despite the show having plenty of different snails in multiple episodes. Or that SpongeBob and Patrick can now go into a casino even though they are technically still kids. Or how SpongeBob literally now has a name for his stove at work. Or how SpongeBob literally says the word, “crappy” in the movie. It all just makes you wonder what Sponge On The Run would have been like if Stephen Hillenburg was still alive throughout the entire production. While there are definitely hints at what the man was trying to accomplish throughout Sponge On The Run, it can never escape that sense of cynicism and studio meddling that I imagine Tim Hill and crew really wanted to break out of from the clutches of the evil corporation of Nickelodeon themselves. Driven forward by a derivative/non-existent plot, contradictions to the SpongeBob lore, and the most forced advertisements for Kamp Koral imaginable, Sponge On The Run feels more like a broken shadow of SpongeBob’s older, peak self than one that feels like a worthy edition to him. At least it’s pretty to look at….I guess.
4.) The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
The newest SpongeBob movie is FAR from the worst thing that has ever happened to our beloved yellow sponge! This does offers a nice expansion upon the father/son-like relationship between Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob (even if that is likely because of the fact this was originally suppose to be a spin-off series with Mr. Krabs) and a hilariously over-the-top performance with Mark Hamill as the Flying Dutchman! However, Search for SquarePants still can’t shake the feeling off ofjust feeling like yet another SpongeBob movie! SpongeBob’s overall arc about wanting to become a “big guy” feels like a water down version of his “wanting to become a man” arc from the first movie, most of the jokes fall flat, and the overall payoffs to each individual subplots are ones that even the youngest of kid will be able to see coming from a mile away. Does it makes for a mildly passable SpongeBob adventure for kids? Sure! Does it makes for a worthy big screen outing that you should absolutely take the whole family to see in theaters instead of waiting for it to come on streaming or television? Nope!
Although, if you do go see this movie in theaters, you get a rock solid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vs A.I. short! I guess that’s something!
3.) Plankton: The Movie
Never in a million years would I guess that a spin-off movie with Plankton would be among the better of the SpongeBob movies but here we are. On the surface, Plankton: The Movie comes across as yet another example of a pointless spin-off and something that just existed for the sake of having content on a streaming service. While that might be true on the business side of things, when it comes to the artistic side of things, this has more heart and charm than you would expected. You really get to see the relationship between Plankton and Karen get explored more here than ever before in the series, while still keeping the sense of humor and lightheartness that the series has always been known for. Not to mention, most of the female characters such as Sandy, Pearl, and Mrs. Puffs get their moments to shine here. There are certain gags that are quite repetitive and a retcon or two that will likely annoy the most diehard of fans but if you were someone that has been disappointed with the more recent SpongeBob movies, Plankton: The Movie makes for a nice palate cleanser and shows that perhaps SpongeBob spin-offs can indeed work.
2.) The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water
I can totally understand why The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is as divisive as it is among the fanbase. It contains some of the very best, very worst, and very “meh” parts of all of the SpongeBob movies thus far. That is basically what you get when you go with a whole “throw everything but the kitchen sink” approach to a movie. However, I can’t help but respect Sponge Out of Water for going as far and bonkers as it dares to go. It still has most of the characters that I love from the show, some of which got very little to do in the first movie and have more to do here, it’s got some crazy visuals that I thought I would never see in a SpongeBob movie, some of the movie spoofs it provides were quite fun, and there is a moral, while simplistic and predictable, that I think can resonate with kids the way the first film’s “kids rock” message resonated with me. When looking at it through those lenses, I would give Sponge Out of Water a thumbs up and a recommendation to anyone curious. I can’t say for certain it will work for you nor will you find the movie to be necessary but if you are just looking for an excuse to hang with SpongeBob and his friends for an hour and a half with enough visuals and gags to keep you entertained, I think this will fill that SpongeBob hole for you in ways that other SpongeBob sequels and spin-offs have not.
