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This is a Hanna-Barbera obscurity and rarity I hadn't heard of, and I wasn't aware of its existence until I came across it while searching for another H-B cartoon a couple nights ago on Youtube. It caught my attention, so I decided to check it out right away. I've got to say, I find it enjoyable enough. It's certainly a standout from H-B's other animated sitcoms and comedy cartoons in general. I just wish it were closer to a half-hour instead of the measly few minutes that featured the little the viewers do get to see instead. This is one of those cartoon pilots that deserved so much more than what it got instead of being so overlooked.

This begins with caricatures of the defunct animation studio's co-founders and co-creators, the late William Hanna and the late Joseph Barbera, discussing what this is all about in the intro. There is hardly any animation to the cartoon versions of them, as the visuals have more of a slide show feel to them. It would've been nice to see this part animated better than it ended up being. After that, the cartoon follows. What sets it apart from other animated, family sitcoms is it has a family consisting of a husband, wife, their biological daughter, eleven other kids who are adopted, and a sheepdog going on roadtrips around the U. S. rather than remaining at home as the main setting. Each episode would've made references to the country's various landmarks and the family would've been featured in live-action scenes with those landmarks. There probably would've been some educational values and history lessons as well in that case. Another thing is its revolutionary in that the group of kids is interracial, as multiethnic mingling and diversity was beginning to become more commonplace at this time following the Civil Rights Movement. Although this happened to be created around the time of The Dark Age of Animation and I don't care for 1970s animation as much as some of the animated works that came in other decades following it, had it been expanded into a T. V. series, I think it would've been one of the exceptions, as well as one of my favorites by H-B (although the standalone pilot still has been already added to my list already and instantly) and of all time. I believe it had plenty of potential. While visiting a national park, the family come across a bear who steals the dad's bowling ball and the dad is determined to get it back as it's a special, precious souvenir for him with comical results.

The art style is typical of H-B cartoons of the 1970s and the animation, despite being limited, is still better than the visuals with Hanna and Barbera in the intro. The writing isn't too bad. The character designs look nice enough, the voices, which also included the late Casey Kasem and the late Janet Waldo, sound pleasingly and finely acted, the music is fine as well.

This is definitely another intriguer to me. I can't help wondering what other adventures would've been featured and I would've loved to see more. This is over half-a-century old now and I wish I had learned about it, and found it, sooner. Even though it is great to discover less renowned gems like this that I previously hadn't heard of at all. Despite its short-lived existence, I still find it well-done for the aforementioned things I explained. Anyway, for those who may also be just as curious about seeing this as I was, I say it's worth giving it a go. I wish I could've gotten to learn and know more about the characters and so badly wish this was accepted by some network. This would've been a better H-B series of the 1970s I feel in my view and should've gotten more focus over those H-B cartoon programs that did become series like the Partridge Family 2200 A. D., which came three years later. If the networks that rejected it did so because they had no faith in it or they were more interested in airing low quality material (though I might be wrong and just don't know the real reason behind, what I think, is their dumb decision), then they must've had poor judgment when it comes to choosing what shows are were worthy of being aired I presume. It could've been even more of a breath of fresh air as a series. Recommended.

I first became aware of this when I saw the title of it mentioned in a forum's thread some years back. I don't think I ever knew anything about this in my childhood at the time. Even if I did know about it sooner, I doubt I would've bothered with checking it out simply because it's a girly cartoon and I didn't watch any others like it. It would take some time before I searched for it to watch online. Well, just last month I happened to come across it on Youtube and finally decided to see it. I'm glad I eventually came around and did, because that was most enjoyable.

Although it's one of those toy-based cartoons and those of that kind have often gotten a bad rap for being nothing more than extended commercials or advertisements, I can assure all who may be reading this it most definitely isn't one of those. As that and as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the better ones because it has more meaning than trying to promote and sell toys. Also, I consider it to be one of the best Hanna-Barbera productions ever made, despite it being less renowned. I have since added this to my favorite toy-based, H-B, and cartoons-in-general lists. This is among its better material from the 1980s and of all time. I'm into several of the H-B specials more than the majority of its shows.

The Star Fairies are a group of fairies who grant wishes to kids and teenagers. Led by Sparkle, she conjures up the other Star Fairies to assist her in making kids' and teens' wishes come true. After some elves steal her wand, she and the others go to retrieve it from them. They meet a girl named Hilary who is down in the dumps and take her on an adventure. After that cheers Hilary up, it proves to be an exciting experience she will never forget.

Someone on the aforementioned thread claimed the animation in the rest of the special isn't as good as it is in the intro. But I just didn't see it that way and I have no idea what that person was claiming. The animation in this is decent enough and the art is in that typical, signature, H-B style. The writing is well-thought out and organized. Many of the characters have plenty of likability and memorability to them. The music is thoroughly composed. The voices sound great and well-performed. Every technical aspect of it is fine mostly, that is, aside from the occasional animation errors.

The concept itself may be what appeals to me the most about it. Who wouldn't want a fairy to bestow upon him/her his/her greatest desires and have them come true? One thing I wish is that I had seen this sooner. Plus, the one thing that can be interpreted from this is spreading the requests at one's command and making others happy, or pleasing others. Anyway, if anyone reading this becomes curious and intrigued about seeing this, I say give it a go. It has many great moments to keep one's focus. Even though it is a girly cartoon, it's well worth it and can still be watched by males in spite of it not being for them just because it's in the description. It is very impressive and strong, so much so, in fact, I believe it had the potential of expanding into a series. It's that great, I can't praise it enough. But I'll stop here. Recommended.

Since I became aware of this show from a copy of the trailer for it on Youtube some time ago, I've been wanting to see this for the longest. For some reason, it has been hard to find any video streaming sites that have full episodes. Youtube only has the trailer and a few clips last I bothered to check and the other, related sites of which I tried searching don't have it at all. I wondered, what's with these sites not having it available? I thought either I'm never going to get to see it or who knows how long before it does finally become available in full. Well, that all changed earlier this year, when I searched desperately once again to find and watch online, when I came across the I-View site for Australia's ABC channel. But the problem was I couldn't watch it in my country, due to this rights restrictions mess and needed to install, and run, a VPN before I could watch it. To make a long story short, I eventually got one and installed it, and since watching the first few episodes, I'm ready to write my own review on it.

Rather than spacey, this is of spacious and astronomical proportions. Set in the 22nd century, it revolves around a family of four space explorers known as the Novas, who travel around the galaxy seeking various, extraterrestrial things like space rocks, stardust, and alien beings. Speaking of stardust, that's one significant part of the story, as it's been mentioned that it's the special key that could change everything. The Novas may also be considered astronomers because of what they do, looking for miscellaneous space items for them to study and understand their origins better.

As for the technical facets, the animation is well in motion, the CGI and graphics are examples of higher-quality CG. The episodes' stories or plots are written well and have plenty of differences that set them apart from one another to keep things interesting. Many of the characters seem to have a lot of likability, distinction, and memorability to them and their designs are well-designed. The voice acting sounds well-done and pleasant. The music is great, especially the theme song.

The dialogue is well-written as well.

After learning about this show and before watching it, I would go into it expecting great things and my high expectations didn't disappoint at all. It 's just as great as I imagined it would be. Ever since, it has been added to my favorites lists, both of Aussie cartoons and cartoons in general. For me, it's also a pick for best cartoons of the 2020s (so far). Anybody who's reading this and has also been curious about this show and would like to see it as well, I say, go for it. It doesn't disappoint as it has plenty of excitement to provide until the end. But I was disappointed to know that this would be another one of those one season-wonders. It deserves a longer run than that. It's one of the best I've seen. Recommended.

I don't remember seeing this nor the rest of this series in my childhood, but I wish I had. Ever since I eventually read and learned more about it, I've been wanting to see it for the longest. Some time ago, when most of this show's full episodes were available on Youtube when I found them, I managed to watch a couple of them ("Rooftop Thanksgiving" and "Pack of Lies") before they all were removed. Late last month, I finally found most of the show on the City Kids Foundation's website. All the episodes are there except the pilot. The visual quality of those aren't very bad, but they still could've been better at the same time, and I wish they were, but I know haplessly I'll just have to settle for what they are, I do and I'm still grateful. I've really been wanting to see this especially, since that's been the hardest to find available online. Just a few, early mornings ago, I decided to try searching on the Wayback Machine's archive site and, lo and behold, I found it at last as part of a VHS compilation along with some of the other episodes, it's about time too. I checked it out and it is a spectacular beginning to this series.

Discussing the main plot, an Asian/Chinese-American girl named Susan is forced to deal with some boys who make some racially and sexually suggestive comments towards her. It bothers her, so much so that she considers trying to hide what she is and struggles with accepting her identity. Eventually, she comes around, learns to embrace what she is, and has a talk with the boys who had harassed her. The subplot concerns a Jewish boy named David, who becomes attracted to a girl named Freida, but doesn't know just what they right way to go about approaching her is. He gradually finds out and does, only to be shot down by Freida, who turns out to be too stuck-up for him.

As for the technicalities of this, the film quality for this is fine enough for T. V. It doesn't look too low budget like what one would find on most straight-to-video films. There is a use of both real settings, somewhere in New York, and scenes/backgrounds that aren't real using green screen effects. The writing of both the plot and subplot is excellent, as they both show how to solve both problems in the right light. The dialogue can be witty at times. Of the main human cast, Dule Hill is the only one I recognize, but he and everybody else did well in conveying their roles. The two, musical numbers, "What You Gonna Do About Hate?" and "More Love" are outstanding compositions. The former is a rap song about racism with a sample of "Pass The Peas" by the J Bs; the latter is some kind of reggae that emphasizes more tolerance for other races. The intervals with the muppets who appear in this (the green, mostly one-eyed Koozebanians; the rapping hot dog group, Frankie Frank and The Footers; early versions of the Inside The Head Muppets; and the Dirt Sisters) are best at acting as the Greek chorus for the humans and in providing the comic relief. Both the acting and puppeteering/voice work look and sound great. After watching this a second time, I noticed that Eek! The Cat creator, Savage Steve Holland, was the director of this. The name seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember what he does exactly nor what he's known for, so I had to look him up, and once I did, it came back to me. It's neat to know and he did a bang up job in bringing it all together. One of the few names, whether as part of the cast or crew, I recognize. The whole thing is just plain superb.

