Anime Abandon: Little Nemo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ย. 2018
- A childhood favorite... that's also an embarrassing adult memory.
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#LittleNemo #Anime #Review - บันเทิง
The ending was absolutely beautiful. And it's not odd to grow emotionally attached to a place. Many people develop emotional connections to places because they remind us of simpler, happy times. A park where you used to have picnics with your parents. A supermarket that you used to go to with your friend in order to pick up the ingredients for cookies or cake. Your old neighborhood. An old playground. A bookstore where you bought stories that stay with you to this day.
Sometimes, these places are closed, repurposed, changed beyond recognition or even destroyed. But we can draw comfort that even if those places aren't the same, or simply don't exist anymore, the memories born within them still happened. And time can't take that away.
"Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There would never be another. It changed the future, and it changed us. It taught us that we have to create the future, or others will do it for us. It showed us that we have to care for another, because if we don't, who will? And that true strength sometimes comes from the most unlikely places. Mostly, though, I think it gave us hope, that there can always be new beginnings... even for people like us."
-Ivanova
Felt fitting, the stories we grew up with and helped inspire us, and the lessons some taught us about the world and ourselves and others...and for those of us old enough to remember in this new era the places we sought these stories out, and the people we shared them with. The world has moved on from these places, but it will never fully leave behind people gathering around the camp fire or a TV...and sharing and passing on stories.
They couldve done a kick starter
One word: alzheimer's.
And I think it runs even deeper than that. While time and tide wear down all things, the memories we carry of those special places, the experiences we had, the stories we learned and enjoyed, are really not all our own. We each become living monuments and memorials to them. Walking, talking, living, breathing archives of moments and places and tales that were never seen before and may never be seen again.
Mercifully we live in an age that gives us the chance to, not hoard those memories treasures like some hoary dragon greedily squatting on it's treasures, but share them. To connect with others of similar experiences and reminisce together about those times past. To pass them on to others who will never see them first hand but in their own way keep them alive in their memories. And maybe, just maybe, we will see something new ourselves that adds to our own memories and broadens or deepens them.
Everyone has their first comic, their first movie, their first book, their first game. Everyone has that one show they watched as a kid that, while it may not be as good as they remember (or even good at all when viewed objectively,) still makes them smile even today. Everyone has their personal superhero, that one character you thought was (and perhaps still think is) the coolest and wished you could be like. Everyone has that one song they can listen to over and over and over and never get tired of. And everyone, regardless of age or background, is discovering their new "firsts" and new "favorites" every day.
For all the snark and sniping and bitching and bickering that fandoms do (and oh my don't they do it a lot) I think we owe it ourselves to not only enjoy and share the things that were special to us personally in the past but not be afraid of or out of hand dismiss the things come today. To be guides instead of gatekeepers. To give a honest and fair chance to a new show, or an upcoming reboot, or a modern entry in a long running series instead of always lamenting how "things aren't as good as they used to be." One never knows. We might not only find something in the most unlikely of places that starts a brand new good memory for us as we did back in the day, but we also might be there when someone else gets a first good memory of their very own.
And to me that's what fandom, real fandom, is ultimately about.
I couldn't have said to better myself. Bittersweet nostalgia is the lifeblood of our memories and in that regard, it never truly dies, immortalized so long as it lives on within us and in the minds of those who we share it with.
That ending, Sage... that ending brought a tear to my eye.
Shit like this is exactly why I love Anime Abandon. It's not just your average review show riffing on bad works or gushing over good ones. There are so many personal stories, comprehensive analysis of the medium and what even some of the sillier entries in it mean to it, and research on what makes all these things matter. It really makes me think and feel over things I wouldn't have expected.
...And then laugh for the outtake XD
I can't help but agree. I've shown the last ten minutes or so of his *Video Girl Ai* review to friends of mine because his speech there is genuinely moving.
Video Droid rest in peace
XD I'm so glad hat out brought that up. -_- I pulled a HENTAI MANGA out of a children's section in a Salvation Army store! I walked up to the cashier and was like, does his look like a kids book? And he answered, sure, its got cartoons on the cover. -_- the cover had big boobed demon chicks surrounding a dude. So, I OPENED it and SHOWED him and LOW AND BEHOLD.... TENTACLE HENTAI! XD The look on his face was PRICELESS and he learned that day that.... -_- you should NEVER judge a book by its COVER! Granted, there were those busty demon chicks wearing skimpy outfits but... :D they were just cartoons! You know!.... -_- for KIDS. *falls over
Jesus Christ
bullshit
wow... too mutch :D
What a freaking dumbass. xD "it's got cartoons on the cover"...people are so braindead it's scary.
@@GribbleGob
I worked at Goodwill for a bit in 2008 - 2010. Can confirm that a lot of those folks who work in places like that are...unfamiliar...with hentai. They think it's all like that 'Naroootooo' and 'Dragon's Balls' (yes, I have heard them called that by older folks in Louisiana). They have NO idea that those little 'backwards asian books' are not necessarily all for kids.
The whimsy shotgun bit murdered me XD
almost murdered Sage too.
The marshmallows sold that bit hard!
I hope Sage knows he's never going to get rid of that glitter. Glitter is the herpes of arts and crafts.
I still find craft-herpes stuck in my clothes and I haven't used that shit in years.
The happiest day of my life came when my boss told me to dispose of any glitter I could find at work.
