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Jun. 29th, 2008 03:33 pmSo, I managed to get time to watch Rock and Rule last night.
Thoughts?
First off - this is a very flawed film, as my friends have pointed out. Keep this in mind if any details get you interested. It's not a great movie. It is, however, good enough that it's a fun watch. Its main claims to fame is its spot in Canadian animation history and its sound track. I've seen parts of the movie before, but this was my first time being able to watch it front-to-back. Before, I'd always catch it halfway through while it was on TV.
It's a Nelvana movie.
No, really. That's the big thing that stuck out to me. It looks, feels and reads like something Nelvana created, because it is a Nelvana film. It doesn't try to hide it. If it walks like a duck...
This was a relief, because I find that with a lot of early animation aimed at adults requires me to be in the "right" mood to watch it. Rock and Rule's position as an adult animated film is a bit odd. Nelvana is open in admitting that the film was originally intended for kids, but progressed into an film geared for adults. There's sex, drugs, violence and all things that are typical of early adult animation, but most of these are implied until the last half of the film. No, while the Edison Balls are a riff on drugs, I don't count those as on-screen drug use. I'm thinking more along the lines of the nightclub and Mok's little musical drug trip.
I think the big hit against it is that the main plot is based around summoning a demon (with the voice of Iggy Pop, even), which isn't really kiddie fare. Part of the demon are honestly disturbing, both in character design and the special effect used. On the other hand, they don't even call it a demon for the most part. It's "The Beast From Another Dimension", although I think the intro mentions that one point that the ritual is Satanic. Of course, how the characters even know what "Satanic" means is up for questioning, as the film is set in after the fall of mankind. It's shades of Peace on Earth, kinda.
When it comes to cursing, the TV version from Canada has more than the film release! Maybe I'm desensitized by the likes of Family Guy and the Simpsons, but I wasn't really offended by much of "adult" content. I mean, the film is only rated PG now. You be the judge.
Am I the only one that thinks that Mok is more like David Bowie than Mick Jagger? He LOOKS like Jagger, but the way he carries himself to the public, at least when he's first fully introduced, is so David Bowie it's not funny.
Plot and character design wise, I wish I knew what the staff was on. It's sorta spooky because, like I said, it's a Nelvana film, but it's not like anything Nelvana I grew up with. My first reaction was "Care Bears came from THIS?!" That said, I don't remember their early, pre-Care Bears TV specials from my childhood, although I did see A Cosmic Christmas in my teens and that was not the product of sober minds. Many of the voice actors in the film were commonly featured in Canadian cartoons of that period.
The two disc set is really worth it if you have interest in 1980s animation. The commentary discusses the production of the film fairly indepth (how models were used, how the visual effects were pulled off before computers), and some of the production galleries, especially the gag sketches, are great.
It's also sorta sobering to watch this and realize that Nelvana had faith that this was going to be their first big film, only to have it almost destroy the company. With what Nelvana is today, you could argue that it DID kill the company. Hindsight is 20/20.
Thoughts?
First off - this is a very flawed film, as my friends have pointed out. Keep this in mind if any details get you interested. It's not a great movie. It is, however, good enough that it's a fun watch. Its main claims to fame is its spot in Canadian animation history and its sound track. I've seen parts of the movie before, but this was my first time being able to watch it front-to-back. Before, I'd always catch it halfway through while it was on TV.
It's a Nelvana movie.
No, really. That's the big thing that stuck out to me. It looks, feels and reads like something Nelvana created, because it is a Nelvana film. It doesn't try to hide it. If it walks like a duck...
This was a relief, because I find that with a lot of early animation aimed at adults requires me to be in the "right" mood to watch it. Rock and Rule's position as an adult animated film is a bit odd. Nelvana is open in admitting that the film was originally intended for kids, but progressed into an film geared for adults. There's sex, drugs, violence and all things that are typical of early adult animation, but most of these are implied until the last half of the film. No, while the Edison Balls are a riff on drugs, I don't count those as on-screen drug use. I'm thinking more along the lines of the nightclub and Mok's little musical drug trip.
I think the big hit against it is that the main plot is based around summoning a demon (with the voice of Iggy Pop, even), which isn't really kiddie fare. Part of the demon are honestly disturbing, both in character design and the special effect used. On the other hand, they don't even call it a demon for the most part. It's "The Beast From Another Dimension", although I think the intro mentions that one point that the ritual is Satanic. Of course, how the characters even know what "Satanic" means is up for questioning, as the film is set in after the fall of mankind. It's shades of Peace on Earth, kinda.
When it comes to cursing, the TV version from Canada has more than the film release! Maybe I'm desensitized by the likes of Family Guy and the Simpsons, but I wasn't really offended by much of "adult" content. I mean, the film is only rated PG now. You be the judge.
Am I the only one that thinks that Mok is more like David Bowie than Mick Jagger? He LOOKS like Jagger, but the way he carries himself to the public, at least when he's first fully introduced, is so David Bowie it's not funny.
Plot and character design wise, I wish I knew what the staff was on. It's sorta spooky because, like I said, it's a Nelvana film, but it's not like anything Nelvana I grew up with. My first reaction was "Care Bears came from THIS?!" That said, I don't remember their early, pre-Care Bears TV specials from my childhood, although I did see A Cosmic Christmas in my teens and that was not the product of sober minds. Many of the voice actors in the film were commonly featured in Canadian cartoons of that period.
The two disc set is really worth it if you have interest in 1980s animation. The commentary discusses the production of the film fairly indepth (how models were used, how the visual effects were pulled off before computers), and some of the production galleries, especially the gag sketches, are great.
It's also sorta sobering to watch this and realize that Nelvana had faith that this was going to be their first big film, only to have it almost destroy the company. With what Nelvana is today, you could argue that it DID kill the company. Hindsight is 20/20.
