FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE by Erich Owen

In FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE, the four friends who are the Fruit Ninja are growing tired of all their training. They train and train and train, but there don't seem to be any villains around for them to fight or to test their skills against. Then an old man in a barrel jumps out and warns the ninjas of trouble just around the corner and a time traveler from the past who claims to be another fruit ninja appears who warns the ninjas that the fruit they have been using is inferior and he has a better product. Not knowing who exactly to trust, the fruit ninjas follow the time travel and their first real adventure begins. I know nothing about Fruit Ninja except it's a popular game on mobile phones and in some game centers. The book FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE was entertaining, although at times it felt like I was really missing something because despite the flashbacks and the exposition given by the old man in the barrel, I really had no idea who any of the characters were. Overall, FRUIT NINJA FRENZY FORCE is just an average graphic novel.

GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS by Alex Hirsch

I was a late comer to the animated show GRAVITY FALLS. I was introduced to it by my brother. The show was one of the best written television shows I have ever watched. There were so many layers and everything fit together so well. Like so many others, I came to love the show and the characters that were on it. Unlike many series, GRAVITY FALLS ended after it had told the story it came to tell (after only two seasons). It is possible that the show might be revisited at some point (Dipper’s letter does say see you next summer), there are no new episodes of the series right now or any time on the near horizon. However, fans of the show do have a few more stories with the release of GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS.

GRAVITY FALLS: LOST LEGENDS contains four new Gravity Falls adventures told by Shmebulock. It turns out that Shmebulock isn’t the “slow” gnome everyone thinks. He’s actually very intelligent but was cursed by an evil wizard a long time ago to only speak his name, but every 1,000 years he gets a chance to speak normally again for one night. This is the night and Shmebulock shares it with the reader.

The four stories are:

“Face It” – Dipper and Pacifica Northwest team up together after Pacifica unleashes a creature called Mr. What’s-His-Face steals Mabel’s face.

“Comix Up” – The Pines family and friends literally jump into the pages of a comic book to save Grunkle Stan.

“Don’t Dimension It” – Set after Weirdmageddon, but before Dipper and Mabel return home, this story finds Mabel sucked into the multiverse where she learns an important lesson about herself.

“Pines Bros. Mystery” – This story is about Stan and Ford’s first adventure as kids when they first met a mythological/supernatural creature. There are another set of twins in the story who are the Pine’s rivals who are parodies of the Hardy Boys.

Of the four stories, I really don’t have a favorite because they are all good in their own right. “Face It” is another classic Gravity Falls adventure and is the story most like an episode (watching the special DVD that comes with the Gravity Falls DVD boxset, I believe this story was an episode that was planned, but just never made it to the show). The story also hints at a possible romance between Pacifica and Dipper. “Comix Up” is a great story that features over half-a-dozen animation styles. “Don’t Dimension It” is really neat because it’s a story set right before Dipper and Mabel return home and could be foreshadowing of adventures to come. Lastly, I love the “Pines Bros. Mystery” because it’s a story that shows how much Stan and Ford really did care for each other growing up and why Stan risked so much to save his brother.

GRAVITY FALLS:  LOST LEGENDS is a must have for any fan of Gravity Falls, but as a graphic novel, it’s not too bad as a stand alone piece.

THE KRONIES, Episode 1

I really found this cartoon funny. Despite your politics, you have to admit, it's a creative way of reaching out to the world. I'm looking forward to more episodes of The Kronies.

Crying at a Cartoon

Recently I saw the new animated movie from Disney, WRECK-IT RALPH. I really enjoyed it. I have to admit, though, I cried a few tears a few times in the movie. I don't want to give anything away, but there are some very poignant moments in the movie, when, even though you know in your mind everything is going to work out alright, the sadness eeking out of the screen yanks on the strings of one's emotions like whiplash in a major car crash. I can't deny it, tears often come to my eyes when watching animated films. I cried the first time I ever saw MONSTERS, INC. because the relationship between Sulley and Boo reminded me of my own life and this little girl in the preschool class I taught. I cried several times during FINDING NEMO, sometimes just because I could relate to Marlin's frustration in trying to find Nemo and also the Biblical parallelism between Marlin's search to find Nemo and God's search to reach us. I cry every time I see UP. The first ten minutes of that movie is one of the most perfectly shot pieces of animation ever. I cried when watching it because though I'm not married, I have been in love and long for the love that Karl and Ellie shared. I cried at the end of UP, too because of Russell's abandonment and Karl becoming a hero and a better man by standing in the gap to fill the place of Russell's absent father. I'm not sure what it is about animated movies, (and particular Disney and Pixar films; I guess that's why they are the animation kings) but they seem to have the potential to affect me in ways that other movies don't. With that said, WRECK-IT RALPH is a great animated film. Kids will like it, but it's really an adult movie draped in nostalgia so it appears to be a kid movie. I think it might make my top ten list of the year.