2004 Review
2004 would see the continuing changing in politics, the economy ansd technology. The Federalist Party has officially become the political party for American conservatives for the most part, with a couple of smaller state-focused parties being the exception. Meanwhile, the United Central Party celeberated in Clinton & Gore securing victory with reelection, even as they were having to compete more in the various local and state elections. It further helpd codify their political and economic stances, trying to balance out social democracy with mild neoliberal economic policy. Additionally, there was also the gowing side of investment in technology through Vice President Gore's influence on the party. The Democrats were still holding out as a major party, but they were having to find out what more to focus on. While some issues were easier to pick, such as expanding parental leave and other worker ideas, it was more amongst the youth in that regard. Beyond that, it seemed like eveything else was going all right. There were stances that multiple parties were agreeing on and would need to be addressed soon. Some future issues would be needing to be addressed more, such as the rising number of questions with technology and the like. This would especially be the case as it was becoming clear tech would be evolving faster than most politicians were able to keep up with. After all, MySpace came out last year and the release of ConnectU this year would gather the interest of various politicians, unaware of how such sites will be growing in influence and dominance over time. Meanwhile, Clinton's victory would secure more chances for the UCP to pick members of the Supreme Court, currently consisting of newcomer Sonia Sotomayor (since 2003), David S. Tatel (since 2003), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (since 2003), Richard Riley (since 1993), Janie L. Shores (since 1995), Bruce Babbit (since 1995), Laurence Tribe (since 1995), José Alberto Cabranes(since 1999), and Chief Justice Gilbert Stroud Merritt Jr (since 1998). Riley would be resigning next year though rumors would be Shores may be considering early retirement.
Foreign policywise, things have quieted down for the most part. The State of Arabia has begun its first full year under the interim government who has begun undertaking a large-scale "modernization" program regarding infrastucture across the whole nation along with reacquiring as much wealth the House of Saud exploited from petrol along with gathering foreign investment. All while cracking down on reactionary dissidents and those resisting the new secular legal system, especially as sharia law was no longer the law of the land. Groups like the European Union, CETO and the like were expanding and nations were adapting to the growing landscape of the Internet in their own ways. Even the Sovereign Union and China have become relatively open over the access people have to the web. This is especially the case with North Korea as the shared internet acess would help further tie and accelerate the unification process. It was all part of the growing tech boom with companies like Akashica, NeXTech, and the like getting on board with it and other nations realizing the Americans were leaving them in the dust there. The Sovereign Union would go and prepare for the creation of their own public ISP like the Americans have, mixing in traditional broadbant and wireless broadband. China would also consider such an investment here, especially as the nation continued its reorganization and political reforms. However, with Ziyang's declining health, many wondered what would be next for the nation along with who would be his successor afterwards, though many are pointing to Wen Jiabao. Some were wondering of the former student protestors and their allies, who are coming into own over the oncoming decade.
Over in pop culture, the big winners would be those least expected. For example, the one of the highest grossing film of the year would be none other than
Shrek 2. A sequel to the beloved classic, it manages to go forward quite well with the story. Shrek and Fionna deal with their happily ever after as they must meet with Fionna's parents along with the antagonist, the Fairy Godmother and her son, Prince Charming. Shrek and Donkey meanwhile would be joined by a new ally, the suave French vulpine musketeer, Reynard the Fox. This would not be the only DreamWorks film released however, as they would also release
Dreamworks' The Secret of Monkey Island. An adaptation of the first game of the beloved "Monkey Island" franchise, the film would take a few departures from the source material, combining characterization elements from the first games for the sake of being cohesive. Animated well in 2D with some exta polish by Bluth, it was streamlined enough for the most fun experience, but also with some adjustments to the humor and pacing for it to be a fresh experience. The story follows
Guybrush Threepwood, a young man desiring to be a pirate and his conflicts with undead pirate, LeChuck along with his new friend, the governor's daughter in Elaine Marley. The film would delight both new fans and veterans, and news would be that there would likely be several more films down the line. Beyond the collaboration with LucasArts, it would show it growing close to MetroCentury, who helped distribute the film. Also of note would be a trailer for a strange new film in
Madagascar.
Disney meanwhile would have its own grand releases. One would be
A Few Good Ghosts. A
Romeo & Juliet sort of tale, it focused on the feuding families of the Harpers and the McGees (based on the famous feud of the
Hatfields and McCoys). However, a romance forms between the two girls in Ellis Harpe and Rose McGee , with the former creating magic dolls to communicate, but it goes awry. Known for the main doll, Angel, being voiced by the famous Dolly Parton. Also, another Disney film would end up competing against the
Monkey Island film in
Atlantis II. Originally planned for a DTV release, Dreamworks' ambitions to have 2 films out had them pump more money into the film and make it a theatrical release. Taking place years later, it has Milo and his friends reuniting. It has been 5 years since the events of the previous film and there is a sense of transition with the end of the Great War above. However, Kida discovers a family secret, namely that the first founder of the comet and his fallout with his brother, who took some crystal and used it to create some strange metal. The journey sees them venture deep into the earth to find a "second Atlantis" underground. That of a martial civilization using the metal (orichalcum) and them needing to prevent war and calamity. The film ends with peace, but the main antagonist, the long-lived lich-like "Emperor" spites the team by seemingly launching his comet crystal into a volcano, which would later erupt and spread fragment across the world. This would set up the events for a television series. The trailers would also reveal
Treasure Planet II along with a new Pixar film in
The Incredibles.