I'm just glad I'm not the only one who calls it glitter-herpes XD
Jivetalkin13 I've been saying that too ever since Demetri Martin joked about it in a local standup show, because it's so ridiculously true! That shit never goes away!
I used to work for a Christmas decor company. Left almost 3 years ago. I still randomly find glitter on my clothes.
Ok let me level with you for a sec. I love this movie. It's one of my most precious childhood movies, one of the most watched till late teenage years actually. Here's why - I owned an actual vcr, and I had this movie on a VHS tape (i still do). And version on VHS was a lot, and I mean, a LOT shorter, than what is now available online and on DVD. They cut a lot of unneccessary padding (the whole "stealing pie" tie-in, that makes me mad - because when I watched Nemo wake up from being cornered, and runs down to the kitchen, the sign on the fridge door "Remember your promise" with a symbol of the forbidden door's key, it made me literally shiver, it was so powerful; Nightmare King talking to his minions, the whole "comedic" flight Nemo and Flip went on around the city), and left all the really climactic and dark stuff - it went a lot smoother. I admit, i watched the online version, presented in this review, and I could not believe how outstretched and awfully paced the full version was. Still, it's an important movie to me, and I'll remember it dearly.
I also own the VHS copy, and I didn't even realize it was a cut down version. So many of the scenes Sage showed and talked about were scenes I've never seen. I guess I'll have to go hunt down and watch the uncut version of Little Nemo now, even if it's probably a weaker film than the VHS one I know and love. Thanks for the info.
I could be remembering this wrong, but as someone who watched the old VHS version over and over and over and over as a child to the point that I could quote the entire movie line for line, the only part of substance that was cut from the VHS release was the part riiight after Icarus makes all the annoying sounds in Nemo's room with the Boomps, where it's explained that if Nemo uses the scepter he will literally die. Other than that the VHS version was much better paced and missing a lot of the scenes that slow it down and serve no purpose.
BTW The evil nightmare goop was one of the 3 things of my childhood that filled me with absolute unadulterated terror. Along with the Nightmares King's line of "IS THAT ALL YOU CAN REMEMBER!?!?!" Nightmare Kings was a terrifying bamf to little Me.
Just found it funny how you said you had a vcr.”I owned an actual VCR.” Just struck me as funny.
It's not an online version, perse, it's just the more theatrical cut, I believe, the VHS version cut for ratings reasons in the U.S., which is odd, considering what's cut doesn't really add a huge amount of material that would be objectionable, except maybe the demons getting killed by Nightmare King's abyss suction. But either way, it's a film that I'd say is more experience than story.
Dude I had the VHS too and I straight up didn't know about all these extra scenes until I watched in on youtube!
I was stoked to see both Nightmare entities used again when Nemo and the goblins head back into the Nightmare Land. :D
It's sad. To survive so many obstacles that took down bigger stores, only to fall to something no amount of smart business decisions could prevent.
There used to be a store in my town called 'Collectibles Unlimited'. I say 'used to' even tho it's still around kuz it's just not the same store anymore. It once housed decades worth of gathered comics, collectible cards/figures etc and other things. One fire destroyed it all. You can still see the empty space between the other stores that all used to be one building. While I had some special moments there, my connection is not as powerful as yours to that store. Yet, I still understand the sadness of watching something you know is a very special thing suddenly lose to a quirk of life and disappear.
I got shivers from the Trigun reference
There's actually an earlier film adaptation of "Little Nemo" and made a huge impact on the animated world. How you may ask? Well being made in 1911, that was the first character animated film ever made! And on top of that, it was made by Winsor McCay, who did the original comics. He also did "Gertie the Dinosaur" and "the Sinking of the Lusitania", both of which are also landmarks of animation history, with the latter being the first animated documentary/propaganda film ever.
When I heard "Anime's favorite grumpy grandpa" I immediately thought of Yoshiyuki Tomino.
No Tomino is more of uncle jack of anime.
he's the cynical uncle.
@@otakon17 that's what I meant he's the uncle jack of anime.
Really? I immediately thought of Hayao Miyazaki
I understand your feeling about Video Droid closing. Movie Scene, a video store that was in my neck of the woods, closed down in 2005 when I was 12 years old. My parents rented from there almost every week. I saw many titles that I've since forgotten the name of and will never see again. It's one of those places where I have the earliest memories of being amazed by the amount of movies it had. Shortly before it closed, they were selling off some of their movies to liquidate their assets. I have one, a Brandon Lee flick. I'd share a picture but TH-cam doesn't do that. And it's the only memento I have of that place. I'd say it's ridiculous for a 12 year old to be upset about it, but it hit me hard. Where was I going to rent out cheesy 80s horror movies? Where was I going to find the international movies? To this day, the doors of what used to be Movie Scene still have the logo on them. And though I know it won't last forever, I hope it doesn't go away soon. 13 years later and I still look at the logo and remember the fun weekends I would have. I enjoyed the video, Sage. I had dreams about the movie, ironically enough, as a kid. Keep it going. And be kind, please rewind.
Your tribute to Video Droid brought back fond memories of a local video store that I grew up with in my hometown - Jim's Video. The guy who founded it was a Vietnam draft dodger who made his way to Canada. I had many great memories of renting loads of VHS tapes and just loitering around the horror section which scared the crap out of me when I was between 8-11 years old. But I do remember finding out that they had the first "Kingdom Hearts" game, I bolted back home to bug my parents for some cash and ran back in to pick up the game within the span of 20 minutes. XD It was also the place where I first rented my first anime film - "Spirited Away". Sadly, it has been out of business since 2007 (the owner has since opened up a freelance video transfer service and music lessons) and the other rival video store in town - Super Video (which I worked for for a few years) never gave me the same warm attachment that Jim's did and it too went under around 2013. (However, this was much due that the owner was old and cheap (the building did not have proper air conditioning so it was unbearable to work in the late summer, and the landlord did not give a crap about building repairs when clearly there was some big visible problems), and he did not adjust his rental prices for a longer span of days, but rather sticking to expensive one day video rentals.)