1.) The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie still remains an all-time classic in my eyes and the very best SpongeBob movie to date! Regardless of whether you view this as an adaption of the show, the epilogue of a beloved franchise, or even just as a simple kids/family film, it all works in every way it possibly can. Even if the clear target audience is for kids, I do think there is something for everyone to get out of no matter how old they are. Beautifully animated, perfectly written, immensely funny, and emotional beats that all feel earned (You are a robot sent from Skyler if you didn’t cry at SpongeBob and Patrick’s “death scene”!), I could not ask for a better SpongeBob movie than what Stephen and company was able to provide to the big screens back in 2004. Even as someone that’s turn 28 years old this year, I can’t help but have a strong attachment to this film as I get older. No matter what age I am, I will always feel proud to call myself a goofy goober! Even though this did not end up being the very last of the series like it was originally intended to, this still works perfectly as a definite end to the franchise. Despite the fact that multiple seasons and films involving SpongeBob have come along over the past two decades, it doesn’t change the fact that the timeless nature of it makes this feel like the main stopping point and everything that came after basically just what came before chronologically. It’s the way that Stephen Hillenburg always intended and quite frankly, it works all the better for it.
So, this year I did something that I normally don’t do. I actually watch television shows. That’s an exaggeration of course but ever since I worked my way into college and grown accustomed to the internet, I normally don’t watch as many shows as I used to when I was kid. Outside of your casual Marvel and Star Wars shows on Disney Plus or your typical big hit series on Netflix such as Stranger Things, I hadn’t been that compelled to keep up with any new streaming series. That was until this year!
With how iffy film medium has been for the past couple of years, that has encouraged me to go to other resources for high quality entertainment. Those mediums that I’ve turned to have been video games and streaming shows. Because of my increase on the latter, I have worked my way to find the high quality shows that I heard so many good things about and see if they’ve lived up to the hype. And in 2025, I was able to find six distinct shows that were able to meet those expectations.
Keep in mind, these are my personal favorite shows of 2024. I didn’t have time to view every single hit show of the year and there are some that I liked but didn’t like well enough to where it deserved to be mention in my top lists. Regardless, here are my lists of my top 6 favorite shows of 2024.
6.) Terminator: Zero
People have gone back and forth in what should be considered the #3 best Terminator medium. Some favor the bonkers Rise of the Machines with it’s ballsy as hell ending, some favor the appropriately grim departure of the series known as Salvation, some prefer grandma Linda Hamilton and grandpa Arnold coming back to kick ass with Dark Fate, and of course there are those fortunate that was able to witness The Sarah Connor Chronicles in it’s entirety as the real proper continuation of the first two masterpieces in the franchise. However, we know have a new anime series that might just put every single film released between Judgement Day and Dark Fate to shame with Terminator: Zero.
Instead of relying on nostalgia and callbacks, Terminator: Zero actually dares to tell a fresh and unique story with new and engaging characters and adding new mythos to the lore. There’s no Connors or Arnold presence here, just a new conflict told through a different set of humans and machines. The animation style is incredibly fitting for what it’s going for, this is easily the most intense Terminator medium since the original film, the new characters that are introduced are able to hold their own, and it’s able to look at a much broader scope of the relationship between humanity and A.I. in ways that feels new and timely appropriate.
I don’t know if this series will appeal to those that aren’t fans of Terminator or anime but if you are a fan of either one of them, this Netflix exclusive is a must see. If anything, this proof that the Terminator brand can in fact endure with it’s own identity without the need to constantly bring a Linda Hamilton and Arnold into the mix.
5.) Arcane (Season 2)
The first season of Arcane was perhaps one of the greatest seasons of an animated series I have ever seen. Not only did it work near flawlessly as an adaption of it’s source material but it worked as it’s own series itself. It introduced some of the grandest worldbuilding, engaging characters, and superb animation of modern times, tackling serious subject matter involving tragedy and conflict. Because of that, expectations were over the ROOF for it’s second season. And while it’s still great, it can’t quite capture that lightning in a bottle that the first one did.
This perhaps has to do with the fact that Netflix decided that the second season should act as the final season and save any remaining stories set in this universe as individual spin-offs. Because of that, you got a third act, while well made and engaging, can’t help but feel overstuffed and crammed together just to get to the ending that the creators wanted for this series. While the first two/thirds of the show are able to be as compelling and intriguing as Season 1, the last third falters with trying to type up so much material in so little time.
Even so, I will still take a flawed masterpiece such as Arcane Season 2 than around 90% of most entertainment that I watched this year. The animation and world building is expanded upon even further with most impressive achievements, Vi and Jinx still remains the most compelling sisterhood relationship I’ve seen to date, the action is still grand and epic in scale, and the entire cast is still able to get a moment of their own to shine. Season 2 may not have been the perfection that Season 1 was but in this case, I’ll still take imperfection if it means I get to spend more time in this world and it’s characters.
