11/25/2023 0 Comments Lazy in space bee and puppycatIn this way, the original moment isn’t subtracted from, it’s just added to. But then later on there’s context added that makes you go back and see those moments in a different way for an extra hit of “wow”. There’s so much that happens in the plot that just doesn’t have a lot of meaning beyond its current moment, very intentionally so. And more importantly, there isn’t much that characters do during scenes that doesn’t have immediate payoff, even if knowing more context makes it more meaningful. Spaceship at the bottom of the ocean? Relevant, but also fits with the aesthetic. Trees in weird shapes? Not relevant, just aesthetic. With Bee and Puppycat, it’s clear that there’s a ton of plot happening in the background, but the show also gives no indication of what weird-ass thing is relevant to the plot or not. But then it’s up to the translators to make it not sound hokey as hell. This includes being intentionally obtuse during dialogue, saying things like “He won’t be pleased”, “we don’t have much time before it happens” or “In that case, we’ll have to use… that.” I suspect that in some cases, especially in media originally produced in Japanese, this language sounds more natural. A lot of fireworks stories are frustrating because the plot is narrated in a fashion where something happens, and the characters know more about the plot than the audience does, and they act on that knowledge, and you have to hope that somewhere down the line the context will be revealed that makes those earlier interactions make sense. But when fireworks stories are done poorly, it really shows and it bugs the shit out of me. I do have some bias towards castle stories, but I argue fervently that fireworks stories have their own merits and artistic style. Important to note here that while it might sound like I’m implying “castle good, fireworks bad”, that’s not what I want to say. You get a bunch of scenes that are cool to watch and interesting in the moment, but afterwards you realize that they didn’t really further the plot at all, or the plot failed to contextualize their importance after the fact. Fireworks stories are ones that use their visual and narrative elements to create engaging character interactions and scenes, but those elements don’t fit together to build an overarching narrative. Motifs, symbols and aesthetic design choices work together to draw the viewer deeper into the narrative without having to dump exposition on their heads. Castle stories are ones that establish the world’s lore and then create meaning in the narrative by building upon that lore. “Castle” and “fireworks” stories are shorthand terms for two types of narratives that I often categorize media into. The thing that finally clicked while considering why it appeals to me so much is how it’s a “castle” story, but looks like a “fireworks” story. Thinking hard about it, it’s in the good company of Gravity Falls, Wakfu and Hilda and the order might shuffle around a bit depending on what I’m hyperfocusing on at the time. I fucking love Bee and Puppycat it might actually be my favorite animated Western cartoon, now that S2 has expanded the canon. But rather than the business dynamics of the animation industry, I had thoughts about the narrative of the show itself. As of writing this on 6/9/20, its production company Frederator Studios has had no public response to the issue. So most people know by now that season 2 of Bee and Puppycat was leaked out into the internet.
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