The Clara Awards Winners 2025

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR. Ne Zha 2. Sequel. Animated. Highest grossing. 2.1 billion worldwide. 10 billion yuan (like 14 cents to a dollar, so 1.4 billion there). Ne Zha realms. 

BEST PICTURE IN A SERIES. Wicked and Wicked For Good. Musical, drama, fantasy. Oz universe. 

BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Superman Legacy. Reboot of DCU. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS. Fantastic Four First Steps, Thunderbolts. 

HONORABLE MENTION MARX CARDS SAW. Kpop Demon Hunters. 

Worst Picture based on the fact that Kat did not go to see really bad movies. 

WORST PICTURE OF THE YEAR. Snow White. Adaptation. Story. Ugly animations. Awful heroes and villains on and off the screen. 

DISHONORABLE MENTION. Tron Ares, Avatar 3 Fire and Ash

In House Series, stories and productions. 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. CADABRA BROWNE, CAT, 2008-2025. HOUDINI AND ABRA ALSO ON AWARD. 

BEST ORIGINAL SERIES. STARSHIP LOCATIONS WARP CORPS. Adapted from Space Time Eye. Kal Kat. Marx Cards.

BEST CONTINUING SERIES. STARSHIP LOCATIONS LEGACY. The Zombie Season ends with an additional fun fourth act that wraps it up better than modern trek finales. 

HONORABLE MENTION. THE VICTORIA BROWNE LETTERS PRESENT A CHRISTMAS FIASCO TRILOGY. It takes place from 2009-2012. 

Kat Did Movie Picks so far in 2025

 "Ne Zha 2" Every person in China has been ordered to see this 11 times, this over 10 billion dollars. Sequel to a film that doesn't quite meet up to the first one but makes up for it in a stunning visual style blending animation and CGI. 

"Superman (Legacy)" The reboot of the DCU presents a love letter to the early 2000s comic books but references the OG stuff from the SuperFriends and the classic 1970s Donner films, far better than any since The Return. 

"Fantastic Four First Steps" It doesn't have Squirrel Girl, as did the Kal Kat pitch, but it is the Kal Kat pitch. He did not get credit. Set in a 60s retro world, the Four must battle over custody of a power cosmic baby, withy Galactus there for the ride. Cards has been avoiding it since it has a baby in it. It even has a Kal Kat inspired final song. 

"Predator Badlands" Toned down a little version of the Aliens v Predator and Dark Horse films, but for a new audience, and no it is not a riff on the current administration.  Terse and witty Enemy Mine meets Picard the synth planet storyline somehow works. 

"Demon Slayers Eternal Castle" Not to be confused with "K Pop Demon Hunters", rated PG, as Marx was indeed confused and saw that instead, which was excellent too. This one is a hard R gory story set in an eternal perdition where a team of heroes fights demonic relations. 

"Thunderbolts*" This year's theme is ragged antiheroes go and fight demonic aliens or villains, as tat's the in thing. Story tries to reinstate the Avengers using the late 90s comics for inspiration, and some later 2000s ones. This is because they dropped Kang like a hot potato of poo. They needed to come up with something else. 

"Captain America Brave New World" Let's just do The Winter Soldier again only without him, and have some Civil War elements, and a lackluster replacement Cap who is not at all convincing. Yes, the miniseries is known also. He wasn't great in that also. No it's not because he's not a white guy. It's because he's not interesting. And Red Hulk should have been, but is executed terribly clumsy in this. If they just called it "Falcon Brave New World" and had Hulk fight Red Hulk maybe it might have worked. Story also forgets that in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Falcon Cap did take the serum. Just saying he did might make that boring third act more interesting. 

"Tron Ares" Let us just dump the second Tran movie and that lame let's make a hot girlfriend for the hero thing, and introduce alleged creepy Leto in the role of the new Tron, and not make it fun. Yes, let's do that. It's the old meme, stop trying to make your phrase a thing. It's not a thing. 

