BAD CONTENT?????

An age old conflict between movie goers, book lovers, and story lovers in general has always been about what is good content and what is bad content.  Usually, it comes down to ones own opinion and an algorithm of qualities like plot, character, character development, conflict and a good resolution.

In my personal opinion, when one says "good content" I feel obligated to bring up one of my favorite television shows and one of my all time favorite movies.

Vikings premiered on History channel in March of 2013.  The show follows the famous historical figure Ragnar Lothbrok and his family.  It has been recently cleared for a fifth season premiering in March of 2017.  Although the show has been critiqued for some historical inaccuracy, the story telling itself is intriguing and the fight scenes are adrenaline inducing.  On Rotten Tomatoes, both season 3 and 4 have both received a 100% freshness rating.  Here is the trailer for the first half of season 4 which came out earlier this year:

Vikings Season 4 Official Trailer

The visuals, costume design, acting, music and script all draw you in for a fantastic "good content" ride.  Another point that I personally really love about this show, is the fact that none of the characters are ever sexualized, especially female characters.  Every character has dimension, and the female characters often are shown ruling, battling and living life just like the male characters.  If you want to watch a show with action, fantastic story telling and compelling visuals, Vikings may just be the show for you.



As for another great content piece, I must recommend Secret of Kells.  Secret of Kells follows a young monk as he comes into contact with the creation the legendary Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript.  This animated movie is not only visually detailed, but also a neat tie into Celtic history.  It was released in 2009 and was directed by Tomm Moore at Cartoon Saloon.  It was nominated for and Oscar in 2009, but lost to Up.  Here is one of the trailers for Secret of Kells:

Secret of Kells-Promotional Trailer

Secret of Kells - Ending Page animation

Secret of Kells - Invasion





Usually, I am very hesitant to call anything "bad content".  Sometimes movies or television shows have not so great animation or visuals, but they do contain a lot of heart and it shows that the crew and director put a lot of effort into what they created giving the piece an endearing quality.  Other times, it is blatantly obvious a film is just there to trick unknowing parents into buying their five dollar DVD for their child.  Such a movie is Ratatoing.



Ratatoing was released in 2007 direct to video; the same year Pixar's Ratatouille was released.  Ratatoing has cheap, rushed, and careless animation and the story is un-engaging.  In fact, the movie is so uncared for by it's own studio, they published the whole thing to Youtube and make little to no revenue on the fact that it's published there.

I implore you to watch the first several minutes of this film, just to get a taste of this knock off of Ratatouille.  After that however, you may need to cleanse your eyes and your soul from this unholy abomination.  Here is the link to the full film on Youtube:

Ratatoing Full Film

Why am I so hard on this film? Simply because it's soul purpose for existing was to make money.  There is no heart to this film.  As an artist, it frustrates me to see a story brought to life in this way.  Stories are about expressing our inner dreams, desires and giving a window to others and a perspective they may have never experienced before.  Both Vikings and Secret of Kells have heart, sure they make money, but the crew works on these pieces because the LOVE working to bring these stories to life.  Ratatoing is an empty husk of a film, and when you watch it there is nothing there but the feeling of deception and pure human greed.

All videos and photos linked here are property of their respective owners, I had no part in their creation and am only using them here for educational purposes.