March of the Wooden Soldiers Review

I'm not a real big eater on Thanksgiving, but if there is one thing I like to consume each year, it's a fantasy filmed produced by Hal Roach Studios in 1934, a very underrated one at that. This oldie but goodie, starring two of the greatest bumbling idiots of all time, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy has gone down as not only one of my favorite fantasy films, but one of my favorite films as a whole, probably because I watched it as a young boy and instantly became intrigued by it. Don't know what film I am talking about, it's March of the Wooden Soldiers of course, and if you have never seen this film before and want to see it for the first time, you are in for a real treat, and I mean a real vivid, mind captivating treat! And hey, this very well might go down as one of your favorite films as well, for it is surely a wonderful little film to be observed by a pair human eyes! But in order to indulge ourselves deeper into the March of the Wooden Soldiers realm, we must enter our time machine and go back several years to have a look at a little backstory. This film was based upon an operetta composed by Victor Herbert in the early 1900s called Babes in Toyland and like many films that are based upon a book, a musical or another film, it strays far from the original groundwork, however, it carries on a heart and meaning of it's own. This film's plot is very different than that of the original operetta, and several of the original plotpoints that were prominent in the original operetta are either rerendered tremendously or eliminated all together. For example, in the original operetta, the story didn't take place entirely in Toyland, and the characters of Stannie Dumb and Ollie Dee (obviously Laurel and Hardy's characters in the film) were completely absent from the original stage production. However, these major differences do not get in the way of the film's overall glory. In my humble opinion, this is surely one of the greatest motion pictures ever made and it holds up prominently by today's standards. And who can't look at this visually stunning film for its time and think that many film making opportunities opened up because of the hard work and dedication that went into this motion picture. Okay, so that's just my perspective.



Just a few short years before fantasy masterpieces like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and of course, The Wizard of Oz jumped into the spotlight to get maximum praise, this was the fantasy film to watch. Sure there were other great films around that time that mixed in many fantasy elements and wizardry, but if you needed a film that your kids would enjoy just as much as you do, this was a film you would greatly consider taking them to see. And this film still holds up in this day in age for many prudent reasons that I will explain in greater detail. It may be very hard to believe if you are a newcomer to this film but this film was originally released in black and white, for the coloring technology used in later films wasn't quite perfected by that point.Big thanks to the good folks at The Samuel Goldwyn Company for colorizing the film in all of it's simplistic coloring book glory. There is just something about the coloring of March of the Wooden Soldiers. It's very different than the coloring technology used in films like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind, but it has an appeal that catches your eye right off the bat, and seeing all the characters and places of Toyland in fully rendered color, it really makes the film even more of an immortal pot of gold.

The characters of this film are what make the film most memorable for me. Laurel and Hardy are pee pants funny playing the doofbrains Stannie Dumb and Ollie Dee, for when you see them on the screen, getting into all kinds of mischief and tomfoolery, you can't help but give a chuckle or two. Throughout the film, Stannie and Ollie get into all types of hilarious trouble. Ollie gets dunked on a ducking stool, Stannie dresses like a female bride (I DON'T LOVE HIM!),Ollie gets an onslaught of sharp darts launched upon him, the two even spill paint upon their miserable toy making boss. And even if this is a fantasy film straying far from the continuity of the mainstream Laurel and Hardy shorts, it still has that trademark Laurel and Hardy goodness most known throughout those early years. The opening credits even have the main Laurel and Hardy theme playing just before the epic Victor Herbert score, and Laurel and Hardy can be seen arguing with one another and contradicting one another just as they do in the mainstream shorts.

The other actors are incredible as well. Felix Knight, who portrays Tom Tom Piper in the film, is kind and gentle, and a gallant hero in his own right, although Stannie and Ollie can be proclaimed the true protagonists of the film. Knight is powerful in his singing voice, and throughout the hour and a half long film, he sings several of Herbert's original songs from the classic operetta. There is really a heart warming and proper flow in Knight's singing voice, and I am aware that he was in a few of the Laurel and Hardy shorts, but his singing ability is at it's most finest in this film, for he delivers some of the best opera singing I have ever heard, further making this film a full on musical trophy. Other stars include Florence Roberts as Mother Peep aka The Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe, who desperately needs to pay the mortgage or she looses her shoe dwelling, as well as Charlotte Henry as Little Bo Peep, who is fine in her acting ability, but the character is in short the familiar damsel in distress character seen in many films, even The Wizard of Oz. That's right folks, Dorothy was made to be the damsel in distress character in The Wizard of Oz, as she is captured by vicious flying monkeys and the three male protagonists have to come and rescue her.

