Phil LaMarr Movies
Season two of the animated action series Samurai Jack covers chapters "XXI" through "XLII" in the saga of the titular hero's travels through time and space to vanquish the evil, shape-shifting wizard Aku. In the season opener, Samurai Jack saves a medieval village from the dreaded Farting Dragon (silent but deadly!). A subsequent episode, "XXII," sets a record for the least amount of dialogue in any TV cartoon series of the early 20th century. Later on, Jack meets Demongo the Soul Collector, loses his precious sandals to bier-bots, squares off against zombies and a sinister DJ who holds his "Rave Slaves" in thrall, seeks the precious Crystal of Cagliostro. Our hero faces one of his most daunting challenges in the season finale, "XLII" (aka "Samurai Jack vs. Da Samurai" -- the last-named character voiced by David Alan Grier of In Living Color fame). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The most adorable little superheroines in all of Townsville make the jump to the big screen in this feature-length animated adventure based on the popular Cartoon Network series The Powerpuff Girls. Brilliant scientist Professor Utonium (voice of Tom Kane) is performing an experiment in his lab when Jojo, a monkey trained to assist the professor, accidentally drops a bottle of hyper-powerful Chemical X into a mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. To the professor's surprise, what should emerge from the subsequent chemical reaction but three little girls: bright and practical Blossom (voice of Cathy Cavadini), sweet and sunny Bubbles (voice of Tara Strong), and tomboyish Buttercup (voice of Elizabeth Daily). Professor Utonium discovers that the girls have remarkable powers and super-human strength, and he hopes they'll be able to improve life in the crime-infected City of Townsville. However, after their first day at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten with Ms. Keane (voice of Jennifer Hale), the girls learn that having super powers can be both a blessing and a curse. Rejected by their classmates and quite unhappy, the girls are easily swayed when Mojo Jojo (voice of Roger L. Jackson), a superintelligent monkey in a turban, asks them to help him with a campaign to save the city. What the girls don't know is that Mojo Jojo is actually the monkey who once assisted the Professor; now he's embraced evil and hopes to use the Powerpuff Girls as part of his criminal scheme to wrestle control of Townsville away from the dense but well-meaning Mayor (voice of Tom Kenny). The Powerpuff Girls Movie was directed and co-written by Craig McCracken, who created the original television show as well as writing most of the episodes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, (more)
Finn Taylor's quirky comedy Cherish concerns Zoe (Robin Tunney), a woman unlucky in love. She is berated at work and always seems to strike out with the opposite sex. After being asked by an attractive co-worker (Jason Priestley) to dance at a party, Zoe is kidnapped by a stalker who has fallen in love with her. During a scuffle, they accidentally kill a police officer. The stalker disappears and Zoe is charged with the crime. Soon she is under house arrest. The technician in charge of her ankle bracelet (Tim Blake Nelson) is as socially awkward as she is. Soon they grow close and he gets her a nine-hour window in which the pair tries to find the stalker and clear her name. Rocker Liz Phair and Saturday Night Live alumnus Nora Dunn round out the cast of this film that was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Tim Blake Nelson, (more)
- 2001
If not the best new drama series of the 2001-2002 TV season, Philly bade fair to be the loudest and most abrasive. NYPD Blue alumnus Kim Delaney stars as idealistic law school graduate Kathleen Maguire, who, after her divorce from assistant DA Daniel X. Cavanaugh (Kyle Secor), put out her shingle as a Philadelphia defense attorney. When Kathleen's partner Marion (Joanna Cassidy) suffers a nervous breakdown, she reluctantly goes into business with highly unethical lawyer Will Friedman (Tom Everett Scott), thereby launching a series-long shoutfest between the two strange bedfellows. If Will weren't headache enough, Kathleen also has to deal with slimy clients, ill-tempered judges, and a seemingly endless parade of eccentric courtroom habitué, most of whom have nothing but sex on their brains. Providing a bit of moral support and affection to the long-suffering Kathleen is her outspoken ten-year-old son Patrick (Scotty Leavenworth). It should be noted that a number of genuine Philadelphia lawyers actively disliked the series, labeling it "unrealistic" and "insulting" -- but they never said it wasn't entertaining. Executive-produced by the prolific Stephen Bochco, the weekly, 60-minute Philly was supposed to have been unveiled by ABC on September 18, 2001, but the network's coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy pushed the debut date up to September 25. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Delaney, Tom Everett Scott, (more)
