Dilili à Paris (Dilili in Paris)

April 24, 2024 in ★★★, computer-animated films, European films, Feature films, France | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Michel Ocelot
Release date: June 11, 2018
Rating: ★★★
Review:

Michel Ocelot belongs to the great author-directors of animated feature films, bringing us such gems as ‘Kirikou et la Sorcière’ (1998), ‘Azur & Asmar’ (2006) and ‘Les Contes de la nuit’ (2011). But somehow, his latest movie, ‘Dilili à Paris’ from 2018 has escaped international attention.

The most obvious reason for this is that ‘Dilili à Paris’ is first and foremost an ode to Paris of 1900-1901*. It’s thus an utterly French film, simply crowded by famous people, many of which actively play a role in the story. I counted 26 painters, actors, dancers, authors, composers, and scientists, not counting a multitude of more in the background. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that film is a nationalistic one, for Ocelot includes a lot of foreigners in his pantheon of greats, e.g. Polish scientist Marie Curie, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, Venezuelan composer Reynaldo Hahn, future British king Edward VII and Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.

In fact, by centering the film on these great minds in science and art, the film is also an ode to the fantasy and free thought of people. At the same time, the film is a firm statement against narrowmindedness, xenophobia, and oppression. Which brings us to the third theme of the film, which is a strong feminist one. In fact, apart from Dilili’s friend, the Parisian boy Orel, all main players are women, including soprano Emma Calvé (voiced by Natalie Dessay), stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, the aforementioned Marie Curie, and the feminist Louise Michel. Together with these women and many of the other famed people, Dilili and Orel unravel a secret plot in which the mysterious ‘male-masters’ kidnap little girls. Their anti-feminist scheme turns out to be one of nightmarish proportions. It’s clear that to Ocelot one should not underestimate, let alone oppress any human being, whether based on age, sex, color, nationality or whatever. A message that cannot be reinstated enough.

Dilili herself is an original heroine, a tiny Kanak girl from New Caledonia, who speaks French fluently, but who’s only brought to Paris to reenact her lifestyle in the jungle at the Exposition Universelle, a world exhibition that run from April 14 to November 12, 1900. When touring through Paris Dilili is dressed like a prize doll, and she also provides the film running gag, because to every person she meets she repeats the utterly polite sentence of ‘je suis heureuse de vous rencontrer’ (I am delighted to meet you). Of course, she experiences racism during her Parisian journeys, but this is not the film’s main theme.

Paris meanwhile comes to life in the extremely intricate background art, which is clearly based on photo material of contemporary Paris. The computer animation unfortunately is less impressive, and at times downright stiff. Especially Orel is poorly animated. When he makes friends with Dilili his moves and facial expressions are so terribly rigid, it doesn’t transcend puppet theater. The ending, too, leaves much to be desired, as the film’s finale is partly told during the end titles.

In the end the film is a little bit too crowded by famous people and certainly too poorly animated to be a masterpiece, but the mystery plot is a fine one, and the film’s message an important one. Above all ‘Dilili à Paris’ is a fine children’s film that deserves to be seen at least once.

Watch the trailer for ‘Dilili à Paris’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Dilili à Paris’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

* In fact, we can date the time period of the film pretty well, as Pablo Picasso first set foot in Paris in September 1900, and Edward VII became king on January 22, 1901, thus the events must be placed between September 1900 and January 1901.

Aru machikado no monogatari (Tales of a Street Corner)

April 17, 2024 in Asian films, ★★★, Independent film makers, Japan | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Osamu Tezuka
Release date: November 1962
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘Tales of a Street Corner’ was Osamu Tezuka’s first animated film, and the first production of his company Mushi productions, which Tezuka founded in 1961, after his contract ended at Toei Animations, Japan’s most important animation studio of that time.

The film immediately shows Tezuka’s high ambitions. First, ‘Tales of a Street Corner’ is of considerable length, clocking 39 minutes. Second, its designs echo the cartoon modern style of Europe, unlike anything previous in Japan. Third, Tezuka’s storytelling is highly poetical, reminiscent of Paul Grimault, avoiding tried story cliches. Fourth, the film has a strong anti-militaristic and pacificist tone, and is more than just mere entertainment.

It’s striking to note that, unlike Tezuka’s Astro Boy television series from a year later, ‘Tales of a Street Corner’ lacks any Japanese character. Instead, the film feels very European, both in its looks and in its music. Even the town in which the story takes place is clearly European, as are the poster violinist and pianist. These two characters form the heart of a romantic tale that Tezuka spins, with other protagonists being a little mouse, a moth, and even a broken lantern and a tree.

The whole tale is set in motion when a little girl drops her teddy bear in a gutter, but Tezuka’s story is anything but straightforward, and allows for some poetic moments, as well two series of silly gags involving numerous posters. The animation ranges from full animation to zooming into still images, with everything in between, and it is quite possible that Tezuka’s choices in the complexity of animation were motivated not only by its artistic value, but also by cost reduction.

‘Tales of a Street Corner’ is certainly charming, but as would later be more often the case with Tezuka, the director wants too much within one short. In fact, the short is overlong, and it’s unclear what he wanted the resulting film to be: a children’s film? A romance? A comedy? An anti-war statement? Now, the film is all this and thus none of that at the same time. Nevertheless, ‘Tales of a Street Corner’ remains a delight to look at throughout, and with this film Japan surely entered a new phase in animation, even if the film is still copying its European models.