"Karate Kid Legends" Chan and Macchio are back, but not used enough, in the follow up to a show only some saw over there on streaming. Using some new characters, and having a karate fight win the day, okay. But then it gets stupid as bringing in a ridiculous plot about a pizza place being blackmailed, and not once just calling the police and a lawyer, is baffling enough. And Danielson is barely even in it. 

"Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning" This is what happens when in your second half you have half the budget spent on Tom Cruise's paycheck and the other on some new stunts, but can't meet the level of the last one. Dead Reckoning 2. Yeah. The plane scene is cool but it doesn't really lead to anything interesting. The dive scene is laughable. No way were they in frigid arctic waters. He would have been dead in seconds. Buit we can believe he can dangle from a plane again. He's done that. 

"Jurassic World Rebirth" Cue the jokes about various forms of stillborn birth, as this movie even tries to make fun of itself and dinosaur geeks, and then becomes a rehash of Jurassic Park 3, and the Land of the Lost remakes. The have never once taken the hint, what we want is a rampage of dinos in an urban city. Not just one scene in a city. We want them everywhere, ala that terrible America Godzilla, but cool this time. Instead what we get is a dippy plot about heart conditions and getting dino blood to save people, while a T Rex is stopped from having an annoying tot snack by a rubber raft. 

"Snow White" Essays and scores of blogs have already gone over this. Both leads are insufferable and disgusting and cannot act. An unrelated little person apparently wanted to be in the movie and ruined it for his fellow little people. They then disowned him online. An original version had there be no little people, just bandits and one dwarf. Then they rotoscoped in hideous CGI dwarves and reshot a third of it, and made Ms. Prissy, and the Evil Queen both Karens, so you wanted them to both be offed by the Huntsman, who had been so neutered he wasn't going to hurt a fly. It ends with a mockery of the original twist about the mirror being the queen, only for t literally to shatter all expectations...of a good movie. Now we know, the laid villain cannot act playing a villain. And just because the lead girl was in an unnecessary remake of West Side Story doesn't mean she can be the princess. And for the record, the name does not come from her being born in winter. It comes from her being pale. It's in the children's story. And she was likely 14 in the original story Disney used to make the film in the 30s. 

The 2024 Clara Awards and any last minute entries

Best Picture of the Year

The Wild Robot

Theme, message, visuals, voice acting

Best Musical Adaptation of the Year

Wicked, Part 1

Part of a two part series, likely to nab Best Picture at the Oscars.

Best Science Fiction Drama of the Year

Dune, parts 1 and 2

Best Foreign Picture of the Year

Flow

Original and late coming story, but was out limited in November. Marx Cards recommends for Best Picture.

Visuals, theme, message, blender animated movie, Belgium

Best Fan Film of the Year

Identiteaze  

message, visuals, acting and gravitas, Jessie Earl, De Lancie.

Best Animated Sequel of the Year

Inside Out 2

Theme, message, update and continuation satisfies, Disney, Pixar

Best In House Fan Film or Original Picture of the Year

Starship Locations Cohnirri the Redemption

Part one of a three part series.  

Best In House Continuation of Series Fan Film

Starship Locations Legacy

A Star Trek themed fan series taking place after the events of Picard in the 2400s. 

Honorable Mention

Transformers One

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Posthumous

David Lynch

Movie maverick from the original Dune movie, the Mullholand Drive, to the cult classic Twin Peaks and beyond. Passed weeks ago.

Victoria Browne

Browne Productions CEO from 2009 to 2022. Passed in 2024.

Worst Movie or Series of the Year

Rebel Moon, Snyder's Star Wars 

Caveat being we did not see a lot of them.

Our Picks for Best of the Year Movies or TV show or our own stuff 2024

 "Dune" Parts 1 and 2, best completed work. 2024. 

"Wicked Part I" Marx Cards did not see it. Based on buzz, going to nab acting and visual Oscars. Maybe song. 

"Transformers One" Best origin story, but Marx Cards did not see. Poor marketing though. Made it look like a frat comedy. It isn't. It is akin to heroes journey classics, and friends turned enemies stories. 

