Animation

 

TWICE UPON A TIME-1983-Weird “Yellow Submarine” inspired animated fantasy has an evil guy (voice of Marshall Efron) who sends nightmares to sleepers wanting to control time by using “the cosmic clock”. So he sends some dumb guy named Mum and his annoying “all purpose animal” to get it. One of the monsters seems to be based on the Ro-Man from ROBOT MONSTER but I found it mostly a waste of time.

 

Paul Frees is the narrator and provides other voices along with Lorenzo Music and Hamilton Camp.

 

One of the directors, John Korty had made the TV movie GO ASK ALICE and later made THE EWOK ADVENTURE. The other, Charlie Swenson later worked on the animated kid's show RUGRATS. George Lucas was one of the producers. According to some online sources several different versions exist.

 

Thanks for reading!

Bakshi Pop

AMERICAN POP-1981-This is an unusual musical mostly animated drama from Ralph Bakshi. It goes through several generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant who come to the US to escape the Cossacks. He winds up as a Burlesque Singer, marries, gets involved with organized crime, loses his son in WW 2 and turns state's evidence in the '50's. It touches on The Beats, TV, alienation and restless youth. His grandson becomes a Kerouac type character hitching across the US, hanging out with hobos, washing dishes, smoking dope with hippies, tripping on acid and writing song lyrics. He becomes an addict and eventually a runaway he befriends becomes a pusher/lyricist (?). Many famous songs are partially performed but none by the original artists.

Bakshi made this three years after his disappointing version of LORD OF THE RINGS.

Thanks for reading!

What a Town!

A TOWN CALLED PANIC-2009-This is a very crazy and imaginative animation from Belgium. A plastic toy Indian (called Indian) and a plastic toy cowboy (called Cowboy) decide to build a brick barbeque as a birthday present for their friend Horse (a plastic toy horse). This begins their troubles as the stupid duo destroys their house (after having a strange birthday party for Horse). They try to re-build it but someone steals their walls. It turns out some underwater creatures are the culprits and the trio goes after them. Along the way they are nearly burned at the Earth's core and held prisoners by 3 mad scientists with incredible strength who operate a snowball making robot. If you want to see animated horses dance, play the piano and a work a computer this is the movie for you. It's based on an earlier TV version.
T
hanks for reading!

Cavedog Like!

HULK WORLD/PLANET HULK-2010-This Marvel Animation Production is based on one of their graphic novels. In it the Hulk is banished to another world by Iron Man and other Earth superheroes. He winds up on a planet where gladiator type fights take place between different alien warriors. Guess who becomes the champion? It's entertaining with action and drama and Beta Ray Bill even shows up in the arena! It premiered on the Disney cable channel XD.

Thanks for reading!

Not In 3-D

ALICE IN WONDERLAND-2010-Another imaginative film by director Tim Burton, this time based on Lewis Carroll's famous stories.

19 year old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is about to be to pushed into an engagement with a snooty upper class twit when she spies The March Hare and falls down a rabbit hole where she returns to Wonderland (now called "Underland") the world she had previously visited in her childhood dreams.

She grows several sizes, tames the "furious" Bandersnatch and tries to rescue The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp in another weird, unique performance) out of the clutches of The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and The Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover, in an unusually subdued performance; well for him anyway) and their army of spear carrying playing cards. Although Alice at first believes the whole thing is a dream she comes to realize that it is her destiny to destroy the dread Jabberwock (voice of Christopher Lee) and restore The White Queen (a doofy Anne Hathaway) to her rightful reign. Tweedledum and Tweedldee are a funny highlight. Alan Rickman is the hookah smoking caterpillar and Michael Gough is the voice of the Dodo bird.

Screenwriter Linda Woolverton wrote THE LION KING. At the time of this writing Burton and Depp are planning a version of DARK SHADOWS.

Thanks for reading!

Fish Tale

THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET-1964-This was the first feature movie Don Knotts made after leaving THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. It's a mixture live action and animation and aimed at both kids and adults. The former Barney Fife plays Henry Limpet, a meek bookkeeper with a nagging wife (Carole Cook) and an abnormal love of fish. It's the early '40's and he's come up 4-F in the draft. When his obnoxious brother in law (Jack Weston) comes home on leave from the navy he gets even more unhappy. When they go to Coney Island Limpet falls in the water and somehow becomes a (animated) fish (with glasses). He meets Crusty the Crab (voice of Paul Frees) and falls in love with Ladyfish (voice of Elizabeth Macrae). Eventually he helps The Navy sink Nazi U-boats.