With the subject matter of racism as the the main plot, it remains just as relevant today as it did back then. In my view, this is not only one of the best Muppet-related T. V. projects made following the late Jim Henson's death (just a few years in this case), but also one of the best shows of the 1990s. It's better than other teen shows of the time, such as Saved By The Bell, due to it standing apart from related shows by including muppets and musical numbers. This has to be one of the most obscure, if not the most obscure, of the Henson projects. It deserves so much more than what it got, like Emmys, but it would turn bust after its single season run, due to lack of satisfying ratings and viewership support. If only it could'd run for three or four more seasons if it had been more successful. And it's high time this was brought to DVD. Anyway, this is a program that shouldn't have ever been slept on, and looking back on it, I regret doing just that, even if I would've been the only person I know who would've supported it. I advise anybody reading to see this as well, it's enjoyable from beginning to end, and would set the stage for the dozen, other episodes that followed. A one-of-a-kind, teen-oriented program. Recommended.

While searching for some other cartoons I hadn't heard of on Youtube just a few mornings ago, I saw on one channel a few screen-caps of this, which are video links of the musical numbers. I decided to search for the whole special and watched that on the same site, as I just had to check this out and it's another one that I'm glad I did. Despite not having seen all of movies/specials by DIC, I've already settled that this is most definitely my most favorite of those by DIC. This is it, this is the one. It's become one of my most favorites by DIC overall, one of my favorite cartoons of the 2000s, one of my favorite musical cartoons, and just one of my favorites in general. There's no mistake about it, this ranks with the best of DIC and as one of the very last (or next to last) works ever made by the company, I say it's one of the penultimate things (if not the penultimate thing) for the animation studio to go out on a very great note (pun unintended). I was wishing there was more to this and that it had been expanded into a T. V. series, but I found out there's, at least, one follow-up to this: A sequel that has yet to have its own page featured here called Will The Zizzles Sizzle or Fizzle?, which I plan to watch also on Youtube when it's available in English. I read on another site that the sequel has yet to be brought to home video, but if it's really just as great as this, then it needs to be brought to home media as well already pronto. This seems to be the most, if not, one of the most overlooked and underrated works by DIC, but it deserves more acclaim. It's rare to come across anything straight-to-video that's outstanding, but this is one of those rarities.

The story revolves around a small, mostly green robot with an antenna and horn or funnel-shaped ears, and a nose known as iZ. He was created by a scientist named Dr. Eugene Zizzle, who designed iZ with the intention of making the world a better place. But some government agents and people in black want to take iZ and use him for some other purpose. IZ escapes and flees to a corn field, where a neighbor discovers crop circles (or rather, crop letters "I" and "Z"), and believes some alien has (or aliens have) arrived. Eventually, iZ makes his way to a radio station where the DJ discovers him. The DJ hasn't been having much success nor luck with trying to score the next hit and if this continues, he and his family, known as the Franklins, won't be able to move back to New York and they'll remain in their new home, a midwestern, rural town. Mr. Franklin also has to deal with a record label head and his son. Mr. Franklin later brings iZ back to his home to show to his wife, Mrs. Franklin, who is a manager and/or record producer. After a mishap, iZ then heads to the garage where the couple's daughter, son, and their friend/bandmate who form a trio, are playing. After they too see and find him, they think he could add something to their music/sound, and become a quartet. Although they gel quite well and it seems like they have just what they need to become an overnight sensation finally, the agents eventually come to the Franklin home looking for him and have iZ recaptured in their custody. But there's an idea and a way found to have iZ released, and the plan goes into motion before that's resolved, and all goes well.

The art and animation are crisp, clean, and clear. The writing of the story is ingenious in how it's all brought together before the resolution. The voice cast sounds like they voiced their characters well. Most of the cast members of this I don't recognize nor am I familiar with, but I just noticed and found out that the daughter, Vera, was voiced by Yasmeen Sulieman, better known simply as Yasmeen, who is best known and remembered for her 2002 hit, "Blue Jeans", is among the cast, which is just spectacular to know, and it's great to hear her in this. She isn't one of the bigger names in music, but at least someone still recognized her name in this, which is me, as I'm the only one I know of who has. As for the music, concerning the musical numbers, there are four, original songs, which are the highlights of the compositions in this, more than the incidental music, as they are really what shine through here. The first song sounds like a mixture of some form of rock and electronics, but the three others are more straight-ahead rock and I guess the trio would fall into modern pop/rock, and some kind of alternative rock. They're very catchy, hard-hitting, and, ineluctable. The characters are fine, especially IZ, who is trying to find his purpose, learn of what he is, remember where he comes from, and who created him.

This didn't disappoint a bit, highly enjoyable and well-done. One of the best, animated musicals I've ever seen and heard. I'm telling all who read this, this is a must-watch. This band have the makings of becoming true hit-makers. And iZ is just who will give the Zizzles the edge needed. Some time after watching this, while I was going through the search engine, I learned that there was an iZ toy, which I think came out before this. Making this one of the toyetic cartoons, but it's one of the better ones. That's still dandy to know, just the same. Recommended.

This wasn't among the Hanna-Barbera cartoons I watched growing up, so I wouldn't have been made aware of this one until years later and after I reached adulthood, I'd read about it on another site, Skool Days. Besides the couple reviews before mine on here, I also read several reviews about the DVD set of this on Amazon. And with all the good things I've read about it, I knew this seemed to be another one that's worthy enough for me to check out and I just had to do so, showing plenty of curiosity and interest in it. Due to what was available at the time I checked and last time I checked on a video site. I began by watching the first couple of Teen Force segments on Kiss Cartoon (most of the segments are available there, with a couple missing). I enjoyed both of those featuring the diverse trio of newer superheroes and their sidekicks. I'd been wanting to order and get the DVD elsewhere for sometime and I finally obtained my copy a few months ago. I've seen all the segments on the first two discs and been enjoying every minute of them. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best animated series by the studio ever made, has since become one of my most favorites, is one of the better 1980s cartoon programs, and one of the few, strong, great HB shows of that same decade, let alone ever. This is even among my picks for best T. V. toons in general. This is amongst the HB series I wish I had watched in my childhood. I'm probably rambling more than I should here, but when I come across something I really love a lot, I get so enthusiastic so much I usually type a lot about it and have a lot of things on my mind that I just have to get on screen.

What more can I say about this since the two, other reviewers prior to me already gave the history behind this and mentioned some other things about it? Well, this is a better crossover series by HB, definitely much better than Yogi's Gang (one of the HB toons I saw growing up) and Super Friends (which I've never seen, but based on others' comments and reviews about that, I'll still take their word for it). It's also one of the best crossover toons generally ever. Essentially, a couple segments are revivals of Space Ghost and The Herculoids whereas the other, two segments are the aforementioned Teen Force and The Jetsons' Astro, who is the lead in the more comedic The Space Mutts, both of which are the two, newer, segment series. There are also segments known as Space Fact (which gives various facts pertaining to what's in space), Space Magic (which features a character performing a magic trick for the others and explaining how the trick is done), and Space Code (which displays some letters on screen that are scrambled or written backwards, and the viewers try to figure out and decode the message). I read on the back of the DVD set cover that these three became unavailable after the episodes' original airings, but they're now available again. Most of the Space Codes I've seen so far are easy to solve, except the one from the first episode, that got me stumped. The final segment is Space Finale, which has the characters from the assortment of series come to one another's aid and form an alliance to take down the antagonists (though in some, certain, other segments, they are also one another's allies). Through online reviews and video reviews, I've read and heard from those who have beefs with the Astro and The Space Mutts segments. Although the three others may be better, I didn't find Astro and The Space Mutts all that bad. I find that they made those sound worse than what they really are, as I find some, particular moments to be, at least, lightly amusing.

Speaking of the art and animation, the art of the newer Space Ghost and Herculoids segments remain accurate to those from the originals. The animation looks fluid enough in these, as well as the Teen Force and Astro and The Space Mutts segments. I watched all the original Herculoids segments and the animation in those looks great, as much as the newer ones. I've seen only a few of the original Space Ghost segments, but I've read at least one user's comments elsewhere about the animation in the originals not being perfect. Maybe it is in some and not so much in others, so I can't say for sure, but I think, at least, in most cases, the animation in those I've seen seems fine enough. Compared to the first Galaxy Trio segment I watched. Despite the art style of some of the characters in The Space Mutts being more realistic whereas others are more cartoony, I'll still give that are pass and let it slide anyway. The color palettes of the backgrounds and layouts are just right, not too dark, not too bright. The writing of the stories and scripts in many of these are among the strongest ever written within HB's oeuvre. The cast of mostly original voice actors who reprised many of the roles still sound fine, while the new voice actors for the newer characters sound great as well in their roles. The music is just stellar, especially the theme with it's theremin-sounding, space age pop.

Although it seems that HB didn't put as much effort into its shows more often than it did, this is a paragon of a show in which it did. Even though it may had been done so only occasionally, it proved that it still was capable of putting out worthy material for everybody, not just kids. There have been exceptions to the routine and this is, indeed, exceptional. I agree that this is one of the better HB series, among the best ever made, and for those who are looking to get into the better ones, I say that this is one of them and what all would be searching. It is an essential that is considered to be not only a must-watch, but a must-own on DVD as well. One of the best one will find. Recommended.

I think I learned of this show when I saw a video link to it on Youtube after searching for it on there. But having not seen that, I don't know for sure whether there's a movie version of this as well or if it's a compilation of a few of the show's episodes, but I'm going to presume it's the latter. Since that was all that's available last time I checked on there, I tried searching for this at some other video sites before finally coming across the individual episodes on the Archive site, but there are only a few of them (five to be exact). Before I decided to try to see if the whole series was on Kim Cartoons (it is), I checked out all that there is on the other, aforementioned site. And I've got to say, I've been loving/enjoying what I watched so far. I proclaim this to be my most favorite horror cartoon (despite not having watched many) and one of my favorite, Aussie, animated T. V. series. Before seeing this and some, certain others in recent years, the only Aussie cartoon I watched and knew about in my childhood is the 2D animated Blinky Bill. But I consider this program to be among the best to come out of the land down under.

