Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[Jabroniville]

COCO (2017):
Written by: Adrian Molina, Matthew Aldrich, Lee Unkirch & Jason Katz

(from my review last year)

-I FINALLY had a day off with enough time to see Coco (aka I would have been on the fence except for the Frozen short, like the live-action Cinderella movie"). It was good- it's WAY too "Typical Disney Story" in the beginning, right down to the "Quirk Outsider Nobody Understands Who Is Told Not To Do THE THING", who dreams of doing THE THING. He gains a Wacky Buddy and a cartoonish Animal Sidekick and does stuff, etc. It even has the "Standard Disney Villain Moment" that they're repeating WAY too much these days.

But then after a twist I didn't see coming until right before it happened, the movie got MUCH better. Really good, suspenseful and interesting. I kinda wish they'd pulled the trick sooner (though I think everyone know what's-his-nuts was gonna be the bad guy, I don't think anyone was expecting MURDER). Overally, it's very... dramatic. Like it pulls the heartstrings so deliberately that it's almost schmaltzy and over-the-top (EVERYONE's all talking about being remembered and having loved ones in the living world and stuff). It's well done, but OY.

I found the music pretty sub-par, despite the Frozen songwriters, but the genre of "Mexican Music" isn't really my thing. The cityscape in the Land of the Dead is REALLY amazing- reminding me of the detail of Zootopia, but amplified in color and scenery- too much to really look at while the movie is going on, sadly. Also, the mom character is pregnant. Just thought I'd share that.

The Grandmother character is the best CGI creation I've ever seen- SO MANY WRINKLES- it was staggering to look at. Especially since they actually TOOK THEIR TIME with her, being unafraid to hold the camera steady and just watch her face. Too many CGI movies (including this one, really) just blitz through everything in a wave of motion.

It'll probably safely make a ton of money. Good movie that had twinges of greatness.

Reception & Cultural Impact:
-Yeah, it made a ton of money. More than $800 million, which is good even by PIXAR standards. Given that it's an "Ethnic Movie" they were clearly more unsure about (given the Frozen attachment when it first came out in theaters), that's really impressive. The ending with Miguel and his Grandma quickly became one of those famous "You'll cry in the theatre" moments, though not as much as Up's opening was. The song Remember Me also became a pretty good Funeral/Marriage song, given its placement in the film (it played at my friend's dad's funeral, for example), though I find it a little TOO... simple. It's just "Remember ME..." and the lyrics don't get much more deep than that.

It was, as expected, WILDLY popular in Mexico, given how it's entirely ABOUT Mexico, Mexican culture, and Mexican traditions- funny how people actually appreciate when you make stuff directly targeted at them, huh? It's currently the #2 movie in Mexican history (behind only The Avengers).

[Jabroniville]

DISNEY/PIXAR BUILDS- THE FINALE:
-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND that's it! I'm FINALLY done!! And wow, it feels really strange to be finished. August 18th I started posting these, and it's now early November and I'm done- a project of about two and a half months. One of my biggest EVER.

It's intensely gratifying to be done all this, especially as I was looking forward to doing it for at LEAST a year. Not just because I adore the subject matter, but because the old set was so long ago that the links to the pictures no longer worked (that was before I used an image hosting site to provide images for builds), leaving the whole thing a disappointing-looking mess .

Looking back, the old builds drew some attention, but the current set has actually drawn MORE. Given that this is two forum changes later, waaaaaaaaayyyyyy after the peak of M&M and Green Ronin as a thing, and more or less the same builds as before but with only minor changes and some additional notes, you have NO IDEA how happy that makes me. I mean, it's a hell of a thing- part of why I was so hesitant to start this set was... if it didn't go over well, I'd be in it for AGES, and people would be sick of seeing it. So thank you all for being along, even if Disney Builds weren't really your thing.

