I need a bucket too...
...because I damn near pissed myself watching this short.
This was excellent Wonchop. The humor was right on. The sound was clean. The dialogue was perfect. The comic timing was definitely on. The graphics were really good.
Only thing I can knock is that the drinking animation looks very dodgy. Besides that, good job. Nice way to get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit! =D
You piss in a bucket? ,'=.
Woah-oh-oh! It's not magic... :(
I didn't enjoy this version as much as the original. Sure, the animation is top notch and before and the video quality is even better but it's missing the magic that was the original.
The responisible party is the music. The piece itself is good but it doesn't capture the spirit of this short nor does it capitalize on the key moments. The new music just makes this wonderful piece seem so very mediocre. You might think I'm daft for lowering the score due to this but you would be amazed by how much music can change any film/game/claymation.
For example, with Poltergeist III, the score that Joe Renzetti makes the movie so mediocre and bland to what was an already troubled movie. However, when you put Jerry Goldsmith's original score (which was scrapped because the budget was cut on the film and was later put into The Haunting remake. What an insult to Goldsmith's work) to certain scenes of the film, it really brings it to life. It actually makes scenes more terrifying, beautiful, breathtaking, etc.
So as you can see, music can change a piece of work drastically. It's just not the same without "Magic" by Pilot. That song was practically the voice of Become as it really captured the spirit of the piece. Between the music and the imagery, it really did seem like magic.
I'm sorry but I just enjoy this version. Is it glossier and more polished? Yes. Is it as magical? Definitely not.
Thanks.
Yes i deffinatly understand how much music can effect a film as a whole. Let me try to explain my reasoning
The main reason for changing the music is that i do not own any rights to the song, "Magic." With those copyrights I cannot make any sort of money off it nor enter it into festivals. I really wanted to be able to enter into a festival, so i talked to Martin who graciously constructed a new piece for it.
For the new piece i did not want it to sound like a "wanna be Magic" sound. I relize Magic is the signature song for Become, and it is deffinatly the best there could ever be. I would prefere it to have a full different feel to it rather than a semi-same feel.
I do not know if that makes perfect sense, but i am just saying that i understand your point, yet i was not going as much for a the magic theme with this.
Thank you for being honast
It's sad when...
...you have to rely on bashing others to try and gather a fanbase. This is probably the most used and unoriginal cheap ploy put into action by most authors. Stop whining already.
I will say that your animation skills are good but come on man. You must have better things to do with your time. Actually animate something worthwhile. You have the potential. Now apply it and make something of your skills instead of whining about how you hate one artists and insulting them. It's worse than dealing with a person who uses someone as their scapegoat as to why their life sucks.
I know you're capable of more than this. Show it.
By the way, insult me if you will. I don't care. It just shows how mature you really are if you can't take some petty criticism. I just feel you can be doing something better with your talents.
Tldr
Nowhere near the quality of the previous entries.
I personally did not enjoy Ratbag & Furball #4. It had an interesting concept to it but was ruined by the crude humor.
The graphics are nice as per usual.
The style/humor is where this one falters. With the profanity, crude humor, and obscene graffiti, it really brought down the quality of this one. The magic of the first three are that they didn't need to rely on such childish, immature tactics to amuse you. However, the crudeness of this one felt tacked on to attract more viewers who eat that kind of crap up like it was pure gold. It didn't do it for me. This was a sell out attempt to me.
The audio was also not up to par this time. I had difficulty hearing most of the time, causing me to turn up my speakers real loud. Then when I did unexpectedly get to a loud part, my ears felt like they would pop! Also, why the hell was talking like he was a wanna-be ghetto poser in this one? It was annoying.
Overall, not your best of the series. I hope the fifth episode is better than this one. However, I will say that "Going Down to Newgrounds" and " Ratbag & Furball MV: Floor!" were very hilarious.
Hmm... unfortunately i have my downtimes too...
I don't know what to do with my fans... I give them what i want to give them and they complain because there's no friggin' "blood and gore", there's no "adult jokes"... it's a pain in the butt... And the more i try to adjust to what they like, the more people i let down... there's no way in between, sadly...
Still, i liked how i used to do Ratbag & Furball the first few times around and i miss it dearly... To the point where i'm now gonna say "fuck what the morons think. I'ma do what i want with my cartoons and the rest of them can go fuck themselves if they don't like it".
