Animation Review: The First Quarter of 2022

True to form, I spent much of the first three months of the year watching animation. There was a thought that I was only going to watch that for the year, but that changed with such films as 'Cruella', 'CODA', 'Nightmare Alley' and 'The Power of the Dog' crossing my bow. But I did no a yoeman effort to watch as many as possible. So let's see where the animation trail led me from 1 January to 31 March, 2022.

Features 

Rumble (2021, Paramount+)

Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021, Paramount+)

Summit of the Gods (2021, France, Netflix)

Stand by Me, Doreamon (2014, Japan, Netflix)

The House (2022, Netflix)

Stand by Me, Doreamon 2 (2020, Japan, Netflix)

Hotel Transylvania: Transformia (2021, Amazon)

Flee (2021, Denmark, Hulu)

Child of Kamiari Month (2021, Japan, Netflix)

The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (2017, Japan, HBO Max)

Magic Boy (1959, Japan, Turner)

Turning Red (2022, Pixar, Disney+)

The Good Dinosaur (2015, Pixar, Disney+)

100% Wolf (2020, Australia, Hulu)

Shorts

Hearts and Flowers (1930,  YouTube)

Junk Head 1 (2013, Japan, Daily Motion)

Bingo (1998, Canada, National Film Board of Canada)

Strange Invaders (2001, Canada, National Film Board of Canada)

Namoo (2021, HBOMax)

The Windshield Wiper (2021, YouTube)

Affairs of the Art (2021, YouTube)

Listen to Me Sing (2019, UK, Vimeo)

Series

The Owl House (second season begins, Disney)

Stillwater (second season, Apple+)

Wolfboy and the Everything Factory (first season, Apple+)

Bluey (picking up episodes of season three on YouTube)

Let's start with the Oscar snub of The Summit of the Gods. It is a French animated film based on a Japanese Manga about mountain climbing. It includes some of the best backgrounds I have seen in a long time. The storytelling is excellent. The story is thrilling, sad, and heartbreaking. Surely, this was better than most nominated by the Academy.

Which brings me to Flee. Nominated for Best Documentary, Best Foreign Feature, and Best Animated Feature, one would think there was merit to the film. It contains more merit in the first few minutes than some films achieve in three hours. The story is about a refugee from Afghanistan and his travels to a home in Denmark. It is taken from the actual experiences of a real person. Personally, the film is a masterpiece.

The House is amazing. A trilogy of tales surrounding a house and three of its owners. The first are human; the next, a rat; and the last a cat and her borders. Stop motion animation at its finest. Worth every moment of viewing. I expect to see this nominated at next year's Annies.

The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is the tale of a girl's night on the town. Amazing, surreal, often hilarious, how did I not see this one years ago? 

Turning Red is Pixar's lastest release. Like 'Onward', 'Soul', and 'Luca', it went straight to Disney+, with no extra charge that many of Disney's releases had when premiering. Pixar has been at odds with Disney's not releasing their last three films in the theaters. Pixar's frustrations of this treatment has been well-noted in the press. I see talent from that studio headed elsewhere if the practice continues. 

Noting some of the others: Rumble is a good story about family and underdogs. The two Doreamon films are enjoyable, if you are a fan of Doreamon (which I am), 100% Wolf is a decent coming of age film, and...

I didn't think The Good Dinosaur was as bad as everyone said.

In the shorts catagory, I did manage to see three of the five Nominees for Animated Shorts:

Robin, Robin (see previous Blog)

The Windshield Wiper, a story about the meaning of love and winner of the Best Animated Short.

Affairs of the Art, a hilarious tale of obsession.

I'm still trying to find the other two. 

Junk Head 1 is a surreal scifi short, by Takahide Hori, which would later be made into a feature. It is a story about exploration, discovery, and loss. The stop motion here is well above the norm. I saw it mentioned on Twitter and had to find it. 

Lastly, in series, I'm still finding third season episodes of Bluey on YouTube, usually cut into 20 second segment. Of what I've seen, I cannot wait of them to appear on Disney. Stillwater is still a beautiful and calming series. Still very Zen. Wolfboy and the Everything Factory is about a boy who fits in better with mythical creatures than humans. A lovely series with some great storytelling. Apple+ does have some wonderful series. 

So that sums up the first three months of the year. In the second quarter, we will be saying Goodbye to Amphibia on Disney, the full second season of The Owl House, which will have a very short third and final season, and the second season of How To Train Your Dragon: The 9 Realms. Also looking toward the third quarter which will hold the 5th and final season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. Some of the features I hope to see will include Sing 2, Belle (Hosoda's latest anime), and some of the anime's on my To Watch list on HBOMax. 

