The Lingo Show Review

Ever since "Dora the Explora" animation for younger kids has become either abysmal and boring in terms of writing and characters. Though there might be some exceptions (that I probably don't know of) but mostly there's nothing. One cartoon that looks like it's taken the same route as most kid shows these days but  actually thinks it's going outside the box. A recent show that only the people of UK know about is "The Lingo Show"

Now I'll start by saying I was not interested in seeing this show but after seeing a picture of it I became a little curious. Now I also know that any programme on CBeeBies is bad news in my book, but how bad can it be. For those who don't know, The Lingo Show is an animated/half live action hybrid about a minature circus with talking insects that entertains kids everywhere. The show teaches it's viewers different languages, now it sounds pretty promising for a show on CBeeBies. But is this better than the monstrosity known as "Bobinogs" or do we need to get out the bugspray.

Like I said The Lingo Show is about a bug called Lingo who conducts circus performances in a flying mechanical tent. The performers who are Wéi, Jargonaise, Queso, Blodwen, Dyzio, Jaadoo,
Kikli, Subah and Leib; are not only insects as well, but they come from different countries; so it adds more cultural equality. Lingo and his team would travel around the UK to perform their Big Bug show using one of his performers. The idea of animated talking bugs is much similar to "A Bug's Life" or "Santo Bugito" it may sound holesome when you look at it and the idea that it teaches pre-schoolers different languages before they go to school makes it work for older audiences as well, but does it make it more entertaining....well.....In the show, one of the character's must find different objects as props for his/her act, while the're getting the object the character teaches the viewers the name of the certain objects in his/her language. Now that wouldn't be a problem, if they didn't do it in every single episode!!!

Now this is where The Lingo Show falls flat, because it wants to focuss on being educational and because it tends to use that same formula in every episode, it feels like it's missing that element that makes a story a story. Also the way they teach kids a different language is too simplictic, now I know learning a new language is hard, especially for pre-schoolers and I'll admit that the strongest point is the variety of cultures. But the problem with "The Lingo Show" is that it suffers from what I like to call "kid show symdrome" where a tv show has to talk down to it's audience, relays on annoying characters and because it's aimed at children under the age of 7, they have the excuse for their flaws. 

Another thing The Lingo Show lacks is clever dialogue, it often resorts to breaking the forth wall but not in a funny or clever way. Theres also a running gag where Lingo and the other characters tell the audience to wave their hands in the air, is this an exercise show for a language show? Seriously the only reason why they do that is so they can bring the objects back and from where they found them.....How in the bloody name of Carol Vorderman does that teach children in any way. That if you want to borrow something you just wave your hands in the air like "HEEEEEYYYY HEY BABY!!! OH! AH! so they can appear in the place you want them No! that's not the way life works, even if you're a cartoon bug!

Now that we're done with the plot, let talk about the animation. Now the show has a mix of animation and live action which I must admit is a clever combination. It's animated in Flash so it's moves in the same way as "Naughty Naughty Pets" or "Mucha Lucha" while it could be better at least it fits the character designs. Speaking of which, the character design of the bugs looks cute but I've seen better; they look like background characters from "The Buzz on Maggie" if you ask me. Because the background is live-action as well as the human characters, theres very little design so it's more focused on the bug characters. The only problem is that there are not many bug designs which is lacking. Fortunetly the show doesn't focuss on the live action so it has a good ratio. So the visuals are meh, but at least it has some variety unlike Charly the Unicorn or the Bobinogs.

With the animation out of the way, let get on to the more important bit which is the characters.Unfortunatley the characters in Lingo Show have the personality of paint, despite them having different accents most of the characters lack any personality which doesn't help the show in any way. It seems like their only purpose is to get the objects they need for their performances and teach the audiences their languages. Because of this and that the producers refuse to tell a story none of the characters have any depth. Lingo is this perky bloke who mostly speaks to the audience while setting up his Big Bug Show and that's about it really, Queso the Spanish bug who like the others is not memorable or funny, which is a shame because he could have been a great comic relief. The rest are nothing special and it doesn't help that each of them have to sing their own theme song in every episode they're in; now to be fair I'm sure the actors were having fun with these roles but that alone won't save the show. Hey at least the bugs airn't racist stereotypes.

Overall The Lingo Show may seems like a fine show for younger viewers but turns out to be a typical broken kids cartoon with a repetative plot (if you can call it that), mediocure animation, bad forth-wall humor and characters whose purpose is to teach the audiences different languages and nothing else. It's nice to see a CBeeBie show teaches children different languages because it shows that it does stick to it's title but that alone won't save it. If you're like 5 or 6 you'll enjoy it, but if you're over that age limit than it feels like a lackluster. To the parents that are reading this, may I suggest you expose your kids to the Muzzy video than this.

