by Emily Nagle
Happy National Video Games Day from Don’t Tell Netflix! This day celebrates all things video games, from the history of it and how far they’ve come to celebrating video games as an activity, and how they can be relaxing and fun as well as bringing people together.
Gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world, raking in hundreds of billions of dollars each year (and with the ongoing pandemic, these numbers have only been going up!). The video game industry has flourished, branching out to include not just games, but also related media such as movies, television shows, and comics.
Last week, I talked a bit about the first-ever television adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog for its broadcast anniversary. Today, in honor of this special day (which I think should be a national holiday!), I’m going to rattle off my top 3 favorite television adaptations of video games.
Donkey Kong Country
Based on Nintendo’s iconic gorilla character that originated in 1981 with the Donkey Kong arcade game, “Donkey Kong Country” is a late 90s animated musical series that travels to a new setting to expand on the character. Set on Kongo Bongo Island, it follows Donkey Kong as he protects the Crystal Coconut from the evil King K. Rool and his minions.
As one of the first television shows to be animated entirely via motion-capture technology, “Donkey Kong Country” was a pioneer in the field of animation. In fact, when its producers submitted it for consideration in the 1999 Emmys, it was turned down because the TV academy ruled that the motion capture disqualified it from counting as animation (times have since changed, as two of the nominees for Best Animated Feature at the 2006 Emmys were motion-capture).
My favorite part of the series is its soundtrack. Each episode features two original songs, and some of them are actually pretty catchy!
Sonic X
“Sonic X” was the fourth television series based on Sonic; outside of the games, it served as a popular introduction to Sonic for many kids around the world. It zaps Sonic and friends to a parallel universe filled with humans, where Sonic teams up with 12-year-old Chris Thorndyke to find their way back home and stop Dr. Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds.
The visual style for “Sonic X” is definitely my favorite part. It’s very much reminiscent of the early 2000s, and just by looking at it you can tell Sonic and his pals are about to get into some pretty intense action. It definitely served as a gateway anime for youths around the world.
Pokémon
After taking fans to 8 regions (soon to be 9!), the franchise that’s been around since 1995 has had several different iterations of its long-running television series, in addition to spin-off shows. Even if we’ve spent more than two decades following Ash’s journey to be the very best like no one ever was, the “Pokémon” television series constantly keeps things fresh with new friends, places, and creatures to battle and catch.
“Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl” came out around the time I started getting into the games, so the story arc for that generation in particular has a special place in my heart. As a young kid, it was super fun to watch the show and see the Pokémon I was encountering in the games!
Currently, “Pokémon” is up to its 25th season, which is titled “Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series” and available exclusively on Netflix. It’s a little bit different than the earlier seasons, because instead of just focusing on one region, it’s part of a fairly new arc featuring Ash and his new friend Goh as they travel across every region of the franchise for a research mission.
What are your favorite video game-inspired shows? Let us know in the comments!
by Emily Nagle
As of last night, Disney’s latest live-action remake, “Pinocchio”, is out now on Disney+. Considering the company has pumped out more than 10 live-action/CGI adaptations of their classic animated films in the past five years, it wasn’t surprising. It was also unsurprising that most of the reviews for it weren’t very positive, because “Pinocchio” is a hot mess.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with remaking a movie. Sometimes remakes put a new, creative spin on a franchise, which is pretty amazing. “Pinocchio”, however, contributes absolutely nothing to the story Disney brought to life 80 years ago. In fact, it ruins the whole message of the original. Instead of being heartwarming and full of magic, it’s lackluster and forgettable.
The only thing “Pinocchio” has going for it is its A-list cast, but that can’t save it. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth does a spectacular performance as the excitable wooden puppet, really giving us the idea that Pinocchio is this innocent, wide-eyed kid experiencing the world for the first time ever. Despite this, Tom Hanks isn’t the best choice for Geppetto. The character is supposed to have a heavy Italian accent, but Hanks half-asses some kind of European accent.
Not only did Disney decide it was a great idea to recreate the Pinocchio characters in a terrible visual style, but they also decided to throw in some modern humor. Y’know, in case we forget what year this movie came out (kinda like the first episode of Resident Evil). Zemeckis may have thought he was being witty by including Jiminy Cricket criticizing YouTubers and Chris Pine references, but instead it just undermined the whole story and dragged things out.
At times, I wondered if the movie was trying to be bad to make fun of itself (I mean, all the clocks Geppetto had were references to past Disney films). But no, they really thought they were doing something with those jabs at 2020s pop culture.
by Emily Nagle
Happy Disney+ Day! This annual virtual event is filled to the brim with upcoming content for Disney’s many streaming services. Unlike last year, it’s being held ahead of the seventh biennial D23 Expo, which is returning for the first time since before the pandemic.
In honor of the celebration, Disney has rolled out special offers and promotions for new and current customers can receive a month of Disney+ for just $1.99 (regularly $7.99/month). They’re also offering non-streaming rewards to subscribers, including 6 free months of Uber One, early entry to Disney theme parks on September 8, and savings at Disney Resorts and Cruises.
However, the perk that has led to the most excitement is the Disney Drop Box. Available for free to existing customers who renew their subscription for another year, this special package is chock-full of exclusive products such as apparel, snacks, and artwork from a selection of Disney’s most popular characters and franchises, including Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Spider-Man, and Cars. The gift box is only available while supplies last, so subscribers are rushing to claim their Disney+ Drop Box before they run out!
