Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Toon Log! It's been a slow summer with regards to quality toonage. Thankfully, these last few weeks have been a big improvement. Why? Well, there was the “Kim Possible" Marathon that culminated with the series finale (which I missed unfortunately). And after watching the dozen or so episodes that I managed to catch, a thought occurred to me: Disney had better release this series on seasonal DVD sets within the next year (and they need to get back on the ball with the "Gargoyles" DVD sets too!) or there will be trouble! It's an awesome series with a huge fanbase. It would make so much sense for them to do it. I mean if they're all about making money (which they have been since Walt Disney, himself passed away), then putting out "Kim Possible" DVD sets is the perfect way to line their pockets nicely. I'm just sayin'…
Also, we finally got some new episodes of "Avatar"! After nearly ten long months of waiting between seasons, the third book has finally begun! Needless to say I was glued to my TV when Book 3 premiered. So what else have I been watching? For the answer to that question, read on.
Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix – This made-for-TV movie was decent. But it could have been better. It's your typical running time for animated features (about 90 minutes). But nothing that really shakes up the status quo happens. It's basically just an extra-long episode of the series. Plus, the dues-ex-machina at the end caused my enjoyment of the film to drop. If you're a fan of the series, you'll probably enjoy it, because it's just a lot more of what you already love. But I found it lacking. Hopefully, the upcoming live-action Ben10 movie will be better.
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 3, Chapter 1: The Awakening – After waiting for almost ten months since Book 2's "Empire Strikes Back" style conclusion, the third (and final) act in the Avatar's war with the Fire Nation finally began. It was dark, yet optimistic. Aang wakes up on a Fire nation ship after being unconscious for several weeks after nearly getting killed by Azula at the end of Book 2. The Earth Kingdom has fallen to the Fire Nation and the world thinks that the Avatar has been killed. However, the ship that Aang is on, is a captured ship that's being manned by the Water Tribe (and Aang's friends: Sokka, Katara, and Toph).
Meanwhile, Azula and Zuko return to the Fire Nation as heroes while their Uncle Iroh has been imprisoned as a traitor. Upon their return, Zuko gets to visit with his father, Firelord Ozai. And for the first time ever, Ozai's face is finally revealed (he appeared to be surprisingly young). He expressed his approval of Zuko at having killed the Avatar (Azula lied to her father in the hopes that if the Avatar is really alive, it will be Zuko that takes the blame). You can clearly see that Zuko is off balance without Iroh and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the loss of his moral compass.
Upon hearing that the world thinks he's dead, a still-recovering Aang runs away his friends in an attempt to assault the Fire Nation in full force (not the best plan considering his condition). He ends up adrift in the stormy ocean, overwhelmed by his situation and angry that he let things go as wrong as they did. At this point Aang's predecessor, Roku appeared to him and set the record straight. It turns out that the war was Roku's fault. He failed to stop Firelord Sozen, who started the whole thing. That helps Aang get his head on straight and he makes his way to a nearby island where Sokka and Co. arrive and re-unite with him. The really impressive part of this episode was the final moment when Aang, accepting that they needed him to go underground for a while, walks up to a nearby volcano and jams his glider-staff into a fissure, letting it catch fire and be destroyed. Throughout the entire series, that glider has been Aang's trademark and to see him decide that for the greater good, it must be destroyed, was a landmark moment in the series. I'm definitely interested to see what happens next.
Avatar Super D Shorts – Swamp Skiing Throwdown, Bending Battle, and School Time Shipping – On the Book 2 DVD set, there was an extra disc that included three Avatar animated shorts in the "Super D" style of anime (big heads, little bodies). All were very funny. The first one was Bending Battle and it featured Toph, Aang, Katara, and Zuko all showing off their bending prowess to a panel of judges consisting of Momo, Appa, and Iroh. Sokka was usually on the receiving end of their bending, much to his chagrin.
Then there was Swamp Skiing Throwdown where Sokka is teaching the water benders that we saw in the Book 2 episode called "The Swamp" how to purify water. Upon completion of his demonstration, Aang comes waterskiing past and splashes water all over Sokka. The two swamp water benders declare that it's a Swamp Skiing Throwdown!!! (Much like the "South Park episode when Stan "got served".) The remainder of the short features Sokka attempting to learn how to swamp ski (and failing miserably). It was funny, but it was the weakest of the three shorts.
Then there's the third and quite possibly funniest short called "School Time Shipping". For those that are wondering, "shipping" refers to two characters on a show getting together romantically. There are countless terabytes that are taken up by "shippers" and their discussions of this all over the internet. Needless to say the shippers annoy a lot of the fans of the show who would rather see a great story told. Anyway, as a result of all the shipping chatter, the Avatar creators came up with this short which pokes fun at the shipping concept and entertains Avatar fans who don't care about shipping as well. I won't ruin it for those that haven't seen it, but if you have the chance, you should definitely check it out.
Family Guy Star Wars Episode – I was surprised that they managed to capture as much of the story as they did while keeping the running time at about 45 minutes. There were some good jokes and a few great ones (like the John Williams conducting the London Orchestra on Tatooine). However, the fact that Seth MacFarlane chose to make the old pedophile guy play Obi-wan was pure crap. It was creepy and all of his jokes ran for way too long. They could have used Adam West or Peter's father as Obi-wan, but instead they used a creepy character that should never be allowed on television. None of his jokes were funny to me. Not one. However, despite all the mistakes, the final discussion between Chris and Peter about "Robot Chicken" (which features both of the voice actors for Chris and Peter in a variety of roles) was hilarious and almost made up for the Obi-wan casting…almost.
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 3, Chapter 2: The Headband – That's right Jazzercise fans, the headband is making its way back into the mainstream. Actually, the title refers to a "Karate Kid" style of headband. The story picks up where last week's episode left off. Aang and Co. arrive in the Fire Nation and swipe vestments of the local populace from an unattended clothesline. One of the items is a headband that Aang uses to conceal his arrow tattoo (his recently grown hair hides the rest of it). However the headband is actually a belt that is part of the uniform of a Fire Nation school. And the local authorities grab Aang because they think he's been playing hooky. Once in the school, Aang learns a little about the Fire Nation and their fascist regime while causing plenty of disturbances. It all ends with a "Footloose"-esque dance party and a "Three Amigos" style confusion charade as Aang and his friends make their escape.
Meanwhile, the newly re-instated Prince Zuko spends his time trying to justify his actions and win the approval of his imprisoned uncle Iroh. The irony is that at a time when Zuko has virtually everything that he could want, he can't get the approval or respect of his Uncle. And yet, up until he sold his soul to Azula, he had every ounce of his Uncle's respect and love (and not in the icky sense), even though his life was far from perfect. Definitely a great episode with lots of great comedy and drama. Though it still could have used more action. Hopefully the next episode will rectify that.
And that bring another edition of the Toon Log to a close. Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you next time!
