Goldie and Bear: Something Something Just Right

10:29 AM · May 28, 2021 "this ep is abt how goldie n bear are suffering bc they have 2 b 6 feet apart"

I feel like recently everything I've had to say about baby shows hasn't been that great, so it's nice to get to a show that I actually enjoyed, which I think is due to the character writing in the show. While Disney Junior is known for having more thought put into its character and stories than Playhouse Disney did, it did have a bit of a rocky start. While we've had good characters like Sofia and Doc, characters like Henry, Callie, and Miles felt like nothing to me compared to characters like Manny, Oso, and the Higgly kids. (Keep in mind of course this isn't really nostalgia based. I'm 28, so if I was watching Playhouse Disney, it was Rolie Polie Olie, PB&J Otter, and various reruns of 90s stuff).

But besides all that... I don't know if it was the shows before this being lousy, or being engulfed in children's cartoons at this point, but Goldie felt like a breath of fresh air because she actually felt like an exasperated and wacky child. It's something you notice even from episode 1!

4:34 PM · May 24, 2021 "i really like how tired of it goldie is..... so many baby show protags are like. written the same but goldie is just like "I GET IT, please shut up????""
4:37 PM · May 24, 2021 "i think we're finally getting into the era of good baby show protagonists. we had doc and sofia ofc but i think with goldie, elena, vampirina (from what i hear), etc"
5:36 PM · May 31, 2021 "now that i think about it. the reason i rlly enjoyed goldie and bear compared to a lot of recent stuff may be because goldie and bear are like. well liked characters who deserve to be well liked."

Granted, she does get a bit typically snarky at point, but I'm willing to let that slide because you don't really see that in protagonists of baby shows (perhaps villains, but not protagonists). Like sure, she and Bear, and really just about everyone in the show still comes off as plucky and excitable, but they're kids after all. And honestly, the show is about two kids going on adventures. 

10:34 AM · May 28, 2021 "goldie is just a little bit chaotic"

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's another one of those "after happily ever after" shows, kind of like Tangled, but instead of Goldielocks (Goldie) receiving any punishment, she sort of apologizes and she and Bear become best friends, which may be a bit too lenient for breaking into a house and breaking a chair, but also. She's 11, and likely meant no harm. Plus the latter was an accident.

4:11 PM · May 24, 2021 "goldie and bear opening sounds like the plot to ouran.wish i was lying"

The show had a lot of fun and memorable characters too. Other than the protagonists, I really liked Mama and Papa Bear, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Brian the Mouse, Little Jack Horner...

You'll notice there's a lot of Jacks. Fun fact. Bear's name is also Jack, and "The Clubhouse that Jack Built" is an entire episode dedicated to the fact that there's so many characters named Jack in this show.

2:19 PM · May 27, 2021 "i know this is a fairytale show but there's a lot of jacks in this show."
2:45 PM · May 27, 2021 "update: the jacks unionized"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a really fun episode concept, making me think of the Ashleys from Recess, but unlike them, these guys each have their own sort of stories. For example, "Mr. Pail" focuses on Jack and Jill anthropomorphizing a bucket. Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk is seen as a more common character. And Bear is one of the protagonists.

There was also the gnome. I wasn't keen on the gnome.

9:29 PM · May 28, 2021 "why does season 2 have so many gnome episodes"

I'll be honest, I didn't remember a LOT of this show story-wise, but I do remember it being pleasant and having a smile on my face while I watched it, which I think accounts for something, especially considering all of these baby shows. 

2:59 PM · May 27, 2021 "goldie and bear is such an interesting show because it's just.... a lot of these shows tended to lose their steam but this is genuinely the first show where i've thought this is nice. not something i'd go outta my way to watch but i would watch it if i was bored."

I don't necessarily think Goldie and Bear goes above and beyond in terms of quality, but it's charming enough for a kid and "yeah okay, I'll watch it" enough for an adult, and that means it's still doing what I believe is its job as a baby show.

Oh, and also

 

Overall Rating for Goldie and Bear: B Tier

Pickle and Peanut: Bad, but not as bad as you think. Plus, a new archetype!

