Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made

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Your average 8-12 year old (the suggested age group for this book) wouldn’t get the references of most of the chapter titles: There was a lot of body shaming going on in this story, and in a way that made it seem like it was okay to do, even funny cool. This conundrum completely mirrors Timmy’s character. Most of the events lead you to conclude that Timmy is cognitively limited and a complete outcast. He eats on a lunch bench by himself to ensure the other kids won’t steal his secrets. Except, nobody is ever overtly mean to him. He seems to spend enough time with friends, dropping great punchlines as opposed to actually solving their cases. Even Flo, hardcore-biker-librarian shows up at his play. John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter reviewed Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made positively, describing it as a "charming" and "very funny film" that manages to be "the best of [Disney+]'s original programs by a wide margin." [18] Brandon Zachary of Comic Book Ressources reviewed the movie positively, stating " Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is a ridiculously charming film, and one of the best in its genre. It isn't trying to be more than the fun and imaginative family film that it is, and that's perfectly fine when it's as well-crafted as Timmy Failure." [19] Clint Worthington of Consequence gave the film a positive review, calling it as "fun and entertaining" movie that "works for kids and adults alike" featuring "series of adorable performances, from Fegley and the rest of the kids to the all-too-game adults." [20] The ending was sweet, though poor Timmy misses out on that sweetness, he just isn't too sharp. Set in a Wimpy Kid format this will certainly appeal to kids!

Well, if this one's going to show up with a blurb from Jeff Kinney on the cover, let's start the comparisons. If you know any fans of Wimpy Kid, they read it like I watch Arrested Development. Over and over and over again. Sometimes they read the same book again and again. Sometimes they start from the beginning and go through the series. Hey, if you're forced to read for 20 minutes a night, might as well enjoy it, right? We fall in love with stories that are greater than the sum of their parts. I may be wrong - but the Jeffersons? Peanuts? Petula Clark? Many decades ago. Those are there for the Older Readers. You know how all books are not for all readers and some books work SO MUCH BETTER when read aloud? Yeah, this was definitely the case with the particular book and myself. I was all ready to throw in the towel because quite honestly, I couldn't believe what I was reading. I get it is for a much younger audience than I, but I read a fairly large amount of Children's Fiction and even Picture Books, so the fact that this one was giving me fits was enough to aggravate. HOWEVER, in my exasperated state, I tried reading several passages aloud to illustrate the absurdity of what was happening...and you know what? It. Changed. EVERYTHING. I'm not saying I'm a diehard Timmy fan now, because yeah...I'll leave that to the fandoms, however I could appreciate the humor, the jokes, the ridiculous nature of some situations and the whole investigation into the missing candy THAT much better with all my gesturing, vocal variations, and moments of acting out. So why yes, not all books are for all readers, if you've a kiddo in the house that likes to use their imagination, and you happen to have a few moments to spare to enhance the adventure, I highly suggest a read aloud session with this book!Timmy Failure is an idiot. That's the only way I know to describe him. He thinks he's a genius, but he is oblivious to what is going on around him. He fancies himself a detective but misses clues a 4-year-old would catch. He's also mean to his friend Rollo ("the rotund boy"), mean to his classmate who clearly has a crush on him, and he's mean to his other classmate, Corrina Corrina, who has enough problems on her own with her emotionally absent father. He's not very respectful of his mother or his teacher. He just seems to think he's the smartest and really has no time for anyone who doesn't think that, too. It’s Timmy’s situation that highlights the brilliance of Patsis’ writing. Betsy Bird brought up the question about whether Total, Timmy’s associate who happens to be a 1,500 pound polar bear, is a real part of the story or as her husband thinks, a manifestation of Timmy’s break from reality. I was sure I agreed with Matt. Most of the time. Because there are more places where you could evidence the latter. But then, there are those moments where Total absolutely has to be real. There are now seven books in the series which is a must for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Barry Loser or Tom Gates, and all readers aged 8 and upwards who love silly stories. The comic adventures of Timmy and Total are riotous but also surprisingly poignant and may bring a tear to your eye.