Sure, having digital streaming is great and affordable in this day and age, but I genuinely miss the days of video rental shops dearly.
Growing up as a child my small town had three rental stores and the library to pick up movies from. If one store didn't have something we went to the other one to see what they had. As the years went on the stores disappeared one by one, until there was only the public library left to take movies out. As adult I moved to the city, there was only ever one really good rental store that I went to frequently, they had everything, it was amazing. They had all kinds of Documentaries, foreign films, and yes the back room full of dark anime films. But as the years went by, just like in my childhood, the store grew smaller as it had to give up space to make up for rent. In the end the store was half the size it was when I first started going there. It's closed now and a Cafe moved in. Now I go to the Public Library to see what they have, because nothing can replace the feeling of getting a physical copy of a movie that you can't find for sale or online. So check out your local library one day, maybe you'll find some nostalgia there.
Say what you will about the action onscreen being a whimsy assault of the senses, but some of the animation towards the beginning of the film is just maddeningly smooth and complex.
Oh right. I remember seeing this way back when I was a wide-eyed idealist kid. I was in total awe with the gorgeous animation. It still looks amazing today. That Slumberland song stuck with me all these years and because of nostalgia.
Speaking of which, I started to get a little teary eyed thinking back to happier times around when I first saw this film. Everything seemed so much simpler and brighter back then. Plenty of trips to video stores, renting movies and video games and spending weekends enjoying them. A store may be closed and the building long since torn down but the memories, emotions and connections made because of them will last as long as we can remember them. That's the true beauty of nostalgia.
Ah, the original Winsor McCay Little Nemo were all amazing, but there have only been rare and meager collections. A few years ago, there was an attempt to update the concept with "Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland," and despite what you may be dreading, it actually worked really well. It's focused almost entirely on the adventures in Slumberland of a brand new Nemo (it's his middle name) who's been appointed the play-pal of the princess of Slumberland, and the mischief and whimsy they encounter. It manages to capture the spirit of the original comic strips really well while being a smooth read for a modern audience. It's definitely a great book to give to kids to get them into comics, and it's great for adults looking to recapture fleeting feelings of childhood. I'm still holding out for a follow-up at some point, 4 years on...
Wasn't that a new series though, helmed by Gabriel Rodriguez? www.idwpublishing.com/little-nemo-return-to-slumberland/
I 100% understand the feeling of being emotionally attached to a place. Where I previously lived we had a bookstore I'd visit frequently - shopping, looking at new releases, just to say hi to the very kind owner. They shut down about a year after I moved. I think the owner was looking to retire anyway, but still.
There was also a casual restaurant my family and I went to a lot, basically a burger joint without clowns and creepy kings and they served the most basic comfort food. It was so simple but we'd been going there since I was a kid and they shut down this year due to the pandemic.
The animation of Little Nemo look so fluid that some people might mistaken it for a Western animated film, not to mention the character faces of Little Nemo look almost nothing like the usual anime faces of that time, before, then and even now.
This hit so close to home for me. One of the few Xmas Polaroid pictures I have from my childhood is me holding up Little Nemo game cartridge for the NES, one of my first video games I ever owned. My brother and I also had a favorite mom-and-pop video store we would bike to weekly to rent new games. Sadly, they went under back in the 90's during the growth of Blockbuster and Hollywood video. It just last year when I discovered that the owner of the same store worked at the same corporate office I do now, and I was almost overwhelmed with emotion when we happened to meet face to face for the first time in decades. I was so amazed I would catch up with a bit of childhood nostalgia I thought I could never touch again. I have watched almost every episode of Anime Abandon, and this one is now my favorite. Great thanks to the Anime Abandon crew!
*_HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON???_*
Oh wait...wrong movie...
SWIM THROUGH THE RINGS!
Your son, Chico?
Here’s to my video store, Video Bonanza. You’ve given me some of my collection’s best titles (Techno Police 21-C, Cowboy Bebop, His and Her Circumstances, Samurai Chicks, and The Tale of Princess Kaguya to name a few). When all the FYEs closed shop or stopped carrying quality titles, you’ve been there. When I wanted to start collecting anime, you sold me my first rare VHS tapes, When I wanted to buy older video games from a long forgotten era for friends, you came through.
You’re still here, and I hope never to take you for granted.
And here’s to Video Droid. Though I never knew you, may your memories never fade.
Once in my anime obsessed days, I and a friend went from rental store to rental store searching for anime, and we found in the kids' section such anime as "Fist of the North Star," "Golgo 13," and other classics that would inspire an anti-anime lynch mob. My friend got so angry I had to calm him down, show the titles to the clerk and politely explain why they wouldn't want to put those in the Kids' section.Still angry, my friend decided to get the Canadian video classification guidelines, just so he can show them how off they were. What he got was not a pamphlet, but a three inch (at least) binder of legalese which he bravely tried to navigate. Eventually, he got to a section which he claimed you could either use the 3 inches of legalese to determine the category (adult, kids, restricted, etc.), or use a "community guideline" and classify the titles yourself.
