namuwonderling's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hagniss Shorts - Void]

I initally saw this via the YouTube recommended page, and it was like love at first sight; in the sense that this short was stellar from start to finish.

Where do I even begin? The featured characters are awesome - their appearances nail the basic guidelines of strong character design to a T, and the VAs assigned to each one perfectly encapsulate their vibes. I adore Hagriss' silly whimsy energy, Leonard's attitude is perfectly executed, and Magis is like a budget Caine (but in a really good way).

The animation's well done, too! For being mostly an animatic, the 3D background and small details - like Hagriss' brief second of smooth lipsync - gives the short an air of quality that most animatics inherently lack. And that's not even mentioning the humor; the way the characters interact with each other lays down the foundation for some neat comedic moments that appeals to my sense of humor a lot.

Lastly, the artstyle. Something about it envokes the feeling of watching a cartoon from the early 2000s, doubly so with the sublime choice of music during Hagriss' introduction and the end credits; the latter especially. That "spider with a skull on its back" track from bagel fanclub goes hard.

Overall, this short is amazing! It's achieved a similar thing to Macabre1031's Necro Nancy 64 series, where it greatly appeals to the viewer at first watch - and in some cases, is appealing enough to spawn a new hyperfixiation; which I may or may not have gotten from reading the Hagriss webcomic after watching this.

I am very eager to see where Hagriss' story unfolds from here. To reference a scene from The Phantom Menace, "I will watch your career with great interest".

[why do you do that]

This appeals to my sense of humor a lot; Droopy repeatedly slapping her minion got me chuckling from start to finish, like those "subtle foreshadowing" memes that've been blowing up, recently.

[Pickle Collab]

This collab was amazing, to put it simply. I enjoyed the overall humorous vibes of the other participants' submissions - especially some of the animations at the end; few of 'em gave off early 2000s internet animation auras, which I personally like.

The intro to this collab was also goofy af. Reminded me of the In Loving Memory bits at the end credits of every Smiling Friends episode.

Simoes1000 responds:

My animation was inspired by that meme of the monkeys dancing to the music from the end credits of Super Mario World.

[NECRO-NANCY 64: Spooky House]

This animation has singlehandedly reignited my love for Halloween (and has given me a new hyperfixiation, lol).

There is not much that I could seriously criticize here. I love everything about this; from the Nintendo 64 aesthetic and ambience; to the charming music; the dialouge and humor between the different characters.. It all comes together to form a modern-classic deserving of praise.

And that's not even mentioning the voice acting, too! The voices for Remwick, Ghoulia, the mini Grim Reaper and Spooky - in particular - really nail the vibes given off by their respective character designs; Spooky especially perfectly captures the spirit of a goofy villain in an equally goofy world.

Even the more subtle moments in this animation do a great job at breathing life into the characters, like how Necro-Nancy mentions sonething about each of the items she has in her inventory whilst scrolling through them - the beep-boop sounds used in those sections has a really nice touch to it.

Not to mention how it feels like you're actually watching footage of an old videogame, with all the little clues and hints the game's environment gives out to Nancy (or the player) as she navigates Spooky's lair - like how Ghoulia gives a context clue on how to get through one of the house's later obstacles in a way that isn't super obvious or hand-holdy.

I could go on and on about how much I enioyed this animation - probably long enough to make a whole analysis video about it one day - but I'm really glad I took the time to check it out.