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View Full Version : (SERIES PREMIERE) - Captain Flamingo: The Flamingo Has Landed/ Pancake Panic



tucsoncoyote
01-28-2008, 08:29 AM
In a world where grown-ups and big kids rule...
and little kids problems are ignored...
Who is out there to look out for the 'little guy'?
Meet Milo Powell, mild mannered kid by day..
But when a little kid faces a big problem...
There is one hero, who's looking out for 'the little guy'...
Because when there's a call for help...
Milo Powell miraculously transforms into...
CAPTAIN FLAMINGO!
http://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/jetix.jpghttp://www.sky.com/Assets/Image/StaticFiles/551310.jpg[/
His Mission:
To save little kids from being all overwhelmed, downtrodden and stuff.
Armed with his trusty 'pink flamingo colored glasses',
and his backpack of powerful novelty items,
Captain Flamingo is ready to save the day,
With a little help from his 'anonymous' sidekick, Lizbeth
he'll save the day, and be home in time for bed!


In the first of two episodes we find out that mild-mannered Milo Powell is motivated, driven, and has the imagination and faith to become a superhero.


As Milo stands proudly in his homemade super-tights, his unwieldy flamingo-beak helmet and terry cloth cape, ready to take on an outsized world!


With Milo, things rarely turn out as planned, but somehow they do always manage to turn out alright.


but you gotta feel sometimes sorry for poor Milo.


Because he carries a heavy heroic burden because kids everywhere really do rely on him, so he approaches their problems with perhaps the utmost seriousness of a real superhero, as if the fate of their world depended on it (and maybe it does!). We watch as Milo Transforms from mild-mannered Kid to superhero in our first episode titled:


The Flamingo has landed..


Then in our second episode, Milo decides to go with his family to his favorite pancake place and tries to prove to himself and his parents and brother, he can finish off an adult stack of pancakes that are made out of Banana nut flavor. But when his wacky friend Rutger unleashes a banana crazed monkey on the world, Can Captain Flamingo finish that "Tall Order" of banana nut pancakes? Or will Rutger's tentative pet make a monkey out of Captain Flamingo, as we order up our second helping called:


Pancake Panic!


Get Ready folks because this is the first episode of many more to come. as we watch the brave adventures of...



CAPTAIN FLAMINGO!


Let the Discussion begin!


First Impressions:


After watching the first two episodes, I will admit.. I'm kind of slightly disappointed and for a few good reasons.


First off the opening theme song really is lame. How Lame you ask? Well this opening theme is not Pepper Ann bad (Like a Cat in A blender), but more like Teamo Supremo bad. It's not the greatest or most memorable opening theme either (I mean most folks can remember Kim Possible's Opening theme, Some can remember American Dragon's opening them, But this? This isn't memorable or even catchy. It's just.. well.. Lame.. Like a duck.


Now on to our two episodes:


First up: The Flamingo has landed. I


n this opening episode we see Mild mannered Milo Powell trying to visit his favorite comic book store trying to get one of his best superhero books (Captain Quantum #31). But thanks to the big kids (who trod over him like he's a doormat), he's stuck with perhaps the lamest comic on the planet (Wacky Duck? Puhlease).


But then Milo looks up to three of his biggest superheros (one of them being Captain Quantum), and in a bit of an imaginative way, they tell Milo that even they too started out small. So Milo schemes up a plan and after looking for a good superhero title, he can't come up with any..that is until he spies the pink lawn ornament in his front yard..(Yep you guessed it.. A pink flamingo..(Shades of Batman here). But it's right here that things go off the wall.)


Milo then spends the next 2 days and nights coming up with his superhero costume and finally he perfects it..But what is really odd is that already Captain Flamingo has a fan. That of his across the street neighborhood girl, Elizabeth.


Now Milo's not the smartest cookie in the jar. Elizabeth even though you could call her a "Sidekick" isn't really such. But she helps Cap out by giving him hints and even ideas.. All of which Milo, I mean Captain Flamingo rejects sometimes.


It's not until his first mission which is to rescue a comic book from a big kid that we see how good (or how bad) Captain Flamingo is.


If you want to see creativity, Look to Cap's female fan, Elizabeth, rather than to Milo himself. He's a Hero Wannabe.


And thus proves one thing.. That the theory that "Girls are the real heroes here" rings true. Milo comes across as Superman with no brains. Or for that matter, any superhero like Batman who uses his brain. Milo is just.. well.. Milo.


But after saving the kid's Comic book the kid admits it was given to him by his dad (Who owns the comic store, but then why would Milo accept a now damaged comic? After reading the story to other kids, It's Elizabeth who suggests to Milo to tell his own story.. that of Captain Flamingo (and you can already see, Elizabeth has a crush on him, can we say Shippiness in a bottle? I knew we could.


