Prime Time: Early Man (2018)

It was only a matter of time until Aardman delivered a movie that left me even slightly disappointed. The fact that it took this long, and that Early Man is still an enjoyable enough bit of fun, if not one I will rush to rewatch, is testament to the quality of their work. From Chicken Run to the Wallace & Gromit movie, and then the wonderful The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! I even really like Flushed Away, and enjoyed the slightly lower-tier movie outing for Shaun The Sheep. And I couldn't even begin to narrow the gags down to a Top 10 if we were to discuss the many wonderful short films they have made (although Gromit laying down enough track ahead of himself as he speeds along on a model train will always be my favourite of the lot).

Early Man is the story of a group of cave-dwelling people who end up being displaced from their valley by some giant machines, all controlled by men who are living it up in the Bronze Age. When one man (Dug, voiced by Eddie Redmayne) goes to find out more, he ends up challenging the more advanced people to a game of football. Winning will get them their valley back, but losing will see them used as miners.

Director Nick Park, who also developed the story idea with Mark Burton (and Burton wrote the screenplay with James Higginson), doesn't seem to be too sure of what he wants here. There are the usual wonderful visual gags, although not as many of them as we've had in his previous films, but the combination of the prehistoric setting and football match challenge makes for a strange combination that doesn't quite work. Some people will be wanting more dino-centric gags, others may want some more time with the football, and neither group will be wholly satisfied with the end result.

There's another problem though, and that is the voice cast. It's just not very . . . good. Eddie Redmayne is perfectly acceptable in the main role, but that's all he is. Never the most charismatic or warm performers, his voice work is at least better than most of the roles that utilise his entire physical presence. Tom Hiddleston and Maisie Williams both do okay, the former as an enemy and the latter as an ally, but they're hidden behind some pointless and silly accents (unless my old ears have started to deceive me). Timothy Spall is a welcome presence, Rob Brydon does well, Miriam Margolyes is an amusingly stern Queen, and there are a number of familiar British celebrities making up the rest of the main troupe.

Despite those story and cast issues, Early Man still does enough to make for a fun 90 minutes (well, closer to 80 minutes before the end credits roll), and I am sure that younger viewers will appreciate it more than I did. It does, after all, have dinosaurs, cute rabbits, a helpful boar named Hognob, and a cast of obvious heroes to root for and villains to boo and hiss at.

6/10

Early Man can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.

Ani-MAY-tion Month: Mad Monster Party? (1967)

I won't beat around the bush, I love Mad Monster Party? despite knowing how flawed it is. The pacing isn't perfect, the jokes are a bit lame, the songs aren't exactly classics, and the story keeps throwing up ridiculous moment after ridiculous moment. Yet I still love it.

Baron Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) is throwing a party. He's due to retire, and so invites lots of famous monsters to his home on The Isle Of Evil, where he will also choose his successor. The guest list includes Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), the invisible man, an aquatic creature (probably from a black lagoon), and . . . . . . . Felix Flankin, the Baron's nephew. Also in attendance are The Monster, of course, The Monster's Mate, and the lovely Francesca. And Yetch, an assistant to the Baron who is quite smitten with Francesca.

It may not be a Christmas-themed work, for a change, but this is unmistakably another wonderful Rankin/Bass production, with the usual cast of colourful characters, lovely visual details and musical interludes. Looking at it objectively, it's a couple of notches below their best work, but what horror fan can be objective when a stop-motion feature brings together such classic archetypes? And let's not forget the zombie bird men, and a gigantic ape that also makes an appearance.

The script by Len Korobkin and Harvey Kurtzman (with some uncredited help from Forrest J Ackerman, apparently) alternates between awful and great. Again, I just don't mind. Even when it's being pretty bad, in terms of dialogue and obvious gags, it's trying so hard to please that I give in to it.

The vocal cast isn't exactly a who's who of celebrities from the time, but the inclusion of Karloff is the biggest plus. Allen Swift is the man responsible for most of the other voices, and does great work in every role, while Gale Garnett gets to wind the men around her little finger in the role of Francesca. Phyllis Diller has fun as The Monster's Mate, but she's given a never-ending stream of bad jokes/puns to deliver.

The film is akin to one extra-large Halloween cracker, and crackers are always put out on the table when a party atmosphere is being created. The jokes in crackers are usually awful, the toys/gifts are rarely much better, and there are often times when you pull them apart and don't even get a satisfying bang (now, now, stop making up your own jokes). Yet that doesn't make them, or the party, any less enjoyable. The same can be said of Mad Monster Party?

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Monster-Party-Boris-Karloff/dp/B002ECJZG2/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1400367138&sr=1-2&keywords=mad+monster+party

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Everyone knows the story of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer. He had a very shiny nose. This little stop-motion gem is yet another of the beloved Rankin/Bass productions that so many had the joy of growing up with. They remain as cute and rewatchable as ever, and I recommend all of them for children of all ages.

The story is narrated to viewers by Sam the Snowman (voiced by Burl Ives) and while things start off in very familiar territory - Rudolph is called names and not allowed to join in all the reindeer games - it soon moves on to something a bit different. Rudolph leaves his home, and it's not long until he meets up with an elf who wants to be a dentist and an adventurer looking for silver and gold. The three of them somehow end up on an island that is home to all of the misfit toys, toys that actually look to Rudolph and co. for a helping hand.

