AnonymousOf course I’ve seen Riders of Berk!
As a whole (the four episodes we’ve seen and what I know of episode 5) I’d give it a 7/10. It’s not horrible, nor does it ruin the franchise, but some parts are…extremely questionable. Mostly consistently wise. I think they’re trying too hard to make it understandable to people who haven’t seen the movie by re-learning lessons that were already learned in the first movie. Plus, most of the time, the episodes feel rushed, especially in the third act.
So, list time!
Pros:
-Gobber/Stoick bromance: This has been the most well done and consistent part of the show in ties to the movie. These two are spot on every time and they only get better. :)
-Side characters: In terms of beiing “side characters” they’re doing a good job of making me laugh at least twice every episode. I especially love Ruff and Tuff…comedy gold.
-Animation: No, it’s not as good as the movie…or Gift of the Night Fury. But anyone who thought it was gonna be is silly. I think, for a tv budget, this is extremely and overly well done. The detail is amazing!
-Focusing on dragons: Yeah, I know…this should be obvious. But this show could’ve easily become all about the teens and that’s it. I like how that conflicts are always re-routed back to dragons in some way…cause, well that’s what the franchise is about. Still, that being said, one or two “non-dragon related conflicts” wouldn’t kill the show.
-Dialogue: PERFECT. Nuff said.
-Hiccup/Astrid “friendship”: I think in terms of portraying them as really close friends (the closest human friend Hiccup has), they’re doing a terrific and believable job.
-The conflicts: I think the conflicts are well thought out, believable, and logical conflicts. The reason people probably find them “dry” is because of how they’re handled. But the conflict itself (just as a conflict) is very good!
CONS:
-Third act conflict resolution: This is probably the worst part of the series. They spend too much time “lollygagging” around in act 2 and then rush through act 3 to finish everything up. And this has happened in every episode so far except for episode 2. They need to utilize act 2 a lot better to set up for a good resolution in act three. They only have 22 mins so they’ve gotta compromise.
-Feeling rushed: This goes along with the first con. And this isn’t a problem because “we’re used to a movie and this is only 22 mins”. Gift of the Night Fury (while it felt shorter) didn’t feel rushed. The pacing was fine for the time span. These episodes all feel rushed, just because they dilly dally in act 2 and then make up for time in act 3. They should do what Degrassi smartly did in their later seasons (they couldn’t wrap everything up in one episode so they made every conflict/episode be part 1 and 2).
-Hiccup/Toothless: Sadly this is on the cons list for me. They definitely have their cute “buddy” moments, but I’m not really impressed by how they’re portrayed yet. Episode 4 was slightly redeeming and yet slightly betraying…so it’s iffy. Hopefully later episodes will prove me wrong.
-Hiccup/Astrid “romance”: In terms of friendship, it’s terrific. In terms of romance…I’m confused. Although I like that they’re showing all the awkward stuff before these two start dating…I get the feeling they might just ignore them becoming a couple at all. If they do this…I’m not gonna like it. Not only because I’m a hiccstrid shipper but because it completely breaks the consistency of the movie. Plus…why have then acting like a couple in Gift?
-Lessons: I’m mostly talking about episode 3’s lesson. I mean…WHAT? Dragons protect their riders…NEWS FLASH! Um…no. Hiccup should know better than anyone that dragons protect their riders…and usually use their wings *cough* that’s how he didn’t burn to death at the end of the movie *cough* I get that they’re trying to make it easier for people who didn’t see the movie…but that’s just a little too…derp for me. At least they could’ve had Astrid and the others be amazed and Hiccup is kind of “Of course they protect us.” That would’ve worked so much better if they had to have had this lesson.
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So, obviously, my favorite episode so far in terms of writing, conflict, conflict resolution, pacing, and general emotional content is episode 2! Episode 3 would come next…then I really can’t pick between episode 1 and 4. But I’d probably say 4 is my least favorite.
I probably missed some pros and cons, but that’s all I feel like writing for now.
Still, overall, this series does it’s job and hardly ruins the franchise as a whole. I’d say it’s definitely behind Gift of the Night Fury…but ahead of Legend of the Boneknapper. So still…7/10 as of episode 4.
But at least it’s still got 16 episodes left in season 1 and whole other 20 episodes in season 2 to get the flow/pacing/characterization correct.
Please read PART ONE before you read this.
Going on to the other two of the four franchises I mentioned in Part one…
Monster vs. Aliens was a bitter disappointment to me as a movie. It was actually a great idea for a plotline. Monsters kept under strict watch of the government, a girl who’s unwillingly turned into a monster, and an alien invasion sounds like a good plan for any blockbuster movie. Sadly, though, it was soiled by pop culture and completely unnecessary (and stupid) comedy. Plus, I cannot stand cartoons that depict adults as idiots. This needs to stop. I drew the line when the president was depicted as some kind of crack pot lunatic. So, am I looking forward to the tv series airing on Nickelodeon this year? No, not really. The first movie didn’t win me over, and seeing how tv series based off of already stupidly comedic movies are usually just as stupidly comedic, I don’t think I’ll be able to take it seriously. The bright side: at least they’re not making a sequel.