But the character that stands out the most to me is Henry Brandon as the tyrannical Silas Barnaby, the main antagonist of the film. Would you believe he was just 21 years old when he portrayed the old man character. But hey, if Joaquin Phoenix could do it, so could Henry Brandon. He is hands down the most terrifying factor out of this motion picture, from the very moment he comes bitterly walking up to the screen in the opening credits to the moment he unleashes chaos upon the streets of Toyland. He is a mad man, and one look into those eyes could have you hiding under your bed with a teddy bear by your side. He's basically the mean old crone that wants to marry the main female character, but he ultimately becomes the emperor of treachery towards the end of the film, and he travels into the depths of hell itself to summon the most terrifying of demons to spread horror and misery upon the innocent and insecure citizens of Toyland.



Okay, so maybe he doesn't go into hell, but he does go into the underground caves of Bogeyland, a slimy and desolate place where the Bogeymen crawl about. Back in 1934, it was pretty hard core to feature such terrifying creatures upon a movie screen, for the Bogeymen were quite ghastly to look at with their long hair, eery eyes and sharp fangs. By today, and I have to admit, they look a little silly and cheesy. They even move and squirm about in a funny way. I rather watch the goblin creatures move about in the 1980s remake of Babes in Toyland. One look at those beastly things and you will know exactly what I am talking about. Anyway, Barnaby unleashes terror on Toyland, as the Bogeyman vandalize and set fire to many of Toyland's buildings. Luckily, Stannie and Ollie have 100 wooden soldiers stored away at the toy workshop, 100 wooden soldiers that are 6 feet high. And with the simple push of a button, the soldiers march about, gathering together and rallying out the front door of the toy making workshop like cadets ready to go out into the battlefield to fight. The wooden soldiers in their marching glory were stop motion animated by Roy Seawright, and what a sight it is to see all the soldiers march out of the factory. It's quite impressive how they were able to combine the stop motion effects with the living actors, but the effect had been done before, several times, in the blockbuster released just a year prior, King Kong, one of my all time favorites.

The stop motion effects in that film are quite superior to the stop motion effects in March of the Wooden Soldiers, but the effects in Wooden Soldiers are quite dazzling to the eye as well, and deliver that great fantasy and imagination that took people off guard back in 1934 and still take people off guard to this very day. Of course when the soldiers enter Toyland, they are actually living people in wooden soldier costumes, however, they sure do know how to kick Bogeyman toosh. They fight Bogeymen in water, Bogeyman inside people's houses, and the scene I will always remember from the all out war is where a wooden soldier wards and Bogeyman off and looses his head in the process. If you have seen the film, you know exactly what I am talking about, how can you not remember something like that! It's so incredibly humorous! Now as I mentioned before, this film combines imagination along with horror and comedy, but this film is a all out fantasy flick. Don't believe me, well, IT'S GOT SANTA CLAUS IN IT! HE LAUGHS A LOT! And if that doesn't make a fantasy film go down in history, then I don't know what does. The fantasy elements of course lie in the overall look and design of Toyland. It's such a whimsical, playful little place to be, and with all those wonderful buildings shaped like books and houses that are reminiscent of doll houses, it brings new meaning to the name Toyland. It's also got some familiar faces from some of our favorite nursery rhymes and fairy tales. You got your Cat and the Fiddle,who was obviously a guy in a cat costume, The Three Little Pigs (Elmer, Willy, and Jiggs), Little Red Riding Hood, Mother Goose, Little Jack Horner, Miss Muffet, and of course, that cute little mouse that was nothing more than a monkey in a Mickey Mouse costume. There is also a baby on a tree top like in the song "Rock A Bye Baby" and cute little transparent gnomes that come out every once in a while in the dreaded Bogeyland. Only Tom Tom Piper's singing could summon them, and oh, how it looked like they were captivated by his singing in the film. It was certainly one of the more cutesy wutesy aspects of the film, for we needed somewhat of a cutesy wutesy aspect before the big battle between the Wooden Soldiers and the Bogeyman.

