Galaxy Post

From Paniponi Dash, episode 12:
"Captain, you've got a package by Galaxy Delivery. It's from our home planet."
"A package by Galaxy Delivery?"
"It looks like a package from Galaxy Mail Order."
"Oh, it must be what I ordered from Galaxy TV Shopping! Put my Galaxy Personal Seal on the Galaxy Payment Slip and get the package for me."
"But it's Galaxy COD."
"Just go ahead and do a Galaxy Advance for me, will you?"
"But it's before Galaxy Payday. I don't have any money on me..."
"Didn't you just get a Galaxy Advance?"
"I'm sorry... I Galaxy-lost all my money on Galaxy Pachinko, so I'm totally Galaxy-Broke right now."
"You're Galaxy-hopeless, moron!"

Grizzle's Bad?

I shouldn't be posting this. I should either be working or sleeping. But I really need to get this out of my system.

I'm addicted to Grizzle's Bad, a video clip of the song of the same name. It's actually from Oopsy Does It, the new Care Bears movie, but that doesn't come out on DVD until October 23rd, and it when it was out in theaters, the only one in CT was way too far to justify going out, especially when I had no clue if I'd even like it or not (the new movies have been okay, but nothing to write home about, really. Although I do like the character arc of the "villians" in The Big Wish Movie, and I might write that up sometime. Probably the next time it's on TV).

The clip in question is the bag guy's song, which will get stuck in your head for days. Like I said, I'm addicted to it. Somebody tell me how to rip audio from these kind of clips, so I can listen to it on my mp3 player, okay?

Why am I addicted to this video clip? First off, there's the music of the song itself. It has a sinister quality, yet it's also kind of jazzy. Plus, there are trumpets. I'm a sucker for trumpets (and violins, but there aren't any here). And there's Grizzle's performance, which manages to be both sharp and smooth, and has a lovely bit of nuance at the end that just brings the song to a close perfectly. I don't know who does his voice, but he really brings the character to life.

Then there's the visuals. The camera angles are far from static, and there are times where, even though I've watched this video clip a thousand times, I'm certain that Grizzle is going to punch the camera. Not to mention the body language and facial expressions. I could go into such minute details about this video clip if I really wanted to.

But overall, the reason I'm addicted to this video clip is that when you put it all together, it's just incredibly cheesy. It soon becomes obvious that this whole thing is just an excuse for him to climb out of his mechanical suit (he's so tiny! and CUTE!) and dance with himself. He even throws in a quick monologue during the instrumental break. All this in under two minutes.

I could watch this all day, I really could. It makes me want to know everything there is to know about Grizzle (which probably isn't much), and makes me simultaneously long for each Saturday and October 23rd (for the TV show and DVD, respectively). Until then, I'll be watching the clips on the official website.

(Every time, I expect him to sing "I'm just mean and greedy to the core" instead of the actual lyrics, "to the bone.")

The Drowsy Chaperone: Men in Chairs

On March 14, 2007, I saw The Drowsy Chaperone with my fiancee. And I really liked it. I'm not going to go into the show too much, but if you haven't heard of it (and if you're not into musicals, you probably haven't), here's the basic plot. One day in New York, a guy who's really into musicals (Man in Chair) decides to play his favorite show on LP, and we see the whole thing come to life in his apartment. Since he's listening to a record, the show occassionally "skips" and other things like that, and every now and then he stops to give us trivia about the production.

Now, when I saw the show, my Playbill was missing a little sheet of paper that had the updated cast list, so I was under the impression that I was watching the original cast. So I was very excited to buy the souvenier program, because I really liked the Man in Chair and wanted to have pics of him. The Man in Chair I saw was Jay Douglas, and he had a real nerd-hot look going for him (a type I tend to fall for, as my fiancee can attest), with longish hair and glasses. I was not pleased to open the souvenier program and see Bob Martin, the actual original Man in Chair. He's not cute at all, and has no glasses. I considered writing to the theater and asking for a photo of Jay Douglas as Man in Chair, but I never did. And I bought the souvenir program anyway.

As a fan of musicals almost rival to Man in Chair, I of course had to buy the Limited Edition LP Original Cast Recording, sold only at the theater (the official website sold it, too, but it was already sold out by then). The idea is that the LP is the songs as they appear in the show, since the already released OCR features interruptions by Man in Chair, plus some of the 'skipping.' The LP also came with a CD of the audio, in case you don't actually have a record player (I do, btw). Since I had that CD, I didn't need to get the actual OCR to relive the show. Plus, I knew that my not-so-local library had a copy, so I would just borrow that. It took months for me to finally get a hold of it, though. It took until June, in fact. Anyway, I was interested in hearing what the original Man in Chair sounded like, and once again I was not pleased.

Jay Douglas' Man in Chair was, as I said before, a nerd, but he was sincere, talking to us (the audience) in a friendly, if slightly insecure, tone. Bob Martin, however, comes across as prissy, pissy, and a little nasty. He's the guy who corners you at a party and shoves his opinions down your throat. At least, that's the way I see it.
In short, Jay Douglas' Man in Chair is genuinely nice (and cute!), while Bob Martin's Man in Chair is unpleasant (and not cute). And I'm so glad I could finally get that out.

Tiny rant - PPD

Just something that's been bugging me. In episode 9 of Paniponi Dash, there's a section that talks about Rebecca (the 11-year-old genius school teacher)'s days in college, and how she had no friends because she pushed people away. Supposedly. Personally, I think she had no friends because she was a nine-year-old in college! Seriously, once the WTF-factor wears off, what self-respecting college student wants to hang out with a nine-year-old, regardless of intellect?

