CaseyAnimates's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Set Up To Fail]

Wow, I really enjoyed this! Definitely deserves the positive reception.

The animation was really clean! A lot of animators, myself included, aim to have a high frame-rate with lots of in-between frames to keep it smooth, but you had a great way of focusing on just the most important frames to get the action across. It definitely saves you some time, and despite the lack of actual movement being displayed at times, I never lost myself in the action. I'd say a lot of that is due to your timing! Sometimes it felt like moments came a little slower than I'd like it to be, but I have to say that it led to a lot of anticipation about what was coming next.

The aesthetic and atmosphere was great! It's something I highly value in animations, and I really enjoyed your way of presenting the world. I'm a sucker for that mix of run-down, dilapidated backdrops with traces of high-powered and dangerous technology. Your setting provides these tiny questions in our head for us to answer, like, "Why does this character owe so many credits?" or, "Why does this city require a dome to enclose it?" To be fair, a lot of these questions are left unanswered; perhaps you don't have much of an answer to it yourself. That being said, the benefit to having these little mysteries is that I want to see more!

Thinking about it, this style really took me back to earlier Newgrounds. I was reminded of videos from creators like Vinnie Veritas or Rtil; cartoons about interesting characters in an imaginative setting, where we as the viewers are only afforded a peek into what their lives are like. Those were some of my favorite animations, and I remember trying to piece together the world these characters lived in based on what was only minutes of animated content.

Your cartoon really put me back in those shoes, and I'd owe that to your impressive character art, your willingness to let us speculate, and your emphasis on setting up a scene in an interesting, engaging way. Needless to say, I really, really enjoyed it! Excellent job!

[Space James ep.02]

Seeing this on the front page so prominently got me pretty excited initially. I like a lot of TheWeebl's stuff, and one of the animators, Kried, has produced a lot of great stuff.

That being said, there are moments of potential here that could bring the quality up higher, but that missed potential, coupled with an uninspiring premise, is what made this an overall disappointment.

For instance, the beginning sequence is the most amusing. Space Jame's name constantly popping back up over everybody else is great, and really drives home his character archetype. That being said, though, the idea of a space captain who's kind of a egotistical douche is nothing new. That's not to say that I couldn't have enjoyed it regardless, but I feel like there wasn't much that stands out with Space James among all the other characters out there that are similar.

The animation felt pretty lazy, too, especially considering what I've seen in the past from the same people. All the best animation is front loaded in the intro, and doesn't become interesting again for the rest of the video. Everything is way too motion-tween focused, with actual frame by frame animation being very scarce. Sometimes that can work with simpler characters, but with characters like this, it doesn't do them any favors. The 3D portions are nice, but nothing interesting is done with them, and the particle and lighting effects are overdone and obnoxious in a lot of places. Scenes where lighting filters are plastered over characters look pretty bad when the individual character's lighting doesn't reflect it naturally.

As for comedy, I felt like I was being dragged through punchlines that were never given enough attention to really leave an impact. Maybe it looks good on paper, but without the proper timing to back this up, a lot of jokes just fly right by. Not to mention that the robot character's audio filter is way too modulated, to the point where a lot of his lines have me straining to understand them. The plot is also pretty boring; having the main character sit in a chair talking to someone on a monitor for nearly all of the episode just isn't engaging. Maybe you intended that to be the point, to emphasize that Space James is kind of useless, but even if you wanted to push that idea, you can do it in a more entertaining fashion. Perhaps put Space James in a shootout where he bullshits his way to victory or something similar. Granted, I don't recall ever seeing the first episode to this series so maybe that style of plot happens, but this episode really suffers from a lame premise.

This is the sort of thing that stings with wasted potential in the end. Mediocre animation, unfunny timing, a character that doesn't stand out, and the knowledge that these creators have made much better content, really leave a bad taste in my mouth. I still look forward to the next creation from these two in the future; hell, I'd even watch another Space James episode. I just really hope these necessary improvements come with it.

[The Crawler]

THAT was an awesome flash, man! I haven't posted a review in nearly two years, but your movie really put me in the mood; I'm still impressed at how well this was made!

