#25: Castle in the Sky/Devilman Crybaby/Smash Bros. Switch Announcement

We celebrate reaching the 25-episode milestone (Technically more if you count the broken-up and bonus episodes, but whatever) with a healthy variety of topics.  First, we talk our thoughts on the surprise announcement of the next Super Smash Bros. game and the obligatory newcomer guesses that come with every new entry in that series, and also briefly say our overall opinions on the recent Netflix hit Devilman Crybaby - though we avoid spoilers as best we can, since John intends to give the show its own episode someday.

But the bulk of this episode is devoted to what has become our mutual favorite Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki film and John's favorite anime film in general, the 1986 classic Castle in the Sky.  We discuss the film's well-thought out world-building, wonderful sense of pacing, the balance of great comedy and emotion, and single out some of the best characters and voice performances (Spoilers: Mark Hamill and Cloris Leachman are our MVPs).  We also close out with some observations on Miyazaki himself and his ideals, some bonus praise for Mark Hamill, and how this movie even influenced the Rabbids of all things. And that best-animated shot John mentions wanting to make a GIF of? Check the Facebook page, because he did just that.

Timestamps:
2:20 - Super Smash Bros. Switch speculation
19:05 - Devilman Crybaby overall thoughts (No spoilers)
32:07 - Castle in the Sky (Spoilers)

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Watch John's grandma watching The Avengers for the first time: https://youtu.be/YnDE22Sr1QQ
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#24-B: Laika Animation Retrospective

Rather than another series, Chris had the idea to do our first ever look back at an individual studio's body of work this time! We discuss all four of Laika's stop-motion features in depth, including not just our opinions on their quality and our favorite moments, but general observations on the unique and even bold touches they bring to their creepy, risque, progressive, and even heartbreaking stories and characters.

Fair warning that we seriously spoil all of these films' stories, and we'll say right now that they're all worth a look if you haven't watched them (Cases like this are why we include timestamps). Highlights include what makes Coraline one of the creepiest family films of the modern era, a lot of overall praise for ParaNorman, what makes BoxTrolls a good but lesser film in our eyes, and different opinions on Kubo's bold and bittersweet ending.

(Much like the first half, sorry for the audio issues with Chris in this recording.)

06:48 - Coraline
24:23 - ParaNorman
48:19 - The Boxtrolls
1:02:34 - Kubo and the Two Strings

Show email (Send feedback and requests here): sketchwatchplay@gmail.com
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#24-A: Black Panther

In a move that will likely surprise no one, the whole recording of Episode 24 turned out super long.  And as we prefer to give you an episode consistently every two weeks, here's the first half, consisting primarily of John and Chris's spoiler-filled thoughts on Black Panther.  (Us reviewing a Marvel movie should also surprise no one.)  Expect talks on the film's clever integration of real-world conflicts, debates on whether or not memes belong in Marvel movies, and John's unorthodox tastes in MCU women.

You'll also want to listen to the intro for some announcements regarding social media changes, new ways to reach out to us, and the launch of a Patreon that will help support the show and let you shape future episodes.

(Also, apologies for some audio issues with Chris in this episode - We're working on it.)

03:40 - Social media announcements/Xenoblade Chronicles 2 thoughts/Chris's final thoughts on Final Fantasy XV (No spoilers for either)
10:04 - Black Panther review (Contains spoilers)

Next episode: Laika retrospective (Coraline/ParaNorman/The Boxtrolls/Kubo and the Two Strings)

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Show homepage: http://sketchwatchplay.blogspot.com/
Show email: sketchwatchplay@gmail.com
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Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/CWadeTheSequel

Check out this episode!