Thoughts on Chad Rocco (aka CR, aka the Familiar Faces guy) · 11:21am Dec 8th, 2012
NOTE: This will not be a happy blog post. If this kind of thing bothers you, feel free to go back to watching the episode you just woke up for.
It's hard to state just how popular anyone really is on the Internet, but I know that a lot of FiM's fans joined the greater fandom thanks to ChadRocco's "My Little Pony Retrospective." And in all honesty, it was a great pair of videos that showed just how the show had evolved over the generations and how FiM has differentiated itself from previous iterations of the franchise. I was already a fan of his from his Familiar Faces series, which highlights obscure characters or shows and explores them with a critical eye. (Seriously, look up his review of "Milton the Monster" and how the limited animation of the 60s is reflected by Flash Animation today.) He also branched out to doing video reviews of episodes, although these only update once in a blue moon. Again, I want to make clear that I respect CR for the most part. He is a clever, funny person with an interesting subject matter and some really good art skills.
So why am I doing this post? It's because I have to let out some air about his views on Friendship is Magic...post Lauren Faust.
The first sign of trouble was during his review of "Super Nerds," a terrible failed pilot about nerds in a comic book store. He mocked the stupid nerd fights in the show by simulating one with him arguing with someone else over Skype about "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well." On its own, this would be funny enough, but he says that he has "concerns over the direction the show is going." That was a bit troubling, but then he did the review of MMDW and made it clear he was just having fun with the episode's suckiness, so I forgot about it.
And then he joined one of the commentary groups to voice his thoughts on "A Canterlot Wedding." As he's made clear since, he didn't like the pair of episodes, and that's perfectly fine. As I noted in my own review, ACW has flaws that could make someone not care for it very much. The problem was the way he delivered it - like a screaming fanboy. He opened by shouting how much he hated the episode, and it only got worse from there. He hit every single fanboy branch on the way down, and was especially venomous over the very concept of Cadance. It was like staring into the darkest sections of /mlp/. Needless to say, I was not impressed, but then the pony stuff died down and I went back to watching him rate MILFs and make fun of crappy collectible games.
But then his "Luna Eclipsed" review happened, and I finally could take no more. First, a lot of his criticisms matched my own; again, I found it a pretty okay episode altogether, with some good parts but a lot of things that made no sense continuity wise. But then CR pulls out the one card I hate over anything else: he pinned the blame for Luna's redesign and the episode's retcons on Faust leaving. I repeat, despite Faust herself saying she approved the episode, helped write the thing, and supervised much of its development, he said that everything went to crap after she left. And then the review ends with what was a funny joke (using the "Urge to kill...rising" clip from The Simpsons whenever a change he didn't like happens) to complain about ACW again. After that, I stopped following anything he did that wasn't posted on That Guy With the Glasses for a while.
Tonight, however, I got hit with a double whammy. After he went quiet for a while, I decided to check his DeviantArt to see if something was wrong. As it turns out, he did upload a video onto YouTube of him playing the "Shining throws Cadance" flash game...and deliberately hitting the red zone every time while cackling evilly. Is it a joke? Yes, and on its own it would be funny. But given the way he's behaved up to this point, I wasn't feeling too joyful. Fortunately, this meant I discovered his videos were now on YouTube, so I decided to hit up the old retrospective for the first time in a while. And there, in the comments, I saw him arguing with someone else over Sombra. Again, I didn't like Sombra, and he wasn't a fan, but the way he phrased the argument finally pushed me to write this up. He said Sombra was proof that the show was "sliding backward." I repeat, "sliding backward." As I said, I didn't care much for the "Crystal Empire" story, and Sombra was a weak villain as a whole, but again, he's using a bad villain to prove that the show is "sliding backward."
This is pretty much where the story ends, both because this was tonight and because I really have nothing else to say on the matter. I respect CR on a lot of levels. He's still smart and witty, a fantastic artist, and in most cases does all the necessary research on the subject he's discussing. But as a critic of FiM, it's pretty clear he's a Faust fanboy. Everything about the show that was good he says was because of her, and refuses to attach any negativity to her name. Nevermind that Faust's involvement has lately appeared to have been a lot more minor than people thought (remember she was geographically removed from much of the production team, so she mostly just set up the initial designs and series bible, approved the scripts, and helped work through parts of the production process), the show was entirely her doing and she deserves all the credit and none of the blame.
