Rabid-Animals's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Faster the Treadmill]

A Powerful Kind of Silly.

First, I have to tell you that you have superb taste in music. Honestly, I don't know why more people on Newgrounds aren't all about I Fight Dragons. That nostalgic, NES and Chiptune sound is infectious and comforting. With that in mind, it's good to know that you were able to create a piece that lives up to the immense quality of the song.

Too often are music videos just weak pictures and garbage animations held together by an astronomically better song. It's not fair to the musicians to be lumped in with some stickmen riding skateboards. Your style, however, formed a beautiful union with the quirky indie-rock that I Fight Dragons creates.

I've been a fan of your stuff for a very long time, and you keep improving. The story I saw in this Flash was brilliant, animated like a professional-for-pay piece, and wrapped up with no extraneous frills. The characters you created were bizarre, but adorable, and thus endearing. That little creature with the wings, the pathetic monster hiding behind crystals while the shark-armed man fought brought a little bit of sadness to the video in a very Pixar-esque fashion.

Homages to video games of the past didn't go unnoticed. A Rupee here, a box suspiciously reminiscent of those in the Mario games there, and all the other small touches really captured the music, and summarized a theme in the Flash. I'm not entirely sure if it was solely the animation or the corresponding music, but something was vaguely inspiring about the film.

Imagination, I can see, played a huge part in the production of the Flash. I love the little creatures, I adored the massive tentacle monster, and I wanted to play as the shark-armed man. You managed to encapsulate the little desires that pull at the back of gamers' minds in the Flash; you brought them to life in a quick, satisfying tale.

Obviously, there's absolutely nothing about this Flash that I didn't positively love. My only wish would be for higher quality audio, but I understand that filesize was a concern. I could see that you probably had to make a couple sacrifices with the graphics, too. However, none of that takes away from the Flash. I think anybody who's ever colored, anybody who's ever enjoyed a video game, and anybody who wants to be a happy child again for four minutes should watch this movie.

10 stars. Keep up the amazing work.

[Family Farm]

Bizarre.

This is an absolute oddity. I'd be really stumped as to how you came upon this idea if you hadn't said it in your comments. Even so, this is an incredibly austere movie based on an equally strange gag. I enjoyed it, even though it was short.

What got me most was the accuracy of the voices. I was a little awestruck at the similarities between the voices and the perceived sounds of the animals. Obviously, most of this is due to your talented renditions, but even so, I noticed it in the show after watching it recently.

I don't think I need to see any more of this Flash; that is to say that the length is appropriate. I had to dock you for points because it's not entirely compelling, but it tells a funny joke concisely, which is rare. Good job on that.

[The Running Box]

Gloriously Simple.

Look at that little box. It's a very rare occasion that I get to see something so simple but so adorable. The art style is kind of reminiscent of minimalist web-cartoons, so you got points for that. Being that there really isn't much else to the movie, that's probably your strongest point.

The next best thing was the music. A really superb choice that reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean. The irony of putting that song with the simple box was brilliant, and even a little humorous. You seemed to pull off a joke without even doing anything.

That being said, there's probably room for improvement. The dramatic cuts were nice, like zooming in on the box's face, but a little more animation would not have gone unnoticed. Maybe slow it down, or pan around; you wouldn't have to do much. As is, I really like it!

[Tarboy]

The Epitome of Production

It's about time I got around to writing a review for this.

Tarboy is an interesting character. He seems almost like an anti-hero. He's got a very dark vibe to him, and that's not entirely due to the fact that tar is integrated with him so much. What makes him such a fascinating subject is not his actual persona, but the development that lends itself to the creation of a nuanced and classic character.

Storytelling seems to almost be a lost art in the days of reality TV and 24 hour news. It's refreshing and entirely exhilarating to see a yarn spun with such thick threads of backstory clean elegance. You could have gone overboard with the story, easily. You could have expanded far too much on the characters; you could have told too much about Tarboy's world; you could have spent ages explaining all the mechanisms of the robots. It would have been interesting, but it would have ultimately been a strike against the movie. Amazingly enough, the story is tightly told, trimmed of excess and presented masterfully.

The style of the Flash is incredibly unique. I loved the overwhelming use of green, which evokes a kind of sickness, a desperation hidden in the themes and backgrounds of the movie. The cartoon style is intriguing as well; it seemed to draw on older influences while at the same time using the effects and development tools available to you to make a superb combination of new and old. It's a Frankenstein's Monster without all the nasty stitches.