Adventures in Care-a-lot, episode one

So, the Care Bears have been reinvented yet again, and I kinda like it. I don't think the look translates in the plushes too well, but when it's drawn, I love it! So cute ^_^ So when I heard that there was going to be a traditionally animated show (or not CG, anyway), I had to check it out! I didn't really have high hopes for it, figuring it would look good, and little else. And while the plots are a little basic, the overall episodes (of which there have only been two, but still) have been entertaining. The series takes place after the recent film Oopsy Does It, so if you haven't seen it (and you probably haven't, it only had a very limited release, and doesn't come out on DVD until mid-October), a few things might not make sense. All you really need to know is that the main villian for the series is Grizzle, a bear with a penchant for robotic suits and a dislike for all things sweet and light.

The first episode has two stories, A Little Help and The Tell-Tale Tummy. In the first, Grumpy builds a power generator to provide rainbow lights for the Rainbow Lights Celebration, which Grizzle decides to steal to keep his evil lair from floating away. In his attempts, he gets covered first with punch, and then with stardust, making everyone think he's Surprise Bear's surprise for the parade (but it was really a pinata). Meanwhile, Grumpy's making a stew, but needs bumbleberries. Share offers to give him the berries from her garden, but for some reason he rejects it. Eventually, both Grizzle and Grumpy realize they need to both ask and accept help from others (well, not Grizzle so much), and the Rainbow Lights Celebration goes off without a hitch, except that since Grumpy gave Grizzle the power generator, there aren't any actual rainbow lights. So Cheer steps in and uses her belly badge (which is what their symbols are called now) to light up the night.

The second involves Share using Grumpy's not-quite-finished Cloud Express (a delivery transport) without his permission (isn't asking first the cardinal rule of sharing?), and it ends up breaking. The others assemble to solve the mystery of who did it (complete with detective hats) while Share gets butterflies in her stomach (which makes a lot of noise) due to her guilt. She doesn't fess up until the others decide Grizzle is the culprit and go to "give him a good talking-to." But Grumpy forgives her and they build a new Cloud Express, which Share uses (with permission) to send an apology to Grizzle, who apparently spent the whole time building a house of cards. Personally, I think that this episode would have been more interesting if they'd actually gotten to Grizzle's and confronted him before Share confessed. But I did kind of like Share sending the note and Grizzle being all "What the?"

I want to say, the voice acting really makes this show. There are a lot of veteran VAs involved, including Ian James Corlett and Tabitha St. Germain, and it really shows. I don't know who exactly does who, but I have a few hunches. I will say, though, that it's a little disconcerting to hear Funshine with such a masculine voice. And I love Grizzle's voice ^_^ He gives the character a dramatic flair that really brings him to life. I'm still on the fence about how I feel about Grumpy's voice, though.

The little stuff I liked:
A Little Help
"UR-2!" "I am not."
Everyone being excited about Grumpy's stew. Who knew he cook, let alone well enough that everyone simultaneously bursts out with Mmmms at the very thought of it?
Grumpy having a Grandma Grumpy
Love-a-lot, Tenderheart, Wish, and Good Luck chanting "Sparkle bear!"
Grizzle's "My home" monologue. I just love the delivery!
Grizzle being all "It's mine! Mwahaha!" after Grumpy gives him the generator
UR-2: What he meant to say was "Thank you." Grizzle: *in the distance* No, I didn't!!
The jukebox and UR-2 dancing. UR-2 just rocks in general. I hope he shows up more.
Questions:
What did Grumpy make the generator out of, anyway?
What's that stuff called? Noodley Stoodilly Doodilly Stew? Doesn't quite sound appetizing...

The Tell-Tale Tummy
Grumpy seeing the Cloud Express going by and commenting that he has one just like it
Cheer, Funshine, Amigo, and Share using the Care Bear Stare on Grumpy
"Grizzle's a bear!" It's just the way she says it.
Grizzle gloating about building a house of cards
Questions:
How come Grumpy got so emo over the Cloud Express breaking, when he was all "I can just build another one" when he gave Grizzle the power generator in the previous story?
Why does Grumpy want Share to help him build a new Cloud Express? No doubt she was merely on "bring me a tool" duty.

Images!
Cameos: Best Friend Bear and Tenderheart
Cameos: Good Luck, Love-a-lot, Harmony, and a mystery bear. Harmony's a hippie!
Cameos: Love-a-lot, Good Luck, Tenderheart, and Wish Bear
Cameos: Wish Bear again. I like her new design.
Grumpy the cook
Grumpy's reaction to Grizzle's power trip
Grumpy waxes philosophical over his stew (actually, he's just wishing they could have the rainbow lights)
The power generator turned into a disco light show!
Is that a library?
Grumpy booty!
Grumpy does not appreciate the other's trying justify the Cloud Express breaking
Grumpy's a little emo
An important clue!
Surprise is less than impressed with the obvious solution
Grizzle's going down!

Welcome to The Rabbit Hutch

This is The Rabbit Hutch, where I'll post about whatever media takes my fancy at the moment. I might talk about anime, musicals, cartoons, or movies. Sometimes there'll be screenshots, but it depends on what I'm talking about.

If you're wondering about the title, it's a reference to Paniponi Dash!, an anime series that'll probably turn up eventually.