As an answer to my question, is it better than Bobinogs?....Yes and No. Compared to Bobinogs  Lingo Show has more educational value, slightly better animation and less irritating gags. However what downgrades it, is it's lack of story, depth and humor; so it's debatable really. I don't depise the Lingo Show but I don't think it's that good compared to other recent cartoons like Adventure Time or Fish Hooks. I don't think it'll even last that long. I give The Lingo Show a rating of 1/5 just be thankful it's not on a channel for older kids.

Thats all I have people, I'll be back for more posts but for now I'm gonna catch up on my Portugese.

In Defense of Mucha Lucha

Hola amigos, boy do I have a treat for you but first let me just say I love cartoons. I mean who doesn't love to watch a good cartoon once in a while whether it's funny, charming or dramatic; one cartoon that gets over-looked and receives quite a bit of hate from animation fans is Mucha Lucha.

Created by Eddie Mort and Lil Chin in 2002, Mucha Lucha was a show set in Mexico, the landmark of mask wrestling. It centres around the adventures of Rikochet, Buena Girl and The Flea destine to become famous wrestlers at the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha while also fighting for Honor, Family, Tradition..........and Donuts. Critics consider this to be one of the worst cartoons of the 2000s but let me ask "....why...." Why in the name of broken bones is the show so hated? Granted the animation is tamed and the writing wasn't exactly Shakespeare but it gave us something fun and original, I enjoyed it as a kid and still find enjoyment out of it even now. So let's take a look at Mucha Lucha and see why it deserves more respect......LUCHHAAARRRRAAAANNNNN!!!!!!!........

Like I mentioned before The show centres 3 young wrestlers; Rikochet who dreams of becoming a famous luchador like his father and his grandfather, while he's bravest and the most confident he does get himself into the most conflict and does get stress whatever situation he's in.
Buena Girl, the smartest of the group and the most loyal, she plays the honour student role as she fights for what is right. She also believes in the Code of Mask Wrestling (which is like the bible of lucha libre) which she uses to keep her friends in order. While she is more likely to lose it from time to time she still keeps her standing ovation a luchador. The Flea who is the comic relief of the 3. While he's disgusting and not the brightest he still has a good heart. While he's the one who breaks the rules in order to get his own ways (or that he doesn't care much at times) But still he tries his best to fix things in the end.

Then there's El Ray Rikochet's talking action figure, now before you get confused by the added Toy Story like character El Ray is very likeable. Not only is he Rikochet's friend but he's his mentor as well. He didn't appear much, but when did he offered so much to the story. Oh did I forget to mention Mask Dog, he's cool.

The show had a good range of supporting characters, whether there were other luchadors or just regular people. Each wrestler had a different personality that matched their outfits, there were even different races of wrestlers in the show giving it more equality. Like I mentioned earlier the show revolve around these 3 characters as they attend the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha, there they have matches against other students to test their ability (and they say you can't fight at school) As well as having different personalities, each wrestler had different fighting moves (i.e Rikochet's Super Sonic Pinball)
this gave the show more action along with the comedy as well as some creativity in the animation.

Speaking of animation, it looked slick and original for its time. Considering this was the first animated tv show to use Flash (which was mostly used in web cartoons back then) the animators really used it to a better potential. While critics say it looks dated and choppy; I respect that opinion very much but I must say that the flash animation in Mucha Lucha really fits in with the style and humour. There were times when it was used very creatively for its time. The people who worked on this show eventually went on to work on other shows like "Buzz on Maggie" and "El Tigre" which unfortunately had a shorter run.

Another thing about the animation was that the characters had fun and original designs to them, especially on their masks. But may I just say this about the character design, don't you think they look pretty similar to the Cramp Twins? I don't mean that in a bad sense but both shows have similar-looking characters. A big example of this is the designs of the 3 characters, Señor Hasbeena, Mr Midcarda and The Headmistress, I mean The Headmistress looks like Mrs Cramp, Señor Hasbeena looks like Mr Parsons and Mr Midcarda looks like Mr Winkle. I know it's a coincidence and I know it happens with a lot of cartoons but that's what I've thought as a child I'm sure you would say the same thing if you saw both shows growing up.

What made the show fun to watch was the clever and adventurous stories it had to offer. While there were some episodes that took a spin on situations most children were dealing with growing up, episodes where one of the characters would get into a certain situation like betraying a friend but would be resolved so that character would learn a lesson at the end. There were also episodes where Rikochet and his friends would solved mysteries, one episode had the gang search for a missing page from the Code of Masked Wrestling, another had the gang investigate who was accusing the students and teachers for crimes they haven't committed. It turned out to be a student named "Timmy of A Thousand Masks" who uses other wrestler's masks to get away with just about anything.
There were also episodes that were very surreal. Like there was an episode where The Flea had to fight the Evil Masked Toilet, and there was an episode where the gang awaken a Slamazonian mummy and have a fight with her. But the weirdest episode is where The Flea doesn't wash his hands which cause a giant doughnut to come to live and destroy the city. Okay, okay people do say this show went too far with it's surrealism to the point where it didn't make sense anymore; but it was a cartoon about masked wrestlers!........Get With It People!

