Tag Archives: DisneyPlus

The Legend of The Three Caballeros – Series Review: Now-stalgia on Disney+

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The Legend of The Three Caballeros – The Entire Series (2018)

Donald Duck’s birthday was a disaster! In the span of a few hours he lost his house, his job, and his girlfriend. But things might be looking up for Donald when he gets word that his Great-Grandfather, Clinton Coot left him a cabana and a bunch of priceless artifacts. Though as Donald’s luck would have it he wasn’t the only one Coot gave all of this to. As two others also co-inherited the cabana, a Mexican Rooster named Panchito Gonzalez and a Brazilian Parrot named José Carioca. Together they discover a mysterious atlas that releases a goddess named Xandra. She tells the trio that they are the descendants of a group of legendary heroes known as The Three Caballeros who had long ago defeated an evil sorcerer name Lord Felldrake. Meanwhile, the trio’s new neighbor, a stuffy aristocrat and descendent of Felldrake’s named Baron Von Sheldgoose discovers the evil sorcerer imprisoned in a staff and the two hatch a plan to conquer the world. Can Donald, Panchito, and José stop Felldrake and Shelgoose from conquering the world by becoming the new The Three Caballeros?

When I was growing up one of my favorite VHS tapes was The Three Caballeros, a classic Disney movie from 1944. I would watch that movie over and over and enjoy it every time, even if it was a bit trippy at times. As I grew up I was always delighted to see the trio pop up in various other Disney shows throughout the years. Fast-forward to about a year or so ago and I heard news that there a series was in production and was genuinely excited till I heard that it wasn’t available in the US. Then Disney+ launched and I was very happy to see that they released the show on their streaming service. I felt thrilled as I started to binge the show but I thought it could never live up to the high standards the new DuckTales reboot had set but boy was I wrong.

The Legend of The Three Caballeros is a fun and funny show for all ages. My favorite parts being The writing, jokes, and voice acting. The writing is very funny, inventive, and most surprising of all is that the three protagonists actually have a really interesting and strong character arcs throughout the shows 13 episodes. The jokes are funny and they even throw an occasional one for the adults watching but it’s nothing crude as this is a Disney show. Thirdly, and honestly this is no surprise since Disney isn’t a slouch when it comes to voice acting but it is top-notch with really big voice talents like Jim Cummings, Dee Bradley Baker, Grey Griffin, Wayne Knight, and of course Donald himself, Tony Anselmo. Everyone in this cast gives it their all and brings a lot of fun, heart, and even serious moments in the show.

I do have two minor grievances with the show. First the visuals, which are a mixed bag for me. Though it does look like a traditional animated show there small points in the animation that can be a bit stiff and not as lively as those in the new DuckTales. You can only see that stiffness every once in a while in the animation but it still bugged me a bit when I was watching it. Second, the choice to add April, May, and June, Daisy’s nieces to the show was a great idea. The execution however only made me wished they would have done something more with the characters. Even though I knew The Three Caballeros are the focus of the show it would have been nice to get to know these characters a bit better. We never get that though they just end up being girl versions of Donald’s nephews. Just to reiterate though these are two very small problems that I had with the show. None of these problems I mentioned mess with the very interesting story they are trying to tell.

The Legend of The Three Caballeros is a great addition to the Disney+ service. As of the writing of this review there isn’t any plans, at least none that I have heard of, to continue the series. Which is why this review is a complete series review. In the future though if they decide to continue I will review those as a separate season. Regardless of whether you’re a young Disney fan or an older one I would highly suggest this show. There are a few hiccups here and there but overall it doesn’t hinder the experience.

Series Review Score: A+

Clone Wars Season 7 – The Siege of Mandalore Part Two: The Phantom Apprentice: A NOW-stalgia on Disney+ Review

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Review by Joshua Jordan

(Warning: slight spoilers for the episode as well as the series if you haven’t finish it)

Trapped by Maul and his forces in the underground beneath Mandalore Ahsoka faces off with the former Sith Lord for the first time. Rex and the other Clones save Ahsoka after she finds out that Maul was trying to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin to Mandalore. During the rescue they are unable to capture Maul and he gets away. Ahsoka continues her pursuit of the former Sith while Maul himself kidnaps a Clone trying to learn more information about Ahsoka and starts preparing himself for the on-coming storm that about to sweep the Galaxy. Will Ahsoka catch Maul before his plans for her come to fruition?

You know that moment before a really bad storm hits? When the skies are dark grey or even black, the wind has picked up, and there might be a light rain. You can almost just feel the on-coming storm in your bones. That’s how I felt through this entire episode. You know what’s about to happen and you can just kind of feel it in your bones. It’s the anticipation that makes you both excited and a little scared for what’s to come.

Like the previous episode this week’s felt so very cinematic and the writing is just as impressive. I want to give a specific shout out to the Motion Capture they used with Ray Park. For anyone that doesn’t know Ray Park is a famous actor and stuntman that played Maul in Star Wars Episode One and Solo and he is known for his cray amazing martial arts skills. They used motion capture of Ray to get Maul’s movements just right and it really paid off. Though if I could make a small gripe there were tiny seconds of time where the animation looked a bit off from the visuals. Yet it didn’t distract too much from the episode it was just slight moments of weirdness.

Next Friday we will get part 3 of this 4 part arc but even better is that we don’t have to wait long for the finale as the last episode will premier three days later on May the 4th, which is Star Wars Day. I foresee the storm of Order 66 being in the next episode and a lot of sadness going forward but this excites me none the less.