"The Wild Robot" Although cartoon drama, best drama of the year, best message, will likely get a nod for animated film, original screenplay, concept, voice acting. 

(Oscar will probably completely ignore it and pick some dull January release that only aired in Poduck, AK New Year's Eve last year). 

"Inside Out 2" Best sequel, even if they cut out most of the implied gay stuff, and should not have. Allegedly. 

"Identiteaze" Marx did not see, but highly recommended, a Nebula original with a Star Trek alum in John DeLancie not playing Q, and Jesse "Gender" Ear's first directorial debut. The 45 minute Matrix style evil company cult story takes two gender fluid people, a man and woman, into their midst where it becomes like an autistic fever dream. (This is in a good way, and it doesn't chicken out with the gay). 

The best short film indie category, best picture, best original story, short film, or documentary short subject, all of the above. 

(Oscar will probably ignore it too). 

Worst Story of the Year, because we did not see the obvious ones like Megalopolis and Madame Web, but did see this, as it goes to "Rebel Moon", the two movie miniseries that proves not everyone can write a spoof of Star Wars, and Snyder shouldn't, ever again. 

(Razzies will be forthcoming for this turd). 

"Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5" Final season of the parody series most similar to our stuff. Nod for best animated TV show only because we don't see a lot of them lately. 

"Transformers Earth Spark, The Second and Final Season" They call it season 3, but it's season 2.5. It too seems like our stuff in some ways. 

"Star Trek Prodigy, Season 2" Saved to Netflix, the series ends with a new Voyager and a few surprises in a time bending story. A special nod.

Best of the In House Stuff We Did. 

"Transformers Legacy" Based on the popular Transformers MUSH and Lexicons stories, the sequel series picks up during the years following the Sentinels from last year, and rushes on ahead after a catastrophe destroy space time, and the legendary Primes must intervene. 

The four stories and most interestingly the final act that retcons it. Ha. 

"Starship Locations Legacy" Based on Star Trek and on Starship Locations spin off series, the sequel finally goes balls to the wall and has the new crew pay homage to Lower Decks and Prodigy, which left this year last, and has them face various shipping fiction stories. 

"The Illiop at Mad Planet" episode adapts the Silly Trek Adventure, 1988, as a new modern movie story and is moving and interesting, sort of an update taking place in 2024 or in 2407.  

"Starship Locations Cohnirri" Original spin off series based on Conhirri Space and and episode of Starship Locations, began just shy of Christmas 2024 and got on the list. They are doing two more movies. It's a trilogy based on the long and epic first book. 

We have done at least 8 feature length films in house in 2024 with the action figures.

 

Revised Movies of 2024 List Pairs Down Contenders no new surprises

 

Wicked Part One entered the list in 2024 late with a good to fun premise, but as a part 1 is not a contender for a best award. Sure everyone has heard the songs from the musical, but like the first act of said musical, whether or not a padded remake for movie theaters was necessary is up for debate.

Lord of the Rings, War of the Rohirrim was last on the see list, a cartoon animated film from the guy that did some of the sequels to Ghost in the Shell. Like the not watched but heard of Rings of Power, an entirely unnecessary story. It isn't bad, just not really worthy. 

Star Trek Lower Decks ended its fifth and final season with the most member berries for the fans to date, but this time ignoring events of last season to favor Starship Locations by just not bringing Locarno up ever again like it never happened. Well maybe not. 

Transformers Earth Spark aired another season where they erased the background of a gay trans character or just neglected to mention it, so as not to annoy the hard right which complained about season one before it even aired, and said character. This is season two and a half. The story is resolved so there is no reason to make more of these, but not because of a trans character, because the toys just aren't selling. The character was called Nightshade, and she was there and you miss it, with any references to her gender. This season. Disappointing. Even so, her figure appears in Cohnirri as another figure. She is trans as frack. So there. 

Joker 2, what a way to make Lady Gaga unlikable. 

Moana 2, yet another very unnecessary sequel, did have some forgettable songs, but ultimately we did not need aged up Moana now a teenager going on another let's save Maui mission. 

