List of Nostalgia Critic episodes (2009)

The Critic reviews Nicktoons:

The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–96)
He highly praises the characters, the animation, and the outright insane nature, saying that watching it is like having a sugar rush. He also notes that one of the biggest controversies was whether or not Ren and Stimpy are gay, to which the creator, John K., answered, "I don't know, it's none of my business."

Rugrats (1991–2004)
He praises its laid-back atmosphere and Angelica's memorably evil character, but mentions some questionable moments. He notes that each episode begins with a random extreme close up, noting an instance in which Spike's tongue is used for the close-up.

Doug (1991–94)
He openly dislikes it for the animation and characters, but mostly because the unpopular title character shares the same first name as him, and the Critic remembers being bullied as a child because of the show.

Note: He inaccurately assumes that Doug takes place in high school. It is clearly stated in at least one episode that Doug is eleven-and-a-half years old, and in the final episode is stated that he is going into junior high school.

Rocko's Modern Life (1993–96)
He describes it as a slightly cleaner version of Ren and Stimpy, praising the characters and setup, but shows distaste for some overly bizarre moments and obvious movie references.

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994–97)
He praises its originality, characters and premise, but questions some of the adult humor.

Hey Arnold! (1996–2004)
He says it is the last show he saw on Nickelodeon, and reviews it based on its intro, asking why Arnold wears a skirt, and finding the overall premise uninteresting.

The Critic reviews Nickcoms:
You Can't Do That on Television (1979–90)
Clarissa Explains It All (1991–94)
Hey Dude (1989–91)
Salute Your Shorts (1991–92)
The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1993–96)

The Critic reviews SNICK shows:
Roundhouse (1992–96)
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990–2000)
All That (1994–2005)
Kablam! (1996–2000)
Kenan & Kel (1996–2000), focusing mainly on the movie Two Heads Are Better Than None (2000)

He says that All That was very hit and miss and the other shows are not special, but pans only Roundhouse, citing its unprofessional presentation compared to its successor All That. Especially noted is a sketch which goes from "let's talk about it" to a random moment of breakdancing.

The Critic and Nostalgia Chick review FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). They comment about the film's preachy attitude, characters and some scientific and geographical inaccuracies.

The Critic reviews The Good Son (1993). Using cue cards and subtitles as Doug Walker had lost his voice yelling how bad this movie is, his main complaint is the plot's execution and unrealistic characters, particularly the character played by Macaulay Culkin, and the fact that the adults are too stupid to see that Culkin's character is evil, with special criticism reserved for his out-of-place lines of dialogue for kids' standards, most notably "Don't fuck with me", literally killing the Critic's childhood.

The Critic lists the top 11 surreal moments from movies, TV shows and video games. (In a nod to their oddness, he numbers the list unconventionally).

11 (Banana). Toontown from Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
10 (Balloon). Cool World (1992)
9 (Z). Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (1991)
8 (Toaster). The Paraphernalia Wagon from Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977)
7 (♥). Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977)
6 (#). The Opening to the Beetlejuice cartoon (1989-91)
5 (Lamp). Beavis' hallucination in Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996)
4 (Guttenberg). The "Tunnel from Hell" in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
3 (π). "This Is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
2 (Piano). "Pink Elephants on Parade" from Dumbo (1941)
1 (E = mc²). The opening to Pee-wee's Playhouse (1987)

The Critic reviews The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987). He considers the film to be painful, bashing the film for having no plot or story, terrible characters, unfunny and disgusting humor, a hugely hypocritical delivery of the film's message, and poorly designed puppets. The episode ends with a parody of the final sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the Critic finds older versions of himself and becomes a singing piece of feces (showing off his accomplished singing voice). Special criticism is reserved for the scene where the Garbage Pail Kids start singing due to there being no indication of there being a musical and the appearance of the State Home for the Ugly.

When Doug Walker and his brother, Rob, did a commentary on the episode, they stated that Anthony Newley, who played Captain Manzini in the film, was a good actor and if the film was slightly better, he could have saved the film and he was in fact the closest to a positive element they could see in their viewing. They also admitted that Ali Gator was the least obnoxious of the kids.

The Critic reviews Moonwalker (1988). He finds the movie to be nothing more than a massive ego-trip for Michael Jackson, and ridicules the often nonsensical segments of the film, though praises the "Smooth Criminal" music video in the middle of the film, referring to it as "the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen".

