ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Hello mates, I'm finally back! But this time, I'm here with something a little bit different. My previous journals have been reviews of shows, but now I'd like to step back for a little bit and focus on a broader topic, an editorial if you will. Animation truly is a beautiful thing. It has given us the ability to tell stories through moving pictures that might never be possible in live action. But are we always telling a story with it?
After watching many reviews, I've noticed plenty of terms get thrown around that have been used so much that they've kind of lost their meaning. Criticisms like "mean-spiritidness", "out-of-character", or "flanderization" are just a few examples of these commonly used points. But there is one criticism that has always gotten myself thinking about how bad it actually is, and, if you read the title of this journal, you probably know what I'm talking about.
After watching many reviews, I've noticed plenty of terms get thrown around that have been used so much that they've kind of lost their meaning. Criticisms like "mean-spiritidness", "out-of-character", or "flanderization" are just a few examples of these commonly used points. But there is one criticism that has always gotten myself thinking about how bad it actually is, and, if you read the title of this journal, you probably know what I'm talking about.
It's unavoidable really. At one point or another, a critic will talk about how there are scenes in a film or show that serve no purpose to the plot other than to fill up the run time. Admittedly, I do see how this is a problem. But if we're really going to get into this topic, we need to really crack down on what filler is.
According to TV tropes, "Filler episodes are entries in a generally continuous serial that are unrelated to the main plot, don't significantly alter the relations between the characters, and generally serve only to take up space."
Of course there is the other term, padding, which, "is a moment in a story which could have easily been removed from the plot without affecting the story significantly."
Both of these terms are similar to each other and have similar effects, whether they work on a smaller or a broader scale. But the reason I'm talking about these terms is because I find it a little unfair to consider "filler" an automatically bad thing.
Now obviously, filler is a term that generally can't apply to episodic shows like We Bare Bears, The Loud House, and The Amazing World of Gumball. Shows like that are generally more focused on slice of life stories or comedy, and aren't always so concerned with continuity. A little bit might get thrown in their every now and then but very rarely.
This criticism is generally aimed towards serialized show like Avatar the Last Airbender and Gravity Falls to name a few. These shows have had plenty of episodes that could arguably get skipped entirely without missing anything. Examples include The Great Divide and Roadside Attraction, which both had very mixed reactions from audiences.
I've also noticed this criticism being lobbed at Steven Universe especially. I've seen the fandom get so freaking p*ssed at episodes like Kiki's Delivery Service, Rocknaldo, and Future Boy Zoltron all for not having a serious impact in the show's lore. However, I've honestly never had a real problem with this.
I know that this might seem crazy, but let me explain myself.
For starters, we normally get these episodes after being done with really emotional and action-packed arcs, like when Garnet is furious at Pearl, destroying the cluster, or saving Greg from space. I've always liked to look at these episodes like periods of cool down time to give us and the characters a chance to breath.
Just look at some action movies like Mad Max: Fury Road or Logan. They have scenes with very little going on other than talking with little to no action occuring. When you think about it, filler like this does kind of serve a purpose to the story because if it was just non stop action and heavy emotions, it would frankly be exhausting for the viewers. We'd also be getting more stuff like Bayformers which is nothing about ridiculous action sequences and incomprehensible spectacle.
I personally applaud any show that can do this correctly, because it proves that the characters have their own lives that can be interesting and engaging to watch. And I actually really like those episodes that I mentioned earlier. (Yes even Rocknaldo. I actually kind of like him despite his hatred in the fandom.)
However, the reason I think these episodes work is because they know that they're nothing special, and they're not trying to be. The filler episodes that I don't like are the ones that pretend to have meaning, but end up tricking you at some point. Examples include Room for Ruby (Steven Universe), New Fish in Town (Spongebob Squarepants), and Fairly Odd Pet (Fairly Odd Parents). These episodes rub me the wrong way so much, and they all have the similarity of introducing a new character like they're going to be a new addition to the cast, only to go back to the status quo afterwards.
The former two only last for one episode. New Fish in Town makes it seem like Squidward will get a new neighbor to make life a little easier for him, until the episode literally throws this new character off a cliff (I'm still not entirely sure he survived that by the way). At least if they had done like this it wouldn't have been as dark.