It begins with two teens named Rory and Dawn, who are at odds with each other. Due to their widowed, single parents marrying each other and forcing them to be at their wedding, Rory and Dawn are also forced into a blended family, becoming step-siblings. Rory has a doll known as The Apple Man, which, I think, was given to him as a gift by his late father. As shown in the intro, a scientist has a mishap with an experiment and he's turned into the real apple man known as Wicked, who has an apple core for a head. Somehow, he and the doll version of him seem to have some sort of connection and coincidence with each other. Rory is the first to notice this and Dawn is well-aware of the other, bizarre phenomena. Try as she might, she tries to tell her dad and stepmom about it, but they just won't hear of it. In each episode, there is some theme that involves Wicked wreaking havoc and causing chaos around town, unbeknownst to most everybody else. Rory and Dawn have to put aside their differences and work together to put an end to what he causes. Over time, they gradually get closer, forming an alliance and become more amiable to each other.

The art style is nice enough to look at, with its somewhat rough illustrations and the animation flows nicely. The writing of the episodes' storylines are so well put together that not only do they focus on the horror aspects of it at its center, but also they include either some lesson or message as well. For a couple of examples, the plot line of "Stitched" is about Dawn wanting to get a new sweater to keep up with the latest fashion trend. But after some detergent that was made by Wicked goes haywire, not only at the family's home, but also at the laundromat and possibly at other people's homes as well, Rory and Dawn have to put an end to it. Although her stepmom, Eileen, offers to give her an old sweater as a hand-me-down, Dawn has second thoughts about a sweater and decides that being trendy isn't everything after all. Another episode, "Carnivorous," (which has to do with motor vehicles rather than meat-eating) involves cars and the air pollution they cause to the environment. The step-siblings have the goal of getting the mayor to do something about this hazard. Therefore, this episode has both a vehicular and environmental theme, and message. Those features are what make them interesting or intriguing. The dialogue is well-written too. The characters are great, especially the step-siblings who go through character development and Wicked, who is one of the wickedest villains ever, a bad apple in the truest sense. The music is well-composed, but that's especially the theme song. This is based on a book series. I haven't read any of it, so I can't compare and contrast the show to that nor say if it's loosely based on the books or not, as this has been my only exposure to either and how I made the discovery.

This is most definitely a worthy, must-watch series. It's thrilling enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Now that I've found another video site that has the entire series, I plan to watch episodes I have yet to see. I wish I had been aware of this sooner. One of the best of the 2000s, I'm impressed. Recommended.

In a previous review, I typed about another anthology short film series called Dust. The difference between the two is that one focuses heavily on sci-fi material whereas this show is more varied in genres presented. But I love both of these shows equally, as well as the similar Short Cuts and the more professional-leveled Filmmaker. This is another great find I got into watching one day on a PBS station. What I saw not only intrigued me, but I found it enjoyable additionally. All four of these related programs have since been among my favorites. They're just some of my picks for what I consider ranks amongst the best. Despite these short films being made by amateurs, they have a professional vibe to them and are shining examples of how to make high-quality cinema. However, I know that's because the student filmmakers' teachers/professors did such a great job in teaching them how to do them so well. Even more proof of examples of smaller, independent films often still being of higher-quality than most of the commercial/mainstream works larger studios release, especially in recent years, if not for some time. And the entirety of this definitely provides an alternative to that in addition to being such a breath of fresh air. The whole of the aforementioned former side of the film industry seems to outdo the latter side of it and put the latter to shame in the process. For oeuvre made by amateurs, none of these appear to look too low-budgeted nor are they of the same, poor quality as the majority of that straight-to-home media.

Some of this show's featured shorts I saw on T. V. and I try to check the schedule for when it will air again. But for some dumb, messed-up reason, it seems to air sporadically. Although I know that there is a Youtube channel for it and they can be seen on there, which I haven't gotten around to doing yet, but still plan to do so, it still would be nice if the show aired more often. Everything about the shorts I've seen so far are great. From the writing to the productions to the actors' performances, I have no complaints about this. There are several strong ones exhibited, but if I were to choose any favorite, I'll go with the one that dealt with an adolescent girl having to leave her imaginary friend behind as she grows up (which was also featured on a first season episode of Dust trivially enough). Since these are meant to be held up to the utmost significance, it's hard to choose what cinematic repertoire I like the most. The creators of these did their thing in fulfilling their and the shorts' purpose, and they did so successfully. I may even deem this to be the quintessential in the practice of filmmaking, as well as the ultimate or the end all be all of the craft.

It isn't exactly a tutorial or instructional documentary on how to make films well and properly, but nevertheless, it's just as great for aspiring filmmakers to take notes of what to do, how to do it right, as well as entertainment for the viewers. For anybody who hasn't already given his or her time to view this, I say do it, because it's worth it. The shorts don't disappoint and I believe that more will find this one of the greatest experiences they've ever watched. I know I did. Based on the fact that I'm the only one who has reviewed it to date, it also seems to be quite underrated and it shouldn't overlooked. Recommended.

It's been the longest since I wrote any reviews on anything live-action. However, this is my first in a long while, so I'm finally writing about one again. I first discovered this show one Saturday, when the channel TBD aired a marathon of this anthology series. I didn't see all the episodes aired from the very first season, but the short films/episodes I did see I found enjoyable enough. Other shorts/episodes I would catch up on seeing at later times. There are other shorts anthology shows I enjoy just the same, which are Short Cuts (one of those local shows), Film School Shorts, and Filmmaker. These are all among my favorite shows and what I consider to be among the best T. V. shows of all time. But what separates this from the others is that whereas the somewhat related programs have a variety of genres, sub-genres, and maybe even mixing several of those, this focuses heavily on sci-fi as the main, particular, specialized genre. This is, once again, another one that's a winner in my book. Every one of these shorts/episodes over the course of the past two seasons I haven't found to be disappointing at all. One of the most engaging and exciting I've ever seen.

This has turned out to be such a promising series. It's purpose is to showcase material by various, sci-fi, independent filmmakers while promoting other up-and-coming talent in the industry, like the actors. Although there is a variety of stories to tell in these, it's hard for me to say which of them are the best or even what my most favorites are. Because this is a fine paragon of small, indie cinema possibly being better than what the bigger, more commercial cinema is foisted upon the mainstream, which makes the former more interesting or fascinating too. Everything about this, from the writing to the acting to the characters is so well done. Mainly they're live-action, but some cartoons have been featured additionally. I've got to say, the people behind this show definitely have got a knack for finding well-made, well-done sci-fi and putting it all together. It was a surprise to find out earlier this year that the program no longer airs on TBD only, but also on Comet. Everyone involved in making these did a superb job in entertaining. I don't know about anyone else for show, but I know I was entertained.

Since this solely provides the best in sci-fi, it's mission has been accomplished. For anyone who may not have seen any of this, I say give it a go. I haven't seen every bigger film (whether short or feature-length) ever made, especially in recent years, but I've read about some of them in comments and reviews. And from those, that's evidence right there that anyone looking for better things to watch, this gives a great alternative. I hope there will be a third season to come, as there is always something new to look forward to from the film industry and talent yet to be found. There are a bevy of sci-fi shorts in this series from which to choose, so there is, at least, one related short film to choose from as a favorite. This may not be one of those that gets the most attention, but it surely deserves more than it received, if that's truly the case. Even though I don't think I can praise this enough because of that, I'll just stop here anyway. I love it so much. Recommended.

I'm gradually but surely trying to get more and more into the Russian/Soviet/Ukrainian cartoon scene. While mainly skimming through episodes or parts of another cartoon from the latter Eurasian country, I notice a thumbnail video link copy of this on the side with the other related video thumbnails/links. Naturally, as curious as I was, I decided to check it out and I'm so glad I did, as usual when I make the decision to do so, because it's another winner and a keeper in the favorites. I don't know any Ukrainian well nor do I speak it fluently and the option to bring up the English subtitles isn't available, so I just watched it on mute, but from seeing the actions that take place, I still know enough of what's going on in it. Another great one I haven't heard of and was previously unaware of, it has since become one of my favorite foreign cartoons, both of the '80s, and of all time. I don't know if it ever won any awards locally, but if not, it should have, because this is truly among the best of the best ever made and on my list of picks for that. I've got to say, it's one of the most impressive I've ever seen.

A fun-loving, mischievous boy whose name is translated as Peter is prepared by his parents for daycare, pre-school, or kindergarten where they take him and drop him off, but not before causing some chaos along the way. After arriving there, he continues with his chaotic activities with his classmates before his teacher and caregiver manages to get him to settle down and be still. Oddly, the kids aren't at the daycare/pre-school/kindergarten for until the afternoon and it seems that they don't have a siesta or afternoon nap. Rather, they stay for the night and rather than sleep on the floor, they sleep in beds. Before going to sleep, Peter asks his teacher/caregiver for help with counting and looking at pictures of various animals on a wall, she looks briefly at some elephants and from what I observed and hypothesized, either tells him a story or sings him a lullaby about it. Peter then dreams he's in Africa where he meets some anthropomorphic elephant kids and as he plays with them, he uses them to put his counting skills to the test. When he awakens, he becomes less rowdy and a better student.

The first thing to bring up is the animation. The very frenetic or hectic nature of it and the art style make for a well-done throwback to the 1930s-style, golden era animation that's reminiscent from the likes of the Fleischer brothers and Ub Iwerks, and the influence clearly shows, very fast-paced. The tone between the colors of darkness and lightness is well-balanced, and one side doesn't clash nor interfere with the other. This goes for the backgrounds, layouts, and characters. Peter's dream sequence is a nice nod to the surrealistic cartoons. The characters themselves are just as great, although from the little we viewers would get to see them, the moments with Peter and his parents are entertaining, as well as other moments with his classmates and the teacher. I think I especially like the teacher/caregiver due to how kind, gentle, sweet, nurturing, and patient she is. Just as more people in that position should be. I can't comment on the voice acting nor the music, since I haven't heard them and I'm trying to find an online video copy of this with English subs before I listen to the sound. The story is written just fine.