I did not see Mufasa. Don't ask. 

Transformers One, really wanted to like this origin story, besties become fremeies deal and want to give it something for at least trying, and for bringing back Timinus to our cast for a weekend. At least that was something. 

Beverly Hills Cop, Axel F, please, Eddie, give it up already. You are too old to be convincing. You are no longer edgy or hip. The only hip you are now is to be worried about breaking a hip walking. No, no more. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, again with the let's pretend like 30 years haven't turned them all into pale ghosts of their former glory. 

Alien Romulus was trying very hard to be great. At times it was, but then they put in dad jokes and thin references to better movies, so you are tossed out into the airlock with alien goo and aliens.Not as bad as those Ridley remake origin stories though. Those sucked. This at least would have made a fun TV pilot. 

Godzilla x Kong, uhm, it did not age well and Millie's not in it. And he gets a cheeky Aussie gay veterinarian. Really. 

Star Trek Prodigy Season 2 rescued from the dustbin to Netflix to air a fine animated send off to the series. It even had Wessian. Nice. 

Bad Boys Ride or Die, meh title, meh movie. Oh, but there's a marine beating bad guys, on a TV screen, because the footage was damaged or something, so it's done all shaky cam with angles, even though security cams don't do that. 

Haikuu 2 the Dumpster Battle was a Japanese anime movie about volleyball actually. Not bad. Not great. It had some homo erotic tension it did not shy away from. It just never went for it. 

Star Trek Discovery ends its fifth and final season of a troubled show that did not find itself until going from unneeded prequel to the far future where it could have the cast not be known at all to the fleet. Not conflicted or sad to see it go, but not happy either. 

Furiosa a Mad Max story should have been more fun than it claimed to be. Prequel we did not need again. 

Dune part 2 closes the first book but moves things up, but as a whole the two Dune reimagined films deserve at least cinematic awards. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review was our first with a guest, nephew Johnny Cook. It had ape people in it. Okay. 

Rebel Moon 2 the Scar Giver was by far the worst thing I saw this year, so it's going to get something. 

The Wild Robot walks away with best picture. Yay for parental machines.

The Road to Best Movies of 2024

 This has to pertain to movies I've actually seen, so if I have not, it's not counted. 

Inside Out 2. Toned down on the 'she might be bi' narrative, the sequel take the kid to summer camp. Excellent movie. 

The Wild Robot. Original idea about an accidental mother, er robot, and her gosling special son, and her adoptive 'husband' a wily fox. Not as ridiculous as it sounds, and has an A plus message.

Transformers One. The fans were not clamoring for yet another origin movie, but this one is all about Optimus and Megatron's falling out. It's a love letter to the MUSH fans who wanted a fully cast robot movie with no humans. Misses the mark in sales, but it still is a very good film, more so than Rise of the Beasts was.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. A sequel we might not have needed, repeats jokes, and spends way too long on a joke about MacArthur Park at the end, but really an okay movie. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Hundreds of years after the other films, a young ape must rise and defeat the cruel master of a fortified dam left over from the age of humans. Not a bad one. 

Godzilla x Kong. Latest in the American version of the series, introducing a very gay Aussie, and a convenient dental scene, and another replacement robotic arm scene, both for Kong but not much for Godzilla, and some pretty silly team up battles. Eh. Turn your brain off it's fun. 

Dune part 2. The super condensed version of the second half of the Dune legend, a very good movie, but not for everyone. 

Bad Boys Ride or Die. It's like Bad Boys 4 Life, but not the title, with the wise cracking buddies trying to bust a cartel. Eh, it was okay. 

Axel F. Netflix film has Axel going to LA after 30 years to reconcile with his daughter, and rescue his old buddy from a cartel. Meh. 

Rebel Moon 1 and 2. The razzies for sure. Zack Snyder's Star Wars takes the unlucky dirty dozen clones, and then magnificent seven clones (as a few die), on a space adventure with ham fisted villains and ridiculous forced narrative about a farming planet, in space, where they could easily find any planet to farm and would not need that lame moon. 

