Maybe it’s because I’ve been spoiled by Will Vinton’s Christmas special, but “Comedy of Horrors” just wasn’t my favorite from the man. It’s likely because the narrative he gives audiences just doesn’t fit thirty minutes as a whole. I think this special should have had various segments rather than just one solid story. The story at the center is just never as engaging as I would have loved it to be, and in the end I was kind of disappointed. “Claymation Comedy of Horrors” is filled with a ton of horror references both obscure and mainstream, and I dug the Easter Eggs he included.
There’s a cameo from the Gillman, and I loved the appearance from Jason Voorhees. Despite those interesting tidbits, even for an eccentric Vinton special, the central premise is just kind of disjointed. Wilshire Pig and his friend Sheldon Snail accidentally stumble upon a map to the lab of Dr. Frankenswine who created his own monster. The entirety of the special is spent on the duo finding the castle where the lab is and crashing a monster party. Now they have to find the lab while hiding the fact that they’re mortal. From thereon in, there are a ton of appearances from various monsters, and there’s even some fun moments including Wilshire’s meeting of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the blob being a host of an open mic night at the castle.
There’s just no one to root for here, and Wilshire Pig and Sheldon Snail are irritating protagonists. Wilshire Pig has zero redeeming features, while Sheldon Snail is consistently bullied. There’s no room for any of them to really win over the crowd, and before they can the special just ends. The narrative feels wildly incomplete, which is proven by the closing credits revealing a plot point that feels unresolved. Even when they find the mythical monster, it’s just not funny so much as it is kind of weird. That said Will Vinton’s animation is excellent, and his style definitely brings back shades of nostalgia for me. The special as a whole leaves much to be desired, and should only be seen by hardcore fans of Vinton.