Animation wise, you did fantastic! The movements in the characters is incredibly smooth, and with a frame rate as fast as yours, I'm surprised you kept the quality so well throughout the entire movie. The characters move realistically, too, which is great; I've noticed that most flash authors who use frame by frame animation usually just fill in the gaps between 2 different poses, but you've gone out of your way to make the movement continuous and fluid. It looks great, I'm very impressed, and I hope you keep it up!
Also, the art is very unique! There's an incredible amount of detail when it comes to the background (I mean damn, look at all those lines), and the characters look great too! They even managed to keep the detail through their movements, and some highlights include your perspective use, your walk-less cycles, and facial features. By the way, I hope not too sound too perverted, but my GOD man, the way you drew the amputee's boobs remained so consistent and real throughout the flash; I was oddly fascinated, so good job on making me feel bad for staring. Everything else was great, but that must've taken some practice.

While the art and animation stole the show, the sound was pretty good, too, and managed to do it's job pretty well. The voice acting fit nicely, and the sound melded well with what was happening on the screen. Looking back on it, I specifically remember how well the rolling of the scooter fit with the sound, and how every foot step and scuffle was accounted for, too.

As for the story, I don't think I'll see something quite like this ever again! The plot was dripping with uniqueness (I mean hell, I think the description has more weirdness than half of the cartoons on this site alone), and it managed to make the story really, "flow," I guess you could say. It's like my brain just accepted the quirky story with a shrug and let everything that was happening hit me with its emotion instead of its facts. It's like when you're watching a movie when you're a little kid; you may not understand everything, but you don't have to. The movie tells you the story though the emotion, while the details take the back seat. That's pretty difficult to muster, and while that's maybe not what you were going for, that's what I felt like, anyways. Awesome story, man, I liked it a lot!

Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this flash, considering how odd everything was starting to look before I hit play! I'll be watching this one every now and then, rest assured, and I'm glad this film is getting the attention it deserves! Thanks for the inspiration!
5 outta' 5!
AWESOME JOB!

[Adventures of Dr. Lawyer]

This was fantastic!
And not to mention surprisingly so! From the first click it looked a bit amateurish, what with the scribbly style and the lazy lip-syncing, but the way this show was pulled off pushed those factors away and provided a solid episode and a great provider of funny.

Animation wise, this was pulled off pretty well! It's nowhere near Pixar or the skill of that near one of the more renowned animators on this site, but it's style is surprisingly funny. The never-stagnant characters scribble around everywhere, and the more ridiculous situations (smashing through a police door and the exponential hair growth) are made more ridiculous thanks to the crude animation style. The backgrounds also present a great cartoony feel; the color usage in particular is bright and shiny, and nothing seems murky.

The sound was very unique! It was quiet enough usually to where it was a subtle design overall, and the sound effects, being mostly vocal, provided an incredibly weird indie feel to it that you wouldn't get from the more mainstream artists. The voice acting wasn't crazy fantastic, but it was blunt and crazy funny the way it was pulled off. The clever inside jokes littering the dialogue made you really yearn to listen, trying to catch the well-timed lines. The microphone had less clarity than I'd like, unfortunately, so more of the lines were harder to hear than they should've been.

Humor wise, however, this is where the flash shines the most! You can owe most of that to the comedic timing, which was impeccable! Even lines that shouldn't have been funny were hilarious thanks to when they happened, and the lines that would be funny no matter what were unstoppable thanks to it! Another huge part of it is due to the ludicrous nature of the universe. Fish wives, tree judges, pork chop slapping, guys with phones attached to their heads, almost parasitic mustaches, etc. It's all pretty damn crazy, and they pull it off as if they're just used to that sorta' thing. If there is one thing you've definitely got right, it's the humor.

Overall, a really great flash! I've been meaning to review it for a while, but couldn't quite put my finger on why it was so damn funny! It's not perfected, but it's brilliant nonetheless. I'll definitely be paying multiple visits to this one, and I await the new episodes!
5 outta' 5 and 4 and 1/2 stars!
GREAT JOB!!

idontknowcorp responds:

Thanks bunches for the thoughtful review.
We're going to try and work on the sound quality the next go around, new mics and the likes.
Episode 2 is a ways away at this point... but I hope it doesn't disappoint :D

[KOS Halloween]

A solid episode for the series of KOS!

