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'Weird Al' Yankovic: Polkamania! (2024)
A fun music video for a fun song
Amazing how the newest Weird Al video made me realize how disconnected I am from the modern music scene: With the sole exceptions of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi (Which I'm only familiar thanks to some forced memes) I was completely unable to identify any single of the songs and artists parodied here.
Honestly, I felt like Homer Simpson in the Homerpalooza episode.
That said, even without any familiarity with modern music, I still found this to be a fun animated collaboration. The beginning sequence made by Cyriak with the weird cow in space was the most memorable part, in my opinion.
El Motor y La Melodía (2022)
Ants and Grasshoppers
A pretty neat Peruvian short by Juan Limo Giribaldi, who previously worked in "Kanito, la primera batalla", loosely inspired by The Ant and the Grasshopper fable, but with an environmentalist touch.
I must say the animation here looks much better than in "Kanito", with some rather beautiful sceneries and nicely done designs.
The charming light-hearted tone from the first half didn't prepare me for the unexpectedly sad conclusion of the story, which could be easily seen as a warning of the consequences of remaining indifferent towards the ecological crisis of our world.
A bitter, but poignant message.
Hope this short gets more recognition! It was a rather impressive effort and it would be nice to see a sequel of this story.
Power of Potluck (2023)
Another surreal ENA adventure
Unexpectedly, a fourth ENA episode was released this year, before the Dream BBQ videogame previously announced.
This short feels far more introspective than the previous installments, and also with less wacky humor, though the bizarre surrealism is just as strong as ever. (There is only one weird gag at the conclusion of the episode, albeit a very funny one)
As usual, the visuals and imagery are pretty original and creative, particularly on its depiction of dream-like characters through different animation styles.
A pretty solid addition to the ENA series. I sincerely hope to see more of these online shorts are made in the future, since this web series is perhaps the best animation ever produced in my country.
Canada Vignettes: Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'Neary (1978)
Not that bad, actually
Honestly? I don't know why this Canadian adaptation of an Irish legend is rated so low here on the Internet Movie Database.
I guess it must be due the fact is not a "real" animated short, using just static drawings insteads, as some sort of narrated picture book. But even taking that in consideration, this is nowhere as bad to deserve a 3.5 score.
The artwork was a bit odd, but not without charm. And the folk tale narrated here was charming too, reminding me a bit of the fairy tale Little Claus and Big Claus by Hans Christian Andersen, though the latter is honestly far more macabre and violent.
Perhaps not a life-changing experience, but still a decent watching experience anyway.
6.5/10.
Recess: Soccer Boy (2000)
One of the best Recess episodes
I think this might be my favorite Recess episode, probably because Mikey is my favorite character.
Now, while Mikey has a few occasional instances of him behaving like a jerk, here his temporary antagonism towards Vince is perfectly justified, after being unfairly excluded from the soccer team.
This is also a rare instance of Lawson behaving in a (relatively) reasonable behavior instead of his usual bully antics, leading to one of his very few triumphs in the whole series. In fact, this might be the only instance in the show of him winning at the end.
A fun, charming chapter with a good lesson about not underestimating other people's capabilities and being humble at sports.
8.5/10.
Jikû Tenshô Nasuka: Meeting of the Sleeping Souls (1998)
Life is unfair
The episode everyone was waiting for: The one which includes the two anime scenes from the Malcolm in the Middle's intro sequence, which I must say, are even more bizarre than I expected in full context.
Despite its many, many artistic liberties with Peru's history, so far I think the series is interesting enough, though I still find kinda baffling the depiction of the Incas as spandex-wearing caucasians (Asians?) who use western swords; not to mention the Inca city looking like some sort of European fantasy metropolis, with buildings resembling cathedrals.
Equally disconcerting is the depiction of Huascar (A real-life historical figure) looking like some sort of witch-doctor, with a mask with ram horns (Ovines were brought to Ancient Peru by the Spanish conquerors, unless those are the horns from another animal)
I understand this was made in a time before Wikipedia came into existence, but the whole thing is weird anyway, because the previous episode showed that at least some little research was made for the show, but it seems that from this point onwards, any kind of historical accuracy will be thrown out of the window.
Oh well. Life is unfair...
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: We No Who U R (2013)
A G-rated music video from Gaspar Noe
The movies directed by Gaspar Noe tend to be so brutally visceral with their display of extremely graphic imagery, misanthropic stories filled with bleak nihilism.
