Men in Black the Series - So forgettable its like being neuralized

In 1997 a fun little movie called Men in Black was released. It featured Will Smith (before he was a mega-star) and Tommy Lee Jones as secret agent type policemen who keep extraterrestrial life on earth in check. Like many other moviegoers I really enjoyed the film which featured a perfect mix of action and comedy. Not surprisingly the films success spawned an animated adaption, Men in Black the series. Running four seasons from 1997 until 2001, MIB the series saw a total of 53 episodes produced, a very respectable number for modern day action/adventure cartoons. This would put the show in the same class as Batman Beyond and Superman the Animated series in terms of length, good company for any action/adventure show to keep. But does the show have the same level of quality as Batman and Superman, or does it go the way of so many other movie to TV adaptations and stink up the joint? Ultimately I would say that it falls somewhere in between, definitely not bad, but certainly not good.

I remember occasionally watching MIB the series when it was first on TV. Since it shared the same channel as Batman Beyond I would sometimes watch both, or catch the tail end of MIB before Batman would start. I felt very ambivalent about the show, it didn't offend me at all but I wasn't really drawn in either. For the longest time I forgot it even existed, like the show had been wiped from my mind with the same neuralizer MIB agents use to erase peoples memory. Eventually I stumbled across some episodes online and decided it was time to give the series a full re-watching. What I found was complete justification for my initial feelings of ambivalence.

Seeing as it was a popular movie most people already know what the premise behind Men in Black is. For anyone who doesn't know however, it goes as follows. Men in Black is a top-secret agency (but not a government agency) that polices all alien activity on earth. It is comprised of "agents" who wear black suits and have had all traces of their existence erased from public record. They do not have any distinguishing marks or even fingerprints. Names are never used, opting instead to go by their first initial (so if your name was Bob you would be Agent B). They are no longer a part of the system, they are above the system, they are the Men in Black.

Before I get going with my review here I would like to offer the following disclaimer. I have never read the original Men in the Black comic book by Lowell Cunningham. I mention this because my review is based on the assumption that MIB the series is mostly influenced by MIB the movie, not the comic book. I really don't know how close the actual movie or cartoon is to the source material so if any of the discrepancies or issues I have are a result of said source material I apologize for my ignorance.

To start things off the writing on MIB the series is decidedly uneven. The show's first season is certainly the worst with the first eight or so episodes being - for the most part - awful. Things do get better though, and by the time season one ends the series is clearly starting to find its feet. This isn't too surprising with veteran cartoon writer Greg Weisman contributing regularly in season two. Weisman is by far the show's best writer having created Disney's excellent Gargoyles series, and later the Spectacular Spider-man. Still, when not watching Weisman's stronger episodes the show becomes very hit and miss.

On the positive side I really enjoyed MIB episodes that revolved around Agent K's past. With years of experience it was only natural that K would be carrying lots of baggage, both good and bad. Some of these stories were better in concept than in execution (Agent A for example), but taken as a whole I found them at least interesting.

On the negative side MIB the series recycles heavily from MIB the movie, most notably in terms of humor. Here's a checklist of what to look for in an average episode:
1) Agent J makes an alien faux pas - Check.
2) Alien Worms declare their love/obsession for coffee - Check.
3) Agent J complains about not getting to drive - Check.
4) Frank the stooley reminds someone he's not a real dog - Check.
5) Agent J does some variation of the line "I make this look good" - Check.
6) Someone shoots pawnshop owner Jeebs in the head - Double Check.

Of course I'm exaggerating when I say that you will find all six of these bits in any given episode, it's probably closer to three out of six. My point is that the writers think they're being clever by using jokes we'll recognize from the movie, but in truth they simply appear lazy by continually beating a dead horse.

Speaking of lazy, I have to call out the writing for the series finale of MIB. In the two part story (the only two part story arc in the entire show) Earth is invaded by an alien fleet that wants our oil. This invasion is portrayed as an Independence Day style event complete with the destruction of Washington Monument and the United Nations headquarters. No longer able to hide the existence of extraterrestrial life, MIB goes public so that they can lead Earth's defenses. In the end our home is saved but the proverbial cat has been let out of the bag, after all you can't neuralize an entire planet. Or can you? During a worldwide press conference Agent L realizes that the whole world is watching them on TV, so all they have to do is wipe every ones memories right then and there and everything will go back to normal. Perfect solution, right? Except the whole idea is preposterous and the basic logic behind it is nothing short of insulting (I'm talking Battlefield Earth, jet flying caveman insulting). Besides the fact that not everyone on Earth has a TV, the idea that each and every person is looking directly at said TV during the exact moment the neuralizer goes off is ridiculous. You mean nobody was taking a leak? How about sleeping, after all it would have been the middle of the night in Australia? What if you're blind? Then there would be all the records of the invasion itself; TV footage, newspapers, home videos. My god do you really think that an alien invasion of such massive proportions could be covered up with a single flash from a neuralizer? I know this is just a cartoon, and I can suspend disbelief with the best of them, but you have to show a little more respect for your audience’s intelligence, even if they're kids.