The art, the voice acting, the exquisite musical selections- they all come together with a level of professionalism rarely seen without six figure budgets. In the end, the viewer is treated to an actual film, something that should be screened at festivals, picked up by a major network, and lead you to a lot of money. If it ever happens, (and all of Newgrounds is pulling for you, bud) Rabid-Animals told you so.

A full ten stars.

[Short Flash about Bill M.]

Like Ghostbusters Murray Himself, Timeless.

I can remember this cartoon being passed around my Computers class in 10th grade. Back then, the five kids that were addicted to Newgrounds (myself included) would finish their work, load up NG, and watch this, usually more than once.

It's a very different kind of humor. The jokes in this Flash are subtle at first, just being kind of odd, rather than a "WTF!" kind of deal. Slowly, I enjoy that the cartoon delves deeper and deeper into surreal humor. The rising action is sweet, gradually building upon a bizarre premise. This makes the climax a moment that really should go down in history: the Fountain of Murray.

"What about the art?" "What about it," I say. Stick figures are usually the sign of an absolutely abominable Flash, the insignia of laziness and brilliant ideas gone to waste. Here, however, nothing would have been more suitable. Simple art forces the viewer to focus on the humor and the truly unique style. I'm struggling to classify it as any specific genre.

Plot, sound, and art form a beautiful union in this production, and it's worthy of nothing less than a 10, simply because it's well-done, and there's nothing else like this.

[Your FIRED!]

Needs refining.

The art was okay, and the animation was also average, but this lacked substance. Sure, the story was coherent, but it came off as haphazard. Spend more time on development. Ten cheap laughs are always better than one.

Also, what bothered me most and lost you a whole star was this:
Your DOES NOT EQUAL you're.

You're= you are
Your= posessive (Your cat is on fire.)

Dbreth responds:

Yeeaaah.. i wasnt really paying attention to that thanks for pointing it out!

[Epic Beard Man]

What the world needs, what Epic Beard Man deserves

These caricatures are perfect. I can't believe how expertly you got every single detail of the characters. There wasn't much to the background, which was actually a plus. I don't want to watch nervous bus people shuffle around, and I'm glad you took the time to not animate them. I'm actually really glad you submitted this.

The humor is awesome. I love how you interspersed original material mocking the guys with the stuff they actually said. I think "octopus excrement" is one of the best insults I've ever heard. I was rooting for EBM the whole time, and you delivered with the finale. The flashback was absolutely brilliant.

Epic Beard Man will live forever in our hearts. JohnnyUtah, even though I'm sure if you read this you'll write some sarcastic, hurtful comment (still love you, though) this deserves a ten. Easy.

Amber lamps.

JohnnyUtah responds:

man my eyes are tearing up after reading that

*sarcasm*

JK BRO thanks for the kind review

[Frog]

I love this.

This Flash is so amazing. I was instantly hooked by the adorable frog sitting innocuously on his lily pad; I saw the pixel ball transform him, and I was ready for a masterpiece.

I enjoyed the different ways the frogs (also possibly the salamander and cat) danced, even though it was was repetitive. I had no problem with that, in fact, I think it helped make it more watchable. I was able to appreciate the cool backgrounds as well.

The choice of music was OUTSTANDING. I adored the song, and it helped keep the animation at a very reasonable pace. The only complaint I have is that, possibly in the interest of file size, the audio was output at a relatively low quality. I only noticed that when I listened the the song by itself, but it was much more crisp there.

[Bloody Bye]

Good.

I found this to be pretty entertaining. First of all, your art style is very appealing. It's not minimalist, but it really puts the focus on the characters. Additionally, you have a masterful grip on coloration. Seriously, I couldn't suggest any changes to shades of skin, colors of shadows, etc.

Additionally, the voice acting was above-average. It wasn't the best I've ever heard. and I swear there was a little noise or some static, but it was absolutely what should be the standard. It reflects hard work. Also, the dialogue was kind of intense, but I knew this was comedy, so I was waiting for the joke, which I found funny, but not laugh out loud funny. Still it got a smile out of me.

The only problem was with the subtitles, which, for me, is a big concern. I'm sorry to say that there were some fairly basic errors, which I can't blame you for. I assume English is not your first language, and there are a lot of tools to help. Consider online translation tools, or ask users for help. A lot of users (myself included) would be more than happy to assist you.

Artyluck responds:

Woah, thanks a lot for your review, you gave me some nice tips. ;]
I'm very hope for yours and others help next time, thanks. :)