Monday, January 25, 2016

Toon Ninja Reviews - Avatar: The Last Airbender Part IV - Inspirations, Music & Voice Acting (Guest Co-Host, Ryo of the Wildfire)

This is getting nowhere! I did the intro, the 3 book summary and the characters. It's been a long time since I did the last part. And I don't know where to begin!

*The wall starts to flash red, then it explodes; Ryo of the Wildfire, complete with his armor, but no helmet, enters the fray, along with his white tiger companion, White Blaze*

Oh, my goodness! It's Ryo of the Wildfire from Ronin Warriors!

Ryo: Hey there, Jason. I heard you are having trouble with your review. Perhaps, I can help.

Wow, thanks Ryo! I am glad you are one of my favorite anime heroes.

Ryo: Don't mention it. So, what you do need help with.

Well, the music & voice acting I know, but I need help with the inspirations for Avatar.

Ryo: Inspirations, huh? I can do that. You take care of the music & voice acting part, I'll take care of the inspirations.

Will do! Since we're on the subject of it, you take over.

Ryo: You got it. I won't let you down.

15 Minutes later

Ryo: Although one of the best action cartoons in not just NickToons, but one of the best action cartoons in all animation,  Avatar: The Last Airbender is not just action alone. This show has a tone of inspirations, lots and lots of inspirations. Anything that goes from Mythology, History, Environmentalism, Spirituality, Sacrifice, Redemption, Philosophy, and so on and so forth.  For instance, the four nations themselves, they are loosely based on actual nations and their respective races of people. The Air Nomads, they are based on the Shaolin Monks, know for their peaceful pacifism, The Water Tribe, they are based on the Inuit tribes, known for their parkas and their fishing hobbies, The Earth Kingdom, which is based on China, especially Ba Sing Se, which was based on the Forbidden City itself and finally, the Fire Nation, based on Japan, known for their industrial might and advances and just like the island nation itself at the time, it had a bad history, when it comes to occupation. And if you are wondering how those benders are so good with their bending, they are based on actual Martial Arts themselves. Sifu Kisu did the majority of the Martial Arts choreography for the show. For the choreography for Toph, it was done by Sifu Manuel Rodriguez, which he based her moves on Chu Gar Southern Style Praying Mantis Kung-Fu. Well, I am not be as smart as Rowen or Sailor Mercury, but at least that's all I know. Jason?

Thanks Ryo. With the inspiration part taken care of, now for my favorite part of the review, music and voices! Let's start with the music first.

The music was composed by duo called The Track Team. They consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn. Their music for Avatar is a blend of both western orchestra and Chinese musical instruments, with hints of a choir mixed in with it, which explains their soundtrack is as epic as those in some awesome movies, whether it's for action, for comedy, romance, drama and so on and so forth. They later did the music for the sequel series, The Legend of Korra, which maintains most of the oriental feel from the original, but added some of the jazz feel for some moments, including those from Republic City. But that review is for another time. Now, for my favorite part of this, the voices. Let's start with the main cast.

Zach Tyler Eisen was kid back then when he voiced Aang. Eisen displayed the balance of our main hero, hence the word, "balance," whether he could be funny in one episode or can be serious the next, something his movie counterpart wasn't (more on that later).

Mae Whitman displayed both the nurturing motherly side and a dark, serious, yet strong side when voicing Katara. But, like Aang, she does have her funny moments, especially with her banter with Toph. Not bad for someone later gave the Disney version of Tinker Bell her voice.

Jack DeSena, like Aang, can be serious AND funny at the same time as Sokka, but mostly funny with his dialogue, especially with his "Sok-casm".

And then there's Jessie Flower, who displayed her sarcastic, funny yet easy going persona for Toph. Before voicing Toph, Jessie voiced a little girl named Meng in the episode from Book One, "The Fortuneteller."  And when it comes to doing the Melon Lord, she can be quite a ham.

Finally, rounding out the main cast, Dee Bradley Baker provided the vocal growls, chirps and roars for both Appa and Momo. Where Appa displays his loud growls and roars, Momo does small, chipmunk like chirps. The only time they spoke normally was in the the episode in Book Three, "Daydreams and Nightmares," but it was all in Aang's head because he didn't had enough sleep. Weird.

