by 
Updated on March 19, 2023
I last wrote about my favorite YouTube channels back in late 2016. Thus, I thought it might be due for an update. Some of it’s the same as the previous entry, but I’ve added newer commentary and information.
CGP Grey
CGP Grey uses slide-shows featuring a mix of clip art and “xkcd”-style stick figures to explain various topics. The topics range from why the US should stop making pennies to explaining how the European Union works. Or how the EU did work before the UK’s Brexit vote, anyway.
The creator of the videos is an American currently living in the United Kingdom. He also explained how the United Kingdom itself works, by the way.
Life Noggin
www.youtube.com/user/lifenoggin
Life Noggin is similar to CGP Grey, offering short explanations of various subjects. Subjects covered include why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, how humans evolved, and the history of marriage.
Disney Shorts (Mickey Mouse)
www.youtube.com/user/DisneyShorts
Despite the “Disney Shorts” name, the channel’s most prominent feature is carrying the current series of Mickey Mouse shorts produced for the Disney Channel.
The shorts are pretty hilarious, with Mickey in various situations ranging from trying to pass Goofy off as a replacement for Pluto in a dog show to fixing Minnie’s apartment building’s plumbing.
How It Should Have Ended
www.youtube.com/user/HISHEdotcom
How It Should Have Ended (HISME for short) is a hilarious series of animated videos that offer alternate, supposedly-improved endings for various blockbuster movies. The alternate endings usually go with real-life common sense or simpler solutions than the Hollywood-style logic seen in the films. The films range from the “Star Wars” trilogy to Harry Potter to recent fare such as “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Recurring characters in many of the shorts are Superman and Batman, who’re shown hanging out at a diner. The World’s Finest usually end up meeting the film in question’s star character. The heroes then ask the film’s star questions about (or openly criticize) what they did in the film.
Superman here is laid back, and sometimes mention his ability to time-travel, per the ending of the first “Superman” film. Meanwhile, Batman is obsessed with finding ways to say his catchphrase “Because I’m Batman!,” to everyone’s annoyance. Yes, your two favorite heroes’ own films are also mocked.
Needs More Gay
Needs More Gay is a series of videos where its host, “Rantasmo,” covers various portrayals of LGBT people in media. The subjects discussed include specific films/TV shows, such as “Brokeback Mountain,” the “Star Trek” reboot, and various Disney films. Rantasmo also discusses how various genres (horror, romance, children’s, etc.) present LGBT characters.
Rantasmo also has crossed over with a few other similar YouTube video critics, most prominently the Nostalgia Chick.
DC Super Hero Girls
www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdVJ9XqHCb6BqApCIO_TYg
I wrote about DC Super Hero Girls when it first debuted. It’s since become a very popular series of animated shorts, as well as a merchandising bonanza for DC/Warner Bros.
Do you have any favorite YouTube channels?
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