The original set was some of the most fun I'd ever had in my threads, as it was a first-time thing to do all that research- checking out Wikipedia for behind-the-scenes stuff, scouring the video store for movies to watch (it was my first time seeing Black Cauldron, Lilo & Stitch, the Anthology-based pictures and more- and basically an all-new thing seeing Oliver & Company, Atlantis and Treasure Planet), and figuring out how all the characters statted up against each other. I also felt like it was one of the first times I actually "opened up" and got a bit more autobiographical in the thread, as typically it had only been "These are the comic characters I like"- opening up about liking DISNEY was a bit of a new territory for me. That it sort of became one of the things that I got a rep for ("Jab's the Disney Guy", "Hey Jab, how does this Princess compare to the Disney ones?", and COUNTLESS jokes about Belle and Elsa) was all the better. Hearing about everyone else's memories of the movies was fun then, and even better now (HalloweenJack was KILLING IT going on about the firsty half-century's Disney movies- I guess he hasn't seen as many of the latter ones ).

It also let me share all my experiences/bragging about going to the Disney Parks ("A man may never know what a consummate ass he may become, until he goes abroad"- Mark Twain), so there's that . If anything, the builds actually LIONIZED my intent to visit these Parks, which I actually did four times over in the span between these two sets! Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris!

So since I got a bit of a funny reputation for doing the Disney Builds so long ago, it was great fun to revisit them. I added some new things to keep my interest up (re-posting things would get SO BORING- I always re-do research at least)- "Reception & Cultural Impact" became its own thing. I included the impact of each movie on the Parks (which nobody ever commented on, but *I* had fun writing about, so that's all that counts ). I also added the "About the Performer" bits, which a lot of people said they enjoyed. I was happy to hear that, because HOLY CRAP did that slow me down- just re-posting and researching again would've been EASY, but adding research on ACTORS was a lot of additional work. It kept my "lead" smaller than it otherwise would have been, but made the project a hell of a lot more fun.

Other differences: adding the "modern" Disney Movies into things. My initial builds were in January of 2013, but I hadn't seen Wreck-It Ralph that year for whatever reason (which is kinda weird- I mean, it ended the project early), so those builds had to wait until that December, when I saw Frozen just as it had come out. I re-posted Frozen to Ronin Army in the summer of 2014 to "break in" the newer thread (I felt it unacceptable to not have any Elsa builds on my thread ). Big Hero Six and Moana both got added about a month after their respective releases. But now... they're all here, mostly in order (though Big Hero Six was unfortunately reposted last year, where they oddly didn't do very well, comment-wise, which may have made me iffy about reposting this CURRENT set).

Of course, Wreck-It Ralph 2 drops in like three frickin' weeks, so if I'd have waited even a month I could have been done them in one giant swoop, but F it .

And now I have a set of builds, all with pictures, on the new thread, about five years+ after the last one. And now it'll be weird to start any OTHER kind of project, because the only kind of thing that can take me THIS long is something insane, like my "Stat every JSA & JLA Member" set. It's actually very strange for me to go back to the "smaller" sets, as I was statting up some Overwatch and Street Fighter V newbies, as well as filling out "The List", and it feels so much TINIER by comparison.

But thanks again, everyone! This is some of the most fun I've had building in a long while, and I'm glad I mostly kept everyone's attention during the whole set!

[HalloweenJack]

whew. now I can start contributing again.

[BriarThrone]

Told you that fatigue wouldn't be an issue.

[Jabroniville]

whew. now I can start contributing again.

Ya just not like any modern stuff, or what ?

[Jabroniville]

Told you that fatigue wouldn't be an issue.

It wasn’t for me, but I was concerned about the Pixar set not getting many comments, generally lacking builds as it was.

[Spectrum]

Thank you for such a long and developed series.

