Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Reviews

Some may not consider this a “film” due to it airing in 3 separate parts online. But personally I consider this to be a film because it works best watching it is a singular film with a 3-act structure plus it doesn't count as a short film because it’s short time passes the short film limit of being 40 minutes or less by being 42 minutes. Even if you guys think it should be called a “mini-series”, I don’t care this is one of the greatest filmed works I've ever seen in a long time. It’s a slice of pure brilliance that filled to the prim with subtle moments of foreshadowing, jokes, and just overall genius that makes it enjoyable for rewatching to catch all those subtle moments you missed on your 1st, 2nd, or 10th viewing. This film goes through all kinds of genres: comedy, romance, musical, superhero movie, tragedy, and most importantly video blog.

The characters are very interesting: their themes, philosophies, actions, and how they contrast the typical roles you’d see in a superhero movie. Dr. Horrible is of the course your typical supervillain: he steals from armored cars, stalks the love interest, admires terrible people/animals, has an evil plan to rule the world, and in the end, tries to kill the hero. However, he is drastically different from your typical supervillain for a couple of reasons. For one thing, he has good intentions: he is someone who is doing the things he does for the good of the people. The world of Dr. Horrible is basically ruled by an asshole with superstrength who doesn't care at all for others and is mostly in the business for sex and to continue to expand his already gigantic ego a.k.a. “Our hero”. Now, there have been many villains in the past who have had some good intentions but the difference being that while you might agree with some of the villain’s points. There is usually one step that they cross in order to fulfill those good intentions that the audience believes is one step too far. However, the goal Dr. Horrible is trying to get at is understandable and you might agree yourself that these steps might need to be done for the better of this society. However, his planning on how to reach that goal and what to do afterwards is filled with holes and is very misguided in what should be considered important which mostly the reason why he never succeeds. Another reason why Dr. Horrible is not most supervillains is because he’s actually a nice guy. You can tell from some of the scenes in the film that Dr. Horrible really does care for people. Despite wanting to be in the Evil League of Evil, he actually tries to avoid committing murder to gain acceptance and tries to find the least immoral way to become a supervillain through petty robberies and remember he built a freeze ray... not a death ray.

It shows he is trying to worm out excuses to avoid the idea of murder to get what he wants. That is the other reason that Dr. Horrible fails in his goals is that he is just too nice to perform his own villainous deeds. His character is basically an desperate geek trying to be something that he wasn’t meant to be. Now, the story also sets up Captain Hammer as your typical superhero, he saves people from moving trucks, gets the love interest, always thwarts the villain’s schemes, opens a homeless shelter, and even gives a rousing speech about true heroism in the end. However, he is FAR from a likable hero. He is an unbelievably jackass who only cares about himself. He isn’t a “hero” because he doesn’t do his job for the safety of people but to satisfy his reputation and gigantic ego. Now, despite his overly selfish and egotistical demeanor, he stills fits the criteria of being a superhero. It’s really an interesting dynamic considering the conflicting ideas of who the audience should root for: who should be called the hero of this story? Is Dr. Horrible the hero because he is the main focus of the story and is the more likable character or is Captain Hammer the hero because he fits more in the actual role of the “hero”? The love interest of the story, Penny, becomes a very interesting element in this triangular dynamic.

Penny’s interactions with these two characters really displays the whole dilemma that is going on. Dr. Horrible stalks Penny and doesn't really care about her goals in helping to make a homeless shelter but still has genuine care and affection for her, while Captain Hammer saves Penny from a speeding trunk and actually helps get the homeless shelter made but is only in a relationship with Penny for sex and to piss Dr. Horrible off and only decided to get the homeless shelter running for the good press he would receive. However, Penny isn't just a generic love interest. There is more to Penny as a character as she is pretty much the pure optimist who sees the good in everybody which ironically makes her a bigger foil to Dr. Horrible’s character than Captain Hammer as Dr. Horrible is more of a nihilist who sees only the bad in people. There are many scenes that establish this dynamic between Dr. H and Penny. Most notably in the song, “My Eyes”. It is interesting to see an overtly cynical character falling for an overly optimistic character. Maybe, this is a case of opposites attract. Maybe, Dr. Horrible is a big fan of the Guild. Or possibly, Penny is meant to represents the good that is still in Dr. Horrible’s heart despite trying to persuade himself that he is a heartless supervillain. Penny may be a way of showing Dr. Horrible that he doesn't have to be a vile criminal in order to gain respect and to sometimes accept that there is good in humanity and you don’t need to force the world to change. We see through Penny that Dr. Horrible could redeem himself to live a normal and happy life with Penny. However, she is a pure optimist in a tragedy and this is being written by Joss "Murderer of Beloved Characters" Whedon. So let’s just say she isn't going to be carried off by Billy in the end to live their days in a happy little cardboard cut-out middle-class house to raise a joyful nuclear family.