What also made this show great was it's awesome theme song just have a listen and you'll see

 Sadly despite being a success Mucha Lucha ended with just 3 seasons; while it has gained a cult following this show hasn't got it's own season box set and can only be seen on YouTube and other sites. However the show actually still airs re-runs in the UK on Kix. If this show still airs in re-runs in your country please let me know.

Overall Mucha Lucha was a fun cartoon with likeable characters, stories that you could sink your teeth in, I only wish people would treat this show a lot better. Looking back it's not as grand as I remember it, but it gave us something hilarious and enjoyable. Mucha Lucha may have not been the greatest cartoon ever made but it's definitely a lot better than most cartoons today. If you didn't like it, then that's okay I just consider it a great childhood show. If you watched it, go watch it again and tell me what you thought of it, if you haven't watched it, go check it out if you want. I give this show a rating of 4/5. I like to talk more but for now Adios Muchacha!

A Retrospective on Michael Foreman Part 1

One of my favourite art forms of all time is illustration, if you look around everything has a design that reflects a story, a person, an event even an object. Every piece of illustration has their style to fits to different people's tastes and I hope one day my illustrations will be seen and loved by everyone. One man who has been making great illustrations for decades, bringing to life stories that we know and love in the most splendid of ways is English artist and designer, Michael Foreman.
Like Walt Disney and Picasso, Michael Foreman created such iconic and ingenious works that are well known across the world. His smooth and delicate watercolours breathe so much life and character that they bring you to the world that he has created. No one and I mean no one has managed to add the same superb wonder into illustrations or even storytelling than Foreman. Which is why we're gonna look back on his career, not only as a children's book illustrator but as an artist as well. Now as fascinating his work is I won't be looking at all that he has done I'll only cover the best of his works.

                                                                 The General-1961
The first children's book Foreman ever illustrated was "The General" a political satire that tells the story of a  Dictator that finally sees the beauty of the world after getting lost in the woods. I haven't read this book but after finding the illustrations and hearing about it on the internet I consider it a gem among his work. As you can tell from the art style; Foreman was jumping on the bandwagon at the time, I for one love seeing how it all began. If any of you have read or seen this book tell me what you think of it because I would like to see this anti-war tale of whimsey for myself.

Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish-1972
Cut to a mere11 years later Foreman created what made him a popular icon in the illustration industry, "Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish". It's about a man who destroys an entire rainforest and builds a load of factories in order to build a rocket to space. This results with the dinosaurs coming back to life, then they ravage an entire city. This perky fable gives the children an environmental message in such a charming, colourful way. I remember reading this book at school so reading it again brings back some good memories, the message as well the illustrative style really holds up which is why it is considered the best book Foreman ever worked on. You can tell he had stepped up from the light-heartedness of "The General" and gone for a more funny and original approach. But the best was yet to come.

War and Peas-1974

Michael would write and illustrate another story that enlighten as well as educated the minds of children with "War and Peas" a funny tale of a battle between anthropomorphic creatures and obese human beings. Michael Foreman not only created a funny satire against war, but he also went out of his way to top his previous success with more colourful imagery and more in-depth characters.

To me this is Foreman's magnum opus, he gives his views on war in the most hilarious and clever way without sugar-coating it for younger readers (hope I used that term likely). War and Peas is a delicious dish of delectable artwork and juicy story-lines I highly recommend it.

                                                           The Panda Series-1977-1984

 During the late 70s when Foreman was starting to add more detail to his backgrounds and as his design work began to gear towards older readers; he decided to write with his new illustrative style "Panda's Puzzle and his Voyage of Discovery" It's about a young panda bear who travels the world in order to find out if he's a "white panda with black bits" of a "black panda with white bits" The only time I ever read this book was at school and looking back on it, I must say this is Foreman's best. With beautifully serene illustrations, a fun character and a clever storyline I would like to read this book again as I think it would like it more now than I did back than.

It also spawned a sequel 4 years later titled "Panda and the Odd Lion" in this one Panda meets a lion who was born with wings, as they become friends Panda and the lion go on an adventure like never before. I also remember reading this book and it was as good as the first one. There were 2 other sequels as well "Panda and the Bunyips-1984" and "Panda and the Bush Fire-1986" which I haven't read but I bet they would be brilliant. The Panda books are now not as well known as "Dinosaurs" or "War and Peas" but they have gained a cult following among fans. I think children would love these books not only for Foreman's gorgeous art style but his clever storytelling as well.