Stay tuned to find out about more announcements from Disney during D23 this weekend!
by Emily Nagle
Happy 29th anniversary to “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”! On this day in 1993, the first-ever television series based on SEGA’s flagship franchise had its first broadcast on ABC, where it would air for two years before showing reruns on other channels, including USA Network and Toon Disney. Now, all episodes of the show are available to watch for free on Galxy!
To celebrate nearly three decades since Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s television debut, here are 3 fast facts about the nostalgic series starring the speedy blue hedgehog!
It originated Sonic’s love for chili dogs
Fans of the Sonic franchise probably know by now that the hedgehog is a sucker for a good chili dog – the food been featured in several games as a power-up item, and Sonic can be spotted enjoying the dish in other media, including Cartoon Network’s Sonic Boom series and the comic adaptations. But did you know this trait was first introduced not with the first video game in 1991, but two years later, in one of the earliest episodes of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog?
At the end of the second episode of the series, Subterranean Sonic, Spelunk the mole buys Sonic and Tails chili dogs after the three of them escape an underground cave. The food makes appearances in several other later episodes, including in “Robotnikland”, where Tails gives Sonic a chili dog with a candle in it for his birthday.
It’s a niche Internet meme
In the early 2000s, years after “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” ended, viewers began to find enjoyment in it for an unusual reason. The series became one of the earliest sources for Internet memes and YouTube mashups, most likely due to its familiar characters being placed in absurd situations. Users love heavily editing clips of the show, piling on wacky effects and throwing in assets from other media. Even over a decade later, memes based on the show continue to be uploaded to YouTube.
These videos are an art form. Some of the spins on the trend are pretty creative – a few people have even made original songs with instrumentals created entirely from episode clips! My personal favorite song I’ve heard is probably “Getaway Submarine”.
It received a spin-off video game
However, it was nothing like the platform-style games the franchise is best known for. Instead, it was more like “Tetris” with characters from the Sonic series.
Titled “Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine”, the game is an alternate version of the Japanese puzzle game “Puyo Puyo”, which is another game series by Sega. The company was concerned the concept wouldn’t be as popular with Western audiences, so they inserted characters from “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”, hoping the familiar characters would attract people to the game.
Sega even created a story for the relatively simple game of colorful beans falling from above: Dr. Robotnik has kidnapped and enslaved the citizens of Beanville, and it’s up to the player to free them. It was originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1993, but has since been ported to Steam, where it can now be played on MacOS, Windows, or Linux.
by Emily Nagle
The first weekend of September was a long one, but even with the extra time off to go to the movies, box office numbers weren’t particularly high due to no new releases (with the exception of the rerelease of Marvel and Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, which became 2021’s highest grossing film in the last two weeks of the year!).
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Labor Day Weekend 2022
5. The Invitation ($6.1 million)
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022 rerelease) (6.5 million)
3. DC League of Super-Pets ($6.8 million)
2. Bullet Train ($7.5 million)
1. Top Gun: Maverick ($7.9 million)
“Top Gun: Maverick” made nearly twice as much as it did last weekend, climbing back up to number one after being overtaken by newer releases “Beast”, “Bullet Train”, and “The Invitation” last weekend. More than three months after its debut, it has remained in the top 5 almost every weekend of the summer despite ticket sales slowly declining. To date, it has grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2022.
Meanwhile, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” swung back into theaters around the United States to celebrate 20 years of Spider-Man films and 60 years of Spider-Man comics. With 13 minutes of bonus scenes, an introduction from all three Peter Parkers (Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire), and an additional post-credits scene, Sony described the poster for the rerelease, which featured all the characters they tried to keep under wraps during the film’s initial release, as an “Avengers-style poster [with] a perfect blend of the multiverse feels, combined with the ‘Where’s Waldo’ effect”.
by Emily Nagle
Happy September! Fall vibes are officially in, and for the biggest streaming platforms in the industry, so are a bunch of new shows and movies. To kick off the new month, here’s a list of some of September’s most exciting new arrivals.
Critically acclaimed and popular films including “A Clockwork Orange,” “American Beauty,” and “The Notebook” (September 1) are rolling out to the platform at last. Several series are making their debut this month, ranging from crime documentaries like “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (September 21) and “Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer” (September 7) to Netflix originals like “Fakes” (September 2) and “Little Women” (September 4).
Hulu subscribers can look forward to new seasons of their favorite hit shows this fall, including “The Handmaid’s Tale” (season 5 coming September 14), “Abbott Elementary” (season 2 coming September 22), and “9-1-1” (season 6 coming September 20). Movies coming to the platform include popular films such as “10 Things I Hate About You”, the first two “American Pie” films, and “Fight Club” (September 1).
After becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2022, Elvis entered the building today on HBO Max. Aside from that, this month is quiet for new additions on the platform, which recently cut dozens of titles in a move to save money. New episodes of “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” will continue to premiere each Sunday, and all five seasons of “Gotham” are arriving on September 30.
There’s lots of exciting new things in store for Disney+ fans, with “Pinocchio” premiering on Disney+ Day on September 8 (amongst a slew of other premieres). Star Wars prequel series “Andor” is premiering on September 21, and the platform will continue to roll out episodes of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” each Thursday. On the film front, long-awaited Halloween flick sequel “Hocus Pocus 2” will premiere on September 30, preceding the spookiest month.
Get Some Strange!