Despite that premise it's harmless fun but it really feels like the first installment of a continuing series as the whole movie is basically a flashback and it ends with Chief Naval officer Andrew Duggan and Weston looking for Limpet in the present day. However no sequel was ever made. One can only wonder what a remake could be like...(one was announced at the time of this writing). Some songs are also featured.

Larry Keating plays another Naval officer and Oscar Beregi is Nazi captain. Director Arthur Lubin made the first 5 movies with Abbott & Costello, BLACK FRIDAY with Karloff & Lugosi, the 1943 version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, several in the Francis, the talking mule series and lots of TV (including MR. ED!).

Thanks for reading!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

HAPPY DAYS-1926-This silent comedy features the comic strip character Winnie Winkle but the main focus of this short is her brother Perry and his rag tag baseball team “The Rinky Dinks” (obviously inspired by “Our Gang”). They play a team of black kids but some of them are obviously whites in black face and some racist type humor is shown. There’s a fat kid too. The funniest part is when a dance instructor tells the gang to follow exactly what he does and then a frog goes down his shirt and he gyrates crazily and the kids copy his every move.

The comic strip Winnie Winkle (also called “The Breadwinner”) was created by Martin Branner (who also wrote this short) and had an incredible run of over 75 years! Star Ethlyn Gibson played Winnie Winkle in around 10 silent productions. Billy Butts is Perry.

Director Arvid E. Gillstrom was originally from Sweden and made over 100 films, most of them silent.



FELIX THE CAT SAVES THE DAY-1922-This is a great example of early animation featuring Pat Sullivan’s feline character. The animation is crude but this was 1922! It uses live action scenes and still photos (and a little racist humor) to tell the tale of how Felix saves a big baseball game after getting his pal Willie thrown in jail. Amazing! Sullivan was also the producer. The un-credited director is Otto Messmer who directed many more silent Felix films that I'd like to see!

Thanks for reading!

Quickies

CELLO-2005-After a car accident a cello teacher has weird visions which seem to be connected to her autistic daughter and her new cello. A very strange and silent housekeeper hangs around and a former student stalks her. This very derivative Korean made horror film has some creepy moments but goes on too long.



CINDERELLA-2006-Korean made horror nonsense about plastic surgery, a young woman and her kind of psycho mom/surgeon. I found the whole thing rather confusing and drawn out and there’s really no pay off. But maybe it’s me…



DARKON-2006-This is a serious documentary about a live action role playing game called “Darkon”. A bunch of people dress in armor and fight wars. Some dress like elves. They all seem very into it and explain why they do it and how it makes them feel. Folks who like role playing games will probably get a kick out of it but I fell asleep.




SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG-1971-Violent gang war drama by “The King of Yakuza Films” Kinji Fukusaku. When a huge Tokyo Yakuza drives a gang in Yokohama out of its territory the gang reorganizes in Okinawa. Things don’t go that well however and by the end of the story literally everyone is dead!



ARK-2004-This is a computer generated sci-fi fantasy is much like the better known FINAL FANTASY. Two races The Storians and The Sevians wage an eternal battle on the planet Elseon. It was a Korean/USA co-production and has some great scenes. James Woods was the only voice actor I recognized.

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. That is the principal difference between dog and man"—Mark Twain

Thanks for reading!

Different Stuff

IKINAI-1998-11 men agree to commit group suicide by staging a bus accident so the insurance money can go to their families. Aragaki (Screenwriter Dankan from GETTING ANY?) is their unsmiling leader. A young girl accidentally winds up on the doomed bus and complicates things. This is an unusual black comedy from Japan that’s serious, funny and poignant. Director Hiroshi Shimizu was an assistant director to Beat Takeshi on several films.



GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON-1960-Strongman Goliath (American Mark Forest) fights a variety of creatures (a giant bat, 3 headed fire breathing dragon, etc) in his quest to rid his land of the evil King Eurystheus (Academy Award Winner Broderick Crawford with dubbed voice). There’s a lot of sub-plot in this mostly involving Goliath’s younger brother who’s in love with a woman who Goliath thinks killed his parents (or something like that). The dialogue is very funny and the effects very cheesy but the Alpha Video DVD letterboxed print I saw looked terrific. Laughable but great for “the sword & isandal “ fans!

(Thanks to my friend Mike for lending me this)



THE CHINESE GODS-1980-Very strange animated fantasy from Hong Kong. Ancient gods of legend battle evil demons. When the going gets tough they enlist Bruce Lee (with a third eye) to help! He turns into a dinosaur at one point and makes a lot of Bruce Lee like noises when he fights but sounds more like Curly Howard! It’s goofy but kind of entertaining. Strangely the animation itself seems geared toward kids yet it features much violence and a little nudity.

Thanks for reading!