Tag: superheroes

TV show

“The PowerPuff Girls” Theory: Is King Morbucks Afraid of His Daughter, Princess?

Sunayna Prasad

This focuses on the original series of “The PowerPuff Girls”, starting in the 90’s and until 2009. Other adaptations won’t be included since I am not familiar with them, nor do I really want to be.

Anyway, for those who’ve watched a big portion or all of the show, we know that Princess Morbucks is not only one of the villains, but a huge spoiled little girl. She brags when things go her way and throws tantrums when they don’t. Her dad plays a big role in giving her whatever she wants and whenever she desires them. He even bought her the mayor’s office in the episode where she legalized crime, probably because Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup would not let her be a PowerPuff girl.

In another scene, Princess screams for a glass of water, and her father holds her hand and walks with her as she thanks him. However, if anything happens to his stuff, he will ground Princess for a long time.

In the Christmas special, when Princess and the PowerPuff girls are at the North Pole with Santa, Princess throws a tantrum about how her daddy says she gets whatever she wants and whenever she wants. But I am wondering if he really chooses to spoil her.

Except for that brief parade of villains in a certain episode that I don’t recall the name or plot of, King Morbucks’s face is never shown. I also don’t think he gets any spoken lines. However, I can get a glimpse of his personality where he isn’t too enthusiastic, but rather the opposite. Of course, I could be wrong.

Yet, from what I notice, he doesn’t seem anything like Rancid (an uncle who has a spoiled niece) in “Very CatDog Christmas” or Mr. or Mrs. Salt in either “Willy Wonka” film adaptation. Although the audience doesn’t get much of King Morbucks’s traits, he seems exhausted and likely stressed. That is why I wonder if he gives Princess what she wishes for because he fears her, kind of like how Vicky’s parents are afraid of her in “The Fairly OddParents.”

I will confess, though, that while I did see a lot of episodes of “The PowerPuff Girls”, I didn’t see too many post-2004 ones. So, the reason King Morbucks spoils his child could be explained in a later episode. But I am not sure.

Do you support this theory?

movie

It’s the Endgame of Avengers as We Know it (2019)

Sunayna Prasad

Twenty-three days have passed since Thanos wiped out the world’s population. The remaining Avengers get together to figure out how to fix the problem. The final idea is to go back in time to stop Thanos from succeeding.

The group tests the time machine until it works. They have to go to different years and different times. Of course, things go wrong while the people are in the past.

I found this film to be interesting, despite never being a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan. One scene I thought was funny was the one where the remaining people are testing the time machine and Scott, one of the guys, was their guinea pig. He became a child, old man, baby, and then returned to his actual age. It reminded me of that “Codename: Kids Next Door” episode where the delightful children had a special device that made one age forward or backwards.

It was three hours long. Although it was recommended that people not go to the bathroom during the movie, I actually had to. But I didn’t miss much.

Anyway, some scenes were amazing, some were intense, and a few were sad. Except for the time-machine experimenting moment, I didn’t get super-passionate about a lot of the story. And it’s probably because I’m not a big superhero movie fan.

I would rate this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. I would still recommend it, though.

TV show

Here They Come Just in Time: “The PowerPuff Girls” Top 3 Memorable Episodes

Sunayna Prasad

This show was my biggest favorite when I was 7. There’s a reboot now, but I like the old series better.

I have not seen much of the series in years, except for the Christmas special. But that’s another post, plus it’s off-season.

Anyway, these are the top 3 memorable episodes of “The PowerPuff Girls”. This does not include the reboot. I have not watched that, nor do I want to.

Note, these are not necessarily my favorite episodes—just ones that stand out to me.

3: The episode where Blossom has ice powers

Poor Blossom gets scolded for her ice breath, despite the boiling sun. Bubbles and Buttercup dislike her ice powers. Blossom has to promise not to use it, except when necessary. Even at school, when Ms. Keane demands everybody goes outside, Blossom has to resist the urge to use her ice breath.

Although Blossom is very bright, I felt sorry for her when her sisters put her down for her ice powers (I believe Buttercup called Blossom “Ice Princess” as an insult). This is, I think, the only episode where Blossom has ice breath.

2: The episode with Cooties

A girl in the PPG’s class panics when a boy has saliva all over his mouth and tries to kiss her. Even the PowerPuff Girls have nightmares about that kid giving them cooties. In the dream, several little clones of that child pop out of their skin.

As a little kid, it meant nothing to me. But now, as an adult, I find this offensive. I don’t think I’d voluntarily watch that episode now.

1: The episode where Bubbles keeps animals in the house

This I remember better than the others I listed. Bubbles has animals inside the house. The professor states that the animals need to be free and not locked up inside a closet. Later Bubbles has a whale because it won’t fit in a closet. But the whale gets dried up and even makes a noise. Bubbles, as her not-very-wise self, just gives it a glass of water. Of course, that’s not enough. At some point, Bubbles learns the lesson and frees the animals from the Townsville Zoo (and doesn’t get arrested).