There's nothing more to say about this other than it's a Rankin/Bass Christmas outing, which is all that many people will need to hear before remembering it with affection, and with good reason. It's actually directed by Larry Roemer and written by Romeo Muller, based on a story by Robert May, but the identity stamped all over it is Rankin/Bass.

The character design and animation is adorable, even if it's also a bit rough around the edges at times. There are a few songs, none of them spectacular, but all enjoyable enough, plenty of references to the song that shares the title of the film, and moments of surreal joy that somehow balance out the potential excess sweetness with the imagination on display.

Clocking in at just under an hour, this isn't really a feature, but it's just long enough to keep kids entertained without having to throw in a lot of extra gags for every scene. By the time the end credits roll, hopefully, the little ones will have taken in a little lesson about how it's okay to be different. It's okay to be yourself. Meanwhile, older viewers have been able to rekindle some childhood memories or just soak up the simple pleasure of the experience.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Original-Christmas-Classics-Red-Nosed/dp/B00979KDAM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1386340154&sr=8-3&keywords=rudolph+the+red+nosed+reindeer

Ray Harryhausen (1920 - 2013)

I know, I know, I'm late in marking the passing of this great man.

That's because I tend not to do these things. I don't write many notices about those who have shuffled off our mortal coil and I don't ever set out to overemphasise the impact that any individuals had on my life (the last death that made me struggle to voice how influential the person had been was that of James Herbert).

This note isn't a look back at the life of Harryhausen, it's not full of facts and figures that I'd just have to look up online anyway. This is just a brief note to say that over the coming weeks I will, as tribute to the man, be revisiting and reviewing as many of his films as I can get my hands on. I'll be covering the biggies, of course - Clash Of The Titans, Jason & The Argonauts, the Sinbad movies - but I'll also be trying to cover some of his earlier works and also one or two of the movies that fired up my love for film at an early age. Mysterious Island is essential viewing, as is The Valley Of Gwangi. Both of these movies, though perhaps seen as lesser Harryhausen films, will forever hold a place in my heart. I first saw them on British TV on a dull Sunday afternoon and they have always held that association ever since. In fact, I have no doubt that when I watch these movies on any day other than a Sunday I will end up feeling both comforted and confused.

I can't write a full piece about the man who made these monsters. I didn't know him, I've not read up about him, I wasn't even aware of his name when I first encountered his creations. But I can write reviews of those movies that livened up my childhood, especially now that I DO know the name of the man responsible for the harpies, the fighting skeletons, that moving statue of Talos and much, much more.

Feel free to reply with your own thoughts on each movie, of course, and let's spend the remainder of May reclaiming some of our childhood memories.

Jack Frost (1979)

There have been many, many movies over the years given the title of Jack Frost so let me quickly inform you now that this particular review concerns the lovely stop-motion film from Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. The two men are adored by a generation of Americans who grew up with their stop-motion creations playing on the TV, mostly at Christmas time. In fact, I hope that they're adored by more than one generation as their better known titles were released throughout a period of two decades.

Here in the UK we didn't really get the Rankin/Bass creations, which is a great shame. Oh, they may have been shown occasionally but they weren't the essential part of the holidays that they became in the USA. I only discovered them after a lot of online conversation with my many American friends led me to Mad Monster Party, which you should seek out immediately, and then I was lucky enough to find that LoveFilm had Jack Frost among their Instant selection (it's also on YouTube here for anyone eager to revisit it). Result.

What's the story? It's simple, Jack Frost (voiced by Robert Morse) falls for a lovely young lady (voiced by Debra Clinger) and asks to become human. He is allowed to become human but to stop himself reverting back to his frosty state he must acquire a horse, a house, a bag of gold and a wife by the first sign of Spring. It sounds difficult but Jack is up to the task, he hopes.

At approximately 48 minutes in length and interspersed by moments in which the viewers is told parts of the story by a groundhog names Pardon-Me-Pete (voiced by Buddy Hackett), Jack Frost never outstays its welcome. Romero Muller wrote the story and mixes the predictable with the pleasantly surprising. A few supporting characters, mainly a man who makes Snowflakes (named Snip), keep things entertaining and there's a classic baddie in the shape of Kubla Kraus (voiced by Paul Frees).

But the writing and characters and pacing are all secondary to the main draw here, the absolutely wonderful stop-motion animation on display. Despite my praise for this piece of Wintery entertainment, it's not perfect but the character design and animation makes up for that. I think that there's just something inherently rewarding about watching something that took such skill and patience to create and if ever a stop-motion work doesn't make me feel that way then, well, I'll be sure to comment loudly and vehemently on it (oh yes, check me and my bad self).

Jack Frost isn't up there with the very best of the Rankin/Bass films (TV specials, to be exact) but it's certainly worth watching if you know their style and enjoy stop-motion animation, as I do. And it's most certainly worth giving some of your time to during the Christmas holidays.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Frost-Video-DVD-conversion/dp/B001EINWJS/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1355442675&sr=8-11