- Howdy! How ya goin?
So I wanted to do something casual
and look over five Netflix cartoons from 2018
that I've happened to be watching recently,
and that...
I have good and bad thoughts on.
And since none of these cartoons really fit into
any best or worst or darkest cartoon list,
which is most of what I do nowadays,
I figured I'd just talk about 'em here.
Anyway, let's review 5 Modern Netflix Cartoons!
Also, I've moved my studio out to the lounge room
just because it gets so hot in my house
and I'm really tired of looking sweaty on camera
over all these years, so...
That's the only reason I'm out here at the moment.
Anyway, onto the...
sort-of countdown?
Kind of a countdown.
Let's just go.
Number five.
Big Mouth: Season 2.
- [ANDREWS] (echoing) Guilty! Guilty!
- Andrew, stop judging yourself!
- [ANDREWS] Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! - Nooooo...
- Big Mouth: Season 2 is all about self-acceptance,
and I really like that.
And while there are some truly beautiful moments to Season 2,
it still has its share of
not-so-good, cringeworthy moments in there
that I don't know if everyone will tolerate.
The worst part of Season 2 for me
was actually one of the main characters, Nick.
I really ended up hating Nick
because he becomes such a selfish little twerp,
using this young lady, Gina, like an object,
and it's really cringeworthy.
I'm not saying this isn't a realistic scenario.
In fact, I realized while writing this
that it reminded me too much of my teenage years
and how angry and frustrated I would get
at seeing men treat women like objects at that age.
It's just... bleugh!
I really enjoyed the personal stories
of characters like Jessi, Coach Steve,
Missy, and Gina.
And Jay, for that matter,
who comes to terms with being bisexual,
which is cool!
- Well, then!
- In your face, Matthew!
Whoo, haha!
Jay! Jay! Jay!
- I really like the other main character, though, Andrew.
And he's really jumped ahead in terms of emotional maturity this season.
- Mm, I love it when she talks dork-dirty.
- If I were to speak from the heart, Missy,
it was the most I ever made--
- Alright!
As we look at him coming to terms
with what I think is one of the toughest things
we ever face in puberty.
We choose what...
gratifies us
about as much as we choose the color of our skin,
and Andrew shows us his struggle
to come to terms with what gratifies him,
and how it conflicts with his own self-esteem
as he finds himself deeply enthralled
and having a hell of a time
in a physical relationship with Lola.
- ...against a rough denim pant!
- But wasn't I about to break up with her--?
- Yeah, yeah, right, right, right.
Let's stay focused--
- Need a little pick-me-up, friend?
- But he doesn't necessarily feel
emotionally or morally attracted to her,
and he's kinda gotta come to terms
with what the best thing to do is there.
On the subject of Lola,
it was also nice to see
she was encouraged out of
her toxic relationship with Devin.
- Lola?
- Unfriend! - What...
- Unfollow! - do you think...
- Block!
- you're doing?
- Unsubscribe!
- From my makeup tutorials?!
- I hate how you say, "Hey guys!"
when you know I'm the only one
watching your stupid makeup tutorials! - Oh--
- [STRIDER] The Hormone Monster's his usual
hedonistic, charming self,
and the Hormone Monstress
is just as sassy and awesome as last season.
There's also a really interesting,
informative episode on contraception,
and it not only taught me something,
but it was one of Big Mouth's better episodes!
Most importantly to me, though,
behind all the brashness and grossout jokes,
there's still such a good spirit behind this show,
and I really appreciate that.
There's still plenty of cringe,
and if you didn't like the first season,
you probably won't like the second.
But overall,
I enjoyed Big Mouth: Season 2,
and I certainly found it worth giving one watch.
And for number four...
Hilda.
Hilda's a very gentle cartoon.
It reminds me of a cross between
Gravity Falls and Steven Universe,
while generally kind of appealing to women.
It's basically about
a fairly fearless young lady named Hilda,
and she and her mum decide to move
from the forest to the big city.
- I've never seen a proper parade before.
- You might find the city more fun than you think.
- [STRIDER] And much of the rest of the series,
from basically episode three onwards,
is watching her adapt to the city
and society in general.
I kind of felt like it followed
the weird trend of the magical girl anime genre?
You basically have a girl not quite of this world
who wows everyone with her weird way of thinking.