                                       Michael Foreman meets Terry Jones
Being considered the greatest illustrator of his time, things only got better for Foreman when he collaborated Monty Python's Terry Jones. In 1981 Terry asked Foreman if he could do a couple of both ink and watercolour illustrations for a series of modern fairy tales he was writing. These stories were meant to satirise old folk tales and fables told by The Brothers Grimm and Oscar Wilde as well as pay homage to them; considering Foreman did his own take on those stories himself he agreed. The result was "Fairy Tales" a brilliant collection of original stories that felt like the classic English folk tales; the combination of Foreman's artwork and Jones's funny tales helped invent a new revolution in illustration and children's literature.

After "Fairy Tales" Terry worked with Foreman again to make "The Saga of Erik the Viking" a valiant tale of a Viking warrior on a quest for a land where the sun goes at night. It got Foreman commended for a Greenaway Medal, making it the Best Illustrated Children's Book of '83' Just by looking at the illustrations it looks epic to me, I wish I could say the same about the feature that followed. Terry and Michael would then make "Nicobobinus" and "The Curse of the Vampire Socks and other Doggerel"

In 1992, Foreman and Terry made a follow up to Fairy Tales after 11 years called "Fantastic Stories" The book would contain more original stories written by Jones which followed the same formula as the first one, once again Foreman did a unique job at illustrating the stories making them tasteful and memorable for younger readers and his fans. It's a book that's such a comfort to read I highly recommend it for those who like a variety of stories.

In 1997 Foreman and Jones made "The Knight and the Squire" as a take of medieval fantasy as well as the sequel "The Lady and the Squire" in 2000, it would be the last book Foreman ever illustrated for Jones until 11 years later when they both  released "Animal Tales" To celebrate 30 years since they first worked together Jones wrote the long-awaited follow up to Fantastic Stories. With a collection of assorted funny stories about different animals "Animal Tales" brings back memories of their previous work while making it appeal to a new generation of readers as well. It's great to see these two back together as we owe a lot to them for changing children's literature, I just can't wait to see what these two can now that they're together again.

I'm afraid that's all we have readers but we're not done yet, stay in touch for part 2 as I'll cover more of Michael Foreman and what he's done for children's books but for now I'll see you later.

Hamlet: The Dream

Hello there, there's no doubt that Hamlet is one of the best plays Shakespeare ever wrote. The story of a young prince in vengeance for his dead father, so he goes into temporary madness, which results in killing off the main characters. Just another dark tale of treachery and moral corruption that has been incarnated into books, film and tv; many who has brought the prince of darkness back to life have either become well known in their time and I hope to be one of those people.

If you don't know what I mean by that last remark I'll tell you more. For years it has been my ambition to become an illustator with my first book to be Shakespeare related; so when I was younger I wanted my first book to be an illustrated version of "Hamlet". I'm not joking when I say that I have been working on this product since Year 7, which is how much this product means  to me.

The idea for this goes back to 2004, when I decided that I wanted to become an illustrator so I made this cover design (left) in MS Paint. I wanted the design to look nice so from the top of my nogon I just did the characters without drawing them on paper first and thus I created my own version of "Hamlet" as he was and how he shall always be.
I loved how it turned out as it felt like the perfect first step into this agenda.

Hamlet (First MS Paint Cover Design)-2004

A year later I went on to do more Hamlet related drawings using different materials, because I still drew in stick figure form I would practice and pratice drawing till I got better. Though I love my old drawing I didn't feel it would have worked in illustrated books, if my drawing style would stayed in that way from now on it would look cute but not that I've hoped for. Anyway I made many studies involving Hamlet whether it was at home or school and I felt each drawing would get more and more detailed as they went along.

In my book these drawings looked very clever and show how the whole design range started off. In that same year I even wrote the manual script for a year, though now it looks tamed but now I'm thinking of taking some elements from the original manual script and improving them.

Hamlet (Pastel and Drawing)-2005

                                                  Original Hamlet Pen Drawings-2005

When I got my first watercolour palette for my birthday I could finally use it to decide what style I wanted the illustrations to be. I used the water-colours in any which way till I found which style I liked.

                                                       Hamlet-Character Designs-2006
When I finally discovered my drawing style and improved on character designs I went to work on it in 2007. When I started working on the concept I took inspiration from the original pen studies I did 2 years earlier, because of school work I was off and on again while making the illustrations; also my tutors wanted to use the illustration I did so far for a school product and I didn't get them back till a year later. So like 7 illustrations were done in like 3 years. To be truthful I'm glad it took me this long to do them because my illustative style was improving and I wasn't that good at writing so if I finished it as a young child it would'nt be as good.

Nowadays I've stopped working on the illustrations just to focuss on college work; I'll start to work more on it on shorter notice. Which is why I want you guys to support this agenda of mine; I really want to get this product off the ground so please make sure Hamlet is to be, or not to be? I'll keep you updated on this product but for now I'll see you later.