10:22 AM · May 21, 2021 "friendship is between a man and a man"

Pickle and Peanut... I've seen this cartoon get so much flack. It's the worst cartoon ever. It's as bad as Teen Titans Go, or Problem Solverz, or that cartoon that you, specifically, hate. And I don't think it's really that deserved...

I don't like Pickle and Peanut, but I don't hate it either.

The best way to describe Pickle and Peanut is 2010s stoner comedy for kids, and really, that alone should tell you if you're going to like the show or not.

9:58 AM · May 21, 2021 "Peanuts friend the drug dealer"
10:23 AM · May 21, 2021 "this show is kind of gross ngl but i wasn't expecting it to be about two friendly stoners"
4:33 PM · May 21, 2021 "pickle and peanut feels like it fits that genre of like. weird alien race learning about human culture but like. they're kind of zooted while doing so."
3:38 PM · May 24, 2021 "scalding take but pickle and peanut could be an adult cartoon if you just change a little of the language. themes are already pretty "adult" by which i mean a 12 year old would think WOW"

For me, it's a bit of a mixed bag. If you recall from my review of Clerks, I'm a bit hot and cold on stoner comedies myself, even though I'm a huge stoner. (Honestly, when I'm stoned, I'd rather be watching something kind of subdued, like King of the Hill or a certain Disney Junior cartoon we haven't touched upon yet.)

I think one of the biggest criticisms it received, at least in the youtube reviewer communities where it was most panned, is how it panders to young children and what they think is cool, but personally? I found that to be one of the show's most charming aspects.

9:52 AM · May 21, 2021 "i love the pickle and peanut theme like it's so fucking out of date it's like im watching scooby doo"

And at the same time, is there a single show here that isn't pandering to the youths in some way? Kids love superheroes. And princesses. And magic. And talking animals. And action. And memes. Hell, this is the channel known for its nonsensical IP ties! There's stuff like Descendants and 7D that play into the relative fanservice idea I see often. Stuff that plays with themes like Twisted Wonderland. And stuff that is only vaguely related like the Mighty Ducks. Hell, I just made a post about Miles from Tomorrowland and its own vague ties to Tomorrowland. Maybe a young child won't realize the fanservice, but the Disney Adult parents who love Magic Kingdom certainly will!

The other big issue I see discussed in Pickle and Peanut is grossout, which I won't necessarily deny, but it's less grossout in the traditional sense, and more a 2010s sort of grossout that deals in crappy CGI. Think about that time. This was the era of Jimmy Neutron Happy Family Happy Hour, and that's kind of the vibe I got from some of the grossout in Pickle and Peanut. Maybe also combined with the sort of zoomed in grossout you see in Spongebob and Flapjack.

10:00 AM · May 21, 2021 "Dude gave his falcon pecs"
10:30 AM · May 21, 2021 "this so called sweet boy horrifies me"

 

 

 

 

 

 

11:02 AM · May 21, 2021 "CAR WITH HUMAN FACE."
4:53 PM · May 21, 2021 "there's so much i like and dislike about pickle and peanut. it's got a timon and pumba kind of vibe but like. better....most of the shows i like and hate aspects of go in C but im not sure with pickle and peanut. the aspects of it i hate give me real visceral disgust"
7:18 AM · May 22, 2021 "how do i describe the way humans are drawn in pickle and peanut without alienating people"
3:03 PM · May 24, 2021 "pickle and peanut grosses me out and then i see something cute like how this show does its distance shots for the main characters"

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few jokes rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel sick, but at the same time, I don't really mind that much. They're just not jokes for me. Except the one joke where an episode starts off with Pickle and Peanut getting accused of pedophilia. That one sucked.

3:34 PM · May 24, 2021 "pickle and peanut has made me feel such intense emotions we go from a really funny little ep with danny pudi as a youtuber who jumps over bikes making friends to a weird thinly veiled mistaken for pedophiles joke?"

I will admit though, "Bike Jumper" is a hell of an episode. Pickle and Peanut meet their hero, a relatively unpopular youtuber named Bike Jumper who jumpers over bikes. But when Bike Jumper gets injured, Peanut has to take the reigns. It's a pretty sweet episode, and it really shows off how nice of guys Pickle and Peanut can be. 

