A lot of people know about the great movie, Beethoven, a live action movie about a fun-loving, loyal, and destructive Saint Bernard starring Charles Grodin and Bonnie Hunt. It was successful enough to spawn and least four sequels that I personally have seen, each one straying farther and farther into the oblivion of B movies. Unbearably cute puppy that turns into a huge drooling teddybear who eventually saves the day, what's not to love? Besides the subpar acting and a storyline written by [url=http://www.annointedfig.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/peta_sux.jpg]PETA[/url], the movies were excellent children's movies for their time, and to this day, I have a huge love for this breed of dog because of this movie.
However! It has recently come to my attention that there's a part of this series Universal Studios seems to have tried to sweep under the rug. Yes, I'm talking about the animated version of Beethoven, with a new, blue nosed version of our big brute who talks! I remember seeing this cartoon maybe once or twice on odd days of the week, and loving every minute of it, but now it's pretty much dropped out of everyone's minds. The most information I can find about the series is the [url=http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2010/10/15/773cce52-9e38-4ca8-af1c-38473ce9687a.jpeg]VHS[/url] releases that are well over ten years old. I figure now is a good a time as any to give anyone who cares to read a little introduction to this series, which, in spite of many flaws, hold true to the values and humor of the original movie from which it spawned.
Theme Song:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBhvpnhzQcU[/media]
So you click on this link and what's the first thing that greets you? [i]Besides shitty VHS rip quality...[/i] I'll tell you what greets you--the absolute worst attempt at theme music you've ever heard. The youtube user [url=http://www.youtube.com/user/CoffieDog]Coffiedog[/url] (who seems to have turned this Swiss mastiff into an idol) has politely separated all of his videos of the series AWAY from the opening, which if you value sanity, works in your favor. I'm still unsure if they were intentionally making fun of the funk-influenced rock style of the movie, or if they hired [url=http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/837/837432/shatner-angry-over-trek-snub-20071123034749743.jpg]William Shatner[/url] to produce it. If you don't like the music, [u]run[/u]. It only gets worse as you continue to watch. Instead, focus your attention on those big soft, extremely choppy VHS quality (Okay okay I'll stop...) Saint Bernard eyes. All-in-all, you can already see that the simple, easy to love personality that so characterizes the Bernards in real life comes alive in this cartoon, and if you're willing to give the lackluster animation the benefit of the doubt, read on.
Episode 1: The Experiment
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbZfEkXHjxQ&feature=related[/media]
"My dog ate my science project, the oldest excuse in the book."
From the very beginning, if you are familiar with the original movie, you can see distinct similarities. The obsession with drool, a father who probably beats his kids off camera, and a household that doesn't know diddly-shit about dog training. The wonderful thing about animation is it takes the bite out of life, and apparently out of everyone else too. Now, Beethoven is even more of a goofball, even more adorable, and, if it's even possible, even less well behaved! Beethoven the movie held a underlining theme warning people how huge and hard to handle these dogs really are, like they should have to be realistic, but now the cartoon takes all the realism out of it and turns it into a marathon style running joke. Even if the behavioral jokes do get old, Beethoven is just too good natured to hate. Beethoven is nothing but a huge fluffy ball of love and good ol' [url=http://shanny.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/veggietales11.jpg]Saturday morning values[/url], and I'd say the animators did a good job bringing this guy to life. This cartoon shift works okay for the characters that didn't have anthropomorphic personalities to begin with, but now I want to rant about something that really jostles my drooly jowls, the people.
Episode 2: Car Trouble
[url]http://www.youtube.com/user/CoffieDog#p/u/19/R_2TrqZjI3g[/url]
"Most teenagers don't scream like deranged psychotics when they make a three point turn!"
Picture this household: A stupid, emotionally detached father married to a ditzy homemaker with three kids, and the only likable one of the group is the baby. Sound familiar? [i]At least the dog isn't a [url=http://filesmelt.com/dl/familyguy9.gif]liberal atheist douchebag.[/url][/i] There wasn't too much depth to run on in the original movie actors, but at least Ted isn't a mock-up Dexter. Forget the cute moment when Ted flexes his muscles in the mirror, forget Ryce's boy issues, forget innocent Emily. If the animators really wanted to do the series a favor, they should have scrapped the names and started over; that little link with reality puts a huge damper on the fun of this animation. As if the personalities weren't bad enough, the animation literally hurts my eyes--whoever designed Alice needs a lobotomy. No longer is the dad a frustrated guy trying to get ahead in life, now he's just a dick. The stereotypes are so strong, so pungently foul, it makes the whole animation a little embarrassing to watch. The only, and I repeat, ONLY redeeming quality about these stereotypes is the dogs, which, come to think of it, should be a no-brainer.
