Tag Archives: Animation

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The Bootleg Files: Popcorn

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BOOTLEG FILES 764: “Popcorn” (1974 animated short by Hanna-Barbera on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Reserve).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Fell through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Hanna-Barbera animation studio supplemented its television and film production output with contracted work on behalf of government agencies and nonprofits. One of the strangest of these works was “Popcorn,” made in 1974 on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
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Earwig and the Witch (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD]

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I’m one of the traditionalists that think Studio Ghibli should have stuck to hand drawn animation, but sometimes there’s just no fighting change. With “Earwig and the Witch” there’s so much new, that you’re almost tricked in to forgetting that the movie almost has no real narrative. At all. This is one of Studio Ghibli’s more aimless movies that doesn’t have a whole lot to it. Substantially, the movie packs in some great animation, and it’s quite startling how some of the motion for some scenes looks so realistic. I’m not going to say that the movie is an accomplishment in regards to Ghibli because Pixar has pulled off so much better.

Hell, Dreamworks has accomplished so much more with this medium.

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]

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I’m glad there’s a lot more momentum being picked up with “Mortal Kombat” as an IP, as the series deserves a cinematic universe. It’s a series filled with mythology, and alternate universes, and monsters, as well as some vicious gore. Despite past flubs with animated attempts at “Mortal Kombat,” Warner Bros. “Scorpion’s Revenge” is a solid return to the animated medium. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel as far as “Mortal Kombat” goes, but it’s a basic meat and potatoes primer that can act as an entry way for new fans.

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Röckët Stähr’s Death of a Rockstar (2020) [Fantaspoa Fest 2021]

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It’s not too often I’m privileged enough to watch an animated rock opera, but Röckët Stähr’s one man production about world fighting for peace through rock and roll is quite the spectacle. One thing you can’t accuse it of is being unambitious, as Röckët Stähr’s does everything in the movie possible. He literally does everything as when the movie comes to a close you can see the impressive list of tasks he undertook to bring his movie to life.

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Robert Kirkman’s “Invincible” is a Stellar, if Flawed, Superhero Epic

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Full Disclosure: Amazon Studios gave us access to the first three episodes of “Invincible.” Please read with discretion.

I missed the boat when Invincible had its run in Image Comics, and I regret it, especially as a fan of “The Walking Dead.” Robert Kirkman is one of the group of Image comics heavyweights who manages to offer up his own superhero tale, but it’s given a massive twist that’s both bold and insanely violent. Taking the animated route this time out, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg help realize Kirkman’s epic “Invincible” for the small screen, sticking true to many of the comics original storylines, and unfolding what is a unique, exciting, albeit imperfect at times, saga.

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The Bootleg Files: The Crunch Bird

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BOOTLEG FILES 758: “The Crunch Bird” (1971 Academy Award-winning animated short).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: It was part of a Goodtimes Home Video VHS release at one point.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Only in an anthology of Oscar-winning shorts.

Here is a great question for Oscar trivia buffs: which Academy Award-winning production had the shortest running time? If you are reading this column, the answer is a bit obvious: it is “The Crunch Bird,” the 1971 winner of the Best Animated Short Subject Oscar, which only ran a mere two minutes.
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Tom and Jerry (2021)

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Warner Animation props up the long rotted corpse of “Tom and Jerry” long enough to produce what I’m sure they hoped would be a blockbuster big screen adaptation. For a series that’s been languishing on video store shelves with cheaply made, watered down animated movies for years, it’s not a surprise that “Tom and Jerry” is about as bland as ever. It’s also not at all surprising that Tim Story is the man called on to deliver such an inoffensive, forgettable, mishmash of weird ideas and concepts.

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