iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 8h

Treasure Trekkers, but either because T&J:FC was such a disaster or for any host of other possible reasons, they cancelled that release and are taking a month off before coming back with a less tossed-off movie in Space Cadet.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 8h

It’s a lot like the Super Mario Galaxy Movie in that the animation is mostly nice to look at and very colorful, and if you’re bored with one scene you don’t have to worry because the movie will usher you onto something completely different in no time. Viva Kids was going to follow this up with

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 8h

seven-time Oscar-winning property. The bad news is that I had to sit through this turd pile of a movie, and you might, accidentally or on purpose, do the same one day. T&J are completely superfluous to this incoherent plot and the movie has ADHD to a completely debilitating degree.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 8h

#2026inanimation Kind of a good news bad news situation here: the good news is that Tom & Jerry: Forbidden Compass proves that for as good as Ne Zha 2, Nobody, and All Wishes Come True are, China is still churning out absolute animated trash alongside it. Zhang Gang has no idea what to do with this

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 23h

We have to stop letting sociologists write their theses on any old thing.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It’s as good as every other Lego TV special, though the jokes avoid making fun of the more fundamental problems with the show, like Boba Fett hijacking a season, Grogu returning to the story so soon, and deep fake Luke. Instead it focuses on imagined gripes that no one actually had.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

#2026inanimation The Mandalorian and Grogu bombed at the box office, so Disney’s LEGO recap of the series for folks to be entertained with a few jokes while getting caught up before watching the movie on Disney+ becomes more functional than its creators probably imagined.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I do think it’s important to watch shitshows like this movie though, because it puts movies that are also in this lane (the Whitest Kids U Know’s “Mars,” or Zach Passero’s “the Wierd Kidz”) into perspective. They’re middle of the road, but this movie proves that even getting there is very difficult.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

#2026inanimation Isla Monstro has the same sense of humor as the guy at a party who explains why each one of the endless jokes he tells is “funny.” It’s animated like Aqua Team, but feels much cheaper. And the script is a dud. I’m surprised bro voice actors appeared in this.

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Reposted by Brad Garoon

Never Did It Podcast @neverdiditpod.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

"Happy-Go-Lucky" introduced the world to Poppy, who sees the world as it is but still exudes positivity. "This is England" introduced us to Shaun, who struggles with bullying but finds solace with a gang of Skinheads. We dig into these 2 paths toward acceptance. With guest @kevinford.bsky.social!

youtube.com

British Movies and the Two Paths to Finding Yourself

YouTube video by Never Did It Podcast

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

longevity, and redemption. GKids ran the theatrical run back with subtitles appropriately timed, and you can now watch it with said normal subtitles streaming.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

with a single mother and her son. As the movie goes on, Minoru’s heart and personality begin to extend beyond his savant-like quirks. And the titular blossom offered several funny moments to lighten the mood, as well as a channel through which the movie could deepen its themes of connectivity,

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

For the first 15 minutes, I thought several times about chalking this up as a failure, but I’d purchased a giant Coke Zero so I was pot committed. Eventually, what was frustrating turned into a challenge I was willing to endure because I was captivated by Minoru, the seemingly oafish yakuza living

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

#2026inanimation The Last Blossom had a lot to overcome. I came into my screening tired and grumpy. I’d purchased my ticket weeks earlier, and the screening window at the time was only set to be two days. So I forced myself to go only to discover that the subtitles were appearing 5 seconds early.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

You are rich in the ways that matter.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

How do you deal with the anxiety of diminishing shelf space? Or are there like 2 full walls of empty shelves behind the camera?

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE FROM LONDON! We're getting close to the end of our look at a century of British cinema, with Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Shane Meadows' This is England. Guest @kevinford.bsky.social joined us for this one!

youtube.com

British Movies and the Two Paths to Finding Yourself

YouTube video by Never Did It Podcast

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

But then a full hour of exposition and repetitive action scenes involving way too many characters slow things way down. Still, I am interested in watching the show. The techno-feudal setting and colonial allegory has a ton of potential.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

#2026inanimation Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames is my first Gintama, so I didn’t know there was fourth wall breaking. It was a nice way to ease in, and I also liked how referential it was to other anime (and to the Simpsons, though I think that’s only in the English sub and dub).

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Reposted by Brad Garoon

Kevin Ford @kevinford.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Delighted to be on today's episode of Never Did It @neverdiditpod.bsky.social to chat Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky", a film I was very happy to rewatch, and to discover Shane Meadows' "This is England." open.spotify.com/episode/5NT6...

open.spotify.com

2000s British Film: "Happy-Go-Lucky" and "This is England"

Never Did It · Episode

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Bouchra is an intensely personal film, made even moreso by its fourth wall-breaking coda. I think with time I’ll only come to appreciate more the emotional weight carried by the distance that anthropomorphizing animals allowed.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#2026inanimation Bouchra basically feels like what Hiro Murai would make if he was a furry. I say that as a big appreciator of Hiro Murai who doesn’t know anything about furries.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The animation is quaint, and very consistent given it was done by a one-man operation. If you watched and were at all charmed by this, I insist you watch When You Get to the Forest (or Eric Power’s thematically similar Attack of the Demons) or Gints Zilbalotis’ Away.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#2026inanimation The Weird Kidz gets off to about as rough a start as you’d expect from a movie with a Team Xtreme-style Z in the title. Things pick up in the second half as it leans away from the forced ‘90s dialogue and leans into a more folk horror story.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