The Critic compiles a list of the dumbest moments of the Superman films:

11. Casting Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth in Superman Returns (2006)
10. The Dumb-Ass Kid at Niagara Falls from Superman II (1980)
9. Recreating the romantic flying scene from Superman in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
8. The woman and the baby carriage from Superman II
7. The special effects of Superman IV
6. Clark Kent's glasses (1978-2006)
5. Nuclear Man's creation in Superman IV
4. The opening of Superman III (1983)
3. Superman's mind erasing kiss in Superman II
2. Richard Pryor in Superman III

The Critic compares Batman (1989) with The Dark Knight (2008).

Best Batman: Michael Keaton
Best Joker: Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Cast: Batman (mostly due to the character of Bob, the Joker's main goon who's gained a cult following among Batman fans)
Best Action Scenes: The Dark Knight
Best Story: Batman

The Critic reviews North (1994) to see why Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel hated the movie. He criticizes the random musical number, ethnic stereotypes, racist portrayals, adult content, unnecessary cameos, cold-hearted characters, awful jokes, the bizarre Bruce Willis character, the overall ridiculous scenario and the insane retcon in which the whole story turns out to be a dream. Special criticism is reserved for the opening, in which North passes out because of his parents arguing, and the father says "Here, loosen his pants.". The Critic also concludes that the director Rob Reiner felt he had made too many good movies and so, to even it out, he needed a bad one.

The Critic lists the top 11 cereal mascots:

11. Toucan Sam from "Froot Loops" (1945 - present)
10. Cookie Crook and Officer Crumb from "Cookie Crisp" (1981-97)
9. Buzz Bee from "Honey Nut Cheerios" (referred to as "The Honey Nut Cheerios Bee") (1979 - present)
8. Wendell from "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" (1987 - present)
7. Lucky from "Lucky Charms" (1962 - present)
6. Cap'n "Horatio Magellan" Crunch from "Cap'n Crunch" (1963 – present)
5. Count Chocula from "Count Chocula" (1971 - present)
4. Sonny the Cuckoo Bird from "Cocoa Puffs" (1962 - present)
3. Sugar Bear from "Golden Crisp" (1964 - present)
2. The Trix Rabbit from "Trix" (1959 - present)

The Critic compares The Lord of the Rings (1978) with the first two films of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–03, New Line).

Best Frodo Baggins: Animated Film. - He says the animated Frodo seemed stronger and closer to the book despite saying Elijah Wood was a great casting choice in the live action films.
Best Supporting Cast: Live-Action Films - He says the characters in the live action films had more time for development. However, he says the character of Aragorn was portrayed better in the cartoon version. Special criticism is reserved for the animated film's portrayal of Samwise Gamgee.
Best Villains: Animated Film - While he enjoys Christopher Lee as Saruman and is torn by the Black Riders, he prefers the animated version of Sauron because he is never fully shown, therefore making him more mysterious and sinister.
Best Action Scenes: Live-Action Films - While saying the Bakshi version has more realistic battles, he says that some of the best action scenes come from Return of the King, which Bakshi never made.
Best Story: Live-Action Films - He says the Jackson films have the advantage because they have all the stories while Bakshi has only the first two. However, he says Bakshi does have some strong scenes in his movie.

With help from his most obnoxious fan, Douchey McNitpick, the Critic counts down mistakes he has made in previous episodes:

11. Not understanding the reason why the African-American actor and Asian actress left from the cast of Power Rangers (He technically knew that they didn't leave the show because of their race, and was really just making a joke).
10. Placing the Banshee from Darby O'Gill and the Little People as #1 in "The Top 11 Scariest Nostalgic Moments" (he admits to personally finds it scary, but it requires the atmosphere to be built up, and that he should have placed Willy Wonkas' tunnel from Hell at #1).
9. Wearing eyeliner in The Top 11 Dumbest Superman Moments without notice.
8. Mistaking some of Steven Chorney's paintings for those of Drew Struzan.
7. Not giving a clear explanation of the secret passageway in the Bébé's Kids video game for SNES.
6. Mistaking a forklift for a bulldozer in Barb Wire.
5. Mistaking Robert Prosky for Art Carney in Last Action Hero.
4. Not realizing that some species of lizards can actually eat fish in Godzilla.
3. Insulting Mako in TMNT.
2. The constant spelling mistakes throughout the series.

