Pacific Rim: The Black, Spongebob: Sponge on the Run, and Bombay Rose reviews - Animation #15
Mike and Cameron are back with all the animation news that you want to hear, plus a discussion of the animated Oscar nominees and reviews of Spongebob: Sponge on the Run, Pacific Rim: The Black, and Bombay Rose! It’s a brand new episode of Renegade Animation! Check it out at the link below, and enjoy the episode!
First up, as Cameron mentioned in the podcast, there have been horrific tragedies facing the Asian American community in recent weeks, and we here at RPC want to show our support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as well as add our voices to the call to stop the violence and hatred against them. Please visit www.stopaapihate.org for more information on how you can help. Thank you!
Second, so much news of upcoming shows on the horizon! We have a bunch of Nickelodeon shows, including a new Transformers series, a new Smurfs animated series, the Rugrats CG reimagining, and, of course, the new Spongebob prequel series, Kamp Koral, and the Patrick Star show, among many others. In addition, there’s news of an animated series set in the Breaking Bad universe, and a King of the Hill reboot, in two of the more intriguing updates. We also have more info on Disney+’s Monsters At Work, a follow-up to Monsters Inc. and Monsters University (but following new characters), along with an animated version of Everybody Hates Chris, a reimagining of the live-action sitcom which ran from 2005 to 2008. Finally, in Dreamworks news, Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish is on the way in September 2022, and a new animated film entitled The Bad Guys, which follows a cadre of legendary criminals named Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark, and Ms. Tarantula as they embark on their most difficult mission yet: trying to turn good.
Wow, that was a lot of info! Thanks to our Guru and Captain for updating us on the new movies and series on the horizon, including the ones at SXSW! And I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the Academy Award nominations, which featured many excellent films and luminaries in the industry!
Now, on to the reviews, courtesy of our Captain!
Pacific Rim: The Black (Netflix)
“Pacific Rim: The Black is a good series, and frankly a better follow up to Guillermo Del Toro's original film than Uprising. In fact, turning this IP into an anime is rather fitting, considering how much the mecha genre has been an influence. By no means is it perfect, I'm still getting used to Polygon's 2D/3D hybrid animation, and some of the dialogue can get pretty clunky. But the story is at least interesting enough that I want to see what direction future seasons take.” - The Captain
Spongebob: Sponge on the Run (VOD, Paramount+)
“Look, if I may be completely honest, part of the reason I didn't love this movie nearly as much as the previous two, despite this having some of the best animation in the entire franchise, is because its long delay might have deflated any excitement I once had. Not only that, but the story almost feels like a rehash of similar story beats from the series' history, remixed with a random barrage of celebrity guests. That's not to say it was all bad, I particularly enjoyed seeing Keanu Reeves play the wise Sage who guides our heroes along their journey. The voice cast has been consistently great across all three films, but I think this might be Roger Bumpass's best performance as Squidward. One particular point I'll say for now is that the third act feels rather inconsistent with the rest of the film, and would have made more sense had they retained the original title "It's a Wonderful Sponge." Sponge on the Run is a good movie, it's just not quite on the level of the previous entries.” - The Captain
Bombay Rose (Netflix)
“The film follows an orphan boy named Salim, who lost his parents in the war and is now struggling through life alone. One day he meets the young flower seller Kamala at a market in the exciting city of Bombay and she falls for him, but she is Hindu and he is Muslim. If nothing else, this is an incredibly beautiful film from an animation standpoint. In many ways, the art style reminds me a lot of Loving Vincent, and I just love seeing filmmakers continue to push the envelope for 2D animation. Admittedly, it took me a while to really get hooked into the story, as this felt more episodic than I was expecting. Still, I appreciated the slice of life approach to exploring these characters and the culture in this bustling Indian metropolis. Bombay cinema is a rather large blindspot, but after watching this film, I am very interesting in filling that gap.“ - The Captain
That’s all we have for this week! Stay tooned for more animation news and views from the Guru and Captain here at RPC! Be safe out there until we meet again, Renegades!