I'm so fascinated with it and I so believe this had such potential that it was enough of it for what should've been expanded into a series. I would've loved to see more adventures with Peter, but alas, this is only short featuring him. Such a missed opportunity for what more there could've been, because it so deserves it. I wish there was a T.V series., if not a theatrical short series of this. But I read on another site that Russian animated T.V.series aren't as common as in several, other countries, haplessly, so that means the same may be true for the Soviet Union and Ukraine. However, it's a good reminder that great animation is still kept alive and well, and it's miles away from the mindlessness of several, certain, drivel of shows that would emerge later. I'd love to hear an English dub of this and wish that were available, as long as it's done well enough. It also should've gotten an English dub. I say this one-shot is worthy of being given a shot, so please do go for it. I can see why it's such a real classic. Recommended.

I've been getting into some Christian-themed cartoons that I previously hadn't heard of in recent years. This is yet another one of them. I first came across the Christmas special of this, Whirl: Ada and Leo's Inspired Christmas Adventure, when it was shown last month, on Christmas Eve, on Smile TV. Since the schedule grid on the Smile TV website has been removed and it's taking so long for someone to bring it back already last I checked, I would've known about this being planned to air at that time had I still had access to the grid. Finding another thing that was new to me, I decided to try out the Xmas special. And I'm glad I did. Another cartoon special of that holiday that since became among my favorites, even though I caught only part of it (the last 7 of the 15 segments, beginning with "Magnificat: The Musical"). I enjoyed very much of what I saw and what I saw was spectacular. Then, this month, this series began airing on there and I saw a few episodes of it, enjoying those as well, so far. The show became one of my favorites of the 2010s. One of the best and what I find to be amongst the most impressive that I've seen. I didn't think I'd bother with several of the Christian-oriented 'toons, since I read others' comments about how not many of them are all that well-done, but this isn't one of them. I just couldn't resist watching more and had to do so.

I didn't know it at the time, as I would find out over four months later when I turned the channel to Smile TV on a whim to see what was airing at a certain night of the week and time. It airs twice a week and, is split into two, separate series. They're known as Whirl: Ada and Friends, plus Whirl: Leo and Friends. The former features the little sister of the former, each with their own circles of the aforementioned friends. The friends of Ada include her twin brother Otto, much younger sister Tot, Clara, Victor, Monty, and Jax. Leo's circle of comrades includes Burt, Mimi (who is Monty's big sister), Ruby, Gabe, and Jamila. They all still make appearances in each of the titular characters' series, making their crossovers. They're mostly youngsters who come in various colors. Both series are designated to follow the short or segment compilation format, with eight or nine each episode on average, the majority of them revolve around the kids mainly attending Sunday school learning about the Bible, and other things related to Christianity. But often what they hear about is often misunderstood or misinterpreted, resulting in confusion, hence the word "whirl" in the title, and they try to figure out what that happens to be. Then, the confusion has to be resolved through explanation to set things straight, like the meanings behind the Biblical teachings. At first, I thought that this could be a more Christian-oriented version of Peanuts, in that adult characters either are only partially seen or not seen at all. During the end credits that followed the ending of the last segment of a particular episode, a preacher, pastor, or something related was giving a sermon, but what he was saying wasn't clear nor decipherable. It was something garbled, akin to how a trombone would be used whenever an adult in Peanuts was speaking, rather than using a normal, intelligible, decipherable voice. But then I saw other segments in which, at least, some adult characters are shown on screen. So maybe they make more physical appearances later on the series, I don't know for sure, that's just my guess. But the thing with the practical absence and obscure speech of the initially unseen adults in this may have taken inspiration from that running gag in Peanuts. I saw a screenshot on another site of an episode with Ruby and two adults, who I presume must be her parents, and if that is the case, then so far, her parents are the only ones out of all the main characters who have been shown (or, at least, the I know of anyway).

The characters and the objects they use are animated in that Flash style or something similar, and some objects are drawn, but the scenery features live-action or photoshopped backgrounds mostly with those drawn in some cases. The writing of the short stories are well-written. Not too simple, but also not too complex in giving explanations, so there's a perfect balance of both to keep things satisfactory and still easy enough to follow, all while being mixed with some good humor. It's done entertainingly enough. In some segments, there are parodies, mixing in whatever the parodies are with Christian messages, which seem to be well-executed. And because there are always surprises, it's not predictable. The dialogue is well-scripted, such as in the case of the clever or witty anecdotes that are explained and clarified better. Many of the characters are likable enough, with certain ones receiving some great development and their designs of the town's denizens are colorful. Their bodies are similar to the characters in the God Rocks Bible Toons series, in which their hands and feet are separated from their bodies (probably inspired by that), and their proportions vary. I don't think the music is used much, but when it is, it's plenty pleasing and facile on the ears. I'm not familiar with any of the voice cast, but they sound like they did a fine job in voicing their roles. When I heard the short theme in the special, with the theme being played by bells, I presumed it was just for the Christmas special, but no, that's it's common, official theme. That and I didn't know that this wasn't only limited to the special, as it wasn't just a one-off situation, like I wondered.

What I've seen of the series so far has been smartly done well. It's positive, wholesome, and a much-needed relief away from the rubbish that has been all far too common these days. If anyone is looking for something that isn't too ridiculously out-there, in a negative way, then I say give this program a whirl. Especially for the kid viewers, their heads won't be in a whirl once everything they try to learn about spirituals, scriptures, and the like is cleared. Rather than being a rehash of various Bible stories, it uses, at least, parts of them for reference while at the same time, be original and kept fresh in that sense. Recommended.

I came across this title on Amazon while looking at the DVD cover of another Christmas cartoon special, Magic Gift Of The Snowman. This was one of those things that piqued both my curiosity and interest. But I previewed it first on Youtube by skimming across the streaming bar of the video and like some, certain others, it had little screen caps of various scenes appear above it. Eventually I would actually watch it, which I did in the middle of just last month and I've got to say it's one of the better Christmas specials. Another one that I wish I had seen sooner. One of my favorite Canadian cartoons and one of the better cartoons in general to go straight to home media. It has everything one could ask for to get into the Christmassy spirit or mood. 'Tis joy to the season.

Due to one bad experience with the holiday, (which is explained in the first musical number,) the bitter, curmudgeonly owner of Ironsville, D.D. Kovet, decided never to allow any Christmas celebrations to be held there in spite. So the innocent rest of the town is forced to suffer through this, with some residents never being aware of Xmas. Kovet has his guards ensure that it is outlawed and that nobody partakes in it in any way. But divine intervention comes in the form of a peasant girl named Angela (who is later revealed to be an actual angel) and her pet wolf, when they came to town to sell holly and bring back the Christmas cheer. She meets two kids, a brother and sister who sympathize with her plight and offer her, and the lupine, to stay in their home with them, and their parents, for a while. When Kovet gets wind of this, he has his guards apprehend her and brought to him. After she gives her explanation for doing what she did and reminds him of why Xmas is so great, he softens up and has a change of heart, once he receives some convincing. Angela is the savior and has the power to melt an iron heart. All turns out well in the end.

Concerning the technical features of this, the art style seems to be stylized, but the animation is hardly limited, especially in the characters' movements. The colors of the backgrounds and layouts are used finely. Based on what the reviewer before me commented, I gather that presumably it seems that the studios that co-produced this were better at creating and writing original stories than at adapting pieces of literature. But this is a strong, original story, the screenplay is just the same. Many of the characters are great in one way or another. The musical numbers, especially the song sung by Angela explaining just what Christmas is all about, may be better than the incidental music. I can't complain about the voice acting, nothing bad about it.

A classic, Christmas gem that I somehow was unaware of for years. I can't say this was a disappointment. One of the holiday specials, especially those that are less prominent, that fascinated me the most. Also, one of the best that doesn't revolve around Santa Claus, but not exactly a retelling of the Biblical tale, as a nice change of pace. I say this isn't a skip, as it is still among the more worthy, if not noteworthy, ones to watch. Recommended.

As a Filmation show, this and other toons by that same studio weren't among the shows I watched in my childhood. I've checked out a few of them sometime after I reached adulthood. For a while, I avoided Filmation's works, due to reading about their subpar quality and was hesitant to try any of them. But in my view, from what I've seen, some of these are somewhat better than others and I believe this to be such an example. Even though Filmation may had been one of the biggest, but not most flawless, cartoon studios at the time, again, I still consider, at least some of the materials, to be better than others anyway and would rather watch some, certain ones than the majority of cartoons that have emerged in recent years that are a bunch of dreck. I find this to be more worthy, despite some imperfections and would take this over the aforementioned any day. In an online search, I came across this show a while back. After not thinking about it for some time, I happened to come across this again, being reminded of it, a few nights ago, and decided to look it up on Youtube and check it out there. Despite it not being one of the most sophisticated cartoons ever made, I find it fascinating but alright enough regardless after watching the first three episodes. At least the creators and rest of the crew tried putting some effort into this, more than some others by the animation company.

This series is actually a spin-off of The Brady Kids and I thought this was a spin-off that outdid the predecessor. The lead character, the teacher Miss Tickle, was introduced in an episode from the forerunner's second season, which led to this. Even though it features a cartoon version of Aussie rocker, Rick Springfield, I'm not sure I can quite call this a celebrity cartoon, in spite of featuring a celebrity like him, since he's not quite the lead. But this has a hodgepodge of celebrity, edutainment, musical, fantasy, comedy, and mystery elements, all rolled up into one.The fantasy element may be the main one. There have been similarities compared between this and the original Magic School Bus T.V. show that followed almost a couple decades later. I wondered if the creator/author of the Magic School Bus books, Joanna Cole, was inspired/influenced by this, but looking for that on the book series's Wikipedia page, I didn't see any mention of that. Anyway, other reviewers before me have already described the plot of this, which has each episode revolving around Miss Tickle and her ethnically-diverse group of six students who make up the Great Adventures Club, traveling through a portal that's a chalk drawing of a door that magically opens and can be physically used to enter other worlds, after being contacted by Rick via a gramophone whenever there was help needed. The ceramic cat, Tut-Tut, would also come to life and become a live cat who accompanied the others and meet up somewhere with Rick, who has his own pet, an owl named Potamy. Concerning the blackboard aspect, it's also similar to Chalkzone, except there aren't chalk drawings brought to life in this. Another thing this show may have in common with is Here Comes The Grump, particularly due to teacher, students, and pet traveling to various lands. Not getting into much more of the concept, I'm going to comment on the technical aspects of this next.

