I may have been a little too excited in firing off a hasty fangirl-y email to an address that probably isn’t even monitored anymore, but I was so happy that I found the site I’ve been alluding to since college. All I had to do, all this time, was to browse my old middle-and-high school files for a certain animation with a certain username on it.
Blink and you miss it: http:// members. aol. com/ chibiusa97.(1) The pieces fell into place from there. So I sent an email. …Well, less polished and rushed than what you see here, perhaps, but the sentiment is the same.
Hello,
As I tend to do as Web 3.0 breathes down our necks, I sit back and reminisce about The Old Web… when everyone built their own little piece. I remember your website dedicated to Chibi Usa, who was also my favorite Sailor Scout. You had one of my favorite web pages in the late 90s, so I was always a little saddened that I could never remember the URL or who you were.
So, imagine my delight when I came across one of your old .ani files in my archives! A quick search of your username later and I navigated to your CS100 assignment. It’s still up, after all these decades. Coming across sites like that is like peering back into time.
The Internet is/was a very cool place, and I’m still amazed at how information is communicated on this medium, and how it has grown.
And how sites have inspired me, such as yours.
So I want to say, thank you. As a kid in 1997 browsing the Web in middle school Computer Club, to the almost-40 adult who still has a passion for this sort of thing. I hope you’re still in it, enjoying anime, and I hope this email reaches you well.
Take care,
“me”
I propose a toast for ChibiUsa97, and all the ChibiUsa97s still floating around, coding and enjoying what they love.
(1) That link no longer works, natch. However, you can view the page on the Wayback Machine. That hyperlink points to the version I’m most familiar with, but do slide around the timeline and see how it changed over the years!
A ramble from my previous post about movies, exactly what it says on the tin! We were poor and didn’t have cable. And don’t fucking act like you wouldn’t pirate Disney movies nowadays.
Jokes aside, my dad was a huge fan of animation, and Disney was definitely up there. Middle fingers to The Establishment were secondary.
Maybe.
The Rescuers Down Under
I feel like this entry is one of the most under-rated Disney movies, and to this day I am not sure how it just flew under everyone’s radar– it doesn’t seem to have cult classic vibes, either. It’s an absolutely beautiful film!
…oh it went up against Home Alone. Say no more.
The Great Mouse Detective
Two words: Vincent Price. With his criminal brain. And definitely not a rat.
Rock-A-Doodle
Gotcha! It’s a common mistake. Bluth did work for Disney for awhile, tho.
The Little Mermaid
I like mermaids.
101 Dalmations
The music.
Bambi
The music.
Peter Pan
I’ll be honest, I loved this movie as a child. There was adventure! Kids were flying! Tiger Lily was my imaginary best friend! but when i got older OH SHIT THAT SHIT WAS RACIST
Or, "What Do You Mean, It’s Not Spelled ‘Formulative’?!" (But seriously, thanks for over-the-shoulder proofreading, Nesting Partner! Maybe I should have an editor on retainer…)
Or, movies I played repeatedly to the point where the VHS tape player started making funny noises. These are movies that I still quote, reference, or just refer to/think about quite often. While some remained on their original tapes, most of the ones I saw were copies. There were also some interesting snippets like
That Scene from Robocop 2 set to a Prince song
*record scratch* wait, what?
We’ll set down some foundation.
Back then, we didn’t have torrents and seeders and CD/DVD burners. We had family-owned rental stores and the setup at home: VHS machines, a stereo, two televisions, and a lot of cables. I apparently have miss-remembered how the copy protection was thwarted– I thought it was something physical that could be covered up with tape, but that’s for blocking recording— but it may have been a matter of using certain formats and cords. Or it could’ve been just that easy.
Regardless, he figured it out. Magic, I tell you!
And in addition to recording the movies and shows we really enjoyed, his hobby was creating quick-and-dirty music videos: a snippet from a cool scene (if not entire cartoon episodes) with its original audio replaced by songs. It’s why I still associate "Benny and the Jets" with Gumbi, and I didn’t know the dialogue for Cain’s warehouse raid in Robocop 2 until I was an adult. I’ll need to hum that particular song to mom so she could place it for me, but I remember this mashup most fondly, because it kinda worked.
But, onto the actual movies.
Unico and the Island of Magic (English Dub, 1983)
It hit all the spots: compelling story, engaging characters, competent animation, and cute critter having to deal with terrible, terrible people wanting to harm the little guy. I recommend the English dub (like here!) to get the Full Baby Albi Experience– not only was it excellent, but it adds a terrifying depth to Lord Kuruku. He had no business being that scary, and I may have to mute his scenes if I get around to re-watching it in English. Yes, I am a weenie.
