FrostPeak's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[the story of Rex and Riggie]

I understand that Flash, and animation in general is a notoriously difficult art to master for a lot of people, and not many people have the time, energy, or motivation to produce masterpieces, but this movie leaves a lot to be desired, to put it nicely. You wrote a story that could serve as a good brainstorm, a proof-of-concept for the animation, but it feels all concept, and no content.

There are a lot of issues. A lot. There are no sound effects, so it's hard to keep track of Reggie and the Beedrill's fight, and it makes the Viridian Forest feel lifeless. The choppy animation and lack of movement (Reggie and the Beedrill are just translating across the screen) also makes it hard to understand what the characters are doing or how they are interacting with each other, and as a result, the fight looks unfinished and unrealistic. Another problem is pacing: everything is going too fast for the small amount of scenes and camera angles, and I had to rewatch it multiple times to comprehend the story. Show, don't tell, as some people have said below...

These are some of the main principles of animation, which you should consider studying (I recommend Alan Becker's video on them) before all else. It's difficult for the audience to understand or even care about what is happening in your story without. You need to put more time into making this more full-on. You have the idea, just put your mind to and work on it, maybe see some example Movies here, you might be surprised by what you make :)

[Fuck the Artists]

As a lil' kid obsessed with the increasingly more relevant and alarming premise of MegaCorps manipulating their customers in unethical ways for money, and generally prefers pithy videos with broad, relatable messages over documentaries on some niche issue, I enjoyed this animation/live-action mix about how Adobe attracts new users and keeps them loyal for business's sake (i.e. screwing the artists).

Honestly, I'm not that versed into what Adobe is doing right now, not even the online art community that much, I just know they discontinued Flash (lol) and AI is a trendy, yet controversial application in the field. But you did a very good job, well-paced as some people here say, showing all the bad stuff Adobe apparently does, from theft of data to practices ensuring consumerist loyalty, and using it metonymically to speak about all the other social media brands out there doing the same thing. Yet we can't criticize them: for a long time now, tons of artists still depend on their programs, and certainly a business magnate doesn't give a damn if it ensures profit and their subscription ensures they keep making art under their name. But, hey, just business nowadays, right?

The animated characters are simple, but expressive and varied like us artists (I'm the nerd, of course), and the live-action Adobe CEO perfectly embodies his literally faceless, unscrupulous big-suit character. It's reminiscent of all those corrupt executives of science fiction. Voice acting is surprisingly clear, although the distortion effect makes it hard to hear a few times, I needed a rewatch to fully understand what he was saying, and during the part where he shows the devolution of commissions, I still have trouble comprehending his dialogue. However, everything else is so clear and backed up by lucid, beautiful visuals this doesn't matter a whole lot.

Tl;DR, great job with this enlightening masterpiece!

By the way, I use Sketchbook on mobile which is no longer an AutoDesk property and, if I'm not mistaken, the Premium bundle (which you can effectively use the app without) used to be a subscription, now replaced with a one-time purchase. Perhaps that is an explanation in itself.

[Valentine Blues]

Short but sweet! I really liked the staging and expressions of the characters, particularly when the guy's eyes are propelled out and his crying girlfriend. This violent twist was actually pretty funny and surprising. Your cartoony sound and music choice add juxtaposition and charm as well. I guess the only thing is the pacing: perhaps the part where he loses his eyes could be shorter? It doesn't take that long to realize consider how expressive he is.