So as you can tell, I hold this film at high regards, and I knew that I am not the only one on this rock that has such feelings for the film. It is certainly a masterpiece on ever level that I could possibly imagine, and as I explained, it has that great clash of the genres we know and love, like fantasy, horror, comedy, and romance. Every time I watch this film, every Thanksgiving, I become a child all over again, watching this at my old home while the Thanksgiving dinner was being prepared in the kitchen nearby, and as I watch this film year after year, I notice new elements I never got a glimpse of before, I see things I never layed  eyes on before. And for that main reason, this film is cemented on my list of all time greatest films. We all have our favorite films, whether they'd be gangster films or comic book films, but I love any kind of fantasy film the world has to offer, and one of my all time favorite fantasy films, one of my all time favorite films in general is March of the Wooden Soldiers, for it's captivity and innovation will live on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years from now. Whether you watch in color or the vintage black and white, you are in for a real sensational treat. You will not be sorry watching this film one bit, and the kids, your kids if you have any, will love it so much, they will want to watch it relentlessly over and over and over again each day of each week of each month. Whether you watch it at Thanksgiving or Christmas or Arbor Day, you will have...QUITE AN EXPERIENCE with this fun, high flying motion picture landmark, one of the very few fantasy/horror/comedy films of it's kind. Laurel and Hardy, you're the best!

The Star Trek Superman Crossover, Star Trek: Quest For Krypton

Lately, I have been quite perplexed by the worlds of both Star Trek and DC. I have said many times before that I grew up in more of a Star Wars Marvel shrine, but the dimensions of DC and Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek are also very vivid and imaginative places that are pleasing to the eyes. Batman is hands down my favorite hero of the DC universe, for his backstory and character development is the best of any superhero to date, and Spock, although a favorite to many, stands out to me the most from other Star Trek characters like Kirk and Picard. So let's take what makes both DC and Star Trek great and throw them into a blender....AND TURN IT ON!!! Enter Star Trek: Quest For Krypton, originally entitled, The Star Trek Superman Crossover. It's a film that I have been working on for quite some time now, and to be fairly honest, it't far from finished. There are several scenes in need of reshoots, several scenes that need a bit of editing, and some of the sound quality in a majority of the film is a bit off. However, I have some very, shall we say, "AWESOME-RIFIC" things in store for all the film's viewers, and I will try to deliver some very "out of the box" ideas and concepts that will make DC purists and die hard Trekkies jump with glee. I mean, come on, it's a STAR TREK SUPERMAN CROSSOVER!!!! You can't go wrong with that!

Some of the original test scenes that I made earlier in the year are viewable on my Youtube channel, Warp 8 Productions, more commonly known as Yoda2245. The original plot of the film is that Superman teams up with the crew of the USS Enterprise to stop the klingons from building a massive space vessel, the Vrimitrix, which they will use to eliminate Federation territories (it's somewhat of the Death Star for the Star Trek universe). However, I have altered the plot quite a bit, and the film is now significantly different from that of the original cuts. As a matter of fact, some of the events of the DC universe are nicely spliced together with the events of the Star Trek universe, making the two seem like one whole universe, although this is a non canon film when it comes to mainstream DC and Star Trek continuity. The relationships of each character will also be worked on quite a bit throughout the film. Kirk and Spock's relationship will be the cream of the crop in this film, as will the strained relationship between Spock and Mccoy (YOU POINTY EARRED BASTARD!), but I mainly want to focus on the relationship between Superman and the crew of the Enterprise, particularly Superman's relationship with Kirk. The two are very prominent symbols in pop culture and have two completely different personalities and trademarks. When Superman uses his laser vision to wipe out enemies, Kirk uses his trusty phaser set for stun, so I think it will be quite interesting and humorous to see how the two duke it out in this film, a film that I intend to be my biggest film production yet.

