Plankton Living Large With Savage Witches - Renegade Animation #175
In this episode, Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru discuss the first 3 episodes of a new Spring anime, Witch Watch, Plankton: the Movie, and 2 titles from this year's New York International Children's Film Festival, Living Large, and Savages!
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, alongside my esteemed co-host, the Animation Guru! We are excited to share this episode with you all, as it’s another great example of the variety that the world of animation has to offer. So without any further ado, please tune into the podcast to hear the full discussion!
Witch Watch: Watch Party
For a second week in a row, we are getting ahead of the Spring 2025 anime season, thanks to GKids packaging the first three episodes of Witch Watch on the big screen for a limited theatrical release. And if I’m being honest, this has now set my expectations for the rest of the romcoms premiering this season. It’s a fun, quirky little slice of life with some fantasy elements, charming characters, and an intriguing overarching mystery established in the second episode.
“Witch Watch: Watch Party is a three episode compilation experience that works out better than our last encounter that delivers solid laughs and a fun premise of witches, magic, and slice of life shenanigans.“ -The Animation Guru
Plankton: the Movie
I’m only half joking when I say that this movie is a better musical than Walt Disney Animation Studio’s last couple attempts, but I don’t need to tear down another studio just to praise the wonderful contributions of Bret McKenzie, Linda Perry, and Mark & Bob Mothersbaugh. I understand that expectations following The Sandy Cheeks Movie hit the floor, but I genuinely think Plankton: the Movie is the best SpongeBob movie since 2015’s Sponge Out of Water. A lot of that credit belongs to Mr. Lawrence, voice of the titular character and one of the screenwriters who came up with the story. This guy knows comedy like the back of his hand, and taps into what made the first 4 seasons of the show so beloved.
“While it still doesn’t deliver on the heights of the first two movies, Plankton: the Movie is the closest to do so with its solid amount of heart, laughs, solid cgi animation, and feeling more akin to the earlier period of the long running show.“ -The Animation Guru
Living Large
On the surface, this is a pretty standard coming of age story, with all the tropes and clichés that are par for the course with this genre. However, it’s the details in between that make Living Large something special. Whether we’re talking about the unique character designs, great use of mixed media that combines stop motion animation with the occasional bursts of 2D animated sequences, or the eclectic soundtrack, these are the ingredients that help the movie stand out!
“It might not reinvent the wheel of coming of age teen stories, but it executes it well enough with telling a charming story of finding confidence in one’s self with some great stop motion animation.“ -The Animation Guru
Savages
One of these days, I promise to circle back to Claude Barras’s feature film debut, My Life as a Zucchini, because I was thoroughly impressed with this follow up! Savages is my favorite type of family film, one that doesn’t talk down to children, and tells a meaningful story through their eyes. Deforestation continues to be a major issue in the world, and this movie addresses that gracefully, while also giving us endearing characters, gorgeous animation, and a story about reconnecting with family. This one comes highly recommended!
“The only savages here are the logging companies destroying our natural forests for the sake of palm oil and profit. Savages is beautiful and poignant story of humans delicate dance with nature and how w must work hard to preserve them and our connections with it.“ -The Animation Guru
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you all for joining us! We have provided a link to several GoFundMe pages in support of those affected by the 2025 Wildfires in LA. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10gvOxituYvxxknoY9IQa-YEqfK8WvCjcLBcg4hsmME4/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0
