Everything You Need to Know about Paramount +

 

Well gang, more hype has come about with another streaming service.  Advertisements during the Super Bowl claims that Paramount + will bring together so much in one brand new home.  As per usual, here are some facts and opinions on the next potential player in the streaming war.

1. This is NOT a new streaming service

This will be a rebrand of CBS All Access which has already built up its service with its CBS shows and well as some Paramount movies and such.

2. Everything that's on CBS All Access will carry over to Paramount +

This includes all the CBS TV shows and all the cartoons that are already on there (unless they end up losing the license to some of the shows during the rebrand which may happen, and yes some of these shows like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario are under license).

3. And if you have a CBS All Access account, that will carry over too.

Since it's a rebrand and not a streaming service, you should be covered (unless something screwy happens between now and March).  However, if you are not signed up yet and want to, we recommend signing up a CBS All Access account right now as you may get extra discounts when it becomes Paramount +

4. Lot of Spongebob

You didn't think that performance of Sweet Victory was for nothing on the Super Bowl commercial did you?  Of course Spongebob will be a massive part of Paramount + with over 200 episodes of the famous sponge.  In addition, a new series called Kamp Koral will premiere exclusively on this service as well as the new Spongebob feature, Sponge on the Run.  There should be enough Spongebob Squarepants to go around here.

5. Despite Paramount's slight hatred of cartoons, the Paramount + library will be more awesome than Peacock's

It still surprises me that despite the massive animation library NBC/Universal has that it's still only chicken feed on their streaming service.  Even some of their own titles such as the new Mr Magoo and Lassie series are on CBS All Access and not on Peacock.  Strangely enough though, some great cartoons are already on CBS, even if they are not "Golden Age classics" they are stuff fans will wanna come back for more. Even with all its controversies, there still is a lot already there. Peacock, not so much.  They are failing miserably with cartoons.

But with Paramount, there are very many question marks.  I have my own predictions and questions about the service.

How vast will the Nickelodeon Library be?

First of all, I already said what's on CBS All Access will carry over to Paramount +, and with Nickelodeon, there already is a lot.  We already talked about Spongebob, but there are tons of Nick shows already on here and even some harder to find shows such as Chalkzone, My Life as a Teenage Robot, and The Mighty B are all there ready to go.  Even the controversial Ren and Stimpy is there (oh by the way, I predict no Adult Party Cartoon thankfully).  There is still a mess however.  The Wild Thornberries, Rocko's Modern Life, Rocket Power, and some others are not in complete series.  The Loud House is only the first 3 seasons even though it's an ongoing show as is The Casagrandes, which is no where to be found.  Music clearance issues are still in place with A Rugrats Vacation, which is why it's not on here.  I have a feeling episodes not completing the series may eventually end up on Paramount +.  Interestingly enough, a lot of Double Dare can be found already (do not freak out that is says Season 1 only, there are TONS of episodes listed, over 125 probably more), here's hoping Legends of the Hidden Temple and other Nickelodeon Game Shows end up on here.

Is this the end of NickHits?

First of all I predict that Paramount +'s success or failure weighs down on one brand.....Nickelodeon.  Despite everything, Nickelodeon is still the #1 kids channel.  Even though the main channel is mostly all Spongebob and Loud House, there are other Nickelodeon channels such as Nicktoons, Nick Jr, and TeenNick (with it's NickRewind brand), on Pluto TV there are more Nick TV channels such as their own Nickelodeon channel and Nick Jr channel separate from the main cable channels plus a Ninjia Turtles channel, a Dora the Explorer channel, and a Kids Channel which mostly showcases the Nick game shows.  On demand lets you watch the latest episodes on Nick.com (though you may need a cable subscription).  Also, many Youtube channels are out there officially with clip compilations and exclusive material and interestingly enough, one of the latest Casagrandes episodes was already leaked on Amazon Prime 2 months prior and at the same time, the second half of said episode is ready to watch on Youtube. This brings us to NickHits, which is a Roku channel that has a bunch of Nickelodeon shows, though it too doesn't have every single season of every single show, there is a lot on here.  A recent article stated that Viacom wants the main focus to be on Paramount +, and there tends to be a lot of overlapping with CBS All Access and NickHits.  I am going to guess that if parents still find it easier to find all the Nickelodeon shows on NickHits, it will remain.  UNLESS, it is well promoted that Nickelodeon will have a major presence on here, then who knows what will happen.

