psychicpebbles's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Crowbrothers-In the skies]

please make more

[Friendly Idiots EP.1]

please do more

[Spock Logic]

Did you watch Star Trek? I'm not quite sure what exactly this is a parody of, it's extremely rushed and not well thought out.

You can't be parodying the old Star Trek "Wrath of Kahn" movie, because in that one Spock dies... but you gave these characters Will Shatner's voice acting and mannerisms? You gave Spock a bizarre thin red elf nose when Zachary Quinto's Spock make up has a very thick and wide nose bridge.

In Star Trek 2: Into Darkness, Kirk is stuck behind glass and is dying. In this you drew him leaned against some door facing Spock while they're in the same room. Again, very puzzling. Spock goes on about how he can sever Kirk's spine so he can't feel, but again, he is dying from radiation poisoning. What would that help at all?

Overall this cartoon is a mess. The voice acting is sub par, the art is basic, the character design is lazy and clearly drawn without any reference, the script was so under researched to the point that it's baffling to understand what's going on, and above all of that it just isn't funny.

It's fine if you want to make something silly and dumb, go for it by all means. Basic research is required when doing a parody though. I'm not even a fan of Star Trek and I knew everything that was wrong with this immediately after one viewing. Next time if you're drawing a character, google search them and try to draw them as closely as possible. Tell the voice actor to do the current voice of the character, not the one from 40 years ago. Understand what's going on in the scene before you parody it.

ZenithQuinn responds:

Well thanks for the review! I will take your critique into account.

[The Reward]

I wish I could leave an in depth review for this, but sadly, I can't.

The only thing that can and should be said is that this is perfect. You managed to capture the adventure, character development, and emotional roller coaster of a feature length film and snugly pack it into less than 10 minutes.

This piece is beyond fantastic, and has raised the bar for animators everywhere.

Amazing job, I hope I get to see more from you guys in the future.

[Animating like Zach Hadel]

pretty much

[Twitter Tag Team]

Eh, I feel like you made this for the wrong reasons man. This wasn't really a satire or a parody and didn't really deliver.

If someone dislikes something and gives reasons, you can't say they hate them for the "wrong" reasons. If you don't find a comedian funny, that's fine. That's their job to be funny. I don't know what the "right" reasons are, but every reason you listed in this was close enough to a legitimate complaint that I'm not sure why you made this, with the exception of a few, of course.

I feel like people jumping on the bandwagon to say peoples complaints aren't legitimate is just as bad as jumping on the bandwagon for hating someone and not knowing why. Perhaps you should've had people say things vague and pointless like "You're bad because someone else says you're bad" to get the point across better. The message almost translated as, "If you dislike these people, or people in general, you're an idiot with no opinion!"

I don't know if that's due to sloppy delivery or if that was your actual intention, but it didn't do its job well. You did another video about Slender, and felt the same uneasiness about what message or joke you were trying to get across. Like I said, if your point was that people mindlessly bandwagon to be assholes to people like Dane Cook and Seth MacFarlane, then you should've made that more clear, and there were a lot of ways to do that.

I feel like with your videos you're always sort of getting the idea, but you don't push it far enough, and it's stuck at crossroads of what you're trying to say, leaving the viewer a bit puzzled. Like I said, you seemed to go against your point by saying, "Don't dislike these people, unless you have the right reason for it, which only I know"

Some of the people you mentioned are disliked not because of bandwagon, but because they're actually bad to some people. It's unfortunate when your opinion is discredited because other people share the same one you do, and therefor you're obviously bandwagoning.

I dislike Ke$sha, not because others do, but because she's a horrible fucking musician.

I don't need to delve into the art and animation aspect, because I think we both know you've nailed that down quite well. I'm not sure why you use a different outline color than black, and it looks original and nice, but perhaps use a different color. All of your colors seem to not be bad, but they could be a bit brighter and pack more of a punch, it's all sort of muddy, but you know what colors to put where.