Until next time. stay animated. 

 

2021: Animation Year in Review

Hello, Everyone!

This is my first blog in quite a while. I'm hoping to start a trend this year and blog more often. The best place for me to start is with Animation, something near and dear to my heart. So, let's begin with a recount of what I saw in 2020, and what stood out.  The lists are actually in the order in which they were viewed. 

Features

Away (2019, Latvia, Tubi)

Junkers Come Home (1983, Japan, Tubi)

Xico's Journey (2020, Mexico, Netflix)

Wolfwalkers (2020, Ireland, Apple +)

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011, Japan, Disney+)

Redline (2010, Japan, Tubi)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021, USA, Netflix)

Wish Dragon (2021, Hong Kong, Netflix)

Luca (2021, USA, Disney+)

Words Bubble Up Like Soda (2020, Japan, Netflix)

My Neighbors, the Yamadas (1999, Japan, Disney+)

Vivo (2021, USA, Netflix)

Millenium Actress (2002, Japan, Netflix)

The Loud House Movie (2021, USA, Nick)

Only Yesterday (1991, Japan, Netflix)

Firedrake, the Silver Dragon (2021, Germany, Netflix)

Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom (2016, Canada, Hulu)

Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom (2017, Canada, Hulu)

Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018, Canada, Hulu)

Pokemon, the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2021, Japan, Netflix)

Ron's Gone Wrong (2021, USA, Disney+)

Encanto (2021, USA, Disney+)

Cryptozoo (2021, USA, Hulu)

Hilda and the Mountain King (2021, USA, Netflix)

Shorts (YouTube, unless marked)

Blue & Malone, detectives inaginarios (2020, Spain)

Dummies (2013, Spain)

Namakura Gatana (1917, Japan)

Les Escargots (1966, France)

Kapaemaku (2020, USA)

Urvan (2021, Japan)

Odd Dog (2019, USA)

Bon Voyage, Sim (1966, Niger)

Rejected (2000, USA)

Umbrella (2020, USA)

100,000 Acres of Pine (2020, USA, Sohome Horror Festival)

Monster Pets (2021, USA)

The Owl and the Pussycat (2020, UK)

The Song of the Lost Boy (2020, UK)

Yes-People (2020, Iceland)

The Voyage (2020, Ireland)

Right Now (2020, USA)

La Bestia (2020, Mexico)

Tomorrow Leaves (2021, Japan)

Majd and the Librarian (2021, UAE)

The Animal Movie (1966, Canada)

Ciao, Alberto (2021, USA, Disney+)

Robin, Robin (2021, UK, Netflix)

Bad Seeds (2021, Canada)

Blush (2021, USA, Apple+)

Series and Specials

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Season 2 (Netflix)

Stillwater-Episodes 1-6 (Apple +)

Infinity Train- Book 4 (HBOMax)

Love, Death & Robots, Season 2 (Netflix)

Godzilla: Singular Point (Netflix)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Season 3 (Netflix)

Bluey-Seasons 1 & 2 (Disney Junior) 

Sharkdog (Netflix)

Sharkdog's Fishtastic Halloween (Netflix)

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (Netflix)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Season 4 (Netflix)

How to Train Your Dragon, The 9 Realms (Netflix)

Stillwater-Episodes 7-13 (Apple+) 

So, the question becomes: What best views of the year? Let's go over them!

Features

Away

Wolfwalkers

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Luca

Millenium Actress

Vivo

Ron's Gone Wrong

Encanto

Hilda and the Mountain King

Last year's nominee for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, Wolfwalkers, from Ireland's Cartoon Saloon, is maybe my most favorite of 2021's viewing. Third movie in the Irish Folklore Trilogy, Wolfwalkers is a feast for the eyes and a story for the soul. My advice, either take Apple+ for the seven day trial or purchase the boxed set of the three films by GKids. You won't be sorry.

Four of these film will likely get Oscar buzz, namely, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Luca, Vivo, and Encanto. As much as I loved Luca, Encanto will take the prize this year, but don't let that stop you from seeing the other three. And if you liked The Mitchells etc., you will also enjoy Ron's Gone Wrong, which is almost as fun and heartfelt as the aforementioned film. 

Millenium Actress is one that I should have seen years ago. It is directed by the immortal Satoshi Kon and is a wonderful character study. Hilda and the Mountain King picks up from season 2 of Hilda and, I guess, is in place of a third season. Still, magical storytelling and wonderful characters abound. 