Whatever lies in store for this awesome clash of two great franchises, I guarantee you that it will be...FASCINATING, in the words of Mr. Spock himself. When I was a kid, I would combine the action figures of two different franchises all the time and play with them in the most unique ways possible, having battles between Spider-Man and the Power Rangers and even putting the Rugrats up against Tarzan, King of the Apes. So as you can tell, combining something like Star Trek and Superman, the Last Son of Krypton isn't any indifferent to me, for I probably envisioned something like that in my complex mind way back in the early days of my toddler years.

Radical Whimsical Odd Poetry From My Early Writing Days

Oh I got a real treat for you today, I got something to blow the socks right off your feet. I got something to blow the brains right out of your skulls, the eyes from your head, the tongues from your mouths. I GOT...SOME OF MY OLD POETRY..... OH THE HORRORS! Yeh, this is probably some of the weirdest works of literature I have ever written, but to be perfectly honest, my poetry work has improved rapidly throughout the years, for I have written several poems all throughout my junior year on just about anything I felt like writing about or things that were on my mind. In fact, it's gotten to the point where I actually wrote a poem about "Death" and how we are all going to confront "Death" one day, one way or another. But it's good to look back and observe these horribly awesome poems that I have conceived many years ago and it's these poems that make me realize how far I have come in my poetry and story telling.

WHAT IS TO COME?

At last, thy night has come
The winds sound like a drum
The pitch black of the sky
What is to come?


For tomorrow is inevitable
And the snow is not edible
For if you eat it
The feeling of irritation is incredible


So what is to come of tomorrow
A day of misery and sorrow
It’s not quite clear what is coming
But maybe it’s a day to borrow


I assure it will be alright
The sun will be shining bright
And with the good lord looking over you
There is no feeling of fright

THE COLD COLD COLD

It was a cold day
A very cold day
And much to my dismay
I felt a wrath of gray


For there was nothing to do
And with one red shoe
I went to visit you


We were bored, the day was dumb
I sat upon the chair like a plum
And you sat there like a bum
As we staired at the nearest thumb


Now it is all over
For we will all bend over
And move on with our lives
Life’s full of challenges

Larry and Sid, A Film Series

I have been quite preoccupied lately, preoccupied to the point where I didn't feel like writing on this blogspot for sometime. However, I have finally regained my ambition and passion for writing and have quite an interesing talk for everyone today. As you all know, I am a film maker and have been working on several film projects throughout the months. I am most fond of making tributes to some of my favorite movies, video games and comic books but I have been hooked to a mighty program called GoAnimate ever since I discovered in March. My intention is to make a Star Trek Superman Crossover film and release it in the early months of 2012, because the things you can do with the GoAnimate program open up a wide range of opportunites for some nifty things you can pull off. But for now, I have indulged myself in making the ultimate film series of my dreams, a film series that not only pays homage to the classic cartoons of the golden age, but the science fiction genre and the overall "cartoony" supernatural, if you get my grip.

The series is called Larry and Sid and ever since their debut in March, they have become an internet sensation and have spawned several quarky, oddball films that really stand out from other whimsical Youtube videos. The series tells the tales and adventures of Larry Portchester and Sid Holloway, two best friends that live within the same house and always get in a herd of trouble. Sid is your average ordinary common businessman that is logical and collective, always doing what he feels is right and standing up for his own beliefs. Larry on the other hand is just a plain out goofball, always starting mischief and uprising within the cartoon city and always getting Sid into things he wishes he never got into. It has been done several times before, but I am trying to do new things with this concept and make it fresh and new, because who doesn't like films with lots of adventure and excitement. Every since I could remember, I have always wanted to make a film series with all these fittings, and at last, my dream has become reality. Larry and Sid has gone on beyond anything I could possibly imagine and I am very excited to make even more cartoons in the near future for all Larry and Sid fans out there to enjoy.