Now, How to Train Your Dragon…this is probably the best thing to come out of Dreamworks. Like Kung Fu Panda, it’s mature and focuses more on plot than making you laugh. Although, I think I take this movie a little more seriously than Kung Fu Panda as a first movie, just because I feel the steaks were raised a lot more. Plus, Dreamworks has managed to pull off something that even Pixar hasn’t managed to do yet. Having an organic world with humans that don’t have powers, the animals don’t talk, and no one’s getting into outrageous adventures. But wait, BlackRose…dragons aren’t real! No, they’re not, but for any moment in the movie did you not believe that they’re just a natural part of that world? Cause I sure didn’t. I loved this movie, it was well done, had a point, a plot, and the main character was an actual human! He acted human and he was human. He got sad, depressed, and believably angry, which is a lot for a Dreamworks movie since for the most part their characters have emotions but they’re not believably executed.
Now, two sequels are being produced, and so is a tv series, which seems like a good and bad idea at the same time. Since the first movie was soooo good, why mess with it, right? Well, in a company’s point of view, the first movie was a critical success, was nominated for two Oscars, and had an open enough ending to continue…so why not continue? I, have no problem with the continuation as long as it’s not turned into a potty humor, pop culture, kiddy mess of a show. If they’re able to keep a mature flow to the tv series and the movies…why not? Cause now that we have Vikings riding on Dragons, the possibilities are kind of endless for what new worlds and stories can be unveiled. Plus, the tv series isn’t airing on Nickelodeon, but on Cartoon Network—a channel that openly supports mature cartoons—so I’m happy. And given the promo that aired two months ago, the tv show is gonna be rated TV-PG, so that another huge plus!
The two in-continuation short films that aired were both good and bad. “Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon” short was pretty pointless. It was a perfect example of a good and mature movie ruined by stupid comedy. This short is the dark spot in this franchise, but, luckily, I think Dreamworks’ learned their lesson by all the bad reviews this short film got. The next film was a holiday short—more like an episode—called “Gift of the Night Fury” and it was wonderful! Mature, well scripted, and heartwarming. As long as they stay down that road, I have no doubts for the trilogy and tv series!
So, personally, the franchises I think will prevail the most is the Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon franchise because they actually have a mature point to them as well as being humorous, this is golden way to make a family franchise, Dreamworks. Though I can see Kung Fu Panda being more of the family franchise, I hope to see How to Train Your Dragon perhaps dump it’s “let’s please kids too” act and just be the mature franchise it was meant to be. The characters are teens, after all…so make it for teens.
Another movie not mentioned, though, was MegaMind, this is another good movie alongside Fun Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. I think this has the potential to be a good superhero/crime fighting tv series. But, it can stand alone just fine. Although this movie had it’s fair share of funny moments, they were actually funny for one thing, and it was also serious at the same time. Once again…the golden way.
Anyways, that’s all I’ve got to say right now about it. I hope Dreamworks has learned from it’s most recent movies that being serious with a side of comedy will get them Oscar nominations at the least.
There are a lot of people who feel like Dreamworks has a habit of “milking their franchises dry” and I’m not one to disagree with that. The Sherk franchise is probably the finest example of something that needed to have ended long before it actually did.
The first movie was excellent, and—in my opinion—so was the second. And we all know the rest. They should have just stopped after the second. But why is that since there are plenty of good trilogies out there? Well, my whole thing is when you rely more on pop culture and comedic antics to fuel the story you can only go but so many movies. Plus, the only crossover plot from movie to movie was Sherk and Fiona’s marriage, other than that mostly everything got resolved by the end of each movie.
Moving on from Shrek, though, we can see that Dreamworks is focusing on about four franchises right now: Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Monster vs. Aliens, and How to Train Your Dragon. Each of which either have a TV show or have one planned to air soon.
Madagascar has “the Penguins of Madagascar” cartoon out on Nickelodoen, and—once again this is all my opinion—it’s a pointless waste of the penguins comedy. I would’ve much rather seen a tv show with them traveling around the world and fighting crime than having them stuck, for the most part, at the zoo. And then, there’s just the fact that the show relies too much on potty humor, even for a kid’s comedy show, there’s gotta be some other point/conflict to the show, which there really isn’t. What’s the motivation? We don’t know…cause there isn’t any. The movies, on the other hand, are rather funny…silly, but funny. But then again, this is the same situation Shrek was in: two good movies and an upcoming third movie with high expectations. Let’s hope Madagascar can end strong.
Next there’s Kung Fu Panda which has four more sequels on the way and a tv series also on Nickelodeon. Now, if there was ever something to milk dry, this is definitely it. But, I’ve gotta hand it to Dreamworks, cause they’ve made a pretty good attempt here. The first movie was good, the second movie was excellent, and the tv series is a refreshing change of pace from most of the garbage shown for kids these days. I think it’s a little stiff in the moral/resolution plot lines in the tv series, but still, it’s a lot better than I expected. And I don’t mind watching a few episodes when I get some free time and nothing else is on tv. I can see that they’re able to produce a fresh and new conflict for Po in each movie and each episode, so I’m thinking they might be able to pull off a 6 movie saga and even a tv show. My only problem is I think I’ll be good and sick of Po by then, so they might want to at least shorten the number of movies.
My main love for this franchise, though, is that they’re able to have a convincing back story for all their characters and that they have emotions! They’re not just tools to make you laugh, but their real characters that have pasts, secrets, and moments that make them weak. This is a beautiful companion to any movie and I think the fact that this is shown continuously in each short film, movie, and episode is why any of this total franchise domination is able to be pulled off.
Read PART TWO for Monster vs. Aliens and How to Train Your Dragon!