It's weird that I somehow managed to let this one just float on past along with some of the other stuff I watched comin' home from the Halloween antics. Anyways, it's a pretty cool episode! There are a few issues in it, but we'll touch on those later in the review. And, beware, this review is almost 100% critique, so bear with me, Onions!

Animation wise, there's some pretty cool stuff! The characters were rich with detail on terms of shading. The motion was an overall success, but could've used a bit less tweening and more natural motion.
The backgrounds, especially the sky, don't look sloppy! I'd like it if next time you tried some crazier camera angles, as I felt it the project was sometimes just setting a scene as basic as you could. Try to add some depth next time, with extra space and places to go in the background. Give those characters plenty of room-to-run in the universe given. Great job on background work nonetheless!

Sound was good! The voice actors had some quality microphones to record on, and my favorite actor present is still the voice of Kolaskum, so hats off to him. There were a few parts that seemed stiff in the voice presentation itself, as if the characters suddenly would ignore the situations they were presented with, and while this can be executed to provide some excellent comedy as it has before, I felt it was just something skimmed over for some of the plot.
Somethin' with the sound effects I've noticed is that some of them seem a bit out of place for this episode. I've loved the atmosphere with previous episodes where it was created like a mix between 8-bit'ish, cartoon and just straight-up whatever KOS is all about, and I felt less of that here. I'm not sure what to say about it, but thinking back to the cartoon without watching it again, I can't really put forth anything I remember as being the same, or tell you any one part with cool SFX. It's not bad, but not the same or as noteworthy. You can decide how to fix that one, Onions, I'm not sure!

The impact and effect of this flash was a bit lackluster, and, ironically and sadly enough, it's only brought upon by minor and fixable issues that could easily be tweaked on through with practice and patience! It's like all the gears are working great except for these weird ones that won't turn right in the back.
The characters look like guys I want to get to know, but I feel they could reveal more with personality. I know Onions as the protagonist dork, Koloaskum as the foil and Snowball as the add-on character, and by add-on, I'm saying that I don't see any prominent character traits with Snowball just yet. I'm sure you've got one, just show it better!
Also, I'm not sure what this is supposed to be in terms of who the target audience is. The characters look all cute n' kid friendly, not to mention cool, but they start pumpin' out dialogue with, "Faggot," and "Wrinkly old ball sack." No, I'm not being some pansy and saying you need only adhere to the kiddies, but I am saying that you should keep in mind who the series is for!
Finally, the plot felt a bit unresolved. I didn't learn much about anybody, nor did I feel this was given a proper The End. The ultimate self-destruct of anything is a bad or downer ending, and I feel you should stuff in some resolution and some after-math next time. Endings are SO critical!

Overall, you get the picture by now, right? Yeah, it sounds pretty harsh, but critique reviews always make people sound like jerks. I felt you could use some for this episode, though, as it seems it wasn't as well recieved as we'd like it to be. Was it rushed, was it badly timed or was it just terrible luck? I'm sure you're good enough to find out.
But I'm still a great fan, and smile with every new episode! I look forward to the next one, of course, and I hope you take my critique to heart. Also, contrary to what it sounds like, I did laugh to myself quite a bit! Hell, even sitting alone on this chair with no shirt on at that. "MY EYES ARE OFFENDED," got me pretty good.
5 outta' 5 and 8 outta' 10!
NICE JOB!!

OnionsXD responds:

This is just about the single most epic and most helpful review in the history of newgrounds. Hands down.

I bet you could easily get a job reviewing things.

But that aside. About the animation. I did use to much tweening and it was kinda obvious too. What I was doing was trying to imitate my friend Cristo's animation style of using mostly tweens. Now I realize that that only works well with his characters because there shapes. So for future cartoons I'll revert back to frame by frame animation. :P
And about the backgrounds I was pretty lazy with that (it's the worst for me)
And when I started it I drew one giant background, then zoomed into different parts to simulate "different backgrounds" Not only did that make the cartoon lag a bit, but it also does create the problem you mentioned about the space. (I realize that now)

So! No more creating one massive background.
I get what you mean about the script too, how it kinda gets off track and they don't seem to focus on the situation at hand. I think my next cartoon stays more focused though so that's good.