According to TV tropes, "Filler episodes are entries in a generally continuous serial that are unrelated to the main plot, don't significantly alter the relations between the characters, and generally serve only to take up space."
Of course there is the other term, padding, which, "is a moment in a story which could have easily been removed from the plot without affecting the story significantly."
Both of these terms are similar to each other and have similar effects, whether they work on a smaller or a broader scale. But the reason I'm talking about these terms is because I find it a little unfair to consider "filler" an automatically bad thing.
Now obviously, filler is a term that generally can't apply to episodic shows like We Bare Bears, The Loud House, and The Amazing World of Gumball. Shows like that are generally more focused on slice of life stories or comedy, and aren't always so concerned with continuity. A little bit might get thrown in their every now and then but very rarely.
This criticism is generally aimed towards serialized show like Avatar the Last Airbender and Gravity Falls to name a few. These shows have had plenty of episodes that could arguably get skipped entirely without missing anything. Examples include The Great Divide and Roadside Attraction, which both had very mixed reactions from audiences.
I've also noticed this criticism being lobbed at Steven Universe especially. I've seen the fandom get so freaking p*ssed at episodes like Kiki's Delivery Service, Rocknaldo, and Future Boy Zoltron all for not having a serious impact in the show's lore. However, I've honestly never had a real problem with this.
I know that this might seem crazy, but let me explain myself.
For starters, we normally get these episodes after being done with really emotional and action-packed arcs, like when Garnet is furious at Pearl, destroying the cluster, or saving Greg from space. I've always liked to look at these episodes like periods of cool down time to give us and the characters a chance to breath.
Just look at some action movies like Mad Max: Fury Road or Logan. They have scenes with very little going on other than talking with little to no action occuring. When you think about it, filler like this does kind of serve a purpose to the story because if it was just non stop action and heavy emotions, it would frankly be exhausting for the viewers. We'd also be getting more stuff like Bayformers which is nothing about ridiculous action sequences and incomprehensible spectacle.
I personally applaud any show that can do this correctly, because it proves that the characters have their own lives that can be interesting and engaging to watch. And I actually really like those episodes that I mentioned earlier. (Yes even Rocknaldo. I actually kind of like him despite his hatred in the fandom.)
However, the reason I think these episodes work is because they know that they're nothing special, and they're not trying to be. The filler episodes that I don't like are the ones that pretend to have meaning, but end up tricking you at some point. Examples include Room for Ruby (Steven Universe), New Fish in Town (Spongebob Squarepants), and Fairly Odd Pet (Fairly Odd Parents). These episodes rub me the wrong way so much, and they all have the similarity of introducing a new character like they're going to be a new addition to the cast, only to go back to the status quo afterwards.
The former two only last for one episode. New Fish in Town makes it seem like Squidward will get a new neighbor to make life a little easier for him, until the episode literally throws this new character off a cliff (I'm still not entirely sure he survived that by the way). At least if they had done like this it wouldn't have been as dark.
As for Room for Ruby, and I'm probably going to make a few people angry here, but never before had I enjoyed an episode so much only to have it thoroughly ruined for me by the ending. First of all, they brought back my favorite Ruby from the ship of Rubies, and I didn't find it too hard to believe that she'd be the one to want to reform because of her carefree personality. I also really liked her performance in this one too. But then we had that ending where we find out she's been tricking them the whole time and just wanted her ship back. This ending rendered the entire episode almost completely pointless, because her interactions with the characters essentially meant nothing.
This is a little worse than Spongebob because of the fact that we know Steven Universe is capable of adding new characters to the line up cleverly and tastefully. At least with New Fish in Town you knew there was no way Squidward would still have a new neighbor by the end. I know there's the moral in it of not always trusting people for what they initially claim, but it just left me feeling really disappointed at the end.
Now some of you might think that this train of logic should make me dislike the episode Bismuth, but even though we got a new character that was gotten rid of by the end, her appearance felt like it had a grand purpose to it. Not only is she a great one-off, but she also gave us some more backstory into Rose about how she isn't as perfect as everyone was making her out to be. It also served as a great psychological test for Steven when being confronted by Bismuth, and it still had some effects on him as seen in the episode Mindful Education.