[Jabroniville]

GREAT SCENES AND WEAK SCENES:

So I was thinking about what makes some Disney movies (and hell, any movies) better than others, and I though of something the late Roger Ebert said on the Critics Commentary on Casablanca (speaking of, I have never felt more bummed about Ebert's death than when Frozen came out. I mean, I LOVED reading Ebert's stuff, even on the moments where I totally disagreed with his ratings, because he'd at least explain WHY he felt a certain way. So entertaining to read his stuff... and it's gone. Every time a movie came out and I was on the fence, I'd check his website. I REALLY wish I could've seen what he'd write about this movie). He said something that always stuck with me- Some movies have great scenes, and others have good ones, or even bad ones. The trick to a Great Movie is that it has to have way more Great Scenes than Bad Ones. Seems obvious, but it's what really sets apart a lot of films that are more TECHNICALLY flawless (ie. no plot holes, everything is explained, etc.) from others that you enjoy more.

It's like... THE AVENGERS had some issues with the amount of "dead time" they spent on the Helicarrier, and there were some questionable origin stories, and the way the damn Space Jobbers basically came out of nowhere for no other purpose than to be Loki's Army of Inhuman Mooks that the heroes could kill and not seem morally bad for slaying them (the same reason Orcs exist as a Fantasy Race). This is questionable stuff. But it PALES before all the sweet-frickin' stuff out there like guys flying through Giant Dragons, some SHIELD dude getting busted playing Galaga, Bruce Banner finally not sucking a fat one for once, and more. People left the theatres not caring about the "bad parts" because there were SO MANY GREAT ONES.

So I compare theory to some Disney movies, and others I've seen recently, and it suddenly becomes clear exactly WHY I like some more than others.

For example- watching MADAGASCAR 3 I find myself entirely un-amused by most of it, as its just whacky slapstick. Even the stuff where the characters are at first nostalgic for New York, then sad because it's not as great as they remembered, and the villainess chasing them doing all the Parody Bad-Ass things (note: Parody Bad-Asses just eventually come across as legit Bad-Asses)... it's all just mediocrity. Nothing really "clicks". The movie isn't actually BAD, and it never quite gets awful, but it's just Joke-Joke-Joke-Joke with a little "aw, that's sad" moment stapled on, and it falls flat. It's basically an entire movie of "Meh" moments, with one or two good ones (the Animal Circus thing WAS pretty cool). Ultimately, an unmemorable movie. The fact that the series makes SO MUCH MONEY still blows my mind- I guess parents will take their kids to ANY Whacky Random Humor CGI Cartoon these days.

---

KUNG FU PANDA was a different animal (hee, the puns). Again, the random humor and slapstick doesn't really amuse me now that I'm in my 30s. The villain being a giant bad-ass who has to fight a guy with one day of training... doesn't do it for me, no matter HOW Chosen One-y he is. Not a Jack Black fan, and even the Cruel Mentor stuff falls flat because he's not as mean as he really SHOULD be- even Po's "I can't handle this" moment where he temporarily gives up carries nowhere NEAR the amount of weight as Mulan's did in HER movie, under similar circumstances. The villain was almost over-the-top in Bad-Assery, but ultimately lacked as much menace as he should have. But the Wise Old Turtle Mentor character (and his send-off) was awesome, I liked the relationship of Red Panda Dustin Hoffman and Tai Lung, and there's some legitimately great "zen" points in the film. Basically, it's a good movie that feels like it should have been great- all the tools were there (the gang should've been more resentful of Po, Po should have trained for like... A WEEK at LEAST, the fights should have been closer), but it falls well short of Mulan.

---

THE CROODS was just mediocre through-and-through. I didn't really find any of it funny, and the whole Father/Daughter thing and the "Sexy Caveman Outsider" guy was a dull character. Nicholas Cage kind of half-assed his role as the dad, too. Basically a poor movie with one or two Good Moments. And yet this thing made $500 million worldwide, and is getting a sequel and a TV series.