Not only that, but his criticisms of ACW and some of his issues with "Luna Eclipsed" scream of his fanon getting crushed. Twilight has a brother? He was introduced suddenly, sure, but he seems opposed to the very notion of her having one. Cadance is an Alicorn? Where in the show's canon is it spelled out that Celestia and Luna were the only ones prior to ACW? It's just to push out toys? Yeah, so is the very show itself, and Cadance was the only way to get stores to carry a white Celestia, so I think it's kind of an equal exchange. Luna talks with the Royal Canterlot Voice? Of course she does; she's been sequestered in Canterlot the whole time considering how she hasn't appeared between seasons. Everypony's scared of Luna again? She jumped into the middle of a Halloween-themed festival and screamed at them - of course they'd be terrified! It's the same moral as "Bridle Gossip?" Not really; that one was about not letting basic appearances err your judgment, while LE was about somepony who acts scary actually being a nice pony underneath.
This isn't the kind of blog post I like to make. I don't like to look like I'm attacking people, especially when they're more talented than I could hope to be. But I have to get this off my chest, and I'm not going to submit myself to the horrors of DA or TGWTG to do that. CR, I doubt you'll ever read this, but I want you to know that I'll still watch Familiar Faces and Cheap Damage. But when it comes to FiM, I'm not sure I can ever hold you in the same light again.
(I might add video links tomorrow, assuming I haven't just deleted this post by then. I'm dead tired right now.)
Well, I understand your position, and while I saw problems with both ACW and LE, they never really caused major problems, and both, at least in my opinion, did add aspects to the show. The biggest issues I ever had with ACW was that Twi had previously said that she hadn't had any friends while young, and then Shining was supposedly her number 1 friend all along, and that each of Twi's friends basically ignored the moral of the episode that said that you should listen to your friends, even when they sound like they're being silly.
LE really only hit me because I did like Luna's original design as cuter, but the whole episode didn't raise any issues that couldn't explained away or where truly minor anyways.
Also, changelings are cool, if a rather abrupt addition to the races. At the same time, so where minotaurs, which nobody freaked out about, donkeys, which have only been referenced away from Cranky and Matilda, and goats, which never even got a speaking line.
Really, it only gives room for more possibilities, and the fact that the Crystal Empire is specifically noted as more or less forgotten really helps with the awkward introduction.
Sombra was a weak villain, but my personal theory on that is that it was only a portion of his essence, as he was turned into a shadow and thrown into an eternal darkness, and shadows fade away in the dark, only standing sharp and strong against brightest light.
He will now that I just sent him a link to this very blog of yours.
586739
Well, this won't end well.
Last thing I want is to end up in a shouting match with someone I really like for the most part.
Not familiar with this particular guy, but I've been down that kind of road before (right here on this very sight even, though only once where it was bad enough for me to stop following the author). It can really suck when some pseudo-celebrity or such turns that one respects turns out to be less than the image one has built for them. Still, it's pretty much inevitable that if one follow such persons long enough they'll eventually show some undesirable qualities, being as they are only human and so just as flawed as any other.
Anyway, I guess you just have to take heart that you still appreciate the guy's other work.
586745 Hey, maybe CR! will get the memo and tone down the Douchey FiMboy attitude. Or not. Either way this will be fun to watch! :
im, sorry, i can't take you serious anymore. The wonderful thing about the internet is that it's exceedingly east to ignore people who regularly piss you off. Even easier if your looking at their videos and their profiles and taking notice of their opinions that they have the full freedom of speech protecting. While yes those same freedoms cover you, you should take the high road and instead of getting angry about what someone else is saying, you should accept that they are different and ignore their rants and only pay attention to the things of theirs that you like, such as his art or whatever.
Sorry if I appear to be a douche right now, but I'm starting to get tired of dealing with other Bronies just for the simple matter that they get angry for the littlest of things.
I like CR. He's funny and brings his own sense of nerd to TGWTG. But I'm with you on this one; he is a Faust fanboy. He might not want to belive its good because Lauren isn't invovlved, because he loved how she basically remade it herself.
But that's not really a good reason to dislike the show either. I still think the show is going good even without Lauren
586770 But aren't you getting mad at a little thing right now . . .?
Also, you're pretty much telling him to have a biased opinion on someone
embrace the good ignore the bad kind of thing.
