by Emily Nagle
After 20 seasons and 14 years, the famous Kardashian family has ended their E! series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
The family announced the difficult decision to end the series last fall, with Kim Kardashian writing in a heartfelt Instagram post, “Without Keeping Up with The Kardashians, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who has watched and supported me and my family these past 14 incredible years. This show made us who we are and I will be forever in debt to everyone who played a role in shaping our careers and changing our lives forever.”
Why are the Kardashians so famous? It started when an old sex tape Kim Kardashian created with Ray J got leaked in 2007. While this is what got their name in the public eye, the rest of the Kardashian family is primarily known today for their careers in fashion and business. Sister It’s their show that made the Kardashians so famous.
Launched in 2007, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” followed the family’s everyday lives. While some critics slammed it, viewing the show as boring and self-absorbed, others found it entertaining, praising it for its authenticity and rawness. In its first month on E! in October 2007, it skyrocketed to the #1 top series on Sunday nights, with a viewership of 1.3 million people. Even in its final season, the reality series remained in the top 100 shows for 2020.
Although the long-running show has come to an end, the Kardashians won’t be disappearing from television yet. At Disney’s Investor Day in December 2020, the company announced a multi-year deal with the Kardashian-Jenner family that will result in new content for Hulu and Star. It hasn’t yet been announced what kind of content the family will be creating, but it’s sure to make Disney’s streaming services even more appealing to potential customers.
by Emily Nagle
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Recently, Paramount+ debuted a CGI reboot of Nickelodeon’s 90s hit, “Rugrats.” Season one of the show arrived on the platform on May 27, 2021, and has five episodes so far. A few weeks before the show’s release, Paramount+ also uploaded a few animated shorts of the show to their YouTube channel.
The first time I heard about the return of the Rugrats was a few years ago in 2018, when it was announced that the cartoon would be receiving a revival series, in addition to a CGI/live action film. The film hasn’t come out yet because of the pandemic, but I initially didn’t know how to feel at the idea of seeing the Rugrats in a completely different medium. I mean, look what happened with Tom and Jerry a few months ago – the animals looked like they were made of plastic despite being in a live-action setting, and it didn’t go together well at all. Sometimes characters just look better in a different style.
The animation style for the original “Rugrats” series was 2D, and interesting because the creative team went for something a little different. It looks a little rough and squiggly. In an interview with the creators of the show, it was said that Gabor Csupo was going for a “strange” visual style, and I think that’s a good way to describe it. It’s definitely not scary or anything, but it doesn’t look like anything else that was on the network before.
As for the reboot’s visual style, it’s not creepy-looking at all. It doesn’t look generic or mass-produced, and they really did take their time to make all the characters look different from each other, just like in the original show. They don’t look hyper-realistic, but at the same time, the animators managed to keep it looking as cartoonish as the original. Like, I noticed that Didi’s (one of the moms) hair moved with her, and didn’t just sit there on her head like it was made of plastic. Even though it was such a small detail, it stuck with me. I’ve seen a lot of CGI shows over the years that just didn’t look right. Mostly shows based on movies like The Boss Baby, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Kung Fu Panda. Even though the animation in the movies was good, the shows looked lazy at times, and often had choppy movements.
I also love how they kept in those shots from the original that were from unique perspectives. Particularly when the camera was inside one of the kids’ mouths, or when it was showing Spike’s point of view, with his long nose sticking out in the middle of whatever was going on.
In addition to the visual aspects, another one of my favorite things about this series is that the voice actors for the kids are the same as in the original. E.G. Daily reprises her role as brave leader Tommy, in addition to Nancy Cartwright as high-strung Chuckie, Kath Soucie as twins Phil and Lil, and Cree Summer as spunky Susie. Even Angelica’s voice actor (Cheryl Chase) returned. 30 years later, the babies sound more or less the same as they did in the original.
On the other hand, all the adults have different voice actors now, which took a little while to get used to. Funny thing is, they’re actually younger than the voice actors for the babies! They also changed some of the adults’ personalities and other traits – Phil and Lil’s mom is now a single lesbian mother, whereas in the original she had a husband. Meanwhile, the adventurous Grandpa Lou is reinvented as a hippie, and is seen doing yoga in the intro. I actually don’t see anything wrong with these changes. It’s about life through the eyes of a toddler, and the adults are just there to be oblivious to their misadventures. Because of this, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that they changed around a few things about the parents. This show is really about the babies, who are just as imaginative and curious as they were in 1991.
That leads me to something else that’s different about this reboot: the babies are the same age they were in the original, even though it clearly takes place in the present day. This change lands the iconic babies in some crazy situations. In one of the episodes, Angelica steals Lou’s smartphone and invites a bunch of older women (and a man) over to the house through a senior dating app that she thinks is a “grandma store.”
