Why I Don't Like Schaffrillas Productions

In recent years, I've come to recognize how much of a negative influence critics like Adam Johnston (YourMovieSucksDotOrg) and Alex Horton (I Hate Everything) has had on alot of people on YouTube. Many YouTube reviewers tend to be so negative and cynical, that it makes it a chore to sit through their long winded rants about whatever movie they thought sucked. Schaffrillas Productions (real name James) is one such individual.

I first came across his channel with his video on Disney "twist villains," which I found myself confused by the end of it. His problem with all the recent Disney villains just amounts to "their motivations don't make sense." The following bullet points contain spoilers for Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Coco, and Incredibles 2. If you haven't seen these movies, I recommend you do before continuing forward.

*Hans had 12 brothers and wanted to be king so bad, he was willing to lie, cheat and murder his way to the top.
*Callahan's daughter got sucked into an alternate dimension and he thought she was dead. Need I say more?
*Bellwether (as pointed out brilliantly by Giacomo Bianchi in the comments of the video) wanted to control the citizens using fear and hate. You know, the usual thing evil politicians do.
*Ernesto wanted to persevere his legacy, even if it's built on lies and murder. 'Cause hey, being famous is fun, even in the afterlife.
*Evelyn was trying to sabotage her brother's attempt to bring superheroes back because she blamed them (specifically the belief in them from people like her father) for her parents death. She's the embodiment of cynicism in a film directed and written by optimist Brad Bird.

Suffice to say, the recent trend of "twist villains" in Disney films is just an example of how times have changes and as such how we view our heroes and villains has also changed. Something that was either overlooked by James or completely ignored. Either way, the video wasn't my cup of tea.

What I also don't like about his channel are his reviews. He frequently uses the term "painfully average" which isn't a bad description for a film or tv show that falls short of its exciting premise. But the problem is he uses it to describe movies that, upon watching them for myself, are far superior than what he described. Opinions are opinions of course, but he made Incredibles 2, Captain Marvel and Ralph Breaks The Internet look bad by describing character development and bonding as "boring," surprising reveals and turns as "lazy," and characters doing bad things they're rightfully called out for in the film "a-holes." I don't bother with his "Why X is a Cinematic Disaster" videos as I don't have the time or patience to listen to him rag on for half an hour on why a film from a decade ago is a "cinematic disaster" (they are not, btw: they're just movies).

The most baffling video he has made though, is his video about Claude Frollo from Disney Hunchback Of Notre Dame and why he's "too evil." He goes on about how the stage play humanizes the character but I'm just like, he was already a humanized character. He's a judge who has a prejudice against gypsies yet he lusts after Esmeralda. He raised Quasimodo to resent gypsies as much as he, yet he can't stop thinking about one particular gypsy. Frollo is a hypocrite, but he's also one of Disney best villains because he's relatable, ruthless and prideful, yet he sees himself as in the right. James makes Frollo look like Dio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, a relentless psychopath with no redeeming qualities and takes forever before he gets his comeuppance.

Credit where credit is due, his more positive videos are well thought out and insightful. I particularly like hi Megamind video and how he celebrates it as an underrated gem.


Overall though, I'm just not a fan of Schaffrillas Productions due to him being cynical and sometime unnecessarily harsh. It's find if you like him, but I much prefer YouTubers who are optimistic, yet fair and constructive with their criticisms.