Now moving on to Pancake Panic! This episode starts off with Milo finding out it's pancake day, and his family goes to the local pancake house. Of course Milo loves Banana nut pancakes...But since the pancake house doesn't have a Kid's stack of banana nut pancakes, Milo's forced to eat the whole adult sized stack of pancakes. In a way Milo's bitten off more than he can swallow here. He gets about 4 full bites and that leaves him full.. That when the trouble really starts.. Hearing a kid crying for Help (which turns out to be Rutger), he dashes into the bathroom, changes into his Flamingo suit, and comes out, where he runs into.. Yep you guessed it.. Elizabeth. Elizabeth describes that Rutger has a rampaging monkey on his hands and that the monkey is hauling Rutger around the city like King Kong and Fay Ray, but Milo thinks the monkey is a Warrior monkey, (Get your hands off of Rutger, you dirty stinking Monkey!) But the real trouble starts when Rutger asks his dad for the monkey and the dad is unsure, but here comes the monkey and off we go onto this crazed course of the Monkey hauling Rutger around by a leash.


It's here where the so called Imagination begins and ends just as quickly. Rutger is put onto a playground merry go round and is spun until he's about to hurl. then the Monkey takes him up to the top of a slide and spanks him..(Bad joke here, considering it's TV-Y7FV). But again Elizabeth is the one giving out the hints as Milo/Captain Flamingo is totally clueless, wondering what Monkeys want..(Bananas!!) But thanks to a bit of trickery the old "Banana Peel' trick and a still large stack of Banana Nut pancakes, The monkey downs it all then collapses in a heap, fully stuffed with Banana nut pancakes.. Now Rutger has the Monkey in control.


In the end Milo's Parents are amazed that he can eat a full stack of pancakes, but Milo sheepishly admits he wants a short stack..(Lying that he's still a little bit hungry.. And the pancake house goes silent, just like my laughter (Heck I wasn't even laughing for 1 minute, the only joke being the "Get your hands off of him, you stinkin' monkey" joke, and that's where it ends.


Now as far as the characters go, Milo isn't the smartest apple in the bunch, it's his crushing female friend, Elizabeth who's handing out solutions here. Milo just doesn't have it in him to think..(Maybe eventually he will, but until then, Elizabeth is doing all the brain work while Milo walks around acting like.. A bird brain.)


But the Bottom line of this show is this.. Captain Flamingo is supposed to help little kids solve problems.. Yet Captain Flamingo is totally and absolutely clueless. In short, the show falls way short..except maybe in the "Imagination Department but then when you have a clueless hero and a crushing fangirl giving out hints, this show is doomed to lay an egg.


The Bottom Line:


I'm sorry to say but Captain Flamingo comes across to me like another cartoon show that at one time aired on Cartoon Network, called Atomic Betty. There are differences here, as in Atomic Betty, Betty was the clever one, where as in Captain Flamingo, poor Milo gets typecast as the Clueless bumbling buffoon of a hero that needs help from of all things.. a girl, and not only just a girl, but a girl who's worshiping him like he's a superhero. (A better analogy would be Lois Lane giving aid to Superman by dropping obvious clues to the man of steel).


In the end, Captain Flamingo looks good on paper, but does this Flaming 'fly'?


Nope, this one is more along the lines of a 'dodo bird' and we all know where dodo birds went.. they went extinct.


Even though this is the first two episodes, Captain Flamingo seems to me to be a lackluster effort from Canada to get a male version of Atomic Betty, but until Milo 'gets a clue' and doesn't rely entirely on his fan girl, Elizabeth that much, he's going to be walking around like a 'blue-footed booby Albatross rathen then the noble pink flamingo that he claims he is.


In short, there are a lot of faults here mostly on the part of the plots, and unless things change, Captain Flamingo will be on 'the endangered species' list.. with the option to go extinct. But if the next few stories come around and Milo/Cap starts thinking like a superhero, then maybe this bird has a chance to take off.. Otherwise, Captain Flamingo is going to end up as a lame duck, that lacks the fun and cuteness of Pucca or the comedy/action mix of Yin Yang Yo!


In closing.. It's a Bird, It's a plane.. Nope this one is a turkey, and until the stories get better, Captian Flamingo will.. Lay an egg..


and with that, I'm done with the bird jokes..


Captain Flamingo Gets a 1.5 out of 5 stars for both episodes, for having No REAL imagination, having our hero totally clueless, and really inept, and blowing things totally out of proportion.. (Okay I'm done with this post.. Let the others have their say.)