So, what are my final thoughts on the show? I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It’s not bad, but it still doesn’t compare to the original. I’m excited for a whole new generation of kids to get reintroduced to the iconic babies. Even though I liked the show, I’ve been seeing lots of comments mainly on YouTube from 90s kids who don’t see the reboot as a faithful adaptation of the original. But again, I don’t see it as that big of a deal that they changed a few smaller details. If they did something like introducing a completely new baby to the group (who wasn’t in the original show), then I might understand why people were so opposed to it.
I recommend “Rugrats” to anyone looking to watch something nostalgic, and maybe even interested in introducing their kids to the shows they grew up with!
by Emily Nagle
NBCUniversal has acquired the format rights for the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe for Radio-Canada’s hit comedy “Conversations With My Parents.”
Produced by A Media, the weekly comedy show is based on the book of the same name written by comedian François Morency. Each episode features Morency having lively conversations with his parents, brother, and sister. The show’s simple format has made it the most watched comedy on Radio-Canada. Fall 2020 saw the premiere of season 3 and produced an average market share of 37%, and a fourth season is currently in production.
With the announcement of this news, the producer and president for A Media, Guillaume Lespérance, said in a statement, “We’re very proud of the interest that ‘Conversations With My Parents’ has generated. It’s great to see that this charming and easily adaptable format can be loved by audiences across the globe.”
Also commenting on this news is Enrique Guillen, executive VP, international strategy at Universal Studio Group. Guillen added, “We are excited to see how this clever format can serve other top comedians and audiences across the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe.”
by Emily Nagle
The first box office weekend of June saw the premiere of two new films: Warner Bros.’ “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” and Universal’s “Spirit Untamed”. In total, theaters across the United States grossed $66.2 million for the whole weekend, signifying the ongoing revival of moviegoing.
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of April 9-11
1. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
2. A Quiet Place Part II
3. Cruella
4. Spirit Untamed
5. Raya and the Last Dragon
While it is available free of charge to HBO Max subscribers, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” saw an especially profitable opening weekend in theaters, raking in $24 million. The eighth installment in the film series and the third “Conjuring” film overall, it follows husband-and-wife demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they investigate a murder that seems to be linked to an exorcism.
Having received mostly positive reviews from viewers, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” beat out “A Quiet Place Part II”, which was released last week. In addition to being available in traditional theaters, both films are showing in IMAX theaters, allowing audiences to have a more immersive viewing experience.
“Spirit Untamed” is based on the Netflix series “Spirit Riding Free”, and a CGI sequel to the 2002 “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film follows 12-year-old Lucky, a free-spirited city girl who relocates to the quiet town of Miradero and befriends a wild horse named Spirit. The movie has been DreamWorks’ least profitable opening weekend to date, making only $6.2 million nationwide against a production budget of $30 million. Critics have given it mixed reviews, criticizing the film’s story and animation.
by Emily Nagle
After only two weeks of release, Disney’s “Cruella” has already been confirmed for a sequel.
Disney’s live-action spin on one of their most iconic animated films has been met with positive reviews worldwide, performing especially well during the long Memorial Day weekend. Critics are praising “Cruella” for the performances, soundtrack, and costume design, with many comparing it to “The Devil Wears Prada.” Set in 1970s London during the punk rock movement, the film serves as an origin story for the villain, following aspiring fashion designer Estella Miller (Emma Stone) when she meets the Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson) and begins embracing her wicked side.
News of a sequel in the works was released on Friday. As it’s still in the early stages of development, not much is known as of now: Craig Gillespie would be returning as director, as well as Tony McNamara as a writer. Right before the film’s release, Stone and Thompson said in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes that they’re already on board to film a sequel.
This news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/cruella-2-sequel-disney-emma-stone-1234963423/
by Emily Nagle
Paramount Plus is preparing to roll out a cheaper ad-supported plan for customers next week at only half the price of the Premium package.
Set to debut on Monday, June 7, the Paramount Plus Essential plan will be priced at $4.99/month, and will differ from the Premium plan in the sense that it will not offer local CBS stations. Customers who were previously subscribed to the ad-supported CBS All Access plan at $5.99/month will have the option of keeping their service at the same price, unless they cancel it. If customers want to continue receiving local news coverage on the platform, they have until Monday to keep the plan at a slightly higher price.
Paramount Plus Essential will still include all of the same on-demand content from ViacomCBS’s properties, such as Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central.
A rebranded version of CBS All-Access, Paramount Plus is available online at ParamountPlus.com, as well as on mobile devices via the Paramount Plus app, smart TVs, and consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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