Animation Archives ⋆ Cosmic Circus

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‘President Curtis’ Premiere and Episode 2 Review: Leadership in a Chaotic Universe

August 7, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Adult Swim, Animation, Comedy Films & Shows, HBO, Rick and Morty, Sci-Fi Films & Shows 6 min read

Rick & Morty spinoff President Curtis shifts focus towards the White House and the impossible burden of ruling a country and a planet where alien invasions, interdimensional travels, ancient monsters, and reality-bending catastrophes have become almost another Monday. President Curtis certainly shares plenty of things in common with its predecessor. The same style of jokes, bizarre science-fiction events, chaotic absurdity, and

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‘Futurama’ Season 14 Premiere Review: Nostalgia and New Adventures

August 6, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Comedy Films & Shows, Disney+, Hulu, Sci-Fi Films & Shows 5 min read

Futurama simply refuses to leave our lives, and that’s very good news. As a fan of this show, with every new season, I feel like I’m still visiting a place that somehow continues existing regardless of how much the world around it changes. With Futurama season 14, as with previous seasons, Fry is still looking at the future through the eyes

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‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season 2 Review: Unique, Interesting, and Astonishing

July 29, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Batman, Comicbook Films & Shows, DC, DC Animation, Prime Video 6 min read

Batman: Caped Crusader is one of the bravest adaptations about the Dark Knight to date. That is because in the attempt to recreate the iconic Animated Series, the show’s creators wanted Caped Crusader to be its own thing. The show embraced a darker noir aesthetic, stripped Batman of many modern themes, and focused on detective work over giving us a superhero

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‘Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender’ Review: Continuing A Legacy of Animation Excellence

July 25, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fantasy Films & Shows, Paramount+ 8 min read

Nearly two decades after the original show concluded, Avatar: The Last Airbender influence can still be felt across comic books, so far two animated spin-offs, fan-fic storytelling, games, and television as a whole. From the beginning, it wasn’t simply the beautifully written world or the stunning element bending that gathered audiences in front of the TV. It was the emotionally mature

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‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2 Premiere Review: Superhero Storytelling at Its Best

July 2, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Comicbook Films & Shows, Disney+, Marvel, Marvel Animation, X-Men, X-Men '97 6 min read

Only a few modern reboots have managed to earn the respect and praise from the fans that X-Men ’97 did with its first season 2 years ago. What could have easily been another nostalgia-driven project instead became one of Marvel’s best projects in years. After ending on one of the biggest cliffhangers in the franchise’s history, expectations for season 2 were

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‘Toy Story 5’ Review: The Animated Movie of Our Times

June 20, 2026 Maxance Vincent Animation, Disney Studios, Family Films & Shows, Pixar, Social Commentary 7 min read

I know, another Toy Story sequel? Are they ever going to stop making these? This is a valid question, given how many agree that Toy Story 3 ended the franchise perfectly and offered thoughtful conclusions for the toys many of us grew up repeatedly watching on VHS until the tape wore out. Toy Story 4, while enjoyable, existed only to print money, and many

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‘The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act’ Review: A Fitting Finale For Fervent Fans

June 15, 2026 John Daniel Tangalin Animation, Fantasy Films & Shows, Netflix 5 min read

Gooseworx‘s The Amazing Digital Circus follows young people trapped in a virtual realm. Characters embark on various quests, similar to Pendleton Ward‘s Adventure Time or Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy‘s Westworld. Jester-like protagonist Pomni (voiced by Lizzie Freeman) befriends other “avatars” stuck in the circus. Together, they face non-playable characters (NPCs), explore a haunted manor, run a fast food joint, and

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‘I Am Frankelda’ Review: A Handcrafted Nightmare of Pure Magic

June 14, 2026 Vin Animation, Family Films & Shows, Musical, Netflix 5 min read

I Am Frankelda is a brand new dark fantasy musical, and Mexico’s very first stopmotion feature film. Directed and written by brothers Arturo & Roy Ambriz, the movie is the ideal introduction to their growing Frankelda universe of dark fantasy stories. The project originally began as a YouTube pilot in 2019. That short grew into Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (2021), a

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Comic Book Review: ‘Ben 10’ #1 (2026) Evolves The Beloved Series in Intriguing Ways

May 26, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Comics, Recommended Reading 8 min read

The world of Ben 10 is one of my favorites. Even though the franchise has existed in a strange place inside pop culture, especially after the bad reboot, it was fantastic during its peak. It shaped an entire generation of superhero cartoons, sold loads of toys and games, and somehow still never truly disappeared. Even when new animated versions divided people,

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‘Maul – Shadow Lord’ Takes Star Wars Animation to New Heights

May 6, 2026 Cameron Brook Animation, Disney+, Lucasfilm, Sci-Fi Films & Shows, Star Wars, Star Wars Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 11 min read

Star Wars animation is one of the best bits of Star Wars out there. From the Clone Wars, to Rebels and The Bad Batch, each show has brought exciting art styles and directions as well as amazing new characters, some of which have since made their live-action debuts. Animated Star Wars is a way to tell different stories and have unlimited

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‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ Premiere Review

April 7, 2026 Wiktor Reinfuss Animation, Disney+, Lucasfilm, Star Wars, Star Wars Animation, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars 6 min read

For years, Sam Witwer fought for a Maul solo project, and he worked really hard to achieve it. Even when animation expanded his story in The Clone Wars and Rebels, the character remained more myth than man. And now it’s finally time to explore what happened in between those projects. Thankfully, this isn’t just another side story project. It’s an attempt

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‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ is a Cosmic Mess

March 31, 2026 John Dotson Animation, Family Films & Shows, Illumination, Nintendo, Universal Studios 5 min read

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has prompted deep reflection in me. Back in 2023, I was still a new writer here. In fact, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of my first reviews here at The Cosmic Circus. At the time, I called the animated film “an acceptable nostalgic delight.” My reasons were that the animated film embraced the game’s