Like several, other T.V. programs by the studio and others from the same decade, the animation is limited, but not so limited that it's in the synchro-vox style of things like Clutch Cargo, so it's not as limited nor cheap as a cartoon can get. There are a few reused scenes in each episode, repetitive, scrolling backgrounds, and the like, but that was the norm. The colors are moderate, not too dark nor too bright, but just right, such as those of the psychedelic designs in the background when Miss Tickle and the students are flying from the classroom to another world. Speaking of colors, there's some animation goofs involving them, but a few, as is also the norm in cartoons, unless this occurs too much, as in the various Super Mario Bros. cartoon series. Some of the objects and buildings in the sceneries are detailed, while others are flat. I can't find much to complain about the writing of the stories and scripts, as they may be simple, but also satisfactory enough. The character designs are probably simple, I'm not very sure, but easy on the eyes. Although the characters themselves may not be the among most complex one will ever see, they're just likable enough. The theme song is a great association with one of the sub-genres that were big at the time, as are other songs performed within the episodes. The voice work for the characters is well-done and notably the cast has both male and female voice actors, rather than just limiting to male voice actors who try to do impressions of feminine voices for female characters, unlike some of the other oeuvre. There's also a laugh track, which is used at just the right moments.

I read that Rick hated on this show and the fact that, early on, this was one of the ways used to showcase his songs, and career, by his involvement. But then again, he had to start somewhere. I don't see it as being all that bad. There may have been other toons that came along later to outshine it, but I say it has some merits. I view it as fun nonetheless and it's some breath of fresh air from the middle of the Scooby Doo clone-trend that was common back then, so there's that as well. Some may think that the initial Magic School Bus is better as far as production quality goes, but if this isn't better than that, then it's on the same level as that. One difference is, although there was magic involved in that show too, Ms. Frizzle and her students never went world-hopping, but they remained in the real world. Aside from the theme song, Magic School Bus never had any musical numbers. This is one Filmation series I can take for what it is and from my viewpoint, it's one of the better products. It's better than or better next to The Brady Kids, M.U.S.H., and Friday Cat, and I haven't seen it mentioned as getting as much detestation as those. Following the Civil Rights Movement, it's great to see shows with ethnically-diverse characters such as this. That's one of the brighter spots about it. I would like to think that had this gotten a second season, it hopefully would've been improved somehow, disregard-fully knowing Filmation's typicalities. To anyone who might be curious as to what this is all about, I say give it a whirl. It's worth a shot. This is one of those I prefer and would still take over things like Mega Babies and Almost Naked Animals, once again, any day. Recommended.

Another cartoon I don't recall knowing of before discovering it on the web. I first saw another promo pic with a link to videos of the series's episodes on Tubitv, but I'd watch them on Youtube instead. From the first seven episodes I've seen so far, this has been a blast. I was surprised to learn that it's yet another foreign animated show (particularly from the European country of Spain). But regardless, the crew behind it did a well-done job on making legends and myths more exciting. I don't think this adventure program is like any other I've ever seen or, at least, know about at all. One of the best to come out towards the end of the '90s, very impressive. This toon isn't just the stuff of myths and legends. There are no tall tales nor yarns to be found here.

It follows two siblings named Lisa and Nick Campbell, as well as their pet dog, Zeus, who spend their free time exploring a cave known as The Cave of Mythos, as the former two explain in the intro. Whenever they come across a picture, a crystal, or some other object they touch, it's activated, and they end up getting transferred to a time and place pertaining to the myth or legend, and associating with those. Once they get there, they become witnesses to the myth or legend, meet the figures associated with it, and face a problem in which they have to find a solution before they can return home to Denver, Colorado. To name a couple of myths/legends the siblings and canine meet throughout their adventures, they include those having to do with the Midas touch and the Loch Ness Monster, among others. In addition to this, there's sometimes a moral lesson to take from them as well.

Concerning the technicalities of this: the artwork is what I consider to be some of the better drawn, any animation errors aside, and the animation moves smoothly enough. The main characters, Lisa and Nick, are great heroes who have great chemistry and complement each other well. Lisa is the more serious and mature of the two, but she can take time to be frivolous every once and a while; Nick is less serious, but he knows it's time to stop being so frivolous when he realizes he's gone too far for some reason or another. As for the typical, sibling relationship, it's exactly that rather than rivalry, and they always look out for each other. Other characters, especially this series's rendition of the various legendary and mythical figures, are great as well. Haven't heard the Spanish dub, but the voice acting in the English dub sounds fine. The music is pleasing to the ears and well-composed, done just right.

What more can I say about this? It's just a thrill ride of a lifetime that doesn't disappoint. Lately, I've been getting into more and more adventure cartoons, and this is among the finest. Like the saying goes, "Seeing is believing", and after each legendary or mythical icon the Campbell siblings meet, it becomes clear that they're all seemingly very much real after all they've experienced. Haplessly, this is one of the one-season wonders, so there'd be no further myths and legends for the Campbell siblings to venture. I detest how it ended as soon as it did, as I feel there are a lot more undertakings to be had with such potentiality. I wish there were, at least, 52 additional episodes before being dropped. Now this is among my kinds of shows, those that are meaningful, not mindless. It's another underrated gem that's worthy. What I consider to be amongst the best I've ever seen. One of my most beloved animated shows and series in general of not only the '90s, but of all time. Any other adventure show lovers like me who may be reading this, please do check it out as soon as possible, well-worth watching, I can't praise this show enough. Recommended.

I'm not sure how I came to find this one, but it may have been while I was searching for some other cartoon on Google. But this caught my attention and I decided to give it a try, and, as usual, I don't regret doing so. This is another Canadian cartoon classic, it's no disappointment. It's one of my picks for best animated T.V. series from Canada, of the year 2000, and of the whole decade. I didn't watch many action cartoons growing up, but in adulthood, I'm appreciating them more and more. This is without a doubt action-packed and it doesn't disappoint. Due to there currently being only six of the episodes available to watch online, namely Youtube, this is all I've been able to see of it. But I've enjoyed each of them and what I've seen so far. Even though I might not have given this the time of day if it had been brought to the attention of any of my local T.V. stations, had I been aware and learned about this sooner, it's still unbelievable that a Canadian toon of this level of excellence gets less push to the masses than the more, nonsensical mess from that same country like Almost Naked Animals. As this is one of the better and more worthy shows.

Also known in the French dub as Air Academy, this revolves around a septet, some of whom are up-and-comers in the aviation field. The leader, Dan, formerly worked for the Canadian Secret Service and is an ex-fighter pilot; Tina, the aspiring aviator; Max, the team's mechanic; Jeff, another aspiring aviator; Jeff's younger sister and pre-teen, Emma, who handles air traffic control; Emma's fellow pre-teen, Alex, who does the same; and Parachute, a flying squirrel who is the team's pet and mascot (although he doesn't quite look like a flying squirrel, since he seems to lack wing-like appendages under his arms). An independent air services company is run and they carry out a la carte missions for their clientele, and coming to the aid of others in need. I presume it may be both a flight services agency and a flight school. Aside from that and flying planes, jets, and any other aircraft, they partake in other aerial activities, such as parachuting and skydiving. In addition to all this, they're tasked with foiling the plots of a group of mercenaries known as the Barracudas.

On to the technical aspects of this. It makes a great use of traditional and CG art/ animation. The art style is well-drawn enough and the animation seems fine most of the time from all that I've seen. I mention this, because in one of the episodes that I know of, the lip-synching of the characters to the dialogue is done well, at first, but then it's off midway into it. I wish that problem had been fixed. The only CG mixed in this is of the aircraft and they look good enough to me, as they look nearly realistic. Plus, it's interesting to see a cartoon made at a time when both art/animation styles were still being utilized simultaneously. The writing of the stories seem distinctive enough to be unfamiliar of what I may have seen before (or , at least, that I know of), anyway. Haven't heard the French dub, but the English dub sounds just right. The music sounds just as good. Other than the little aforementioned problem with it, I didn't find many.

For anyone reading this who hasn't seen the program, I highly advise to check it outs it is so worthwhile. I'd add this to my list of animated T.V. series I'd like to see be brought to DVD, especially as a complete series. Although I may not have been that deep into aviation like that, it's still an interesting thing to watch in this show. It's a high-flying thrill ride, full of action and adventure. Recommended.

Once again, while doing an online search for lesser but great/better cartoons that were previously unknown and new to me, I came across this. And it's another great find I made. I decided to check this out on Youtube some time last month and it's become another favorite but underrated animated series of mine I love, not just from the '90s, but of any decade. Since it's based on a celebrity (albeit loosely), it happens to be one of those rare, better, and stronger celebrity toons. I didn't watch many of those growing up and it's even rarer that I show interest in any of them now, as shows like that aren't really my first choice and I can see why most of them are so unworthy. But this is one that's exceptional. So exceptional, in fact, that to me, it's one of the best ever made. Most celeb toons are rubbish, not this one. The titular character also became one of my favorite voice roles by Cree Summer. Because of the reimagining of the famous person on which it's based, it's done well and doesn't disappoint.

