Tag Archives: Animation

You Should Be Watching

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This post was originally published in Watch The Skies November 2021 edition.

Maya and the Three

Cabra Kan

From the Netflix description: A spirited princess with the heart of a warrior embarks on a mission to fulfill an ancient prophecy and save humanity from the wrath of vengeful gods.

I have always enjoyed stories of the magical and fantastic. Swords, sorcery, prophecies and epic battles get my attention every time. This new cartoon series Maya and the Three checks all those boxes. The art is beautiful. The story has excellent pace even with short episodes. There are deep emotions, epic battles and moments of true humor. I had no intention of doing the classic Netflix binge, and then sat there and devoured the whole series.

One of the best parts of this show is the reality of the characters. There are indiscretions (read – cheating on your spouse), emotional confrontations, and genuine repercussions from all the fighting and battles. Nobody comes out of this story unscathed. Without giving away specifics, not everyone makes it to the end of the series.

To paraphrase one particular character, “There’s a word for folks that always do heroic things…”

“Heroes?”

“Dead.”

Netflix lists this show as a children’s cartoon, but I believe this is definitely aimed at a middle year student level. That is not to say this traditional coming of age story can’t be watched by adults. It indeed should be watched by adults. In fact, my hope is that enough people watch it to keep the studio in a mindset where they will produce more and more stories like this. You should be watching Maya and the Three.

Check out the trailer:

You Should Be Watching

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This was originally published

Visions

Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon. It has become part of the culture of media. The first film hit screens more than forty years ago. Lately the franchise has come under new ownership. These new owners have pushed forward with many, many new works in the universe of Star Wars. There’s a lot out there, even for fans. I have considered myself a fan for a very long time. I was exactly the right age when the first movie hit theaters. I scrambled to get action figures and play sets as a kid and spent seemingly endless hours pushing my imagination out to all the various places in the Star Wars universe. The movies are deeply entrenched in my personal nostalgia along with all the entwined media. I can effectively say that I’ve ‘always’ been a fan.

I’m also a fan that just doesn’t want or need to devour the seemingly unending supply of hot off the presses Star Wars stuff. Maybe I’ve outgrown certain aspects of the story telling. Maybe the abundance of available material has taken the shine off the whole thing. I could just be tired of seeing the same old thing. This ennui is at the very root of this recommendation.

Star Wars, only done as anime. Imagine taking a team of amazing story tellers and artists from an anime studio and saying, “Go – play in our universe. Make something great”. That is precisely what they’ve done. Now streaming on Disney+ (because I think they own everything?) Star Wars Visions gives us seven all original stories in the same galaxy, using the same background and the same legendary ‘Force’. The stories vary in style, but never lack in beauty. The art is amazing. The stories are fresh. The look of it all is straight up anime. They’re short, so you can sneak them in between other things, or you can easily binge them. I would suggest one at a time, to give each the attention it should have. I think this may even be a way to draw new fans in; fans that might not have given a tired old franchise a chance otherwise. You should be watching Visions.

Check out the trailer:

You Should Be Watching

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This was originally published in the Watch The Skies fanzine, September 2021 issue.

What If…

When I’ve worked on my recommendations for this little column each month I’ve tried to find things that are bent toward the (potential) interests of this group, but also slightly off the beaten path. These things might not be your preference, but should certainly be worthy of consideration. I’ve tried not to go for the obvious, splashy things out there.

This month is a break in that trend. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is pervasive in pop culture. The series of movies and shows that have the common, unifying thread of a group of comic book super heroes has been with us for a solid decade now. The story lines, the characters, the massive tent pole films that seep into all the nooks and crannies of the genre are familiar. Perhaps they are familiar to the point of apathy. The MCU could be running the very serious risk of over saturation with the sheer number of films and shows it’s dumping forth for mass consumption. The omnipresent super hero genre has kept me away, until now.

The house of mouse has an animated show based around the stories of these well known super heroes called “What If…” that gets directly to the heart of the science fiction and fantasy genre. The title of the show is the very essence of what makes SF/F great. The best stories always ask that question. What if? Can we go back and change things? How would that have worked out if one tiny thing changed (butterfly effect anyone)? It’s a terrific mental exercise. The MCU has now combined that concept with stunning artwork to make a series of short animations. These stories give us the characters we’ve come to know viewed in very different lights. Asking the simple question “What if…” and following through with things like having the Ravagers pick up T’Challa rather than Peter Quill or having a serial killer remove Avengers before they start their journey to being a hero.

Yes, viewing these episodes does actually work out better if you’ve seen and / or are familiar with the films that have been put out in the long series from Marvel. The stories are short (averaging about a half hour each) and only give us glimpses of what might have been. It’s those glimpses that make it work. The animation is at exactly the level you’d expect from a world leader. There’s a lot of great stuff in there. This series is definitely one you should be watching.

Check out the trailer here:

Kid Cosmic

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Normally I’d put this sort of thing under the “You Should Be Watching” section of Watch The Skies, but I feel that a lot of members of the group would find the fact that I keep going back to animated television shows aimed at kids to be problematic. Since I am a dad, I find myself leaning toward these shows more and more, even when my own kid isn’t completely interested. I say “isn’t completely interested” because often times she will jump in halfway through something I’m watching. It’s not cool when I suggest it (because what kid wants to think their parents are cool or know anything, right?) but then gets caught by the actual show.

This is the case with Kid Cosmic. I can’t call it a subversion of the super hero genre, but it is certainly an interesting look at that genre and what sort of effect that genre has on kids. This hits close to home for me because I remember all the times when I was a kid that I watched Spiderman (as part of the Electric Company show I believe) and then went directly out to play and imitate that hero.

~ Side note ~ Yes, kids have always done this. Imitating what they see is part of developing who they will become. Yes, it can be dangerous. It was then and it is now. Teaching kids safety will ever only go so far. Pushing boundaries is part of being a kid. One of my earliest memories of being a super hero ended with a trip to the hospital for stitches. It’s going to continue to happen. If you’re a parent too, be prepared.

Kid Cosmic actually takes this whole concept head on. The star of the show is steeped in the heroic stories of comic books. He’s got energy and enthusiasm to spare. He finds cosmic stones in a crashed space ship and just knows to his core that he’s supposed to become a hero and save the planet. He scoops up the stones and does his level best to prepare to be a hero. The problem with this prep is that he really sucks at it. Constantly.

In an interview about the project, the creator (Craig McCracken) states that was at least part of his point, “It’s just part of being a kid, and I like the idea of exploring that fantasy, but also this blind confidence that they’re going to be immediately great at it.”

It’s a dose of realism in a genre that is packed with over the top expectations. A short, ten episode season is available on Netflix right now. My daughter and I have watched them all. There’s a good, solid message in the show along with some very entertaining moments. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into the super hero genre, kids fantasy shows, or just good writing.