The actual animation is smooth and really nice, you have that down perfectly. The background was a bit bland, and I think you could've done better visuals to accompany your idea. I also realize that you didn't want to do people at a computer, because that's been done to death by this point, so kudos for at least trying something fresh.

Your audio was nice, the voices didn't pop and the acting was good. The drunk talk thing got on my nerves slightly, because that's also been done quite a bit, and I'd like to see that trend die down a bit. The music suited everything though, and the audio overall was good.

When it comes down to it, you seem to have your shit together as an animator and someone who creates things. I think your weak side is writing and satirizing, I think you should really try to get across what you're saying, and do it powerfully. I'm not saying don't be subtle, be as subtle as you like, but make it really clear what you're trying to say and do it really well.

Good luck on future projects man, keep up the nice animation.

Emrox responds:

Oh boy big ol' blocka text.

Yeah, I can see why it might be a little confusing what the message is here, and in retrospect I shoulda been a little more clear about who's at fault with the whole "I hate you because someone else hates you" thing. In fact, I sorta wish I'd used those exact words to open. Or maybe just a tad more subtle than that I dunno.

But hey thanks for the in-depth criticism. You've done a lot of awesome satirical shit before so I'm gonna assume you know exactly what you're talking about.

[Brominoe Effect]

People tend to get really mad if you compare their style to an already existing one, but I think it's appropriate when it's rather clear the style is trying to achieve another one.

There tends to be a lot of jokes because idiots say egoraptor did everything. Egoraptor invented wacky faces, colors, frame by frame, the Heavens and the Earth, etc. However in this case it's fairly obvious you're attempting his style. The characters, the pacing, it all just attempts to be egoraptor. There's nothing wrong with that, because I think it probably benefited this cartoon.

That said, in the future I'd really like to see you develop your own unique style.

Now, onto the rest of the cartoon with that out of the way.

The animation was really impressive. It flowed really well and suited nicely, there weren't any jerky shitty "bleh" parts, everything worked really nicely. I really enjoyed the thicker linework outlining the character, it was a small thing, but it really put the cherry on top for me. The lines themselves weren't anything amazing, but the characters were almost constantly moving so it didn't really matter.

The colors were sort of bland and grey and muddy. I'd really like to see some more vibrant popping colors that are appealing to the eyes. It felt sort of dull on the color side, nothing really stood out. Try studying colors more and using really fun bright colors that make the audience's eyes feel good. You used fairly good colors, but they were really watered down.

The audio was fine, no complaints. The voice acting suited contextually, and there isn't much to be said about it.

My only real complaint was the humor, but that's something everyone naturally evolves. You make what's funny to you when you make it, and your sense of humor evolves and develops forever. It never stops, so I won't judge that as much considering you, at the point where you are, find it to be funny. Although I will say, a general rule with anything is to take it to the extreme. if a scene is sad, make it REALLY sad. If a scene is chaotic, or the joke is everyone is being chaotic, then be as chaotic as you can. Take it to the highest level, turn everything up. That makes the constant between scenes and emotions and jokes roll better, it's more of a roller coaster to watch.

You've improved a lot, keep up the good work dude. I look forward to seeing your future work.

Kiigen responds:

Thanks Zach, I really appreciate the time to you took to write all of this. Alot of the things you mentioned I sort of didn't notice, so I appreciate you pointing it out to me.

[: Ninja Christmas :]

Dude I watched your stuff in 2003 and the only thing that has improved has been the art work, and it has improved just slightly.

I left you a long review previously, and you didn't seem to care. With any series, recycling stuff is expected, but you're not doing frame by frame, or even tweening. You're recycling the exact same garbage. For Christ sake dude, you're still recyling the "lip sync". I don't even mind the mouths not matching what they're saying, Yotam Perel sometimes does that, but he makes it look good. You just use a loop of the same three mouths with no hint of easing it or caring or making it look good.

I really don't know how you've been able to put your name on this shit for so many years. Do you really not care what your stuff looks like? I understand you're using animation as a platform to rant or tell your jokes and ideas, but come on. If you're gonna recycle the same shit for 10 years, at LEAST make it look really nice.