Like the real-life Princess Tenko, the cartoon Princess Tenko's real name is Mariko Ikatura. And as the latter's real counterpart would become, this other Princess Tenko is an aspiring, advanced magician. She is admitted into a magic school by the head/teacher/master of it and ex-leader of the Guardians named Hikita Tenko. There, she meets her diverse trio of male classmates, Bolt (Caucasian), Hawk (Native American), and Steel (American Black), and they are the other Guardians of Magic, forming a team. Twin brother and sister, Jan and Jason, attend the magic school as well. Jan is envious of Princess Tenko, because she self-righteously feels she's more entitled and deserving of succeeding Master Tenko, despite slacking off on her training, unlike Princess Tenko. Despite Jason trying to convince her to just let it go otherwise, Jan is determined to take the position that she feels is rightfully hers and will stop at nothing to get it. But Princess Tenko and the Magic Guardians won't let that happen as long as they're around. Their goal is not to let a magical wardrobe that contains enchanted gems, known as the Starfire Gems, from getting into the wrong hands and keep them away from anyone who plans to use them with malicious intentions and purposes. Each of the gems has different, superpowers that aid each of the Guardians. The twins use two gems (or pieces of a gem), that when they're put together, the twins shape-shift into a conjoined dragon. Not long after, Princess Tenko and the others meet a troubled, teenaged, runaway girl named Ali, who later joins the team. From there, they travel from place to place all while being pursued by the twins. There, Princess Tenko leads a double life: One as a magic show performer; the other as protector of the Starfire Gems. So, she and her friends work with extraordinary magic, more than just the kind seen and used in magic shows.

The art and animation equally go hand-in-hand in terms of the quality being good. Each of the characters is fine in his and her own way. The stories are written with care, especially when they contain a social message. The music isn't too bad at all. The graphics, backgrounds, and layouts aren't bad neither, nor is the voice acting, even if I'm not familiar with most of the cast. The live-action, magic show segments featuring the real Princess Tenko and follow the episodes are enjoyable treats. The social message thing I just mentioned that's incorporated into the plots just may be why this celebrity, animated series seems to work so well to me, as it has more meaning than most, other, like-minded programs.

Before discovering this, I hadn't heard of the real Princess Tenko nor the illustrated/animated Princess Tenko. I don't remember ever being aware of this show when I was younger, but if I did, I wish I had seen it sooner now. In my view, although it's one of the better '90s T.V. series (animated or otherwise), it was also one of the most slept on and simply didn't garner enough attention that it deserved. And it truly deserved so much more. As a result of this, the show was dropped from continuing after it's one and only season. It's become a favorite for me by Saban. Anybody who may be reading this and is considering checking out this show, I say give it a go. It's one of those shows that's worth watching more than once. I know some of the episodes were brought to DVD in the U.K., but I'd love to see it get a U.S. release in that format as well. Recommended.

Before I came across this show by reading a little about one of the characters on the Disney fandom site, I think I might had already known about this for some time, somehow or for some other reason, despite never catching it on Disney Junior when it was running, I'm just not that sure. But from what I read about this show itself, it ignited enough of my curiosity and interest in wanting to check it out on Kiss Cartoon and here's yet another show I don't regret seeing. I'm working on a list of my top 20 favorite animated T.V. series of the 2010s and this is among them. I must say, this is one of the better/best T.V. cartoons of the last decade. Not only that, but also one of the more underrated toons it seems, as this doesn't get brought up much, as that's evident from the few reviews there are on here and Common Sense Media currently. Additionally, it's since become amongst my favorite space/sci-fi shows, educational shows, and CGI shows. One of the smartest and most impressive in recent years that proves that, despite some clunkers in the Disney Channel/Disney Junior's repertoire, the studio is still quite capable of coming up with some great, strong, newer material. Programs of this caliber are what restore my faith in cartoons and verify that there's so much more to them than the stereotypes. I can say without doubt and hesitation that this is one of those that are worth watching and enjoying as much as an adult as I would if I were still a kid. Just a few late nights/early mornings ago, I binge-watched four episodes (eight segments) of the first season back-to-back as a mini marathon and I'm almost done and on my way to viewing the second. One of the best things Walt Disney Television Animation has ever done, I can't praise this enough.

The original title is a nice, clever nod to the Disneyland attraction, even if the reference is somewhat indirect and the show doesn't exactly revolve around that. One of the reviewers before me already explained the premise of this and I think the explanation is better than how I can explain it. I'll make mine shorter and make some notable points about it differently. Rather than focusing on Tomorrowland, the Disneyland attraction, it's really about a family of four, futuristic Earthlings, The Callistos, and their pet robotic ostrich, Merc, who are members of an organization or agency called Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA) and they have adventures traveling around the galaxy to various other planets, basically helping out others in need. In addition to the educational values about the solar system, the plots of the episodes often find the family and/or some others getting into a jam and a solution to the predicament needs to be found. So amid the positive aspects about this are the emphases on problem-solving and teamwork. Just when one may think everything there is to discover in space has been discovered, there's always something new up there and out there for one to find, and see.

From all that I've seen so far, I can't complain much about this. High-quality CGI art/animation, superbly written stories, many likable to lovable characters, well-composed music, the regular/recurring/guest voice actors, all great in their roles, everything about it is just about flawless. That is, up until the third season, according to a couple, other reviewers on here. Under the title of Mission Force One, the other commentators claim that's when the series began to decline. I haven't gotten to see the third season yet, but I'm kind of hesitant and wary to see that when I do, because of whatever content there is in that ruining the image and memories of the previous seasons. But I'll still check that out too eventually, anyway, despite the claim that it's not quite as great as the first two seasons. Although I haven't seen it yet, I presume the third has the son, Miles, his sister, Loretta, and their crew of two alien friends, Blodger and Mirandos Ariellian, along with fellow human, Haruna Kitumba, become more of the focus rather than he, his sister, and their parents as they continue their aspirations to be space explorers. From the complaints I briefly read about Mission Force One here, it seems like it that couldn't and wouldn't have been as bad probably if it were treated more as a spin-off rather than an extension or continuation of Miles From Tomorrowland. The crew behind this and whoever came up with that idea might had been better off doing it that way instead and keep the original format as it was. For this reason, I give it one less star than I would've were it not for the decline in quality later.

Regardless of whatever problems there may be with the third and last season, I say this is still worth giving it a go anyway. It hasn't been a disappointment to me from what I've seen to date and it's miles or lightyears ahead of Ready, Jet, Go. The factoids are always good to learn about and know. But this one that Disney has done it again. One of the most entertaining I've ever seen. Recommended.

I happened upon this show while doing an online search for some other animated T.V. series, this being among the cartoons of which other users searched. Eventually, I viewed it a couple late nights/early mornings ago on Youtube and even though all I've seen is the first episode so far, I already absolutely love it. Another great decision I'm glad I made when it comes to which shows that are new to me to try out and watch. Once again, this has become a new favorite for me of not only one of my favorites of the 2000s and coming out of Britain, but of all time, and I also found myself a new, favorite musical series, and this just may be my most favorite in that genre. I just couldn't wait to get deeper or farther into the series to review it. It seems to be yet another great but underrated show.

This doesn't contain the run-of-the-mill battle of the bands concept and story. It's much more than that. This supergroup of teen musicians (B.B., Freez, and Mo) come together to play for an even bigger, more significant purpose. It involves a matter of saving the world and their performances are what depend on it. The trio have a rivalry with another trio called Mantyz (Kurtz, Lady Lux, and Hitt), who work under the machinations of Mya De Zya, a record label head of a company called ComaCo, responsible for producing prepsie acts. Each of these two music groups has a Sonic Lord that becomes an ally to them: A benevolent, female Sonic Lord called Sugar Che with the titular band (and who were christened by her) and a malevolent, male Sonic Lord called Vox with Mantyz. Sugar Che represents keeping the world balanced, whereas Vox represents keeping the world imbalanced. In addition to the twelve musical notes, there's a thirteenth note that must be obtained as a crucial part of preventing the world from being put out of whack, so then there will be harmony rather than discord; everything with be tonal instead of atonal; sonant rather than dissonant. Each of the Sonic Lords provides assistance towards their goals along the way. The heroes and heroine are destined to be the saviors of the world.

The program gets off to a strong start with its writing of the plot of the first episode. The setup is well done. At first, when I saw the illustrations of the main characters, I thought the art style was much like that of the spy show, Delilah and Julius, but not quite entirely. It's at least partly like that anyway, since the art seems to be a combination of 2D and CGI, if there's a term for this, then I don't know if there's any, other way to describe it, but they blend flawlessly well. The animation has plenty of fluidity, the backgrounds and layouts aren't hard on the sight. The protagonists are well-liked and their adversaries make for worthy challengers. Not only the theme song is pleasant to listen to, but so are the musical numbers, very entertaining, enjoyable enough, and pleasingly catchy, original songs that are eclectic, spanning genres. Although this is a British production, I think, like, most of the characters' voices aren't British-accented, but regardless of that, they still sound fine. One thing of note, singer Jamelia provides Sugar Che's singing voice. The heroic musicians should've been among those mentioned, at least, in the honorable mentions of Watch Mojo's Top 10 Animated Bands list-video. Because I consider them to be a potential hit.

I look forward to going through the rest of this series. An excellent first impression that wasn't a let down at all in my view. Another one I wish I could've seen sooner. It might be one of the most slept-on cartoons. Any readers, I plead to check this out, it's well worth a watch. There are no sour notes to be found, let alone heard, here. Recommended.

Jean Chalopin (co-creator of Ulysses 31) had done it again. He had made another true classic. Yet again, this is one of those greats I came across while doing an online search for some other show, but as always, when I find something of this quality, I'm very much glad I did. Another show I hadn't heard of nor known about previously, I wish I had been able to watch this in my childhood. Even back then, I'm sure I still would've loved it. For some reason, it seems that the English dub of this French-Japanese co-production was hidden from U.S. airwaves but not Australia's, making me unaware of it priorly. It should've gotten airplay in the U.S., in fact, it would've fit in and been well at home on Nickelodeon along with other anime series that used to be shown on there, like The Mysterious Cities of Gold. I checked out the first few episodes I've seen so far for most of this past week online and I've been enjoying them well so far. Another one that's got me hooked. Some of the programs I find are the best discoveries I've ever made.