JEZUS FCKN CHISMUSS
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent my Summer Vacation (1992)
This movie. Was. My shit. Every start and end of summer, without fail, I’d rent it. I couldn’t go on any grand adventures, so I imagined I was along for the ride.
I’d bounce on the waterbed as Buster and Babs went down the river, empathized with Plucky’s lust for roller coasters, wanted to punch that skunk dude (which turned out to be a pattern as I also wanted to punch the one from Archie!Sonic), cringed at the safari schenanigans, and related to Shirley more than I thought I would.
(Video summary: A parody of the very loud THX logo that is played in theatres: THUD. Audience in shambles if not blown away as the trademark is declared: "The audience is now deaf.")
Rock-a-Doodle! (1991)
Apparently I enjoy movies with water themes.
So, this is the Don Bluth film everyone trashes (when they get tired of trashing A Troll in Central Park). And I’m right along with them, seeing it as one of his weaker installments (behind A Troll in Central Park). But, when I was a kid? Loved it, silly singing owls and all. The play that it’s based on is pretty interesting, as well.
And I wished that evil owl turned me into a cat.
Anyone that knew me for the past tentwenty thirty years: NO FUCKING SHIT
Watership Down (1978)
The bright cover art tricked many a parent who just wanted a movie with idyllic bunny time. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with that, but we received so much more. It clued me into the fact that animation could be for anyone, and come in many forms, and can be taken just as seriously as ""real"" film.
This is also the poster child for the "damn, stuff for kids went hard in the 70s/80s" conversation. Not only did we have bunnies bleeding out, but Dumbo got drunk, parents were tortured or dying on screen, monsters were gross, and rest in peace Artax i am not sobbing right now! It does show how things have changed.
And I’m really trying hard not to get into the rant about Netflix’s bastardization of that beautiful novel. John Boyega as Bigwig couldn’t save it. And anyone that isn’t upset about how Netflix-y it is hasn’t either read the book, seen the animation, or absorbed and acknowledged the themes in the work. This adaptation lost its vibrancy and depth by looking as realistic as possible and dumbing itself down to be streaming-service consum
oh ok sry
But seriously. Read the book, as well. As for the movie? A beautiful adaptation; watch that too.
Robocop (1987)
Where I got my distrust of corporations… and sense of humor. It’s kinda sardonic and mean. Anything to cope in the current capitalistic hellscape, I guess.
(Video Summary: A nuclear (lol) family playing a board game around nuclear mutual assured destruction: NUKEM! Get them before they get you!)
By the way. Idiocracy is not the documentary of our world. It’s fucking Robocop, because that’s where we’re fuckin’ headed.
What? There was a remake or something? Nah, never happened.
NEVER. HAPPENED.
Honorable Mentions
These tells don’t crop up as obviously. Or do they?
101 Dalmations (1961)
In my opinion, the best example of music perfectly timed with the animation, which is something you don’t see a lot of these days. Also obligatory crush on Roger.
As a self-proclaimed capital-D Dweeb, obviously. I should buy a shirt.
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid (1975)
Added to my mermaid obsession (along with Saban’s TV series and Disney, natch). And the first clue of my penchant for the bittersweet/sad stuff like the emo goth I am.
But I saved the best for last, because it’s got a funny story.
The Hobbit (1977)
What funny little birds
They had no wings
Oh what shall we do
With the funny little things? Funny Little Things
It was the earlyish 90s, and we’d always get a stack of tapes for the weekend. I’d pick out my own, usually only one or three, while my parents chose theirs. Whether family affair or Parental Supervision Required, we’d all partake together in at least one movie before watching the others on our separate televisions (schedules). And one afternoon, I had a choice: an old favorite to distract me while they did taxes or something, or… something new?
I was, and still am, a creature of habit. While the other title was alluring– being animated and eye-catching, and what kid didn’t love cartoons?– I wanted something beautiful and comforting and familiar and epic. So I stuck with my first choice, The Hobbit.
hey kid wanna go on this adventure for the tenth time?
The other choice available was Heavy Traffic.
NOT FOR YOUR KIDS
Fortunately, I twice dodged that Bakshi-shaped bullet by sneaking a peak, and quickly losing interest due to the lack of dragons. I ended up not viewing it until my almost-20s, when doing research for a college paper. I think about that sometimes, if my parents pulled a Ratings-Panel-Underestimating-Watership-Down. I’d probably be weirder than I already am. And probably more vulgar.