Is Pluto TV done?

That same article also indicates the end of Pluto TV.  For those that don't know, this app shows linear TV as opposed to streaming on demand.  There are multiple channels for different people and includes a bunch of different and unusual stuff.  I think unless a bunch of companies pull out like Shout Factory and other third parties, it could be the end since it's a subsidy of Viacom, but I wouldn't panic yet.

Where are the Terrytoons?  Will they be there?

My #1 question throughout all of this since Paramount has the rights to Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Deputy Dawg, Gandy Goose, Dinky Duck, Farmer Al Falfa, Terry Bears, etc.  The Terrytoons were a major part of CBS's history as that's where reruns of these theatrical cartoons aired constantly.  Especially their most popular character, Mighty Mouse.  Paramount has ignored this property for some time save for some licensing deals here and there.  I am making a bold prediction that at least Mighty Mouse will show up in some form.  Whether or not it will be the classic cartoons or the late 80's Ralph Bashki reboot I don't know.  Or....maybe they could do a new series on behalf of CBS and Nickelodeon.  Fortunately, CBS/Paramount seems to not care so much about them that they don't copyright strike the old Terrytoons, so until and unless Paramount + does something, this awesome Youtube channel will have to do.

How vast will the Classic Cartoon library be (if at all)?

I guess stuff from the 90's such as Rugrats are considered classics now and like I said, there shouldn't be any problems.  But what about the golden age stuff such as the old theatrical Paramount cartoons from both Fleischer and Famous Studios?  And how about the Puppetoons?  QT Hush anyone?  Here's my prediction, if they do, it may JUST BE Betty Boop since she's the most popular of the bunch and also there was a remaster project years ago for Olive Films.  Seeing the Noveltoons, Little Lulu, and Puppetoons would be a miracle, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.  Some other old cartoons I believe will make it are the 4 Peanuts movies (UPDATE: Bon Voyage Charlie Brown is already on CBS All Access and will carry over to Paramount +), Charlotte's Web, and the three Dr. Seuss Specials that they own the broadcasting and streaming rights to (but again, no new restorations that Warner Bros. made for home video).

And now for my boldest prediction............with Alvin and the Chipmunks being a part of Nickelodeon now.....will we see more Chipmunks content??????

Here we go, you heard it here first, I predict that the Bagdasarian family will strike a deal with Paramount + making it the exclusive home of Alvin and the Chimpunks.  Every single TV series including The Alvin Show, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and ALLVINNN and the Chipmunks will make it on here.  It won't happen at launch, but if the service is a hit with kids and kids are streaming the Nickelodeon Chipmunk series, we may see more.  If I'm right, you can come back to this page and say "hey....you did good man."  On that note, I expect to see the same thing with Garfield and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now that they are both owned by Nickelodeon.

It's like I said with the last prediction post, I don't think everything will happen at once, but I do think as time goes by we will see more things and I think this will be a vast streaming service regardless of what us animation fans get.