Did you see Golgo 13 Queen Bee
No, I saw "The Professional," but I remember it as Golgo 13, just to better separate it from the live-action movie.
@Brandon Roberts Yea, think of the children(i.e. me) who saw Watership Down and anything by Ralp Bakshi. Pity the parents who didn't know that not all animation is for children. Bambi's mom, Little foot's mom, and Simba's dad ain't got nothing on mauled, natural death, and suffocating rabbits.
🎵Bright Eyes🎵:,(
I felt the same way about the Hollywood Video down the street from my childhood home. We picked up dvds and video games to rent there all the time when I was little. It closed around the same time we moved houses and passing by both my childhood home and the rundown Hollywood Video building always fill me with nostalgia and sadness. I remember picking up PS2 games with my brother and we'd go back home to play them until it was time to return it and pick out some more. It was the store that introduced me to a video game that I still hold near and dear to my heart, Kingdom Hearts (which isn't perfect, I know, but I will never drop because of how it was a part of my childhood), and I'll never forget the day I picked it up for the first time. It's not silly at all to feel sad about something that played such a big part in your life and even shaped you into the person you are today. RIP Video Droid, you were the best of the best and you'll be missed
The art makes me think of the western cartoons like the Sword and the Stone.
It's a good thing Little Nemo is anime
It’s based on a pre-existing western property.
TMS is very good at that western aesthetic.
But there's PLANES! So naturally Hayao worked on it LOL. Hayao likes planes, so to does Nemo!
@@theblocksays but did he like the pixar movie Planes?
That ending pulled my heart strings. I still feel nostalgic and a sense of long when I walk through the magazine isle of a grocery store or pharmacy since that is where I would browse for comic books as a child yet sadly due to the speculator boom and the bubble bursting, Diamond no longer distributes in those locations. It just makes me sad not only for myself but for new comic readers since many of them are missing out on great stories and amazing art.
Just like Phelous and Lupa's reviews, another probably superior version of a review than Nostalgia Critic.
I empathize with your feelings about your local video rental closing. There were a couple of places in my town as well that introduced me to media that I otherwise might not have known about. For example, my first exposure to Transformers Generation 1 was through a VHS that I rented from Village Video in Chester, NJ. And it was through my local Blockbuster that I was able to enjoy films like Cube, Event Horizon, and John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy. It's an experience that unfortunately can never be recreated. Just browsing the shelves, happening upon a title that looks interesting, and deciding to take it home and give it a watch. The stores had their own atmosphere too. films playing on the monitors overhead, so you spend as much time watching the film that they're playing as you do deciding what to take home. The whole thing had a very calming, homey feel to it, and I think the most safe and mentally stable I have ever felt is at those stores.
I saw this movie as a kid and remembered so little of it... but the one scene that really freaked me out was when Nemo came downstairs to the kitchen, trying to get his mother's attention while she completely ignores him. Then he opens the front door and sees a train heading straight for them (or something like that). That scene was so eerie to me. So much of this movie was really spooky for a little kid...!
Sage posts a video -> DROP EVERYTHING!!!
4:16 - Ah you're looking at the full version, I never got that version only this trimmed down one on VHS.....that had the opening theme playing during this part and trimmed a bit of scene fat....y'know I think I lucked out in hindsight.....
7:43 - Yeah even as a kid I caught on to that little scamp.....and I still have that LittleFoot plushie all these years latter.....
9:40 - Oh sweet Primus, that is probably the funniest joke this show has made yet XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD
13:38 - Ah yes, before the Kameyhameyha, there was Shazama Pajama....I had a boring childhood.....
15:50 - Ah yes, before everyone from Belle to Integra, there was Camille....I had a sad, boring childhood.....
20:33 through 23:06 - And this is why I love this channel. Also that bit with the erased mural really got under my skin there, that's just wrong.
Man, that ending got heavy. I certainly understand your sentiment. The town I grew up in had this little place called the Korner Klub, which was an arcade and roller rink for kids. I vividly remember going there as a little kid, but unfortunately, the place shut down in the mid-90s. I’m guessing with the rise of home video game consoles, less kids were playing in arcades and at the time, roller rinks were starting to go out of style as well. It’s amazing how when the times change, we lose things precious to us...
Now, with that out of the way, oh my God, you reviewed Little Nemo! Honest to God, Little Nemo is “technically” the first anime I ever watched...and boy do I wish I could not make that claim. I absolutely HATED it and hilariously, so did my sisters, including my older sister who I’d consider almost as much as an Oldtaku as I am.
As for our reasons for hating it, well...for starters, we all hated Nemo. He was such an annoying little shit that none of us could stand him. I get it, he was trying to embody the spirit of a kid growing up in the early 20th Century...but we all thought that Nemo was portrayed as too innocent and naive. Secondly, we all thought the story made no fucking sense. I watched Little Nemo about three or four times and honest to God, it made less sense every time I watched it. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it when I watched it as a little kid and the last time I watched it as a high schooler (watched while babysitting), it made even less sense to me.
It wasn’t until years later when I found out why. As a kid, I didn’t realize this movie went through production hell. This movie is very much a reflection of the production process...it was messy and no one knows what the hell was going on.