Neil Patrick Harris did a brilliant performance portraying the awkward and kinda creepy but still sweet and sympathetic Dr. Horrible. He really got this character done and I think Neil’s portrayal of this mad scientist wannabe is up there with Dougie Howser, Barney, and Neil Patrick Harris as Neil’s most memorable performance and do I even need to mention his magnificent singing? In fact, I believe Neil’s talents as an actor are solidified with the ending of this film. Nathan Fillion does a great performance as the unbelievably hammy jerkass that is Captain Hammer. Felicia Day also does a great job portraying the innocent optimist, Penny, and while her singing voice isn't as magnificent as Neil’s or as gloriously cheesy as Nathan’s, she still managed to project a soft and sweet singing voice that made her songs all the more heart-tugging. The characters are wonderfully-written with interesting dynamics and conflicts. There is certainly something to be said about how they were written considering how long this is taking to describe them.

Let’s talk about the songs in the movie as this is a musical. Joss Whedon has said that music to a musical is like the action to action movie. They should have meaning to the story and not be thrown together to the sake of simply trying to entertaining audiences. However, the music in this film not only work in a narrative way but in an analytical way, as I previously mentioned, “My Eyes” focused on the optimistic/cynical conflict between Penny and Dr. Horrible. However, there are other examples like in “Freeze Ray” where Dr. Horrible distinctly mentions he wasn’t making a death ray, not only showing Dr. Horrible’s pacifistic nature against murder but also foreshadowing his eventual making of a Death Ray. So, the songs serve a purpose, big deal but what really matters is are the songs any good? THEY ARE DAMN GOOD! The songs in this musical present a very unique style that was greatly influenced by the works of American composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. Nearly every song is great on its rights, allowing a variety of songs that people could enjoy. Allowing anyone who's seen the movie to have their own favorite song they enjoy listening to. Personally, I have two favorite songs in the whole film are “Brand New Day” for its awesome music and wonderfully subversive lyrics and the finale number, “Everything You Ever”, for being a powerfully emotional song that just by listening to it gives you this strange bittersweet feeling and works for the events of the film.

Let’s see what else can I say about this film. The humor is very funny. There is all kinds of jokes in there: subtle, overt, visual, dialogue-based and a lot of them managed to integrate themselves into the story. Even the lines you don’t think are that important probably has more than you’d think. If you want to see just check out the movie for yourself, you can find it on Youtube as there really is no excuse for not watching it. But if you want to check out the DVD, it has an incredible commentary track that works as its own clever and funny musical which is really incredible. Also, the film has one of the most powerful endings in recent memory.

This was made during the tough times of the 2008 Writer's Strike and somehow Joss Whedon managed to make one of the greatest inventions of the year (officially declared by TIME). It really shows itself to be a unique masterpiece that I really truly recommend you check out. Seriously, you'll feel horrible for not checking out Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Yeah, I had to end this rather serious analytical review with a terrible pun... I just had to.

Ah, I feel so pathetic here, but this tonight was my first time watching it.. I had avoided it for a while but now I'm glad I did, NPH was brilliant I was like he can really sing and he really sells it without being overly acting of it as does nathan fillion who made me smile at it.. Felicia day what a voice on that girl, to me the whole cast was great acting singing ect they totally sold it and I might actually add this to my collection of joss things I enjoy as well as muscials I enjoy and I'm ultra picky about those..

ha dead bowie..reminded me of myself. and hmm smg really? didnt notice also I heard rumors
Spoiler:
sad to say..that it's not really her they just said it to get people to look more..
But all and all I highly recomend this.