Episode Review Score: A+

Big City Greens Season One and Amphibia Season One Review: NOW-stalgia on Disney+

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Review by Joshua Jordan
NOW-stalgia on Disney+ is all about reviewing modern animated shows that you can find on the Disney+ streaming service.

Big City Greens Season One (2018)

The Green Family are simple farm folk who are having a hard time. So much so that Bill Green decides to sell the farm and move in with his grandmother. Along for the ride is Bill’s two kids Cricket and Tilly. Cricket is a high energy, super confident, and at times a bit too selfish but lovable kid and living in the city is what he’s really excited about. In contrast is his younger sister Tilly, while Tilly shares a mischievous side with Cricket she is much calmer and is more inclined to follow the rules. Together The Green Family has some fun and wacky adventure as they learn to adapt to their new surroundings.

 In my opinion The Big City Greens is like an updated version of the classic television series, The Beverly Hillbillies mixed with character designs straight out of The Muppets. Not only is the character designs influenced by The Muppets but It’s humor is too, very smart, quirky, and imaginative. Another great thing but Big City Greens is the fact there is no season long narrative. Unlike shows like Gravity Falls or Big Hero 6 you can just kind of leave for a bit then come back to once you’re finished bingeing something else. It’s just a fun time as you watch and enjoy this family’s misadventures.

The only criticism I have is that of Cricket, while I don’t mind his character Cricket is very selfish which comes off as being a little of a jerk and almost being unlikable. Whether or not this is intentional by the writers or it’s just me but since he is the main character of the show and it can hurt my enjoyment of Cricket and be a little too much. These times however are few but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. Altogether The Big City Greens is very fun and can laugh out loud funny and a great show to jump in and out of between other shows you can watch on Disney+.

Review grade for season one: B+

Amphibia Season One (2019)

After Anne is peer pressured into stealing and opening a weird music box, she is transported to a new world filled with intelligent Frogs, Toads, Newts,etc along with dangerous giant insects and birds. It’s here that Anne meets Sprig, a young and super energetic frog whom she befriends. Together with Sprig’s Grandpa Hop Pop and his younger tadpole sister Polly, Anne tried to live in this beautiful yet dangerous world while trying to find a way back home.

Since Amphibia’s announcement I’ve been very interested in seeing what kind of show this would be. It turns out it has similar humor and mystery as Gravity Falls with an interesting and unique world like Adventure Time. The main cast is also very interesting and I like that the writers are taking their time to get the audience to care for them even if this slows the story down a bit near the middle of the season. Other than that I feel this series has really great potential and has a very satisfying end to season one.

Review grade for season one: B+

Liked these reviews? Then check out our others
Click here for my review of Milo Murphy’s Law and season one of Big Hero Six The Series.
Click here to start reading the episode by episode review of Star Wars The Clone Wars as they air on Disney+

Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 2 Review – Now-stalgia on Disney+

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Review by Joshua Jordan

“The search for truth begins with belief”

After the events at the end of episode one Anakin, Captain Rex, and The Bad Batch go to Skako Minor to see the source of where they believe The Separatist are getting their information from.

Episode two, titled “A Distant Echo” is a great continuation from episode one and builds on what was set up last week. Having a personal touch to the episode is what I really liked the most about it. Its hard to think of the Clones as nothing more than cannon fodder but the best thing about The Clone Wars is that by the end you really care for the Clones. Since The end game of the series is to hook up to Revenge of The Sith I liked that it took a moment to focus on Captain Rex and Anakin’s relationship as friends. Which may or may not play into the last arc of the series. Another pleasant surprise in this episode is that it took time to give us some more humor, which was a nice breather between the more action and dramatic scenes.

Lastly, I want to also compliment the animation again this time focusing on the facial expressions. They have come a long way since The Clones Wars Movie back in 2008 where they seemed kind of stiff. This episode showcases some of the subtlest of gestures from Anakin trying to tell Captain Rex something with is eyes to Obi-Wan not looking surprised at who Anakin is talking to in secret. All of this together makes a much more fluid and almost realistic way to connect to the characters. This story arc is really turning out to be a good one but the question is how does this tie in to the end? I guess we’ll just have to watch to find out.

Episode Review Score: A

Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 1 Review – Now-stalgia on Disney+

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Review by Joshua Jordan

(Spoiler Free)

Clone Wars is back with an impressive first episode of the last season. The title of the episode is The Bad Batch and introduces the viewers to Clone Force 99 aka The Bad Batch. They’re a group of mutated clones with abilities beyond that of normal clones. Their mission is to join Captain Rex and Commander Cody to find out why The Separatists keep countering all of Captain Rex’s Strategies. Can Rex and Cody work with a bunch of over the top mutated clones? And how are the Separatists getting their information?

The Bad Batch is a great start to the last season and I can’t wait to see how this arc ends and how it’s tied to the end of the series. In my opinion the two things that stood out were the animation and the voice work. First, the all-around presentation was gorgeous, especially the animation for the actions scenes. This is truly the best Clones Wars has ever looked. I loved a lot of the camera angles that they used which they would have never been able to do easily when the show first premiered. Second, the voice work on this episode is great since most of the characters are clones they are all voiced by the amazing Dee Bradley Baker. It consistently amazes me how he can voice each clone and give them the same voice while also making them sound distinct. 

This season of The Clone Wars seems to have a strong beginning with The Bad Batch and I can’t wait to see what else this arc has in store as well as the rest of the season.

Episode Review Score: A+

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