I did not see Argylle, Madam Web, Venom the Last Dance or a slew of others. 

Did not see Prey the Predator prequel.

Alien Romulus. Member Berries about other Alien movies take over an otherwise okay story about half way in and never let go. Haunted space station could have worked. Almost does. 

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire. Taking place years after the sappy ending one, the story follows a reintroduction of the ghost corps and the meticulously rebuilt firehouse at Pinewood, but does very little to earn the chills when the ice villain is stopped by lighting a match. Really. A nod to the animated series is nice, but it did not have to end like a cartoon. 

Furiosa A Mad Max saga. Yet another Hollywood does a prequel because we need an origin, but this time from Australia, so sort of not Hollywood, but same idea.Unnecessary remake. Not as much fun as Fury Road. An okay movie. 

Deadpool and Wolverine. Fun member berry movie about why the last phase sucks, but has to be reliant on those who know the material to even work. Sure it's a funny movie, but it lacks originality. Enjoyed it but not going to give it best. Best Marvel movie of the year. Oh, but there was only one. 

Not going to see the US remake of The Killer. No. Bad idea. 

Did not see IF or Imaginary, both similar but with one being comedy and the other horror. 

Did not see Megalopolis because I could not find it playing near me.

Joker Folie a Deux. The deconstruction of the fake Joker and the imitation of Harley Quinn. The very essence of an unnecessary sequel, if just to piss off the fans. I wasn't mad. I was just disappointed. And bored. So it's not a razzie. 

Movies we Saw to Review in 2023

 Ant Man and the Wasp Quantumania

Puss in Boots and Puss in Boots The Last Wish

Meh.

65 Million Years

Fun but silly. 

Jackass 4.5

Crazy fun. 

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves

Very good. 

Super Mario Bros 2023

Excellent. 

Shazam Fury of the Gods

Meh. 

Susume no Tajiman (Susan the Lock Up Girl)

Very good.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

Excellent.

Fast X Fast and the Furious 10 Part 1

Cheesy but very good. 

The Little Mermaid 2023

OMG. No Disney, stop making these. It's not the girl. It's a dumb idea.

Spider Man Across the Spider Verse

Excellent, but it's a cliffhanger at end. 

Transformers Rise of the Beasts

Finally they aren't hiding they watch our stuff. Very good.  Love letter to Lexicons and MUSH.

The Flash 2023

Okay but too much Ezra Miller is not a good thing. Old Batman, cool, but misses the mark. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

You had a decent movie until the time travel dumb part. If you had just cut that out! If only.  

Writer and actor strikes begin.

Mission Impossible 7 Dead Reckoning part 1

Pretty brilliant and the train scene at the end, holy cow. 

Oppenheimer

Brilliant but overlong and had an hour of completely unneeded stuff and looks into his mind. If you got rid of that, it's Oscar best picture, best actor, best director, material. 

Barbie the movie

Brilliant and just pretty in pink. Best actress, hands down. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem

Not bad, Seth Rogan. Liked his take on the Nick toon version of TMNT.  SuperFly steals it.

Blue Beetle

It crawled up his butt. Nuff said. 

The Marvels

Having seen some of the shows, you can get it, but there are some very messy plot convenience in this.

In House productions Queenb33 studios

August to September 

Nine hour miniseries season of the Sentinels.

Robotech meets the Transformers Liberations

Robotech meets the Transformers Challengers

Robotech meets the Transformers Destinies

Absolutely the best love letter to Robotech to come out since we did Trans Tech and released it a decade ago. 

October to November 

Ten part series and movies series.

Starship Locations Destinations 

A love letter to Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Voyager that delivers the feels and is epic, ending with a blockbuster level movie finale made from one of our Distant Destinies stories. 

Writer and actors strikes end. 

December 

Three part mini series total 6 hours.

Blessings Deferred the Miniseries

A beautiful flawed jewel of a magnum opus to Grandma Knapp that is both religious and not pandering, and uses the action figures from Starship Destinations because it's a motion comic, but in different paint and it is surprisingly on point.