---

I rented TANGLED again to more accurately compare it to Frozen, it's obvious spiritual successor. And first off, the animation is WAY worse here than in Frozen. It's actually weird considering I remember this being elite before. But the way the sun reflects off the characters' skin feels unnatural, as does Rapunzel's hair (Queen Elsa apparently has MANY times more "individual strands" in her hair... which is why they had to phase part of it through her arm during her musical number, because it was destroying their models otherwise ). Rapunzel's dress, which was INSANE at the time because of its complexity, is nothing compared to Anna & Elsa's designs, or all the differen wool & velvet used for the costuming in the more recent film- you REALLY gain an appreciation for that the more you look at things. By comparison, most of the clothing in Tangled looks like the same stuff, and rather overly-shiny. Even Maximus the Horse looks plain, since he's all pure white, compared to the awesome-looking authentic Fjord Horses of Frozen. The character animation is equal in both pictures, though the more exaggerated faces in Tangled come across as funnier.

And again, we come to having Good Moments versus Great Moments. There's a few bits in here that feel like they should have been BIGGER. The only memorable song is "Mother Knows Best", which is a bit hammy and shrieky, and not very long. ALL the other songs are forgettable "whatever" stuff that you forget the second they're done. The endless slapstick with the frying pans gets a bit old, and the whole "Falling In Love Quickly" cliche and the general plot feels too "small" (it's basically about one lost girl). The romantic scene with the Lanterns is a bit SWOONZ-worthy, but needed a better song and a better connection with the characters. The voice acting is also pretty weak at points.

---

By comparison, FROZEN is much better overall. There ARE weaker scenes- The Reveal comes across as a bit cliche with the dialogue, and seems there more to justify the ending (when they pitched the whole climax in the studio, the artist got a standing ovation from John Lasseter and the others, who said it had never been done before, and they basically wrapped the entire plot around it). There is a lot left unclear as to the sisters' relationship (it looks like they literally see NOTHING of each other after their childhood, when other media makes it more like they were just distant), or how the Kingdom actually worked. Both movies actually use the Tiny Kingdom thing Disney REALLY seems to like (is this so they can get away with designing only a small town, and justify having a small military force and staff?). The songs are too front-loaded in the beginning, and only a couple are memorable (the Troll Song is basically there to cut some tension and make sure there's ONE song in Act Three). Much as I gush over it, I can find a few weaker points.

BUT, as a WHOLE, the movie was way more Great Scenes than it does more mediocre ones. The ENTIRE opening is perfect. You can FEEL the isolation from the characters more than Rapunzel's silly captivity (Elsa's is deliberate on her and her parents' part- Rapunzel is more of a good-natured victim and her motivation comes across weaker because she really doesn't look like she's suffering that much). The Fall In Love Instantly cliche and the party, and Elsa's revelation are all spot-on. The slapstick isn't constant (or out of place), and serves to cut tension, not dominate for minutes at a time. "Let It Go" is so amazing that PEOPLE IN THE THEATRE were basically stunned (people beside me were like ".... Wow."). The climax of the film is also amazing. Everything feels "Big", even with the smaller Kingdom, because it's a desolate winter and extinction scenario, along with the interpersonal relationship going on. It basically stomps out the weaker bits with non-stop Great Moments.

The other Disney movies can be compared this way as well. Wreck-It Ralph has few WEAK scenes, but almost no GREAT ones, and so the movie is just "good" in my book. Beauty and the Beast is a rare all-time classic, and actually has ZERO weak points at all, which is why it was so notable (and got an Oscar nod- it probably would've won if Silence of the Lambs hadn't come out that year)- it's basically Great Moment following Great Moment, with a few that are merely Good.

[KorokoMystia]

I hear the consensus is that Kung Fu Panda 2 is actually better than the first movie, but it's been so long since I watched any of them I have no idea. But well, it has Gary Oldman as the villain, and that's something.

[Jabroniville]

"This is where WE fight! This is where THEY... DIE!"

