Movie Review: Memoir of a Snail

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Adam Elliott's new film is a sheer masterpiece. 

Australian stop-motion animation filmmaker Adam Elliott is sadly a rarity today. He is a filmmaker working in animation that has his own recognizable style. You can't mistake an Adam Elliott film for a movie by anyone else. Not only do his films have a unique look to them, but their loving and complex portals of eccentric characters, off-beat sense of humor, love of the mundane, lack of fear for delving into dark and heavy subject matter and his brilliant mixing of heartbreak and joy make his films stand out. Yet the great filmmaker never feels like he is repeating himself and each of his movies perfectly stands on their own. His newest movie, Memoir of a Snail, may be his finest film yet and a highpoint for stop motion animation. 

This movie starts with Gracie recounting her life to her pet snail. Though her life has had moments of joy, it has been one heavily filled with heartbreak. What makes this movie so incredible is that even as it breaks your heart and makes you cry; it never becomes a depressing dirge. Even in the darkest moments this film still has a sense of hope behind the heartbreak. Adam Elliott cares deeply for these characters and never allows their lives to fall in complete despair. Memoir of a Snail will not have you leave the theater depressed but hopeful that maybe there can be joy found in what may seem like our darkest moments. This may not make the pain go away but it will make it bearable. This is a movie of full emotional honesty that feels more truthful than your average feel-good movie or tearjerker. Anyone who feels that animation is just something to occupy time for your kids (by the way this is an R rated film and in no way for kids) may be shocked by the sheer honesty and maturity that this film approaches many heavy subjects with. As well as balancing the emotional weight of the story with more hopeful moments, this film also balances its darkest scenes with a good sense of humor. This is a laugh out loud funny movie, and the laughter can often feel like a much-needed release from the darker and sadder moments. The comedy also often works so well because it is often completely unexpected. There are no truly comic scenes here but rather very funny moments that appear in dramatic scenes. The fact that we don't see these comic moments coming makes them all the funnier. It also helps this movie combine its comedy and drama effortlessly.    

 The heart of this film rests with our main character Gracie. I loved and cared about this character so much. So many times, I just wanted to walk into the screen and give her a big hug to let her know that someone truly cared for her and wanted to be her friend. What we feel for this character is never pity. Instead, we emphasize and care for her deeply as if she was our friend or family member. We experience every heartache with her and want nothing more than for her to feel happy and loved. Anyone who has ever felt lonely or like they don't belong can relate to her completely. Yet for much of the film she does not pity herself but tries to remain hopeful for the future and look at the world as if the glass is half full. The makes us not only empathize with her but also admire her. She is a wonderful and sweet person. We forget that she is an animated character because she feels so much like a real person to us. 

This film is full of Adam Elliott's great visual style. Though the movie is mostly in muted colors, it is hard to take our eyes off it. There is so much imagination throughout the visuals of this movie that it is as enchanting as any of the more colorful and bright animated films from Disney or Dreamworks. 

This may be one of the best stop motion animation movies ever made and it is a must see for any movie and/or animation lover.   

 

Movie Review: Pinocchio

 

Note: This film is available to watch on Netflix.

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

This wonderful stop motion movie is one of Guillermo del Toro's best films. 

Guillermo del Toro has been wanting to make this movie for a very long time and when he finally made it, it was a pure passion project. This passion can be felt for the entire film. There is so much love put into every moment here and it is filled with the magic that only movies can bring. This is far from a straight adaption of Carlo Collodi's famous story nor is it a remake of Disney's infamous 1940 film version (though it borrows aspects from both). This is clearly its own story and it creates its own world. This world is an incredible world that can be magical at times and dark at others. The sheer amount of imagination that went into this film is simply wonderful. This is especially true of the Land of the Dead, which is not only wonderfully designed (seriously it is simply breathtaking to look at) but also quite intriguing and thought provoking when you stop to think about it. Yet this world can also often eerily similar to ours, despite the fantasy. The film takes place in WW2 era Italy, which allows the filmmakers to comment on fascism, war and political indoctrination of children. Yet this is not forced into the movie in any way but is a natural part of it. They play an important role in Pinocchio's journey and become necessary to move the story where it needs to go. The scenes that deal with these issues are not only thought provoking but downright chilling. There is little more frightening than children being made to play a part in the war games of grown-ups and this movie delves into that horror. Though we see a sea beast and have to deal with death itself, it is these scenes that are the most terrifying. Yet this is not the only deep delve into topics that are not seen often enough in animated movies. This film also takes a look at the idea of immortality. It does not treat this topic with a good or bad type of simplicity but rather can heavily look at the dark side of it, while not overlooking the obvious appeal. This movie's look at this often-difficult topic, leads to a powerful conclusion that will forever stay in my mind. Yet this film does not forsake its entertainment value for these topics. Instead, this movie is a joy to watch. First off this film looks incredible. This may be one of the best looking animated films since the golden age of animation. There is so much detail that goes into every little thing you see. The result is something that draws you completely into the world of the movie. There are times when you can forget you are looking at animation and instead feel like you are looking at a window into another world. This is helped by wonderful character animation that makes the characters feel completely alive. This movie also benefits from a good sense of humor, some exciting action scenes, fun songs and a true sense of wonderment.