Thanks for the kick up the ass because i was really starting to lose perspective on MY OWN series. You can expect episode 5 to be much better.
That is so typical of Strawberry Clock too...
I must say that was a very well done Clock flash there Gregosan.
The graphics were basic but very smooth and well-drawn. The fact there was no choppy framerate either was fantastic. It all just flowed very fluently. The clocks were also very detailed but it would have been nice to have seen some more subtle details such as the water inside MineralWater Clock splash around as he moved.
The shading/use of shadows was well used when it came into play. The camera angles utilized throughout were quite a feat too, giving it a nice cinematic presentation. I just wish that the use of shading/shadows would have also been utilized in the exterior outside the Clock Headquarters instead of just being used for shadowy, dark corridors and rooms.
The sound throughout was crisp and clear without any glitches or fuzziness. The clock voices sound as monotone but lovable as ever. It was even surprising how there was some emotion coming out of the computerized voice instead of remaining the same tone. It's amazing how a few commas, question marks, exclamation points, etc actually give the computerized voices some life. Of course, the "facial" expressions/reactions of MineralWater Clock helped make it more evident and/or gave the illusion. By the way, the screams were superb.
Now to the most important part of the this flash, the humor! Instead of being in your face and/or gross, it was character driven, cerebral, subtle and random. Granted, the first test was cliched all the way but its presentation where it nearly becomes seizure inducing was quite intriguing. But definitely the weakest of the humorous tests. The second test was not only random and amusing, but even had me want to dance. It was one of those moments where you just feel like participating.
The third test was very amusing because there is this pressure evident if MinerWater Clock should choose the correct answer or choose the wrong because of the big red infamous B. Yet, the fact you know what choice he will make just makes one want to laugh like a little school girl. It makes one feel involved with the trials and tribulations while remaining humorous.
Of course the ending takes the cake. Once more we feel the frustration that MinerWater Clock feels but you can't help but laugh because it would be so typical of Strawberry Clock to pull such a stunt and leave his fellow clocks hanging out to dry. Since the flash kept me so involved with the events and humor it gave it this genuine interactivity to it, thus the 5 I gave in interactivity.
Overall, this was a fantastic little Clock Crew flash. I hope to see more from you in the near future. You are very promising.
But I must ask, why did the CCHQ look like a gargantuan version of GoldenClock? =P
Haha, the CCHQ looks like GoldenClock? I've never thought of that..they look similar though, LOL!
Thanks for your review, it's actually just an intro movie for my clock because I'm new in the CC. So that's why the jokes and the movie length is not that hardcore.
Thanks for your support!
Ahhh... Nostalgic Saturday Morning Flashbacks...
I must truly thank you for creating this series.
The drawings are simplistic but have a very appeasing style that echos back to some of those wonderful saturday morning cartoons of old.
I was also quite happy to see this episode went for a different approach the previous two episodes. While I enjoyed the previous entires, they did echo too much back to Itchy & Scratchy and Tom & Jerry. I find it amusing how it looks like they are getting along and playing video games together yet it is obvious they are equally frustrated with each other via their dreams. It added a slightly different angle to the cat & mouse cartoon concept.
I also appreciated the little light-hearted anime touches in the animation/sound that echoed back to one of my old-time favorites, Heathcliff & Friends.
My main qualms with the episode are basically little knitpicks. The sound quality with the FF7 battle theme during Ratbag's dream changes in quality three times, from mediocre to good to bad. Also, I do find some inconsistences between the episodes as far as the characters go. In Episode #1, Ratbag and Furball had a Tom & Jerry-like relationship. In Episode #2, Ratbag & Furball had a Itchy & Scratchy relationship where Ratbag was a complete psychotic and Furball was nothing more than a victim. Now we have the current Odd Couple/Grumpy Old Men style of relationship.
If you're just experimenting with different ideas involving the characters, that's fully understandable. But I must say I definitely enjoy the current relationship between the two in this episode, putting on a friendly face around each other when they can but secretly cannot stand each other. I think it just adds more to the whole cartoon.
Overall, I really enjoyed Episode #3. Keep up the fantastic work!
Ratbag & Furball's relationship is as unpredictable as i am. That's what should make you want to see more episodes. It'll keep on changing, but the adversities between the two will always be there. They'll just manifest themselves in different ways.