Honestly, they kind of reminded me of Timon and Pumbaa, or even Shnookums and Meat!

7:20 AM · May 22, 2021 "the way pickle and peanut is character wise is basically like a better shnookums and meat. it's a similar dynamic but both are a little more subdued and i think they all fear god"
7:20 AM · May 22, 2021 "actually. shnookums and meat fear god pickle and peanut fear eternity or the lack of a god."
7:21 AM · May 22, 2021 "the point is i've become less believing in a god since this watch started and this represents it."

If you recall, in the Doug post, I discussed an archetype I called the Doug archetype, which describes a type of protagonist Disney made in the late 90s into the aughts. I think there's a similar sort of archetype for when it's two characters, which I've called "The Timon and Pumbaa."

12:38 PM · May 22, 2021 "god i am rotating pickle and peanut in my mind like it is a very sound duo to be shown on disney it fits well with their other duos and i find myself comparing and contrasting..."
12:39 PM · May 22, 2021 "i think similar to the doug there's another concept that may best be described as "the timon and pumbaa""
12:41 PM · May 22, 2021
"-two (generally) male characters
-one is generally smaller/skinnier/weaker and "the ideas guy." shows genuine care for the other, even if a bit selfish
-the other is big, not necessarily stupid, but thinks differently. the more sensitive one
-uncool and hated
-tormented by god"

And yeah, they fit the bill. Honestly, it's a little surprising how uncool these guys are in universe, because they seem like pretty friendly and chill dudes, but they're really treated like shit... And I have to wonder... is it supposed to be relatable? Is a kid supposed to relate to this? Because for an adult like me it just throws me for a loop and has for a while.

3:44 PM · May 19, 2021 "why do characters in disney shows have to be bullied they have No reason to be bullied. it's stupid. i blame doug."
3:46 PM · May 19, 2021 "what do you have to be bullied for when you are the savior of a planet. what do you have to be bullied for when you're like. a college or older aged adult (presumably). what do you have to be bullied for when you are literally kim possible?"

Pickle and Peanut is also the third cartoon created by Noah Z Jones for Disney. I haven't really made as big a deal about him as I have Craig Gerber or Jim Jinkins for example, but I think it's worth noting. Pickle and Peanut is definitely the weakest of the three, but you can really see his humor from the other two shine through, though not quite as held up by the crew as it is in the other two shows

4:08 PM · May 19, 2021 "pickle and peanut DOES have a lot of the energy fish hooks has.... you know how i point out the stylistic similarities to WOY in both dt17 and spop..... i think fish hooks has something similar w/ pickle and peanut and the 7d"
4:10 PM · May 19, 2021 "pickle and peanut does make me wish i was watching fish hooks tho so i dont think i can rank it higher than c tier going forward."

It's worth noting Noah Z Jones also created Almost Naked Animals. I have never seen the show, but take it as you will! And maybe let me know if it's worth checking out, considering my varied opinions of his shows.

also uh gender.

10:25 AM · May 21, 2021 "peanut thinks about gender in a cis way"
10:27 AM · May 21, 2021 "peanut will dress like super gnc and wear a wig and makeup for fun but will yell at anyone who calls him anything but a boy and i wish it was saying something more than peanut is mistaken for a woman"
11:06 AM · May 23, 2021 "god you COULD make a trans argument for pickle and peanut i HATE IT but you could."

Overall Rating of Pickle and Peanut: D Tier

Miles From Tomorrowland: Surprisingly Boring for a Show Using Disney World IP

5:29 PM · May 15, 2021 ""we're delivering mail all day. i was hoping for something more exciting." miles, an idiot who has never seen get ed"

Not gonna lie, talking about the baby shows I don't like is kind of annoying. Like, what else is there to say other than the basics? It's been over a year. A lot of the finer details are things I don't remember. And a lot of my opinions are "this is a baby show it isn't meant for me." I had this problem with shows like Henry Hugglemonster and Sheriff Callie too. I will try my best but I apologize if it feels like I'm going through the motions.

That being said, Miles from Tomorrowland is not a good show.