With that in mind, is kinda surprising he directed a music video like this, with zero violence and zero sexual imagery, and also without any kind of sensory abuse.
It's a rather pleasant surprise, mind you.
The video has a mysterious, yet gentle vibe, which fits perfectly well with the melancholic tone of the song.
When one pays attention to the lyrics, they have a pretty somber feel, but somehow the approach Noe gives here is actually oddly comforting, something rather unusual for him, considering the disturbing nature of the large majority of his work.
Hallowstide (2018)
A haunting abstract short
A haunting abstract work by Steve Socki, an indie animator who previously worked in Nicktoon series like Rugrats and Hey Arnold. (He, in fact, directed some of my favorite episodes from the latter series, such as "Spelling Bee", "Eating contest", "Arnold's Christmas" and "Harold's Kitty", among others)
I must say that, while the imagery displayed here is pretty captivating and beautifully made, the eerie music by Gary Chang is perhaps the defining factor here, giving it a wonderful otherworldly vibe.
Shows how a proper soundtrack can make the whole difference. Just take by example the cheesy trailer of that Gladiator sequel nobody asked and see how the rather inadequate song used there manages to kill the epic mood.
Recess: Here Comes Mr. Perfect (1999)
Mr. Perfect
This episode kinda feels like the Recess version of "Ms. Perfect" from Hey Arnold: However, unlike Lila, Jared didn't become a recurring character, being basically written off in a rather cartoonish way.
Maybe if he had stayed in more episodes, perhaps he would have reached a far more divisive status. Maybe he would have become the most hated member of the cast, due its apparent lack of flaws.
He is so perfect he ends being a little bit flat; but then again, his sole role in the series is to provide a lesson about how envy can bring out the worst of people: As such, even T. J. and Mikey behave as jerks towards the new kid, though at the end they end see the error of their ways and befriend him.
I think it was good the way in which 90s and early 2000s shows were willing to show that even the nicest characters can make mistakes or occasionally behave like jerks; such qualities made them more believable and close to their target audience.
This quality seems to be lost in the age of social media, with people taking jokes and parodies at face value and getting ridiculously enraged when characters don't act as they want, completely ignoring context and the purpose of the stories.
Things are so ridiculous now that an episode like this would probably inspire some sort of online controversy, with the main cast being probably demonized for acting like real kids.
El cuento de Paco Yunque (2005)
Anvil head
Found this almost by accident: At first I thought this was an adaptation of Cesar Vallejo's story "Paco Yunque", which is very well known in my country (And is often read by students in school), but turned out to be a completely unrelated work, being instead some sort of fable about freedom and strict parenthood.
Here, "Paco Yunque" isn't a child, but some kind of alien creature with a literal anvil head (Yunque=Anvil in Spanish) who has a son with a ballon head. The rhyming dialogue give this a certain Dr. Seuss vibe, though with a more philosophical angle.
Apparently there is an stop-motion adaptation of Cesar Vallejo's short tale, but unfortunately it wasn't registered on imdb yet.
Jikû Tenshô Nasuka: Those Who Awaken (1998)
The first episode of the Nazca anime
I recently started watching Nazca, better known as the anime from the Malcolm in the Middle intro.
But memes aside, my main interest watching this was seeing how an anime series tackled the Inca culture from my country, even knowing beforehand that there were going to be a lot of artistic liberties taken, perhaps even more than in The Emperor's New Groove. (For starters, Incas didn't wore leotards or used katanas)
The first episode was a little bit slow-paced for my taste, but I really liked the art style (Which made me miss 90s anime, before characters started suffering the same-face-syndrome so commonly found in many modern productions). The music is also very nice, particularly the ending song.
Let's see where this goes.
Lulu (2018)
Pigeons in love
A charming little animation from Peru, following the tale of a street pigeon falling in love with a magician's dove, made for the
48 Hour Film Project.
The character designs were simple but appealing, and while the plot might be a little bit predictable, the overall result was pretty decent in my opinion, especially knowing it was done entirely in merely 48 hours.
The soundtrack was very nice, serving as a nice tribute to the folk music from my country, giving it a neat distinct identity.
Without being a life-changing experience, it is still a more than meritorious effort worthy of recognition.
Biology Made Uneasy (2007)
It was okay
Another "Hothouse" animation by the National Film Board of Canada, this time even shorter than usual, lasting even less than a minute.