A true masterpiece. 


 

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

 

A true holiday (a two holiday in fact) classic. 

To talk about the story of this film feels silly, as you all know it. Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King, which means he is in charge of the Halloween festivities in Halloween town. Yet deep inside he longs for something a little different in his life. To find what this is he leaves Halloween Town. When he finds Christmas Town he is in awe of what he sees and wants to help spread Christmas cheer by bringing it to Halloween Town and giving Santa Claus (or Sandy Claws) a night off. Unfortunately he still has a lot to learn about Christmas and messes things up. However when the evil Oogie Boogie gets a hold of Santa, Jack may just have to save Christmas and Halloween. 

Co-writer and producer (as well as the writer of the original poem this film was based off of), Tim Burton stated that a major influence on this movie was the Rankin and Bass stop motion TV movies, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). This is very evident and what makes this film work is what made those movies work. That is to say that this movie is an example of a simple story wonderfully told. As we live in a time period, where it is often believed that bigger is better, it is important to remember that sometimes there is an incredible beauty in simplicity. This is especially true when it comes to holiday movies, especially those revolving around holidays that were such an integral part to our childhoods such as Halloween and Christmas. Perhaps this is why this film brings so many people back to their childhoods as it perfectly captures the childlike simple joy that Halloween and Christmas can bring. This movie has a short runtime for a feature film (only 76 minutes), but it never feels like anything more is needed than what we see. The story moves by at a fast (but never rushed) pace and retains its wonderful charm for every second. This is not only a testament to Tim Burton's wonderful story but also the mastery of director Henry Selick (who also directed James and the Giant Piece (1996) and Coraline (2009)). He knows how to keep the story moving and fun all the way through. 

There is still much more to recommend about this film. I have long been a fan of composer/songwriter Danny Elfman, whether it be his movie scores or his work with the rock band Oingo Boingo. Here he is at the top of his game. Every song is wonderfully catchy and fun. They also perfectly capture the feel of this movie. As such they not only sound good on their own but they add to the story and atmosphere of the film. Not only this but Danny Elman lends his beautiful singing voice to Jack Skellington himself (Chris Sarandon provides the character's speaking voice). This is also a beautiful looking movie. Every scene is filled with visual beauty. There is a lot of work and many little touches in the environments of Halloween Town and Christmas Town. You may not notice these little touches upon your first viewing, but you can feel the extra care that went into them, and this heavily enhances the viewing experience. These perfectly capture the magic of both holidays making it perfect holiday viewing. The character designs are also perfect. There is a bit of creepy feel to these characters, but there is also a lot of sweet and likable charm to how they look as well. Tim Burton once said of Jack, "He looks scary but really isn't." Again, how much work and care that went into these characters can be fully felt. 

Tim Burton wrote the poem this film was based off of when he was a Disney animator in 1980. He felt the story would make a great TV special, but the Disney studio showed little interest in such an idea. After Tim Burton had great success with his Batman movies and had established himself as a filmmaker, the studio would finally show interest in the idea this time as a stop motion animated feature film. However, despite this the studio would not release the film under the Disney label. Instead, they released it under the Touchstone Pictures label, which is where the studio released their more adult oriented films. The reason for this is that the studio felt the movie was too scary for small kids. 

This movie was a modest success when originally released to theaters. However, over the years it has deservedly become considered a real classic. This is both a Halloween and a Christmas movie and it is more than good enough to watch during both seasons.

Resources Used

Christmas in the Movies by Jeremy Arnold 

Movie Review: The Silent Twins

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An often hard to watch but very moving biopic of writers June and Jennifer Gibbons (who hardly spoke to anyone but each other for nearly 30 years). 