:coyote:

Master Toon
01-28-2008, 10:19 AM
I'm sorry to say but Captain Flamingo comes across to me like another cartoon show that at one time aired on Cartoon Network, called Atomic Betty.

That could have something to do with the fact that they're both made by Atomic Cartoons.

tucsoncoyote
01-28-2008, 11:40 AM
That could have something to do with the fact that they're both made by Atomic Cartoons.


And maybe that's why Atomic Betty failed so miserably. Maybe if Atomic Cartoons were thinking better, Captain Flamingo could have turned out to be a better "Little Kids superhero show", rather than another "Run of the Mill" version of Atomic Betty.

Sadly this show is well.. for the birds..

I mean when you think about it, it comes back to that old TZ.net topic, about how girls are intelligent in these cartoons whilst boys end up looking like they're complete and total idiots. Like I said, in my original comment, This show moves like a Blue footed Booby/Albatross, better known as a 'Goony Bird', and if you have ever seen a Goony bird land, well they usually face plant themselves on any beach, and in a way this show did just that, face planting itself face first upon the first episode.

But if they don't improve the writing and make Milo a little more competent, well then you can kiss that Flamingo, good-bye.

or as that one famous old Disney short said..

"Man it is tough.. to be a bird.."
:coyote:

The Huntsman
01-28-2008, 12:01 PM
But if they don't improve the writing and make Milo a little more competent, well then you can kiss that Flamingo, good-bye.
My friend, I truly respect your opinions and I admire your way with words, but you should never speak in absolutes. There are plenty of shows that I dislike that have received numerous seasons, and even your beloved “Kim Possible” had many people who thought it would get cancelled after it debuted. You can’t predict a show’s demise based on a few episodes, and as I’ve said in the General Animation Forum, everybody over the age of the target audience has a tainted opinion. Keep in mind that these shows are designed for children; look at these shows through that prism and you may be able to find true entertainment.

With that said, I’ll need to try to watch Captain Flamingo next time I get the chance.

tucsoncoyote
01-28-2008, 12:41 PM
With that said, I’ll need to try to watch Captain Flamingo next time I get the chance.

Have you ever seen the "Original Idea (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsJu2Py9nk)" behind Captain Flamingo? Well I found out that the original drawings and animation has Milo Powell looking more like Dexter from Dexter's Labpratory, than what he looks like in these first two episodes.

Oh and if you think I was joking about The Opening Theme song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ZRffWVZqI)? I mean it's no Pepper Ann with a badly off sung theme sounding like the proverbial cat in a blender, but it is perhaps one of the most forgettable songs ever. I mean Teamo Supremo didn't have a theme song per se, but still.. it makes you wonder.. who wrote the theme song for this series?

After all this isn't about Kim Possible It's about Captain Flamingo, and believe me Huntsman, I saw the first 2 episodes this morning, and I'll give it 2 more episodes, before I really pass final judgement on it. (I have what is called the "3 tries and you are out" rule). So consider this 'Strike 1' against Captain Flamingo.

:coyote:

Racattack!Force
01-28-2008, 07:02 PM
Dang I missed the show! I need to watch Jetix a lot more. But yes, the song is horrible, but at least I can actually hear what they are saying in the Pepper Ann theme. I couldn't understand half the things siad.

tucsoncoyote
01-28-2008, 08:47 PM
Dang I missed the show! I need to watch Jetix a lot more. But yes, the song is horrible, but at least I can actually hear what they are saying in the Pepper Ann theme. I couldn't understand half the things siad.

And that is why Captain Flamingo's opening theme song gets my nod for most forgettable song in the Disney/Jetix theme songs.. I tend to agree you can hear Pepper Ann's opening lyrics quite nicely.. The only issue I have with that is that whoever is singing it is either (1) tone deaf) or (2) is trying to sing over the sound of a Cat in a Blender..

But as for Capt. Flamingo? I was really shocked they even did a theme song.. but what's worse is that it's No Brandy and Mr. Whiskers or Dave the Barbarian..I mean.. Captain Flamingo's theme song is like .. WHAT?? HUH?? *Scratches Head furiously*

See that's why I say that even when you see the first 2 episodes you really see who's in control here.. and it's not Milo..

(Heck I can see an upcoming episode where Elizabeth (or Lizabeth) Dons a Flamingo Girl costume..(Adam West: Quick, Don this Ferret Girl outfit!)

Oy.. Captain Flamingo is for the birds!!!