…or so I remember. It’s likely that the question never happened. Then again, I swear up and down that I got my oatmeal-and-egg habit from my parents, and that was denied vehemently, so who knows? I’m okay with being an unreliable narrator on this one.
Memory makes fools of us all.
Don’t talk to me about the remake. I’m still livid about it, and not just because Bluerberry Dinnersnatch is in it (but it certainly doesn’t help, but he did make a good Smaug, fine, I’ll admit that). First of all
oh i did it again did i
That’s going to be a different post, isn’t it?
Yup.
We’ll put a pin on that, then.
So, that is that, for now. As I finish unpacking, I have to find a new spot for these ancient VHS tapes. It’s one of the few things I have left of my dad– our likes and memories smashed together on flimsy tape.
I’ve had not much to blog about, other than the vague yearning to fill up a page with little old-school gifs and stamps. I’ve also been craving to create and I’ve made good on that craving, beyond poetry. There’s VTubing and taking immense joy in noodling about with the lore. I’m finally kicking off two fanfiction ideas that have been in the back of my mind for years. I may even get into pixel art. And at the same time, this blog has been quiet. I’m (trying) not to stress (too much) about it. Sometimes things happen on other platforms, sometimes privately, sometimes in progress, and sometimes things are just still.
It’s an account I’ve had since high school, if you can believe that. It’s pretty neat to come across things that are over two decades old, still floating around. I guess that’s true for anything posted on the internet; it’s just a matter of if you can even access it. (The more embarrassing pieces are very well Lost Media. So the hope goes.)
On top of this discovery, I’ve been feeling pretty nostalgic lately. A recent trip to Hot Topic had me obtain a few tees:
Linkin Park’s Meteora 20th anniversary edition Meteora was my go-to album just starting college and figuring my shit out. I still bump to it when I’m feeling particularly emotional. My girlfriend has seen me drunkenly sing and mosh along to the entire album, once. I destroyed all video evidence but if it pops up on MySpace I wouldn’t be particularly mad about it.
a panel from a Junji Ito manga Tomie, specifically. That was the first horror movie series that I really got into, thanks to the local video rental store that had a lot of different stuff on its shelves.
The Sonic the Hedgehog tee does not count; it was not Archie!Sonic. And the round belly 90s Sonic did not have any in stock in my size.
Cue pondering my current draw to the things I grew up on: the usual. It’s fun. “I know that thing!” It reminds me of happier times when the world didn’t seem to suck so much. Maybe, even something profound on how history marches on but at the same time, falls back. It’s comforting, like the childhood blanket lovingly folded up in the closet– except it’s unfolded on my bed.
“This was something I loved as a kid, and is still important to me, and even a codifier to who I am today.”
Revisiting stuff reminds me of my mindset, and it’s wild to compare/contrast the then/now. “Faint” is still a personal favorite, but at least I have a support network that does not make me feel like that (those work emails, on the other hand…). And as I start sliding back into my Goth phase, maybe I’ll be creepier this time around. I’m certainly building up the makeup arsenal to pull it off.
The current Sonic comic run is okay. I’m enjoying it. I miss Princess Sally.
I should probably say something about The Old Internet. A lot of people have said it better already, and I will certainly link to some of ’em later. I miss it, and I don’t mean in the Eternal September sense– that’s some cynical elitist bullshit. What I mean is, an Internet before things became about content, content, content, c o n t e n t in front of as many people as possible using the most intrusive algos. Wait– I have content? Yeah, but that’s a technicality. And you don’t see me shoving it in your face and I’m not trying to sell you something. I’m just hanging out over here.
And here’s the kicker:
The Old Internet never left. Some of it is abandoned and/or archived, but that is the nature of most things. When there isn’t a revamp, revival, or a “classic” spinoff– it’s here, continuing, slowed down perhaps but hasn’t stopped. Pretty obvious, if you look beyond the big names. You know the ones. They usually have apps, maybe a Material theme, and are just geared to enrage you unless you did some tweaks. And install an adblock.
It feels like everyone is now choosing its side. You can’t stay in the middle anymore. You are either dedicating all your CPU cycles to run JavaScript tracking you or walking away from the big monopolies. You are either being paid to build huge advertising billboards on top of yet another framework or you are handcrafting HTML.
Maybe the web is not dying. Maybe the web is only splitting itself in two.
I’m also in danger of repeating myself. In short, the dusting off of old habits and a more engaged involvement of my media consumption. And, how I spend time online. (Some updates: Pocket was reinstalled for the edge cases of articles I didn’t come across in RSS. Tildes ultimately won out and kbin gets a visit when I want a TLDR news cycle and the urge to be snarky.)