DVD Review: The Loud House Season 1 DVDs (Welcome to the Loud House and It Gets Louder)

 It's been about five years since Nickelodeon debuted The Loud House.  Now in its 5th season, a spin off series, and a movie for Netflix coming, it seems to be doing well in the company that only seems to be about Spongebob.  In fact, recently there was a day with NO Spongebob, all replaced with The Loud House, not seen like this since 2008.  So there is a chance that Lincoln Loud COULD match up the popularity with the sponge (with me joining in on the fun since summer 2020).  While the 5th season is still ongoing, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at season 1 with some DVD reviews of the first season DVDs.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it's about an 11 year old boy named Lincoln Loud, hence the name Loud House.  He lives and puts up with his 10 sisters ranging from 15 months to 17 (though the series has recently aged them up a little) giving a double meaning to the name Loud House as it gets pretty crazy at times.  Being the only boy and being in the house of 11 kids means many challenges such as going to the bathroom and who gets to watch TV, but that doesn't stop Lincoln from being the Man with a Plan; sometimes it works, often times not.  Being the only boy has its advantages though as he has his own room where he can relax and read comic books in his undies and not having to worry about an annoying roommate.  Throughout the chaos, nearly every episode ends in some sort of life lesson such as talking it out if there is a problem, getting along with one another, or not rushing to grow up.  The messages are subtle and not in your face, as the main selling point is making you feel a connection to these characters and their hilarious hi-jinks.  You may relate to having arguments and relationships with your own siblings growing up or if you are a kid watching right now.

"You know you did it.  ADMIT IT CONFESS!!!  If you don't tell the truth, YOUR HEART WILL 
NEVER BE SET FREE!!!!!!!

And speaking of siblings, yes Lincoln's siblings are all girls, but each one has a different personality.  Lily, the youngest, is the baby in the family.  Lisa is the smartest one of the family at only the age of 4.  Some Dexter's Laboratory vibes could be sensed in this character.  Next are the twins Lola and Lana.  Lola loves acting like a princess, dressing up, and competing in fashion shows, but Lana is the opposite; she loves to get down and dirty playing in mud but is a gifted mechanic, handy girl, and loves her unusual critters she finds.  Lucy is the goth one; she is creepy as sin unintentionally sneaking up on her siblings and loves her creepy stuff such as death, coffins, and vampires.  She also loves to write poetry.  Lynn is the most tomboyish of the siblings having a love of playing sports and being active.  Luan is the comedian in this family always coming up with bad jokes and puns as well as setting up pranks, but watch out on April Fools Day; her jokes and pranks are an all time high and somewhat evil.  Luna loves to rock n roll being the musician in the family.  Wherever there is a concert, you can bet she is right there ready to rock out.  Leni is the dumb and ditsy one in the family.  She's also very fashionable making and designing outfits.  She may not be very bright, but she does have a big heart caring for her family and friends.  Finally, there's the eldest sister Lori.  She's usually seen talking to her boyfriend Bobby on her iphone.  For this season, because of her age, she is the bossy one and, sometimes, the mean one.  If you needed a ride, you have to do one of her chores, and if she's in charge, she says no to everything.  She does become a nicer person as the series progresses.  Outside of the Loud family is Lincoln's best friend Clyde, who loves the same things Lincoln does, and eventually Ronnie Anne who is a rough and tumble girl, loves to skateboard, and love to hang with friends.  

The episodes in season one are unique compared to other seasons.  This is because A. the episodes are more focused on Lincoln's point of view/ Lincoln centered and B. Chris Savano, the series creator, was more involved.  For better or worse, I wish I could tell you.  One the one hand, some of the most memorable episodes came out of season 1.  On the other hand, the siblings were very rough to Lincoln.  It's been suggested since Savano said he based this off his own home life living in a big family that he may have had a rough childhood growing up, which may have led to his....behavior.....that's probably the elephant in the room which is his sexual conduct with his co-workers.  Allow me to state my opinion: Do I give him credit for creating the show, yes.  Do I love the fact he had major influence from classic cartoons yes.  He stated on record that his influences were Looney Tunes, Popeye, Bullwinkle, Underdog, and comic strips like Peanuts (keep an eye out for subtle Charlie Brown references throughout the show).  This is where the line stops however.  Do I think he may have made things too rough for Lincoln, yeah.  Do I excuse the allegations of what he did, absolutely not.  His departure after being fired by Nick did leave us a major chance for centered episodes for the rest of the Loud Family.  Even when the writers wanted to do something with the other Loud siblings, Savano fought to have some sort of abuse being done to Lincoln in some way per episode.  While not included here, two of the most controversial episodes happened because of Savano; one where an argument naturally ends proving Lincoln's help was useless, the other is the belief that Lincoln still provides bad luck in the end and thus he must social distance from his family and wear a costume hiding his face.  Yeah.....I can see why fans hate these so.