Now, here are the very familiar people we know who voiced the other characters.

From Rufio to the prince of the Fire Nation, Dante Basco, did an admiral job as Zuko, displaying not just his anger issues earlier on, but also his sense of honor and redemption later. Some people think that Zuko is the Anti-Jake Long for being not easy going as the American Dragon himself. But I will leave it up to you. And on top of that, Basco is also a decent breakdancer. If you see Zuko does those breakdancing moves with his Firebending, that's all him!

Grey DeLisle's portrayal as Azula makes Vicky from Fairly Oddparents look like a wimp by comparison. DeLisle gives Azula a cold, calculating persona that will give other right hand people a run for their money. Scary, indeed. Speaking of scary.

As Firelord Ozai, Mark Hamill makes his voice a bit more menacing than he did with the Joker. Not as insane as the Clown Prince of Crime himself, but his quiet fury and fiery hatred towards everything makes Ozai the ultimate villain, especially when dealing with the pure-hearted and brave hero like Avatar Aang.

And last but certainly not least, the late great Mako as Uncle Iroh. From playing the wise wizard Akiro from the Conan movies to cackling around as the shape-shifting master of darkness Aku from Samurai Jack, Mako brings the goofiness, seriousness and the wisdom of the Dragon of the West himself. Unfortunately, after Book Two ended, Mako died and Greg Baldwin took over from Book Three. Baldwin did okay as Iroh, but it was Mako who made this character his own. So much so, not only one of the tales from the episode, "Tales of Ba Sing Se" was dedicated to him, but the character, Mako from The Legend of Korra was named in honor of him. He was a great man, and he will be missed.

Oh, one more thing, as an added bonus, did you know that Gran-Gran was voiced by none other than Melendy Britt? I am not making this up, the voice of She-Ra voiced Sokka and Katara's grandmother. I was a bit surprised over this, even my brother in arms, Stefan was shocked to hear this. Although it was only two episodes, Melendy Britt's performance as Gran-Gran was an honor. And I am pretty sure the cast were honored by her presence, especially for the her role as the Princess of Power herself. One day, if I go to a convention somewhere and if the cast of Avatar was there, including Mae Whitman, I will ask this question:

"How did you feel when you were in the presence of a voice acting legend like Melendy Britt, the voice of She-Ra?"

Anyway, I think that's about it. Thanks for the help, Ryo.

Ryo: Don't mention it. Besides, this review is long from over.

Yeah.

*White Blaze roars*

Why is White Blaze roaring?

Ryo: He wouldn't be roaring like this unless...

*Evil Laughter off screen*

Huh?

*Jadeite appears; Jason and Ryo motion their fighting poses as Jadeite appeared*

Jadeite: My friends, this is indeed FAR from over!

*Jadeite laughs maniacally*

To Be Continued...

*Fade Out





Thursday, January 21, 2016

Sailor Moon Crossover Ideas Vol.2

Wazzap!! As you may all remember,my Tag Team Partner and friend Jason created a list if Sailor Moon Crossovers entitled 'Sailor Moon Crossover Ideas Vol.1'.

Now,I have decided to continue that little project of his. This Is Volume 2 of Sailor Moon Crossover Ideas!

Note: Each of these Crossovers take place Post-Series. So there's no conflict with existing Sailor Moon Canon.


Crossover Idea: Godzilla

This first one is a very very interesting one. And one that many may not agree with.

The Satanic one sends down a giant monster to attack Tokyo and destroy Sailor Moon and the holy power of the Silver Crystal. The battle ends up near Tokyo bay,where the monster is destroyed. After a very tough battle The Sailor Team decide to get some well deserved foot massages and pedicures,unaware that their big battle inavertantly woke Him up.

Up from the depts,20 stories high,feuled by atomic power...It's Godzilla,King of the Monsters! Big G wastes no time in causing destruction,destroying everything in his path. With The Japanese millitary useless,it's up to the Sailor Senshi to stop Godzilla.

It's The Sailor Senshi vs The King of Monsters. Since both sides hail from Japan And make their residence in Tokyo (tokyo bay in godzillas case),I'd say this meeting was inevitable..wouldn't you say?
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Crossover Idea: She-Ra,Princess of Power

A Dream Team-Up of sorts. Jason,Myself and a few others have always wanted to see this happen.

