Monday, November 29, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 22, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

I'm not sure how survey heavy this week is gonna be. I only asked one last week on account of the holidays, and I'm thinking it's best not to force a question for each update. Quality over quantity, or something... in any case, here's the question from last week:

You're still you, but have taken Justin's place in this comic. How do you respond to Elliot's question from panel four?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Tangled Review

I saw Tangled last night with some friends, and it was a fun, cute movie. The characters were likable, the jokes were funny, and the horse may very well be the most awesome horse in all of cinema (take THAT, Mr. Ed!).

One thing that caught me off guard, however, was the singing. I know it's a Disney movie, but none of the previews I saw gave any hint of musical numbers, and I can't think of any 3D rendered movies I've seen that have been musicals. I would say I was fooled by my own prejudices, but based on the marketing strategies of this movie, I think they were deliberately trying to hide all traces of it being a musical.

Seriously, here are the trailers on YouTube (please note: I consider Trailer 2 to contain a few annoying spoilers):

Trailer 1 - Trailer 2

There are at least three things worth noting about the marketing: one, the focus is on the male lead. Two, there is no evidence of singing. Three, the movie was renamed in order to appeal to a wider demographic (it was originally called Rapunzel, after the true lead of the movie and the original fable).

Now, I actually prefer the title Tangled. It makes it sound more like a fractured fairy tale, which I think is more fun and truer in advertising than Rapunzel. It's inspired by Rapunzel and shares several elements, yes, but it's a different story. This is true of a lot of Disney movies, and there are more extreme cases of differing from the source material than this. As such, I'm all for shaking up the titles a bit.

The reasoning behind it, however, and the reason for the misleading marketing is because they were trying to bring in the young male demographic. The directors claim the name change was for a different reason, but is that sort of thing really up to the directors?

Actually, that's an interesting question. Who ultimately decides what to name these things?

Anyway, this is supposedly the result of The Princess and The Frog not doing as well as hoped, which was disappointing to hear. I admit that the film wasn't a masterpiece, but it was good and deserving of success, and I was hoping for more traditionally animated films. The visuals in Tangled are good and I'm fine with it being 3D rendered, but I fear the financial disappointment of The Princess and The Frog may be the final nail in the coffin of traditional movie animation.

Marketing and feeling lied to aside, the movie really was enjoyable, funny, and Rapunzel was very, very cute. And I don't mean "cute" in a "she's so fine" sort of way. I mean cute as in "fuzzy kitten playing with a ball of yarn". It's not forced, either. The character is just naturally adorable. I know some people won't care about or even notice that sort of thing, but I liked it.

Speaking of which, one of my friends who saw the movie with me, well, HATED this movie. He didn't think there was anything there for adults, and while I don't agree with that sentiment, I do concede that there is a lack of hidden adult humor. A lot of family movies and shows will have subtle jokes that go over the heads of children while making the adults laugh. I personally don't think it's a movie adults cannot enjoy, but I do see how some adults wouldn't care for it. If I may be slightly sexist for a moment, I suspect most of these adults will be male, further emphasizing the misleading marketing.

As for the musical aspect of this musical, it really wasn't that great. I remember a lot of the visuals and the words, but I'm honestly having a lot of difficulty recalling any of the melodies. I usually exit a movie with some of its music stuck in my head, musical or not, but I'm drawing a blank on this one. That's not a good sign when the movie is a musical.

The songs weren't terrible or anything, but I don't think they were to the film's benefit. They also lacked subtlety, somewhat beating the audience over the head with the point of the songs. I believe the film could have pulled off greater subtlety without confusing any (well, most) of the younglings in the audience.

In the end, I did really like this movie, and I'm bound to snag it on DVD when it comes out. The marketing of it was somewhat evil, however, and I think it would've been better without the songs.

Monday, November 22, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 19, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

EGS is full of awkward moments and concepts, and I figured this one being suggested was perhaps an extreme example of that. Was I right? Well, let's find out!

Do you agree with Grace's comments about morphing and looking like people in this comic?

Friday, November 19, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 17, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

For anyone wondering where the survey for the 15th is, there wasn't one. I couldn't think of a question I actually wanted to ask, and that almost happened with the 17th, too.

It occurs to me that there will be times when I might not have a question to ask for every comic (future fight scenes come to mind), so, for the record, not EVERY comic is guaranteed a survey. I will do them as often as I can think of them, however.

With that out of the way, my latest "dude, mild-mannered Elliot looks like Velma" inspired question (note - due to the natural length of the answers, I accepted multiple tweets per person on this one):

If you had to pick five characters from EGS to cosplay as the Scooby-Doo gang, including Scooby, who would you pick for which roles?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 12, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

I know people have a tendency to go flying when they get hit in martial arts movies, but to quote top scientists, "that doesn't happen for realsies". Someone might move a few feet as a result of a punch or kick, and maybe even slide across the floor for a few more. When it looks like they're flying across the room in a straight line as though suspended by a wire, however, it's probably because they were.

With that in mind...

You just totally kicked a monster 100 feet into a river in front of tons of witnesses. How do you explain being able to do this?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 10, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

Nicknames can suck, can't they? I mean, when they're good, they're good. I once had the nickname Dandave, and I thought it was nifty keen! When they're bad, however...

Elliot can either reinforce or counter the cheerleader persona. Which should he do, and how?

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 8, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

As common as it is for all of us to wind up on the news and being asked an awkward question, rarely is that question something we dare not give the actual answer to. Nonetheless, this is the situation Justin finds himself in.

How would you answer Carol's question?

Sunday, November 7, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 5, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

What I find funny here is that if Grace was the recipient of the cupcake after the previous question, she'd probably wind up giving it up on account of this question. Why? Well...

Grace needs to comfort mild mannered Elliot! How should she do this?

Friday, November 5, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 3, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

You are about to be given a question that would shatter the resolve of kings. Do you think you can handle it?

Don't say you weren't warned:

There is one cupcake left. Both Grace and mild mannered girl Elliot are making puppy-dog faces. Who gets the cupcake?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for November 1, 2010

My Twitter profile - Past Surveys

Okay, so we all have our plans ready for what we'll do when we inevitably get zapped into our opposite genders and have to prove our identities. However...

Role reversal: what would it take for you to believe someone claiming they're your friend but have been turned into the opposite gender?

Monday, November 1, 2010

EGS Twitter Survey for October 29, 2010

My Twitter profile

The latest question is the sort that seems a bit odd until one remembers "oh, right. El Goonish Shive. This is to be expected."

Ladies, gentlemen and whoever, the question:

You're temporarily transformed. You're the opposite gender and look very different. How do you prove you're you?