Nostalgia

I didn't know there was a live action pilot for the Popples in the 80s, so I looked it up and watched it. Oh boy. The plot has the parents donate the box the Popples were living in to make more space in the attic for the play room. The Popples didn't exist before this, so I don't know what used to be in the box. The parents donated it without letting their kids know, much to their dismay. The parents' defense was that it was a surprise so they didn't have to tell them and that they were being ungrateful. They offered to take them to the zoo to make up for it but instead the kids insisted on going to every Goodwill in the area until they found the box.They find the box after closing time in the last store they go to, otherwise we wouldn't have a show. Real life doesn't work that way. In real life, you get laughed at and told to leave. Apparently that's just what adults did in the 80s and 90s - donate your stuff without your knowledge or consent and laugh at you when you try to get it back to no avail. I'm glad the whole show wasn't live action - the puppets weren't bad but the cartoon is easier to look at. The musical number was very Chuck E. Cheese-esque but in a good way.

‭I've been watching The Unlucky Tug's videos on Thomas the Tank Engine characters - Sodor's Finest. He did bring up some good points about Diesel, that in some cases he's just a clutzy guy getting into trouble when he's not actively screwing over other characters and giving all diesel engines a bad name. Yes, there ended up being other characters who were diesel engines, which makes it more ridiculous that he was just named Diesel. Then there was other imagery that justify is characterization as a villain, either surrounded by flames in the background or slithering out of a dark tunnel with an evil look on his face. There was even an episode called “Springtime for Diesel." You know who else it was springtime for? Yeah. And that was in the later series when they were trying to make him more sympathetic. The new chibi animated show makes him look cute too. I never liked him, especially since my favorite characters were Duck and Toby. Diesel gave me nightmares.