Watch ‘Tales of a Street Corner’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Tales of a Street Corner’ is available on the DVD ‘The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu’

Spider-Man – Into the Spider-Verse

April 15, 2024 in ★★★½, computer-animated films, Feature films, Sony Pictures films | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman
Release date: December 14, 2018
Rating: ★★★½
Review:

For American feature animation 2018 was mostly a rather uneventful year. True, the year started off well with the release of ‘Isle of Dogs’, and it was also the year of Nina Paley’s second animation feature, ‘Seder-Masochism’, but for the rest it was a year of uninventive sequels (Pixar’s ‘Incredibles 2’, Disney’s ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet, Sony’s ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’) and mediocre stand-alones (Warner Bros.’ ‘Smallfoot’ and Illumination’s ‘The Grinch’).

But then, at the closing of the year suddenly a complete game-changer entered the scene: ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’. The film was brought by Sony Animation, the most evasive from all major animation studios, releasing both gruesomely bad movies like ‘The Smurfs’ (2013) and ‘The Emoji Movie’ (2017), as well as more interesting experiments, like ‘Surf’s Up’ (2007). This animated Spider-Man feature certainly falls into the latter category, bringing the animation world a totally new aesthetic.

Like all other films mentioned (sans ‘Seder-Machochism’) ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ is a 3D computer-animated film, but unlike all others this feature has a distinct comic book style, complete with clearly visible halftone dots, and even color-shifts that look like misprinting of color layers when the ‘camera’ gets out of focus. The film even adds other stylistic elements from comic books, like page-turning effects, text panels and panel-like split screens to enhance the comic book feel. Even though traditional texturing and rendering is completely in place, never does the art aspire to be realistic, but always to keep the comic book feel intact.

‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ thus is a delight to watch, and a welcome fresh take on traditional 3D computer animation. In fact, the excitement the film stirred in the animation world is comparable to that of ‘The Matrix’ (1999) in the live action film industry. That its stylistic innovation was not an isolated event was proved by subsequent films like ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ (Dreamworks, 2022) and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ (Paramount, 2023). Certainly the latter took heed of the lessons from ‘Spider-Man’.

The story of ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ is another reboot of the then 56 years old comic. This time we follow a black teenager from Brooklyn called Miles, who is a son from an over-protective cop, but who leans more towards his less well-behaved uncle Aaron. The most remarkable event in the film is that the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker, actually dies, and Miles, who due to unexplained events is bitten by a radio-active spider, too, must take his place.

In fact, the plot is much more complicated, and involves villain Kingpin trying to get his deceased wife and son back from a parallel universe opened by a portal devised by Doctor Olivia “Liv” Octavius, another villain who apparently is the successor to Doc Ock (I’m hardly familiar with the Spider-Man world, so these villains are unknown to me).

The portal also imports five spider-men from alternate universes (and I guess, the Alchemax spider that bit Miles), most importantly a less successful middle-aged Peter Parker and a young Spider-Woman called Gwen, but also a manga girl-spider-man, a black and white film-noir Spider-man and even a looney tune-like spider-man-pig called ‘Spider-Ham’. Part of the fun is the play with these alternate universe characters, some of which are gleefully silly, but I must say the main story is told pretty heavy-handedly.

In fact, the film’s story is hardly as good as the visuals: it’s hard to follow, it’s full of plot-holes, it has some rather forced scenes (most notably the utterly improbable scene in May Parker’s basement, and a believe-in-yourself-like scene in which Miles really becomes a Spider-Man), and a large dose of melodrama that I could hardly stand. Moreover, the finale is taking place in such a messy setting, I had no idea what was going on.

No, did ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ not have the astonishing looks it has, I wouldn’t have been entertained so much, the fun parallel world plot notwithstanding. But as it is, ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ is one of the most important animated features from the 2010s, a status corroborated by its equally praised sequel, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ from 2023.

Watch the trailer for ‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

Smallfoot

April 8, 2024 in ★★½ | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Karey Kickpatrick
Release date: September 28, 2018
Rating: ★★½
Review:

In the strange world of American computer animated feature films, movies with the same story subjects are released at the same time. This phenomenon was particularly striking in the industry’s earliest years, but in 2018-2019 it struck again. This was apparently the year of yetis, with Warner Bros.’ releasing ‘Smallfoot’ in September 2018, Laika ‘Missing Link’ in April and Dreamworks ‘Abominable’ in September 2019.

Of these three ‘Smallfoot’ was thus released first. The film was made by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, a rather late addition to the American computer animation studio scene, debuting in 2014 with the excellent ‘The Lego Movie’. Since then, the studio has failed to get its own signature (the Lego movies are like a brand of their own, feeling more like Lego movies than Warner Bros. ones), and ‘Smallfoot’ certainly does nothing to change that.

In fact, animation, design, story, and style are all so incredibly generic the film could have been made by any studio save Walt Disney and Pixar, the only studios with a distinct style. The only surprise element of ‘Smallfoot’ is the fact that it’s a musical. And although I’m no musical fan, I must say the songs are rather good. Even better, ‘Smallfoot’ is the first musical with a genuine hip hop number, with alternative rapper Common voicing the Stonekeeper (rappers had voiced animation characters before, like Tone-Lōc voicing the goanna in ‘FernGully: The Last Rainforest’ (1992), but he doesn’t rap there).

‘Smallfoot’ starts with the voice-over of Migo (Channing Tatum), a cheerful young yeti introducing his own village and its rather silly mythology. Immediately thereafter Migo sings a happy song about how perfect his world is, and we know for sure that this character is set up for a major disappointment. And indeed, when Migo is accidentally catapulted outside the village, he sees a supposedly mythical ‘smallfoot’ (a.k.a. human) and from then his world view starts to tilt.