Season one of the animated series Justice League opens with the three-part "Secret Origins," which explains the reason that the League is formed and establishes the principal players. Duped into disarming the Earth's warheads, veteran superhero Superman is aghast when a fleet of bug-like space aliens attacks the Earth, led on by the traitorous Senator J. Allen Carter. Flying to the orbiting space-station headquarters of Batman, Superman and his fellow crime-fighter try to mount a strong defense against the extraterrestrials, only to discover that it is too much of a job for just the two of them. Thus is formed the mighty Justice League, comprised of Superman and Batman's comic-book confreres the Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl -- with added backup from a new member of the gang, the telepathic, shape-shifting Martian Manhunter (aka J'onn J'onnz). Once the alien insects are thwarted, the Justice League embarks upon several new adventures, most of them unfolding in two-part story arcs. Though the League members are united in a common cause, there is a certain amount of friction, rivalry, and envy amongst them -- just like any "normal" exclusive club. Featured in the series' 26 are a number of characters who will be familiar to any fan of the original Justice League comic-book line, including underwater superhero Aquaman; Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, and erstwhile boyfriend Steve Trevor; black crime-fighter Virgil "Static Shock" Hawkins; and Sgt. Rock (of Easy Company). Several infamous villains also make appearances, among them Superman's perennial nemesis Lex Luthor (who at one point organizes a rival team of bad guys called The Injustice Guild), Batman's longtime enemy the Joker, and such reprehensible reprobates as Brainiac, Mordred, Star Sapphire, the Shade, and the simian criminal genius Grodd. The season ends with the three-part adventure "The Savage Time," wherein six Justice League members are transported back to D-day during World War 2! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, (more)
- 2001
Charlotte Ross makes her first series appearance as Detective Connie McDowell, who seemingly pops up from nowhere to help Diane (Kim Delaney) in her investigation of a hotel-room murder involving three goth teenagers. Meanwhile, Danny (Rick Schroder) is relegated to desk duty after beating up suspected subway slasher Sid Thompson (Phil LaMarr). And Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) receives assistance from an unexpected source in her efforts to salvage her case against Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Realizing that Danny (Rick Schroder) and Diane (Kim Delaney) are too tense and high-strung to continue working together, Fancy (James McDaniel) assigns each of them to a different case. While on assignment, Diane again runs into her old nemesis Denby (Scott Cohen), who may be using a courier service for an illegal operation. And after tracking down Sid Thompson (Phil LaMarr), a suspect in two brutal subway murders, Danny completely loses it and beats Thompson to a pulp -- thereby seriously damaging his case against the alleged perp. At this, Andy (Dennis Franz), who has tried to keep Danny on an even keel, angrily washes his hands of his partner. The episode comes to an explosive conclusion when Denby shows up at the precinct for a final showdown with the relentless Diane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Opening with three back-to-back half-hour episodes, the first season of Samurai Jack wastes no time in setting up its premise: an ancient, Samurai-trained Japanese prince, nicknamed "Jack" by accident, hopscotches through time and space in hopes of toppling the centuries-old reign of terror of villainous shape-shifting sorcerer Aku. These and all subsequent episodes are designated by Roman numerals (I, II, III, and so on) and an alternate title, in the manner of a venerable folk legend. Endowed with his father's magic sword, Samurai Jack pursues Aku into the distant future, where our hero meets a group of archeologist dogs (who look and sound like Rocky and His Friends' Mister Peabody) who agree to help him in his efforts to thwart Aku. In subsequent episodes (set in a variety of time frames), Jack gets mixed up in the long-standing rivalry between the "Woolies" and the "Chritchellites," is blasted to a space colony with a group of pilgrims hoping to escape Apu's tyranny, heads below the waves to a sunken city and a race of amphibians, and comes up against Warrior Women, Lava Monsters, Gangster, and at least one Scotsman -- not to mention his own evil clone. In keeping with the series' efforts to throw the viewer off balance from time to time, episode "XIII" (aka "Aku's Fairy Tale") goes so far off the beaten path that Samurai Jack isn't even in it! Season one concludes with episode "XX" (aka "Jack and the Monks"), wherein Jack's search for the gateway to the past takes him to the sacred Mountain of Fatoom, where the truth will set him free -- if indeed, it is the truth! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The half-hour animated series Samurai Jack was the full fruition of a dream long held dear by creator Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory). As Tartakovsky explained to an interviewer from the Sequential Tart online magazine, "I love action and I love action shows, but I've never seen a show that has enough action to satisfy me. I decided I want good action that's choreographed and since I like samurai, I came up with Samurai Jack." He also wanted to create a series that "has comedy, action, and adventure; it's all those things combined! From show to show you will never guess what will happen next." Though inspired by ancient Japanese legends (stylistically, the series resembled a marriage between cutting-edge anime and "classic" Hanna-Barbera), Samurai Jack's backstory originated in the mind of its creator. The hero was the son of a Japanese emperor, whose civilization was destroyed thousands of years ago by the evil, shape-shifting wizard Aku. Suddenly thrust forward centuries into the future, the young emperor's son endeavored to undo the long-range damage perpetrated by Aku -- which included conquering the world and subjugating generations upon generations of luckless mortals. Adopting the name "Jack" (as he'd been designated by a sarcastic passerby in the 21st century), and armed with his father's sacred sword, our hero utilized his finely honed samurai skills in his efforts to save the world from Aku's clutches. In the course of events, both Jack and Aku zig-zagged forward and backward in time...but alas, never far enough backward to nip Aku in the bud before all the chaos started. Per Genndy Tartakovsky's vision, one was never quite certain if Samurai Jack was to be taken deadly seriously, or if the whole thing was a campy put-on. Not only did the scenario veer sharply from comedy to drama and back again, but even the mixed-genre musical score kept viewers happily off balance. Additionally, Tartakovsky's yearning for "enough action" was carried out in the series' lengthy pantomimic passages, in which action rather than dialogue carried the storyline (a rarity in TV animation of the early 21st century). Introduced with three back-to-back episodes on August 10, 2001, Samurai Jack was one of the best -- and best-received -- of the Cartoon Network's "original" offerings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil LaMarr, Mako, (more)
- 2001
Having appeared as "guest stars" and "extra added attractions" in such previous animated series as The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, DC comics' legendary superhero team The Justice League was awarded its own starring series on November 17, 2001, courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Animation and The Cartoon Network. Though its personnel fluctuated throughout its comic-book run, for TV purposes the celebrated League was comprised of such familiar A-list crime fighters included Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, the Flash, and a character that had never previously headlined a cartoon program: J'onn J'onnz, aka the Martian Manhunter. Initially summoned to Batman's orbiting space station to do battle against a battalion of extraterrestrial invaders (spearheaded by a U.S. senator who turned out to be an alien in disguise), the various members of the League, accustomed to working solo, were forced not only to adopt a "team" mentality, but also to put aside their various philosophical differences and personality conflicts -- which sometimes was more difficult than battling villains! For its third season on Cartoon Network, the series' title was changed to Justice League Unlimited, in honor of the many additional DC "specialist" superheroes who freelanced for the organization. The League itself was now under the guidance of The Martian Manhunter, who organized the various and sundry do-gooders into command teams, sending them off to jobs uniquely suited for their individual talents. Several half-hour episodes of both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited have been bundled together thematically for DVD release. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, (more)
- 2000
In the season finale episode, "Anthology of Interest I," Professor Farnsworth unveils his "What-if" machine and Bender, Leela, and Fry each get a chance to ask it a question. Bender asks what it would be like if he were 500 feet tall, so he becomes a giant and flies to Earth to the tune of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." He befriends a boy (Fry) and accidentally destroys the city in a take on The Iron Giant. The Professor then makes Dr. Zoidberg a giant so they can fight each other. Leela asks what it would be like if she were more impulsive, so she ends up killing the Professor in order to get his fortune. As people find out about the murder, she is forced to kill them one by one until she has killed almost everyone. Fry asks what it would be like if he were never cryogenically frozen in 1999. He ends up meeting the Action Rangers -- made up of scientist Stephen Hawking, Vice President Al Gore, Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, and Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
