Crazy to think Kung Fu Panda 4 has already aged worse in six months than the first three movies have in 8-16 years.
Season 1: Vi and Jinx both cling to memories of who the other used to be.
Season 2: Vi and Jinx confront and learn to accept each other (and themselves) for who they are in the here and now.
Astrid: (posing seductively) Draw me like one of your dragons.
Hiccup: Uh… okay… "Astrid Hofferson. Sharp Class. Speed: Unknown. Size: 5'9. Extremely dangerous, never engage -"
Buster would probably let Suki, Porsha and Darius see the Moon Troupe's shows for free if they asked, but they line up to buy tickets anyway just to support him and the gang.
With the responsibility of leadership and the dangers of pedestals and hero worship being such major themes, it only makes sense that all three of the film's leaders would show their true characters, and in doing so seal their fates, in moments where they have to kneel/bow.
Sentinel Prime essentially sets the entire second half of the film in motion when both the heroes and we as the viewer see him kneel to the Quintessons. It confirms everything that Alpha Trion was just telling them/us about him, and it's also the very thing that ends up getting broadcast to Iacon in order to finally expose Sentinel and turn the public against their False Prime.
For all his superficial charisma and his talk of looking out for the little guys, Sentinel himself is truly nothing more than a self-centred, spineless coward, who couldn't care less for the needs of the many and gladly bends to the will of bigger bullies/oppressors in order to keep himself in power.
After learning of Sentinel's betrayal and being subsequently captured with the High Guard, D-16 makes a point to stand while in custody and adamantly refuses to kneel. Even when Sentinel begins beating and torturing him, D-16 makes it abundantly clear that he has no intention of bowing to him or anyone else ever again.
In better circumstances this could be a heroic trait, a courageous defiance and the willingness to stand up in the face of injustice. But it just as becomes a negative one, and it's one of the last warning signs to the kind of leader that Megatron is going to be.
He may have started out with good and heroic intentions, but because of this Megatron sees himself as superior, and whether by choice or by force, he expects his fellow Cybetronians to rally behind him just as they did with Sentinel. While he sees himself as a revolutionary, in the end he's just going to become another tyrant.
And then we have Orion Pax. For much of the film, he's a far cry from the noble, legendary leader that we know and love from other iterations, but he starts to grow into it as he devises the rescue mission, and is tasked with rallying his fellow miners to help.
Having gotten a major upgrade since the last time he saw them, Orion now towers over his former peers and they're utterly awed by the sight of him. Rather than trying to take advantage of their admiration or even intimidate them with his new size and strength, Orion almost seems frustrated by the new height difference, and before beginning his speech he kneels down to literally speak to them on their level.
Orion doesn't make a point to do this, no one has to ask or prompt him to, in fact he himself doesn't even give that much thought to it, it's just his first instinct for how to best communicate. He may look larger and stronger now, but he still values the miners as his friends and his equals, and nothing is ever going to change that.
Gaining the Matrix later on may have gotten him the name, but it's this moment when Orion truly begins to embody the true core and heart of Optimus Prime. Powerful and inspiring, yet humble and caring. Or perhaps, as the legendary Peter Cullen himself has always said:
"Strong enough to be gentle."
My sister probably summed it up best when we watched it together:
Jimmy didn't get mad because his daughter was fired. He got mad because his daughter was fired.
I only just noticed this in Sing 2. While Clay talks to Buster, Jimmy's interview with Linda continues playing on the TV in the background. And this is what he's saying when you turn on the subtitles:
Yeah, he has the gall to insinuate "yeah, I totally care about my daughter who I just called an embarrassment and a talentless loser and didn't even try to comfort when she was upset" all to prop up himself and his image.
Utter bastard.
In hindsight, with me getting obsessively into these franchises when they were both making a comeback at the same time, this was bound to happen sooner or later…
Do you think Olaf's ever thought about having a sister?
Personally, if I had literally hundreds of brothers, I think a little sister would be a nice change of pace.
Spider-Man: If my villains were the PAW Patrol, Shocker would be the one with the submarine. Sure, he could be neat on his own, but everybody else has way cooler gimmicks and they kinda just do what he does anyway, so he's just sorta -
Shocker: Christ, I know you like to do your quips, but this is just cruel, man.
The show can pretend she's nice all it wants, but you just know kid/teen Sassy was one of those toxic mean girls who always made her "friends" feel shitty about themselves, then acted like she was the one lowering herself letting them hang out with her.
"Tigress' life in the Valley of Peace is turned upside down when she is revealed to be a missing princess from the far away Lǎohǔ Empire, and is summoned to finally assume her place on its imperial council. As she and the Five fight to uncover a decades-long conspiracy within her family tree, with the help of her long-lost sister, Tigress must begin to grapple with the thought of possibly leaving her friends and home behind."