Simply the funniest one of the whole series that I have seen so far. Seriously, these are the sort of things that make coming to Newgrounds every day worthwhile. Simple, hilarious and rather well animated, considering it's just black and white lines, with an occasional attitude to other colours being thrown around there.
The plot is simple, though at some stage, I would like to see you set up a series and have the competitors move on to the next round in some sort of bizarre version of the MTV claymation "Celebrity Deathmatch" The end of the series would of course have someone crowned as the overall winner and therefore I would assume king of the world, until the next series of Versus rolls around.
You've clearly thought a lot about the plot and from the more humble beginnings, you now have a very saleable product, one which will keep people laughing and also keep producing these fine cartoons for weeks, if not months to come.
I'll have to go back and review the other 75, but I feel it will be worth it, from start to finish.
I loved the way that I was just expecting sex puns by your tag line "she just wants a meaty twelve-incher" and then I get slapped with a carnivorous cheese, bolony and mayo sub, chewwing off the main protagonist's head.
Yes, you were very clever with the fact that you appealed to the perverts, by giving them boobs and gratuitous nipple shots. Judging by the setting and the clothing she wore, I could see why the lycra was stretched over her ample bosom, but that's beside the point. Cracking the glass was quite amusing as well.
It could have stood to be a little longer, perhaps with more dialogue - make her be over the top enthusiastic and the guy behind the counter somewhat less than amused by her puns, innuendos and whatever else she decides to throw his way.
Keep up the good work, I expect that you'll be able to achieve yet another daily feature, even if it was just a little piece like this.
The Pied Piper of Kentucky is working hard and wearing some ridiculous mask... *looks away* Hmm? Oh, it's a beard is it? - And as a result, there are plenty of deep fried pieces of poultry in the bucket, having been coated with special Tri-Force sauce and everyone is happy.
I liked this piece, as I was amused by the whole way that things panned out, but the mask that Link had to wear to get the chickens to follow him. My dad keeps a few chickens and I've never had to wear any sort of mask to get the buggers to follow me around - just show up with something that looks tasty, such as a mug full of corn and they will love you forever. Ever seen the "Piece of Candy" sketch in Family Guy, where they trap James Woods? Basically the same principle.
You could have done something similar for St. Patrick's Day, as this is allegedly how St. Paddy rid the Emerald Isle of snakes and also Link does look a little like a Leprechaun, don't you think?
The other question that I'd have to ask about this is how would the Burger King go about his business, or Ronald McDonald? Do they recruit other video game stalwarts, like Mario, Sonic or those sprites from Metal Slug, perchance?
While this cleverly draws attention to the shortcomings of Apple and the idea that because they don't like a company or get along with it (Flash, for example), that they turn their back on it and it dies out. Sure, there may be more to it than that, but it's hardly a lone example, if I'm honest.
The lack of backgrounds is what gets on my nerves here. I'd rather see something there, to make the picture more complete and give us a sense that the guy belongs where he is, rather than have him framed in white.
Still, quality jokes, decent animation, which is improving with time and overall a very nice production. Given that this is current affairs, you've made it in good time and have capitalised on the laughs that will come from this being cutting edge.
You even suggested reversing the polarity of the neutron flow! Classic!
I may not be the world's biggest fan (Though I did email a link of this to someone who may be approaching that level), but this piece shows a lot of foresight for the writing of Doctor Who at the present. It used to be sci-fi drama, but now it clearly appears to be dumbing down and aiming more at the kid's audience demographic. That's not your problem, but you've lampooned it quite well, one has to say.
Aside from that, your animation style having no mouths and disembodied hands really makes things look weird, but that's a nice distraction from the goings on with all of the daleks crawling about. How come none of them ever seem to pull the trigger, they just stand there and look menacing? Stupid, as they've had dozens of chances to off the Doc, by now!
The Dalek impersonation was weak, but that was catered for by the stronger voice acting in other areas. Perhaps consider adding volume to the vocals overall, as they were a little drowned out by the sound effects from time to time.
I have a new profile pic and was directed here because of it. Yes, I wore a half beard for all of 15 minutes. Perhaps I will do something similar for the next London meet, but that would be verging on the ridiculous.
A nice animation, with great style, poise and writing, which I'm going to have to investigate further, for more laughs. Your writing style seems very similar to my own, so I just have to see if there's some material in there that I might be able to use as "research"... yeah, that'll be it.
The voices could have been a little louder and the sound effects a little quieter, as they tended to conflict a little, but since this was made in 2007, I'll let you off.
