Grinds my Gears

Some stuff that well, grinds my gears.

Okay, remembering Peter Griffin's short-lived stint on the news and many people giving shoutouts, I thought I'd try my hand at it. On with the show...

You know what really grinds my gears?

Cartoon characters that can't act.

One thing that I hate watching a cartoon is anytime I see a character that seems like they would be able to act, yet somehow their looks don't match their quotes. In Space Jam, as one example, near the end of the film Bill Murray joins the TuneSquad and issues a play to Lola. She says an enthusiastic "Got it!" but the look on her face says "Yeah, sure, whatever." It's one thing if the voice actor can't act for peanuts, but making a character that isn't capable of acting? I hope someone got fired.

You know what really grinds my gears?

Toon Disney's current bumpers.

Now, there have been hordes of "I hate Toon Disney's schedule", "Bring back the Disney cartoons", "Jetix sucks, where's my bucks" articles. But this isn't about that. What I hate about the current Toon Disney isn't just the programming. I want the classic bumpers! You know, the "We'll be right back" and "And now, back to the show" bumpers! For those that aren't aware, check this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT6cI8KcGY4

If you don't remember, the classic Toon Disney bumpers had a Mickey's ToonTown look. A clip from the episode from the corresponding series was in view. The announcer actually had life and personality! These aspects of Toon Disney just made you want to sit down and watch the channel. And who could forget the videos, like the "Toon Face" and the "No Pants Dance"?

Again, this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz7-M2gqR84

It had a level of charm that made you feel like Disney's Cartoon Network could pull you inside and recapture your childhood! But in late 2002, that all changed. Now the bumpers are totally blah. I remember hating the monochrome, characterless bumpers. Hey Disney, if you do revamp your lineup to its original glory, how's about reviving these bumpers, too?

You know what really grinds my gears?

Alterations between the theatre marquee poster and the home video box.

Here's Toy Story:

Here's Chicken Run:

Here's Alvin and the Chipmunks:

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2511836672/tt0952640

Notice something different?

I don't see the point in altering the theatre image just to make a character suddenly begin smiling. Keep in mind that the original image didn't stop kids from wanting to see the flick in the first place. Why should it when it comes out on video? I don't see any point for altering the original image; that's just as pointless as censorship.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program. :)

Comments

You know what grinds my gears? Posting links in articles. They make it look atrocious.

You know what grinds my gears? This shitty article.

This is a joke? o_O;

This seems kinda like a waste of space. So the bumpers are different, big deal. Sometimes its nice to go back and have a look (or a laugh) at old bumpers, but they change with time. What if we used the same bumpers and commercials from the 50's and 60's? People eventually tire of something, and tastes change. Eventually current bumpers will be changed to something brand new to fit the new taste.

And why get angry over the difference betwen movie posters and video covers? Movie posters are BIG and its easy to fit a lot of things and info on the poster to gather interist. Movie covers are considerably MUCH smaller, and a lot of people have probably already seen the movie (or at least know the plot). So they have to be altered to convey the same information on a smaller medium. And because people know the movies outcome, they may change a main characters expression to fit the out come of the movie (Woody looking unhappy and annoyed at newcomer and "replacement" Buzz, whom later becomes his best friend), and also because the lighting for a big movie poster, which might not be hard to see, may become too dark for a smaller movie cover.

I agree with velcrohead on this one.

The joke has no punchline. The article is a waste.

This article could have been a little better, and velcrohead, CAN IT!

If it's meant to be a joke, I failed to get the punch line.

I believe this was just meant to be a joke, velcro...

Lighten up.

Not particularly retro or interesting for that matter, thumbs down

I can agree with the way they changed bumpers and logos (in most cases Cartoon Network and Toon Disney) but the rest of this stuff seems like such small pickles and nothing I would make a big deal of. So Woody and Rocky smile on the boxes, what's wrong with that? The bumpers are really the only good point you made here.

Why'd you waste our time with this?

First off, I had no clue what your opening line meant. So I started off confused.

Second, you actually spent emotion being frustrated over what you perceive to be an animation error? (Cartoon characters don't "act," by the way. They're animated in such a way that should, usually, emote the script.) I never noticed any such mistake in Space Jam, which makes me think you're probably mis-understanding the scene. (The animation in Space Jam was top notch, as I recall.)

Third, then we go onto yet another crying jag about how the Disney channel isn't exactly like it was when we were little. Well guess what? We grew up, and so should you. Not even the six o'clock news keeps the same bumpers year to year, so why should Disney? And the bumpers you mentioned...you do realize that those bumpers are different than the Disney bumpers that *I* grew up with, right? So maybe the bumpers that you love aren't really appreciated by so many others?

Finally, the thing about the cover art changing from marquee poster to video is just petty. For one thing, a marquee poster has significantly more surface area and can contain more detail without looking busy. Also, for Chicken Run, you only showed us the foreign box art, so who knows what the domestic picture looked like? And you only showed us one of the Chipmunks (and it's not even the marquee poster you've shown.) Quite often, I've noticed that the altered images look better than the originals.

Thumbs down.