Attention Star Wars Fans! Today the new Star Wars animated series has been announced for Disney+. Titled Star Wars the Bad Batch, it will follow the titular characters as they deal with the aftermath of The Clone Wars. The Bad Batch will be executive produced by Dave Filoni and other veterans of the previous Star Wars animated series.
The Bad Batch aka Clone Force 99 is a squad of super-enhanced clones introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars. The squad includes Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and their latest member Echo. Each member of the Bad Batch has desirable mutations that allow them to excel at different jobs and working together they make a formidable squad.
My Thoughts
I think this show has a lot of promise and deals with a side of The Clone Wars that I don’t think we’ve ever really explored before: What happened to the Clones after Order 66? Since the start of The Clone Wars series, this has been a question that I keep thinking about. While we got an answer for Rex, Wolf, and Gregger when they appeared in Star Wars Rebels but it didn’t answer what happened to all of them. With this series though we get to make a laser focus on the clones and maybe we get to see how they were affected by the changing galaxy and Order 66. I can’t wait till it premieres next year on Disney+. Stay tuned to this site for more updates on this upcoming series!
For 800 years The Ninja has protected Norrisville. Unbeknownst to the citizens every four years the mantle of The Ninja is passed to a new person, which is ninth-grader, Randy Cunningham. Now he must learn how to use his ninja powers to protect his city from an ancient evil.
The Positives
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja has several things going for it; a unique look, a great voice cast, and some truly funny jokes. The unique look of the cartoon is mostly credited to Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim. Jhonen’s design style is very unique which makes Randy Cunningham stand out from most cartoons out there. Another point in its favor is the voice cast, which is stellar. The cast includes Randy himself voiced by Ben Schwartz of Parks and Rec fame, John DiMaggio from Adventure Time and Futurama, Kevin Michael Richardson from Teen Titans and Green Lantern the animated series, and of course, Tim Curry of Home Alone 2 and Clue fame plays the main villain (even though he only does it for the first season). Because of the pedigree of voice actors, the cartoon never feels dull or that comes from the actors are phoning it in. In fact, it seemed that the voice cast had fun with their characters especially Ben Schwartz. Finally in a world where cartoons and animated films seem only to rely on fart jokes Randy Cunningham also does. Though every once in a while the show can have some really funny jokes which made me laugh that wasn’t fart related. These would usually come from Randy and his pal Howard which is important cause it made you like the characters. I also want to make an honorable mention to another weird but fun part of the cartoon which is the unique sayings they have throughout. These include everything being Bruce or calling people a shoob. I like that they added their own kind of popular language to the characters. It gives the world a special feel even if it’s a bit confusing at times what they actually mean.
The Negatives
While Randy Cunningham is an interesting take on the high schooler hero genre unfortunately it isn’t the best example of it. Many shows have come before it and done a similar story better like Kim Possible and Danny Phantom. This doesn’t make it a bad show by any means just a show that had a lot of potential but never used it correctly. Most of my problems with the show stem from there not being any real character growth. Every episode of the series sees Randy learning a lesson but you never see him grow as a character. Likewise the show puts forth a lot of great questions that if answered would elevate the show quality wise while building the world but they never really answer those questions they just kind of leave it hanging. Some of these questions include: why was Randy chosen as The Ninja? Why is McFist, one of the villains of the story after The Ninja when he already owns the town for the most part? Where are Randy’s parents? I believe if they would have answered some of these questions and given the characters some growth through the series it might have made this a classic. Unfortunately, it just falls short of that and with some other classic shows doing it better it can come off as forgettable.
Final Thoughts
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja has a lot of things going for it; a great voice cast, interesting ideas, and a unique animation style. Despite these great things the show falls short due to its lack of character development and world-building. By no means is it a bad show and I say check it out on Disney+ if you get the chance. Just know that it’s not as good as it could be compared to other shows that have come before it and use the teenage superhero trope better.
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.
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+