Put some soul and effort into your work, otherwise just submit audio. The visuals on this don't positively accompany your audio at all. Your characters don't emote whatsoever, and I don't feel that this being animated adds anything to it. It's your own series and you'll do what you want with it, but just know that you haven't offered anything to the public that they've enjoyed in a long time because you don't seem to care what you put out.

I urge you to grow as an artist and push yourself, it'll help you out a lot. I really don't want to see someone who has a fanbase and who has been on this website and submitting content for a long time to be forgotten because they don't try.

Seriously, I urge you to try to make your stuff look at least decent. Good luck dude.

[Dyc: Ladies First]

In response to the last review, I can answer for myself.

You guys are a team/studio of people who have been working for years. Anyone can and should upload to this site, but come on. This site is where most users start out and communicate, and get better and share skills and ideas.

You spam upload twice per day because that's your limit, if there was no limit you would have many more videos on here. You throw your shit up here, promote tshirts, and leave.

You don't want to improve or get feedback, and you don't care to give any. You want your views and paycheck and exposure and that's it.

Although I don't really care for awards, especially on a place like Newgrounds, other users do. It gives them a goal to strive for. They want to get front page or daily first, so they work harder to get to it. When they need to compete with a fucking team of people, and when you guys are guaranteed praise and awards, it kills motivation. Beginning users come here to meet other users, get feedback, and improve.

You wish to do none of those things.

I don't think any of the anger from the community is directed towards you, (perhaps it is, since you've worked with RWJ and most people above 11 hate him) I think it's directed towards the idea of a studio uploading to a website filled with stand alone animators.

A kid spends four weeks on his cartoon that he's proud of, uploads it, and his praise, award, and everything he worked for is stolen by a studio who pumps these out for a quick paycheck.

Continuing uploading if you wish, because I know what I say has no affect on your decision, but don't be surprised when you get shit for continuing. I think your decision to upload or not to upload reflects how much you care about feedback compared to money.

AnimonsterOfficial responds:

Your assumptions about money are understandable, but I assure you the team here doesn't expect to receive any substantial 'paycheck' from uploading here, in fact it's basically non-existent.

You can choose to believe me or not, but I assure you that every one of us is just as grateful and excited to receive the trophies we have as any other user. It makes all our hard work worth while to see the massive amounts of positive feedback thus far from a community that is truly passionate about animation. People who laugh at our humor and are entertained by our silly little creations.

Yes, it is true that we are a team but we're not as massive as you seem to believe, and not that different either. In reality we are just a small group of about 5 guys who are passionate and devoted to our work. Not long ago we were just like each of you guys, young and just getting excited about the amazing world of animation. Because of this I understand where your resentment comes from, I really do, but know that it's not our goal to suppress or belittle your commitment to this wonderful community, but rather to share with, to encourage, and maybe even in some small way inspire some of what is undoubtedly the next generations of animators.

We are in a exciting new time where the internet allows us to take this silly dream of drawing cartoons and make it a reality. People with nothing but passion and a few good ideas can rise to actually making a living doing what they love. At the very least I would like to keep that hope alive, to be an example of that dream.

I am sorry that you took it the wrong way, I really am. If you want to continue to view our little group here as 'the man' then please do as you wish. But as long as there are still people here that enjoy our work (and no offense to you, but they seem to greatly outweigh the negative by a drastic margin) then we will continue to be involved in this community.

I've come to NewGrounds since I was 16 years old, I could have never imagined I would be here today doing what I am now. I hope the same for all of you.

[SS - Universal Geometry]

It's such a shame.

You are on the right track, and use a lot of correct source material, but then some of your conclusions go ape shit. You use true facts, and then say things like crystals are real and Martians existed.

You're on the right track and clearly want to learn the truth, that's your only bias. You really believe what you say, I believe that. However, if you're going to market this as "Spirit SCIENCE", speak Science, infer what you're getting at, and leave it. Anything more than that is insulting.