4.) Fallout
Last year’s Amazon smash hit managed to be one of the most surprising new series to come out in 2024. Despite having all odds against them, Fallout was able to work greatly as an adaption that honored the source material is was based on (despite some potential retcons here and there) while expanding the overall world to new audience members all around the world.
Aided by an INCREDIBLY likable and talented cast with Ella Purnell’s Lucy (I NEVER get tired of her saying “ookie-dookie”), Walton Goggin’s Cooper Howard, and Aaron Clifton Moten’s Maximus, this series puts the focus on a handful of scrappy survivors fighting their way through a nuclear apocalypse in different parts of a retro-futuristic America. Even with it’s rather serious stakes throughout, the show never forgets to be lighthearted and fun when the moments require it. Show creator Jonathan Nolan clearly understood the assignment here and we all ended up the better for it.
Although the ending left quite a bit to be desired (which is apparently the case with most Fallout games), this video game show was an absolute blast regardless of whether you are a fan of the games or not. With a perfectly balanced tone, engaging protagonists, and top notch production values, Fallout earns itself a spot as a new gold standard for video game adaptions and shows.
3.) X-Men ’97
In an era where it seems like the hype around superheroes and revivals have died down, here comes in X-Men 97 that was able to swipe on it’s way to Disney Plus and show everyone how these things are suppose to be done. This was about as good of a revival as it could get, perfectly translate the traditional values and roots that the X-Men are known for in modern times while still being able to capture that Saturday morning cartoon vibe.
The 2D animation is stunning and feels perfectly in line with it’s 96′ series counter part, the action sequences are filled with energy and excitement, and there is plenty of time given to each cast member of the X-Men to shine, rarely suffering from the problem of the films where a certain group of characters manages to completely overshadow the other. And it was SUPER nice to see my boy Scott and my girl Rogue being done justice for once. Oh, and the glimmers of seeing 94′ Spider-Man back again brought a tear to my eye!
No offense to Deadpool & Wolverine but I think most would agree that X-Men 97 was far in a way the best Marvel-related thing to come out in 2024. It’s able to capture the spirit of it’s 90s counterpart as well as just the X-Men in general! It’s so good that I would love to see more Marvel revivals of beloved shows done in a similar matter. Come on, Disney! Greenlight Spider-Man 98 already! You know you want to!
2.) The Penguin
With there being so many “Who asked for this?!” spin-offs of existing IPs out lately, The Penguin was able to step up to the plate and hit an absolute grand slam of a spin-off series. Matt Reeves and Lauren Lefranc is able to expand upon the crime lord of Gotham in fascinating ways here, showcasing a perfect example on how to do these “grounded” superhero stories correctly.
The production values are fantastic, Gotham has never been this intriguing to explore in live-action, the characters are all engaging, the plot is intriguing, and the performance are stellar from top to bottom, aided greatly by the central performance by Colin Farrell (who is still unrecognizable as the Penguin) and the scene stealing turn by Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. It’s also incredibly refreshing to have a villain led-story where we actually get to see the main lead be a villain all the way through, with ZERO need to make them an anti-hero or the good guy in the end. Also, take notes, The Acolyte! THIS is how you do flashbacks in episodes!
Even if this kind of series wasn’t necessarily “needed”, The Penguin is proof if the talent and craft is there, you can make great art out of anything. Although the recent delays of The Batman: Part II is unfortunate, I will still be first in line to see what awaits for the next installment of the now-called The Batman Epic Crime Saga. I BETTER see Robert Pattinson beat the shit out of Oz in the first five minutes or else!
1.) Shogun
Of course, the one series that has received the most awards and acclaim turned out to be my favorite show of 2024. There was no other show in 2024 that was able to shock and astonish the entertainment world than Shogun. It rivals Game of Thrones in it’s prime in terms of quality, able to expand upon it’s periodic times to perfection while examining complicated themes surrounding war, culture, and religion.