The Critic compares Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Even before starting the comparison, he openly admits that he considers the 2005 film vastly inferior to the earlier version and a mediocre film overall, and that the main purpose of this video is to illustrate where the newer version went wrong. The Critic heavily criticizes Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore's performances as Wonka and Charlie in the 2005 film and admits in a later Old vs. New review of Manhunter vs. Red Dragon that loyalty to the source material does not always make a better movie.

Best Wonka: Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka) -- The Critic gives Gene Wilder the advantage as he believed that unlike Depp, he knew what exactly he was trying to be and it came out less awkwardly.
Best Supporting Cast: Willy Wonka -- The Critic gives the edge to Willy Wonka, citing the more exotic personalities of the Oompa-Loompas and especially Charlie's realistic, down-to-earth personality compared to the 2005 version's unrealistically positive Charlie.
Best Music: Willy Wonka -- The Critic states that the 1971 songs are timeless classics, while the 2005 songs are either forgettable or, in the case of "Wonka's Welcome Song", unbearably annoying.
Best Visuals: Charlie -- The Critic believes the visuals in the remake were stronger due to Tim Burton's creative mind, larger budget, and enhanced technology.
Best Story: Willy Wonka -- The Critic states that, although the 2005 film was more loyal to its source novel and explains certain elements better, it made the crucial mistake of changing the focus of the story from Charlie to Willy Wonka.

The Critic reviews Casper (1995). He criticizes the movie's puns, numerous cameo appearances, illogical nature of the plot and nearly excessive use of vulgar language, despite being considered a family movie. However, he admits that the film is certainly not terrible, gives credit to the sets and CG effects, and admits that the filmmakers at least "tried" to put effort into it. It finishes with him chasing an evil Casper, who had been annoying him during the review, throughout a GMX convention in Tennessee while dressed as a Ghostbuster. Fellow reviewer Linkara makes a cameo as one of the convention attendees who pursue Casper alongside the Critic.

The Critic lists the next top 11 (runner-up) Christmas specials:

• 11. Elf
  • He feels the movie is not good, but still praises the premise and admits that Will Ferrell is what makes the film a Christmas classic.
• 10. A Garfield Christmas Special
  • He acknowledges that the short can be cheesy at times and the songs are of lame, but praises the animation, jokes, and the characters (mainly Garfield and the Arbuckle family).
• 9. The Polar Express (but only in 3D)
  • He thinks the movie in 2D is okay, and feels the movie can be manipulative at times and the animation can be creepy, but he praises the premise and admits the 3D version makes the film stand out.
• 8. Blackadder's Christmas Carol
  • He praises the specials comedy and dark nature, but does recommend people watch the show before the Christmas special.
• 7. Gremlins
  • He admits that he is oddly reminded of the Christmas related material in Gremlins making it a Christmas classic.
• 6. The Nativity Story
  • He calls the film overlooked and praises the fact that it includes elements other adaptations didn't have, but he finds the spiritual aspects rushed.
• 5. A Pinky and the Brain Christmas
  • He praises the humor, story, animation, and the ending for being both cheesy and touching.
• 4. All in the Family: The Draft Dodger
  • While he calls the episode uncomfortable, he praises the writing, humor and calls it touching.
• 3. Joyeux Noël
  • He calls the movie a good representation of a real event and is glad that is getting attention.
• 2. The Snowman
  • He calls the short a classic, highly praising the story, but criticizes the ending for being too depressing and that it has no happiness in it.
• 1. Die Hard
  • He claims that because it takes place on Christmas, it automatically makes it Christmas special, praising everything about the movie and calls it a great action movie.

Note: Throughout the review, the Critic is constantly told of the Star Wars Holiday Special, but continues to state that the special does not exist, only to hear Yoda's laugh. At the end, he receives a package in the mail delivered by a Wookie, only to in horror discover that it is a DVD of Star Wars Holiday Special.

The Critic reviews Ernest Saves Christmas (1988). Like the other Ernest P. Worrell movies, he mocks the silly humor and elements that doesn't make much sense, although he admits that he watches it every year, loves Douglas Seale's performance of Santa and considers it a guilty pleasure. Special criticism is reserved for the presence of a bumper sticker reading "Keep Christ in Christmas", and that it is in a Santa Claus movie.