As for CR being a Lauren fanboy, he better actually start giving the writers some credit.
I'll admit I'm a bit of a Daniel Ingram fanboy, because of all the staff members he's my favorite
but I still like to give credit to MA Larson and the other writers.
On a final note, finding out that a guy who you're a fan of happens to be a raging fanboy
isn't exactly a little thing to complain about. Nebula out.
Well, while I do agree with CR that we may want to be cautious of the direction the show is taking, I don't really think it's due to LF being gone. I respect her a fair amount, but everyone seems to ignore the actual writing team except when they make a mistake like Mare Do Well or (in my opinion) Magic Duel.
I guess my viewpoint is somewhere between you and CR. Idunno.
586737 Actually, your Sombra theory makes a lot of sense!
Judging by all the traps and stairs and defenses and stairs in the castle, his past self was evidently pretty smart (if arrogant, what with hiding the heart in plain sight at the top of the tower) but the present version was rather less than impressive.
And indeed Changelings are awesome. Though I think the abruptness of their introduction helped rather than hindered that; the way they came out of the blue to nearly take over Canterlot left quite the impact.
I agree with some of CR's points, that the series is starting to take a rather...unique face of direction (the plots are starting to becoming a bit more darker in season 3), but again, they have shown improvements in later seasons after Lauren Faust's "removal", like animation, and they have created some pretty interesting plotlines (time-traveling, facing one's fears, attempting to stop wedding-crashers that wish to consume all forms of emotion, learning to be get along and be accepted by others) and character developments (i.e. Luna and Scootaloo). And don't forget the references!
The writing team deserves a majority of the credit, as Lauren Faust is only one person. Thanking a single person for something that we have, while an entire team has strived to create it, is a bit....unkind, especially in such a wonderful community like ours!
586745
I appreciate the fact that, though you don't quite agree with his views, you are still willing to accept his ideals (or not) and still wish to enjoy his work. But, alas, CR has to accept the fact that he's expecting too much from a show that has evolved SO much from its original form. The plots for episodes CAN be a little "if-y", but can't we all just be happy with the things that we have? This show had metamorphosized from a failing cartoon program for little girls to a modern animation show that has surpassed, IMO, almost every cartoon (and most REALITY shows) that are presently being shown right now.
TL;DR
I agree with what you said.
I too was concerned about the quality of the show sliding downhill at the end of the season 3 opener (fueled by the loss of Faust as well). But then the next several episodes soothed those fears. I haven't seen the one aired today, but I've been really pleased with 3, 4, and 5. They weren't perfect but were still really good. :D Easily the best CMC song/episode we've had so far! In my opinion, anyway.
My only major complaint with the new episodes is that there has yet to be friendship letter. Those have been such a staple part of the show that to not even have any mention of them seems off. If there had been an explanation, I'd likely be satisfied, but we don't even have that.
But aside from that, it's been a pretty solid group of episodes. I don't think it's at all accurate to say the show is "sliding backward." That seems quite silly.
587935
Actually, there's been one letter so far, back in "Too Many Pinkie Pies!" But yeah, I would like to see them come back, especially considering how late in the season we are.
587944
There was? I don't remember that one
Who's Chad Rocco?
No, seriously, who is he? I've never heard of him, and it appears that I'm part of a very small minority.
I probably won't go read his reviews, since you detailed them pretty well in this blog. But, I do enjoy your posts and reviews. We generally agree on most of the shows positive and negative aspects.
Normally, I like CR, I really do. He can raise some excellent points about characters and shows off some really good forgotten classics (though, I wish he would do some more, I get a little annoyed by the cheap damage series. There needs to be more looks at old and forgotten cartoons). Heck I love the MLP retrospective and it helped me to enjoy my little pony tales for the show that it is.