Some of you may be asking, "Why did you mention Fairly Odd Pet? He actually was a new addition to the show."
First off, I don't see why anyone would want to defend that episode since it is so awful.
Second off, Sparky was a terrible addition to the cast.
And third, he is nowhere to be found in season 10 as far as I know. The writers have completely forgotten him. I just wish that we could all forget.
Even if you don't like added characters like Toph Beifong, Lapis Lazuli, Starlight Glimmer, or Stanford Pines, at least the show actually has a use for them. Their additions to their respective shows were meaningful, and they were completely necessary for moving along the story. Plus, they are wonderful characters with a lot of depth and thought put into them by the writers. If a show can add characters seamlessly like it was their original plan from the first episode, than that is a truly magical thing. Pretending to add new characters is more frustrating for me than broken hit detection in games.
This is a little worse than Spongebob because of the fact that we know Steven Universe is capable of adding new characters to the line up cleverly and tastefully. At least with New Fish in Town you knew there was no way Squidward would still have a new neighbor by the end. I know there's the moral in it of not always trusting people for what they initially claim, but it just left me feeling really disappointed at the end.
Now some of you might think that this train of logic should make me dislike the episode Bismuth, but even though we got a new character that was gotten rid of by the end, her appearance felt like it had a grand purpose to it. Not only is she a great one-off, but she also gave us some more backstory into Rose about how she isn't as perfect as everyone was making her out to be. It also served as a great psychological test for Steven when being confronted by Bismuth, and it still had some effects on him as seen in the episode Mindful Education.
Some of you may be asking, "Why did you mention Fairly Odd Pet? He actually was a new addition to the show."
First off, I don't see why anyone would want to defend that episode since it is so awful.
Second off, Sparky was a terrible addition to the cast.
And third, he is nowhere to be found in season 10 as far as I know. The writers have completely forgotten him. I just wish that we could all forget.
Even if you don't like added characters like Toph Beifong, Lapis Lazuli, Starlight Glimmer, or Stanford Pines, at least the show actually has a use for them. Their additions to their respective shows were meaningful, and they were completely necessary for moving along the story. Plus, they are wonderful characters with a lot of depth and thought put into them by the writers. If a show can add characters seamlessly like it was their original plan from the first episode, than that is a truly magical thing. Pretending to add new characters is more frustrating for me than broken hit detection in games.
There's also the other animal I'd like to talk about here, and that is padding. The difference between padding and filler essentially comes down to the effect they have on a show. Filler is normally used to describe full episodes, while padding refers to the content within the episode. Now this is something that I can more easily understand making a lot of people angry.
One of the most brilliant things about animation and film-making in general is the ability to tell a story through the visual medium in a beautiful and sometimes thought-provoking way. What isn't a good thing though is when film makers waste everyone's time.
There's simply a fundamental flaw with padding that gives off a frankly insulting message from the creators. "We know that this story wasn't enough to fill up the minimum run time even with commercials, so we're just going to add unnecessary s*** so that we can still put out a product."
On the one hand, I do understand that making movies and shows is tough, especially with an upcoming deadline. Producers have certain standards that need to be met, and it is up to the creators to consistently make quality content. But if your story isn't meaty enough to be considered a story, than odds are that you should just go back to the drawing boards. Or you know, just do what Family Guy and Mr. Pickles does and add a bunch of other pointless plots in the same episode to pad... I mean, expand upon an already "enriching" story. I'm sure that's what they want you to believe at least. But in the end, viewers are just going to think the same thing.
Now, I think that padding can be done right. One of my favorite examples of padding comes from the Lego Batman Movie. It is easily one of my favorite films from this year and a great start to 2017 animation, but it had a lot of emotion to it that I don't think many were expecting.
My favorite scene in the film is right after Batman is done defeating all of the villains in the opening fight. He's seen having a good time with everybody, showing off how awesome he is, and even paying a visit to a local orphanage. But then he gets back to his lair, and we see exactly why he acts like such a show off in front of everybody.
We see how gigantic his bat cave and mansion is, he's waiting for his lobster to slowly cook in the microwave, and we can hear the echos of every bite he takes into it.