In the episode "The Deep South," the Planet Express crew goes fishing on their day off. Bender catches huge fish and ends up sinking the whole ship. The crew experiences their version of the lost city of Atlantis myth by landing in Atlanta, an old U.S. city that now exists at the bottom of the ocean and is populated by mermen and mermaids. The '60s folk-rock star Donovan sings a reworking of his pop song "Atlantis." Fry falls in love with the mermaid Umbriel (voice of Parker Posey), which is a reference to Ariel from The Little Mermaid, as both Ariel and Umbriel are satellites of Uranus. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
In the episode "Bender Gets Made," also known as "Bendfellas," the Planet Express crew sit in the guest audience during a cooking show hosted by Bender's hero, Elzar. Bender blasts Leela in the eye with a spice weasel and she gets temporarily blinded as a result. In order to make it up to them, Elzar offers to cook them a meal at his restaurant. However, he doesn't end up paying the huge bill and they get arrested. Bender works off his debt and ends up meeting some members of the Robot Mafia: the Don-bot, Clamps, and Joey Mousepad. The Don-bot hires Bender to help them steal a cargo of cigars, but it ends up being on the Planet Express ship. Leela and Fry get tied up and the Don-bot orders his men to burn down the ship. Bender gives up his dreams of joining the Robot Mafia and saves his friends. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
After they go to the planet of the Moochers, the Planet Express crew stop for food. They discover a tasty delicacy and bring it home, naming them Popplers. Teaming up with fast food mogul Fishy Joe, they plan to market the Popplers and make a lot of money off them. Then Free Waterfall Jr. (voice of Phil Hendrie) from Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment (MEAT) starts protesting because he believes Popplers are intelligent, living creatures. Leela joins his cause when she makes friends with a Poppler baby. Leela, Fishy Joe, and Free Waterfall Jr. appear on a talk show to discuss the ethics of eating Popplers just as New New York is invaded by the Omnicronians, led by Lrrr. They plan to eat the people of New New York because the humans have been eating their babies. After a negotiation with Zapp Brannigan, the Omnicronians agree to eat just one human in a live televised event. Leela is selected to be eaten, but the Poppler baby comes to her rescue. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
On Mother's Day, all the robots buy presents for Mom, the corporate owner of Mom's Friendly Robot Company. However, when the robots get together for her annual speech, she uses a remote control to reprogram them in order to take over the world. Robots everywhere start rebelling and refusing to help humans with their usual menial tasks. She reveals that the reason behind her plan is revenge because Professor Hubert Farnsworth broke up with her many years ago. Mom's sons -- Walt, Larry, and Igner -- seek out Farnsworth and ask him to take her back. He agrees to meet her for a date with the intention of getting into her bra, where she keeps the remote control to the robots. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
While visiting Past-O-Rama, Fry is mistaken for an employee and has to park an antique 20th century car. He crashes it and ends up meeting Flexo, a joking robot that looks just like Bender only he has a goatee. Bender and Flexo become friends and go to the robot strip club, but Fry thinks that he's evil. He joins the Planet Express crew on a sensitive mission to deliver an important atom to the Miss Universe Pageant. Fry stays up all night to watch over Flexo, but he ends up falling asleep during his own shift. When they get to the pageant, the atom has been stolen and Flexo is gone. Everyone looks for him, leading to a battle between the two robots. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
When Amy takes Fry for a spin around Mercury in her new car, they run out of fuel and wind up starting a romance just in time for Valentine's Day. Because they work at the same place, Fry thinks Amy is smothering him and he wants to break up. Just as he is about to tell her that it's over, they get into a serious car accident and his head is transferred onto Amy's body. Meanwhile, Bender has started up a computer dating service and both Leela and Fry sign up for it. Amy goes out with Gary for Valentine's Day while Leela and Fry meet their match-ups from Bender's dating service. The dates turn out to be a disaster because Bender just took everyone's money and picked up random people at the bus station. Dr. Zoidberg eventually puts Fry's head back on his own body. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