I adored Bubbles’ little rhyme, “They’re Mr. and Mrs. Squeakers, inside your sneakers” to the professor. I think I’d like this episode now.

While I said these are the top 3 memorable episodes, I do have a bonus.

Drumroll…

Bonus: The birthday party episode

It’s the PPG’s birthday and many Townsville residents are invited. The girls are desperate to open their presents. They even use X-ray vision to see inside their gifts. However, the professor stops them and says that they can open their presents after cake.

The PowerPuff Girls are so rushed that Bubbles won’t let the guests sing “Happy Birthday”. The professor gives them the cake, which they blow away. Regardless of his request to eat the cake before they can open their presents, the professor seems to give his daughters a free pass to open their gifts. However, a few presents come from the villains and endanger the girls. I do admire the dolls that resembled the girls, though, and Princess Morbucks telling one of the other bad guys, “You gave them dolls?”

Well, that’s it. Do you have any memorable moments of “The PowerPuff Girls” you want to share?

movie

He is the God of Thunder, from the Planet, Asgard – Let’s Review “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)

Sunayna Prasad

Warning: Contains spoilers***

I’ve never been a superhero fan, regardless of brand or characters. I saw “Thor Ragnarok” at a birthday party a little over a year ago. It turned out better than I thought. However, I will say that I didn’t love it.

The film starts with Thor is some underworld environment. He then joins his father and brother. Thor discovers that the planet, Asgard, is in danger. In fact, an evil woman, named Hela, gains so much power and puts the whole planet in danger as she becomes a tyrant.

Thor is whisked away to another planet, where there are messed up beings and cannibals. Thor is imprisoned somewhere. Not long after, his hair is cut and he has to fight the Hulk in a stadium. Meanwhile, Asgard is falling apart. It takes time for Thor to get others to trust him and try to save his planet.

Unfortunately, the planet is pretty much destroyed once Thor arrives. The people there have to move to Earth.

The film was interesting. I will admit that. But I found some things disappointing, like when Thor had his long hair chopped off (I actually have a super-painful memory of me experiencing my hair chopped off years ago) as well as his eye removed. I felt sorry for Thor’s hair to be cut and right after that, the crowd booing at him. At least the scissors guy let Thor keep his beard. As for the eye, something satisfying happened in the “Avengers” film with all the Marvel characters (I won’t say what, though).

Hela was so evil. She was not only unlikable to the point that I couldn’t even have just the tiniest amount of sympathy for her, but she also wasn’t really believable . She just abused her power. Maybe she has a tragic backstory and wasn’t always evil. But pure evil villains are too stereotypical and even lazy.

Thor’s brother wasn’t too likable, either. The ruler of the planet (played by Jeff Goldblum) or the Grandmaster, was wicked in a special way. He was calm and acted more positively. I think that’s more creative than the approach to developing Hela.

The ending was disappointing too. I know this is an installment, but still. It could have been at least a little more satisfying. Will things turn around later?

I would rate “Thor Ragnarok” 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was engaging. I will also admit that many parts were funny. Just a few things didn’t really work out for me.

TV show

“We’re Here to Fight Crime!” It’s “The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas” – Review (2003)

Sunayna Prasad

Warning: Contains Spoilers***

I first saw this special last year, when one of my friends wanted to play it at my birthday party. It kept me curious and engaged. I usually don’t review individual TV show specials. But for the holiday season, I will. And this is the first.

Townsville is getting ready for Christmas, which is in two days. The children at the Powerpuff girls’ school, including the girls themselves, are getting into the Christmas spirit. Princess Morbucks is her usual spoiled self. The Powerpuff girls put her down for all the terrible things she’s done. Princess Morbucks gets angry and asks her servants if they think she’s naughty. But they won’t answer. Desperate for her wish to become a powerpuff girl, Princess Morbucks sneaks into the north pole and discovers that she is on the naughty list. And she’s the only one. So she alters the list titles, making herself “nice” and everyone else “naughty”.

Bubbles wakes up to discover coal in her stocking as well as Blossom and Buttercup’s and the other people on their street. Blossom and Buttercup give Bubbles a hard time about looking through the neighbors’ stockings. Then Princess Morbucks shows up as a powerpuff girl. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup chase her to the north pole. Santa feels upset that everyone, except Princess Morbucks, has been naughty, according to his list. The Powerpuff girls try to tell Santa that this whole mess was an error. Princess Morbucks brags about being nice. However, she gets so out of hand that Santa realizes that she has been so spoiled and bratty. He puts her on the permanent naughty board. Princess Morbucks flies away, but Santa presses his nose, and Princess Morbucks’s powers are removed.

Santa wants to give all the kids who’ve been good for Christmas their gifts. But there is chaos outside with the elves and reindeer. So, instead, the Powerpuff girls deliver the gifts. They return home by dawn, tired. But the professor wakes them up and then they have fun with their gifts.