The writing is excellent, the characters are very well developed, the story is rich and full of intrigue, the production design is off the charts all around, there’s not a single actor or actress that phones it in, and it’s able to showcase themes that feel modern to our times but also culturally appropriate in the setting that the series is set in. You even got some incredibly impressive action sequences that feel grounded and expertly choreographed, emotional beats that are always properly build up and earned, and able to find a satisfying pay off to nearly every single main thing it sets ups. And as everyone has pointed out, Anna Sawai gives the standout performance of 2024 as Toda Mariko, stealing every scene that she’s in for the better.
There are many shows that get hyped up nowadays but very few are able to truly live up to it for me. Shogun is surely one of those exceptions. It’s exceptionally made, exceptionally written, exceptionally acted, exceptionally directed, and exceptionally entertaining. If there is any show from 2024 that deserves to be studied and examined on how to make a proper streaming series set in a period time and setting, look no further than Shogun.
Well, here it is! At long last, we have come to the end of the yearly long marathon of SpongeBob SquarePants. I don’t think there was a more fitting way for me to celebrate 25 years of SpongeBob SquarePants by going back to experience all the highs, lows, and nautical nonsense that this show has provided over the course of 15 seasons and 4 movies! While there were plenty of bumps along the way, I can’t deny that this has been an incredibly fun and nostalgic ride that I do not regret taking whatsoever! To wrap up the year of SpongeBob SquarePants, it’s time to check into how the show is doing now with Season 14 and what we have gotten so far with Season 15.
If you saw my Seasons 12 and 13 perspective, you would know I believe that was a sign that the show was really starting to run on fumes. After Seasons 9-11 gave hope that a potential SpongeBob renaissance was on the way, these two seasons basically squandered it, giving the impression that the creative team have really started to run out of ideas on the show. It also didn’t help that Nickelodeon was still forcing multiple SpongeBob spin-off shows and movies that no one asked for. Despite SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Bash acting as a worthy celebration of 20 years of SpongeBob and a logical endpoint for the series, Nick kept the show going after that because the brand still seems to be going strong in terms of sales and merchandise. Because of that, we now have Seasons 14 and 15.
These are two seasons that basically acted as the beginning of the post-Stephen Hillenburg era of SpongeBob SquarePants. While the previous two seasons still had the remains of the late great Hillenburg attached to it, these seasons likely did not have that same fortune. Because of that, Nick and the other creators attached to this current era of SpongeBob SquarePants are officially on their own when it comes to what remains of this show. Even if this new era manages to work out, it will always miss that special spark that Stephen brought to the show from the beginning.
For what we have right now with these two seasons, it’s……better I guess. Unlike the past couple of seasons, there at least seems to be a bit of restraint when it comes to how wacky and over-the-top the animation and gags are, the plots are more easy to follow, and it’s still able to keep that solid lighthearted spirit that SpongeBob has always been known for. However, it still can’t escape that sense of familiarity with the majority of the premises for these episodes and does show that Mr. Hillenburg no longer has any creative involvement in it. Even then, for a show that’s been going on for over 25 years now and it’s currently on it’s 15th season, this is probably as good as it’s going to get for the remainder of the show’s run.
Season 14:
The big thing I noticed about Season 14 as it seems to act as bit of a reaction to the responses that the previous seasons has got. The animation is much more restrained, only being as wacky and over-the-top when the plot or gags actually demand for it. The plots for each episode feel much better thought out with a certain end goal in mind and not just a bunch of random nonsense and bits to pad the runtime. There is even a bit more care given to the characterization of the characters along with finding justifiable reasons for bringing back previously well known supporting characters.
The main problem relies in the sense of familiarity and fatigue. The majority of the premises behind the majority of the episodes has already been covered or contains traditional SpongeBob beats that you know by heart at this point. This is likely because of the fact that the show has gone on for over two and a half decades now. Because of that, they have squeezed nearly every single idea they could possibly come up with out and they now basically have no choice but to inherit old ones while doing them in new and different ways.
That’s not to say it does the majority of them bad. If anything, I was quite surprised how I was able to get in to each episode and find some genuine enjoyment out of it. I enjoyed seeing another superhero based episode where the gang had to stop the Dirty Bubble and seeing Mr. Krabs trying to impress Mrs. Puffs and seeing SpongeBob and Plankton try to become close friends (or in this case, brothers). The problem is that I’ve already seen these ideas being presented in other episodes. The repackage food might still tasted good but it’s still the same repackage food regardless.