That’s an impressive feat in 45 or so minutes. On top of that, the aforementioned theme song felt like an homage to the great songs that PBS produced throughout my own childhood.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

and deal with diverse issues, though it never feels like an assignment in forced diversity. These kids are concerned that what makes them different will isolate them, but their caring teacher and shared desire to learn keep them from falling into despair.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#2026inanimation Without its theme song, the Day You Begin is a perfectly acceptable children’s special that would probably be effective in helping kids feel confident before starting kindergarten. Its cast of kids have diverse anxieties, come from diverse backgrounds,

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

He doesn’t want me to watch this mouse propaganda #catcity @deafcrocodile.bsky.social

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

less compelling Zhang, and having Jiajuan STILL be working for his father’s medical bills. This is the case where dropping a romance angle is a bit of a problem, as had the movie been just about saving his girlfriend’s gym it would have differentiated itself from I Am What I Am more.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The story is a bit less compelling than the fantastic lion dancing arc of the first film, though the combat scenes are gloriously choreographed. I loved the decision to play the pivotal matches out without any music. Where the movie falls short of its predecessor is sidelining Qiang in favor of the

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#2026inanimation The jump in visual quality from I Am What I Am to this sequel (called the Kung Fu Kid in the U.S.) is pretty wild. The characters still look kind of plastic, but the lighting, environments, and movement are all immersive.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

disappointing. There are stories similar to this that are much more satisfying in different mediums. The whole painful sacrifice to a dark deity bit is done better in Widow’s Bay. If you want a similar aesthetic with a better villain and more fully fleshed out characters: Final Fantasy Tactics.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The dialogue is terrible; it’s low-effort, obvious, and far too loud. Typical subpar anime dialogue, frankly. Thematically this is a nightmare. Sapphire’s journey is convoluted and unsatisfying. The reveal of the Ash King to be a larger version of the villains throughout the movie was immensely

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The art style is somewhere between Kingdom Hearts and Neon Genesis Evangelion, with a random and out-of-place splash of the Fleischer Brothers thrown in for surrealist moments that don’t fit at all. The rest is painful. There are too many characters with too few personalities.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#2026inanimation I want to give Netflix animation the benefit of the doubt because they brought Samuel to the U.S., but everything else they’ve offered this year has been mid to bad. And the Ribbon Hero is pretty bad. I’ll start with the one positive: it’s fun to look at.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

If this sells out (and you have a region free player) there’s a UK release too.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

screaming to articulate every emotion all the time. The performances are pretty subtle given the medium, which I think helped me get more invested. Sueng-kyu’s design was perfect too. I wanted to punch him every time he showed up on screen. This is a terrific directorial debut for Kim Yong-hwan.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Even the pen pal letter angle didn’t turn out the way I imagined it would. But most importantly, the movie’s core theme wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. That’s very impressive for what is essentially a YA melodrama. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that the teenage characters weren’t

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#2026inanimation At every turn, I thought Your Letter was going to go the obvious route. So-ri was bullied, so I assumed the movie would culminate in her getting her confidence to stand up to bullies again. Dong-soon is grumpy about his missing friend, so I assume said friend died a while back.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“Man alive this was unbelievable. It was incredibly cerebral, and drew me in without being overly flashy or ridiculous. The twenty-four minutes felt like ten. Seriously, I was prepared for a lot more match. I hope we get a rematch.” -me, floored at PAC getting quality out of Ki in 2012.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I can’t express how much I needed to come home to this after the day I’ve has. @deafcrocodile.bsky.social

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The delayed captions were everywhere?! That's too funny. Got some AMC reward money out of that.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

fingers crossed so tightly for a blu ray release.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I don’t remember him being this irritating in Kingdom Hearts. The rest of this special is fine, very similar to Paw Patrol in vibe and style, with a dash of audience participation thrown in. I like that it pulled in so many classic central Disney characters. Chip N Dale were a recurring highlight.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

don’t interact with their cowboy hats in this special. It’s so distracting. I know there are authoritarian rules about how their ears can be portrayed, but it’s all I could think about when they were on screen. That, and how annoying Bret Iwan’s performance is.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#2026inanimation With the exception of my college-era Kingdom Hearts fandom, it's been quite a while since I've checked in with Mickey, and this year Disney gave us Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+: Mickey’s Country Farm. 3D Mickey seems tough to render, and I absolutely hate the way Mickey and Minnie’s ears

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

But the composition is crowded to the point of being an eyesore. And the sound mixing is pretty bad. But again, it's daring to put yourself out there while you're still working on your craft, and I've somehow seen WAY worse stuff this year.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We meet character after character, but none of them change Dotty, and she has no impact on them. It makes the experience feel empty. The animation is technically competent; it’s more interesting than most of the amateur/outsider efforts put up on the platform.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

relate to her because she curses a lot. She is thrust into the story before we have a chance to get to know her, but the bad pacing is hardly the issue because she’s so one-dimensional that it wouldn’t have meant much to spend time with her before she’s dropped (literally) into the plot.

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Brad Garoon @bradgaroon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

PoundtToundHound / Baphomet the Clown / Moa Olsson. I appreciate the effort and the willingness to put herself out there with her first feature. But this film has no sense of story structure, and every character is flat and annoying. Dotty has no discernible personality; I assume we’re supposed to

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