Before I start the review, I want to give my thoughts on season 2 as a whole. The whole road trip part helps build the world and adds a great change of pace. I really liked that Marcy played wonderfully by Kelly Hu isn’t just another Sasha. She’s very likable and I kind of relate to her. The idea of the three temples was really clever. Season 2 also made me realized how much I really like Anne. Brenda Song brings so much life into this role and her facial expressions are some of the bests in animation.
Warning: this review contains huge SPOILERS. After being unexpectedly delayed and leaked the season 2 finale of Amphibia True Colors was finally premiered. Fun fact: this episode shares the same episode title from one of my favorite childhood shows Cyberchase. Just something funny to think about. I will be honest I kind of predicted what would happen. I knew Sasha and Grime would be defeated in the first half, King Andrias being the villain and Anne and her friends ending up on another world. While my predictions were on point that still didn’t stop this finale from being spectacular.
Marcy’s reason for stranding all three girls in Amphibia is understandable. King Andrias’s reveal may have been obvious but the crew really managed to make you hate this prick especially at the end. There are a lot of great moments such as the duel between Anne and Sasha, Polly getting her legs, Anne’s super saiyan form, but the scene that stood out to me and probably why this got delayed was Marcy getting stabbed. It’s not bloody but’s really gruesome and on camera, and we don’t even know if she’s going to be ok. It all ends with Anne and the Plantars stranded on earth. Such a great cliffhanger.
True Colors is the Disney equivalent of the season 2 finale of Nickelodeon’s Avatar the Last Airbender: The Crossroads of Destiny. This in my opinion is the best episode of Amphibia so far and I can’t wait to see what Matt Braly and the crew have in store for us in season 3. We may have returned to the real world but now it’s almost time leave again and return to the Boiling Isles.
Happy Birthday to me! Four years ago I did a favorite Disneyland rides list and two years I ago I went back to Disneyland. With the reopening of Disneyland and the 50th anniversary of Disney World I think this is a perfect time to combine both my Disneyland and Disney World lists to see which is the best Disney ride ever. Since some rides are different in both resorts, I will be picking the superior version of that ride to represent and this is also based on my opinion.
Honorable Mentions: Mad Tea Party DL, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Incredicoaster, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Spaceship Earth, Tower of Terror WDW
Favorite ride I haven’t rode: Rise of the Resistance
Favorite closed ride I’ve rode: The Great Movie Ride
Favorite closed ride I wish I rode: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride WDW
15. Flight of Passage:
I’ve only rode this once due to the lines being about 2 hours long, but it might rank higher if I ever went back. You feel like you’re in the world of Pandora.
14. Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout!:
Overlaying Tower of Terror was a weird choice but they replaced the inferior version anyway. They managed to used whatever they could with the original building and made this ride really fun.
13. Indiana Jones Adventure:
This is a love letter to the Indiana Jones series and Disney and Lucasfilm’s 2nd team up. The small temple outside is a clever contrast to the epic and grand scale ride inside.
12. Splash Mountain WDW:
I will miss this ride once it’s overlayed by Princess and the Frog, but it’s still open so it counts. The Florida version is better because its slower paced, more comfortable logs, and I like the country music more.
11. Big Thunder Mountain WDW:
Both versions of Big Thunder are similar but I think Florida’s is a little better because it’s wider. This wooden roller coaster is simple in premise but still effective and fun. Though why are the lifts still loud?
10. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster:
This feels like a ride that was made for teenagers considering I turned 13 when I first rode this. This ride is thrilling and the songs from Aerosmith you hear during the ride are fun to listen to.
9. Toy Story Mania:
Probably the best interactive shooting ride ever. Each game feels unique, fun to play, and best of all fair unlike real carnival games. I also love the music that captures the charm of the Toy Story movies.
8. Test Track:
I liked the original test dummy version better but just because it has a new coat of paint doesn’t mean it like it less. It’s still one of the fastest and most fun rides in Disney World.
7. Soarin’ Around the World:
Soarin over California would’ve been in my top 5 and I still miss it but like Test Track it’s still the same experience. It still has the great scenery, music, atmosphere, and of course Patrick Warburton.
6. Star Tours:
This was basically Star Wars and Disney’s first date before their “wedding” later. This is a love letter to Star Wars and the multiple locations make this ride one of the most re-rideable rides in the resort.
5. The Haunted Mansion WDW:
Florida’s version felt like the full package. The Haunted Mansion is a perfect balance between scary and fun which is my favorite type of horror. The special effects which were revolutionary back then still look amazing now.
4. Radiator Springs Racers:
By far the best thing the Cars series ever did. It took the same technology used for Test Track and made it even better with spectacular animatronics, and some of the best theming of any Disney ride ever.
3. Expedition Everest:
This is sort of like a badass version of the Matterhorn (not on this list, too rough). By far the most thrilling ride in Disney World and there’s great buildup to the yeti even if he is in disco mode.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean DL:
The yin to Haunted Mansion’s yang and Walt Disney’s swan song. Both the atmosphere and George Brun’s score make every scene so immersive, and the animatronics still hold up. I even have a poster of this ride in my room.
1.Space Mountain DL:
This isn’t just my favorite Disney ride, it’s my favorite ride ever! I used to be afraid of some rides but for some reason Space Mountain never scared me the first time I rode it. The theming is great, the music is great, the thrills are great, pretty much everything about this ride is great.
The Mitchells vs the Machines directed by Mike Rianda best known for working on Gravity Falls is about a dysfunctional family traveling to California to drop off their eldest daughter Katie for college. After a technology rebellion they become humanity’s last hope. My only main gripe is the evil tech cliché but everything else is amazing! Everything Phil Lord and Christopher Miller touch becomes gold. Even Alex Hirsh the creator of Gravity Falls worked on this.
Each member of the Mitchell family has their own unique personalities and work off each other wonderfully thanks to performances of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Mike Rianda and they all feel like real people. I honestly relate to Katie because I also have a passion for movies and I actually took a class in college where I filmed a few short films. The relationships between each member has a lot of heart. Speaking of wich this film is surprisingly heartwarming.
I think Sony Animation really took the backlash of the Emoji Movie to heart because much like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse this movie is visually amazing to look at. This is one of the most cartoonish looking CGI movies I’ve seen and I mean that in the best way. The character designs make the characters memorable and Katie’s doodles that you see throughout the movie are a great little touch to this film. The animation is also a contribution to this movie’s comedy along with the writing, performances, and timing. There are a lot of great jokes that you could miss on your first watch.
Honestly, I have no problems with this movie at all. The Mitchells vs. the Machines is the best Sony animated movie since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseand the best animated movie on Netflix since Klaus. Heck not only is it the best movie 2021 so far but it might just be the best movie of the new decade. It’s the perfect film to watch as a family.
JacobsonCinema 