That leaves Away. I forget what post I saw that led me to this film. Simplistically, it's the story of a boy attempting to escape being held by a creature that wants to keep him captive. But there is more to the story than meets the eye and that story is amazingly told. The movie is still available on Tubi (free). 

Shorts  (the green links to the film)

Odd Dog

100,000 Acres of Pine

Yes-People

Ciao, Alberto

Bad Seeds

Blush

This section becomes harder to talk about. I have a love for short films and seek them out wherever I can find them. That leads to a number of wonderful discoveries. 

Yes-People was an Oscar nominee for Animated Short Film last year and is very funny. Bad Seeds, from the National Film Board of Canada, has some Oscar buzz for this year, and is a very interesting series of images. If you go to Apple+ to watch Wolfwalkers, take the time to watch Blush, a very beautiful and moving sci-fi short. 100,000 Acres of Pine was a presentation of the Sohome Virtual Horror Movie Festival and is unique in perspective and storytelling. Odd Dog was something I stumbled over, and was glad I did. 

Ciao, Alberto is a follow-up to Luca. It maintains the same heart that is found in the feature and surely will get an Oscar nod. Watch it after you view Luca on Disney+.

Series

Camp Cretaceous-Season 2 & 3

Infinity Train-Book 4

Love, Death & Robots-Season 2

Bluey

How to Train Your Dragon-The 9 Realms

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas

It's not surprising to find a series with dinosaurs among my favorites. Three seasons of Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous premiered in 2021, with the second and third seasons being the best. I have to agree with the criticisms of season 4, in that there was not enough dinosaurs in it. 

Love, Death & Robots is a series of short films, each standing alone in style and story. Although season 2 had a some ups and downs, it is still far superior to most animation series available. 

Infinity Train-Book 4 is the last of the series. The series continues to pulls no punches. Each season has been as good or better that the preceding season. There is a great deal of mourning that this will be the last season. I, too, mourn its loss. 

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas is hilarious. Aardman continues to be tops in stop motion comedy. As always, pay close attention as the poke fun at a couple of our cherished Christmas stories. P.S. Do try to see Aardman's Robin, Robin. It has a good story and is unusually animated for Aardman.

Bluey. What can I say? I am so hooked on Bluey. I watch episodes over and over again. Two seasons are available in the US, with the third running in its native Australia right now. I find the show calming, hilarious and tear-jerking. Some stories work at the surface level, some work at a level that adults get and kids don't. It is a masterpiece.

I saved How to Train Your Dragon-The 9 Realms for the end. As some of you know, I write about dinosaurs. Dragons are often the competition. Despite this, I love the movie series. Before the show even premiered, people were down on it, calling it a 'cash grab' and saying they should leave the story alone. Sorry folks, I'm not listening. I love it. I think the storytelling is excellent and the characters are likeable, and the dragons are wonderful. There are only six episodes in the first season. No word when the second season will appear, but I look forward to it.  

Although we are only a few days into the new year, the list of features old and new is quite long. And, yes, Paw Patrol: the Movie is on that list. My hope is that the lists will be longer next year. All the best everyone and happy viewing.  

Quick Hit: Earwig and the Witch (2020)

Earwig and the Witch (2020, Japan, animated) from Studio Ghibli. Distributed by GKids. Directed by Goro Miyazaki. Currently on HBO Max. 

Some of us have been looking forward to Earwig and the Witch, as it is the first CGI film made at Studio Ghibli. I know I was. Given the quality of films from the Studio, it was going to be interesting to see how they handled it. We'll get back to that.

The film begins with a woman on a motorcycle being chased by a yellow car. Dodging other traffic, she takes some of her hair and throws it back at the car, causing it to crash. The woman pulls up at an orphanage and drops off a baby on the front step, along with a note and a cassette tape with the word Earwig on it. She tells the baby she'll be fine there as the rooms are clean and have large windows, brightly lighting the place. It also has the best shepherd's pie in the world. Here, I should point out that this takes place in England. The baby is taken in. The note states that the mother, the woman on the motorcycle, is running from twelve witches and that the baby's name is Earwig. This is ignored and the girl is named Erica Wig. 

Flash forward about ten years. Erika (Earwig) has grown into a budding con artist that allows her to do all sorts of things without much repercussions. Her best friend is a boy named Custard. He is not as brave as Earwig, but follows her everywhere. Keeping with the British theme, we could call the boy a cowardly custard. 

