Melvin is visiting his best friend, Steve, in an unannounced and rather loud fashion one morning. The good thing about Melvin and Steve is that they can joke around constantly and throw in little jests while not getting upset with each other. The two are about to board a horse-drawn ...

Sitting back on a Friday evening, remote control in hand, I decided to watch one of the latest Pixar Animated short films. To me a short film is the perfect length of time (six to nine minutes) to tell a story with an exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. They ...

As another year draws to a close, I'm once again thinking about how much time is flying by, more and more quickly the older I get.

Weeks whiz by like mad these days, and how quickly we've reached the end of the year reminds me that YEARS are ...

Following the release of Disney’s latest streaming device, I have had the opportunity to watch the newest live action movie of Lady and the Tramp based on the 1955 animated version of the same name. I would be remiss not to to say that I started my subscription mainly ...

The original story of the Dark Crystal was released in 1982 by the Jim Henson company. It was a viewing staple for many children who are now adults with a dark, yet hopeful storyline. It was a story about balance with the mystic Urus contrasted against the devious Skesis. There ...

I Was Wrong - The Character Arc

Last time I was here I talked about “The Old Warrior”. It's one of my favorite character types and story elements.

This time I'm going to go into another trope/theme that almost always works for me: The realization of a character ...

In an attempt to cool down during the heatwave that has taken over two-thirds of the country, all Saturday was spent at the movie theater watching Toy Story 4 and the new Iive-action Lion King movie on IMAX. Toy Story 4 picked up where Toy Story 3 left off and ...

Recently I saw a performance of the Muppets' band “The Electric Mayhem” from 2009. Pretty great!

It occurred to me how many years have passed since the heyday of the Muppet Show in the late 1970's. The fact that this young-ish audience was so excited about this show said ...

Metal Hurlant: The Craziest Comic Book Series You Probably Never Heard About.
Comic books and graphic novels are considered by many an inherently American form of publication. They became popular in the English-speaking parts of the world (the US and the UK) in the 1930s and conquered the world in ...

Lately more and more comics and animated features seem to consciously, and more importantly loudly, incorporate political messages in their stories. From feminism to social stratification and discrimination, to racism and xenophobia or even depression and psychological trauma.

This is by no means a new thing, to incorporate themes and ...