Where's Perry?

Last year, we spent the week before Christmas at Disney World. Our room at the Contemporary Resort was lovely, and morning routine involved my sleepy-eyed kids watching Disney XD while I made a pre-coffee run to the cafeteria for breakfast goodies. They quickly discovered what would soon became a favorite show of ours:
Phineas and Ferb.

The stories are wacky and fun, celebrating unbridled creativity and fantastic ways to carpe diem; the side adventures of brave, stoic Perry against his slightly neurotic nemesis (with back stories aplenty) always elicit a chuckle. The two boys (with a gaggle of neighborhood sidekicks) are forever optimistic, seeking clever (and usually over-the-top) solutions to any problem, no matter how mundane; Candace continues her never-ending quest to 'bust them', with little success, bless her heart.

This show is another example of all-ages fare that any adult can enjoy; there are plenty of jokes appealing to any age group, quipped during wild situations bursting with vivid imagination. It's wonderful to have a show extolling the virtues of creativity, and the various character interactions are priceless. Once again, the creative team behind the show is top notch, crafting entertaining and thought-provoking material of the highest quality.

I'm grateful to have discovered Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry and the rest of the gang. The show has always put a smile on my face, as well as those of my girls. If I could tap into my own creative potential like the boys do every episode, well, my Summers (and the rest of the time) would be pretty interesting indeed.

C'mon grab your friends

I'm not quite sure when we 'discovered' Adventure Time; I'd guess I was channel surfing, and caught glimpses of it while landing on Teletoon. There was a great write-up about the show in a recent Entertainment Weekly, and I decided to give it a shot, since my kids (and I) are always on the look out for interesting cartoons to pass a bit of time in that nebulous period before bedtime. 

So, we tried one....

And were hooked. Big time.

The thing is, I can't really explain why. The animation is simple (love those noodle limbs) and the stories brief. But this weird cartoon achieves what most media today simply can't:

I care about the characters.

Finn. Jake. Bubblegum Princess. Even LPS.

I love these guys!

Their cool wit makes me laugh out loud (no abbreviation here), and their antics are fun and often thought-provoking. The relationships between characters feel 'real' to me, which doesn't make a lot of sense considering the fantastic basis of their world (and is a testament to the amazing creative team behind the show). I love that AT is bright and vibrant (both in tone and design), and hopeful.

I guess the main thing I love about the show is that it has heart; it's obvious to me that each episode is a labor of love, painted with bold swatches of color for viewers of any age. Wild creativity prevails, from bears partying within the tummy of a monster, to a lovelorn and quite misunderstood Ice King searching for happiness. 

Cartoons were an oasis for me as a child; they provided an escape from the terror and sadness of day-to-day life, and I will always be grateful for the wonderful gift of imagination they helped foster in me. As an 'old' man, I still haven't outgrown cartoons, although many produced today lack the innocent magic of ones from my youth. 

Adventure Time is an incredibly special show, and one that I am grateful is on the air to share with my girls.

Star Trek:Into Darkness

I'll admit that I remember fondly watching Star Trek as a youngster Sunday mornings before shuffling off to church (I'd miss the last 15 minutes resolution of any episode, which was quite frustrating). I remain charmed by the spirit of that show, and maybe it colors my outlook on Hollywood's latest spectacular.

As the movie progressed, I chuckled at some fun bits, stared in shock at others (although I knew Khan was the villain, it was still a 'holey shit' moment for me), and felt numb by the relentless 'action'. As the credits rolled, I couldn't figure out if I actually liked the movie.

Mulling it over, I find that Star Trek: Into Darkness is a typical 'modern' blockbuster, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the viewer relentlessly. Larger than life characters! Do-or-die situations! Over-the-top villainy! 

Interesting story with characters I care about?

Not so much.

It's probably just me. Maybe I'm dumb, but I didn't get the whole story. It seemed that things happened just to prod the plot conveniently forward. Stuff was mentioned that probably should've been shown to dramatic effect; and time was spent on scenes that missed the mark for me. 

Characters spouted off lines, but I just didn't believe them, nor did I really care.

The Kirk I 'know' is brash, arrogant, and takes calculated gambles to defy the odds; Pine's version is frantic, reckless, and doesn't seem to deserve the rank he's been given (as he himself states). His dynamic with Quinto seems like a hollow echo of the Shatner/Nimoy banter, and the entire movie's mirroring of Wrath of Khan only serves to demonstrate how superior that latter film actually is to it.

Consider: WOK uses pace to incredible effect; events happen gradually, leading to a dramatic crescendo. ID is loud, explosive scenes threaded together haphazardly. The former film has a clear theme with intense emotional pay-off by its climax; the latter seems unfocused and weighed down by too many ideas crammed into it. Of course, critics feel that flawed characters doing questionable things makes them 'believable', but I found the ethics lesson distracted from the pulpy adventure.

I did enjoy Cumberbatch, although I wish he'd displayed actual 'brilliance' in addition to suave menace. I guess that's my main complaint overall, now that I mention it: I wish the plot would've depended on 'smart' folk making clever, strategic decisions to save the day, rather than attractive characters punching and kicking their way to a fireworks resolution.

Comparing this hyperactive action movie to those low-budget episodes filled with heart just serves to remind me: less can indeed be more.