Interestingly, the naive Migo is joined by a group of dissidents, led by a young female yeti called Meechee (voiced by Zendaia), who’s way ahead of our hero. Meechee is such an independent, curious and powerful character that when Meechee sings ‘Wonderful Life’ to Migo this is practically ‘A Whole New World’ from ‘Aladdin’ in reverse. In fact, Meechee is a much more interesting character than Migo and it’s a pity ‘Smallfoot’ isn’t her film.

The third main character is Percy Patterson, a film maker of wildlife documentaries, who apparently has reached a low point in his career. Of all the film’s characters Percy is the most annoying and the least developed. Percy’s story arc is very poor: he remains such a jerk in most of his scenes that his final redemption is utterly unbelievable. Likewise, how Percy manages altitude sickness is beyond any believability.

Unfortunately, Migo’s progress also pushes boundaries of believability. As the filmmakers seem willing to tick all the familiar boxes, Migo undergoes the obligatory breakup scene – but this is an extreme one, with Migo denying his friends and his own views in public. We know why he does it, but the motivation is in fact rather weak, and it’s an enormous breach of character. Likewise, the following reconciliation feels forced and way too easy, given this severe betrayal. And don’t start me on the glorious rainbow finale that defies all we had learned before.

‘Smallfoot’ has a strong message that one should not believe everything, but that one should investigate oneself. But the film also features a ‘deep state’ or ‘fake news’-scheme of epic proportions, so the message is a rather confusing one. If anything, I’d say the film is anti-religion, but I wonder if that is according to the film makers’ intentions.

No, apart from the songs the film’s power is in its humor. Despite all its flaws and cliches ‘Smallfoot’ is an entertaining and funny film. The roasting scene is a particular highlight in that respect. I also like the idea that humans and yetis can’t understand each other at all, and their voices mutually sound like puny squeeks and fearsome growls, respectively. So the film is not a drag, on the contrary. Nevertheless, to carve out its own niche in the crowded feature animation world, Warner Bros. animation certainly will have to do better.

Watch the trailer for ‘Smallfoot’ yourself and tell me what you think:


‘Smallfoot’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

Ruben Brandt, a gyűjtő (Ruben Brandt, Collector)

April 1, 2024 in ★★★½, computer-animated films, European films, Feature films, Hungary, Independent film makers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Milorad Krstić
Release date: August 9, 2018
Rating: ★★★½
Review:

One of the more surprising and more original animated feature films from 2018 was this little gem from Hungary. Conceived and directed by Milorad Krstić, a director of Slovenian origin, ‘Ruben Brandt’ shows that one can make an adult animation film without an immature focus on sex and violence (there is violence in this feature film, because ‘Ruben Brandt’ is a crime thriller, but this violence is part of the plot, and not a gratuitous display of gore).

‘Ruben Brandt’ tells about a psychiatrist treating some criminals, who in turn help him overcome his nightmares by collecting artworks from all over the world. This plot is exciting, but on the flimsy side and as nonsensical as a James Bond movie. Moreover, the film fails to solve all the initiated plotlines, and the all too easy ending is a bit of a letdown.

Nevertheless, ‘Ruben Brandt’ remains an entertaining watch from start to finish, not only because of the surreal atmosphere, enhanced by the depiction of several of the art collector’s nightmares, but because of the film’s idiosyncratic looks.

Being a film on art, the film draws a huge inspiration from its subject, and the film breathes art in almost every frame. According to the end titles the film cites more than fifty art works, and part of the fun of watching the movie is to identify a reference in the background. Moreover, the color schemes, the designs and especially the character designs are very bold and unlike anything in any other animation film.

True, the three main characters Ruben Brandt, Kowalski and Mimi look fairly normal, even if their facial designs are already unique, but their co-stars can have two noses, eyes placed above each other, an eye placed inside an ear, three eyes, three breasts, and so forth and so on. There’s even a character with a Janus head, who is only two-dimensional, a characteristic used in the plot. The background characters are often even more bizarre, let alone the birds and fish depicted, and even if the movie were dull (which it certainly isn’t) one can enjoy the surreal imagery.

The film uses both traditional and computer animation and although the computer animation is less satisfying than the traditional animation, the mix is very well done.

In all, ‘Ruben Brandt’ is a highly authentic film that shows surrealism is far from dead, and with his grotesque designs Krstić shows that even 3D computer animation can be exciting and strikingly original.

Watch the trailer for ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

Kimi no Suizō o Tabetai (I Want to Eat Your Pancreas)

March 25, 2024 in Anime, Asian films, ★★★★, Feature films, Japan | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Shinichiro Ushijima
Release date: July 24, 2018
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

‘I Want to Eat You Pancreas’ is the first of only two animated feature films by the rather obscure Studio VOLN, which at least I had never heard of before. Studio VOLN isn’t even a big player in the television anime world, with only four series produced thus far. Strangely enough the studio made both its feature films in 2018.

The title of this film, which is a literal translation of the Japanese one, is a contender of the strangest film title of all time award, but what it means is revealed soon enough. The film is based on a novel, and as Japanese animation films often go, there’s nothing that implies the need for animation (except, maybe, for the long spiritual finale).

The film is told by a seventeen year old anonymous schoolboy (his name is only revealed in the very end). He tells about his surprising friendship with a fellow classmate, a girl called Sakura Yamauchi. Sakura is an apt name this character, as Sakura means ‘cherry blossom’, which is a symbol of impermanence in Japan, while the Sakura of the film is already dying from a pancreatic disease at her tender age of seventeen.