There also seems to be a bigger emphasis on connecting the main show to certain spin-offs. This is mainly the case with the episodes Kreepaway Kamp and Sandy’s Country Christmas. Kreepaway Kamp ties to the controversial Kamp Koral spin-off, which sees the SpongeBob characters returning to Kamp Koral for a reunion. Sandy’s Country Christmas ties into the controversial Sandy Cheeks movie that came out this year, with Sandy’s family playing a role in saving Christmas for their daughter. For as much as I despised the spin-offs they are based on, they did surprisingly work quite well for me as individual half-hour specials. It makes me wish those spin-offs were even half as enjoyable as those two episodes were. I just hate how Nickelodeon is using this business method as a means to try to create an incredibly forced SpongeBob cinematic universe because…….of course.
Oh, and there was even a special of SpongeBob’s take on Snow White, titled Snow Yellow and the Seven Jellies. (*insert joke about how this is a better Snow White remake than the actual Snow White remake coming next year*).
If my overview of Season 14 is coming across as more negative than it deserves, it mostly because there’s not much here that hasn’t been done in many other SpongeBob medium. It does fix certain issues that folks had with the previous few seasons, the episodes themselves are enjoyable to watch, and they do at least seems to have a hit a comfort zone that works for Nickelodeon and the overall brand of SpongeBob. However, it’s service level quality for the season and the sense of familiarity really makes this season lack the re-watch value that the better SpongeBob seasons had. Because of that, it makes you wonder how exactly SpongeBob can evolve on it’s own with it’s creator no longer there to guide him.
Season 15:
It’s really hard to talk much about Season 15 because it only got started this year and has only consisted of FIVE (!) episodes thus far. However, it has been confirmed that this was originally meant to be part of Season 14 but got split into a 15th season to keep the number of episodes per season on a consistent base without making a new season feel too bloated. In a way, Season 15 basically acts as Season 14 2.0.
For the most part, I see this keeping up on that same consistent path but with a few hints of what a new era of SpongeBob could be like. It mostly consists of a solid mix between the classic SpongeBob from Seasons 1-3, to the middle age SpongeBob of Seasons 4-5, and the “reassurance” age SpongeBob from Seasons 9-11. With each new episode, I see it’s trying to walk that incredibly tight line in the hopes that it’s able to strike a balance while finding room for it’s own identity. Will it work? I don’t know. But like the last “awkward” era of SpongeBob, I see the seasonings for a much broader plant to grow.
Aside from that, there’s not much to talk about with Season 15 that I haven’t already said with Season 14. Again, it’s too early and is currently not even halfway through the season. But if I were to predicted the outcome for the rest of the season, I imagine it will be like Season 14 but a tad more creative.
Although, please less Sammy Suckerfish in the near future please! Don’t pull a Bubble Bass or Rube Goldfish with him!
In Conclusion:
Similar to Seasons 4 and 5, SpongeBob SquarePants now finds himself in yet another awkward era. An era that likely acts as another transition from one era of SpongeBob to the next. While there are definitely improvements from the prior seasons and does show the seasonings for another potential resurrection run for the yellow sponge, it’s quite difficult to get as optimistic as last time due to Stephen Hillenburg no longer being able to play a part for the show’s future. But once again, this is a series that has gone on for over two decades now and is now on it’s 15th (!) season and just passed 300 episodes total (That’s not even counting the segments!). When putting those factors in mind, the fact this show continues to be watchable and even enjoyable is about as much of a miracle as it comes.
Even so, after 25 years later, SpongeBob SquarePants continues to thrive and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. It still stands as one of the most beloved and evolving animated shows that has ever been made, successfully growing from generation to generation among children and millennials. Regardless of one era you fall in with the show that may you get into it, there has always seems to be something special with this yellow sponge and his friends that has just resonated with so many people over the years.
Regardless of what the future may hold for Nickelodeon as a whole now that Paramount doesn’t see them as a high priority anymore, I have no doubt that SpongeBob will continue on with plenty of new content with 2025 and beyond. After all, we got the remainder of Season 15, a new movie that is subtitled The Search for SquarePants which is set to come out in December 2025 along with a new SpongeBob game developed by THQ Nordotic, the studio behind Battle for Bikini Bottom- Rehydrated and The Cosmic Shake. Even if this year long retrospective/perspective is over, there will still be plenty more of SpongeBob yet to come.