It goes to show how lonely he really is, and it plays into how scared he is of starting a new family, even going as far as not thinking of Alfred as family. Despite how long and drawn out this scene is, we get so much insight into Bruce's character that no other iteration of the dark knight has really explored, at least to my knowledge. Without the lair scene, his accepting of everyone around him as his own wouldn't have had as much impact.
However, the kind of padding that most people think of is the kind that tries to fill up the required episode length because it doesn't have enough content to it.
For me, there are two kinds of padding, with one being a little better than the other. To illustrate, I am going to take two of the most infamous uses of padding from two very different shows. Family Guy and My Little Pony.
Now, with Family Guy, I could go on for plenty of paragraphs about how bad they are with padding, and I might even have to go more in depth with it (hint, hint). But for now, I'd like to focus on one episode in particular, Seahorse Seashell Party, and compare it to The Cutie Pox from MLP. (you can skip to 4:13 on the second video to get the gist of what I'm talking about)
One of the most brilliant things about animation and film-making in general is the ability to tell a story through the visual medium in a beautiful and sometimes thought-provoking way. What isn't a good thing though is when film makers waste everyone's time.
There's simply a fundamental flaw with padding that gives off a frankly insulting message from the creators. "We know that this story wasn't enough to fill up the minimum run time even with commercials, so we're just going to add unnecessary s*** so that we can still put out a product."
On the one hand, I do understand that making movies and shows is tough, especially with an upcoming deadline. Producers have certain standards that need to be met, and it is up to the creators to consistently make quality content. But if your story isn't meaty enough to be considered a story, than odds are that you should just go back to the drawing boards. Or you know, just do what Family Guy and Mr. Pickles does and add a bunch of other pointless plots in the same episode to pad... I mean, expand upon an already "enriching" story. I'm sure that's what they want you to believe at least. But in the end, viewers are just going to think the same thing.
Now, I think that padding can be done right. One of my favorite examples of padding comes from the Lego Batman Movie. It is easily one of my favorite films from this year and a great start to 2017 animation, but it had a lot of emotion to it that I don't think many were expecting.
My favorite scene in the film is right after Batman is done defeating all of the villains in the opening fight. He's seen having a good time with everybody, showing off how awesome he is, and even paying a visit to a local orphanage. But then he gets back to his lair, and we see exactly why he acts like such a show off in front of everybody.
We see how gigantic his bat cave and mansion is, he's waiting for his lobster to slowly cook in the microwave, and we can hear the echos of every bite he takes into it.
It goes to show how lonely he really is, and it plays into how scared he is of starting a new family, even going as far as not thinking of Alfred as family. Despite how long and drawn out this scene is, we get so much insight into Bruce's character that no other iteration of the dark knight has really explored, at least to my knowledge. Without the lair scene, his accepting of everyone around him as his own wouldn't have had as much impact.
However, the kind of padding that most people think of is the kind that tries to fill up the required episode length because it doesn't have enough content to it.
For me, there are two kinds of padding, with one being a little better than the other. To illustrate, I am going to take two of the most infamous uses of padding from two very different shows. Family Guy and My Little Pony.
Now, with Family Guy, I could go on for plenty of paragraphs about how bad they are with padding, and I might even have to go more in depth with it (hint, hint). But for now, I'd like to focus on one episode in particular, Seahorse Seashell Party, and compare it to The Cutie Pox from MLP. (you can skip to 4:13 on the second video to get the gist of what I'm talking about)
Both of these scenes are clearly used to make the story longer, but if the writers desperately need padding, then it might as well be something that keeps your attention and clearly has some effort put into it. This is something that the MLP writers realized in the Cutie Pox. I can understand why some people can be turned off by it, but I'm perfectly fine with padding that looks visually impressive (to me at least).
Family Guy, however, almost always does not realize this, and the dad noises scene is one of the most infamous examples of this. There is a reason Enter-sensei got so angry with this scene. And saying that the animators were saving the budget for Brian's hallucinogenic dream later in the episode is not a good excuse because that dream is also padding. And while it is visually interesting, it is also visually disturbing. Not Where the Dead Go to Die-disturbing, but more like The Nutshack-disturbing.
Now I'd like to switch things around with two more episodes from the same shows. I'd now like to bring up the Family Guy episode Brian and Stewie and the My Little Pony episode Applejack's Day Off.