Everyone loves GLaDOS, though I'm not sure if it's love to hate, or something similar. She really does employ logical arguments to Siri and I did love the call back to some of the older computers. This leaves me to suggest that you have GLaDOS attack / infect or just interact with a ZX Spectrum, because writing her program to a tape would prove a suitable challenge, surely. It was either that, or seeing the faces of the little Miis, as they run around the Mii Plaza, being killed of one by one, as she runs amok in the Nintendo world.
Subtle of subtle jokes, when you had the computer thrown out of the Windows (7th floor?) to finish it off, but with everything these days either run by a computer, or connected to the internet, this could be the start of a series that becomes Apocalypical, in the demise of humans and rise of mechanical devices.
As depressing as this sounds, I think that I am suffering from this, that means I will probably die very old and alone. Still, at least I wont go bald, unlike the protagonist within this piece. Given that this is focusing on carnal knowledge, you've portrayed this in a very tasteful manner.
Okay, as we're getting to the fourth instalment of this series, Ave Maria does get a little old. As the piece progresses, perhaps it would be a better to show off some heavier music, such as nine inch nails, for example. I think that industrial tones would really give the effect a much muore kinky style, perhaps even alluding to the fact that there is one thing on this guy's mind.
[Review Request Club]
Keep up the good work, only 3 more to go and it's a wrap!
An opera in flash. Well, maybe not an opera, because they have words, but this is close!
Well, what needs to be said? It's fantastic, the piece conveys a lot of emotion and the gravity of how this piece unfolds is paced really well. I love that you focus more on the vistas, more than on the individual characters, involved within this play.
In some of the scenes, you panned over blurred foreground images to show a crisp background, which really looked fantastic. Would it be too much of a stretch to focus on the foreground and then when you can see the background, alter the focus to set the scene, as they used to in the movies?
Some issues did come to light, however - why is the king / leader in movement 1 not armed at all? Surely, if he were dressed for war, i.e. wearing a full suit of plate mail, then he would have a sword. If you watch historical films, you will see that the leader types give orders, by waving their sword about.
In movement 2, the door getting kicked in looked too formulated - it swings open, then falls very uniformly to the floor. Something like this needs to be addressed, as it would never fall like that in reality - have it come off one hinge first and crash to the floor in a more haphazard way.
In movement 3, the sunlight is at a steep angle, which is fine - the dropping light hits the floor, yet you have squares of what I can only perceive to be sunlight on the right hand wall, well above where these beams of light fall. This contradicts the physics that you've got, unless you have this set on a world with two suns, which is a bit of a leap, if I'm being picky (I am, but that's just how I write reviews)
While movement 4 was rather sad, it didn't feel long enough to give the impression of the fall - we just see the aftermath, rather than how someone actually fell. Perhaps this is just an issue with semantics, as opposed to a glaring error, that needs addressing.
Still, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more of your work.
The king isn't armed because he's a non-standard character and giving him a sword to hold would take several minutes to do and I was trying to rush that shot as it was the last one of the first day and somewhere around 1:10 AM.
The door kick had to be keyframed in... and after I saw it, I agree, it looks terrible... but it has a comical and metaphorical side- that these little characters could kick down this big ass door.
Do note that there are additional windows right below the dome that are out of sight in those shots I believe... the "god-rays" are props and rather annoying to get in place at that... when I tried one on the windows above, it ended up looking poor. Although it isn't entirely accurate, it doesn't look so weird.
I decided to do movement 4 that way simply because iClone (the 3D program) can't handle more than say, 20 characters at a time... nor do I have props designed to break. Animating a large battle and things burning and breaking isn't really possible then, so I had to stick with ruins and little faded overlays of the past. My main inspiration for this was the opening to Age of Empires I where you have a battle and then you see ruins and they tell the story of the end of the battle through flashbacks.
A nice example of how to lip-sync, even if it is a Brony piece. I like the song and can laugh at the idea of a horse or pony having it's teeth brushed, as I've seen it done before. Look it up on YouTube, if you don't believe me, it's funny, the way that they play with their lips.
Still, the ponies in the background move about with a degree of lethargy, though like you said, that's probably down to the low frame rate. Given that this is the only issue you had with it, I'd like to see you using more lip-sync in your pieces.
Coop
Yes, I tweet
I have YouTube, too
All 1,580 movie Reviews
Rated 5 / 5 stars May 5, 2013
Cruise, Tom Cruise!
Simply the funniest one of the whole series that I have seen so far. Seriously, these are the sort of things that make coming to Newgrounds every day worthwhile. Simple, hilarious and rather well animated, considering it's just black and white lines, with an occasional attitude to other colours being thrown around there.