The episode "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love" is a take on the Star Trek episode "Amok Time," where Spock has to go back to Vulcan to mate. Leela and Amy take Fry and Bender to the gym to work out, where Dr. Zoidberg goes crazy. The Professor tells him that he is full of male jelly and needs to go back to his home planet to mate. The Planet Express crew then returns to Zoidberg's planet where he tries to seduce his old flame Edna. Fry tries to teach him some ways to charm her, but that just makes her develop an interest in Fry instead. This leads to a fight between Zoidberg and Fry. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
On Professor Farnsworth's 150th birthday, the Planet Express crew goes to Mars University to attend a party held in his honor. After the party, he reveals his latest creation: his 12-year-old clone, Cubert Farnsworth (Kath Soucie). The crew can't take the clone's obnoxious behavior and the Professor is distraught to learn that Cubert doesn't even want to be a scientist. Wanting to end his life, the Professor heads out to the Near Death Star, a place where people over the age of 160 go to die -- it turns out he had been lying about his age in order to avoid going there. The crew finds out where he is and heads out to rescue him. "A Clone of My Own" is the first Futurama episode to acknowledge the progression of time, as this episode takes place in the year 3001. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
Leela invites her old co-workers from the cryogenics lab over for a game of poker. When Bender uses x-ray specs to cheat, Leela's friends beat him up and inadvertently destroy Hermes' office. The anal-retentive Central Bureaucracy officer Morgan Proctor (voice of Nora Dunn) sees Hermes negligence and suspends him, appointing herself to take his place. Dr. Zoidberg suggests that Hermes spend some time at a health spa, but it turns out to be a slave labor camp. Meanwhile, Morgan tries to shape up the Planet Express offices and starts up a secret affair with Fry when she reveals her attraction to his slovenly ways. When Bender catches them, Morgan downloads his brain onto a disc and sends it to Central Bureaucracy. Finally, Hermes comes back and straightens everything out. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
The Professor goes online using AOL, which has turned into a virtual reality experience. While in a chat room, Leela meets Alcazar, who claims to be a cyclops. She visits his planet and learns that they are the last two living cyclopses from the planet Cyclopia. After they spend the night together, Alcazar starts acting like a real jerk and the episode turns into a parody of Married...With Children with Alcazar as Al Bundy and Leela as Peggy Bundy . She accepts his marriage proposal while Fry and Bender find out that Alcazar is not a cyclops, but a shapeshifting alien who already proposed to four other women. It turns out he was just looking for wives to clean his castles while he made money by letting people watch. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 2000
In this take on Raging Bull, the episode "Raging Bender" starts with the Planet Express crew going out to the movies. Bender gets into a fight with another robot in the theater and knocks him out, only to find out that the robot was the champion of the Robot Fighting League. Bender immediately joins the league and wins a lot of matches because he's popular. When he starts to lose his public appeal, he asks Leela to coach him for the big match against the giant robot Destructor. She agrees because she has a grudge against Destructor's coach, Phnog, who is also her old martial arts instructor. Leela figures out the secret behind Destructor's power and she saves the day, but Bender still loses and gets kicked out of the league. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 1999
Bender becomes addicted to jolts of electricity at a "jacking-on" party. He goes on a jolt spree and almost kills the rest of the crew. A robot priest offers him the Good Book 3.0 and he kicks his addiction by finding religion. Fry and Leela want the old Bender back, so they take him out for a night of corruption and he ends up paying for his sins in robot hell. In the tradition of the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Fry and Leela try to win back his soul by battling the robot devil Beelzebot (voice of Dan Castellaneta) in a fiddle contest. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
- 1999
Fry has a dream with a commercial in it, and everyone develops a strange urge to go shopping. Bender gets arrested for shoplifting, but the crew doesn't have enough money to bail him out of jail. Fry decides to look up his old bank account, which has since accrued billions of dollars in interest over the last thousand years. He spends his money frivolously and goes to a 20th century-style auction. He bids on a can of extinct anchovies and wins over the corporate tycoon Mom (voice of Tress MacNeille), known as "the world's most huggable industrialist." Needing the anchovy oil to run her robot oil business, Mom comes up with a scam to rob Fry by making him think it's really the year 2000. Pamela Anderson guest stars. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy West, Katey Sagal, (more)