DeFore, John (January 25, 2020). " 'Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made': Film Review | Sundance 2020". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 26, 2020. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 8, 2018). "Disney Unveils Inaugural Streaming Service Launch Slate To Town; No R-Rated Fare". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 22, 2018. Timmy hasn't had an easy life and its his problems interspersed with the humor that make this book better than similar fare. His single mom has lost her job and is dating a loser boyfriend that puts Timmy down. His mom clearly loves Timmy, reading to him before bed, blowing in his ear trying to make him laugh, and disciplining him when necessary. He's a handful and she does the best she can but the two live in a one bedroom apartment and there is little space. His nemesis is a classmate, "Corrina, Corrina" who also has a detective agency, is smart, and has a more stable life. Timmy isn't even on her radar even though he thinks that all she thinks about is him. He's failing school and his friend is the playground lady and polar bear that is either real or a figment of his imagination.And speaking of the car crash... there were no consequences for Timmy, in fact the police gave him chocolate milk and a tour of the police station. But i was reduced to jelly when our hero was filling out a standardized test form so that the dots made the shape of his name (last year he made mountains). The difference was that this year they were being graded in a group: Failure's got it. They say boys tend to be more plot-centric. That they don't care for character development and feelings and all that. There better be some good ol' violence or at the very least some bathroom humor. And yeah, I love the books that pull those elements off as much as the next 10-year-old, but when character is given the treatment Pastis and Kinney work, we love that too. REVIEW: Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made Is the Perfect Blend of Clever & Childish". CBR. September 21, 2020 . Retrieved April 4, 2022.

Worthington, Clint (February 6, 2020). "Film Review: Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made Is Deliciously Deadpan Disney". Consequence . Retrieved June 6, 2022. Bart, Peter (January 24, 2019). "Peter Bart: Streamer Mania Means Greenlights Galore, But Slate Strategies Still Baffle Creatives". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 24, 2019. Tallerico, Brian. "Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made movie review (2020) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com . Retrieved June 6, 2022. It should be of little surprise that the guy behind the Pearls Before Swine comic strip should also produce some fan-tastic animals. My favorite is Senor Burrito, a cat who dunks her paw into Timmy’s tea whenever he turns his head. The image of her sitting there, one paw well past her elbow in a teacup, is so good I’d rip it out of the book and frame it if I could justify the act of defacement.In the course of any of this have I actually mentioned that the book is guffaw-worthy? Laugh-out-loud funny? Look, any book where the main character reasons that since the name “Chang” is the most common in the world he should automatically fill it in on all his test papers because the odds would be with him has my interest. Add in the fact that you’ve titles of chapters with names like, “You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile” (well played, Pastis) and visual moments where Timmy is holding a box of rice krispie treats above his head ala Say Anything. Clearly this is adult humor, but when he hits it on the kid level (which is all the time) the readers will be rolling. Timmy Failure thinks himself to be a topnotch detective that is destined to run a multi-billion dollar detective agency. The irony here is that Timmy does live up to his name, no matter how much he tries to assure readers he isn't a failure, by missing the blatantly obvious answers to all his cases. Stephan Pastis has mentioned another essential character in the books, a polar bear called Total. He assists Timmy Failure in carrying out the investigations. As Timmy Failure and Total are the main partners of his detective agency, it eventually gets the name Total Failure, Inc. A number of other essential characters created by author Pastis for this series include Rollo Tookus, Aunt Colander, Molly Moskins, Doorman Dave, Emilio, Tom John John, etc. The settings of the plots take place in Key West, Florida and Cuba, and several other places in the country. All the novels of the series are widely successful. They have received praises from several prominent critics, fellow authors, and a large number of readers throughout the world. Stephan Pastis was also praised for his magnificent writing skills and character development. The series’ success made him well known author of children’s books and established him in the ranks of prominent writers. He looks forward to add several more titles in this series and develop other novel series as well. It also seems that this book was only made because there was a movie adaptation. I assume that the author was on a big deadline to try to release the book in time for the movie, so I don't blame the author, but that doesn't change the fact that this book didn't capture the energy of the other books. I think a better move, would be to do a reprint of the first book with the screenshots from the movie on the front cover. That's what most book-to-movie adaptations do, and I think this would've been a good idea for this one as well, although I'm unsure if the movie closely resembles the first book.

Whether his pet polar bear Total is real or not, a la Calvin & Hobbes, I couldn't say. He didn't add a whole lot to the story, but I did enjoy seeing him steal Staci the polar bear's beach ball.

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Turnquist, Kristi (June 26, 2018). "Disney movie shooting in Portland to hold casting call for extras". OregonLive.com . Retrieved July 22, 2018. Sundance Film Festival (December 4, 2019). "Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made". Archived from the original on December 15, 2019 . Retrieved December 23, 2019. In a world where imaginary friends co-exist with humans, Timmy Failure is an 11-year-old living in Portland, Oregon with his single mother Patty. Timmy runs Total Failure Inc alongside his own personal detective agency, and "solves" cases. Much of Timmy's adventures revolve around himself traveling with his polar bear partner Total (implied to be the result of his father walking out on him and his mother) across the city looking for cases and outwitting the " Russians" (actually just bearded hipsters). Among his small social group are his best friend, Charles "Rollo" Tookus, a former member of Total Failure Inc., who quit after a mission gone awry, and Molly Moskins, a perky and optimistic girl who has a crush on Timmy. Timmy considers his arch-enemy a girl named Corrina Corrina, who is actually very friendly to him and appears oblivious to his animosity towards her, though it is implied to be due to him having repressed feelings for her.