Set in the very late 19th century/very early 20th century, this tells the story about two special and gifted, fraternal twins who are different not only in gender, but also in race/nationality named Jules (who is the Asian/Chinese brother) and Julie (his Caucasian/English sister) Tournier. Despite both of them being born to two different sets of parents, as well as their racial/national differences, they are still considered siblings to each other and treated as if they're related by blood just the same. This all has to do with them having several things in common, such as both of them being born in Shanghai, China, their real fathers becoming widowed after their mothers died in childbirth, a Moon Goddess involved with them from afar, both the twins being born and blessed with special powers, and more. All of the aforementioned are parts of a prophecy. A Chinese empress named Dowager sends her henchmen to have the babies slain to prevent the future of the two becoming saviors of China and having her overthrown. But through an act of a miraculous event, they are saved and manage to survive the failed attempt of being murdered. Baby Jules and Baby Julie are taken in by Martin Garcon and Captain Tournier, who adopts them. They all eventually make their way to Europe. Twelve years later, they're now preteens, but they're still not quite out of danger, as Empress Dowager has her henchmen trying to do her dirty work again. The kids have to be whisked away to safety and for the rest of the series, they are pursued through Eurasia. The twins are bonded by an intuitive connection, such as both being strongly able to sense danger or that something's wrong. Along the way to reaching their goal of freeing their dads from imprisonment, they gradually improve on the use of the seven powers they share and experience double the extraordinariness.

Everything about this is brilliantly well-done. The characters (especially the titular, two main protagonists/heroes), the writing, the art/animation, the music (especially the English version of the theme song), and the voice work (I heard the English dub only and it sounds fine). Not really any complaints about this. Well, almost. The exception being I just wish the audio/visual synchronization was perfect, as it's off at times. Amongst the animations that are so different from the more common fare. Once again, it has become another one of my favorite foreign cartoons/anime, animated shows of the 1990s, and just among my favorite shows overall, animated or otherwise. It's just as great as Chalopin's other creation, Ulysses 31. Shows of this high caliber should be getting more push instead of the mindless dreck that gets more attention. It truly deserves so much more. Another DVD release in which I'd be interested and invest. This is added to my "Best Cartoons/Anime/General Shows" Ever Made" list. Everybody who may be reading this, this is an exciting show that will give you one of the best thrill rides of your life. Well worth the watch and recommended.

Because this was less than a decade before my time, it never seemed to air on Cartoon Network (or, at least, that I know of, anyway), and I was never able to watch it on Boomerang, it's one of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons I didn't grow up on watching. Other than Josie and the Pussycats and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, this is one of the Scooby Doo clones I didn't see when I was little/younger nor did I know those I did see were supposed to be rehashes of Scooby Doo. I decided to check it out online earlier this year, despite this and the other imitators' reputation for being derivative. Not regarding the facts that I grew up on watching some of the Scooby shows and in spite of having some bias toward the franchise in recent years, due to how omnipresent it is and coming out with something new to add to the franchise too frequently, I actually find this slightly better too in spite of it being formulaic and gimmicky. It may be considered a guilty pleasure for me probably.

After the Lil' Abner comic creator Al Capp's death, Hanna-Barbera got the rights to use his Shmoo character in his first animation appearance. One of the three mystery/Scooby-based shows adapted from previous, other properties (after Josie & the Pussycats and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan). But what separates the Shmoo seen in this show from the one in the comic is that this version of the character has shapeshifting powers.

The New Shmoo follows the adventures Shmoo has with a diverse trio of teenagers who are comic book writers/detectives: the Caucasian males: Mickey and Billy Joe, (the latter also being a hick) and a Latina: Nita. Both Mickey and Nita are more excited, and enthusiastic, when it comes to pursuing cases, whereas Billy Joe is less so and is the worrywart of their investigative circle. The cases they solve are sources of inspiration for the comics. Shmoo provides some comic relief in the form of sight gags, by turning into whatever object happens to be mentioned and he often takes it literally. One of the reviewers before me described the show as a cartoon X-Files. I'm not so sure about that (especially considering since that hadn't even come to fruition yet), but it does try to be a little more distinctive with a few sci-fi elements. Although homogeneous, there's still a reason to watch it anyway, if nothing else, for its historical firsts. Interestingly enough, Nita seems to be the first Latina lead protagonist in a Hanna-Barbera toon and she, and Mickey, may be the first interracial item. Another distinction is that almost none of the criminals in this series use the "you meddling kids" line or any other variations of it. Unlike the Scooby Doo franchise's Daphne Blake, Nita is never a damsel-in-distress (though I've read elsewhere that Daphne isn't that anymore at some point in later Scooby series).

The art and character designs are among the finest ever drawn. The character animation seems fluid enough, but as far as the backgrounds, they seemed to be more limited since the scenery is looped at times. Aside from that and the occasional goofs, those may be the only things that make the animation, at least, partly limited, so I'll give those a pass regardless. The stories, though average, are at least coherent. The voice work sounds fine enough. The music is decent too, with the theme song having enough catchiness to it. The characters are decent enough.

As the '70s winded down, this would close the Scooby clones trend. This is notable for arriving at the tail end of the '70s and being the last of the Scooby clones, but it ended on a decent note. Like the other Scooby emulators or imitators, it just didn't match that franchise's success. Other than Shmoo himself, the detectives haven't appeared in anything else since, seemingly not even a cameo in Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law. I'd like to see something done with them again somehow, as long as it's done right. Despite its gimmicky derivation, I've been having a fondness for it anyway and I think this just may actually be my most favorite of the Scooby clones. When it's finally brought to DVD officially, I think I'd still buy it. To all those who griped about the Scooby pattern, it was actually some network executives' idea, not Hanna-Barbera, so they should be blamed more. But after thinking about it, I don't mind that too much, since there'd be material to compensate for that later. It's good enough for what it is. I rather watch this than anything by Dingo Pictures, Spark Plug Entertainment, and that Brazilian animation studio any day. It isn't too bad, much better than Fangface (from video reviews I've seen of it) and The Buford Files (with writing not on the level of this, based on a commentary I read). Even if it may not had set itself apart enough, it's still underrated and was slept on for simply being a Scooby clone. It didn't have a chance and deserves much more. At least it recycles animation less than The Amazing Chan cartoon. Please, don't pass this up for anybody reading this. Recommended.

This is another one of those Merrie Melodies shorts I didn't watch growing up, therefore, at the time, I had no idea it ever existed. But after reading through WB's Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies filmography, I discovered this and decided to check it out earlier this year. Since then, as always, I found something that caught my attention and it's become a favorite for me, yet again, in the MM series, as one of those 1930s animated shorts by WB/MM, one of my favorite one-offs, or even just in general.

At the center is a family of three scarecrows: Pa Scarecrow, Ma Scarecrow, and Junior Scarecrow. Junior aspires to be just like his dad, wanting and hoping to be the scariest scarecrow there ever was. But after some practicing with Pa, it doesn't quite go so well and he hasn't quite achieved his goal, and Pa doesn't think he's ready yet. The next day, Junior goes out to try out his scares on a few animals and when each of them flees from him, he thinks he actually did it successfully. Then, when he comes across a crow, he tries to frighten him, but it simply isn't effective nor does it faze the bird. Instead, it ends up with the crow scaring rather than scaring the crow. The crow pursues Junior until coming to a halt when he sees Pa, who gives him such a fright he turns white before taking off to escape in a hurry. Junior thinks he managed to get the crow to flee, but that turns out not to be so when he realizes his dad is there and has been looking for him. Later that night and back at home, Junior tells Ma all about how much he gave the black bird such a scare, but gets terrified again when he sees a shadow of what he believes to be a real crow, but it's revealed to be a crow-shadow-puppet made by Pa.

This short's title is the same as the musical number featured in it, during the scare- rehearsal scenes. As with several, other Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts at the time, the titles were derived from the songs presented in them, as the series began as musical comedies and were focused on showcasing and promoting the WB studio's musical library more than the comedic aspects of the cartoons. But as both theatrical animated short series progressed and over time, they'd get loonier and loonier for the most part. One interesting thing about this is that it's an example of marking a transitional point of the LT and MM shorts falling somewhere between their musical/cutesier moments and their more hilarious/wackier ones. After the dull, subpar, and forgettable Buddy shorts from the mid '30s and Tex Avery came on board as a director, he really turned things around for the series and the studio. How they came about is all thanks to him, he contributed to giving them the vitality they were lacking and desperately needed.

The art is an example of how much higher quality this and several, other, '30s LT and MM shorts have compared to many of the much later ones from the mid to late '60s. The animation flows well enough, such as in the scenes in which the crow chases Junior. The writing of both story and dialogue is good enough. The music, probably especially the musical number, is pleasant. The voice work is decent enough. It's just a well-made cartoon all around, so I have no gripes with it.

But since seeing this, I've been wondering, are the members of the Scarecrow family the only live ones there or are there others? Is there a whole, larger community of scarecrows or are they all owned by a farmer and they go back to being inanimate when he's around them? Anyway, for all the aforementioned reasons, I consider this to be one of my picks for the best '30s cartoon shorts in general. Recommended.

Looking at a list of 1990s cartoons on the Skool Days site, the link to this title in the "D" section caught my eye. I'm not sure if I remember somehow hearing of this show premiering in that decade, but if I did, then I simply passed or slept on it. Then, over two decades later, I decided to give it a go on Youtube. This was inspired by my desperation to find better cartoons to try out after having overlooked them previously in lieu of the dreck that passes for the medium. It has since been added to my favorites list (both of the '90s and in general) and, once again, to my list of 'toons I wish I had bother to check out sooner. Considering this is what I'd consider to be one of the most impressive programs I've ever seen. So far, I've seen only the first episode, but it left a great impression on me in such a big way. I found something new to me on which to be hooked.

Although other reviewers prior to me already explained the premise, I'l try to discuss some things about it differently, in that they haven't been mentioned. This series follows the titular characters, who make up a team of four siblings: The three brothers, Z'neth, Summit, and Peak, along with their sister, Apex. Evidently, all their names are various references to the top or highest point of something. Set in the 41st century, they and others used to make the ground or land their home, but were forced to take refuge to the sky in a place called Airlandis, as their new home, due to a war outbreak that destroyed much of the planet, Earth. Crystals are searched for with the help of their pet dragons to keep their stratospheric safe haven balanced. Also, they go in search of a place that hasn't been devastated by the war and radiation outbreak, which resulted in the appearances of unprecedented species, like the aforementioned dragons. But their are several mutants, led by Dreadwing, that are out to devastate Airlandis as well. The Dragon Flyz have special wings that are built into their seemingly ordinary suits that turn them into wing suits and allow them to take flight. Again, each of the siblings has his and her own dragon and like the human foursome, most of them are male: Riptor for Z'neth, Sky Fury (the lone female dragon) for Summit, Wing Storm for Peak, and Blazewind for Apex. Funnily enough, I would've thought a female dragon would be paired with Apex, but ironically not. Sometimes their owners use their steeds for transport to travel. The first three episodes comprise a story arc and a feature film. Amazingly, this show seemed to predict that one day wing suits would become a reality. In addition to this being an animated action/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy/drama, it could be considered environmental with the near-ruins of Earth used as a focal point to get its message across.

