Yes, I watched videos on a Christmas special in the middle of January. You can't tell me what to do. :P
As much as I love Phelous and agree with most of his criticisms about this movie, I disagree with some of the points he made about its antagonist, Mr. Girthmore.
For example, Phelous seemed annoyed by the constant jokes about him being "large," even when Girthmore himself was the one making them. If Girthmore had been sensitive about his weight and the other characters still made jokes about it, then I would say "Dude, Not Funny!" But the fact that he actually enjoys it and makes those jokes about himself... to me, that makes him hilarious. How often do you see people boast about being Fat Bastards? It's so ridiculously over-the-top. I love it.
Another complaint that Phelous and our YMMV page brought up was that he comes across as a Designated Villain. He's just a shopkeeper who sells things. It's his job. I kinda get what the movie was going for: a Take That! against the commercialization of Christmas. I like this idea because I think that that concept should be criticized. However, they could have gone about it differently to make Girthmore genuinely evil. They could have made him the Corrupt Corporate Executive of a department store instead of a small business owner who dreams of owning a department store. They could have made it so that he knows the Little Light is alive, and that it brings Christmas spirit, and he wants to stop it from teaching people the true meaning of Christmas so he can enforce his commercialization on everyone.
Finally, it seems like people are mixed on whether or not Girthmore's songs are annoying. Personally, I'd say they're So Bad, It's Good at worst. I love Villain Songs, and I think Girthmore's two songs are likable even if only because they're so over-the-top, like everything else about him.
EDIT: This is unrelated to Girthmore, but I actually like how the film uses ice sculptures during the opening narration. I thought that was a genuinely creative idea.
Other than that... yeah, I agree with pretty much all the criticisms that other people have given.
WesternAnimation In defense of Mr. Girthmore (but not entirely)
Yes, I watched videos on a Christmas special in the middle of January. You can't tell me what to do. :P
As much as I love Phelous and agree with most of his criticisms about this movie, I disagree with some of the points he made about its antagonist, Mr. Girthmore.
For example, Phelous seemed annoyed by the constant jokes about him being "large," even when Girthmore himself was the one making them. If Girthmore had been sensitive about his weight and the other characters still made jokes about it, then I would say "Dude, Not Funny!" But the fact that he actually enjoys it and makes those jokes about himself... to me, that makes him hilarious. How often do you see people boast about being Fat Bastards? It's so ridiculously over-the-top. I love it.
Another complaint that Phelous and our YMMV page brought up was that he comes across as a Designated Villain. He's just a shopkeeper who sells things. It's his job. I kinda get what the movie was going for: a Take That! against the commercialization of Christmas. I like this idea because I think that that concept should be criticized. However, they could have gone about it differently to make Girthmore genuinely evil. They could have made him the Corrupt Corporate Executive of a department store instead of a small business owner who dreams of owning a department store. They could have made it so that he knows the Little Light is alive, and that it brings Christmas spirit, and he wants to stop it from teaching people the true meaning of Christmas so he can enforce his commercialization on everyone.
Finally, it seems like people are mixed on whether or not Girthmore's songs are annoying. Personally, I'd say they're So Bad, It's Good at worst. I love Villain Songs, and I think Girthmore's two songs are likable even if only because they're so over-the-top, like everything else about him.
EDIT: This is unrelated to Girthmore, but I actually like how the film uses ice sculptures during the opening narration. I thought that was a genuinely creative idea.
Other than that... yeah, I agree with pretty much all the criticisms that other people have given.