Sakura is a bit too much of a pixie girl, and although we also follow her own emotions and anxieties, it’s the story teller’s transformation through her influence that is the film’s focus. At the film’s start the unnamed narrator is a phlegmatic loner, always buried in a book, but indifferent to others and unwilling to commit himself to any relationship. Obviously, the extravert Sakura is going to change all that.

Highlight of this journey is a trip by the two to another town. Part of this trip is told in an original way by still images with dialogue on top, but even better are the scenes in the hotel, which are full of erotic tension. The film’s finale, on the other hand, with its overlong diary sequence is overblown and threatens to harm the complete film. Nevertheless, don’t forget to wait after the end titles!

Throughout, the background art and lighting are both of an extraordinary beauty, making the film a pleasant watch. The character designs, animation and soundtrack on the other hand are very generic and leave much to be desired. In fact, often the animation doesn’t transcend that of the average anime television series. There’s a little computer animation, but this is only used functionally on background art, traffic, fireworks, and such.

Even if the film is not the most interesting one in terms of animation, the film is (for most of the time) well-told, and its emotional tale does move. By all means the film shows that feature animation can be so much more than family entertainment, a message that is still lost on the American studio system.

Watch the trailer for ‘I Want to Eat You Pancreas’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘I Want to Eat You Pancreas’ is available on Blu-Ray and DVD

Waka Okami wa Shōgakusei! (Okko’s Inn)

March 18, 2024 in Anime, Asian films, ★★½, Feature films, Japan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Kitaro Kosaka
Release date: June 11, 2018
Rating: ★★½
Review:

‘Okko’s Inn’ is an animated feature film by Madhouse based on a children’s novel series Hiroko Reijō. The film stars a little girl, who’s still at elementary school when she survives a terrible car accident in which her parents die. After this tragic incident she goes to live with her grandmother, who runs a ryokan, a traditional inn in a spa town near Mount Ikoma, East of Osaka, where she meets some ghost children and even a boyish demon.

Okko is supposed to help at the inn, and naturally we watch her grow into her new life and role, helped by the ghost children and little demon, whom we learn more about on the way, while Okko must deal with a girl whose family runs a larger rival inn.

The movie thus taps from familiar tropes in Japanese animation, like a girl losing her parents, and having to work, and the glories of traditional rural Japan as opposed to modern city life. The movie thus at times is reminiscent of such masterworks as ‘Spirited Away’ (2001) or ‘A Letter to Momo’ (2011). In content that is, for stylistically ‘Okko’s Inn’ is very poor. The designs are the most generic possible, with Okko herself being a particularly standard wide-eyed manga girl, and the animation is only fair. Moreover, the film lacks the subtleties of its peers. The film almost mechanically goes through the motions, as if ticking the necessary boxes, and the narrative lacks the surprising twists and turns of aforementioned examples.

It doesn’t help that the film’s message is partly told through guests of the inn, whose role seems almost to help Okko further in life. There’s a father with a son, whom Okko helps through their grief, and there’s an independent woman, a fortune teller, who befriends Okko and helps her getting more self-confident. And then there’s a third family staying, containing the biggest surprise of all.

The biggest flaw, however, is that we don’t see anything of Okko’s grief at all until the very end of the movie. Most of the time we don’t feel her trauma, we don’t feel her fear and we don’t feel any sense of readjustment. We see some of it, but we don’t feel it: in fact, Okko grows surprisingly easily into her new role. Nevertheless, there’s a scene in which Okko meets her anxieties, and this is by far the emotional highlight of the movie. Unfortunately, this powerful scene is followed by a mindless one on shopping.

‘Okko’s Inn’ is not a bad movie, but it’s not a stand-out either, and the film feels as a poor man’s version of ‘Spirited Away’. If anything, the feature shows that also the Japanese animation industry can pour out films that feel like run-of-the-mill products.

Watch the trailer for ‘Okko’s Inn’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Okko’s Inn’ is available on DVD and Blu-Ray

Seder-Masochism

March 11, 2024 in ★★★, computer-animated films, Feature films, Films by female artists | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Nina Paley
Release date: June 11, 2018
Rating: ★★★
Review:

Seder-Masochism is the second feature animation film by independent animation artist Nina Paley (born 1968), who created quite a stir with the lovely ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ (2008) in which she blended events in her personal life with the story of the Ramayana, but from a woman’s view.

Apparently, Paley was criticized for using a myth from another culture for her feminist message, with attackers typically focusing on Paley’s supposed lack of understanding of Hindu religion, an irrelevant argument, as the misogyny that Paley attacked is plainly visible in the source text (especially in the last book). Moreover, the Ramayana is hardly unique in its treatment of women as second rate citizens, which can be found in practically all ancient texts.

To underline this message, for her second feature Paley dived into her own heretical religious culture, that of Jewism. The result is a more vicious and more pamphlet-like feature than ‘Sita Sings the Blues’, mostly because the personal note is hardly present, only in an interview of Paley with her father, recorded years prior, about his stance towards Judaism, and that of the Pesach (or Passover) in particular. In these scenes Paley is shown as a sacrificial goat and her father as God himself.

The Pesach, and the story from the book of Exodus behind it, forms the central element of ‘Seder-Masochism’. The ‘Seder’ in the title apparently is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish Pesach celebration, and contains some questionable elements, like rejoicing over the Egyptian victims of the ten plagues and of the closing of the Red Sea.