This film is very different from your standard movie biopic. There is a shroud of mystery that hovers over the subjects of this film and there is nobody (but the two real people) who will ever know what was going on through their minds at any time. This film keeps that shroud firmly in place and never attempts to explain the actions these girls take. Instead we simply watch the story unfold and make of it what we will. This is the type of movie two people can watch and have completely different perspectives on. However this is the way the film should and has to be. To give any sort of explanation or have any deep character study would miss the point and do a great injustice to the real story. It would also take out just what makes this movie so compelling. Yet despite this (or perhaps because of this) there is an emotional power that is very effective, and the ending scene hit me hard in a way I did not expect. Many of these scenes can make the film hard to watch as they can make you feel emotions that you may not be willing to feel at times. This is also true as the movie moves into darker places as the film goes on. The subject matter (I don't wish to delve deeper into what this subject matter is as I feel it is best to approach this film knowing as little as possible) takes us to some dark places that are uncomfortable to go to, but that are necessary to make this film so effective. This movie is also enhanced by wonderful stop motion scenes (by Barbara Rupik, who has directed and animated some great short films (this is her first time working on a feature film)) based off some of the girls' stories. These scenes are in many ways delightful to watch but there is also a darker edge to them that grows all the more prevalent as the film goes on. 

This movie does have its faults though. The movie can drag at times, especially during the middle portion, and therefore it feels longer than it actually is. This movie can also have quite a bit of dialogue that feels forced or awkward. This is quite understandable and easily forgivable as this is the first English language feature by the brilliant Polish director, Agnieszka Smoczynska (if you have not seen her horror-inspired fairy tale, The Lure (Córki dancingu) (2015), you really should). The same can be said about many other great filmmakers' first time making a film in a new language. 

This is an excellent film, even if it can be hard to watch at times. 

Overlooked Classics: The Tale of the Fox (Le roman de Renard) (1937)

Though Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is often times called the first animated feature, that statement is actually false. I am not saying this to deny the historical importance of Snow White as that film is still extremely important and an incredible movie, but rather to give attention to what has come before. The Tale of the Fox was the sixth animated feature film released and was released just eight months before Snow White. The animated features before Tale of the Fox include El Apostle (1937), Without a Trace (1918), The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), Peludo City (1931), The New Gulliver (1935), and The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (1936). Tale of the Fox was the first animated feature to come from France.

This film was directed by Ladislas Starevich and Irene Starevich. Ladislas Starevich was one of the greatest pioneers in animation history. He was one of the earliest directors to define animation as an art instead of just a novelty. He worked mostly in stop motion animation, creating such brilliant shorts as The Cameraman's Revenge (1912), The Mascot (1933), The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922) and The Insects' Christmas (1913). The Tale of the Fox is his only animated feature though he did direct a live action feature called The Night Before Christmas (1912). Irene Starevich was his wife. It is hard to say how much or what she contributed to this film because she worked on very few films and in all those films she worked with her husband. Other than this movie the other films she co-directed with her husband were The Mascot's Wedding (1935) and Fétiche en voyage de noces (1936).

This was completed in 1930, but due to audio problems it would not be released until 1937.

The story of this film centers around a fox named Reynard that tricks other animals and then eats them. This causes the king (a lion obviously) to pass a law saying that animals cannot eat other animals (making an exception for himself of course). Reynard does not listen to these orders and the king decides to have the fox arrested (something easier said than done).

This film is quite easily a masterpiece it has a brilliant and very funny sense of dark humor. The animation is downright incredible. It is amazing to think that this is the first feature film to be completely done in stop motion (The New Gulliver featured a mixture of live action and stop motion), because it is so incredibly well done here. The story is great. The pacing is fantastic. Most of all though these characters really come to life on the screen. This film is a great work of art and a fantastic beginning to French animated features.

Resources Used
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/reynard-the-fox-in-animation/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021309/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation by Giannalberto Bendazzi

Movie Review: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

A top notch family film in every way. 

In 2010 voice actress Jenny Slate (average movie goers may know her best for voicing Gidget in The Secret Life of Pets films) and her then husband filmmaker Dean Fleischer-Camp (who is slated to direct Disney's Lio and Stitch remake) made a wonderful short film called Marcel the Shell with Shoes On about an anthropomorphic shell telling of his life. Though the character hasn't become a household name, those who knew him were so charmed by him that two more short films were made with him (the first in 2011 and the second in 2014), as well as two tie-in books. Since 2014 the two had talked about making a feature film with this lovable little guy and luckily for us that movie is finally here. It does not disappoint in any way. 

