Wednesday, October 15, 2014

A Cut Scene from Heavy Metal

I thought I'd share this deleted scene from Heavy Metal, Neverwhere Land, which I found on the web.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Abstract Animation Ought to be Mainstream

I think that somebody ought to create an abstract animated feature film and give it a mainstream international theatrical release. Think of the potential. It could be divided into different segments featuring an individual animation media. One could be hand painted animation, one could be claymation, one could be 3D computer animated, and one could be a collage of fractal imagery. The movie wouldn't make much money right away but could be very profitable in the long term as it would have very limited competition. The only competition would be from The Mind's Eye series and Animusic and those would only compete with it during the home video stage.

The film could play on emotions. One section could be themed to claustrophobia, another could be the disappearance of everything that comes with death. There could be journeys on abstract highways, conflicts of simple shapes, journeys through disgusting looking nightmare-scapes. A segment could even be devoted to procreation with shapes touching each other and making another shape with attributes of both shapes. What might the MPAA rate the film if it did? People might want to see the film just to see why it's rated PG-13 or higher(or the closest in your country's rating system). It could be the animated equivalent of Link Wray's song Rumble where it earns notoriety just by the way it looks.

Would you pay to see an abstract animated film in theaters? Would you sit through the one that already exists today? It's called "Ere erera baleibu icik subua aruaren." I found a video clip which is apparently him talking about the film in Spanish. Any help from Spanish speakers to figure out what he's saying would be greatly appreciated.


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Films I've Seen Since Last Post

I've seen quite a few animated films since my last post. I'll talk briefly about each.




First up is Kuiba, a Chinese anime styled animated film which is about a demon that is reborn every 333 years. The film seems to set itself up for a sequel because it leaves its plot unresolved. We discover that Kuiba is, unbeknownst to the characters, a little boy. This little boy wants to go along with his friend and fight Kuiba, so they both set out on a journey to join an army and fight Kuiba.








Another animated film I saw is called Toward the Terra. It's a science fiction anime film about a boy who finds himself taken away from his computer run city to join a group of people called Mu who are people with extraordinary powers but, usually, at the cost of frail health in other ways. The Mu are regarded by ordinary people as an enemy. The main character, Jomy, keeps the appearance of a young teenager throughout the film.














The third animated film I found is called You Are Umasou, umasou meaning 'tasty' in Japanese. It's about a young t-rex like dinosaur adopted by plant eating dinosaurs after his egg is washed down a river. He grows apart from the herbivores who include his mother and another young dinosaur the same age and he starts hunting creatures for meat on his own. He adopts a young anklyosaurus who he initially tries to eat, hence the name Umasou.







You Are Umasou Part 1 by f100002603595572





The last animated film I found online is a Filipino animated film called RPG Metanoia. It's about a boy's life with his friends as they play and RPG called Metanoia and real games outside.  Things eventually go wrong inside the game but you can watch the movie to find out what happens.







Each one of these films disappointed me to a degree. Toward the Terra is probably my favorite, and I'd give it a 7 out of ten. RPG Metanoia is the second best and I'm undecided whether Umasou or Kuiba is the better film.




The very last animated film I've seen is Ernest and Celestine. This film is released by GKids so it's not all that obscure. I saw the English dubbed version at my local independent theater, The Magic Lantern. I found the story very touching and enjoyed the illustrative visual style. It's about a mouse named Celestine who lives in an orphanage and needs to collect teeth, and Ernest the bear who's a down on his luck musician. I found it more touching than anything else, but it's still quite an enjoyable film and the best one out of those I've seen. I give it an 8 out of ten.








Feel free to share any animated films you've seen recently in the comments below.