KING LEONIDAS OF SPARTA
Role: Warrior-King, Doomed Leader
PL 10 (153)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 6

Skills:
Expertise (General) 14 (+16)
Expertise (Survival) 2 (+5)
Expertise (King) 8 (+10)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 8 (+14)
Perception 8 (+11)
Persuasion 3 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Spear) 4 (+12)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Benefit 3 (King of All Sparta), Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment 4 (Spartan Equipment- Sword +3, Shield +2, Spear +2- Reach), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Spear) 2, Improved Critical (Sword), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Smash, Inspire, Leadership, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown, Teamwork, Ultimate Will Save

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Spear +13 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Sword +12 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +10

Complications:
Enemy (Kind and Generous King Xerxes)- King Xerxes of Persia threatens to take over the entire civilized world- Leonidas and other Greek nations have declared that their conquest ends with the Meditteranean.
Responsibility (Sparta)
Honor ("With This [shield], Or On It")- No Spartan would ever consider fleeing from battle- arriving home without a Shield means he dropped it to allow him to flee- a disgusting occurence.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 52--26 / Advantages: 33 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 20 (153)

-Why King Leonidas? Because he's one of the last remaining builds that I have NEVER translated from 2nd Edition to 3rd Edition. Hell, it's been so long that I can barely remember how that's even done! In February 2008, I statted up this guy as my 300th build on the Atomic Think Tank. This is back when I routinely checked my post-count to make sure than important ones got posted at certain times- something I learned from Kreuzritter, who got me into statting for M&M in the first place.

-Leonidas of course hails from the wildly popular 300, which set off a bit of a "Spartan" craze and made Zack Snyder a name to watch in movies. Though the slow-mo was already to the point of self-parody in the film, its over-the-top manliness (shared with Frank Miller's one-off Graphic Novel by the same name, which keeps most of the plot save for the "Stelios" thing) ended up making it an iconic action film full of bad-ass lines, moments and fights. It featured heroic, manly Greeks fighting effeminate, cross-dressing, mystical and evil Persians, which makes me wonder if ANYONE would try this today. It did incredibly well in theatres, and led to Miller getting a lot of attention, especially with Sin City... but then The Spirit came out and destroyed his film career, while his comic works got worse and worse as well. Snyder's career survived, but he's currently notorious for basically treating every movie like a 1992 comic.

-Leonidas is a freaking BAD ASS in combat, possessing dozens of Feats related to just that, in addition to badass Leadership, Teamwork, etc. scores. Teamwork is a necessity for the Spartan Shield-Wall style of warfare, which is why even the regular guys have two ranks of it. He's got pretty much every "adjust the scores" type of combat modification feat available as well (Power Attack, Def. Attack, All-Out Attack, etc.), making him unbelievably versatile. And a maximized PL 10, too, with his brutally high Att/Def scores matching his high damage output and natural toughness.

-The biggest difference between the 2nd Edition & 3rd Edition build is that "Minions" doesn't work the same way. In 2nd, you could make them Fanatical and add "Progression" to the ranks, to make them more numerous. This allowed you to create TWO-HUNDRED NINETY-NINE MINIONS for like 19 points. It was crazy. With Skills costing more, and no "Dodge Focus" and other weird stuff I can barely remember, he comes out to approximately ten points more expensive without "Minions" being a part of the build.

SPARTAN WARRIOR
Role: Heroic Mook
PL 8 (92)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Expertise (Soldier) 8 (+8)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+6)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4 (Spartan Equipment), Fearless, Improved Critical (Spear) 1, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown, Teamwork 2

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Spear +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Sword +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Sparta)
Honor ("With This [shield], Or On It")- No Spartan would ever consider fleeing from battle- arriving home without a Shield means he dropped it to allow him to flee- a disgusting occurence.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (92)

[Jabroniville]

G
Created By: Unknown
First Appearance: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (2018)
Game Apperances: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Only
Home Country: N/A
Role: Mystery Man, Would-Be Ruler
Vague Martial Art Basis: Geokinesis, Wrestling
PL 9 (120)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Athletics 6 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+12)
Expertise (Science) 9 (+10) (Flaws: Limited to Geology)
Intimidation 2 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Fireball) 6 (+12)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Diehard, Improved Grab, Ranged Attack 4