I'll keep up the work. That's a promise i'll have no trouble keeping.
I'm working on a new episode. This one will be quite a surprise to current Ratbag & Furball fans. They'll probably hate me for it.
Thanks for the feedback!
Forced & Tired Installment with a Polished Look...
While having enjoyed the previous Decline movies greatly, I found this installment rather disappointing.
While I applaud you for vastly improving the look from the previous installments, that's the only thing that Decline 3 has to show for itself. Everything else feels forced and tired as if the only concern was to churn the product out for the mob of fans rather than true passion.
For one, where's the story? It goes nowhere! This installment is so muddled and directionless that the only thing linking the events together are the parodies just so it can get from Point A to B. I mean, it's never even defined why Dim and the gang were in Japan in the first place. They just go there! Plus, the Evil Developers bring nothing new to the table either. It just feels like a poor carbon copy of Decline 2 with a new setting and polished look at times.
Which also brings me to the jokes. While the jokes in the previous Decline movies felt inspired, unpredictable, ribald, random, and original, the ones in Decline 3 all are either based off existing jokes, predictable, tired, or just very lame. For instance, the jokes involving the MSG3 dream based off the chocolate land segment from The Simpsons or the whole "Evil Robot Usses" from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and even the whole phone call stuff from all those lame 90's post-Scream slashers. We've seen it all done before and a lot better. The jokes just feel lazy. The quality has downgraded to that of the current Legendary Frog cartoons.
Some of the jokes make no sense either. For instance, why does JT scream at the end of his first MSG3 dream? Also, the Zelda: Minish Cap joke made no sense at all. The only parts that honestly made me laugh was the opening with the PSP, the jokes with Tom avoiding fire, and the Metroid joke.
Another thing that bothers me is you have some really nice setups to some fabulous ideas but the execution is half-cocked. For one, the game show doesn't even feel like one due to the fact that Dim, Dan, and JT are the only ones answering the questions or participating. The other team presents no challenge for them. Also, the evil robots were a cool concept but they are defeated much too easy!
All you have here is eye candy with a glossy sugar coating.
Now don't get me completely wrong, I appreciate the time you put into this but it feels like there was no passion going into this installment this time. It felt more like it was being rushed out just to keep the masses satisfied. This series basically went out with not a bang but a whimper. In my mind, A Decline Christmas is Decline 3.
If you guys even attempt a Decline 4 (which I doubt you will since you voiced that there is no interest), don't completely give in to the mass of fans. Take your time to make the best product with not just improved looks but improved and fresh material too.
But nonetheless, you guys deserve some credit and a break for the all the time you put into this series.
candy with a glossy sugar coating?
mmmmmmmmmmm............*drool*
Thanks for the well written, well thought out review. The 'repeated jokes' are running gags (seen in many cartoons) and the direct references to other things is called satire. JT screams at the end of his MGS dream because Snake equips a microwave. Its a pretty horrific image. The Minish Cap scene.........he's small - he gets eaten by a bird. Simple, no?
Decline 3 - if anything - was NOT rushed.
-Dim
By Jove, errm, B...
...You've done it again! :)
I have to say the Speakonia voices chosen for FU and Adrenaline work perfectly for them because it really expresses their cynical mood. You never seem to have to worry about their emotions not being expressed through their speech.
Only complaint I have is that sometimes FU and Adrenaline spoke too fast and made it hard to understand them such as the "S'Pretty fuckin' awesome" and "How the Hell does that even work?" lines. Besides that, to quote Bill & Ted... "EXCELLENT!!!!"
Yeah... I'll take that into account. Usually I'm very selective about how fast/ what the pitch is of the characters' voices because really, jokes hitch about 90% on delivery. I thank that you've noted that the voices don't suffer too badly under the computerized voices, and simply use them as a style.
I can't justify the "'S'pretty fuckin' awesome," being too fast, but everything said when a zombie bursts out is usually just meant to add to the confusion and chaos. Still, duly noted.
Uhhmmm... Awhooo? :p
Age 39, Male
College Student
The Forest
Joined on 10/7/04
Ruth Gets Smashed 
Become: Festival Edition 
UCFD - AntiAntiClockClock 
Ratbag & Furball #04 
CC - Clockification 
Ratbag & Furball #03 
Decline of Video Gaming 3 
F U Clock - Ep. III