It's like on the History Channel, they say things like "The pyramids couldn't have built themselves. I'm not saying they didn't, and I'm not saying aliens did, but aliens did it."

Much of what you say is true, and I'm agreeing with you, then there's always the conclusion I disagree with. Most often because you skip many steps and provide little evidence for the actual conclusion, even though the conclusion was partially formed by the truth, so it makes it hard for most people to distinguish what's true and what isn't.

What's true and accurate is a very delicate thing, very fragile and easily breakbale. You need to look at everything skeptically, meaning if someone you know tells you a story that supports what you believe, look at it skeptically. Part of Science is saying things and coming to conclusions that you MAY NOT like. So your friend might tell you an amazing story of an out of body experience, or aliens, or crystals, etc. That doesn't mean it happened, you need to look and skepticism and ask questions if you really want to get down to the bottom of things.

You need to say, which one is more logical in this situation, A, or B?

I know you're already really deep into this stuff, and your heart is in the right place. If I thought this was true, I'd be preaching it also. However, I met you a few years ago when you weren't even into this stuff, and were just a normal guy. I know you feel it's your calling, and that you've stumbled on the greatest secrets of life, and that's great, but you also need to be realistic sometimes.

The idea of you being able to unlock the universe is an amazing one, everyone wants that. So I worry that the allure of that idea itself can corrupt and pollute you, because you want so badly to answer every unanswerable question.

As Neil DeGrasse Tyson put it;
"If you want to remain a scientist, you have to learn to love the questions themselves,"

I know you're no scientist, but I do know you seek the truth. You must accept some things in our life time are just not knowable. I know your cause is in the right place, but I worry how you're marketing it as actual science may cripple people to stop questioning things, stop being skeptical, and stop seeking the truth. Why seek the truth if you think you already have it? At that point, they're just going to try to spread what they think is the ultimate truth of the universe.

I'm not saying you're wrong, or anyone else is, I'm saying if you really seek the truth, part of that is being able to drop everything you think is true if it is proven to be false. Part of Science is updating itself to be more accurate and better at identifying how the world works. These ideas might be really fun and interesting, but ultimately, would you be able to drop every single one of them, if somehow, they were all proved to be false?

I think your answer to that may dictate how much you really want to know and how much you want to think you know.

I know this review most likely will not change your mind, and I'm not trying to, believe me. It's just disappointing to see someone with this much passion and love for the truth, and for Science, and then wandering off in a different direction. Some of the most undeniably true things are hard to believe.

If you really do seek the truth, which I know you do, try being more skeptical and ask more questions, and perhaps don't buy into everything, even if it fits into your idea of how the universe or world works. That makes you a target for con artists.

Take care, and good luck.

RiverJordan responds:

Hey Zach, thank you for the beautiful review. You put a lot of effort and energy into writing this, and for that i commend you. I also feel that this merits a reply, and i hope that you hear me as much as i hear you :)

I completely agree! We have to ask questions about everything, we have to always ask questions to go deeper to understand the Truth. I also feel that truth is something you inherintly know within, if you are tuned into it.

We are all like little radios, with our bodies, emotions, and thoughts, we tune into different frequencies. We can tune into lies and deceit (which there is a lot of on the planet), or we can tune to harmony, feeling good, and inner knowing and peace.

Spirit Science for me, is about the exploration and discussion of ideas. Yes, i realize i present it in a way that says "This is how this works". That's how it's given to me and how i receive it. EVERYTHING is open for discussion, totally. But i think when Plato and modern science says for over 2000 years that "YES - these geometries make up the universe", it's safe to say that i too can talk about it in that way. (And yeah, maybe he's wrong, maybe it's something else entirely! Come figure it out with me, instead of saying "I don't know and its going to stay that way".

A mind is not to be tied down like a dog on a leash, it needs to be FREE!!! To grow, develop new ideas, and explore reality in new ways!

Thanks old friend, you're an awesome cat!