This brings us to the shows characters. Naturally the producers of MIB the series wanted to capitalize on the success and charm that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones brought to Agents J and K. This led to the decision to "ignore" the movies ending. As you probably know the ending of MIB the movie had Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) retiring from service, complete with a neuralizer memory wipe from protegee Agent J (Will Smith). In MIB the cartoon however, Agent K is still in service, mentoring Agent J. This would not be so bad except that the cartoon references events from the movie (like the death of giant cockroach alien Edgar) multiple times, thus implying that all the events of the movie (minus K's retiring) are a part of the animated universe. Now I know what some of you are saying "But K was de-neuralized in MIB 2, so it makes sense". We'll I'm afraid that MIB the series started and finished before MIB 2 was even released, so that's not the reason. The truth is that movie properties turned cartoons will often take liberties with theatrical events to better fit their own entertainment medium, such is the case with MIB the series. Despite the potential for confusion though (no explanation is ever offered) I don't hold this against the shows creators. Only a fool would try and do an MIB cartoon without both K and J. Besides the decision to use both was most likely a mandate from the studio.

But I digress, lets talk about the animated adaptations of our two heroes. I said before that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones brought a lot of charm to Agents K and J. This then begs the question, do the cartoon versions of these characters have that same charm? In a word ... No (or as Will Smith would say, Awwww hell Naw). Sadly, both Agents K and J come off as mere imitators, and poor ones at that. Where Will Smith brought a boastful, cocky yet lovable personality to Agent J, the animated version feels like a clown. A buffoonish blowhard that never seems to learn from any of his incessant mistakes, cartoon J just isn't very likable. His counterpart is similarly frustrating, but in the opposite extreme. While Tommy Lee Jones does a great job of bringing the folksy, know-it-all, seen-it-all Agent K to life, cartoon K just feels ... cold. For whatever reason the produces of MIB the series mistook K's matter of fact nature as being emotionless. This led to a very monotonous version of the character, one I became quickly bored with. This just isn't the same chemistry found in the movie, an obnoxious rookie and a droning veteran, not exactly the dynamic duo. I'll have more to say about this when I get to the shows voice acting.

Writing on MIB the series never does quite click into place. Characters don't really develop, bad science and plot holes abound, jokes become tired and don't even get me started on the overuse of coffee loving alien worms in season three. If that's not enough, checkout the additions of Agent X and Dr. Zeeltor in season four as well. Obviously the show wanted to expand out beyond its somewhat mundane cast, but bringing in these two was not the answer. Not only are neither of these characters any good, but the move just smacks of desperation, like when they brought in cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch. When it's all said and done what we are left with is a very averagely written show, occasionally spotted with both excellence and stupidity.

The strongest aspect of MIB the series would have to be its visuals. From an animation standpoint the show does not impress during its first season, but the remaining seasons all look very solid. At times the animation even excels with surprisingly good fight choreography and fluid character movement. Backgrounds are a little unusual with a more illustrative, pen and ink, style being employed. Colors tended to be more muted and sometimes even monochromatic in appearance as well. Despite being less painterly than other cartoons however, these aesthetic choices do work well with the shows character designs and ultimately I liked that.

Speaking of character design, I have to say that I found the design work on MIB the series excellent. Though I'm not sure he did the entire show, Miguelznxo Prado is credited as the shows character designer, and I - for one - really enjoyed his work. Especially the original look of J and K found in the show's title sequence. Where most people had been content to simply follow the "Bruce Timm" look for action/adventure cartoons, Prado brought his own unique style to the series. Unfortunately this look must not have been good for mass production because the in show animation of the characters does trend on the simpler side. Still I like that MIB the series didn't just go for a generic look; aliens, space suites, star ships and various other technologies are all very well designed and - for the most part - look unique. Though the shows appearance would fluctuate more often than I would like, I think the series had a lot of visual ambition and was often successful in implementing it.