And about the 8-bit sound feel of previous episodes! I used to have this program calledSFXR that generated random 8-bit sounds. I would use that all the time to make sound effects. However, I only recently found the program again (since I had it on an old computer before) So when I made this cartoon I sadly didn't have the program anymore and couldn't get 8-bit sounds.

However, in my next cartoon I got some 8-bits in there. Like this part where Onions picks up the milk with a super duper happy face. XD

About the audience thing, originally I wanted the KOS series to be a teenager/kids type show. but with this I kinda strayed trying to add things adults would find humorous to get higher ratings.
I'm going to go back and make this more kids oriented though. And if I add any adult humor, I"ll make it really subtle. ^^

About the characters. Looking back I REALLY get what you mean that I don't illustrate their personalities quite well. When I write scripts that's just something that doesn't cross my mind much. I'll take note to make that important now though.

but you got it right pretty much, Onions is the main character and kinda stupid and a dork, Kolaskums the one that's always annoyed and pessimistic, and Snowballs the add-on character guy. Besides being smart he doesn't have too much of a extravagant personality. I like to just say he's a well rounded guy (just like his body) :D

The ending part was pretty abrupt and bad. Honestly I didn't know how to end it, since they had no goals or objectives. So that's what came out.

In my next cartoon though! There's an objective though! and the ending is actually my best part. I can't wait to finish it, as I've really taken a lot of criticism and I always realize that I knew subconsciously what's always wrong with my cartoons but I always let my laziness get the best of me and leave it as is.

But from now on, I realized I need to try my absolute best if I really wanna make something good. So I'm gonna try my best to try my best. :P

Thanks again for the help! You super helped me. :D

[The Love I'm Searching 4]

An entertaining and beautiful work of art.

Truly a masterpiece, and one of the best things to hang in your "Flash Submissions," gallery. I was checkin' up on ya' again today and, I don't know how many times that makes it now, clicked this video again. I'd already left a lengthy review on This Is Unmei, and I felt this one deserved just as much, if not more, credit. So here we are, almost a year later and I finally decided to go ahead.

Animation wise, flawless for what you exceeded in and an incredible step up for what you used to not. The tweens are perfected, and I couldn't find a single problem with the fluidity of the motions involving walking, running, dancing or any other of the quirky little things these girls do. The characters were never just at a stand-still either, as reviewing of the scenes show great movement 24/7 in everybody, even the ones taking up background space.
As fantastic as the motion is (believe me, I could go on), you did such a great job on background work, that I had to pause and play over and over again just to check it out. The jpeg image usage was everywhere, but not in such a way to where you just slapped it down straight from Google Images. The backgrounds visualize consistency, depth-of-field, inside jokes and even development of characters. The lighting was handled smart, and I constantly went back just to check it out. If there was anything that took the biggest step up, it was this. Bra-freakin-vo.

As for sound, I loved it! You animated perfectly to The Rental's style, and the motions, just like in This Is Unmei and Don't Trip, even matched the rhythm and beat. The additional noises, like footsteps and various character noises were handled greatly and with good, high quality. I hope to hear more of the same later!

As for the impact and effect of the flash, I have to say, I still get that wonderful feeling of discovery and love when watching this like I did with This Is Unmei, all pertaining to the characters, the art, the music, and the emotion you managed to present so well. I felt the same sense of nostalgia upon seeing all the old characters like Jackie, Uli, Ilu and Melon, and felt another sense of wonder when seeing the new characters you've shown here. You showed the emotions and charisma of these girls with incredibly subtle details like body motion, things they do in the background and what they aspire to become. In fact, you showed the entire story with a sense of subtlety, and I love that! It's one of those great things you've created where I couldn't possibly get all of it from one viewing, and notice something new every time I click Replay. I felt an incredible sense of being in the universe of these Unmei-ish characters.
The story of it all - how these girls secretly desire to pursue their dreams of conducting, dancing, art and music - hit me even before I read your explanation.
I felt that there were things in my life that were similar as well, so the personal aspect, if you were heading for it, got me pretty good in the emotional sense of the word. Not like crying or anything, but in the sense that I wanted to watch it again and again and think of how I relate.
You say you wanted to create something fun to watch and beautiful to see all at the same time, and believe me when I say that you've done more than accomplish that with this piece. It's not something you can just write off with a simple vote of 5 or a thumbs up. It's something you wanna' watch again, show to your buds, and then think about it even after you've left the computer.

