Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Silly interactive tale has potty humor, cartoon violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In BUDDY THUNDERSTRUCK: THE MAYBE PILE, Buddy (Brian Allen) and Darnell (Ted Raimi) are sick of "terrible ideas" -- activities like hanging upside down near TNT and getting swirlies. They want "awesome ideas," and with nowhere else to turn, they decide to consult their "maybe pile" of ideas and give them a go. They each pick an idea in the pile, and the viewer chooses between the two, thus giving Buddy and Darnell the opportunity to get up to antics such as drinking three espressos as fast as they can, drinking radioactive cola found in a garbage dump, driving their truck blindfolded, and eating garbage pizza. While they are frustrated that the ideas are never as "awesome" as they would have liked, they continue in the hopes that the next round of ideas will be better than the last.
Is It Any Good?
This is a rambunctious, entertaining short interactive feature that's full of juvenile humor. While young kids are busy laughing at the slapstick pratfalls and mischievous jokes, parents of a certain age will find humor in secondary characters with mullet haircuts and rock tour shirts with words spelled out in Def Leppard lettering. That said, know that words like "diaperhole" and "fart nugget" may enter the lexicon of kids.
Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile doesn't rely exclusively on the interactive aspects of the feature to make it engaging. There's enough creativity at play to make the interactive nature of this an added bonus rather than the only thing sustaining anyone's interest. It's also not any longer than it needs to be; the 27-minute range (27 minutes if every option offered is followed) is just the right amount of time before it becomes tired.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about interactive entertainment. How is it used in Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile? How has it been used in the past, and what are some ways it's used now and could be used in the future?
What are some different kinds of animation? What are the differences between them?
How does this movie compare to other stop-motion animated features?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 14, 2017
- Cast : Brian Atkinson , Ted Raimi , Harry Chaskin
- Director : Harry Chaskin
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Run time : 13 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : July 12, 2022
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