My favorite animated music videos of 2016.
Viewing entries in
Film & Television
A revisiting of the 2005 murder mystery holiday classic.
2015 Academy Award for Best Live Short Film
Quite possibly Terry Gilliam's finest.
I haven't seen many
(any?)
animated miniseries
but Over the Garden Wall
takes the cake.
All of the cakes.
Originally airing in November
of 2014
over the course of five
consecutive nights,
the show spotlights
a journey with half brothers
Wirt and Greg
as they try their best
to get back home.
Emotional, poetic, vivid,
and with some of the best
original music I've heard
in an animated series.
I honestly have no criticisms
with this show. It's one
for you to watch
by the fireside, as the outdoors
grow colder and kindling
is necessary.
Over the Garden Wall
is a coming of age
tale that covers
imagination, heroism,
love, communication,
and plenty of odd creatures
and lovable beasts along the way.
If you don't shed a tear
during the final episode,
then someone took your soul
a long time ago.
If you need more
from creator Patrick McHale,
check out his limited
Etsy book release
Bags.
I just ordered mine.
Lastly, if you feel
like listening to the music
from the miniseries,
you can enjoy a few tracks
below. For real fans,
the vinyl to the soundtrack
is on eBay for $100.
It's the only thing
on my Christmas list.
Please.
![[This image has been my desktop background for the entirety of 2016]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/580fa9f7e58c62cb7501937b/1480442822535-Q60JEVY04PYQ4OCNU7OE/111.jpg)
[This image has been my desktop background for the entirety of 2016]
It's April 1943
and author and illustrator
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
released Le Petit Prince,
or, as you may know it as,
The Little Prince.
Fast forward 73 years,
to 2016,
and the book has been
translated into over
250 languages,
making it the fourth most
translated book ever.
Acting as a novella
as well as
a self-help book
for stray souls trying to find
their way
as well as
a wisdom-filled guide
for adults who have forgotten
how to dream.
From a novella
in 1943 to countless
adaptations throughout
the years,
the most recent and relevant
additions are both
which everyone needs
for their coffee table,
and the 2015 feature film,
The Little Prince,
which meshes 3D animation
with stop motion animation
for a truly riveting experience.
So please,
as the months grow
colder and the nights
grow longer,
embrace The Little Prince
and remember how to be
a kid again if only
for a bit longer.
Milwaukee collective N.A.N.
(New Age Narcissism)
have been releasing plenty
to hold us over as of late.
I'm going to try to play
catch up in this article,
so pardon me if I missed
anything crucial.
Let's first begin with
'Until They Berry Me',
a short film directed by
Cody LaPlant and Damien Blue.
The two have handled plenty
but this is their first
proper short film.
As far as I know.
Starring the members of N.A.N.
(in particular, Lorde Freddee)
as well as Mic Kellogg,
Zed Kenzo, and more,
and with a deeply
moving/haunting score
courtesy of Q the Sun,
the eight minute piece
is one that will make you shiver.
The short is particularly
impressive for moving
the audience without
dialogue, instead
with action and music.
Lex Allen
lost his mother
almost a year ago
and he turns that tragedy
into an uplifting
and moving pop song
known as "Mama's Boy".
Released only a few days
ago, the song drips emotion
and is a stunning contrast
to his upbeat capabilities
found on "Cream & Sugar".
Wow, that piano.
Wow, that voice.
The artwork says plenty
in regards to this song,
but Lorde Fredd33
plays around
with autobiographical
tales and subtle flexes,
flowing over minimal
production, turning his voice
into an instrument,
even switching everything
up on the final
30 seconds. Respect.
WebsterX has been featured
this calendar year,
but the single
"Blue Streak",
produced by Four Giants,
is his first solo offering
of 2016.
With this track
came the announcement
of a distribution deal
through Closed Sessions.
It's nice to know
that Mr. Web is in good hands
with the independent
Chicago label.
Earlier this fall,
NAN member Siren
released "Priestess",
a track produced
by Mic Kellogg
that I'm still spinning.
Hopefully we get an EP
or a full-length
from this talent
sooner than later.
This is a nice sequel
to "Queen Medusa".
Is this genre
considered witch-hop?
I hope so.