With how many movies today seem to go for bigger and grander storylines, there is something incredibly charming about a small and unpretentious little film like that making its way to movie theaters. Yet this movie's simplicity may catch many off guard for just what a wonderful treat they are in for. 

The heart of this movie rests mainly in the main character. I simply cannot see how anyone could not be completely charmed by this little guy. He has a huge heart and always tries to see the good in everyone he may encounter. His interactions with the documentary filmmaker making a movie about his life (Dean Fleischer-Camp playing himself) enforce this idea and his obvious sweetness quickly wins both the filmmaker and our hearts. Much of this is also due to how he is never afraid to show us who he is. He is simply Marcel and that is something he could never and would never hide. Yet there is still more to him than his kind heart and good-natured sense of humor. He is a character who has been hurt and who is still hurting. Because of this he has a fear of ever being hurt again. Still, he tries not to let this fear get to him and remain optimistic and keep his sense of fun all through the pain. Because of this a seashell with a googly eye becomes as real of a person as anyone we know personally. Of course, talking about this character, it is hard not to take some time to praise Jenny Slate's wonderful voice work, which is simply perfect and capture the essence of who this character is. This is especially true of the scenes with Marcel singing, which are simply incredibly charming.  

Another element that makes this film so special is how it expertly handles weaving its quirky sense of humor and the more emotional moments as well. This movie has a wonderfully funny and weird sense of humor. As offbeat as much of the comedy is it is also incredibly funny and I (and the audience in the theater with me) laughed out loud quite a bit. Yet this movie also contains some surprisingly emotional moments, that are incredibly effective. I am sure some people may be caught off guard when they find themselves getting teary eyed over an animated seashell. Yet these different elements never feel like they belong in a separate film. The reason for this is simple. Every joke and emotional moment come straight from the characters. As silly as much of the humor can get, none of it is simply done for the sake of silliness but instead comes directly out of who these characters are. This is also true of the emotional scenes. Because of this the movie can move directly from an emotional scene to a funny one without ever feeling forced or distracting. Looking at how many movies have failed to do just this, makes this seemingly simply little film all the more impressive. 

The stop-motion animation in this film is incredibly impressive. While there has been plenty of beautiful animation that has called attention to itself, that is not the case here. Instead the masterfulness of this animation comes from the fact that it makes you forget you are looking at animation. Instead you just accept that Marcel is a real talking seashell interacting with live action people. This masterful work is supervised by The Chiodo Bros, whose animation has appeared in such movies as RoboCop (1986), UHF (1988) and Elf (2003). They also have done some wonderful stop motion sequences for some episodes of The Simpsons. 

This is a must see. 

 

Movie Review: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

I am a huge Shaun the Sheep fan so I might be a little biased but I loved this movie.

Though the era of the silent film is long gone, this movie shows that a story can still be told completely visually without the aid of dialogue. There are no spoken words (with the possible exception of "zoom"), yet we know each character's personality and the new characters get a fully formed backstory. Like Shaun's first feature length movie this film manages to get some great heart beneath the slapstick. There are some very effective tug at your heartstrings moments that work because the lack of dialogue not in spite of it. These scenes are touching because of the pure simplicity with which they are told, and any speech about why they are emotional would ruin that simplicity. Where this film tops the first movie is with how memorable the side characters are. Lu La captures perfectly the experience of a lost child in a strange place. There is a pure mixture of the childlike wonder and amazement at everything new around her and the fear of never getting home or seeing her parents again are both there as they would be in a child. She is smart, determined and headstrong, yet at the same time is a child and is easily distracted by the likes of candy and pizza. The relationship between her and Shaun is very well done. You see how these two learn to fully grow and understand each other. One is a child and the other is a child at heart making them the perfect match as well as partners in crime when there mischievous side comes out. Still Shaun knows how to be the adult when that is needed. Yet despite all this heart, this is first and foremost a comedy and is full of all the slapstick and gentle satire, one could want from Shaun and his flock. The jokes range from mildly amusing to flat out hilarious with none of it ever completely missing the mark. The side story of the farmer's get rich scheme was very clever and very funny with just the right mixture of slapstick and satire.