I think looking back on it, Little Nemo had the “potential” to be good. I think what really ruined this movie was, as funny as this sounds, the “awake” sections...or more specifically, how Slumberland was somewhat of a pseudo reflection of what was happening in Nemo’s reality. If the movie just focused more on Nemo’s imagination coming alive as he dreamed instead of trying to make it about a “life lesson,” I think the movie would have been far better off. Well, it would also have been better if Nemo would have turned the “yippees and wowies” down from a 10 to a 4...as well as eliminating that completely annoying, worthless ass flying squirrel. Also take out a few useless musical sections and I think we have a decent flick on our hands...maybe. Idk...I could honestly dissect Little Nemo all day and still not come close to all of the things it could have done better.
I've never seen this movie. I think if the creators of this had had a true collaboration rather than a rotating door shoot through it, it could have been a fascinating thing. Considering what it was the animation looks phenomenal, I kind of want to watch it just for that. I feel bad for the people involved, it must have been a stressful process... especially for those who had pushed for it in the beginning. Wonderful review!
every time i watch something of yours it brings me back to my childhood, the way you theme the whole anime abandoned series is great, it makes it nostalgic or at least for me i get a feeling of nostalgia, remembering my childhood and staying up late to watch "adult anime" reminds me of the good times, the stress free not a worry in the world days ill forever miss.
Damn , that ending was heartwarming and heartbreaking
I grew up on VHS and DVD
Living in small towns like Windsor, Fort Bragg, Ukiah , and Santa Rosa
The ending of this video broke my heart. And it made me super, super nostalgic!
I grew up renting all my SNES and Genesis titles from this place by my childhood home called "Video ETC." But not only that, it's where I rented movies of all kinds, from rare anime to rare film. I rented a camcorder from their shop, bought baked snacks, magazines and my first alt rock albums (Faith No More's 'King for a Day' and the EVE 6 debut). It was a family mom-n-pop shop and since my dad grew up with the husband and wife, we were given sooooo so much stuff.
It closed down when I was 13 or 14. Blockbuster was kind of the reigning champion for rentals, and a new one was built down the road. And a year after that, I got a Netflix subscription back when you rented DVD's through the mail, then fuckin' Redbox.
There was never a neat store like that since. Not in my hometown. Sure, there's a Record & Tape Traders here and there, or those neat flea market vintage game shops.
It just wasn't as cool.
Still, those memories tho
So many layers of sadness, from nostalgia, tragic losses, and what you could refer to as friends whom you lost, Sage you continue to grow and continue the best reviewer I watch
Like many here, that ending really spoke to me. It reminded me of the local video rental store where every Friday, we'd pick up a movie, maybe a game and then get pizza next door. It sadly didn't survive very long into the age of streaming services, but I distinctly remember a time where they were liquidating their old console games from the NES, Genesis, SNES and the like. I got purchased some of my favourites from back then, like Mario RPG and Donkey Kong Country 2 and they came in these distinct plastic cases with the store logo still on them. I have them to this day and will fondly remember that place.
Man the nostalgia from this one! And the feels hit hard with your tribute to Video Droid. I will always have a soft spot for video stores. From Blockbuster to Hollywood Video to West Express, those places were my childhood alongside the retailers of Suncoast and Sam Goody. I, too, own many rare and out of print titles. Times like this, I wish we could just chat about all of our old favs and the memories attached to them. Cause like you put it beautifully, and how I try to express this to my friends, my collection of anime is more than JUST the shows, but the memory of the places and times I bought them, bringing me back to the past and good (and meh) feelings associated with them. ^^
I definitely understand how you feel about being emotionally attached to a store. I recall when I was a kid and Media Play was just the best place in my eyes. Tons of manga and books, and they even had little corners that looked like bay windows with painted scenery and seats so you could sit and read, and on the wall by the window frame, they had headphones hanging and you could put them on and listen to different kinds of music depending on which window you were at. My first real introduction to manga was because of it, and I fell in love with the medium instantly. Then they were suddenly bought out and ripped apart. It broke my heart to see a place that had given me so much joy as a kid just turned into a graveyard of empty racks.
Growing up I had an emotional attachment to stores too. When Pharmore went out of business it was devastating. When Blockbuster went away that was definitely a symbol of my childhood being officially over. I can understand how much a store can mean to a person. This video was very poignant in the end and had more of an emotional connection than the movie being reviewed but that is how it can be a lot of times on Anime Abandon. Just like how an episode of the Simpsons may start a certain way then the plot takes it on a completely different tangent, so Anime Abandon starts as a review of an anime but it also takes your mind into a completely new thought direction. That's why I love these videos so much.
12:42. That Shaggy impression got me good XD
I still love this movie. When I first watched it, it was after some kind of doctors appointment, so I didn't really grasp much of it because I was so drained from the visit. I remember bits of it a few months later and then found and rewatched it. And I've lived it ever since. Thank you Sage! This was amazing
My home town was a very small place. Yet we had a this small little rental shop that had all the great SNES RPGs, which was fantastic as there was no actual shop in town that sold video games, only times I could check out releases was when drove into the bigger town nearby and checked out the EB games. Less then 9K people in that town. Yet I had access to Lufia 2, Super Mario RPG, Breath of Fire 2, Earthbound, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (Not a great, but fuck it it was there), and Ogre Battle. I was lucky that some no name town somehow had this little trove of gems on it's shelves. That's not even getting into the Non-RPGs they had, and then there was the Genesis titles. ToeJam and Earl 2, most of the sonic games, and Comix Zone.