Along with producing
for most members of NAN
and providing the score
for the short film above,
Q the Sun
also works with teenagers
in Milwaukee through
various non-profits
in order to educate
about production and performance.
Over the summer,
Q teamed up with
Milwaukee Water Commons
to speak out on issues
surrounding water.
They even wrote and produced
a song, which you can find
up above. What
can't this group do?
I don't think
Kenny Hoopla
is technically N.A.N.,
but he is featured
in the short film above
and he has been going
wild on the music tip.
After releasing an EP
last month,
he followed it up
with the single
"MESS"
and it's too hot
to not mention
in this article.
Salute to N.A.N.
Salute to Milwaukee.
Someone give this talent a trophy.
My first attempt at click bait.
It's hard to say whether or not I'm knowledgeable about cartoons. I've been watching them my entire life, but their appearances in my life always arrive in sporadic increments. I might not be the voice of reason for a cartoon show, especially since I haven't seen some might claim to be “essentials” like The Fairly Odd Parents, Invader Zim, Ed, Edd, and Eddy. The list goes on.
That being said, I recently saw vocalist/producer theMIND tweet about the cartoon show Gravity Falls. I read the Wikipedia page, downloaded the first season, digested the first season, downloaded the second season, digested the second season, and here we are. Unfortunately only two seasons exist of this show. I usually lose interest in television shows, but I want nothing more than more episodes of Gravity Falls. Or maybe I don't. It ends as a series should end; with epic, climactic closure. Not only is the show a breath of fresh air for the Disney Channel, but this is a delightful and sharp show. I have no idea what the age group is here, as there are plenty of jokes on impending mortality, existentialism, depression, and more, all the while covering situations like first kiss, puberty, and pet pigs.
To keep it brief: twin siblings (one boy, one girl) stay with their great uncle Stan over the summer. Strange situations begin to unfold. At first, the show hosted standalone episodes, allowing the audience to understand their heroes. Then, the stories begin to connect, mysteries and questions form, and you fall deeper and deeper into a hilarious and witty mystery cartoon. There's also quite a bit of voice actor overlap with Rick and Morty. Some even argue that the two dimensions are connected (WARNING: may contain spoilers). Fascinating, really.
“A 68-hour marathon aired on Disney XD from February 12, 2016, up until the finale on February 15, 2016, with the entire series airing in order. Due to only having 39 episodes before its airing, the show was looped four times to fill the 68-hour slot.”
I wouldn't be able to compare Gravity Falls directly to any particular television show (which is a good thing), but plenty of elements of other shows come to mind: Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers. The humor actually reminds me quite a bit of the humor found inside A Goofy Movie. More than just a tale for kids. But also, a tale for kids.
So if you're trying to be youthful again and laugh at childish things like bottomless pit story time, video game sidekicks, bathing garden gnomes, a person-swapping electric rug, and handfuls of glitter, then dive right in. 40 episodes over two seasons. Find me 40 more enjoyable and cohesive cartoon episodes.
Grab the episodes on Hulu here.
I've watched
The Nice Guys
(2016)
two times
in the last week.
Written and directed
by Shane Black
(Last Action Hero,
Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3)
and starring
Ryan Gosling
and Russell Crowe,
the film draws
a great deal of comparisons
(in a good way)
to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(2005), which I often
said was Shane Black's opus.
Now, with The Nice Guys,
that opinion might change.
Similar in tone
i.e. murder, mystery,
sharp-witted comedy,
the two complement each other
very nicely. I couldn't
tell you which of the two
I prefer, but both
are damn fine films.
I think the cinematography
and color palette is stronger
with The Nice Guys,
but both have near perfect
stories to tell.
Without giving anything
away, the film takes
place in the 1970s
in California, and it revolves
around two private eyes,
one who is drunk
the entire film (Gosling)
and one who is stone
cold sober the whole time
(Crowe). They try
to track down a woman
and rest is left for you
to discover on your own.
Visually stunning,
hilarious, and an entertaining
action packed thrill ride.
If I had three thumbs,
I'd give it three thumbs up.
Shout-out again
to Shane Black
for also writing the screenplay
for The Long Kiss Goodnight
and The Last Boy Scout.
He might be the king
of the action screenplay.