What makes the series great, in my opinion, is the outlandish and exotic characters. Of course, there are the main characters, Larry and Sid, but there are also other characters that often appear in the cartoons. There is Gunther Heavens, Larry and Sid's good friend who lives a few blocks away from them and is often seen working at places like the local dollar store and restaurant. Then there is his wife, Jill, who I plan to develop more as the series progresses. She really hasn't had a moment of joyous rapture yet, but I plan to make her a trademark in the near future that will distinquish her from the other characters. And the main female of the series is Sid's girlfriend, Ms. Wilson who lives right next door to Larry and Sid. Sid and Ms. Wilson are often seen having some very intimate moments together, often going on dates and visiting each other in their houses. But it's quite obvious that Larry has a bit of a crush on Ms. Wilson, and tries desperately to win the woman's effections. It's quite horrific though, for Ms. Wilson despises Larry with the utter most passion of living, and if you watch the series, you will know exactly why. There are also several villainous characters seen throughout the series. There's the manniacle Chef Francois, who didn't give Larry his deep dish pizza when he asked for it. There's G5, Larry's invention that went terribly wrong and reigned havoc throughout the city. There's the dreaded Disco Monkey, who tried to rob a bank, and he most likely would have succeeded if Mega Larry didn't come to the rescue. And then there is the dreaded, the cold hearted, the apathetic Hooser Adams, Larry's old junior high bully who has come back to pick on Larry and his minions once more. Throughout the Hooser Adams saga that just recently wrapped up, Hooser Adams has been killed off, but he always finds a way to come back to life and attack Larry and Sid once more. In the recent catostrophy, he created a clone of Larry that would act as Larry's long lost twin brother and eventually assassinate both Larry and Sid. With Larry and Sid out of the way, Hooser would go on to conquer the world with his army of evil monkeys. Fortunately though, the clone of Larry was redeemed, and he saved Larry and Sid from Hooser's wrath, although he was mortally wounded in the process and died from his injuries (OR DID HE....)

Overall, I am very proud of the Larry and Sid films I have accomplised. Starting with the very first cartoon and working my way up, you can really see the progression and the improvement of my film making and animating skills, and I hope that you can come to enjoy these films I have worked so hard to incept. Larry and Sid, although it is quite comical and humorous most of the time, is also very dark, edgy and contemporary at certain points and really focuses on the struggles and conflicts heroes of epic stories often face on their journeys through life. I love to display the art of storytelling through these films and I hope that I can progress on the mythology and mythos of the Larry and Sid universe in the near future to make it something.....one of a kind.

Top 20 Cereals List From 2009

Cereal, it is perhaps the greatest food ever to hit the face of the Earth. It is a food that is so popular, you can get into a bloody cat fight with your sister at a grocery store when picking a cereal to eat during the week. So what are the best cereals in the entire world. It has taken me a very long time to prepare this list, but I have narrowed it down to 20. So, sit back, pour a bowl of cereal for yourself, and enjoy my Top 20 Cereals of All Time.

20. Cocoa Crispies



I guess those cereal makers thought that Rice Crispies tasted too dull, so they through in a chocolately burst. Similar to Cocoa Pebbles, Cocoa Crispies turn the milk chocolatey like any chocolate cereal and shuts any kid up who wants a doughnut for breakfast. I guess it makes sense for them to make a chocolate doppleganger, for they do make chocolate rice crispy treats in the stores nowadays.

19. The Captain Crunch Cereals



This is a series of cereals so exotic, that they use what looks to be a Revolutionary War Captain to promote their cereal. I mean, there must be nearly a thousand kinds of this cereal, Peanut Butter Crunch, Crunch Berries, they even made a cereal that was in the shape of little tiny doughnuts. I mean, it’s unique how no other cereal in existence could make their cereal into balls or bars, or doughnuts. But no matter, the Captain Crunch Cereals are pretty darn good, even when the commercials make the cereal look like some kind of drugged joyride.

18. Golden Crisps



The mascot is a anthropomorphic bear. Does it get more rad then that. The cereal is as good as a cereal can get. You plung that spoon into that sweet brown pool of great sugary goodness, it’s like that sugary rush you need to be alert. And to be fair, the brand from Kellogg’s entitled Honey Smacks is pretty good as well, given a good serving of honey for you blood glucose statis. Which ones better, well, they are both the same in my opinion, but Golden Crisps might just be a little bit sweeter. I guess it’s because of all that darn sugar they put in it.