Final Words
But, yeah! That officially does it for the SpongeBob SquarePants marathon! I once again give a special thanks to everyone that joined me along this incredible ride! SpongeBob has already held a special place in my heart since I was a child and he’s a character that is incredibly important to me. This is a series that has taught us all about the importance of being positive, optimistic, and finding a sense of reliability in ourselves and the ones we care about. Even after now becoming an adult, this character will always be one I look up to and strive to be like.
No matter what the future holds for the yellow sponge, I do hope for the very best!
Once again, thank you to everyone that joined me for this marathon!
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is set to hit theaters very soon and it’s perhaps the most anticipated movie for the rest of 2024. In what has been a very chaotic year, what better way to cap it all off than with our favorite blue hedgehog squaring off against our favorite lion baddie in Mufasa just days before Christmas. We’ll see if the box office race ends up being closer to Barbieheimer from July of last year or Memorial Day Weekend 2011 where Kung Fu Panda 2 got dominated by The Hangover Part II (I will still never forgive the world for that!).
Even so, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that it has been a really exciting time to be a Sonic fan as of late. Since the 2020s rolled around, Sonic fans have been getting a lot of new and exciting content to enjoy. You got some new quality games such as Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Superstars, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog,Sonic Dream Team, and Sonic X Shadow Generations, you got some new tv/streaming series with Sonic Prime and Knuckles, and of course, you got the two new Sonic movies with the third one coming out very soon with an insane amount of hype from Sonic fans and even common moviegoers alike. That’s not to say that ALL of the content I’ve mentioned have been successful or critically acclaimed (Sonic Superstars suffered from abysmal boss fights, Knuckles turned into the Wade Whipple Show once the actual plot got going, and just imagine how much of a drop in quality Sonic Prime would have suffered from if Shadow was NOT in it) but for the most part, there has been more good to come from Sonic than bad for the majority of the 2020s.
It’s all of this and more as to why I believe that Sonic is about to achieve a new level of peak with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The kind of peak that this franchise was able to achieve during the Genesis and Dreamcast days. The kind of peak that would put Sonic on the roadmap as an IP that demands to be taken seriously in any form of media. The kind of peak that I thought we were getting with the franchise in the early 2010s after Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations. Lastly, the kind of peak that will see the 2020s as being a new renaissance of Sonic the Hedgehog and make the Blue Blur more popular than ever.
This all started with the release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie back in 2020. It was a movie that was met with initial controversy due to many fans not taken too kindly to Sonic’s movie design. About a week after the backlash against the movie ensued, director Jeff Fowler announced that they would go back and fix the design of Sonic into a brand new one that would look more faithful to the character. Although this caused the movie to be delayed three months from it’s original release slate of November 2019, it all turned out to be for the better as the movie turned out to be a solid hit at the box office and the casual audience alike. Although it likely would’ve done better in theaters had it not come out before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it was still enough of a success to greenlight a sequel. It was from that moment where the Sonic brand would transform himself into a multimedia movie franchise.
This led to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which was considered to be even better than it’s predecessor and the most successful video game movie that does NOT involve a certain plumber with a red hat. It received praised from fans for incorporating many elements from the video games such as the addition of Tails and Knuckles, the Master Emerald, more set pieces that mirror levels from the games, and who could forget the birth of SUPER SONIC!!!! Perhaps the big cherry on top included a post-credit scene that teased the next movie would be focused on introducing the fan-favorite character known as Shadow the Hedgehog, set to be played by the legendary Keanu Reeves.
When it comes to the games themselves, the two main ones that have come out this decade include Sonic Frontiers and this year’s Sonic X Shadow Generations. With Sonic Frontiers, while the initial critical reviews were quite mixed, the fan response was much more positive. The majority of the praise went into the open zones, giving Sonic more freedom to control than ever, the boss fights, the soundtrack, and containing some of the best writing that this series has had in ages, particularly involving the characterization of the main cast of characters we’ve all come to known and love over the past few decades. It definitely had it’s flaws, particularly the unpolished cyberspace levels and a handful of unnecessary elements added to the gameplay (*cough* Pinball level *cough*), but even the more mixed reviews agreed that it was a step in the right direction compared to the last few main Sonic games and set the future of Sonic with a really solid foundation to build upon with upcoming games.
