Fish and Cherries Productions

As an old TV show once said, “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and you get the facts of life.” Well, this week is certainly chock full of that. Let’s take a look at the ups and the downs that resonated the most with me.

First, the bad news on everyone’s mind: the death of David Bowie. What can I say that hasn’t already been said before? The man was a one-of-a-kind artist, the likes of whom we may never see again. I’ll admit that for most of my life, the Bowie I knew and loved was the Goblin King from Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, but I eventually found my way to Ziggy Stardust and Major Tom. Whether he was young or old, his music was brilliant and pushed the boundaries every time. The fact that his last album was saying goodbye to the world is both heartbreaking and amazing. Simon Pegg (but not the Simon Pegg) said it best: “If you’re sad today, just remember the world is over 4 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.” Rest assured, I always will.

For the good… we did it. The crowdfunding for both Psychonauts 2 and Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair movie were wildly successful, exceeding their intended goal and causing geeks everywhere to rejoice. And why shouldn’t they? Tim Schaeffer and Don Bluth are both artistic visionaries that got the short end of the stick and deserve a second chance? Were they perfect? No. Did they stumble from time to time? Certainly. But when someone puts out something truly great and unique, it seems like complete bunk that further projects should fail just because the investors don’t want to take a risk or because the first installment didn’t bring in the biggest of bucks. So yes, I consider this a win. Time will tell if I’m wrong, but for the moment, let the revelry continue.

And that’s what’s on my mind for today.

All right, let’s talk turkey. There are some HUGE things in the geek world happening right now.

Did you ever see An American Tale? How about The Land Before Time? All Dogs Go To Heaven? Anastasia? The Secret of NIMH? Titan A.E.? Congratulations, your life has been touched by animation legend Don Bluth. Now it’s time to pay back the favor. Right now, Bluth has taken to Indiegogo to crowdfund his latest project: a big screen adaptation of his video game from the 80s, Dragon’s Lair! And it’s all hand-drawn animation! If you like his work and want to support him in his endeavor, follow this link and help bring one of the most godlike animators back into the public eye.

What’s that? Not enough of a dream come true? How about the crowdfunding campaign to help make Psychonauts 2?! Oh yeah, I bet you never thought you’d get a sequel, but it’s happening. If you haven’t heard of Psychonauts, it’s a game made by Tim Schaffer and his company Double Fine Productions that was unique, innovative, and fun. If you can find it on Steam, X-Box LIVE, or the Playstation Network, I highly recommend it. And once you’re done playing it, follow this link and help make the sequel it deserved a reality.

Well, that’s enough joy for me today, because I need to tackle a movie for tomorrow. A bad movie. One that’s practically drowning in bad press, making it a shame not to take on for my year end list. And who better to bring me this awful experience… than Adam Sandler?