Surprisingly, Paley juxtaposes the story of Exodus with the idea that initially human culture was matriarchal and devoted to mother goddesses, a theory popular with feminists, but unsupported by archeological evidence. Paley even goes so far as suggesting the golden calf from the Exodus story was a return to such a mother goddess, and thus to times of more equality between and women. Indeed, Paley seems to blame Moses, or monotheism in general for the misogynist patriarchy that dominates most of human culture in its historical existence. This is pure fantasy and can be easily debunked. But of course, ‘Seder-Masochism’ is no documentary, but Paley’s personal take on monotheism and its approach to women.

Yet, Paley’s clear atheist approach to the biblical story is more vicious than anything in ‘Sita Sings the Blues’, which makes the film less approachable and less a classic than Paley’s first movie. Especially when Paley turns to real life footage of religion-inspired violence the film becomes pure agit-prop. Nevertheless, the scene in which Moses returns from Mount Sinai, commanding a stop to the women’s temporal liberation and forcing them back into their niqab-like clothing remains a painful one, and rightfully evokes anger about religious societies who limit the freedom of women.

Even with its strong message, Paley’s way of storytelling remains highly attractive. Paley’s dry sense of humor permeates much of the film, and her visual style is charming throughout, her command of minimal, but effective animation one of the highest degrees. I especially like the poetic intro in which a female goddess flows through space, and sprouts plants, animals, and eventually men on a soundtrack of the most beautiful Bulgarian female chant. Paley’s dance animation of ancient female statues is also a masterstroke, and an attraction in its own right (Paley offers them as singular GIFs).

Moreover, Paley very skillfully mixes the interview excerpts, an enormous variety of existing music and even a 1950s record in which a man tells about the Seder celebration. In contrast with ‘Sita Sings the Blues’, in which only records by 1920s singer Annette Hanshaw were used, ‘Seder-Masochism’ plunders the Western pop music tradition, often to a very striking effect. Notice, for example the single sample of ‘Helter Skelter’ from The Beatles during the sixth plague, and the earlier mentioned scene in which Moses returns uses Led Zeppelin’s ‘Your Time Is Gonna Come’ to a painful effect. But the film’s highlight in this respect must be the use of 10cc’s ‘The Things We Do for Love’ which accompanies images of Jews gleefully chopping off foreskins, beheading little goats and killing men and women.

The bitter irony of this sequence is topped by the ‘This Land Is Mine’ sequence, which Paley finished first, and which can be watched as a separate video clip. In this utterly bleak section, we watch several nations fight over the land of Israel, killing one another in greater and greater numbers, with Death itself ultimately being triumphant. With Israel raging the war in Gaza today, with its tens of thousands of innocent Palestine victims, this bleak sequence remains as topical as ever.

The ‘This Land Is Mine’ sequence was also one of the last pieces of animation Paley did in Macromedia Flash, before moving over to Moho. But the most surprising piece of animation in the film is not done on either platform but done with embroidery, in a process Paley calls ‘embroidermation’. This is a lovely piece of stop-motion that Paley rightfully saves for the end, just before the ‘This Land Is Mine’ finale.

In all, ‘Seder-Masochism’ is a beautiful, if rather angry film with a strong feminist message. It cannot stand the comparison with ‘Sita Sings the Blues’, which remains the more balanced work, but as author feature films like this remain utterly rare in the animation field, I strongly recommend watching this feature nonetheless. At least it will make you think about the position of women in society. Paley offers her film for free online, and the movie can be downloaded from her site.

Watch the trailer for ‘Seder-Masochism’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Seder-Masochism’ can be downloaded for free from Nina Paley’s website

Kureopatora (Cleopatra)

March 4, 2024 in Anime, ★★½, Feature films, Japan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Eiichi Yamamoto
Release date: September 15, 1970
Rating: ★★½
Review:

The most important development in animation of the late 1960s and 1970s was the coming of animated feature films aimed at adults, instead of children/families. Heralding the new era was George Dunning’s 1968 film ‘Yellow Submarine’, but the two most important film makers pioneering in this new field were Ralph Bakshi in America (with e.g., ‘Fritz the Cat’ from 1972 and ‘Heavy Traffic’ from 1973) and Osamu Tezuka in Japan.

The three adult oriented anime films Tezuka made at his own Mushi Productions studio are called the Animerama trilogy and consist of ‘A Thousand and One Nights’ (1969), ‘Cleopatra’ (1970) and ‘Belladonna of Sadness’ (1973). The three show that Tezuka, like Bakshi, confuses adult oriented with a rather juvenile focus on sex and violence, making the films adult in content indeed, but otherwise rather immature and even exploitative products.

More than its adult orientation, ‘Cleopatra’ stands out for its highly eclectic style. The film tackles a variety of designs and animation styles, none weirder than the opening sequence, which takes place in the future year of 2001, and which starts live action actors with animated faces, an experiment luckily not repeated, for the results are pretty ridiculous, especially because there’s absolutely no lip synchronization, at all.

The film’s plot revolves around an alien planet called Pasatorine, which has a secret plan to wipe out mankind called ‘Cleopatra’. In order to find out the plans a trio of humans, naturally, goes back into time by “psycho-teleportation”, taking the souls of ancient characters in Cleopatra’s time.

Thus, the three main protagonists change identity: Jirov becomes Ionius, a powerful slave, Maria becomes Libya, an Egyptian city girl, and Hal turns into Lupa, a close companion of Cleopatra, who turns out to be a leopard, much to Hal’s chagrin. His character is the most annoying of the film, for the leopard is sex crazed and tries to get laid all the time, despite its animal features.

After ten minutes we’re in Egypt where Tezaku depicts the Roman conquest of the ancient kingdom in a very silly style, accompanied by some attractive space funk music. When we first see Libya, the adult orientation immediately becomes clear, for she’s bare breasted the whole time. The Egyptian plot is bizarre, too, with an ugly freckled girl changing into the sex goddess of Cleopatra with the sole reason to seduce Caesar and to kill him. Adding to the weirdness is the coloring, for Libya is rendered bright red, while Caesar is depicted as a green man.

Stylistically, the film is all over the place, anyhow, altering tiresome silliness and cheap rotoscoping with quite some beautiful graphic imagery, like the stylized fighting of the Romans and the Egyptian conspirators. The animation, too, is a mixed bag, from non-animation and cheating jump takes from pose to pose, without any animation in between, to far more interesting animation done in watercolors. The animation of the horse ride, and the struggle between Ionius and an Egyptian warrior are actually quite good, and even the first two sex scenes are interesting in their semi-abstract and even poetical stylization, while the third is depicted as a broken-down film. At one point the imagery reminds one of UPA or the Zagreb school, and at another point there’s even a cut-out sequence featuring variations on classic paintings.

What the film completely lacks, is character animation. Emotions are just indicated, not felt, and there’s only broad caricature, not character development. The potentially dramatic story is further hampered by random gags, often strange and out of place. Likewise, the story is sloppy and meandering, with the film makers having difficulty on whom to focus. For great chunks of screen time, the three protagonists from the opening sequence aren’t anywhere to be seen, and after the events in ancient Egypt have ended tragically (in that respect the film does follow Cleopatra’s real life), the film ends abruptly, leaving the viewer wondering why the whole ‘psycho-teleportic’ excursion, and thus most of the movie, was needed in the first place.

It must be said: ‘Cleopatra’ is not a good movie. It is more of an experiment than a success, more of a product of its time than a timeless movie, and rather a curio than an essential watch. It is a product of a more experimental era, but after watching the film, one can hardly wonder why this short age of adult oriented experimentalism stopped.

Watch the trailer for ‘Cleopatra’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Cleopatra’ has been released on Blu-Ray

Barney the Invisible

February 26, 2024 in ★★, Hanna & Barbera, Television programs, The Flintstones | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Directors: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
Airing date: September 28, 1962
Stars: The Flintstones
Rating: ★★
Review:

This Flintstones episode starts with Barney having the hiccups, while Fred Flintstone is trying to invent a new soda drink in his garage. When Barney drops by, Fred tries to cure Barney’s hiccups with his potion no. 412, which does the trick and renders Barney invisible.

The rest of the episode fails to cash in on this premise, with all invisibility routines being rather lazy and uninspired. Fred even wins a bowling contest using Barney’s invisibility, without any repercussions.

There are a few prehistoric gear gags, like a mammoth and a seal acting like a washing machine, and birds functioning as clothes pins, but for the most part this is a lackluster affair.

‘Barney the Invisible’ is noteworthy, however, for being the first episode starting and ending with the new title song ‘meet the Flintstones’, which is a great improvement on the earlier intro. The accompanying images, too, are much more fun, luckily dumping the rather questionable images of Fred eating dinner for the television without Wilma, which accompanied the original intro.

Watch ‘Barney the Invisible’ yourself and tell me what you think:

https://www.topcartoons.tv/cartoons/barney-the-invisible

This is The Flintstones Season Three episode 3
To the previous The Flintstones episode: Fred’s New Boss
To the next Flintstones episode: Bowling Ballet

‘Barney the Invisible’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘The Flintstones – The Complete Series’ and the DVD-box ‘The Flintstones Season 3’

История одного преступления (Story of One Crime)

February 23, 2024 in ★★★★, European films, Independent film makers, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Fyodor Khitruk
Release date: 1962
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

‘Story of One Crime’ was the first film directed by acclaimed film maker Fyodor Khitruk (1917-2012). Khitruk was one of the best comic talents in the Soviet era, as is already visible in this delightful early film.

The short starts with a man sneaking upon two talking ladies and hitting them with a large pan. At that point the narrator interrupts and takes us viewers 24 hours back. The rest of the film is told wordlessly, and shows the criminal, comrade Manin, to be a nice, gentle and hard working man. We watch him going to work, and working at the office.

All seems well, but as soon as he returns to his home, in an apartment block, the problems start. When he wants to rest on his balcony, he’s disturbed by ridiculously loud domino players playing in the courtyard. When he returns inside to watch some television, a neighbor turns on some loud jazz music, and later, when he tries to sleep, more neighbors deprive him of a good night’s rest in various ways. The film ends with a message to the viewers themselves, no doubt, more often than not living in such noisy apartments themselves.

Khitruk tells his tale with an understated sense of humor, and a relaxed, but effective sense of timing. The animation is limited, and far from fluent, but as Khitruk knows how to pose, very effective. The designs by Sergei A. Alimov, too, are a delight: the film is a rare example of Soviet cartoon modern design, and both characters and backgrounds are gorgeous throughout the film. They are partly made by snippets from magazines, and especially the neighbor’s gargantuan stereo installation is a great example of good cut and paste work.

With ‘Story of One Crime’ Khitruk took Soviet animation away from the classic fairy tale worlds of the 1950s into the modern age. The film contains some criticism on Soviet society, which is depicted as less than ideal, but the film was an enormous success, nonetheless.

With this short Khitruk immediately became one of the Soviet Union’s most important animation film makers, as he would prove, e.g. by delivering the world his delightful ‘Vinnie Puch’ (Winnie the Pooh) films of 1969-1972.