17. The Flintstones Cereals



Way back in the day, the Flintstones were used to promote Winston Cigarettes, the cigarettes that’s good like a cigarette should. Then, in the late 60s, they began to promote cereals like Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles. Now, to be honest, I don’t like this cereal as much as my brother does, he probably could go through an entire box or 2. But the cereal is pretty good, given either a taste of fruitiness or a blast of chocolatey goodness. There are also other Pebbles Cereals like Dino Pebbles, Marshmallow Mania Pebbles, even Cinna-Crunch Pebbles. But no matter how you like your Pebbles, even if they are deeped fried or boiled, they are a great cereal to eat if you want to raise your Hanna Barbera spirit.

16. Life


The first thing I ask myself, why is it called Life? Is it a cereal that is supposed to give a person a life, or make someone feel lifeless. But it’s a good cereal, no matter how the cookie crumbles. With a sugary coating, this cereal kills all cravings, and kids love it. As a matter of fact, they used to put the kids’ faces on the cereal boxes. I would have loved to have my face on one of those boxes, but these days, I think to myself. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Anyway, great cereal for kids and adults alike.

15. Cocoa Puffs



I’m cuckoo for cocoa puffs! Cuckoo for cocoa puffs! Remember that annoying ostrich or whatever it was? The one that use loud mouthed shrieking to promote the cereal? Well, I surely do, and the cereal is pretty good. I guess you can say that any corn puffed cereal with chocolate flavor is gonna be good, but this one is the emperor over the kingdom. With a big crunch and a rich chocolaty taste, Cocoa Puffs kills the chocolate cravings, and sure gets kids on the war pad after eating it.

14. Alphabits



We all know our alphabets, but whoever came up with the idea to make them into cereal was a GENIUS! I mean, whole grain cereal in the shape of our alphabets frosted in a light sugary coating, come on! And it’s a great way to teach your young ones your alphabets. Now if only they could do the same thing with roman numerals. I wonder what they would call it? Numeral Crunch maybe?

13. Frosted Cheerios



Are you tired of eating the so called bland taste of regular Cheerios? Do you wish they had a little more flavor to them? Well you are in luck. Frosted Cheerios give you that epic Cheerio taste, only with a frosted coating on top. Now, I have been eating this cereal for a very long time, and I just could not leave this cereal out. After all, they did have some bright and flashy commercials for it way back in the day. I mean, what little child is not attracted by bright and luminous commercials for cereals. And believe or not, I still enjoy this cereal to this day, though in some cases it is very rare and hard to find.

12. Honey Nut Cheerios



I love honey, I love nuts, and I love Cheerios. Put them together and you got a cereal that is not only delectable but good for your body. Plus, there is a small, cute little bee that is used to advertise the cereal, spewing the famous catchphrase, “Be happy, be healthy”. I just love that. This cereal is more then a cereal, it is a food for a better life. If you want a cereal that is full of taste, then pick up a box of the bee’s famous cereal. Also, pick up those fruits and veggies as well, because those a good for you too.

11. Golden Grahams



Do you love graham crackers as much as I do? Well, there is a cereal out there called Golden Grahams, packing a great taste of cinnamon and others spices. Did you ever have it? If you did, could you ever stop eating it. It’s kinda like the enchanted turkish delight from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, you will eat it until you die. Okay, maybe that isn’t the case, but Golden Grahams was a pretty good cereal, very tasting a great for every breakfast meal. And I keep a special vault full of the cereal down in my subterranean layer. Just kidding, I don’t have a vault. I don’t even have a subterranean layer.

10. The Monster Cereals



Now, your probably thinking, what the heck are the Monster Cereals? Well, just to clear it up a bit, there is Count Chocula, Franken Berry and my favorite, Boo Berry. Everytime I think of these cereals, the first thing that comes to mind is Halloween, and the only time to find Franken Berry and Boo Berry is around Halloween, but Count Chocula is pretty easy to find in your local cereal isle. Also, at a time, there was other cereals like Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute. But no matter, these cereals are the best, and I consider them the haunted, distorted and foiled versions of Lucky Charms, with their sugary cereal pieces and dried out marshmallows.

9. Apple Jacks



At a time, Apple Jacks had no mascot, but as time went by, they got an apple and a stick of cinnamon with a Jamaican accent to do the job (I wonder how much they’re paid). The cereal is top dog though. The only thing that I must complement on is at Halloween time, they would add in these pumpkin shaped pieces that tasted like pieces of dried out corn cereal with orange dye that were left in the Sahara Desert for several years. But anyway, the cereal is pretty darn good, and even though they don’t taste like apples, they still can give us a great cereal taste.