Overall, I can't tell you how happy I am to have discovered you and your work. This is one of the best, if not the best movies you created thus far, and this was in 2009, even! I still got the same vibes watching this at least a year later as I did when I first did, and that's impressive. You've got an incredibly unique way of telling a story, and I hope you never lose it. I await anything you do in the future, and I personally hope and would love to see the characters of Unmei again someday.

5 outta' 5, 10 outta' 10 and favorited!
FANTASTIC JOB!

[Pokemon Bash]

Onions, DANG SON. Ecstatic that I saw this today!

Hey Onions, it's been a while! Yes, I'm still alive, thanks (and planning a new project soon to be released). Anyways, I was just scourin' the web a bit and GUESS WHO I FOUND on the Daily's?

Animation was pretty tight! The characters and a bit of the background in the beginning had that constantly spazzy outline that I love so much and and some other nice effects tossed in, such as hair movement and some other stuff. What really threw me for a loop was the background work, which was REALLY impressive this time around! The shading was crazy nice and used plenty, plus it went well with the already solid art style. The blurring and color scheme topped it all off, so fantastic work on the art, Onions, it's getting so much better!

Sound was nice! The music was awesome, especially in the credits. The voice work was solid also, so bravo and cheers to the others who helped you in this flash!

Humor was pretty solid in itself. I always did wonder what was goin' through a Sudowoodo's mindset as it would get mistaken for some small tree and chopped up, so this was plenty enough for me! What you should start workin' on is including EVERYBODY in on your work and your jokes, as I'm sure some of it is going to be lost when it comes to different audiences. Also, some of the humor is a bit stereotypical for the Newgrounds crowd up to this point; somethin' nefarious happens to someone, someone contemplates life, someone dies, PUNCHLINE. It never hurts to have a change of pace, as I'm getting a little used to shock-humor and the like. Albeit, your poke-ball at the end was the funniest thing I've seen for today's internet-touring extravaganza, so thank you.

Overall, nit-picks aside, this was awesome, and I was hella' impressed, Onions! I like where I see you goin', and once you nail whatever's keeping you from being fantastic, there's no telling where I'll see ya' next! I'll try to keep up more with you, man, as long as you keep it up yourself. Also, you're stepping in more of the big-leagues here, so no more easy 10's from me, BOY. I'll give you a good ol' 9 for a head start, but you better watch yourself. c:

5 outta' 5 and 10 outta' 10!
GREAT JOB!!

And how've ya' been, huh? Haven't said much in a while, have we?
Congrats on the Daily Second, by the way! If anything else happens to come your way, then congrats on that, too!

OnionsXD responds:

Thanks for the review Bonehead! Yours are always SO epic. :DD

It took a dang while for me to actually get a good trophy and front page. But now that I got so far, I'm actually going to start working on cartoons ALOT. I actually already have a Halloween cartoon that's ready to submit. I'm just waiting for the Halloween. :))

I actually made this in an animation class that I'm taking at college. We spent three weeks on just doing the backgrounds, so I spent quite awhile on them. They're actually the thing I hate most about making cartoons but I grudged through it. XD

Apparently I didn't shade right in this cartoon though. Some people have commented how it's all over the place, which makes sense because I had no light source in mind.

And the Humor. I totally get what you say. But for my class we had to come up with a ten second gag cartoon. I actually went overboard with my idea so extending it even more would've been going too far for the class. XD
HOWEVER, with my future KOS! Episodes. I think the humor will be loads better. I learned a little (and am still learning) about the basics of comedy. Like having weird characters in normal situations or vice versa. So that's only going to improve from now on I hope. :D

I can't wait to see your cartoon when it's out! Send me a PM when you submit it! ^^

Thanks again for the review !:D

[Cristo and the Gorilla!]