After not seeing “The Powerpuff Girls” in several years, I found this to be refreshing and cute as well as a great way to catch up with the show’s premise and characters. This is one of those kids’ shows that was an easy watch.

The way the show brings on the Christmas spirit was done well. That being said, it seems that everyone in the PPG universe celebrates Christmas. No signs of anyone celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanza, or any other holidays. I thought that was a bit inconsiderate to those who don’t celebrate Christmas in real life. I know a lot of people who don’t.

Also, it seems that the whole planet in the PPG universe is on the same time zone. That sounds confusing as the world in real life lives on different time zones, because… we should all know why. And the PPG girls is set in the US (I don’t know what state, though).

However, when the Powerpuff girls are chasing Princess Morbucks while she’s on her way to the north pole, they seemed to have left the southern hemisphere. That’s an inconsistency, unless there’s a secret made-up state south of the equator in the PPG universe.

Another inconsistency is that another villain, Mojo Jojo, was apparently on the nice list when preparing for Christmas. Um, hello? He’s evil too. Shouldn’t he and all the other villains have been on the naughty list too? Princess Morbucks shouldn’t have been the only one just for plot convenience. In fact, it seems unbelievable that she was the only naughty being in the entire world.

But now onto the strengths. The ending of how the Powerpuff girls delivered the presents was very well-thought out. The moment where the professor and the girls are trying to get the tree lights to work was clever. I also supported how Blossom and Buttercup put Bubbles down for using her X-ray vision to see through other peoples’ stockings. I considered that very wrong for Bubbles before her sisters scolded her for that.

Despite some of the confusing flaws and inconsistencies typical for cartoons like this one, I would rate this TV show special 5 out of 5 stars.

movie

It’s a Whole Review of Superheroes-for “The Incredibles 2” (2018)

Sunayna Prasad

Warning: contains spoilers***

 

After fourteen years of little to no hints to a sequel, we finally got it. The same family of superheroes returned to the silver screen. And the beginning picks up from where the first movie ended.

Well, sort of. It starts of with Violet’s crush, Tony. He is being questioned for noticing Violet as a superhero. His memories get wiped.

A few disasters happen. The Parr children are asked to stay behind while the parents fight. The kids don’t listen, though. The disasters destroy the Parrs’ home.

Superheroes are illegal. The Parrs stay in a motel. Helen is offered a chance to make supers legal again. She leaves the family to help make that happen.

Meanwhile, Bob and the children stay in a luxury mansion. Violet deals with romance problems. Dash struggles with math. Bob struggles to watch the kids as they overwhelm him. Jack-Jack reveals that he has more superpowers.

Although the film was very engaging, I will admit that the plot was hard to follow. There were a lot of lights flashing (which can be a bit much for me), action, and fighting.

On the bright note, there were a lot of moments I enjoyed. Jack-Jack seemed to have a lot of screen time and play more of a major role than in the first film from 2004. The moments of how he handled cookies was cute and hilarious.

I was also surprised how Evelyn turned out to be the villain instead of her husband, Winston. I thought it was going to be Winston due to all the hints. But hey, story twists do make the plots less predictable.

I also admired how Bob struggled to look after the kids. The scenes where he helped Dash with his math homework were funny. Dash couldn’t pronounce the word, decimals. The math problems were done pretty well, too.

Overall, I would rate the film 4.5 out of 5 stars. Except for the excessive lights flashing, the movie caught my interest.

 

 

movie

He… is… Lego Batman! Every Hero Needs a Super Review

Sunayna Prasad

I was going to see “A Dog’s Purpose” with a friend, but it was sold out. So we had to pick another movie promptly. My friend let me pick the film. So I chose “The Lego Batman Movie”.

The film starts out with a typical Batman vs. Joker scenario. Not long after, Batman longs for a family. He meets an enthusiastic orphan named Dick Grayson. He is excited to call Batman his dad, which Batman doesn’t want. So Grayson calls him, “Padre”. Their collaboration grows into a bond. Alfred the butler and Barbara Gordon also join.

I enjoyed the movie and thought it was sweet with the importance of family and working together. There was a moment, though, where there was no conflict for a few minutes or so. If I hadn’t been with a friend, I would have walked out of the theatre. But I’m glad I stayed because the conflict grew stronger as the movie progressed.

I was also surprised that the enthusiastic kid turned out to be Robin. I have heard that Robin is usually similar to Batman with his personality. He is also usually not Batman’s son—just a sidekick.

Another aspect I didn’t expect were the villains in the sky area that came from other movies, such as the terminators, wicked witch of the west, and Voldemort. Voldemort used the levitating spell rather than an unforgivable curse. Maybe J.K. Rowling or the Harry Potter movie producers wouldn’t let them.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie very much. Although I was never a fan of Batman, I would give this film 5 out of 5 stars.