In Applejack's Day Off, one of the biggest complaints was how the story basically took a bunch of near halts when AJ was investigating the spa. Now, I honestly find this episode to be pretty good, but it does falter a little when it comes to pacing. It can be pretty boring watching AJ just walk down a hall while following a pipe or seeing her get ready to fix said pipe.
Brian and Stewie, however, handles padding a lot better. I know I might be in the minority on this one, but I really love this episode. There are many periods of silence or Brian and Stewie simply talking to each other about their purpose in life. I found this episode so engaging because not only does the whole thing take place in a vault, not only is their no music (which helps give the episode a sense of atmosphere), but there are no cutaway gags. Yeah, you heard me. There is actually an episode of Family Guy with no f***ing cutaway gags. The padding does serve a purpose here, and I end up really caring about Brian and Stewie (at least in this episode specifically).
Honestly, I don't really blame some of these shows for all the padding, because it must be really tough to make episodes of a certain length consistently and with a deadline. We all know how swindling and conniving big companies can be towards their creators. They'll haggle for any ridiculous deal as long as they get a profit out of it, and haggling can lead to some pretty ugly situations.
That's why I believe the shows with the best pacing can be found on the internet.
Just think about it. You've got shows like RWBY, Red vs Blue, and Cyanide & Happiness (yes I'm counting it) that are as long as they want to be without any required episode lengths or deadlines to need to worry about. This is because on Youtube, the creator decides what they want to make and how to make it.
But this doesn't just stop with Youtube. On Netflix, you've got shows like Bojack Horseman and A Series of Unfortunate Events that are also as long as they want to be, mostly because there are no commercials and viewers can decide whenever they want to watch a show at their own pace.
I guess in the end, it all comes down to how the creators want to handle things, even if they don't always make the best choices. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with filler. I mean, in the end, we're just getting more content and more time to watch characters we love. As long as the filler doesn't try to pretend to be incredibly important, I'm perfectly fine with its existence. As for padding, it can be done right. It's just important that the writers know why they're doing it other than to hit a certain amount of time.
I hope I've given you guys a new outlook on this topic, and I would really like to do more of these editorials. I've even managed to enlighten myself on a few things while writing this. Feel free to share your interpretations, let me know if you like this style of review, and get ready for this summer for a very special project that I've been brainstorming for quite a while now.
Also, I'd like to give shout outs to
, 
, and 
for simply being dandy 
See you soon mates!
Family Guy, however, almost always does not realize this, and the dad noises scene is one of the most infamous examples of this. There is a reason Enter-sensei got so angry with this scene. And saying that the animators were saving the budget for Brian's hallucinogenic dream later in the episode is not a good excuse because that dream is also padding. And while it is visually interesting, it is also visually disturbing. Not Where the Dead Go to Die-disturbing, but more like The Nutshack-disturbing.
Now I'd like to switch things around with two more episodes from the same shows. I'd now like to bring up the Family Guy episode Brian and Stewie and the My Little Pony episode Applejack's Day Off.
In Applejack's Day Off, one of the biggest complaints was how the story basically took a bunch of near halts when AJ was investigating the spa. Now, I honestly find this episode to be pretty good, but it does falter a little when it comes to pacing. It can be pretty boring watching AJ just walk down a hall while following a pipe or seeing her get ready to fix said pipe.
Brian and Stewie, however, handles padding a lot better. I know I might be in the minority on this one, but I really love this episode. There are many periods of silence or Brian and Stewie simply talking to each other about their purpose in life. I found this episode so engaging because not only does the whole thing take place in a vault, not only is their no music (which helps give the episode a sense of atmosphere), but there are no cutaway gags. Yeah, you heard me. There is actually an episode of Family Guy with no f***ing cutaway gags. The padding does serve a purpose here, and I end up really caring about Brian and Stewie (at least in this episode specifically).
Honestly, I don't really blame some of these shows for all the padding, because it must be really tough to make episodes of a certain length consistently and with a deadline. We all know how swindling and conniving big companies can be towards their creators. They'll haggle for any ridiculous deal as long as they get a profit out of it, and haggling can lead to some pretty ugly situations.
That's why I believe the shows with the best pacing can be found on the internet.