With Sonic X Shadow Generations, it made for perhaps the most well received Sonic game that the series has had in a very LONG time. It gained a reception that it has perhaps not been seen since the days of Sonic Adventure or the Gameboy/DS adventures with Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush. Not even the original Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations got this amount of praise attached to it at the time which both games came out. A 2024 remaster of Sonic Generations updated to modern consoles/PC would have been satisfying enough to longtime fans of the series but what makes this one stand out stronger than most is it’s inclusion to a brand new story mode involving fan-favorite Shadow the Hedgehog. It’s able to do Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury even better than the actual Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. With incredibly unique level designs, crazy and out-of-this-world set pieces, masterfully done remixes, a gameplay style that manages to combine the best elements of Generations and Frontiers respectively, and even quite a touching story about Shadow and the two people he cares about the most in Maria and Gerald Robotnik. This even manages to make Black Doom less lame. That’s how good this game is!
When it comes to the other games that have come out in the past four years, they were mostly a mixed bag but nothing that indicated a complete and total failure. Sonic Superstars could have been a solid and newly original 2D Sonic game but suffered big time from the inclusion of it’s new mechanics and horrible boss fights, Sonic Dream Team made for an enjoyable mobile game but could have fared much better as an actual console game, and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is about as good of an April Fools Joke as one could hope and made for one unique love letter to the fans. Even so, there has yet to be a single Sonic game to come out in this decade that gained as much of a universally negative reaction on the levels of Sonic 06 and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. If that alone is not a step up from the past two decades, then I don’t know what is.
And now we are about to have Sonic the Hedgehog 3 arrive worldwide in theaters! Not only is this meant to cap off to what SEGA originally dubber 2024 as the “Year of Shadow”, but it might just be the thing that expand Sonic’s popularity even further than ever before. Just imagine the numerous amounts of possibilities that can come from the Sonic franchise if Sonic 3 is a hit!
We’ll have more film installments and tv/streaming series that could expand upon the cinematic universe of Sonic even further, we’ll have upcoming that will receive more hype and anticipation than before because of newer fans that will be getting into the series, and we’ll see a new appreciation for Sonic that we perhaps have not seen throughout the entire 21st century. If Sonic 3 delivers, I would not be surprised if any if not all of these outcomes are possible.
Even so, there is more reason to be optimistic about the future of Sonic the Hedgehog than ever before. And I imagine that optimism will only grow once Sonic 3 is released to the general public and we get updated on what future Sonic games, movies, and shows is set for the future.
And here’s another piece of the marathon talking about an important specific episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. This time around, it’s for the episode that was designed to celebrate 20 years of the yellow sponge we all know and love called SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout. While it didn’t necessarily act as the finale of Season 12 nor the show as a whole, it’s executed in a way that this could have been the very last episode of SpongeBob and it would be extremely satisfying. To discuss exactly why, let’s dive right into SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout.
The special sees the citizens of Bikini Bottom and all of SpongeBob’s friends and loved ones coming together to plan a surprise birthday party for SpongeBob himself. While the likes of Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Mrs. Puffs and…….Bubble Bass of all people prepare for a fiesta in SpongeBob’s own pineapple home, Patrick takes SpongeBob on a tour of the surface world to buy enough time for everyone to get the party ready. It’s when touring the surface world where the two BFFs come across their real-life selves, seeing how the OG cast would operate if the show took place out of water and were all playing completely human characters. Also, we see Patchy the Pirate who once again attempts to get to Bikini Bottom to meet his #1 idol and give him a special birthday president.
The ingredients for SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout can be seen from the initial premise right there. This is an episode that is clearly hear to celebrate and homage 20 years of SpongeBob SquarePants. You have all of the side characters from the show coming together to recognize the importance of SpongeBob’s role in Bikini Bottom, you have live-action cameos from not just the OG cast but also many notable celebrities such as Kel Mitchell, Jack Griffo, Daniella Perkins, and even David Hasselhoff that add to the gags and humor of the episode, you have SpongeBob and Patrick going on an adventure that they haven’t really gone on before, and it even gives an actual arc to Patchy the Pirate that makes the character feel like he’s come full circle. And the best part is that, it’s pretty much able to deliver on all of those fronts.