I totally relate to doc horrible....totally.....cept I'd be singing for my boyfriend and pray
Spoiler:
he doesn't get killed in the process...



Go joss for making me love another one of his awkward yet catchy yet it
's gonna be stuck in my body/head ect forever! musicals.

I want a sequel almost

Joss, Joss, Joss... Why must you make us nerds so happy? For years now, Joss Whedon has brought us joy with a stream of wonderful projects, starting with Buffy, and thereafter, Firefly. Now his latest masterpiece is a well-conceived, fun, satirical take on the superhero-genre. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a three-part "tv series" that was aired online for free to the residents of US. The first episode is Act I of the story, the second Act II and the third Act III obviously. As you might have guessed from the title, the series shows us the blog of Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris), along with a lot of actual footage from his life. Dr. Horrible aspires to be supervillain, part of The Evil League Of Evil, but his nemesis Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), a selfish asshole, tends to foil his plans every time he tries to do something evil. In his normal life, Horrible is Billy, a mild-mannered geeky guy who's hopelessly in love with Penny (Felicia Day). Finally Dr. Horrible sees his chance to become a member of EoE as he prepares his time freezing-ray, but then... Well, I won't spoil anything (what I described here is learned in the first 5 minutes of Act I).

Whedon has developed himself in many aspects since the first episode of Buffy, but the biggest thing I personally noticed in Sing-Along was that his writing has travelled lightyears in the last 10 years. Whereas with Buffy I didn't care that much for the characters until like 1½ seasons had passed, in this series I was cheering/booing certain characters by the middle of the second act. I'm a hard person to charm with characters, let alone in mere 20 minutes. The story also probably will have plenty of twists that you won't expect... Or maybe that's just me. Maybe I was one of the few surprised by how it ended, or perhaps at that point I was simply too involved with the events of the show itself to actually even briefly think of what might happen in the next scene. This Blog has a thing called immersion going for it, big time. Dr. Horrible should pull you in within the first act. If not, it might not be for you. You should also slap yourself if this is the case.

Now, I don't think I mentioned the second-best thing yet. See the part in the title that says Sing-Along? It's a goddamn musical. Not all of the dialogue is music, obviously, but the majority of events take place in elaborate musical numbers. Even though the show has a very low budget, Whedon directs with a certain amount of chaos and confidence combined into his shots so that most things look pretty damn action-filled even if in reality only one person is moving in the entire frame. Also, the music is very packed. The lyrics have a lot of content in 2-3 minute songs, and the biggest surprise is their delivery. I would've never imagined I would fully enjoy listening to Neil Patrick Harris singing, but by gawd, this miniseries totally makes me listen with joy as he sings about the sickness of mankind. Speaking of good old NPH, the man oozes charisma here. Every shot he's in, he feels mesmerizing. He becomes Dr. Horrible, and it's a joy to behold. All the other singers in the whole show are fantastic with their vocal delivery, and in the case of the comedic lines, the comedic timing. The musical side is primarily electric guitar, piano or synthesizer (I could be very wrong though since my tone ear isn't the best ever), and it sounds wonderful.

If I was to look for a bad thing in this entire charade, it would be Captain Hammer. Not so much the character, but a single scene in the third act, in which he has his very own song. Even though the lyrics are very suitable, it just feels boring, especially since Act II ends with a perfect song from Dr. Horrible. Hammer also has one problem; he isn't a bad guy per say. He isn't a villain, his aims are always good, but he just happens to be a complete dick. We symphatise more with Horrible, as we are supposed to, but fact and matter is that I never came to hate Captain Hammer simply because he just wants to do good. He's just a twat about how he does it. I guess I personally just have issues with the fact that we're supposed to root against a character who does nothing but good throughout the film. Also, as far as the bad sides of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog go, the ending is something that you might consider one. This story ends with a twist of sorts, and it literally is the last shot of the entire thing. It has left many to speculate what it means, and this might push some people off the whole story abit since I do understand if to certain individuals said ending might feel too "sophisticated" or out of place for a story as comedic and entertaining as this. I personally liked it, as it seemed a proper end to the spiral toward tragedy the story took in the third act.

Overall, this thing is definately worth a purchase (it's on sale via amazon.com or viewable via stream for free at Hulu.com for US residents or proxy users).