A being called The Assassin explores a world of madness, odd denizens, and odder activities.
Tag Archives: Animation
The Bootleg Files: The Seven Stooges
BOOTLEG FILES 799: “The Seven Stooges” (2014 animated short inspired by the Three Stooges).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The film did not clear the trademarks associated with the Three Stooges characters.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Definitely not.
I was not planning to devote this week’s column to an animated fairy tale inspired by the Three Stooges, but YouTube posted “The Seven Stooges” in a list of recommended videos and my initial reaction was “Huh?”
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The Bootleg Files: Duck Amuck Reanimate Jam
BOOTLEG FILES 795: “Duck Amuck Reanimate Jam” (2020 fan film that reimagines the classic cartoon “Duck Amuck.”).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unauthorized remake of a copyright-protected work.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nil.
In 2018, an unlikely project caught the fancy of animation addicts: a group of 90 animators were gathered together to reanimate the 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon classic “The Dover Boys at Pimento University.” Each animator was given a small slice of the cartoon to reanimate – the soundtrack of the original film remained and the scene had to adhere to the basics of the sequences’ actions, but the animators were able to redesign the characters and animation style in any manner they desired.
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Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis (Metoroporisu) (2001) – Steelbook Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I saw Osamu Tezuka’s “Metropolis” back in 2002, and I vividly remember not being a fan at all. Maybe it was because I was more ignorant toward anime, then, but either way disliked it and openly avoided it for years. It was until recently I had to sit down to re-watch it. I don’t know what I was expecting then, but today I can safely describe it as merely an okay anime film.
The Bootleg Files: Half Baked Alaska
BOOTLEG FILES 792: “Half Baked Alaska” (1965 animated short in the Chilly Willy series).
LAST SEEN: On B98.tv.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Included in an anthology of Walter Lantz cartoons that is now out of print.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No one is rushing to get it into home entertainment release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It was briefly available, and hopefully it will come back.
Among the cartoon characters from the Golden Age of animated short subjects, Chilly Willy occupies a strange niche. This Walter Lantz-created penguin was cute and mischievous, but the character’s films were rarely laugh-out-out hilarious and Chilly Willy never truly occupied the iconic status of other creations of that era. Most people would point to the Oscar-nominated, Tex Avery-directed 1955 short “The Legend of Rockabye Point” as being a peak in the Chilly Willy series, although most of the humor in that short does not come from the penguin himself.
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Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s disappointing that this is where we’ve arrived with the DC Warner animated movies. We went from stellar to “Its fine, I guess.” That’s exactly what “Apokolips War,” the sequel (?) to “Justice League Dark” is. It’s fine. It’s okay. It has all the ingredients to be a damn good epic, but instead chooses gruesome pointless violence, over heart and substance. I’m not one to complain about violence in more mature aimed films, but “Apokolips War” often watches like it’s compensating for the lack of any real substance or entertainment value by splashing the screen with ridiculous violence and gore.
Injustice: Gods Among Us (2021) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
As a bit of warning, I never played the “Injustice” video game series, nor have I ever read any of the comic books or spin offs. I’m vaguely aware of what the general premise is of “Injustice,” but that’s as far as it goes for me. Considering I was excited about it being adapted in to an animated movie, when the dust settled, I’m very disappointed by what we’re ultimately offered. What is it about DC and Warner unwilling to make a movie that’s longer than eighty minutes? It can’t possibly be for the child audience, as “Injustice” is as gory an Elseworlds tale that I’ve ever seen.