Like so many other aspects of MIB the series the shows audio has its ups and downs. Secondary characters Elle, Zed, Frank and Jeebs all feature solid voices and I had no issues with any of them. What I did have a problem with were the voices of Agents K and J. I mentioned before that these two main characters had none of the charm found in their feature film counterparts. A big reason for this stems from the very off the mark casting of both K and J. To start with Agent J is supposed to be very self assured person, but the voice of cartoon J lacks any real confidence. Oh the writers try and fill him with all the false bravado they can muster, but none of it comes across in actor Keith Diamond's performance. At best he makes J sound like a self-deluded, happy-go-lucky goofball. Worse is the monotonous voice used for Agent K. Gone is the cadence and inflection that Tommy Lee Jones brought to the role. In its place we get a robotic performance that fails in its ability to deliver even the simplest of punch-lines. Interestingly enough the voice of K was performed by two different actors. Ed O'Ross did the voice in season one while Gregg Berger did so for seasons two through four. Though the change is indeed noticeable both O'Ross and Berger fall into the same traps when handling the character. This actually makes me wonder if the problem is not so much with the actors but with the shows producers. Given the characterization and writing for Agents K and J it is very possible that O'Ross, Berger and Diamond were coaxed into these misguided incarnations of the characters, otherwise it was just bad casting. Just one additional thing I want to mention, Agent L (Elle) also had a voice acting change going into the shows final season. Jennifer Lien was the original actress and Jennifer Martin was her replacement. Both do a good job so the change isn't really that big a deal, but I still would have preferred more consistency from the show.

Musically MIB the series is pretty average. The in show music gets the job done but offers nothing memorable. I did like the title song though, it had a very harmonic "alien" sound that fit the series nicely. In fact I would have to rank MIB's opening as one of the better title sequences made during the 1990s.

Men in Black the series featured a lot of talented creators; Frank Paur, Victor Cook and Greg Weisman to name a few. Unfortunately none of these individuals were showrunners. Though Executive Producer Duane Capizzi's resume is respectable, he just doesn't have that little extra something necessary to be considered good, just like MIB the series. Given a stronger creative talent like Greg Weisman or Boyd Kirkland this show may have stood a chance of escaping its perpetual mediocrity. That said, when you compare MIB with other live action movie to TV cartoon adaptations the show takes on a whole new light. Take, for example, The Mummy, King Kong and Godzilla. All of these shows came about as a result of "blockbuster" movies, yet they all sucked unbelievable ass. It would have been real easy for MIB the series to go down that same cheap and easy road. Thankfully it at least tried to do something more. As for recommending the show I would probably not advise anyone to go out of their way to do so, especially since it's not even available on DVD in the US. The only release I know of was in the UK, and that was just for season one. If you are bound and determined to watch anyway then you'll probably need to do so online.

The Last Unicorn - Classic fantasy done right

The Last Unicorn is a very respectably made animated film from 1982, it's also the first non-action/adventure cartoon I've reviewed here. The story of the Last Unicorn actually started as a novel of the same name by Peter S. Beagle. Written back in 1968 the book has been translated into multiple languages and sold over 5 million copies world wide. In part the book's growth in popularity stems from this beloved 1982 film which was directed by the famous team of Rankin and Bass. Even if the names Rankin and Bass don't sound familiar it's a fair bet you've seen their work, especially if you enjoy the stop-motion holiday films Rudolf, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Clause is Comin' to Town. Though mostly known for these excellent holiday specials, Rankin/Bass would venture into traditional animation on a regular basis with such works as The Hobbit, Return of the King, The Flight of Dragons and - of course - The Last Unicorn.

I was about six or seven years old when this movie came about and I watched it on a regular basis. Truthfully I remember being a little scared at times due to the more serious nature of the story, and of course the giant flaming Red Bull. As with many things the movie became a distant memory during my teen years and it wasn't until my college days that I rediscovered it. Sadly the only version of the film available at the time was a pan and scan full screen with tons of dust and scratches. Now with the 25th anniversary edition having been released I can finally enjoy a re-mastered version of the film in widescreen format.

To be clear I have never read the novelized version of The Last Unicorn, so this review will not compare and contrast the book and animated film at all. That said the story of The Last Unicorn is about - as you can probably guess - a unicorn discovering she is the last of her kind, as well as her quest to uncover what happened to the others like her. Along the way she befriends a bumbling wizard named Schmendrick and a middle aged woman by the name of Molly Grue. It is soon revealed that all the missing unicorns have been captured by a magical creature called the Red Bull, and to find them our heroes must travel to the castle of King Haggard. As our three companions journey closer to their goal however, the Red Bull appears and begins chasing the last unicorn. With no other options left for stopping the Red Bull Schmendrick casts a spell that turns the unicorn into a creature the bull has no interest in, a human. The remainder of the film deals with the mystery behind all the missing unicorns, as well as the last unicorns struggle with becoming human. Faced with emotions no other unicorn has ever felt, Lady Amalthea (the name given to the last unicorn after her transformation) must ultimately decide if she should stay mortal (as opposed to an ageless unicorn) or return to her original form.