8. Fruit Loops



Fruit Loops are GOD! Just kidding, but I just couldn’t live with myself knowing that Fruit Loops were not on the final ten list. Introduced in the 1960s, this cereal didn’t have it’s classic blue loops until the 90s. They also choose to promote the cereal with a group of toucans, lead by the great cereal mascot, Toucan Sam. And I love this cereal. I mean, how many cereals of the time have a great fruity flavor and a sugary burst? Anyway, Fruit Loops are the best, and reside on the number 9 spot on my list.

7. Corn Pops



Remember way back in the 90s, when everyone was saying, I gotta have my pops? Well, I was one of them people. Though I was a little kid at the time, I deeply enjoyed this cereal, because it was both sweet, crunchy, and satisfied all cravings. Today, we get these freaky commercials with some human mouth running around town, eating running pops. It’s just odd. And what’s with the peanut butter cereal they once made, was it supposed to compete with Reese’s Puffs (I’ll get to those later)? Anyway, Pops is a very tasty cereal, taking a lot of publicity these past few years. I just hope that the giant mouth doesn’t chase after me!

6. Lucky Charms


Okay, where do I start? Surely there is a lot to nit pick about this one. First of all, there are these children chasing a Irish leprechaun down a hill in order to get his cereal. Kinda like Trix, ah? Also, the cereal contains dry, sugary pieces they have the guts to call marshmallows. I call them 30 year old Halloween candy. But the cereal itself not that bad. As a matter of fact, I prefer the chocolate Lucky Charms to the original ones for some particular reason. Anyway, that’s all I can say about Lucky Charms. I was kinda odd seeing Warwick Davis wolf some of the cereal down in the horror film, Leprechaun.

5. Cinnamon Toast Crunch



What the heck happened to the other chefs? This question has been looming in the midst for decades. Did the one chef kill them? I really don’t know, but this is a cereal I couldn’t get enough of as a child. I begged my mom ignorantly for the cereal when we went to the store, and through a tantrum when I didn’t get it, but I have grown up, and have gotten out of that “crybaby” stage. I guess there is some sort of magical fairy dust they put in the cereal that makes kids want to eat it over and over again. But however the wall comes down, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is very good, and very sugary. Give your kid a bowl of it and he will be jumping all over the walls like a Phidippus audax.

4. Frosted Flake



Frosted Flakes is one of the greatest cereals of all time. One of Kellogg’s first cereals, Frosted Flakes became very successful, and is still beloved by many people today. Now, would you believe at a time they had made Chocolate Frosted Flakes? I am not joking! And they were pretty darn good too. I guess the cereal still has a great touch after many years, even thought it’s advertised by an tiger who keeps shouting “their great”.

3. Corn Flakes



Now it’s time to scrape the sugary coating off the flakes, and we have corn flakes. Distributed by many cereal companies all over the world, Corn Flakes is a great cereal, and taste a lot better than tasteless Puff Rice. Just call them Cardboard Chippings and I’ll be happy. Anyway, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are advertised by a green chicken who doesn’t really do anything, he just stands, and is my favorite brand of the cereal. And if you are not satisfyed with the bland and vacant taste, just sprinkle a little sugar on them and they’ll be fine. I have been mentioning a lot about sugar, haven’t I? SUGAR, SUGAR SUGAR!

2. Cheerios



After all of this lollygagging on Cheerios, you’d think we’d never get to original pot that started it all. No matter how you put it, this is one of the greatest cereals of all time. Not only does it taste good, by it helps prevent heart disease and helps lower cholesterol. I mean, how can you not help loving it. All children and adults love this cereal, and I someday hope to pass it down to my children, and they will pass it to their children and so on and so on. Cheerios rock, and lie at my number 2 spot.

And the number one cereal is…..

1. Rice Crispies



This cereal is legendary, how could you not like this cereal. I mean, sure some people think it’s bad, but when you chop it down, it’s one of the greatest foods to hit the market. And that legendary trio, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, always packing in laughs that we can enjoy. I love this cereal, and no matter where you live, or where you go, it will always be there. So folks, bring back Snap, Crackle and Pop, and get rid of all those passionate commercials that belong in a Hallmark store. Now we have started and ended with crispies, no pun intended.

