She spent half an hour going through the Disney catalog.
She was intrigued by the princesses in the sequel.

We started with this one.
We watched it a few years ago but forgot the story.

The bugs are scary.
The 8-bit breaks up the monotony of CGI.

A thrill a minute.
A simple fable with the usual Disney lessons.

Why isn’t it better known?
Why isn’t it lauded as a modern classic?

Great fun for the kids,
Great love letter to the parents’ childhoods.

Is it the lack of princesses?
Is it missing a surreal song and dance routine?

---

Ralph Breaks the Internet:

The internet is a big place, so it makes sense that the movie felt less focused than the first one.

Still, it was a fun time with the kids.

The cameos of the Disney Princesses were great, but they also need that little extra to keep interest in the story.

The boy is always taciturn at the end of a movie, but this time he announced
“姐姐 (Sister) I hate the gigantic Wreck-it-Ralph!”

Most importantly, I’m happy to report they had a song and dance routine this time.

---

Plus the Eeyore cameo might convince the kids to watch Winnie the Pooh!

He jumped on her chair,
Pushed her off.

She offered to share
He punched her.

I demanded he apologize.
He grinned, shook his head.

姐姐自己念书.
(Sister can read her own book then.)

Ten minutes later,
He wants her to play.

你先道歉!
(You first apologize!)

He cried on the floor,
As Mama cooked french toast.

Grabbed paper and
Purple crayon.

sor
ry

Shoved the sheet
In her face.

Play!
Now!

你做错了什么?
(What did you do wrong?)

Another tantrum.

䷕䷹

peach
toy
zappy

At breakfast, he asked
(Did you take a)
“Shower?”

He asked Mama
晚上吗?
“Night?”

Oh!
He doesn’t know
Grey mornings.

Still groggy,
He was eating
Dinner.

䷘䷢

no disease
delusion
no medicine
joy

Whoohooo!! Fast, non-stop action!

Actually, it could have used an an extra three episodes (for a traditional 13 show season) to add breathers and character development. I slot this next to Arcane — a fun show that doesn’t reach the stratosphere of top-line classics.

Be forewarned, this is a dystopic, gritty world with lots of gratuitous blood and cyborg babe cheesecake. It might be fun, but it’s beyond extra.

Someone on Reddit compared the women in the series against the ladies in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The comparison was dead on. Cultural tropes live a long time.

The difference is that Neon Genesis Evangelion went truly fucking bonkers as Hideaki Anno suffered a mental breakdown, which gives that classic an edge.

Studio Trigger is merely wild.

~

PS: One minor gripe that applies to many TV shows. The characters would have all landed in a better place if they just sat down and talked it out. I guess their refusal is why they suffer exciting lives while we enjoy our mundane existences.

white gold disc
rising between freeway signs
through the blue-beige haze
shrinking above orange dawn dust

~

turning up Buffalo
hills stand flat in the twilight
layers of vertical geography
under an inverted terrain of clouds

~

two men in the rain
chatting on the embankment
homes swept away
from the culvert below

䷫䷿

berry wrapped melon
words fall from the sky
hidden lines

Ten sheets,
Tightly rolled,
Five rings,
Blue tape.

Monster battles
Two heros!
On bed,
And room.

Bong! Bong!
Against each,
My reach
Would prevail.

With two,
Sibling courage,
Rush in,
Skewer Monster!

䷛

Great load
Ridgepole sags
Keep moving
Find plenty

Watering blue skies,
Showering umbrellas,
Floating diamonds,
Dancing on the lawn.

䷥䷿

skip chase
stray horse
shall return