Without a doubt the story of The Last Unicorn is an excellent one. Layered and intelligent, we just don't get enough of this kind of writing in entertainment these days. Since the screenplay was penned by the books author (Peter S. Beagle) it would probably be a fair bet to say the movie holds very true to the source material. Themes such as lonely vs. loneliness and regret make for interesting subject matter and I'm sure they were a part of the original story. At times I must admit that these ideas were a little underdeveloped, but given the films length (90 minutes) I felt they still worked well. If I had to find any fault with the movies plot/pacing it would be during the Captain Cully scene. Basically Schmendrick is captured by a roving band of outlaws and must tell a story involving Robin Hood to humor his captors. In doing this he actually conjures an apparition of Robin Hood and his Merry Men which allows him to escape. This may not sound all that bad but in the movie the whole scene plays out rather oddly. Something about the edits between Schmendrick and the unicorn left me wondering who really performed the magic. Also the decision to start using magic while telling the tale comes about very suddenly and somewhat unnaturally. The end of the film also feels a tad counter intuitive with the Red Bull backing down rather quickly once he is confronted. I do not bring these points up to condemn the movie in any way, they're just unusual hiccups in an otherwise solid narrative.

Unfortunately visuals from The Last Unicorn are a bit on the uneven side. Animation is decidedly minimal with stilted and inexpressive movements taking away from the characters performances. There are several scenes where the voice actors really pour their passion into the well written dialog, only to have the animation fail in conveying the emotion; most notably when Molly Grue first meets the unicorn and when King Haggard confronts Lady Amalthea. I don't blame the animators per se, it's clear the movie had a limited budget and the limited animation is nothing more than a byproduct of this. Given deeper pockets I am sure the Japanese animation studio could have rendered these characters superbly.

While the animation from The Last Unicorn is somewhat lacking, I would consider the films backgrounds a resounding success. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Disney quality stuff, but it's still very well designed and painted. I was especially impressed with the last unicorn’s forest from the beginning of the film. The look of the trees combined with a shifting color pallet ranging from warm to cool colors reminded me of a storybook type design. Later during the journey to King Haggard's castle, we are treated to a more harsh and rocky terrain. Once again the background painters do an exceptional job setting the mood with darker, more muted hues while detailing the stony surface admirably. Besides the story, I would rank the backgrounds as my favorite feature in the film.

Character designs are either really good, or really bad. Much like they did in the Hobbit, Rankin and Bass used a lot of squat, bulbous human design in the film. Captain Cully, witch Momma Fortuna, Rukh and others suffer from this unattractive look. Though Molly Grue does not share this shortcoming she does sport one of the most ridiculous looking hair styles ever, an unkempt rats nest made worse by the movies limited animation. Fortunately the look of Schmendrick, King Haggard and Price Lir fare much better. The best design work, however, would have to be the creature designs for the Unicorn, Red Bull and Harpy Celaeno. The unicorn is especially good because it goes beyond just the standard “horse with a horn” look and instead creates a very stylized, majestic animal, one worthy of the stories focus.

Overall the visuals from The Last Unicorn serve their purpose. Yes some of the design work could have been better, but ultimately it's the limited budget that hurts the film most. If the movies animation studio Topcraft had been given more money to work with they would have - no doubt - knocked our stocks off. After all many of the people comprising Topcraft went on to work for Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, one of the greatest animation outfits in history.

Like the films visuals, the audio from The Last Unicorn has its ups and downs. The movies score works well with a very folksy soundtrack courtesy of America, but towards the end of the film we get two very out of place songs from both Lady Amalthea and Prince Lir. The purpose of these numbers is to illustrate the last unicorn’s struggle to remember what she is while at the same time falling in love with the prince. While this may be commonplace in a Disney film the songs here just don’t work. They are poorly written, performed and are ultimately superfluous. I personally felt that the movie could have conveyed all these emotions through regular dialog and spared us these musical mishaps.

From a voice acting standpoint I thought the movie had a pretty decent cast. Alan Arkin does a good job as do Christopher Lee (King Haggard) and Tammy Grimes (Molly Grue). The only real complaint I had just happens to be with the stories most important character, the last unicorn. Mia Farrow does the voice of both the last unicorn and Lady Amalthea, but while she possesses the ethereal sound necessary for the character her delivery was lacking. By contrast Arkin really did not have the best voice to fit his character Schmendrick, but made up for it by performing his lines well and thus the character worked.

In the end The Last Unicorn is a flawed, but ultimately solid movie. It would be easy for me to dwell on what could have been, but instead I choose to enjoy the film for what it did right. For anyone who wants to pick this up on DVD I would recommend the 25th anniversary edition. It has a short interview with the book’s author, Peter S. Beagle, and features a re-mastered widescreen picture (though there are still a lot of dust and scratches to be found).