Watch ‘Story of One Crime” yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Story of one Crime’ is available on the DVD ‘Masters of Russian Animation Volume 1’

Fred’s New Boss

February 19, 2024 in ★★½, Hanna & Barbera, Television programs, The Flintstones | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Directors: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
Airing date: September 21, 1962
Stars: The Flintstones
Rating: ★★★
Review:

Although this episode starts with Wilma and Betty watching an add on television and going to the barbers to get a new haircut, it is really centered on the friendship of Barney and Fred.

When Barney is laid off, Wilma forces Fred to ask his boss to get his friend a job. Fred fails, but does not to dare tell Barney. But when Barney reports himself at Fred’s Boss, Mr. Slate, he turns out to be the director’s nephew, and is promptly promoted to executive vice president. Unfortunately, this means he has become Fred’s boss, and this puts a strain on their relationship.

The best scene may be Wilma joining Fred in bowling to make up for Barney’s absence, even though this feels like a missed opportunity for more gags. Meanwhile Barney tries to blend in with other executives, in an all too short scene, which also fails to deliver on its potential.

In fact, the whole episode is low on gags, and the few prehistoric creatures that act as garbage bins and parking meters get some really lame lines. The animation, too, is sometime ridiculously poor. Watch for example the reaction of Barney, Betty and Wilma when Fred returns from his boss’s house. The trio looks more like a mechanical device than as human beings.

This is The Flintstones Season Three episode 2
To the previous The Flintstones episode: Dino Goes Hollyrock
To the next Flintstones episode: Barney the Invisible

‘Fred’s New Boss’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘The Flintstones – The Complete Series’ and the DVD-box ‘The Flintstones Season 3’

Dvě klubíčka (Two Balls of Wool)

February 16, 2024 in ★★★, Czech Republic, European films, Films by female artists, Independent film makers, Stop motion films | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Hermína Týrlová
Release date: 1962
Rating: ★★★
Review:

In ‘Two Balls of Wool’ the insides of a sewing box come to life, including a scissors, a measuring tape, thread spools, a horse-like pincushion, and, most importantly, two balls of wool.

The pink ball of wool turns into a girl, while the blue one turns into a boy. The boy plays the flute on a needle, charming the measuring tape, who acts like a snake. When the snake captures the girl, the boy comes to the rescue, riding the pincushion horse. The two also perform some acrobatic tricks, and accidentally unwind a knitted piece, until the scissors forces them to knit the piece back again

The film has a rather weak story, but it’s a marvel how Týrlová spins a film out of such ordinary material, making use of the properties of these objects. The animation is top notch. For example, note how Týrlová manages to turn the scissors (which can’t do anymore than the scissors in your drawer) into an authority figure, imposing on the other objects. ‘Two Balls of Wool’ thus is a charming little short, showing Týrlová’s great talent as an animator.

Watch ‘Two Balls of Wool’ yourself and tell me what you think:

https://noodlemagazine.com/watch/-167471844_456240845

‘Two Balls of Wool’ is available on the DVD box ‘Hermína Týrlová Výběr z tvorby/Selected Works’

Hermína Týrlová

February 14, 2024 in ★★★, Czech Republic, European films, Films by female artists, Independent film makers, Stop motion films | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Jan Iván
Release date: 1961
Rating: ★★★
Review:

This a gentle documentary film made in honour of the Czech animation pioneer’s sixtieth birthday.

The film showcases excerpts from quite a few of Hermína Týrlová’s films, including her first, ‘Ferda the Ant’ (1944), Czechoslowakia’s first stop motion film anyhow. Other excerpts are from ‘Revolt of the Toys’ (1945), apparently an anti-fascist film, ‘The Knot in the Handkerchief’ (1958) and ‘Badly Made Toy-Man’ (1951), which is revealed as Týrlová’s favorite character.

Indeed, it’s the Badly Made Toy-Man who stars the bridging stop-motion sequences, for this documentary features quite some original animated material, made by Týrlová especially for this film. Especially, the short sequence starring the two balls of whool-characters for her upcoming ‘Two Balls of Wool’ (1962) are a delight, for this cannot be found in the final film, and is presented as a depiction of Týrlová’s imagination.

The film is narrated, and although we watch Týrlová acting out herself, e.g. recreating the painstaking ways with which she made ‘Ferda the Ant’ and interacting with children, her main audience, we do not hear her, and there are no interviews, only images. Nevertheless, the documentary succeeds in showing where Týrlová’s greatest talent lies: in creating charming animation films for children in which ordinary toys and objects come to life.

‘Hermína Týrlová’ is available on the DVD box ‘Hermína Týrlová Výběr z tvorby/Selected Works’

Dino Goes Hollyrock

February 12, 2024 in ★★★, Hanna & Barbera, Television programs, The Flintstones | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 comment

Directors: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
Airing date: September 14, 1962
Stars: The Flintstones
Rating: ★★★
Review:

The third season of The Flintstones kicks off with an episode devoted to Dino, Fred and Wilma’s purple pet dinosaur. The dog-like dinosaur appears to have a favorite television program called Sassie, starring a female dinosaur with a wig.

When Fred discovers that the show looks for a new star, he goes on an audition with Dino. Dino, however, only shows to be a great performer after discovering he will be in a love scene with Sassie. After one scene, Dino is hired, and Fred paid off and sent home, much to his own regret, but then Dino discovers something…

This episode has a rather slow start and is surprisingly low on gags, but its finale has a nice emotional touch. The cheap and old-fashioned melodrama of the tv show is fun, but the highlight of the episode is Dino’s reaction to his manager’s and director’s plans with him.