(Hilda grunting) - Vents are so much bigger in films.
(creaking)
(dust falling)
- I've got an idea.
- I watched about half of this series,
and I actually liked it most
'til, like, the third or fourth episode?
Which is weird,
because it did at that point
exactly what I thought it would do
and wanted it to do.
It took this country bumpkin girl Hilda
and put her in the big city,
which is what I thought I wanted,
but when I looked back,
I actually preferred her in the forest
because the forest was so much more interesting.
It was such a more beautiful fantasy setting.
The first three episodes particularly
have this more dreamlike feel to them.
It's very nature, and fantasy, and unknown, and...
I really like the feel to that.
- [JORGEN] The way the horizon looked.
The position of the river.
(inhales)
The way the air smells.
- [STRIDER] To me, the forest fantasy setting
is just so much more interesting
than the grey concrete jungle of the city.
There's nothing wrong with the city,
but we've just seen that setting so many times.
I feel like I've seen
the young, quirky girl adapting to school life
so many times over the years.
It just...
It's not as interesting as a forest!
Go back to the forest!
But more importantly,
the animation is still gorgeously gentle to look upon,
and they still manage to instill
that element of fantasy into the city.
For example,
in one episode, Hilda's dreams are
intercepted by a nightmare spirit,
and she and her friends have to hunt it down.
- I'm trying to help David get over his fears.
You're just making them worse.
- [STRIDER] Overall, I definitely recommend this Netflix cartoon,
though I personally would have really liked
to have seen more of the forest.
Number three...
She-Ra.
(theme music)
Just a note: I haven't seen
the original He-Man or She-Ra,
so I may be missing some really important points
on how they're similar.
I've enjoyed She-Ra so far,
but it's hard to define.
It feels like it's HEAVILY inspired
by Avatar and Legend of Korra,
but it's a fair way off
the sophistication level of Korra or Avatar.
The animation budget's a lot lower,
but I still like it,
and I like what it's trying to do.
It stars a young lass named Adora
who was originally part of the Evil Horde.
- Shadow Weaver.
- You have done well.
- [STRIDER] But then joins a rebellion
after gaining the magic sword
that turns her into She-Ra.
What I do like about Adora, though,
is she feels multi-layered and real.
- I'm still figuring out how all of this stuff works.
- [STRIDER] It felt like there was
a lot of the female perspective in this cartoon.
- Honor of Grayskull. Blah blah blah.
(horse snorts and whinnies)
- [STRIDER] Adora doesn't always like
to fit the feminine roles,
but she also feels fine
to indulge in the feminine roles sometimes, too,
because she enjoys them.
It doesn't mean that defines her,
but that's something she enjoys.
It's interesting because
you can look at She-Ra
and see how it's generally trying
to appeal to the female demographic.
It's got a gentler color scheme,
it's generally got a lot more stuff
like balls and that sort of thing.
And it's more about people working together.
- We're clearly stronger together.
Think what all the princesses united could do.
- [STRIDER] It has a lot more general empathy
between the characters.
Everyone feels like they have some relatability.
But it just doesn't quite mesh for me.
I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on She-Ra.
I get the impression there would be a lot of people
who really like this one,
and a lot of people who...
really don't like it.
If you've seen She-Ra yourself,
I'd love to know your thoughts.
Feel free to leave them in the comments below.
Number two...
Disenchantment.
- I can get married,
or I can die.
This should be a harder decision.
Just a note, I haven't watched up to episode 12 yet
and I've heard it gets a lot better around that point,
so it may be the new seasons are much better.
But I'm really tired
of the Lord Of The Rings fantasy setting!
Oh, god, I'm tired of it!
The Middle Ages is not interesting to me.
We get it. It sucked.
And Disenchantment is just like a testament
to how bored I am
of the stupid Middle Ages setting.
It feels like so many shows have done it,
and so often they're just pointing out
how crappy it was back then.
Maybe that's because I grew up with Dungeons & Dragons
and Neverwinter Nights
and all these other games, but...
I just can't stand that setting anymore!
While Disenchantment certainly isn't terrible,
I think it left a lot of people disappointed,
and it'll explain my personal reasons
that it didn't quite connect with me.
Many people know it was created by Matt Groening,
the creator of Simpsons and Futurama,
so I think a lot of us set
our bar of expectations really high.