The plot is simple, though at some stage, I would like to see you set up a series and have the competitors move on to the next round in some sort of bizarre version of the MTV claymation "Celebrity Deathmatch" The end of the series would of course have someone crowned as the overall winner and therefore I would assume king of the world, until the next series of Versus rolls around.
You've clearly thought a lot about the plot and from the more humble beginnings, you now have a very saleable product, one which will keep people laughing and also keep producing these fine cartoons for weeks, if not months to come.
I'll have to go back and review the other 75, but I feel it will be worth it, from start to finish.
Rated 4 / 5 stars March 10, 2013
Surreal.
I loved the way that I was just expecting sex puns by your tag line "she just wants a meaty twelve-incher" and then I get slapped with a carnivorous cheese, bolony and mayo sub, chewwing off the main protagonist's head.
Yes, you were very clever with the fact that you appealed to the perverts, by giving them boobs and gratuitous nipple shots. Judging by the setting and the clothing she wore, I could see why the lycra was stretched over her ample bosom, but that's beside the point. Cracking the glass was quite amusing as well.
It could have stood to be a little longer, perhaps with more dialogue - make her be over the top enthusiastic and the guy behind the counter somewhat less than amused by her puns, innuendos and whatever else she decides to throw his way.
Keep up the good work, I expect that you'll be able to achieve yet another daily feature, even if it was just a little piece like this.
Rated 3.5 / 5 stars December 1, 2012
Short and simple.
The Pied Piper of Kentucky is working hard and wearing some ridiculous mask... *looks away* Hmm? Oh, it's a beard is it? - And as a result, there are plenty of deep fried pieces of poultry in the bucket, having been coated with special Tri-Force sauce and everyone is happy.
I liked this piece, as I was amused by the whole way that things panned out, but the mask that Link had to wear to get the chickens to follow him. My dad keeps a few chickens and I've never had to wear any sort of mask to get the buggers to follow me around - just show up with something that looks tasty, such as a mug full of corn and they will love you forever. Ever seen the "Piece of Candy" sketch in Family Guy, where they trap James Woods? Basically the same principle.
You could have done something similar for St. Patrick's Day, as this is allegedly how St. Paddy rid the Emerald Isle of snakes and also Link does look a little like a Leprechaun, don't you think?
The other question that I'd have to ask about this is how would the Burger King go about his business, or Ronald McDonald? Do they recruit other video game stalwarts, like Mario, Sonic or those sprites from Metal Slug, perchance?
[Review Request Club]
Rated 4 / 5 stars October 23, 2012
While this cleverly draws attention to the shortcomings of Apple and the idea that because they don't like a company or get along with it (Flash, for example), that they turn their back on it and it dies out. Sure, there may be more to it than that, but it's hardly a lone example, if I'm honest.
The lack of backgrounds is what gets on my nerves here. I'd rather see something there, to make the picture more complete and give us a sense that the guy belongs where he is, rather than have him framed in white.
Still, quality jokes, decent animation, which is improving with time and overall a very nice production. Given that this is current affairs, you've made it in good time and have capitalised on the laughs that will come from this being cutting edge.
[Review Request Club]
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars September 27, 2012
Awesome!
You even suggested reversing the polarity of the neutron flow! Classic!
I may not be the world's biggest fan (Though I did email a link of this to someone who may be approaching that level), but this piece shows a lot of foresight for the writing of Doctor Who at the present. It used to be sci-fi drama, but now it clearly appears to be dumbing down and aiming more at the kid's audience demographic. That's not your problem, but you've lampooned it quite well, one has to say.
Aside from that, your animation style having no mouths and disembodied hands really makes things look weird, but that's a nice distraction from the goings on with all of the daleks crawling about. How come none of them ever seem to pull the trigger, they just stand there and look menacing? Stupid, as they've had dozens of chances to off the Doc, by now!
The Dalek impersonation was weak, but that was catered for by the stronger voice acting in other areas. Perhaps consider adding volume to the vocals overall, as they were a little drowned out by the sound effects from time to time.
[Review Request Club]
Rated 4 / 5 stars September 19, 2012
I have a new profile pic and was directed here because of it. Yes, I wore a half beard for all of 15 minutes. Perhaps I will do something similar for the next London meet, but that would be verging on the ridiculous.
A nice animation, with great style, poise and writing, which I'm going to have to investigate further, for more laughs. Your writing style seems very similar to my own, so I just have to see if there's some material in there that I might be able to use as "research"... yeah, that'll be it.
The voices could have been a little louder and the sound effects a little quieter, as they tended to conflict a little, but since this was made in 2007, I'll let you off.
Great stuff, keep doing what you do.
[Review Request Club]
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars September 5, 2012
Ah, still as useful as ever.