That ending hit some familiar territory. The local video store that I had been going to since I was kid shut down in the early to mid 2000's. I loved hanging out there, playing on the arcade machines, browsing games and movies, trying to find something new I hadn't watched. It's where I watched anime movies at first, it's where I rented old Jackie Chan films and Godzilla movies. I bought a thing or two at the time and sorta helped them close up abit too when they were getting rid of things. Got a picture of the gigantic pile of VHS cases they stacked in the back when most of it was done being cleared out. 5 foot tall pile of 100's of empty VHS cases.
Gotta be honest, out of the whole Video Droid moment, the part that brought tears to the eyes was that bit about the mural, that's what really brought it home for me. And there's nothing wrong with getting emotional about a place you know and love shutting down, especially when you've known and loved it for years, and the reason for it closing is something beyond your control, or that even a community rallying together can't stop.
I remember being so let down by this movie. I'd played the game first, so I had high expectations. My whole time watching it, though, I could only think "But, but. . .the game is so good. Why is this so boring?"
I feel you on Video Droid. My favorite local rental place, Video Etc., went out of business over a decade ago. It managed to stick around for several years after Blockbuster ran everyone else out. BB may have had tons of new releases and video games for the latest consoles, but Video Etc. still rented out 8- and 16-bit games into the mid-2000s. It was awesome to be able to walk into a place that existed in largely the same state at age 25 as at age 8.
Of all of my memories of that place, like the occasional steps down across the length of the building, the Avengers arcade game, the wrestling section, and the ol' swinging saloon doors for the naughty section, my most enduring one is the _Captain Ron_ poster on the door inside the bathroom. I'm not sure why it stuck with me. I think maybe the main character of that movie kinda fit the scrappiness of that store.
RIP Video Droid, Video Etc., and all the rest. Gone, but never forgotten.
*taps wine glass*
I would like to propose a toast. To all the local video stores that gave us all we needed for Friday night: videos and video games to rent, and snacks to buy. You were our childhood hotspot for entertainment. For me, it was the one and only Blockbuster. No matter where I moved, there would always be one nearby where I lived. It was like it knew I would always need something to distract from school related stuff. Thank you Blockbuster.
I don't always comment on videos as I know I will most likely go unnoticed but this episode touch a soft spot as I know exactly what you mean when you talk preserving the memory on anime abandon. I greatly appreciate what you have done & I've been watching your content for years & will continue to do so as not only has it refresh my memory on anime good or bad but I feel I made a friend even tho we have never met. I thank you for your help through the dark times & into the future. @BennettTheSage
You can actually read Ray Bradbury's script for Little Nemo which was published in 2012 before his death, although it appears to be out of print and needs to be purchased used or read at a library.
I saw Little Nemo as a kid on VHS. I liked it at the time, but I was only 7 or 8. It's a shame how such an influential comic became forgotten over the years. It does have a flawed story and script, but its visuals and animation are amazing.
Was there online documents for Bradbury's script?
The first "family friendly" anime I ever remember watching was 'The Fantastic Adventures of Unico,' which ends with a creepy guy trying to seduce a young girl, getting impaled, then turning into a kaiju-sized demon from hell. Completely traumatized me as a kid. Even the anime that *was* made with a primarily child audience in mind still had some pretty intense stuff in it.
I hear ya.
Back in my childhood in my hometown we had Video Connection which was sandwiched between a restaurant and a computer repair shop.
Now where it stands is a pair of Gas Stations.
I don’t remember if there was any Anime up on the shelves besides Little Nemo, wasn’t really interested in Anime at the time either too.
It was also the time I was very confused when I watched Transformers the first time. The Eps on Tape was the two Parter: The Return of Optimus Prime.
I had no frame of reference with Transformers at all since was more interested in GoBots.
It was a different time back then.
Recently I was able to read the entirety of the original Little Nemo comics by Winsor McCay, and looking back at this movie, it surprisingly captured a lot of the original comic’s elements. I recognize quite a few scenes from the comics recreated in the movie, and the overall atmosphere of whimsy is fairly accurate to the comic. Even the element of Nemo waking up all the time is accurate to the comic, where he wakes up at the end of every single strip. Granted, it doesn’t fix the movie’s overall flaws in its storytelling and character, but the comic’s strength was never its story to begin with, but it’s incredible artwork. In a way, this movie is the perfect adaptation of McCay’s comic: a series of weakly connected scenes that are little more than an excuse to showcase some incredible artwork.
I received Little Nemo when I was about 5 from my grandma when was visiting. Holds a place in my heart for that reason, because she lived quite a distance away, and I never got a whole lot from her as a result.
Also, I love the brand new opening sequence. Featuring more anime that you reviewed in the past few years and even a slimmer trimmer version of your CG anime self. Definitely want the thank Th3 Engineer for the whole thing.
People tend to forget that video rental shops were something more profound than just a store. They were those places that built a community. Before I had The Waystation as a place to socialize with other nerds, I had "The Video Store" (its actual name) where i found off the beaten path films, discussed cult classics, and was a place to go to when i was bored even if i wasnt gonna buy anything. Thats what ive been missing for a long time when these places have gone under.
I remember when I was a child, my family would drive past a blockbusters on the main stretch of road, and every time I’d get excited hoping to go in a pick out a movie or maybe even game.
Needless to say it’s not there anymore, but the memories of going and renting movies with my parents and sibling are still some of the fondest I have.
My video store was Flick's video, located in The Colony, TX. I would always go there to rent anything from Warner Animation and any N64 games. One memory ill never forget, is when i was 8 years old I was riding my scooter there and as I was crossing the street, which was being repaired at the time, i tripped and fell on the gravel and really cut up my arms (still got the scar). I went in and the owner saw me bleeding and let me use his bathroom to treat my wounds.