Lovin' how this one turned out!

Awesome job, man! It just keeps gettin' better!

Animation wise, this one was really improved! The detail on the backgrounds was really impressive this time around, and that gorilla head wasn't drawn up in 4 minutes, I'll tell ya' that, haha! The motion was also really good on the destruction on the house and the characters! I can tell you took the time a lot of yer' time on that kinda' stuff for this! While it took you just a week to make, I can tell it wasn't rushed!

Sound was, as they'd say in 2004, PRETTY TIGHT. The destruction noises were pretty good, and you took advantage of the stereo aspect of it for some if it too, and that's also cool! Voice acting was also nice, by the way! Lookin' back to the cereal animation, I could also tell that a higher quality mic was also being used this time! Definitely made a difference!

Overall, I like how this is going for ya'! If I had to complain about somethin', it did lack any actual...point to it, and it was a bit short, too. Looking aside from those gripes, you're doin' great! Keep it up man!
5 outta' 5 and 10 outta' 10!
GREAT JOB!!

[*Absolute Zero*]

Good job, made me space out for a bit, haha!

Didn't blow me away or anything but it was nice! Pretty mesmerizing to say the least. By the way, before I forget, and since a few have been wondering...

-THE MUSIC IS-
an instrumental version of the song SELECT? by Chihara Minori. She was Yuki Nagato's voice actor in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Not quite sure if I'm proud that I know that, but whatever. You're welcome, and, FakeMistake, please point that out, it's a good song and people wanna' know what it is. You'll be doing everyone a favor.

Anyways, on to the actual review.
Visuals were pretty simple but get the job done! The background was real nice and trance like, and the motion of said characters in particular was real good! The only thing really being a put off here are how scribbly some of it got. I wasn't quite sure that that was the best medium to go with. It looked good, but could've looked better.
Also, was there a meaning to this? Not really, unless I'm missing something. Usually these things have more of a point, but hey, that's adds to the randomness and maybe to some of it's beauty...MAYBE...so I can't complain.

Overall, nice video! I await what you do next, that's for sure!
5 outta' 5 and 8 outta' 10!
Keep it up!

FakeMistake responds:

Yup, you're right about the music (and so was the other two down below). And since I was just actually waiting to see if anyone would notice, now that it's reveled, I added it to the author comments.

All in all, thanks for the review.

Spoiler - There was a meaning to it, but it got kind of reduced in the making

[Generic Protagonist #1]

I must say man, this was really funny!

I was convinced by the title of the flash alone to watch this freakin' thing, and boy I'm glad I did!

Animation, as I always refer to first when it comes to a review, fit the subject matter. It all looks ridiculous, and the facial expressions are all over the place. I will say that while the drawings were crap (I'll give you the upside of this and say that was on purpose, haha!), the animation was actually alright! I must say what I enjoyed most about the animation, and probably the reason I like it so much is the comedic timing was perfect! I was laughing out loud the whole time, and I was all by myself, dammit! Since it's an extremely important aspect (especially for me), I gave you some huge points for that! Good lord, the lava pit being owned by apple was hilarious.

Sound was ok. I'm not going to say something like, "LOL, you are a genius you need to sign up for Pixar you have the voice of angels ROFL," because that's really not the case, here. The mic ain't very good, because without subtitles, it's near impossible to hear some of the dialogue. The voice actor itself lacked some enthusiasm when it came to delivery, too. However, thanks to your sense of timing, a lot of the lines came off as awesome! The one, "AH," said with the pants flying at him really made me bust a gut, and some of the more nonsensical lines and muttering were also great. You've got a ton of talent space to fill, but I'm impressed nonetheless.

Overall, that was great, man! You definitely deserved your front page, and I'm glad I watched this!
5 outta' 5, 9 outta' 10 and favorited!
GOOD JOB!!

drodZILiA responds:

Thanks, bro.