Representation Matters: Diverse Characters and Voices in “The Amazing World of Gumball” and “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants”
Inspiring and diverse animated series for the whole family.

She wakes up slowly, confused between the caress of her husband and the sound of the radio. A moment later she gets up, tidies up the house, takes a bath, has breakfast, and leaves for work. In the afternoon she returns, prepares dinner and wakes up her husband. He helps her with some chores, takes a bath, eats and goes out to work. The story is too common. Like them, thousands of couples cross and estrange away, day after day.
Inspiring and diverse animated series for the whole family.
A refreshing twist is that all the kids’ powers are…kind of useless. There’s a kid who can only move in slow motion, a kid who has every power in the world but can only use them randomly, and our main character Missy who has no powers at all. The thesis of the film seems to be that it doesn’t matter what kind of powers you have, its the way you use them, which is good for the warm and fuzzies.
Tran Quoc Bao succeeds in telling us a story about martial arts, human decay, and friendship. The originality shown by his filmmaking is admirable and brings fresh air to the classic Chinese martial arts genre.
New releases in April 2021.
Zombie apocalypses have been metaphors for late-stage predatory capitalism, but never a system disrupter that brings about freedom.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.