Still, season 1 has some very enjoyable moments.  The first episode is really good where Lincoln must try to get to the TV first to watch his favorite show.  The next one has Lincoln sending a nasty message to Lori for breaking his VR glasses, only to find out immediately she felt bad and bought him a new pair and must come up with a plan to delete the message.  Along Came a Sister is about Leni's fear of spiders with some unusually funny moments throughout.  Undie Pressure is a competition as to who can last the longest without doing their bad habits.  You can see how different this show is because unlike everything else of its era that had a CalArts style, this one has a feel of the 90's like Rugrats, Ed Edd n Eddy, and because of Savano's influences, you may see design wise some Jay Ward and Total Television looks to these characters.  Some of my favorites that I haven't mentioned yet on these DVD's, Driving Miss Hazy, where Lincoln teaches Leni to drive, and Saving the Date, where Lincoln ends up hurting Ronnie Anne's feelings not knowing that she's Bobby's little sister causing him to break up with Lori resulting in ironic moments.  And then there's For Bros About to Rock, where Lincoln and Clyde go to a rock concert and fears (thanks to his sisters) that Luna would ruin the experience for him.  Those are just parts of the two DVD sets discussed here.

"What are you doing you WEIRD-O"

But as most of you know, DVD sales are starting to die off thanks to digital media.  The way Paramount Home Video organized these episodes releases are strange.  They released half a season, on two DVDs, once a year.  This means we only got two seasons on DVD within the five years of the show's existence.  Strangely enough, its spin off series, The Casagrandes, ended up getting a complete first season DVD just recently, but recent rumors of The Loud House is that season 3 will be released this year, but continue to be half a season.  Meanwhile, there was extra effort put into the art cover and inserts which list all the episodes per disc and has some cool insert/cover art.  But on the flip side there is no bonus feature.  This would have been the perfect opportunity to include some shorts like the original Loud House pilot from 2014 when it was part of the shorts program at Nick or the short Slice of Life.  Sadly, they're not on here.  Sure, you can stream them right now on Youtube officially, but having a hard copy would have been nice.  On past Nick DVDs such as Spongebob and The Mighty B, bonus featurettes were included, but of course, no where here.  I understand these DVDs were geared towards kids and families, but it would have been nice to see and hear from the cast and crews' point of view (not necessarily Savano's but people like Grey DeLisle Griffin, Lilian Mumy, and underappreciated voices such as Jessica DiCicco and Cristina Pucceli).  Now this could be me, but DVDs being released nowadays seem to have worse quality.  And I'm not saying that because of Blu-ray and HD because older DVDs still look good save for what has been upgraded since.  As a result, being a fast paced animated show, interlacing is common and even some ghostly shadows of black outlines usually seen around the eyes.  At the end of the day, however, all the episodes are complete and look good.  Nothing missing or edited out.

For Loud House fans, these DVDs are must haves.  They may not be the most loved episodes by some, but this season may by far be the most popular as even recent episodes of the game show Tooned In has clips from the first season.  For those wanting to start, it may be a good idea to check out an episode or two on Nickelodeon in some way first be it on TV or streaming on Nick Play, NickHits, or CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount +), that way you can ease your way before buying.  If not a major fan yet some of your favorite episodes ended up on here, then man go for it.  Supporting these could help support future Loud House projects or maybe more animated releases from Nick or Paramount (maybe a certain superheroic rodent could be out of the question?????  Eh....wishful thinking I guess).