Unfortunately,
95% of the jokes didn't even make me crack a smile.
I think that's partially, though,
because Princess Bean just feels so stereotypical
and unlikable to me.
- As Merkimer's fiancée,
I'd like to say a few words.
Let's head back.
- [STRIDER] She's a princess
and she clearly has the best life
of anyone in the Middle Ages.
Yet she's constantly complaining about everything.
It's fine to have a princess who
"wants something more",
but we've been seeing
the princess who wants something more
for 30 to 75 years now from Disney.
It's a great formula,
but JEEBUS!
You've gotta do something different with it!
- All this wedding hassle
for a stupid political alliance?
I thought that I'd get married for true love
or because I was wasted.
- [STRIDER] A princess who doesn't want to act like a princess.
That's so done.
I would actually prefer a character
like Adora from She-Ra,
because she feels real!
Yes, Adora doesn't always
meet the traditional female roles,
but also really enjoys times
where she can indulge in being feminine.
Because, from my limited understanding anyway,
a lot of women like a combination
of feminine and non-feminine,
because they're human beings.
Weirdly enough,
I feel like Matt Groening
could learn a lot about female character development
from Hilda,
She-Ra, and Legend of Korra,
and Avatar.
I'm not saying this cartoon's terrible.
In fact, it's perfectly serviceable.
(sneezes)
But I think we all recognize
how much potential Disenchantment had.
The budget is clearly there
when you look at the animation,
but the writing has just been done so many times.
But as I said,
I've heard the show improved significantly
by the end of the season,
so Season 2 might be a lot better.
And the number one cartoon on Netflix
that is modern,
that I feel like reviewing, is...
Super Drags.
It's, well, it's, uh...
- I assembled a select group of lady-boys
with ah-mazing skills.
- [STRIDER] I'm glad to live in a world where it can exist?
And regardless of whether I like it or not,
that doesn't matter,
because I'm not the target audience.
But interestingly,
I've actually heard from some LGBT communities
that they find it quite an insulting show,
and that's certainly understandable when you look at it.
Some take it with a laugh.
But understandably,
some find it too over-the-top,
and think it further alienates
LGBT communities from popular culture.
A lot of Super Drags feels about indulgence,
and I don't think that's a bad thing.
They can be silly and crazy
with some really good moral messages buried underneath.
Sometimes a cartoon
can just be a tongue-in-cheek romp
with some gay coworkers posing as superheroes.
As other reviewers have said,
it starts off seeming like just a campy drag show,
but as we get further in,
we get closer examinations
on topics like conversion therapy,
self-esteem, child abuse,
and even closeted religious leaders.
And unlike Family Guy,
they're not just spitting on these topics,
not even thinking about them.
Similar to Big Mouth,
they're treating these topics with care and honesty,
and when treated with love and care,
and jeebus forbid from the perspective of
someone who's actually been through them,
these topics are definitely worth talking about
in modern society,
and I'm glad we have Super Drags so it can.
Now, don't get me wrong.
Super Drags can be gross,
and it can be super campy.
But I think when you hear the title "Super Drags",
you get a reasonable idea of what you're in for.
I can't personally say I like this show.
Obviously, they're frat boy jokes.
They're not sophisticated.
Though I think sophisticated
is the last thing this show is trying to be.
With Super Drags,
you'll know within half an episode
if you'll be able to tolerate the grossout
for the tongue-in-cheek,
sometimes insightful comedy.
I personally can't recommend this cartoon,
but I'm glad it exists.
Well, thanks for tuning in for this review.
Looking back on 2018,
I feel it's been a good year overall for animation,
much of which is thanks to streaming.
I love this new experimentation in animation era.
We don't have to like all these cartoons,
but thank jeebus we're in a world they can exist.
Come on, let's keep exploring.
Encourage this weird stuff.
We don't want the same stuff over and over.
Anyway, I'll be trying to read
as many of the comments as I can,
so if you have any thoughts on these shows,
I would love to hear them.
Anyway, thanks for watching,
and I'll see you next time.
And thanks as well for your support in 2018.
Even after years,
this is all still pretty surreal to me,
and to still be able to do this for a living
is just amazing to me,
and I'm so grateful.
So, thanks for listening to this weirdo
talk about animation for a while.