Watch an excerpt from ‘Dino Goes Hollyrock’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is The Flintstones Season Three episode 1
To the previous The Flintstones episode: Take Me Out to the Ball Game
To the next Flintstones episode: Fred’s New Boss

‘Dino Goes Hollyrock’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘The Flintstones – The Complete Series’ and the DVD-box ‘The Flintstones Season 3’

Honey’s Money

February 2, 2024 in ★★, Merrie Melodies, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Friz Freleng
Release date: September 1, 1962
Stars: Yosemite Sam
Rating: ★★
Review:

‘Honey’s Money’ opens with Yosemite Sam reading about a local widow inheriting five million dollars. He sets out to court the lady immediately, and marries her too, despite the fact that she is ugly. But married life isn’t what Sam had expected, and then he has to meet his oversized baby son Wentworth…

‘Honey’s Money’ is a remake of the earlier Friz Freleng cartoons ‘His Bitter Half’ (1950) and ‘Hare Trimmed’ (1953). The short is noteworthy for being Yosemite Sam’s only solo cartoon, and only one of two not co-starring Bugs Bunny, the other one being ‘Along Came Daffy’ from 1947.

Unfortunately, the short can hardly be called a classic within the Looney Tunes canon: Yosemite Sam is particularly unpleasant in this short, his sole motive being greed. And as he apparently can’t even spend the money, this motive becomes a muddled one. Moreover, the character designs and animation are only fair, and the gags mediocre.

One thus has ample time to admire Hawley Pratt’s layouts and Tom O’Loughlin’s background art, which form the highlight of an otherwise run-of-the-mill cartoon. Another highlight is the card crediting Friz Freleng, which features a caricature of the director on a dollar bill.

Watch ‘Honey’s Money’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Honey’s Money’ is available on the Blu-Ray and DVD ‘Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume Three’

Fotel (The Chair)

January 31, 2024 in ★★★, cut-out animation films, European films, Independent film makers, Poland | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Daniel Szczechura
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘The Chair’ is another film subtly criticizing communist society as it was imposed on Poland at the time. Apart from the intro, the film is completely filmed from above, and features a conference.

At one point one of the conference leader’s chairs remains unoccupied, and members from the audience are invited to fill the spot. But the other audience members don’t allow each other to get to the stage, and the volunteers are hindered and blocked everywhere. Yet, one does make it, and is accepted due to his clever entrance.

The idea of ‘The Chair’ is as simple as it is well executed. Again, I am surprised the film got past the censors, as it clearly criticizes the oppressive system.

Watch ‘The Chair’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Chair’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Anthology of Polish Animated Film’

Czerwone i czarne (The Red and the Black)

January 29, 2024 in ★★, European films, Independent film makers, Poland | Tags: , , | 1 comment

Director: Witold Giersz
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★
Review:

‘The Red and the Black’ is a rare attempt at a gag cartoon in a Polish studio. True, the film’s designs are no less avant-garde as that of other contemporary films from the era, this time featuring highly abstracted painted characters, but unlike his countrymen, Witold Giersz aims at laughs.

The film is an addition to a long canon of bullfighting cartoons, with the Red being the bullfighter, and the black being the bull. There are some fine gags, like the two drinking beer together, or the bull suddenly revealing the film makers, but the characters and the action remain emblematic, and Giersz has no sense of timing, so the gags all fall flat. Thus, despite some clever ideas, ‘The Red and the Black’ is a rather tiresome watch, and the film well overstays its welcome.

Watch ‘The Red and the Black’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Red and the Black’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Anthology of Polish Animated Film’

Igraszki (Playthings)

January 26, 2024 in ★★, cut-out animation films, European films, Independent film makers, Poland | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Kazimierz Urbański
Release date: 1962
Rating: ★★
Review:

‘Playthings’ is a film on fighting. The film knows only monochrome yellow and red backgrounds and silhouetted, abstracted human figures and weapons.

The film starts with some designs based on ancient cave paintings. We watch a group of human figures hunt a deer. When one is killed, another group of more tangram-like humans, arrives, and the fighting starts, with more and more advanced weaponry, like cannons, machine guns, tanks, bomber planes. As can be expected, in the end everybody is killed by a giant, probably nuclear explosion. The message of ‘Playthings’ is crystal clear, but the short is too one-dimensional to make a lasting impression.

Watch ‘Playthings’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Playthings’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Anthology of Polish Animated Film’

Labirynt (The Labyrinth)

January 24, 2024 in ★★★★, cut-out animation films, European films, Independent film makers, Poland | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Jan Lenica
Release date: 1961
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

In ‘Labirynt’ a man flies into a seemingly abandoned city, only to find it to be a dangerous place, terrorized by strange creatures and machines, alike.

This is one of those rare animation films from Eastern Europe depicting what it’s like to live in an oppressive communist state. The film is highly surreal, featuring strange creatures, often mixes of animal and human parts, but I am still surprised the film got past the censors. For example, at one moment the man is captured by a bearded machine-man and thoroughly examined. At one key scene we watch is thoughts roaming freely inside his head, only to get barred by a strange contraption. The end, too, in which the man tries to escape the paranoid city is telling enough.

Jan Lenica’s world is based on partly colored old photographs and engravings. His animation is emblematic, but at one point we surely feel the man’s fear, as he tries to flee from his oppressors. The surrealist atmosphere is enhanced by Jan Radlicz’s sound design and by Włodzimierz Kotoński’s score.

Watch ‘Labirynt’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Labirynt’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Anthology of Polish Animated Film’

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