Horde Prime and Light Hope battle in space,it leads them both to earth,where the gravitational pull yanks both foes and causes them both to crash land on the planet. They crash in the abandon quaries of Tokyo,unconcious and unaware.

Luna senses the 2 aliens and informs the Senshi. They leave to check it out. When they arrive they are greeted with Colonel Malichite and his mooks (the sailor senshi's current foes here). Malichite captures Horde Prime in hopes that the Horde Master can help them rebuild the Dark Kingdom and dominate the Universe. The Sailor Senshi rescue Light Hope.

The Horde Master agrees to help Malichite restore the Dark Kingdom,if the Kingdom becomes a faction of the Horde. After some "persuasion" from Horde Prime,Malichite reluctantly agrees. Horde Prime summons Hordak and the Horde to Earth. Soon after,the villians start their attack.

Meanwhile,the Sailor Team meet Light Hope and he tells them about Etheria,the Evil Horde, and the Great Rebellion. The heroes agree to team up against Horde Prime and Col.Malichite. Knowing that they'll be needing help,Light Hope summons She-Ra/Princess Adora and the Great Rebellion to Earth.

An Ultimate Battle between good and evil begins!

For The Honor Of Greyskull,They Will Punish You!
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Crossover Idea: Kim Possible

The Sailor Team and Team Possible....Together?! Who would've seen this one coming?

In the 1st XOver,The Lorwardian's return to Earth. Their 1st stop is Tokyo. The Sailor Senshi and Team Possible get informed about this by their individual sources (luna and artemis for the sailor senshi and wade for kim possible).

Upon arival the 2 teams meet for the 1st time. There are a few setbacks and the teams don't get along a first. The heroes are forced to retreat,but come up with a plan to defeat the Lorwardians with help from Shego.

After having a bitch of a time trying to convince Shego to help them,The former villian finally agrees. Well,long story short,Shego turns the tide in the Heroes favor and the Aliens retreat earth with some casualties.

Team Possible decides to stay in Tokyo for a small vacation,during that time they meet the Sailor Team in their civilian forms,unawere of their Senshi identities. As for Shego,she decides to take part in the local underground fight scene for thrills and money.

In the 2nd XOver,The Sailor Team decide to spend their Spring Break in Middleton,personaly invited by Kim and Ron to stay at The Possible home...Still unaware of the Girls Sailor Senshi identities,though Kim accidently finds out during the girls stay.

Meanwhile,Professor Dementor detects an item with awesome power that had just arrived in Middleton...Sailor Moon's Silver Crystal. Dementor sends his minions to find the item and bring it to him.

Dementor Kidnaps Usagi and the Sailor Team and Team Possible go to her rescue. Longs story short,they save Usagi,defeat Dementor,and get the Silver Crystal back.

The 3rd (and final) XOver has Kim and the Sailor Team team-up against a global scale Monster Attack.

To me this Crossover is a personal dream. Sailor Moon and Kim Possible are 2 of my favorite animated shows and seeing them together would just be Epic.
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Crossover Idea: The Transformers

This is a weird one,but my friend is gonna love it. This one goes out to Jason.

In the year 199X,Tokyo super heroines the Sailor Senshi have just decimated the evil Shadow Galactica and are taking a good rest. Meanwhile,across the Pacific Ocean,in The United States,a long and secret war is continuing. The Heroic Autobots lead by Optimus Prime are locked in an eternal struggle with the Villainous Decepticons lead by Megatron.

After their Latest failure to get Energon,the Decepticons make a shocking discovery: The Silver Crystal of the Lunarians and the Henshin Pens of the Legendary Sailor Senshi are a near perfect substitute for Energon and that there power can last centuries. Megatron and the Decepticons head to Japan to retrieve the Crystal and Pens. Unknown to the Decepticons,the Autobots also have researched this and leave for Japan to prevent Megatron from getting his hands on those items.

The Sailor Senshi are defeated by the Decepticons and have their Magical Items taken from them. The Autobots arrive and fail to stop their foes. Optimus Prime checks on the girls and figures out who they are since Megatron attacked them. After introduction,the Heroes go to stop the Decepticons.