Of course, it’s pretty difficult to talk about SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout without drawing comparisons to SpongeBob’s last anniversary episode, A.K.A. the controversial Truth or Square, the episode that was designed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants. For the most part, Big Birthday Blowout able to do nearly everything that loathed special did wrong. It has the right mix of live action and animated bits without one end overshadowing the other, the majority of the focus goes to the actual SpongeBob characters, it has a plot that has actual momentum, it has gags that are actually quite funny, there’s celebrity cameos that are used sparingly, and Patchy the Pirate has the right amount of screentime and isn’t around long enough for us to get sick of him. It also helps that there was no ads that promised so much reveals and answers to certain questions that the actual finished episode never really had. Whatever Truth or Square was trying to do, Big Birthday Blowout is actually able to do it.
Going back to the title of this article of the marathon as to why I believe this should have been the final episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, it’s mostly because this feels like an actual definite endpoint for the series, arguably even more so than the first movie itself. Heck, had SpongeBob ended after the first movie like originally attended, this special could have still worked as a suitable epilogue 15 years later. This would’ve worked perfectly as being a special “revival” movie for Nickelodeon, similar to what they did with Hey Arnold! and Rocko’s Modern Life recently. It just has that sense of history and passion that everyone remembers about SpongeBob’s glory day while also realizing how far the character himself has come.
And by the end of SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout, SpongeBob has done a lot for himself. He got to tour the surface world with his best friend that he had never been able to before, he got to see how human versions of himself would have played out in that surface world, you got to see the importance that SpongeBob has had on Bikini Bottom and himself throughout 20 years, and perhaps the most unique of all, Patchy the Pirate had finally got to meet his hero in a way that felt sweet and genuine instead of creepy. He even gets one last song to himself, a bunch of well-known celebrities congratulating SpongeBob and wishing him a happy birthday, and best of all, it gave a very special dedication card to the late great Stephen Hillenburg, which I imagine this was one of the last episodes he produced before his unfortunate passing.
I honestly believed had SpongeBob ended after this episode, people would have looked more fondly on the series as a whole rather than just the first three seasons and the original movie. It’s then that more and more people would have discovered some of the latter seasons, particularly Seasons 9, 10, 11, and parts of 12 and see that the series still did have some life left in it. And just before it was about to run out of live once again (the other parts of Season 12-onwards), it was able to end the series on it’s own high, unique note before wearing out it’s welcome once again. It unfortunately didn’t do that but it’s nice to think about it if that was the case.
That’s not to say the episode is perfect by any means. There are certain jokes that get quite old and aren’t very funny, the final song itself is quite…..bleh and not very memorable, and the animation can get WAY too over-the-top and expressive for my likings, something which can be an issue for me throughout a good chunk of the newer episodes coming out. Also, how is it you bring Mindy the Mermaid back but NOT have her have a speaking line or two. I mean you could get all of these other celebrities for a cameo but you could NOT grab Scarlett Johansson for a day or two?
Even so, the heart and passion behind Big Birthday Blowout is clearly on screen for everyone involved. This really felt like an anniversary special that felt like there was time, effort, and care to it that wasn’t present in Truth or Square. Whether that’s because Nick actually didn’t rush and crunch the cast and crew this time around or not, I’m glad that time, effort, and care was able to be felt throughout SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout.
Although Big Birthday Blowout wasn’t the technical end of SpongeBob SquarePants, I think it represented the end of the show for a lot of people. Similar to how I believed that Hello Bikini Bottom! represented an end to Gen Z’s era of the show and Nickelodeon as a whole, I feel like Big Birthday Blowout represented the end of Stephen Hillenburg’s run of SpongeBob SquarePants. This was that one last special episode where you can feel the dedication, inspiration, and just pure finger prints that Hillenburg brought to this series. After all, he was the man that created SpongeBob SquarePants in the first place. Now that he’s gone, SpongeBob will never be the same again.
While some good things have come from SpongeBob in the past five years since Hillenburg’s passing such as The Cosmic Shake video game and (if the leaked version I watched online months ago is any indication) Plankton: The Movie, Big Birthday Blowout still feels like the true definite ending/epilogue of the series. No matter when you stopped watching the show or what era of SpongeBob you preferred, this 20th anniversary special feels like the best love letter possible to SpongeBob SquarePants. While there is still one more era of SpongeBob to talk about for next month, I can’t help but feel Big Birthday Blowout is where the series’ train should have had a definite stop.
Thank you Stephen Hillenburg and I hope you are resting peacefully in heaven right now!