This movie shows that great visual storytelling and slapstick are something that did not fade away with the birth of talkies but are still with us today.

-Michael J. Ruhland

King Kong (1933)

Though this movie has been remade and imitated, nothing has ever and nothing will ever stand up to this masterpiece. Few films define the term movie magic like King Kong.

The story is the stuff of legends. A filmmaker (Robert Armstrong) is famous for making jungle pictures that are high on action but low on romance. Still noting that the public seems to want romance, he decides for the first time, he will make a movie with a woman in it. When he meets the beautiful Ann (Fay Wray), he knows that this woman should be the star of his next picture. So she joins the cast and crew on a perilous trip. No one but the director seems to know where they are heading, but knowing his reputation all of them except it to be dangerous. The place turns out to be more dangerous than any of them could have ever excepted. It is an island that was only believed to be a myth called Skull Island, which is ruled by a monstrous ape named Kong. The natives are holding a ceremony where they sacrifice a woman to the massive creature, and when they see Ann, they want her to be that sacrifice, so they kidnap her and chain her up for Kong. When Kong lays eyes upon Ann, he has a bit of a crush on her. Though Ann manages to barely escape with her life, the director decides that he wants to capture Kong for himself, so he can make a fortune. This proves not to be a good idea.

One thing that makes this movie stand apart from many similar films (especially Peter Jackson's remake) is the perfect use of pacing. This movie does not start off at a fast pace, but rather takes its time to introduce us to the characters and world. We get to know and care about each person making this journey and what brought them to this place. Yet this beginning never feels slow or uninteresting. Much of this is due to how cleverly written and involving the dialogue is. This is the kind of smart fast paced dialogue that simply does not exist in many movies today and is a huge part of why these old films still have major fan bases. When we get to Skull Island, the pace does not pick up immediately, but the atmosphere and the story telling completely change. There is a mystery and suspense to this island that completely captivates us. This is pure edge of your seat entertainment. Though we don't yet see Kong every moment is leading up to his reveal (another great thing about this movie is that there is never a wasted moment), and with each moment the suspense grows until he appears. Once we see Kong the pace picks up immediately. The movie then moves at a breakneck speed never letting up on the action and excitement audiences want when they watch a monster movie. Everything is perfectly set up and the film has you right where it wants to when the big reveal happens, with such there is nothing left for the movie to do but lead you on the thrill ride of your life and it does. This is simply filmmaking at its finest.

What makes the character of Kong stick in our minds is that he is not merely a prop or something to be afraid of. He is instead a living and breathing creature and it is hard to buy for even a second that this character is not real. He is to us. Much this comes from the masterful stop motion animation done by Willis O'Brien (who had previously created the incredible special effects for The Lost World (1925)) and his crew. This is character animation at its best. The character emotes perfectly with no need for the dialogue that his human costars are given. The emotions are all not only on his face but in the way he moves. Just like any living creature this is shown in both broad and subtle ways. While the Peter Jackson remake would have Kong looking more realistic due to more technically advanced special effects, Kong feels more real in this movie, because the visual acting here is left unmatched. It is interesting to note that this film's director originally thought the movie could be done using real apes and trick photography to make them look giant. However when he saw O'Brien's test footage and models for an abandoned film called Creation, he decided that this stop motion animation would be the perfect way to make the movie work. We can all be thankful it happened this way.

A visually stunning movie like this needs a very impressive musical score. Luckily providing the score here was the one and only Max Steiner, who provides some of his finest work here. If you want to see how important this score is try watching some of the action scenes without sound and you will be surprised by how much is lost.

Watching this movie again I was amazed at just how much of a pre-code film this is. The violence of Kong killing many natives is startling and disturbing to this day. Even more shocking is a scene where Kong actually breaks a dinosaur's jaw and blood comes out. Though gore-wise these scenes are very tame compared to what comes out today, they have lost little of their unsettling effect. These scenes were cut for later showings, but luckily today we can watch them as intended.

This film was a project of passion for director, producer and writer Merian C. Cooper. When making the movie, The Four Feathers (1929), Cooper had done some shooting in Africa. This trip left him fascinated with gorillas and he soon wanted to make a movie about one. Cooper and his codirector Ernest B. Schoedsack can see in the plane (spoilers) that shoots Kong off the Empire State Building at the end.