With the help of the Civilian Senshi,the Autobots defeat the Decepticons and retake the stolen items. With their henshin tools returned, the girls turn into Sailor Senshi and finish off the Decepticons. Megatron promises vengeance and escapes with his team.

Later,The Sailor Senshi and The Autobots become permanent Allies.
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Crossover Idea: Disney Animated Canon

This one is more of a Fusion than a Crossover. With Sailor Moon Characters replacing Disney Characters.

The plots of the Movies would remain,except now with Sailor Moon characters.

I won't be listing the cast,since there are way too many characters. I'll allow you people to decide on who plays who.

Disney and Sailor Moon,A Winning Combination!
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Crossover Idea: Xena,Warrior Princess

The Final one....I promise. This one is unconventional for a few reasons,mainly because Xena is a live-action show.

Anyway,The Sailor Team are doing a history paper on Ancient Greece. Wanting to experience it for themselves,the girls ask Sailor Pluto to send them to that time period. After some persuading,Sailor P. lets the girls visit Ancient Greece..but Only for a day. She also warns them Not to interact with any important historical figures,because the consequences could be dire.

The moment the girls start their tour,they are attacked by bandits. They are rescued by Xena,Warrior Princess and Gabrielle (with joxer,the mighty). The 2 hero teams introduce themselves and become temporary traveling allies...and later friends.

With Xena,The Sailor Team's visit to Ancient Greece soon becomes one big action adventure. And when Xena needed help,they transform into Sailor Senshi and even the odds.

At the end of the day,The Sailor Team is then brought back to their own time by Sailor Pluto. This is one adventure that both teams will never forget.

Sorry for not going into details,but I coudn't think of any. I think this Crossover would be interesting..and fun. Plus,I really like both of these series.
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Well was fun wasn't it? Will there be a Sailor Moon Crossover Ideas Vol.3? Only time will tell.

So,until next time....See Ya Space Cowboy.

(Sailor Moon Japanese Instrumental Theme plays)

*fade out*

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

A New Year...yet we lose more famous people!

Hey there, Toonsters,

  Although the new year is upon us. And yet, like last year and the years that came before it, those who we looked up in movies, video games, music and so forth, ended up in the front door of the Grim Reaper himself. Like these two, for instance.

Recently, Jason Wingreen, although he appeared in some movies, most of them westerns, and in some TV shows like All in the Family, but to us Star Wars fans, he was best known as the original voice, THE one true voice, of bounty hunter Boba Fett, has died. He was 95. Since 1980, he was the voice of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back. Although his dialogue was minimal, his quotes, including "He's no good to me dead," proves how dangerous and popular Boba Fett can be. Unfortunately, by 2004 with the DVD release of the original Star Wars Trilogy, George Lucas, who was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force, replaced Wingreen's voice with Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones. And with his death, Lucas, secretly, shuns Mr. Wingreen from existence to all the Star Wars continuity, thinking that Morrison is the true voice of Boba Fett. Wrong on all counts. Not long ago, Stefan suggested that all the Star Wars properties should be returned to George Lucas himself. And what? So he could butchered the original trilogy even further, including digitally replace Sir Alec Guinness with Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, just as he replaced Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen as Anakin? I don't think so! Anyway, the point is, nothing against Temuera Morrison personally, but Jason Wingreen is, and always will be, the true voice of Boba Fett. And if I get a chance to fix Lucas's mistakes with the original trilogy, I will put his old voice back in my cut of The Empire Strikes Back as an honor and tribute to him. But, Mr. Wingreen isn't the only one we should pay our respects to...

Just a couple a days ago, music legend, David Bowie, has died, a few days after he not only he celebrated his 69th birthday, but released his latest album.  Bowie was known for being flamboyant and colorful with not just with his music, but his changing with the times. Not only with his duets with the likes of Bing Crosby, Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger, but to 80s nostalgia buffs like myself, he was the Goblin King, Jarreth, from the movie, Labyrinth. He died of liver cancer, the same cancer that took my father all those years ago. Bowie kept to himself about his health problems until the very end. If he would of told us about it, we would've find ways to save his life. But, he feels that we shouldn't remember him on how he died, he wanted us to remember him for how he lived. And that's how we should do. Whether it's going "Under Pressure", or going to the "Underground," there wouldn't be other musicians like Madonna or Lady Gaga, if it wasn't for David Bowie.

Godspeed to you both...:(

*TAPS Plays*

Jason Wingreen
(October 9th, 1920 - December 25th, 2015)

David Robert Jones aka David Bowie
(January 8th, 1947 - January 10th, 2016)

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Top 10 Ways Disney Needs To Do To Improve Itself.

Happy New Year,Peoples!

As a follow-up to my previous post. This time I will list ways that Disney needs to do to improve itself. Although Iger is too out of touch to listen to us,I figured I'd give you my input anyhow.

Honorable Mentions-

An AU for the The Star Wars Extended Universe: As everyone knows by now,Iger has spat upon most things from the Star Wars Extended Universe (such as han and leia's offspring and luke's love interest). Thanks to Iger's Sequel Trilogy,most of what the Extended Universe has to offer can't happen. So here's the solution,create an Alternate Universe for the Extended Universe. If Disney does that they can use the stuff from that universe without compromising the canon of the Sequel Trilogy.

Turn the Kidcoms into Real Sitcoms: What I mean by this is that the D-Coms need to be more mature,with themes to go with them. Also these shows should also allow swearing,though nothhing too profane (this Is disney after all). People will take these shows more seriously if Disney did all of this.
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#10 - Give Star Wars Duties Back to George Lucas: Star Wars Episode 7-The Force Awakens was a disaster with critics and I hear that George Lucas had his own ideas for the Sequel Trilogy. Well,I think i'd be best for everyone if Disney allows George Lucas to take the helm of the Star Wars Movies. With them in Lucas' hands,the Movies would be a lot better and the Sequel Trilogy would be saved.

#9 - Use The X-Men and Fantastic 4..in Animated Form: Fox Only owns the rights to the Live-Action Movies,Nothing else. So that means,Disney and Marvel can create Animated stuff based on those properties. Expanding the Marvel Animated Universe would help Disney a lot. These 2 franchises shoudn't be buried....Period!

#8 - Lay Off the Baby and Girly Crap: You can still have pre-school stuff,but they shoudn't be a huge focus. Limit the Disney Jr. Block to 3 hours every weekday and turn Disney Jr. The Channel into a network dedicated to Disney movies. The Girly BS on the other hand,Must Go,No Exceptions!

#7 - Canadian Segregation: If Sherwood and co. Insist on airing Canadian Crap,then it would be best for everyone if they were confined into their own little block. I talked about this before and think it's an excellent idea.

#6 - Pro Wrestling on ESPN: ESPN would do way better if it aired Professional Wrestling. Maybe Disney can buy TNA or Ring of Honor or something. If not than get airing rights to WWE programming. OR Disney can create their own Wrestling Company.

#5 - Greater Attractions For The Theme Parks: I talked about this too once before. Disney's parks need cool attractions. such as: A virtual reality shooting game,a stunt battle show that's like wrestling,a (human) disney character dating simulator,a retro game arcade,and more. These things would make the Disney parks cool. Also For 1 month a year,Disney can have a huge celebration of one of it's finest franchises,Kim Possible. Awesome huh?

4 - Enough With The Live Action Remakes: Ugh! There is absolutely No need for these remakes,they are nothing more than a waste of time and money. Plus,they all suck!

#3 - Re-Airing The Classics: Instead of using lameass shows as filler,It would be benificial to Disney to instead air the Eisner Era shows. Besides, Gargoyles and Darkwing Duck are 5,000x better than Fish Hooks and those pukish D-Coms (especially hannah montana and wizards of waverly place). In fact a block dedicated to such classics will definatly increase network viewership.

#2 - Better Program Direction: The program direction of Disney's Networks is putrid. Better direction is desperatly needed. You can't just throw shows on at random or air the sane stuff over and over. If nothing is done,the networks won't survive.

#1 - Listen To The Fans: Disney woudn't be in the shape it's in right now if it just did one simple thing...Listen To The Fans! We know better than you do Iger. Everything would be best for the company if You and your lackies just listen to us. Trust kur input and the Walt Disney Company would not only survive,but it would be cool.

And there you have it,10 (12) ways The WDC needs to do to improve itself. If they don't heed this advice,it will be R.I.P. for this company.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff. Until then,See Ya Space Cowboys and Happy New Year.