"World Warrior" Fighting Style: Accurate Attack (Jab), All-Out Attack, Defensive Roll, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab (Grab), Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2, Improved Defense, Improved Hold, Improved Trip (Throw), Power Attack (Roundhouse), Takedown, Withstand Damage (Block)

Powers:
"G-Charging the Presidentiality Meter" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Variable- Fire Damage) (Flaws: Source- Hitting Special Moves or Wasting a Turn Being Distracted) [2]

"Special Moves"
"G-Barrier" Deflect 10 (Extras: Reflect) (Flaws: Tiring, Reduced Defenses 2) (6) -- [10]

• AE: "G-Charge" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (1)
• AE: "G-Spin Kick" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: +2 to Hit Jumping Opponents) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
• AE: "G-Impact" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: +2 to Hit Opponets Who Parried Last Turn) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
• AE: "Ground Fireball" Blast 3 (Diminished Range -2) (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
G-Charging Unarmed +12 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
G-Moves +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
G-Charging G-Moves +10 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Ground Fireball +12 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +8, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The President Of Earth)- G imagines himself to be the Godlike ruler and President of Earth, attempting to gather followers from around the world, and reform villainous people whom he simply considers "wayward souls". This involves beating the #%! out of people.
Power Loss (G-Charging)- G's Charging power-up is lost if he's knocked down by attacks.
Weakness (Predictability)- G, like all Street Fighters, cannot simply "spam" out the same attack over and over again, as the opponent will expect the attacks, and be ready for them (and a counterattack). The third time he tries the same technique (or same combo of techniques) in a short span, he will be at -2 to Accuracy, AND to his Active Defenses in that round. All will decrease by 2 every successive round the same move is done.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 7 + 13 / Powers: 12 / Defenses: 22 (120)

-.... *pinches bridge of nose in annoyance*

- OKAY, so "G" here (seriously? I haven't named a character "G" since I was sixteen and write a Self-Insert Character who was supposed to be a cool, aloof ladies' man) is one of the new Street Fighter V characters, and has a voice like Foghorn Leghorn, and has some similarities to Q from SFIII. Looking like the bastard child of Uncle Sam, Abraham Lincoln and a pimp-daddy, G is a huge, muscular geokinetic fighter... who is also somewhat made of gold. Truly insane, he acts as if he is the virtuous President of Earth, which reminds me of that quirky San Francisco character, Emperor Norton I. G attempts to recruit vicious sorts like Shadaloo, The Illuminati, Necalli & Akuma, seeing them as "wayward brethren" rather than enemies.

-The character seemingly comes from a rejected idea for SFIV and the early stages of SFV- a "Fighting President". His assumptions of Godhood might come from him being some sort of living embodiment of the Earth itself. And his secondary costume, a trenchcoat with a mask, gives off a vibe similar to Q- something replicated in his normal moves, including a drop kick and crouchy heavy kick, both of which resemble Q's applications of the same.

-Fighting Style: G is based around being a long-limbed fighter with a lot of very quick strikes, but you only get the most out of him when he "G-Charges", a semi-distracting power-up that has three levels to it- when fully-charged in his "Presidentiality Meter" (yes, really), his attacks blaze with fire and do more damage. This is a bit tricky to reflect in M&M terms, where it would be debilitating to require him to waste turns, as in the game, you can typically do it after Special Moves have hit. So I gave it a simple Flaw making it Source-based, requiring either hitting moves OR wasting turns with a Distracting charge-up. He also loses it if he's dropped by attacks.

-I would typically make characters like him PL 8, but his Power-Up-based fighting style made me go for more of a PL 7.5 baseline, boosting up to PL 8.5 offensively with the G-Charging. He's not really idealized defensively, either, being about PL 8.5.