:coyote:

The Huntsman
01-28-2008, 10:15 PM
I have mixed thoughts. Both of these episodes were pretty good, but I’ve always been an opponent of gender unfairness in animation. I’m not sure why so many companies feel the need to do such things, but female characters are typically portrayed in a much better fashion than male characters. Granted, such isn’t a death knoll; I was a huge fan of “Kim Possible”, even though it suffered from the same sort of gender unfairness that Captain Flamingo has. I suppose that I’m sort of willing to accept Milo’s ignorance, as he isn’t a real superhero; when you accept the fact that this series is really just about children using their imagination, you can’t really expect sophisticated plots. I would like to see Milo achieve some accomplishments on his own, though there are many more episodes and I’m sure not every episode will have him bumble through. Granted, perhaps a bumbling hero is for the best, as it’s rare to have a bumbling hero. I know that it has been done before, such as in “Inspector Gadget” and “Darkwing Duck”, but it’s not exactly common in this day and age. Granted, perhaps I’m wrong; there are many shows that I haven’t seen, though I know that I haven’t seen too many.

Besides, any cartoon that references Sun Tzu is worthy of my respect. Unfortunately, my opinions are pretty much irrelevant.

...I mean when you think about it, it comes back to that old TZ.net topic, about how girls are intelligent in these cartoons whilst boys end up looking like they're complete and total idiots...
I believe that it goes beyond that. Intelligence may be the most common issue, but female characters are usually treated better than male characters in a variety of other ways. I can only hope that this series doesn’t fall into the same trap, but I have no right to complain if it does.

Lavenderpaw
01-29-2008, 04:14 PM
, about how girls are intelligent in these cartoons whilst boys end up looking like they're complete and total idiots.
:coyote:

And yet that formula worked for such shows as FOP and Kim Possible.

The Huntsman
01-29-2008, 05:25 PM
And yet that formula worked for such shows as FOP and Kim Possible.
As I said, it isn’t a death knoll, but it certainly doesn’t help. Besides, in “Kim Possible”, Kim may have been smarter than Ron, but she was nowhere near as smart as Wade. At any rate, we’ve digressed from the point of this thread.

Racattack!Force
01-29-2008, 05:45 PM
I watched the episode last night but I'm suprised that Lizbeth mangaged to stop herself from strangling Milo. In Pancake Panic, it looked like she wanted to kill him after she gave him all those hints and he still didn't get it. And I wouldn't have cared. Seriously, the guy is a total idiot.


(Heck I can see an upcoming episode where Elizabeth (or Lizabeth) Dons a Flamingo Girl costume..(Adam West: Quick, Don this Ferret Girl outfit!)
You had that vision too huh? :sweat:

tucsoncoyote
01-29-2008, 08:09 PM
I watched the episode last night but I'm suprised that Lizbeth mangaged to stop herself from strangling Milo. In Pancake Panic, it looked like she wanted to kill him after she gave him all those hints and he still didn't get it. And I wouldn't have cared. Seriously, the guy is a total idiot.

Milo Powell aka Captain Flamingo <> The Village Idiot.. The Village Idiot Award goes to Peter Griffin of Family Guy. But as for Lizbeth, man I think she was about 2 seconds away from throttling Milo with her bare hands as they both sit there in a pile of Bananas, while a rabidly hungry monkey is eyeing all those bananas!


You had that vision too huh? :sweat:

Well when you think about it Tednut, I see Lizbeth as a character who could be a superheroine by the name of Chickadee. or some other Bird name (Hey Batman had Robin and Batgirl (not to mention Nightwing), so why Doesn't Captain Flamingo get a real sidekick? I mean I know for a fact that in an upcoming episode:

Lizbeth has an "Anti-self" in a female character called Ruth-Ann, who also crushes on Milo, but Lizbeth fights her off claiming she's Milo's most appreciative fan!

But Seriously I think maybe Lizbeth should get serious and make Captain Flamingo look like a real bird, and embarass him before she eases his humiliations with the fact that she's the rival hero..

at least that idea works on paper...

:coyote:

Racattack!Force
01-29-2008, 09:10 PM
The show would be much better if Lizbeth actually became a real sidekick, and Milo gets a clue (maybe a few).

zoombie
02-08-2008, 05:03 PM
I think what you guys were talking about, and how Lizbeth is the real brains behind the Captain, that is the same premese they did on Inspector Gadget.

Anyway my thoughts, Some of the stuff is stupid, but some of it has protental. I love the whole dynamic of Milo and Lizbeth's relationship, they are so cute.

A ineviable comparison in terms of premese has to be Codename: Kids Next Door, a hero who helps kids out of jams. Compared to KND, the plots are very minor and simple, the world is more realistic. Personally I thought a lot of KND was way to far fetched. This is the oppositce of KND, the world is much more friendly, instead of a world in which almost every adult is evil and out to get you.