Due to this film Fay Wray has become known as the "scream queen of the movies." This title is apt as she has perhaps the finest scream in movie history. However what is often overlooked is that there was more to her than a scream and a beautiful body. She was a talented actress and no one else could have played the role of Ann better. When Cooper offered the part to Fay, he told her "You'll have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood." This lead Fay to automatically think of Cary Grant. At the time this movie began production she was already working with Cooper and co-stars Robert Armstrong and Noble Johnson on a great and often overlooked movie called The Most Dangerous Game (1932). It was also planned for Fay's costar in The Most Dangerous Game Joel McCrea to play the love interest in King Kong, but his agent asked for too much money and the role instead went to Bruce Cabot, who had mostly been playing bit parts up to that time.

The film was a sensation when released. The following advertisement from Variety puts this movie's success into historical context.




A 1933 issue of Movie Classic magazine gave an article describing how this film was made. If you have any trouble reading click on one of the pages and use your touch screen to zoom in. (Note: This seems to be working for all the pages except for the first one. Until I figure out a solution feel free to read the other pages, they are very fascinating on their own.)

Also I love the below advertisement from Photoplay magazine.



In 1945 King Kong was rereleased on a double bill with its sequel Son of Kong (1933). The below page of The Motion Picture Herald showed how one theatre advertised this.


  

When King Kong returned to theatres in 1938, one theatre had a particularly great way of advertising this event. Again if you can't read the writing, click on the page and use your touch screen to zoom in.



-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/King-Kong/articles.htmlThe Essentials: 52 Must See Movies and Why They Matter by Jeremy Arnold

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Animagic

There are few if any made-for-TV movies that are more cherished and watched than Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). The movie is extremely charming and lovely, and its childlike simplicity brings us back to how we felt about Christmas as kids. Christmas is a simple and charming time so it makes sense that we want to watch a film like this at this time of year.

For your reading pleasure here is a 1964 article about this movie from Sponsor magazine. If you have trouble reading click on any of the pages and use your touch screen to zoom in.


 






Merry Christmas, my friends.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #48 - Christmas Edition

Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Since Christmas is still approaching, let us have another look at some classic Christmas themed cartoons. 

The Max Fleischer Color Classics served as the Fleischer Studio's version of Disney's Silly Symphonies. Like that series these cartoons rarely featured reoccurring characters. It was definitely uncommon to see a character from one of the Fleischers' other cartoon series. An exception was Christmas Comes But Once a Year (1936). This short movie featured Grampy from the Betty Boop cartoons. This is one of the most charming Color Classics and one of the best uses of sentimentality (something that was not the studio's forte) at the studio. Grampy was one of the best things about the later Betty Boop films and he definitely gets to shine here. The title song in this short movie would later be reused in the Popeye cartoon, Let's Celebrake (1938) with the lyrics changed to be about New Years instead. Some of Grampy's household toy ideas would later be used in the Casper cartoon, True Boo (1952). So enjoy this delightful cartoon.
 

Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoons were always fantastic examples of slapstick cartoon comedy at its finest. These were fast paced and very funny cartoons that could hold their own with any comedy shorts from any other cartoon studio. Some highlights were definitely the ones with Chip and Dale. These two Chipmunks always perfectly fit Hannah's slapstick sense of humor and they were never funnier than when directed by him. One of my favorite of these films is Toy Tinkers (1949). 

The next cartoon might be a bit of a cheat, because it is about many holidays instead of just one, but so is Holiday Inn (1942) and that movie is always associated with Christmas. Plus this cartoons stars that near and dear friend to you and me Scrappy. This is the delightful, Holiday Land (1934). Unusual for a Scrappy cartoon this film is in color. In fact this short movie marked the first color cartoon from Columbia. This cartoon played for two weeks at the Radio City Music Hall to a very good response and was even nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar (Disney's Tortoise and the Hare (1934) won). A review in The Film Daily called this cartoon "a generally enjoyable cartoon fantasy." In the 1940's this cartoon would receive a 16mm home viewing release. Speaking about Scrappy and Christmas together in 1936 Columbia had a Scrappy Christmas party where various cartoons (most of which featured Scrappy) were shown to Children in the Hospital For Joint Diseases in New York City. Anyway enjoy the cartoon.




Ending this post is a classic silent short movie from stop motion master, Ladislas Starevich. So enjoy The Insect's Christmas (1913). The animation here is not only impressive for being a film over one hundred years old, but it still looks masterfully done today.




Come back next week for more classic Christmas cartoons.