Just think about it. You've got shows like RWBY, Red vs Blue, and Cyanide & Happiness (yes I'm counting it) that are as long as they want to be without any required episode lengths or deadlines to need to worry about. This is because on Youtube, the creator decides what they want to make and how to make it.
But this doesn't just stop with Youtube. On Netflix, you've got shows like Bojack Horseman and A Series of Unfortunate Events that are also as long as they want to be, mostly because there are no commercials and viewers can decide whenever they want to watch a show at their own pace.
I guess in the end, it all comes down to how the creators want to handle things, even if they don't always make the best choices. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with filler. I mean, in the end, we're just getting more content and more time to watch characters we love. As long as the filler doesn't try to pretend to be incredibly important, I'm perfectly fine with its existence. As for padding, it can be done right. It's just important that the writers know why they're doing it other than to hit a certain amount of time.
I hope I've given you guys a new outlook on this topic, and I would really like to do more of these editorials. I've even managed to enlighten myself on a few things while writing this. Feel free to share your interpretations, let me know if you like this style of review, and get ready for this summer for a very special project that I've been brainstorming for quite a while now.
Also, I'd like to give shout outs to
, , and for simply being dandy See you soon mates!My Little Reviews/Episode 2
Hey everybody, Carrick 'RaccoonBro' Inabnett here, and me and my brother just got back from seeing Avengers Endgame for the fifth time!
RB'sB: Dude, I know I don't throw this word around often, but can I get a 'flawless masterpiece?'
Here here! I don't care what anyone says, this is the perfect Avengers movie!
RB'sB: Like the scene where Tony has to-
Whoa whoa! Spoilers man. Didn't you see the advertisements online?
RB'sB: Oh whatever, the Russos themselves said anything is fair game after only two weeks. Besides, if someone hasn't seen this film by now, they're never going to.
Oh who am I kidding, I can't hold it in anymore. Remember w
My Little Reviews/Episode 1
What's up everybody?! You know, My Little Pony-
RB'sB: Oh wow, another MLP review. Let me guess, you're gonna talk about how great Sounds of Silence is?
I don't like your tone, but if you'd let me finish I think you'll be rather excited by what I have planned. My Little Pony is quite the anomaly when you really think about it. Back in the 80's it was a successful toy line with a so-so cartoon and God awful movie that was animated in 10 weeks. Then it kept getting newer generations a la Transformers style, likely so Hasbro could keep branching out to both demographics. Gotta have variety y'know?
But as the gens kept evolving, the media surr
Two Truths and One Lie
Tagged by ~Negan1994 (https://www.deviantart.com/negan1994)
Rules:
1. If you ask, I’ll answer you via note, so I don’t give away the answer to others.
2. You can say Fandom related things, but you also have to have to say something creative.
The Three Statements:
I have wet the bed within the last 30 days. My wallet was stolen when I visited New Orleans.Airplane! is my favorite movie of all time.
I tag: :iconblackmoonpaladin: :iconyodajax10: :iconjesusstewardson:
Aladdin Review
What’s up all y’all gamers and animation enthusiasts?! I hope you all have been having a good Summer. I know I’ve been enjoying camp, some amazing reveals at E3 *insert applause*, and a chance to rewatch some of my favorite movies. This includes a bunch of Disney movies!
As I’m sure you all know, Disney is on top of the freaking world right now, having bought out all the biggest franchises and companies. It is both awe inspiring and at the same time ridiculously terrifying seeing how far they’ve come. This company has become so damn cocky that they don’t even need to write original stories anymore to make
© 2017 - 2024 RaccoonBroVA
Comments46
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Filler is not bad, it's how much they drag the filler my main problem.
I mean, i know shows like Gravity Falls have filler, but they manage to balance it out because there is not many filler (Especially when it is a 40 Episode cartoon when there is few filler) Star vs, now i know you don't like Star anymore, but at least they did a good job balancing the filler with the important episodes.
Season 1 of OK K.O. on the other hand... it is a CHORE to watch all 52 episodes of the Season, i would skip the filler, and land on some episodes that include P.O.I.N.T. or Shadowy Figure.
Random Person: But Infrared, OK K.O. is an episodic sho-
THEN WHY DO THEY KEEP TEASING THE SANDWICH PLOT?!
Hell, even i did a meme about this, check it out: