Tag: cartoon

MOVIE REVIEW: Kim Possible

written by David Steffen

Kim Possible is a 2019 live action Disney Channel original movie about a pair of high school crimefighters Kim Possible (Sadie Stanley) and Ron Stoppable (Sean Giambrone), based on the 2002-2007 cartoon series of the same name.

By day the two of them are just regular high school kids dealing with regular high school problems. By night they save the day from supervillains with Kim’s excellent physical skills and Ron’s… Ronliness.

Dr. Drakken (Todd Stashwick) and Shego (Taylor Ortega) are hatching their new villainous plans as Kim and Ron start high school. Kim, despite being super-skilled and basically a superhero, is very nervous about high school and it doesn’t help that everything seems to go wrong in the first week, trouble getting to class on time and her sophomore enemy going out of her way to make trouble for her.

But things take a turn for the better when she makes friends with Athena (Ciara Riley Wilson) who seems destined to be Kim’s best friends, with many of the same interests and who has idolized Kim for a long time.

This movie was a fun callback to the cartoon series, and I particularly liked Todd Stashwick as Dr. Drakken who did a great imitation of the cartoon villain’s voice while making it his own. The plot was okay for a cartoon-based kid show, but will fall apart under the slightest examination. For instance, Kim Possible is well-known and visible on news stories using her real name as a crimefighter, but she is also supposed to be just a regular girl at high school, despite everyone knowing about her crimefighting. And the security issues with having a supervillain-fighting crimefighter going to a regular high school without apparently any extra security precautions. That lack of security apparent in that she carries a grappling hook on the school bus (and can afford a lab full of equipment like a collection of grappling hooks but still takes the school bus).

I wouldn’t say the movie’s outstanding, but it is fun, especially if you’re familiar with the cartoon series it is based on.

Pet Cartooning!

written by David Steffen

I wanted to write a post to draw attention to a service that I am offering that I call “pet cartooning”, converting a photograph of an animal into a cartoon image. This could be a fun surprise present for an animal lover, or a loving tribute to your own pet. Here are a couple of examples of the results of this:

Do you think you might be Interested? Generally, here’s what I’m thinking: For $10 paid via PayPal or check, I will take a clear good-quality photograph of one animal, and will use it as a model for creating a cartoon image like those shown above ($15 for two animals). The result will be cartoon style image modeled the original photo that I will deliver via email. Keep in mind:
–So far I have had good results for SHORT-HAIRED animals, with well-defined lines. I have tried this with my own dogs (two poodles and a papillon), and the result did not work well. Feel free to drop me a line anyway if you’re not sure. The animal doesn’t necessarily need to be a dog–I did the same kind of image of a horse to illustrate Drabblecast #67 “Malish” by Mike Resnick. I’m working on improving my technique so that I can handle longer-haired animals.
–The cartoon animal will be in the same position as in the photograph. I can make small alterations like removing red-eye effect, but the photograph will be acting as the model.
–Don’t expect photo-realism. Some details might be lost, but the result is intended to match the dogs image very closely.
–I’ll do my best to get this done as soon as possible, but this will partially depend on the level of demand. If you think you want to do this, especially if you’d like to try to get something for the holidays, it may be best to contact me sooner than later.

The design itself will cost that flat fee. If you’d like to have something with the image printed on it, like a tote bag, a mug, or a t-shirt, I can upload the image to my CafePress store for further products to be purchased. For an example of this, you can see an example set of products here.

If anyone has any comments, questions, suggestions, or if you decide you are interested, please contact me at: