These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uh, perhaps this joke truly is getting a bit stale by now...) Uhm, please enjoy the plushies! :-D
Showing posts with label fox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fox. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The Sweet Stuff Bunch are Here!
Here are some handmade stuffed animals from a new line I've started called the Sweet Stuff Bunch, each one representing a different sweet treat. They're now available on ebay:
Friday, September 27, 2013
Book Review: Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds by Ian Whybrow
Here's a review of the second volume in this very nifty book series.
Little Wolf is planning to open an Adventure Academy where his(late) Uncle Bigbad's Cunning College once was, and is pleased for his joke-loving cousin Yeller(named for his REALLY LOUD VOICE!*) to come join him. Unfortunately, he soon becomes doubly disappointed when not only do his parents decide not to come stay with them, but his little brother Smellybreff does. Now, LW had indicated several times in the previous book that he didn't like Smellybreff very much, and in this volume we truly see why. Smells is the most whiny, bossy, greedy, pesky, ill-mannered little brat you'd ever care to meet!(And those are just some of his good points! :-D) His parents, very obliviously however, think that Smells is cute and can do no wrong, possibly indicating that his misdeeds occur in their absence.
Eventually, LW and his friends get a call from a Mister Marvo who agrees to help them set up the attractions at Adventure Academy; unfortunately, little do they know that he's actually Mister Twister the fox, Uncle Bigbad's former business partner and master of disguise, who cubnaps Smellybreff and steals Uncle Bigbad's treasure. Now it's up to Little, Yeller, and their new travelling buddy Stubbs the crow(known for mostly saying "Ark" with a few other words, occasionally) to save the little pest. 
Along the way, they face off with a mountain lion, explore several strange towns, climb the Grim Mountains, visit a hot springs, charter a boat, and encounter a friendly(and very helpful) group of whales. Will they be able to rescue Smells and retrieve the treasue before it's too late?
My thoughts: Although this book had its interesting moments, I personally didn't think it was one of this series' stronger entries. To be fair, its purpose seemed to be mainly to establish the characters and storyline for the series in general. Out of fairness also, the crew's adventures and the locations they visit are quite interesting, and there are some good moments of character development as the crew attempt to overcome their worst fears: Stubbs' fear of flying, LW's fear of loud noises, and Yeller's fear of snow and cold weather(The latter being because the cold weakens his voice).
My only real major beef with this book was:
Mister Twister's sudden villain status; in the previous book, he was a good guy, and even warned LW not to trust Uncle Bigbad. Granted, the series did need an antagonist, but still.
Despite its minor flaws, this book is by no means terrible. In fact, it's a very good, fun, and very well-written book with many memorable characters. A must have for any Little Wolf fan.
*In this respect, he takes after Uncle Bigbad a little bit.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
U.S. Acres:Jim Davis' Lesser-Known Comic Strip
U.S. Acres was a newspaper comic written by Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, in 1986. The strip(which was known as Orson's Farm outside America) followed the wacky hijinks of several kooky farm animals. The cast consisted of the polite, intellectual pig Orson who was the strip's main character, the bossy, loudmouthed rooster Roy, the cowardly but lovable duck Wade, the feisty little chick Booker who would often try(and fail) to catch a worm, his easygoing little brother Sheldon(no relation) who lived inside an egg shell which had similar properties to Snoopy's doghouse, the friendly but not-too-bright sheep Bo(he was more of a surfer dude type in Garfield and Friends), and his grumpy sister Lanolin who would often spar with Roy.
In Garfield and Friends, the group was often antagonized by Orson's three big, nasty brothers Gort, Mort, and Wart(who had appeared in the strip previously, albeit for only the first few weeks). Orson's brothers lived on the farm next door and would often come over to Orson's farm to steal food or cause some sort of trouble.(Which they fortunately were never successful at!) Further antagonists were a weasel, a fox, and a wolf, all of whom had the same goal:to steal chickens. (Honestly, IMHO, it would've made more sense for the wolf to be stealing sheep, but there it is.)