However, I just can not really agree to any, ANYTHING he writes about FIM. I can look at all of your reviews on the show and find something I can agree with a little and somethings I can't. His though, just feels more like he cant really wrap his mind around certain scenes or scenarios that will allow the world to build. For instance, calling Luna's dream walking to be an ass-pull and since she can dream walk and go to children must mean she could NEVER be isolated. First, Luna only said it was her duty to watch over dreams, she cant be everywhere and it doesnt even look like they know she is even there. Second, Yes, because you so can watch over and protect something and can so totally get the recognition for it, be praised for it, and loved for it. Its why Spider-man is so widely loved by New York, Marvel superheroes are all loved by the populace, and Civil War was just a nightmare I had in my sleep. Or saying Twilight couldnt be alone because she had Shining and Cadence, while I know you can have close family members and still be akward. I dont know if he is really that much of a Faust fanboy as you said, havent seen that much evidence , but sometimes it does feel like he refuses to allow anything new to be put in and will forget the writers of each episode. But wait, if Cadence had been an Unicorn like Faust wanted, would there be that much complaints and if Cadence existed that must mean that Faust had plans for Shining in the first place...oops. ( by the way, on the concept of brothers out of no where, well then: Lets get mad at Team Go, ANY time the girls have familes come in, the freakin outers and asteroid Senshi, Ace,) I also think hhe is overreacting, sliding backward because of one villian that was underused (despite feelings that he was more like a Sauron character and the ep was far more about Twilight. To me, this was more about legacy rather than physical). Dude...No, just, no
588457
First, I would like to thank you for pointing me in the direction of his twitter. I don't use the thing, so I rarely check it for updates. In any case...yeah, that was just a stupid, stupid argument he made.
World Building is, for lack of a better term, always an ass pull. That's because you're filling in holes that were left by whoever created the show or was working on it up to that point, or adding to the setting to stretch it out some more. All three seasons have had their fair share, but it's not inherently a bad thing. It's just that there wasn't any material to work with so the writer had to use his/her own imagination to fill in the gaps. It's basically what we do as fans, only they get paid for it. While Luna being able to enter dreams was a bit forced, it made some degree of sense given her position and what powers we have seen her use. It's an ass pull, but it's still acceptable.
The hydroelectric dam? THAT was a bad ass pull.
And I wish everything Marvel has printed the last ten years was a dream. A really, really bad dream.
588558
In addition to making sense for her as a character, it also helps to add to her territory. It makes it so that she isnt just " That alicorn who lifts the moon" and makes her into a ruler with diffferent duties than her sister, making her equal and unique. I dont see it so much as forced, so much as something that felt natural and in a way adds something to the princesses as a whole. Like, what else does Celestia control if Luna has dreams? How far does their rule extend? ITs things like this that I think helps to make the difference between good world building and bad world building. Like you said, ass-pull but fun and for me...adding to a character's story potential never hurt a thing.
And has it really been 10 years?
He could be worse. He could have been like this douchefag here. http://comments.deviantart.com/1/312869124/2653182468
588457 You really hit the nail on the head with my thoughts on CR. He's a cool guy but I won't listen to his Pony criticisms
588558
Really? You draw the line at a hydroelectric dam?
Not that there's anything wrong with that I just find it odd that you draw a certain line at what technologies can and can't exist in this world. I mean we have steam trains, ovens, high tech sensors and computers in Twilight's basement
, modern day musical equipment that is run by A DJ pony. THEY EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN CINEMA!
If anything I probably would have called bullshit on that. But i won't because in this land of fantasy it presents its technologies in such a way that they don't feel forced (but yes the dam was forced....but that episode sucked what can ya do?) And I'm the kind of guy who just sits and watches it. I only break it down for these blogs or forums.
But that's just me
893646
If I remember right, all of this can be explained by what I think Lauren said once, "The tech will only go so far to make the gag work." So for everything, I just attune it to magic tech and go on.
Actually dude..he's gotten WAY WORSE as of late.
I actually talked to my friend about how CR gets into arguments with his OWN fans that actually enjoy season 3, all because he HATES the season.
My friend literally got a headache just by that.
I've said it before. CR has basically become Spoony without the likability, talent and ability to Apologize when he's gone too far.
1220907
Spoony can be like that at some degrees, but he's at least enjoyable and fun. Chad is just become an ass who thinks his opinion's stronger than others. How can there be opinions if he has NOTHING to justify them other than 'Oh it sucks". He hasn't even given Equestria Girls a chance, which from what I've heard from several friends of mine is pretty good.
CR is the new Douchy McNitpick
Hey Author! Check this out! http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/FamiliarFaces Look under He Panned It, Now He Sucks.
I like cr and he got me into the series
But yeah I think he gets over defensive of his opinion of the show as of now
I still like him and I think besides his bitterness about the third season he is still a good reviewer and probably a genuinely nice guy in real life
I sad to hear that because he is the one the two main reasons why I watch the show and the other my friend introduced to the series.