Tag Archives: Editorial

Silly Lucasarts, Star Wars: Resistance is for Kids

17 Oct
shawn

The views and opinions of this editorial are my own and do not reflect that of Otaku no Culture.

By Shawn Trommeshauser
(Dreaming in Digital)

Do not want.

I’m probably done with Disney’s Star Wars. The animated series, Rebels was great, but I’ve had major issues with the direction they’ve taken with the franchise as a whole. I have no interest in seeking out this show as the trailer just screamed ‘kids show catering to the kids starring kids’.

While that’s a perfectly acceptable approach, it’s just not what I’m looking for. Normally I’d give it a shot to see if I’m proven wrong, but nearly everything they’ve done with the series on screen and behind the camera has severely let me down and the previews for Resistance did nothing to interest me at all. Many episodes on, I still had no interest in watching. Sadly it’s looking like Star Wars just isn’t for me anymore.

I was originally avoiding Solo, but I was bored last week so I finally watched the first Star Wars film to fail. And despite some issues I have with it, it was still the most fun Star Wars film Disney made so far. It wasn’t full of epic, loved characters who were all completely depressed and beaten down by life. Seriously, who thought that a perpetually depressed Leia, a Luke that ran away from the world, a Han that gave up on the life he’d made, and the completely unexplained negation of the victories of the original movies were the formula for the return of Star Wars that the fans wanted to see?

Image result for star wars resistance

One of my biggest gripes was in how Disney wiped away the Expanded Universe [now called Legends – Ed]. When they bought Star Wars, they didn’t just buy films and books and copyrights. They bought the Star Wars Universe and the fans which go with it.

Star Wars is one of the very few creative properties that transcend the original presentation. And if we’re being honest, while they are VERY important, the Star Wars films are also a VERY small percentage of that universe. When they dropped the EU, they dropped the vast majority of what made Star Wars special as a franchise.

Sure they’re making money, but at this point, it’s like Apple. They used to be amazing. But now they’re coasting on their former reputation and the fans continue to buy simply because of the name brand.

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How to Train Your Dragon 3 Updates

6 Jun

how_to_train_your_dragon_3_posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

While How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a year away from release, the past ten days have been exciting for fans keeping tabs on reveals. This work has been finished for some time, and it’s supposed to get a preview at Annecy International Animation Festival next week. A teaser trailer may well be released during or afterwards.

For now, the release of the poster shows Toothless meeting the female of the species, a Light Fury, and all hearts will be aflutter for this pairing. Adorable as she is, one big question many will ask is where has she been? The world is large enough for any serpentine species to find places to hide in, hence the title.

The reason is that the new villain, Grimmel (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), has an agenda. He’s wiped out nearly all of the male of the species, and Toothless is next!

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Video

Is the Time Right for a Disney’s Gargoyles Reboot?

3 Apr

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The past few years have shown fond properties remade for a new generation. Duck Tales was one which started broadcasting last year. Now into its second season, Ben10 is going strong. Over the long weekend, ReBoot started streaming on Netflix (USA & other regions other than Canada). Coming later this year is yet another iteration of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also on the list is Invader Zim, Muppet Babies and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

In a random conversation with fellow older geeks, one pal suggested TailSpin ought to be next. I feel not every show from Disney Afternoon can make that comeback. If Darkwing Duck can appear in Duck Tales, could a spin-off be coming? My show was Rescue Rangers and it was the reason why I never got any homework done (until much later in the day). Gargoyles was also part, and the team behind crafting this fantastic series did a wonderful job. Not only did it tug at many literary allusions but it also pulled from various mythologies to craft a world that was steeped in folklore. Some were in plain sight, watching the ongoing trials of man, and others preferred to remain in secrecy.

Released over the holiday weekend is a fan trailer recreating a few moments from the opening sequence of Gargoyles. This CGI treatment shows the technology is here to bring this show to the next level. Some shots are from New York City proper, and others are digital. The blend worked very well. However, to nail the perfect voice-over is hard; I kept on wanting to hear Keith David’s voice instead of this poor man’s version. This product is a fan film. I had to disengage some filters. This tease ultimately worked. I pulled out my DVDs and started watching the series again .

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Remembering TRON the Movie, LEGO News & On Reboot

24 Mar

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Ever since the movie TRON graced the big screen, it’s become a cult phenomenon and there are no signs of it dying. On Brickset.com, confirmed is the release of the TRON Legacy Lightcycle! If it lights up, I’m going to be on it faster than a … those bikes fighting each other for control on the Grid! This recent news had me feeling nostalgic for the film, and this weekend, I will be watching both works again and having thought experiments in what the third film could have been if only …

In some ways, the upcoming Reboot: The Guardian Code offers a glimpse of what may have been. This series is set to debut on Netflix on March 30th, worldwide (except Canada). YTV has exclusive rights for this country up North and will broadcast in June of 2018. Instead of outright slamming this show by saying it’s ruining my childhood, I will watch it and decide afterward if it is even worthy of the Reboot name, much less take an opposite approach of how TRON: Legacy ended when Quorra escaped the Grid.

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