The title and the video thumbnail made me expect something gross, but it turned out to be just a silly gag animation, not particularly great or memorable, yet amusing anyway, basically giving a little glimpse of the microscopic world unleashed by a simple handshake.
Not much else can be said about this, but at least the ending made me chuckle a bit.
P. S. Even after all this time, I still can't get used to the imdb rule enforcing at least six-thousand letters per review. It can get annoying when reviewing very short works, like this one.
Semáforo (2013)
A haunting allegory
At first glance, this Colombian short comes as something completely random, contrasting its colorful animation with a series of strange, almost nightmarish circus-related imagery.
The video description clarifies the main theme here, however:
"Due to the ongoing war in the Colombian jungles, many people is forced to flee their rural territories and find refugee in capital cities. Their only mean of acquiring money is to put on shows under the city stoplights. Some dress like clowns or do acrobatics, others spit fire or juggle; and some show the only thing they have left: deformities and amputations in exchange for some sympathy and change.
This is the life of the people who live under a stoplight and the people who watch them."
With this in mind, the surreal eerieness displayed here becomes into a metaphor for a somber reality: The seemingly charming aspect of a street performance often involves a life of poverty and deprivation for the artists, with most people not caring much about their fate.
Meltdown (2012)
A cute stop-motion short about global warming
Another brief "Hothouse" animation by National Film Board of Canada, and one of the best ones in my opinion.
Meltdown by Carrie Mombourquette takes a very light-hearted approach to a serious issue (in this case, global warming), but done in a rather charming way, through a cute stop motion tale about a polar bear trying to adapt to human society after the last ice from the Artic melts away, leading to several humorous situations.
Despite its extreme brevity (less than two minutes) it feels longer than that, with plenty of stuff happening in the story, which honestly has enough potential to be fully developed into a feature length film.
If only ice cubes were enough to fix the current environmental disaster on our planet...
8/10.
Mindfork (2016)
A mindfork indeed.
"Excuse me?"
"Can you help me?"
Another of those "Hothouse" short animations from the National Film Board of Canada, described as "a visual descent into madness triggered by the effort to keep it all together-even when it seems damn near impossible."
No, I have no idea of what is this supposed to mean, or if this is supposed to have any particular meaning on the first place...But it was interesting anyway, mostly due its cool minimalistic aesthetic, creative use of imagery and the haunting (yet at the same time fun) atmosphere.
This easily could have been an Adult Swim bumper.
6.5/10
"How do I get up?"
Reflexion (2010)
Perplexing
A one minute length experimental animation by the National Film Board of Canada, as part of its "Hothouse" series.
I...Honestly have no idea of what this short was supposed to mean. Something about the nature of reality, I guess? Something about parallel dimensions? Or maybe just some random stuff without any particular meaning?
I kinda dig the minimalistic aesthetic, despite the crudely done designs of the two main characters, with both of them resembling stick figures with square heads.
The silly disco dancing ending was genuinely unexpected. But while it made chuckle a bit, I feel it kinda ruins the mysterious mood previously established.
I guess we shall never know whatever happened to the other square head guy.
6/10.
Stille Nacht V: Dog Door (2001)
A wolf at the door
The final installment of the "Stille Nacht" series of shorts by the Brothers Quay, and the only one in color.
I honestly misinterpreted this animation the first time I watched it, thinking it was intended as some sort of allegory for sexual abuse, due the way in which the doll character is depicted, lying on bed with her legs wide open, as if she was unable to move, but according to the plot summary posted here on imdb, she and the wolf where supposed to be "masturbating". (The imagery is not exactly very clear, and some elements from it seem to be open to intepretation, in my opinion)
Still pretty eerie anyway. I guess it fits the haunting tone of the song, and it's nicely animated, but it can get repetitive after a while, despite its short lenght. Though it also has a certain hypnotic quality at the same time.
The previous "Still Nacht" shorts were better in my opinion, but this is still worth-watching anyway, at least if you are not weirded out by nightmarish, sexually charged content.
Cirugía (2007)
A clever little animation
A clever little short from Spain.
The rotoscoped animation might look a bit crudely done in a couple of scenes, but personally I liked its minimalistic aesthetic, showcasing a rather awkward date between a man who claims to be a surgeon and a woman who doubts this information, asking him to show his hands.
The twist at the end was pretty well executed, and comes as something genuinely unexpected after all what was previously said, which convincingly the man as a insecure liar trying to look cool in front of his date.