Besides the domination of animated films within the box office, other films were doing quite well. The big one would be
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Taking place more than a decade after Episode I, the film would focus on Anakin, now a full-grown padawan, and going on missions with Obi-Wan. While the two share a brotherly bond, it is still mixed with Obi-Wan's formality and othodox approach (unlike the more flexible and unorthodox approach of his deceased master Qui-Gonn Jinn.) The two are involved in a conspiracy as they reunite with Padme Amidala, Jar Jar and the others. The film sets up the infamous "Clone Wars", named for the massive army consisting of cloned individuals and soldiers fighting against the mechanical armies of the Legion of Systems, led by the mysterious Archcount, the who seemingly plays up the Sith Lord role and played by Christopher Lee, who channeled a "Sauron-like" presence for the role. The film also gathered intrigue for further casting Jar Jar in a suspicious light due to his interactions with the Archcount. As the fandom would say, "not sure what side Jar Jar is on". The film would also have a few references to the anthology television show that aired prior. The film ends with the beginning of the wars along with Anakin and Padme both mourning the loss of peace and innocence. The film also had a trailer for
Star Wars Episode VIII: Legacy of the Force. Other noteworthy films included
The Passion of the Christ, The Bourne Supremacy, National Treasure, Oceans' Twelve, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hellboy, a remake of
Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and
Napoleon Dynamite. Perhaps the most fascinating film would be Morgan Spurlock's indie documentary
Sugar High. Known for the picture of Spurlock in a messed up suit with powdered sugar on his face while holding a bag with a crazed expression, the film was created as a desire to investigate the concerns over rising obesity. While he initially considered fast food, Spurlock would switch to sugar or more accurately, hidden sugar in products. His film covered various aspects, most notably how many companies lobbied to have fat be blamed as the culprit for weight gain rather than sugar and how alot of low-fat or fat-free products have various sugars in them for substitues. Spurlock noted the problem wasn't the sugar itself, but the companies lying and manipulating the consumers about it. With something like a donut, a cookie or a piece of cake, you usually know what you're in for. With these other products, it's duplicitious. He has noted talks also of cheaper junk food and food deserts, but has balanced it out with how recent developments like agrihoods and the like, have worked to deal with that. He also notes the various different types of sugars and how they're not all created equal though he doesn't go as much detail, noting not enough in-depth research to know their effects fully. The film would have prominent effects on pop culture, especially the younger generation and the like, with a fair bit of companies realizing they're in trouble, especially as this would domino effect into other issues.
Television would also have its fair share of rising fascinations One would be the end of
Friends ends its run after 10 years. Another would be Ken Jennings' long run as a Jeopardy champion. New shows like
Deadwood, House MD, Veronica Mars, CSI: NY and Lost were gathering mystery and intrigue for alot of people. Science fiction would get
Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis and so on. Comedy would still be around such as sitcoms known as
Drake and Josh. Some of the major new cartoons would be
Megas XLR, a obot show aimed at an older audience along with
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, an animated series staring a fictional version of the band of the same name and their misadventues in dealing with American and Japanese society on Cartoon Network along with a sequel to the
Justice League animated series in
Justice League Unlimited, which would see the inclusion of many
many more DC heroes and villains to be seen. Disney would move on ahead with the creation of its new Jetix bloc, bringing in shows like
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and
W.I.T.C.H. along with
Bobby Phantom, an adaptation of their comic property of the same name and then of course their own anime block in
Disnippon! Nick would still be doing quite well with the developments of their own projects, especially with rumors circulating of them interesting in buying the TMNT franchise. MetroKids and KidsWB were not doing as well, though the announcement of a new Star Wars animated series for the former would attract quite a bit of interest. Anime continued to grow and prosper on different levels. Overall, television was still in a bit of a struggle but doing all right.
Video games would also be seeing their fair share of success. Nintendo would unveil new games for the GameCube and the Super Game Pal. For the latter, there would be
Legend of Hyrule: Four Swords Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (a remake of the original
Metal Gear Solid),
Pikmin 2, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door,
Metrioid Prime 2: Echoes,
Krion Quest II, Banjo & Kazoothree, Perfect Dark II, Viewtiful Joe 2 and
Baten Kaitos. The Super GamePal meanwhile would bring back the old school back with remakes for the Super Game Pal with
Pokemon Neo Red Version and
Pokemon Neo Green Version along with a later release of
Pokemon Neo Yellow Version. Besides the updated graphics and mechanics, it also brought a surprise for fans with the Sevii Islands over in
Neo Red/Green or in
Neo Yellow, the Chroma Islands (which were introduced in the Pokemon anime). Other games for the SGP was
Metroid: Zero Mission, a remake of the original Metroid,
Legend of Hyrule: The Minish Cap and
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror. Playstation would have games such as
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Jack & Daxter 3, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and others. This is not including games that have been going cross platform, such as the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. With it and the Sonic games over on the Super Game Pal, it was looking SEGA would no longer be part of the console wars. The Abox meanwhile would have the second game of the Swordquest Neo line in
Swordquest Neo: Fury of Fireworld and
Crystal Castle Chroniles II: Berthilda's Revenge along with further games such as
Halo 2, Fable, Half-Life 2 and
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords. Other games included a new Megaman game for the PS2 and Abox along with more. For PC, there was
Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia, Everquest 2 and many others. The two biggest of impact would be
World of Warcraft and
Cave Story. The first would become the MMORPG that many youngsters of the generation would come to grow up with, choosing between the orderly Alliance of humans, night elves, dwarves and gnomes or the chaotic Horde of orcs, sun elves, trolls and goblins as the starting races and playing with others across the world.
Cave Story meanwhile would become considered the first quintessential independent or indie video game due to the one-person development team and its impact, inspiring many people they too can make games by themselves.