So, there you have it, the long awaited Top 20 Cereals List. My next entry will be the surprise that I all hope you will enjoy, and then some interesting things after that. Take care.

A Review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2 From 2010

It seems like Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2 has been going on for an eternity. I mean, it’s been nearly 8 months since it’s debut and ever since then, we have had plenty of kick ass episodes, filled with killer spider droids, shapeshifting aliens, Jon Favreau, killer bounty hunters, and not to mention a Godzilla like creature causing havoc on Coruscant. But this upcoming Friday, all the Clone Wars craze will come to a close in an epic two-part season finale, featuring the deadly bounty hunter in adolescence, Boba Fett.


Even though the Star Wars story has rapped up many years earlier, and we know what is to come of most of the characters in the Clone Wars, there is still a feeling of hard core suspense and action within the Clone Wars TV show, and I find it to be one of the most cultural and photo realistic TV shows I have ever seen, on par with other classic shows like Batman: The Animated Series as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers, shows that popularized the media in the late 80s.

I feel like Star Wars will never die, as long as a show like this comes along to further bring it to a hype. The Clone Wars has such a good story and such good character development, it’s even better than the prequel films. Sure, the prequels are still remarkable in my book and they surely did make Star Wars what it is today. but The Clone Wars has the edge, and I feel bad for any hard core Star Wars fan not watching it. Surely the film that started the show was met with mixed reviews, but the show that followed brought it to the hype it deserved.And with season 2, it brings the story to an even darker premise. I feel like season 1 was like A New Hope, establishing many things that will come to importance in later seasons. I feel like season 2 is like The Empire Strikes Back, taking what made the first good and surpassing the story even further. They also have brought in many other interesting characters into season 2, bringing in a lot of hard core suspense and drama with them. When you bring in new characters, there must be good story and character development to go along with them, and the Clone Wars covered that. I was shocked to see what some of the characters did in this season.

I was expecting more General Grievous in this season rather than just two episodes. Heck, Count Dooku had 1 episode and Asajj Ventress had none. But hey, in order to bring in more interesting characters, I guess they have to limit the amount of appearances of others. Overall, season 2 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was spectacular, and I found it to be a milestone in television. All I can say is that I can’t wait for season 3, and I can wait to see how this will all tie in with the first Clone Wars series, as well as Revenge of the Sith.

Iron Man 2 Speculations From 2010

I have to admit, I’m not an expert on the Iron Man comics, but I do got it where it counts. I’m quite fascinated by the whimsical technology that is present in the comics, such as Tony Stark’s computer butler, Jarvis. Iron Man’s many different suits are also a treat. My favorite is the Stealth Operations suit because it can use the power of invisibility. I don’t know why the action figure of the SO suit that came out with the first movie looks like War Machine. But Tony Stark has a crap load of money, and keeps getting new suits in just about every comic, even one called the Hulkbuster suit.Now you probably wonder why I would bring this up. Well the other day, I was looking across the internet and came across a new Iron Man 2 trailer. For what I saw, it looks to be one kick ass film, especially that War Machine is making his film debut, but at the very end of the trailer, Tony Stark slips on an odd suit of armor that forms from a suitcase. When I first saw it, I was blown away. It’s awesome that they are digging into the comics’ archives and taking out such iconic elements.



The film is also having a new villain, Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke. From what I can understand, he is to be a combination of two villains from the comics, Blacklash and the Crimson Dynamo. But I can help but wonder, why couldn’t they just make him the Crimson Dynamo. I mean, he looks to be a badass villain, but I was really craving the Crimson Dynamo or Titanium Man from the comics. Whiplash is pretty cool though, and looks to be a villain similar to the Joker. I’m also very excited to see Samuel L. Jackson as Nicky Fury, after all, he is one of my personal favorites from the comics. It will definitely be cool to see all the different armors that Iron Man uses in the film, and I hope that they can incorporate as many elements from the comics into the film, and make it one of the best superhero films of all time.

All I can say is I’m very excited. Iron Man 2 is sure to be a pleasure, and will definitely be one of the highlights of the summer.