Episode 3: The Mighty Cone-dog
[url]http://www.youtube.com/user/CoffieDog#p/u/20/IlFHML42JAM[/url]
"C'mon Sparky, no one's gonna laugh at you, I promise!"
": D"
[i]"LOL WTF"[/i]
">: <"
When it comes down to it, you have to ask yourself what's at the heart of any good cartoon? While I know there's someone out there who's a [url=http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1012/cosplaypikachulc7.jpg]diehard fan of anything from the land of the rising sun[/url] that's ready to burn me at the stakes for saying this, realism and decent stories are so far from the point of animation it's not funny. One reason why it's hard for me to write about animation; if you take away the aesthetic value of any film production and I'm left rather confused. But one thing that really shines through in this series is what makes a cartoon a cartoon--charming, cute, welcoming characters. Every once in a while, the lemon puns turn out sweetly silly, and at the end of each episode, you can see the qualities of the Saint that so many people choose them for. Beethoven makes an excellent cartoon character, and his pal's personae aren't too bad either. Sparky in particular is an absolute riot and he meshes so well with his short movie appearance it's uncanny. Now, when I watch the movie again, I'm going to hear Beethoven's voice loud and clear as I look into those big soft Saint eyes. I have to say that while it's a choppy series at best, it certainly deserves more attention that it got, if only because of one actor. Beethoven leaves a lasting impression on children, of both strong moral character, and of gentle understanding. That ladies and gentlemen, is what a cartoon is for--to illustrate characters with heart.
And Beethoven has the heart of a true gentle giant.
In closing, this is like many other western cartoons, meant for children. If you didn't grow up with the movie at least, I doubt this cartoon with hold even the slightest appeal for anyone over the age of 8. There's something liberating about nostalgia though, and I don't think memory is inherent for it either. Mindless entertainment this is not; I'm sure someone out there will find this as appealing as [url=http://files.myopera.com/Zaphira/albums/622225/naughty%20barney.jpg]Barney.[/url] There is a certain nobility about Saints that's apparent in real life, and in an off-the-wall way, nobility is what makes this cartoon special. Beethoven the animated series has charm, and if you are in the mood for a childish, heart-felt, very drooly cartoon, [B]too bad.[/B] You're only going to be able to see in through a shitty VHS to youtube rip.
Overall: 3/5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[I]A huge thanks to Coffiedog, who showed me this great series on youtube. All important actor information, as well as full episode listings, retrieved from [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_%28TV_series%29[/url][/I]
And as a final note, my single favorite episode:
Episode 4: Puppy Time
[url]http://www.youtube.com/user/CoffieDog#p/u/17/m3mJn7W5S0k[/url]
"Lesson 10, a big dog always protects the house!"
"That's not our house!!"
"Lesson 22, a big dog is always a good neighbor."
"I've created a monster..."
isn't this that shitty series of movies that every b actor starred in that plagues the counters of super markets and bargain bins across the world
and then they made an animated series out of it
[editline]16th February 2011[/editline]
"realism and decent stories are so far from the point of animation it's not funny."
so i am to assume that this
[img]http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/article/683/683333/the-super-mario-bros-super-show-volume-1-20060125034111443_640w.jpg[/img]
is better than this
[img]http://www.dca.org.uk/uploads/lg_The-Illusionist.jpg[/img]
[editline]16th February 2011[/editline]
by the way you write like the blurb on the back of the wing commander movie
and your idea of what animation should be is the same one that every weird socially maladjusted furry who can't deal with life has
Maybe if you read, you'd understand that I reviewed it as a western [B][I]children's[/I][/B] cartoon, dumbass.
Tails, I want you to realize [sp]This film sucked, they all sucked.[/sp]
Meh, I was hoping this would be a series about Ludwig Van Bethooven.
this looks fucking horrible
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.