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

Silent Film of the Month: The Night Before Christmas (1913)

Run Time: 41 minutes. Director: Ladislas Starevich. Writer: Ladislas Starevich.  Main Cast: Ivan Mosjoukine, Olga Obolenskaya, Lidiya Tridenskaya. Cinematographer: Ladislas Starevich.



Ladislas Starevich is one of the greatest pioneers of stop motion animation, and one of the most important animation directors to come out of Russia. He was also one of the first film makers to prove that animation could be art, and he was a co-director, co-writer, cinematographer, art director and animator on the first feature to be done completely in stop motion animation, The Story of the Fox (Which by the way is a masterpiece). He also directed many of the best stop motion animated short films of all time, such as The Cameraman's Revenge, The Frogs Who Wanted a King, The Mascot, and The Insects Christmas. What is interesting about The Night Before Christmas though is that it is one of the director's very few forays into live action film.

This film is not based off the famous poem by Clement Clark Moore. Instead it is based off a short story by Nikolai Gogol. In this story a blacksmith wishes to obtain the empresses' slippers. To gain these slippers the blacksmith sets out to capture the devil himself to help him. I have written about another movie based on this story on this blog (to read that click here).
The Night Before Christmas is a very charming movie. The humor is spot on the acting is quite good, and the whole film has a unique charm to it. However this film at a mere 41 minutes (two minutes less and it would have been a short instead of a feature) feels like it should have been longer to flesh out the characters, and story more.

The effects are not only very impressive for being over 100 years old, but they also hold up quite well today. However for some modern movie goers they still might take some getting used to. While much of today's cinema focuses on making the effects look as realistic as possible, this film has a stylized look and the effects follow suit, This effects don't always look realistic, not because this is an old movie, but because, they were never meant to. This movie is a fairy tale for adults and the effects are meant to heighten the fantasy aspects. When you keep this in mind, there is no doubt that these effects are extremely impressive and very pleasing to the eyes. Starevich even fits in some of his signature stop motion animation here, and it is just as good as you except from him.


This is a very good movie that despite not being quite up to the standard of Starevich's animated work is still well worth watching.

The critics of the time praised this film, some calling it one of the great works of the Russian cinema.

For anyone interested this film can be found on YouTube.


-Michael J. Ruhand

Movie Review: Missing Link

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

Review: This movie may not be a new classic or a film that you will often think about, but it is charming and fun and sometimes that is enough reason to recommend a movie.

The story of this movie is very simplistic and not especially original. However it is well told. Unlike many family movies today, this is a quiet leisurely paced film. In many ways this is one of the movie's best assets. This is an adventure story and this pacing and quietness make you feel like you are traveling along with these characters on their journey in a way you wouldn't if you were watching a noisier action packed film. Our protagonists are very likable making the pleasantness all the more effective. These characters all have their quirks about them and could have easily just become one note jokes about those, but they don't. Susan is not just a naïve character, but one who exudes considerable warmth. It is hard not to like a guy with no pretentions about himself and whose outlook on life is so sweet and optimistic. All this is increased by the good natured voice of Zach Galifinakis, who just lends such a warmth and sincerity to the character. Sir Lionel Frost could have easily been just a self centered jerk, but he is so much more. Like Susan he has a strong desire simply to belong. He wishes to prove himself to an Adventurers' Club that won't have him as a member. One quickly gets the feeling that the reason he wants this so much is because of some inner insecurity and fear that he may not actually be good enough. Maybe he feels that if the club accepts him the insecurity will go away. Because deep down he is insecure he has created on the outside a look out for number one attitude and that him being accepted should be put above all else even his new friend. Once more he is a character that actually matures over the course of film in a way that does not feel forced, but real.

Unfortunately the side characters do not have the same depth as our leads. Most of them are actually little more than bland, boring and cliché. The villains are especially bad. We feel like the are nothing more than plot devices. There is little to no personality to them, and their dialogue is as clichéd as can be. We feel we have seen these villains a million times before and done a lot better. The storyline while charming is nothing new and anyone who has seen enough movies will be able to tell you what happens at ever turn.

The humor in this movie is not one that will often make you laugh out loud, but it will also never make you cringe. There were a few laugh at loud moments but I smiled or chuckled much more than I actually laughed.

This movie may not be up to par with Laika's previous output, but that in no way means it is bad. This is instead a charming and fun movie in its own right.

-Michael J. Ruhland