Video Droid reminds me of my local Foodtown. The place has been there all my life, and I've known so many people who have worked there, including the manager. Then, after working there for the last three years, he called a meeting on the 9th to announce we'll be closing by mid-October. As strange as it may seem, I'll miss it dearly.
I am from a small town in southern Mexico, here my mother put a video store just like yours, it was call Videocentro, it doesn’t exist any more. I know how you feel, this place was a key on my childhood, something so important for me, my friends and family and is lost forever, we only have now the sweet memories.
07:52 - I assume that's a reference to the tragic story of Judith Barsi, so if it makes you feel any better, while Nemo IS indeed voiced by the same kid as Littlefoot, that's Gabriel Damon; Barsi played Ducky.
I'm sorry to hear you lost your video store. I can seriously relate. When my local store closed down I tried to buy anything they had that I could remember them by, but in the end I couldn't. Great review, brought back a lot of memories.
Yay a new Intro! :D
With a more active and fit Sage in it too! :D
The intro has grown with him
Not gonna lie, I will kinda miss the "SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiii..." part.
@@elpizo1789 Yeah true though
The end of this episode was very touching, Sage. I could see the affection for that local video store and sad to see another one bit the dust. It was so touching.
The whimsy gun bit killed me. It was just so fucking perfectly executed! XD
Wait why would the Voice of Littlefoot make you sad?... it was Ducky whose Father brutally murdered her in cold blood. O.o
just association with the film in general, don't even need that extra sad bit.
otakon17 fair enough. I guess it could be because Of Littlefoot’s mother. Anyone else wanna see a photo shop of her with the Stereotypical Anime mom Side braid of Doom?
@@willku9000 how dare you, too soon!
otakon17 lol. 🎶What can I say except, You’re Welcome🎶
otakon17 oh and Bambi’s mom too, maybe Mufassa
That ending was pretty moving. Considering that we’ve lost lots of places that we grew up with. Most video rental stores, Toys R Us, and the Bon Ton. Not to mention, many of us had to move to different locations, leaving behind our old neighborhoods and friends. But we try to keep the memories while moving forward.
I never had a connection to VHS rentals, except a couple of times I went to the local one with my elementary school friends and we got Jurassic Park and Jumanji. I don't even think the shop was in business for very long, just a few years. But it was in a part of town I seldom visited and every time I went by there I'd remember oh this is where the video rental was. I think the building was actually empty quite a bit after that, now its been cleared to make way for apartments. I guess I always wanted to visit it again, so what stayed with me is more this feeling of unfinished business. Anyway, maybe there's a limit to how much change a society can withstand, regardless if the global impact of any particular change is positive or negative, change has only been getting faster these past few centuries, and being 35 I feel its not really my fault I feel this constantly changing world become more foreign and distant from what I thought I knew. Maybe watching old anime is just my way of trying to deal with this unending onslaught of change.
Rest in peace, Video Droid.
Wonderful video Sage. Little Nemo always is kinda a soft spot for me because my late grandma showed it to me it may be silly and weird but I still love this film.
I have to say, a legit old school video rental store existing till 2018 is pretty amazing. Even if it's sadly no more, that type of experience died like ten years ago for most of us. Be happy they thrived so long.
I know the feeling, my friend. When my local hobby store closed, it was a sad day. Many years, many moments of joy, so much learned, good friends gone.
That ending reminded me of the video rental store I had as a kid. While its sad to think that its gone I'll never forget how much fun I used to have on a friday night thanks to that place and how much it shaped my love of video games and movies.
We also got the vhs version of little nemo from a rental store. I dont remember the name, but ours was inside a huge red barn that also had video games and a tanning booth. I mostly remember being told to sit around and wait while my mom tanned and then we could pick out a game or movie to rent when she was done. :)
love the new intro the engineer killed it and even though I never watched Little Nemo as a kid I still identify with what you said especially that bit at the end where you talked about that rental store I have many fond memories as well of stores of that nature
I remember finally getting this movie on DVD some years ago, and finding out for the first time that the VHS copy I'd had in my childhood had several scenes cut. Not very big scenes, but enough to make the connective tissue in the movie even weaker than it is in the uncut version, which honestly is kind of amazing.
I’ve been realizing lately that anime I loved in my college days, just 20 years ago, is just not watched anymore. I don’t have friends to share those memories with. Places I bought it, Tower Records, Suncoast Video, are gone. An anime shop I frequented in south Philly is gone. I saw Little Nemo in theaters. It’s a rather somber feeling. I’ve been noticing Anime Abandon a bit more now that I’ve been seeing titles I knew show up more and more. And the Video Droid segment was heartbreaking. I’ve lived in Silicon Valley for 6 years now. I wish I knew that shop. Thanks, though, for sharing some memories.
Great ending Sage. I know that feeling exactly. There used to be a store near me called Mega Media Exchange where you could buy anything from old Atari 2600 games all the way up to the latest PS4 offerings and everything in between. I always loved going in there to see if they had any N64 gems that I didn't own. Sadly they closed down a couple of years ago. Still miss going in there.