4:18 PM · May 15, 2021 "miles seems like a show that would really benefit from a 22 minute episode.... bc the 11 minute eps are so nothing....."
4:41 PM · May 15, 2021 "watched a half hour miles ep and ehhhhhhh????"
5:50 PM · May 15, 2021 "man imagine being voiced by mark hamill and i still find you annoying..."
5:53 PM · May 15, 2021 "miles from tomorrowland more like just watch meet the robinsons"

I guess you could argue Miles from Tomorrowland is cashing off Disney World's Tomorrowland name, but even then... you'd at least think it'd give you some sort of nostalgia for the park. It's kind of just a normal show using a brand, similar to the Mighty Ducks cartoon.

And to be honest, I've been getting this show and Elliot from Earth confused for quite some time hahahaha!

So the show focuses around Miles Callisto and his family who live on a spaceship and work for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

1:59 PM · May 8, 2021 "Miles from Tomorrowland has a robot ostrich"
2:01 PM · May 8, 2021 "tom kenny's voice comes out of this man."

 

 

 

 

 

4:06 PM · May 15, 2021 "MILES DAD MAKES WHAT KIND OF PANCAKES???? nonsense pancakses..." 
5:26 PM · May 15, 2021 "stop making the older sister weird funny ocd joke your characters are not charming enough to make up for it"

Yes, they work for the guys who made the Peoplemover. And yes, I'd say they all work for it. Even the kids and the robot Ostrich. The TTA itself serves less as a public transit system across the galaxy and more as a governing and colonizing force? "The Great Space Train Robbery," the first episode of Mission Force One (season 3 of Miles from Tomorrowland) does call a planet that people moved onto a TTA colony. Granted, I doubt anyone actually lived on the planet beforehand, considering the temperature got down to -100 degrees, but I do wonder what other sort of planets are under the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

10:25 AM · May 16, 2021 "are the folks at the tta space colonialists????"
9:28 AM · May 18, 2021 "mission force one is a metaphor for like how kids are missionaries..... im right."
10:43 AM · May 18, 2021 "I have two episodes left of this show and god the ideologies of the TTA are just depressing to think about."
10:44 AM · May 18, 2021 "It’s weirdly propagandist??? But I don’t really know what for?"
12:38 PM · May 18, 2021 "it was only one ep but like im still thinking about the weird colonialism of mission force one."

Honestly, Mission Force One feels like one of the more tacky options for this era of Disney Junior which was adamant on giving its baby shows lore.

10:57 AM · May 16, 2021 "are you telling me that there's a serious episode with shorts sprinkled around it."
10:58 AM · May 16, 2021 "this show annoys me im sick of the Baby Shows With Lore"
11:04 AM · May 16, 2021 "according to tvtropes the reason that lore is happening in season 3 is bc miles and his friends earned all their scout badges"

Honestly, my biggest issue with Miles from Tomorrowland is how essentially Nothing the show is. None of the stories stood out. The plot didn't stick out. The Disney World fanservice didn't stick out. And honestly, only two characters stuck out.

5:15 PM · May 15, 2021 "blodger sounds like this"

 

 

 

 

 

 

5:23 PM · May 15, 2021 "blodger dies"
5:57 PM · May 15, 2021 "little fucking baby bear blob boy in miles from tomorrowland said "well that's just wrong" but he has baby voice so it sounded like "well that shit's wrong.""
1:12 AM · May 16, 2021 "OH I FORGOT TO MENTION THE SHITTY LITTLE GRIZZ VOICED BLOB IN MILES IS A GIBBYLIKE...."

The other character that stuck out to me was one I actually liked: Dashiell Scamp the Space Trader, a thief who would often show up, steal things, and replace them with utterly useless things. He was always a delight to watch!

6:23 PM · May 15, 2021 "dashiell scamp is such a nonsense name and he looks like a tumblr boyfriend"

 

 

 

 

 

6:39 PM · May 15, 2021 "he n his funny little mustache robot are the only characters i've felt something more than apathy towards"
12:15 PM · May 18, 2021 "wow my favorite character in this one rlly is the tumblr boyfriend."

Though it didn't really offend my sensibilities in any way, there really was just nothing to this show that made it an absolute drag to get through. You ever think about those shitty MST3K movies around the 6th season? That's what Miles from Tomorrowland was to me.

Overall Rating of Miles from Tomorrowland: E Tier