Everyone loves GLaDOS, though I'm not sure if it's love to hate, or something similar. She really does employ logical arguments to Siri and I did love the call back to some of the older computers. This leaves me to suggest that you have GLaDOS attack / infect or just interact with a ZX Spectrum, because writing her program to a tape would prove a suitable challenge, surely. It was either that, or seeing the faces of the little Miis, as they run around the Mii Plaza, being killed of one by one, as she runs amok in the Nintendo world.
Subtle of subtle jokes, when you had the computer thrown out of the Windows (7th floor?) to finish it off, but with everything these days either run by a computer, or connected to the internet, this could be the start of a series that becomes Apocalypical, in the demise of humans and rise of mechanical devices.
Wait, haven't we seen that in a movie before?
[Review Request Club]
Rated 4 / 5 stars September 3, 2012
I think I'm a sufferer...
As depressing as this sounds, I think that I am suffering from this, that means I will probably die very old and alone. Still, at least I wont go bald, unlike the protagonist within this piece. Given that this is focusing on carnal knowledge, you've portrayed this in a very tasteful manner.
Okay, as we're getting to the fourth instalment of this series, Ave Maria does get a little old. As the piece progresses, perhaps it would be a better to show off some heavier music, such as nine inch nails, for example. I think that industrial tones would really give the effect a much muore kinky style, perhaps even alluding to the fact that there is one thing on this guy's mind.
[Review Request Club]
Keep up the good work, only 3 more to go and it's a wrap!
Rated 5 / 5 stars September 3, 2012
An opera in flash. Well, maybe not an opera, because they have words, but this is close!
Well, what needs to be said? It's fantastic, the piece conveys a lot of emotion and the gravity of how this piece unfolds is paced really well. I love that you focus more on the vistas, more than on the individual characters, involved within this play.
In some of the scenes, you panned over blurred foreground images to show a crisp background, which really looked fantastic. Would it be too much of a stretch to focus on the foreground and then when you can see the background, alter the focus to set the scene, as they used to in the movies?
Some issues did come to light, however - why is the king / leader in movement 1 not armed at all? Surely, if he were dressed for war, i.e. wearing a full suit of plate mail, then he would have a sword. If you watch historical films, you will see that the leader types give orders, by waving their sword about.
In movement 2, the door getting kicked in looked too formulated - it swings open, then falls very uniformly to the floor. Something like this needs to be addressed, as it would never fall like that in reality - have it come off one hinge first and crash to the floor in a more haphazard way.
In movement 3, the sunlight is at a steep angle, which is fine - the dropping light hits the floor, yet you have squares of what I can only perceive to be sunlight on the right hand wall, well above where these beams of light fall. This contradicts the physics that you've got, unless you have this set on a world with two suns, which is a bit of a leap, if I'm being picky (I am, but that's just how I write reviews)
While movement 4 was rather sad, it didn't feel long enough to give the impression of the fall - we just see the aftermath, rather than how someone actually fell. Perhaps this is just an issue with semantics, as opposed to a glaring error, that needs addressing.
Still, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more of your work.
[Review Request Club]
Hey Coop, thanks for the great review. :)
The king isn't armed because he's a non-standard character and giving him a sword to hold would take several minutes to do and I was trying to rush that shot as it was the last one of the first day and somewhere around 1:10 AM.
The door kick had to be keyframed in... and after I saw it, I agree, it looks terrible... but it has a comical and metaphorical side- that these little characters could kick down this big ass door.
Do note that there are additional windows right below the dome that are out of sight in those shots I believe... the "god-rays" are props and rather annoying to get in place at that... when I tried one on the windows above, it ended up looking poor. Although it isn't entirely accurate, it doesn't look so weird.
I decided to do movement 4 that way simply because iClone (the 3D program) can't handle more than say, 20 characters at a time... nor do I have props designed to break. Animating a large battle and things burning and breaking isn't really possible then, so I had to stick with ruins and little faded overlays of the past. My main inspiration for this was the opening to Age of Empires I where you have a battle and then you see ruins and they tell the story of the end of the battle through flashbacks.
Rated 3.5 / 5 stars August 29, 2012
Moving along shortly...
A nice example of how to lip-sync, even if it is a Brony piece. I like the song and can laugh at the idea of a horse or pony having it's teeth brushed, as I've seen it done before. Look it up on YouTube, if you don't believe me, it's funny, the way that they play with their lips.
Still, the ponies in the background move about with a degree of lethargy, though like you said, that's probably down to the low frame rate. Given that this is the only issue you had with it, I'd like to see you using more lip-sync in your pieces.
[Review Request Club]