I'm with everybody else on the ending. A great idea, well executed. It brought back memories of the local video rental place my brother and I used to rent most of our games and movies from, a place called Video Mania. At it's peak, it must have had a good dozen locations around town. Sadly, though, it was an early casualty of this modern era, and it went out of business so long ago, I can't recall how many years it's been. I'm not sure the place was even around long enough to switch from video cassettes to DVD, to be honest, but between competition and the advent of things like Netflix and streaming services, the place went under, and to be honest, I miss it.
The ending was very touching. Sorry for your loss in a place that was sentimental to you. I’m originally from the Bay Area too.
Damn, dude, I’m so sorry to hear about Video Droid. Absolutely tragic that it should have to go out in such a fashion, but I’m glad you were able to make some great memories there.
I missed the old intro. Nice to see that you brought it back, Sage.
Great review of what is a personal childhood favorite of mine. I definitely can agree on some of the criticisms, especially the pacing and story flaws. I also agree on the beginning and the end being the best parts, and the overall beauty of the detail to light/shadow differences, color palette, and the visual motif that I always called 80's fantasy-ism (Bakshi, Rankin/Bass swing to mind in that description). But also there's only so much whimsy and prettiness that a movie can elaborate on before the tides of reality strike and it's clear that the project was hindered by lack of story. And for what was a feature length movie it hindered abit too much. It probably would have worked better as a hour long cartoon, cut out some of the cutesy non-important crap and even out the pacing. For example, I always was a fan of Mamoru Oshii, so when I went back to watch some older ones I may have missed out on or just never knew about I found his Gigi movie and that in the end I say had the same problem as Nemo, only Nemo was more worthwhile in the ways of better animation and the nightmare world just gave it that slight edge that the cutesy tootsy Gigi just wasn't daring enough to venture, which I thought was strange coming from the guy who gave us Avalon and Ghost in the Shell.
My bad. I thought it was Oshii, but turns out I was wrong. Gigi was made by the Director of Roots Search.
Little Nemo will always hold a special place in my heart. Has it aged well? Not really. Was the story bare bones and the characters bland? Sure. Did we watch it so often we wore the magnetic tape off of our VHS copy? Yes, yes we did.
R.I.P., video Droid... Though I never have been in the aisles of videos, I would love to thank you for being a remote inspiration for Anime Abandon
I think we still own this VHS.
My old eyes can no longer see how I saw as a child; however, I do recall some splendid visuals and a good nostalgic fuzziness in a good way.
Really digging the new intro cinematic!
I remember my video rental store, Video King. I loved that place. The smell in there, all the choices. I found quite a few of my favorite movies there that I'd rent over and over. It closed it's doors around the time I was nine or ten. I miss it
The last part of this brought back some childhood memories for me. I remember me, my dad and brother all going to the VHS rental places in my home town back in the 2000s. The place we usually go to was above a supermarket and right above the bakery so you got a whiff of freshly baked goods every time you came.
Just a block from my dad's house was an old video rental joint that I must've hit every week when I was kid. I don't remember the name, but every week I'd walk down with my dad and pick something out. My repeated rentals of My Neighbor Totoro is probably one of the cornerstones of my blossoming anime interests and drove my dad crazy (the credits song is catchy, but probably not something to hear several times over in quick succession) but a major part of of my childhood. I haven't been to that little strip mall in a long time, so I'm not sure if it's still there, but I somehow doubt it considering their stock was all VHS tapes back then.
I understand that feeling of being attached to a store. As a kid, I would walk to a nearby Blockbuster and Borders. I still get a little teary when I see used books with the Borders barcode on the back.
I grew up in a video rental store called Movie Palace, almost literally as it's where my mom worked and she'd pick me up from school and I'd stay behind the counter either watching movies or 'testing' games after I did my homework. So I certainly feel your pain Ben.
Growing up, I also watched a lot of video rentals. Little Nemo was one of them, and I rented the heck out of it.
8:28 it gets even creepier if you recall how eager and excited Morpheus was to make people sleep in The Odyssey.
OOOOOHHHHH BBBOOOOYYYYY!! Does this film bring back memories! As a small child, my parents, sister, and I would often bike to the park, play of the playground, than bike to the neighborhood video store and pick out some movies to watch as a family. While we always had enough to eat and did go to a good school, we were still pretty poor and didn't live in the best neighborhood. But it never felt that way. And films like this help me remember a simple, but fantastic childhood and, as an adult, hug and thank my parents for giving us everything despite not so good circumstances.
Fun fact: when this movie was first released in Japan, it faced some stiff competition from the movie Kiki's Delivery Service which, ironically, was directed by one of the animators who left TMS during Little Nemo's production.
This shares the same energy as when The Black Cauldron got clapped by the Care Bears movie at the box office
I love the animation
Swear, I DO!
but damn, WHY is it so uninteresting?
I wanna scream at it to be interesting.
We all feel that way. We all do.
Great. Now I want the song "Big Bluff" to be playing in Little Nemo now. Thanks Sage!
I just came here after watching your review of the fist of the north star movie. I know of the series, but I've never really watched much of it, and I was a little confused about what all the different crap was between the movie, anime, OVAs, and whatever the hell Fist of the Blue Sky is. Your video helped clear that up, so thank you.
I also wanna say, holy shit, you look a lot different. Congrats on the weight loss! I honestly wasn't totally sure I was looking at a video made by the same person for a few seconds there.
I vaguely remember owning this movie on VHS as a kid. I loved the animation and didn't think much of the plot until watching this review. Thanks for the nostalgia trip Bennett.
Certain retail stores that I used to enjoy browsing have all disappeared. So I can see the emotion in losing a beloved store.