A pair of temporary additions to the cast were Cody the dog and Blue the cat(The latter being of obvious coloration). This may be just IMHO, but it seems that part of the reason for these characters' short-lived career(although they did appear in the various kids' books) seemed to be the fact that they didn't have quite as much personality as the rest of the cast(Cody in particular didn't seem to have any personality at all other than chasing and attacking the other animals). On a related note, for unknown reasons, Cody and Blue also never appeared on Garfield and Friends. (One could possibly call them "The Lymans of U.S. Acres.")
The comic had a small fanbase, though it never became quite as popular as Davis' more famous strip, Garfield, and only ran for three years.(Although the franchise had a much longer lifespan on Garfield and Friends.)
Overall, U.S. Acres was a fun, humorous, and very nifty comic with a good, likeable cast. Despite it never having quite the popularity Garfield did, it's definetly worth a read! (Or, "worth a watch" in the case of Garfield and Friends.)
Here are a couple of my favorite strips below(although, honestly, it was hard to pick just two!):
The entire comic series has been released in book form; the books are available at the links below(some, regrettably, are a little pricey, but well worth it for any U.S. Acres fan):
For younger fans, there were also several kids' books made, which are available at the links below*:
Booker Meets the Easter Bunny
*There are also two other books in this series entitled "The Great Christmas Contest" and "A Most Special Easter Egg" which, regrettably aren't currently available on Amazon, but they do occasionally show up on Ebay.
There were also plushies made of the characters, which show up on Ebay from time to time.
Hmm...the animals in the last panel of this comic look...familiar, somehow.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Classic Cartoon Showcase:The Hound and The Rabbit
In this adorable classic, a cute little rounded bunny(whose shirt is a bit ill-fitting...perhaps he and Tubbs shop at the same place?) is pursued by a largish dog. Once the bunny sees that the dog only wants to play with him, he befriends the dog, dubbing him "Sniffy". The bunny introduces Sniffy to his friends who invite the dog to join their football game. (Love the retro leather helmets!) Presently, a hungry fox happens by with the intention of making a meal of the bunnies. Can Sniffy save his new friends? Please enjoy!
Friday, May 11, 2012
In the Lemon-Limelight:Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch
This is the first of my series of articles of underappreciated cartoons that, despite their low fanbase, are still more than worth a peek.
Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch is a cartoon series made by Hanna-Barbera in 1971. The show concerns three wacky bears living at the Wonderland zoo. The trio consists of the scheming, afro-adorned group leader Hair, the sloppy, doleful Square, and the short, gibberish-speaking Bubi. The bears would often try to flee the zoo in search of adventure, and end up being pursued by the zookeeper, Eustace P. Peevley and his(rather inept) assistant, Lionel J. Botch(The latter of whom is known for his pet phrase, "Ooh! Ooh!" not unlike Welcome Back, Kotter's Arnold Horshack; unsurprisingly, this was Botch's voice actor Joe E. Ross' pet phrase.). The bears, however, usually outwit them in the end, often with the help of their zoo animal friends, such as Bananas the Gorilla (who bears a striking resemblance to Magilla Gorilla), Furface the Lion (gotta love that name!), Bumpo the Elephant, Slicks the Fox, and Pipsqueak the Mouse, among others. One particular point of interest is that the bears owned, among other things, an invisible motorcycle. (Hmm, do you suppose they got it from Mermaidman?)
The show had a very short run, with only 16 episodes made. Reruns can be seen on Boomerang. (Check local listings for the time and channel.)
UPDATE 7/7/12:I recently discovered this DVD which contains, among other(very nifty!) things, a Hair Bear Bunch episode!:
The theme song is also mighty catchy!
For those interested also, there are some Hair Bear Bunch items available at the site below(including, of all things, a tissue box cover); some are a little expensive, but well worth it for any Hair Bear Bunch fan :
Many more such nifty items are available on ebay, many of such being comics(which I highly recommend.) :)
"Let's split!"
Fanart of Botch saying his signature phrase.
Another fanart I just had to add. (This one's just silly.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)