[Ares]

I'll have to disagree with Jab about the Kung Fu Panda films. They're frankly some of my favorite films ever, and were apparently so popular in China that the Chinese governmental body dealing with culture and media held a meeting to figure out why they can't make movies to that extent (hot tip China: your form of government might not be the most conducive to creative freedom of expression).

To me, the humor was never annoying, the voice acting was spot on, the animation was great, the fight scenes were amazing, the characters each had some flavor to them, often with more depth than you'd expect, and the stories were often simple but entertaining. As a trilogy of films, they all work really well together.

The thing I liked about Po was that he did legitimately work hard to accomplish what he did. His "Chosen One" status didn't really have anything to do with great potential or the like. In fact, the reason he's able to figure out martial arts moves so quickly is because he's clearly a walking encyclopedia of kung fu lore, and is basically just getting the physical training that allows him to put what he knows to practical use. The key difference between Po and Tai Lung is that Po is humble where Tai Lung is proud. If anything, Po is too down on himself, but he keeps trying to improve himself now that he's in a position to do so. Tai Lung feels that he's perfect, that he should be the Dragon Warrior, and that pride pushes him to anger when he doesn't get what he wants.

I also never got the feeling Po became a martial arts master over the course of a day. Given the montage he had, I figured it had to take place over several days at least. It clearly took Tai Lung a while to get from that prison to the valley. I figure he was training at least as long as Luke did during Empire Strikes Back.

There was also some nice character work in the film. Po admits that he eats when he's upset, and naturally he's upset when people he admires treat him poorly. But after Shifu accepts and trains him, and he gains some actual martial proficiency, when he finally gets the food reward he was promised, he simply smiles and says "I'm not hungry". It's a simple statement, but it says volumes. Likewise, there's that moment where Shifu admits to Tai Lung that he was a failure as a father, that he should have done more, and apologizes to him. There's this heartbreaking moment where Tai Lung struggles with that, and you can see that part of him wants to forgive Shifu. But if he does that, then the years he spent in prison would basically be for nothing, his pride would be for nothing, so he taps into his anger and just pushes forward. It's a few little moments that get a lot of mileage.

I also think the balanced Shifu and the Furious Five's personalities just right. Sure, they could have made Shifu even more of an unlikable hardass and made the Five actively despise Po more, but these characters are all suppose to be heroes. And rather than do the cliche of "the popular heroes are actively evil douche bags", they allowed the Five to be genuine heroes who are initially just kind of put off that this unskilled outsider got something they had all been working for. After they get to know Po, they like him for his friendly personality, his persistence, his general nice attitude and humor, etc. You get a few nice moments where Mantis draws some parallels between the two of them, with Mantis having been judged by his size, but in the opposite direction. Even Tigress, the one who is initially the least kind to him, is shown to have some justification for it. It helps them be believable as a group of admirable heroes who Po is going to be a part of in Films 2 and 3.

Overall, the film is about a lot of things, from not being blinded by your prejudices or your pride, that power doesn't come from a magic scroll, it comes from you and the work you do, to knowing not to taunt the most dangerous martial artist in China, prison or no prison. So yeah, I love these movies.

[Ares]

G

- OKAY, so "G" here (seriously? I haven't named a character "G" since I was sixteen and write a Self-Insert Character who was supposed to be a cool, aloof ladies' man) is one of the new Street Fighter V characters, and has a voice like Foghorn Leghorn, and has some similarities to Q from SFIII. Looking like the bastard child of Uncle Sam, Abraham Lincoln and a pimp-daddy, G is a huge, muscular geokinetic fighter... who is also somewhat made of gold.

. . . . seriously, what the Hell, Capcom?

[RainOnTheSun]

I can't even look at G without hearing it in my head.

"President of the world, President of the world! President of the world, President of the world!"

[Spectrum]

Yeeeeah, G is definitely a Captain Ethnic. A little odd looking at one from the inside.