On the technical, both the art and animation are breathtaking; the characters (both heroes and villains) are a great bunch; the story is written flawlessly; the music is fine too. The presentation had its own toy-line by Galoob, but due to inconsistencies by different sources, I can't be sure if the toy-line inspired this or if it was vise-versa. I don't know which came first, but if it's the former, then this is another toyetic 'toon that managed to outdo itself in many more ways than one. Proving that not all toy-based cartoons are useless, other than being extended commercials and it's surely among the better ones. At first, it seemed like things were going to go sky-high for the Dragon Flyz. But due to the toys failing to sell, it wasn't quite sky's the limit for them and the series. That misfortune led to this being yet another potential but short-lived program that was dropped too soon. It seems to be one of those shows that didn't get a proper nor satisfactory ending. Not only does this seem to have been underrated, but the toys seemed to be as well. If only this were brought to DVD in the U.S., as I'd like to own my own copy of the complete series. I may not had been as appreciative of toons like this at the time, but now I have a whole new appreciation for material of this caliber. Please, don't pass this up, as this is really amongst those that are truly worthy. Recommended.

I had planned to watch this on Youtube last year, but the only copy that was available got removed before I could do so. After searching for a copy of this elsewhere online, luckily, I was able to find and view this through the archive site instead. This became the third For Better or For Worse special I watched after The Christmas Angel and A Valentine From The Heart, and this Halloween special is just as great as those Christmas and Valentines specials. The makers behind it did it again: They made another great classic in the franchise.

This special revolves around a couple of characters, Farley, the Patterson family's pet dog, and Brad Luggsworth, a bully who gives the son, Michael, a hard time. I'm not sure whether there are both a plot and a subplot in this or if the whole thing is one, whole plot. But how this story all came together is well-executed. The "good-for-nothing" to whom the title refers is Farley, who always seems to be nuisance for the Pattersons and others most of the time. Brad is a guy who has a rough-and-tough exterior. Later, Farley proves that he really can be a good-for-something after all when he comes to Michael's aid after Michael is confronted by Brad. Although there is some focus on Halloween with scenes featuring costumes and candy being given to trick-or-treaters, the aforementioned is more of the main focus. In the end, it's proven that Farley isn't completely useless, he can be useful, and that deep down there is some goodness in Brad. A similar scenario or situation of the latter has been done in the Valentine special also.

The art style remains true to that of the comics, while the animation is fluid enough. The characters are all great as usual, but it's Farley and Brad who are the standouts. Especially with Brad's character development. Although the music isn't among the catchiest I heard, it's still good enough. Even though I'm not well-familiar with most of the cast, the voice actors are as good as ever and seem well-suited to their roles. The story and script, and how they all came together were well-done. Two lessons that are learned from this are that one may be surprised at what another is capable of doing and that one should always be humble, because you never know when karma just may come back for you. It's relatable to anyone who may have had the misfortune of facing off with a bully.

This is one of the best Halloween specials ever made. In this case, simply for the morals or the lessons provided. For all those who may not had seen it already, I recommend it to everybody as it doesn't disappoint and it has plenty of good moments to keep things intriguing. It's should be seen for anybody who is looking for a fine Halloween special.

I don't remember this being among the episodes of this show I watched during its mid to late '90s repeats, but I believe a few months ago when I watched this episode on Youtube, it was the first time I saw it. Can't compare and contrast it with the original story, as I never read it, but it's another one I still enjoyed nonetheless. There are interesting parallels and similarities between this and the ABC Weekend Special, "The Bunjee Venture". This features two siblings, brother and sister (Joey and Joan), as does "The Bunjee Venture" (Andy and Karen), who come across a prehistoric creature (George the Stegosaur, who was named by Joan, in this; Bunjee in the ABC Weekend Special) one way or another. With Joey and Joan, they cross paths with George in some plateaus; Andy and Karen cross paths with Bunjee by using their dad's time machine, which took them to prehistoric times. Both pairs of siblings have a mom and dad. I had to point out those three things I noticed, but that's where the parallels and similarities end. Therefore, both each book and its adaptation just may be somewhat of an answer to the other.

Set in the titular locale somewhere in the Southwest, the family's home is a ranch. Joey and Joan's dad is a paleontologist, and after they bring him his lunch, they go horseback riding into town. But little do they know they're about to be in for a huge surprise. On the way there, Joey falls off his horse and encounters a rattlesnake. Joan attempts to protect him, but both she and Joey are saved, thanks to a live, talking stegosaur who comes to their aid. The twins never would've thought they'd see the day when they'd actually come across a dinosaur of any kind in the flesh, much less one that can speak and he happens to be the last one in existence. Although the stegosaur is normally shy when it comes to showing himself to people, he makes an exception for Joan and Joey. The things of more modern times are foreign to the stegosaur, such as his unfamiliarity with chewing gum and mistaking an airplane for a pteranodon. After Joan christens her and Joey's new friend George, George has to go into hiding whenever others are nearby, and he has the ability to do this by camouflaging himself when he's near a plateau, changing himself to the same color as it, and appearing as if he's made of stone. In addition to this, there's a caper involved, committed in town by three men. Joan is in trouble when one of the men finds her alone after George seemingly disappears and catches her learning of their plans. Will George be able to muster the courage to come to her rescue again and will the law enforcers be able to apprehend the robbers?

This story is just as good as the other episodes I've seen so far in this series. The art with both the characters and the depictions of the backgrounds, and layouts, such as with the plateaus, are well-designed. The animation is a paragon of the quality being better than some, certain, other '80s cartoons. George himself is great, as while usually shy, he can summon bravery at times as well. Joey and Joan are the same. The incidental music consists of a ear-catching country/Western feel. I know of only some of the cast this episode features, but everyone sounded fine in their voice roles. Everything technical about it is top-notch. It's a mystery how George managed not to go extinct after prehistory. Another entertaining story/episode. What more can I say? Other than it's another winner. Recommended.

Somehow, I didn't watch this when it aired, but I think it was three years later, after its airing, that I would have the opportunity to watch it when I rented a VHS copy of it from Blockbuster. I remember seeing the special on that itself, as I'm not sure if I saw the prelude with the late President George H.W. Bush giving that speech about the fight against drugs, but I know for sure I didn't see the musical performance given by some kids and the promotion of McDonald's after the end credits. I wouldn't know about that until I read that being mentioned elsewhere on another site. The purpose behind the making of this may have been the point, but like several others, I was just excited about the crossover thing with these mostly '80s cartoon characters from various shows of that same decade and that was what drew me into it.

Other than seeing the various cartoon stars of the day come together, again, now I'm not quite sure what I saw in it after watching. I guess I almost always wasn't that good at discerning and analyzing what was wrong with nearly anything I viewed on T.V. or VHS. This isn't one of my favorites. After reading others' reviews and comments on both here and on other sites, I now see it for what it really is more than not: A promo for the well-known characters' various shows more than about drug prevention. I remember seeing another drug prevention, PSA cartoon at some point in elementary school that had completely original characters rather than mostly established ones with newer characters. I hadn't seen it in years, but I did an online search for it and tried putting "D.A.R.E. cartoon" into the search engine, to be exact, it's actually called D.A.R.E. America. I wasn't sure of the title, but that was the first thing that came to mind and I found it on my first and only guess/try. I found video of that for viewing at Youtube, three copies, but unfortunately, they all have a Spanish dub only. Now that seemed so much better than this. Also, I thought the running time of it was closer to half an hour, but it's really just a little more than 12 minutes.There was a comment on another site stating that this get-together of mainly '80s animated characters could'd revolved around them battling the ultimate foe. That sounds like that would'd been a much more interesting idea. I like the sound of that more.

I can't explain too much about it that other reviewers before me hadn't explained what the problems are with it. But I'll try to mention what was already covered differently and more short-handedly. The point of its message being too preachy (though I probably wouldn't had gotten what the big deal with that would be back then, when I was little/younger), the inconsistencies (like with the Smoke character being able to pass through walls, but not a trash can), the explanations of why drugs are so bad for anyone being too vague or not specific enough. Therefore, all of these are what would make for bad writing. The established characters are somewhat themselves, but in this, they're also not 100% consistent. It may be nice too see them all in one place, but it's such a waste, as they hardly help out the main protagonist and drug abuser, Michael, they could'd been used so much better. They attempt an intervention, but the ways they do it are done badly. Of all the original characters, I like the sister of the special's protagonist, Corey, the most. I don't remember the musical number being all that bad, but I'll take others' word for it anyway and the rest of the music may be just alright. The art and animation seem fine enough, although somebody commented it not being on the same level as other animations from 1990, but I wouldn't know the exact difference. The cast, much of whom I'm familiar with, sound like they did a great job in there roles as usual (perhaps other than the singing).

It pains me to admit it, but this isn't as great as I once thought nor is it among the best cartoons ever made looking back on it. I have no idea how I could've missed it. It would've been much better as just another PSA ad that is much shorter like several others. In my review's title, I mention this cautionary PSA tale is ineffective for the reasons I mentioned above, so that means several may not had taken heed of the dangers and effects that drugs can cause, as the explanations were poorly done. Well, at least the one thing I can say that's the sole good that came out of this is, at least established toon characters from other '80s programs that weren't featured in this, fortunately for them, it's a great thing others didn't appear in this disaster. The aforementioned reasons are why it's no longer popular with me and some of the other reviewers on here, if it even ever was popular with them at all. Not the best anti-drug PSA ever made. Anyone who is interested in checking it out should see it at least once, even if it may not be one of the most perfect. If this were to be brought to DVD, I doubt it's worth owning, most nobody would be intrigued by this, other than the very young. Not recommended.