Things won't be so simple, however.
If you have about two minutes to spare, give this a try.
6.5/10.
Recess: Dodgeball City (1999)
El Diablo Gus
The large majority of the Recess episodes focused on Gus either feature him as the target of some sort of misfortune, or showcase him suddenly gaining a form of power and temporarily becoming a jerk in order to learn to be less arrogant.
Fortunately, Dodgeball City is the exception to that rule, allowing him to show one of his secret talents and saving the day on the final act, serving also as a pretty charming tribute to some common archetypes from western films.
Kinda disappointing the show never brought back again Gus's secret talent for dodgeball, but still a pretty amusing episode anyway.
The Shane parody at the end was fun.
60 Segundos de Oscuridad (2017)
Nice tribute to a clasic Argentinian comic
I must confess I only had the chance of reading the second part of El Eternauta, which is often considered one of the biggest cult classics from the history of comics books made in Latin America (Besides of other legends like Mafalda)
The aftermentioned sequel was a decent read, but from what I understood, it was often seen as an inferior work compared to the first part.
This is a very nice fan-made tribute, which merely gives us a glimpse of the original story, feeling like a single scene from a never made animated film inspired in El Eternauta.
But it's an amazing glimpse anyway, with very nice animation and a great atmosphere of tension.
Now that Netflix has announced a live-action series, hope that inspired more Latin American comics being adapted into movies and TV shows, since there are plenty of great comics in this part of the world that deserve far more popularity.
Rat Bastard (2000)
A fun pilot
Shame this short wasn't turned into a full series, since the premise seemed interesting and its animation style looked really nice.
Even when I never had the chance of reading the original comics by Cliff Galbraith, this five-minute pilot showed a lot of great potential, feeling like a mixture of Batman Beyond, Biker Mice from Mars and Frank Miller's Sin City.
The unexpected success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon in the late 80s lead to other indie comics being turned into animated series (Such as Fish Police, The Maxx, Savage Dragon, Wild C. A. T.s and Cybersix); unfortunately, none of these series had the same cultural impact of the famous quelonian quartet, and the mainstream interest for indie comics faded for a while; hopefully the positive reception the film adaptations of Nimona and Robot Dreams got may change the situation for the better in the future years.
Recess: Bonky Fever (2000)
Growing pains
I think this episode it's a bit misunderstood among the Recess fandom, with some thinking its message was about how Mikey needed to stop liking kids' shows as part of him growing up, and others comparing it to some sort of midlife crisis depiction.
In reality, the main theme here was the fear of growing up, and how Mikey clinged so much to some Barney-esque character as a form of denial born of fear from being separated of his beloved mother.
But growing up is also an inevitable part of life, and Mikey accepts that at the end of episode, after having a heartfelt conversation with his mother, in a rather sweet scene.
A bit wacky and over-the-top, sure, but still a pretty heartwarming episode...And a little bit bittersweet, too.
As kids, many of us probably wanted to grow up as fast as possible; yet once we became older, we often wish to relive the days of our childhood...
Aki's Dream (2001)
Another DVD extra from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Another special feature from the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within DVD, though unlike the Thriller parody, this does not add too much, merely consisting in the dream sequences from the main character of that movie edited together as a single "short film" which doesn't work on its own, feeling at best as bunch of random sequences to anyone who hasn't seen the whole movie.
Watching this, however, allowed me to notice how the film would have worked much better without dialogue, because despite its technically marvellous CGI (I have to admit the visuals are still fairly impressive, even after all this time) the voice acting from the movie was frankly a bit stiff and unmotivated, not to mention the cheesy script.
A silent Final Fantasy movie probably would have flopped at the box office as well, but it would have been a much more interesting film.
Kelly's Thriller (2001)
A funny little addition to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
A little easter egg included on the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within DVD.
In many ways, it feels like one of those Garry's Mod parody videos so commonly found in Youtube back then in the late 2000s and early 2010s, particularly in the way the characters made some rather awkward facial expressions for comical effect.
Considering this was made at least three years before those kind of videos were a thing, I guess we can say that this short parody was ahead of its time.
Nothing groundbreaking, but still an amusing addition to an otherwise forgettable movie.
A shame how this kind of easter eggs are becoming a rarity in the streaming era, since they were a funny way to enhance the movie watching experience.
By comparison, modern media feels way too depersonalized.