BellaYaga

The Mandrake

Things change when a very tall man and a very large woman adopt  Earwig, something she doesn't want. Turns out, the woman, Bella Yaga, is a witch, and the man, The Mandrake, is some form of demon. Bella needs help to make her potions that she makes her living selling. 

From there, Earwig tries to get her way. We learn more about those who adopted her; there are some smaller demons flying around (look for the Totoro Easter Egg); and there is a black cat (ala Kiki's). 

I'll leave the rest for you to discover.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room, the CGI. Backgrounds are gorgeous. They are everything we expect from Ghibli. The buildings and gardens are very British in design and do not disappoint. The characters are a different story. Although interesting, they lack the fluid motion that we are accustomed to from the Studio. Further, their design is more reminiscent of the TV show Reboot, rather than something like a studio like Pixar would produce. 

The story is linear through the last scene in the film. The ending credits are lovingly dotted with drawings of the characters in situations seen in the film and after the ending. Sadly, many of the future scenes are incongruous to the end of the film. It was as if they changed their minds about the plot after they did the closing credits. 

Although I did enjoy the film, I found it below the standards that we are accustomed to coming from Studio Ghibli. But we also need to remember that this is a first effort and hopefully will be looked upon as starting point, rather than what we should expect from now on.  We shall see. 

Summer Wars

I am honored to participate in The Home Sweet Home Blogathon, brought to you by Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews and Rebecca at TakingUpRoom. Thank you for the invitation and a chance to discuss one of my favorite animes, Summer Wars (2009).

Summer Wars begins in Oz. Not the L. Frank Baum Oz, but the worldwide virtual world of Oz. It is the online community where hundreds of millions have accounts. 

We see Kenji and Takashi in their high school dorm room, which is loaded with computer hardware. The two have part time jobs working in Oz. It is a low-level position, but the two seem more than able to do their work. Enter Natsuki ("the hottest girl in school" Takashi will later say). She needs someone for a job. Having little info, Kenji volunteers. The two travel to Natsuki's Great Grandmother Sakae's house for a family reunion centered around her 90th birthday. Here Kenji finds out his purpose: He is posing as Natsuki's boyfriend and fiance! The string of lies paints the boy as a college student who was studying in America. And the family eats it up!

Kenji meets Kazuma, a young boy who spends much of his time in front of a computer screen. Watching him, he finds that Kazuma's avatar is none other than King Kazma, the greatest fighter in Oz. 

Things go well until the middle of the first night. Kenji is awakened by a text message containing lists of numbers. Kenji looks over the code and is able to quickly decipher it and send the solution back to the origin. In the morning, all hell breaks loose.

It is found that the text allowed someone or something to gain access to the inner workings of Oz, causing disruptions in many of the everyday uses of the network. Worse yet, Kenji is named as the person behind the attack! His face is plastered on the news. All the family members see it. All the lies crash down around Kenji and Natsuki. Kenji is even carted away by the local police, but returns when the traffic is so messed up that no one can get anywhere. 

Great Grandmother Sakae immediately springs into action, spending much of the day on the telephone, bolstering her family away from the party and others she knows into action to help get things back to normal. She is very well connected. 

The family is surprised by the appearance of Wabisuki, the "black sheep" of the family, who no one has seen in ten years. He also happens to be Natsuki's favorite uncle. As the crisis ebbs a bit, he admits that he developed the Artificial Intelligence, named "Love Machine", that is causing the havoc. Although he did not set it into motion, he did sell it to a foreign government (the United States), who decided to do an experiment to see what it could do. After a confrontation with Sakae, he leaves, angry.

Sakae's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Love Machine has found out about it. In the morning, Sakae has passed away. The doctor found that his online monitor of her conditions had been shut down. The family grieves. Natsuki gets her uncle to return. While the women of the family prepare for the funeral, the men use their connections to bring a supercomputer, a power-generating boat and a satellite uplink station to the house to combat the AI. 

This almost works. The group sets a trap and King Kazma is used as the bait. However, the computer overheats, and Kazuma's Avatar is taken by Love Machine, who has stolen more that 400 million accounts. After this, a countdown appears on the screen. In about two hours, the Arawashi Probe will come crashing to Earth, into a nuclear facility, causing death and destruction. 

Per Sakae's final request, the family and Kenji have dinner together. Kenji has an idea of how to destroy Love Machine. As the AI is playing a game all the time, he feels that playing for the accounts held by Love Machine is the way to defeat it. The card game Hanafuda is the family game and Natsuki is the best player. 

Everything is set. The challenge is put forth. The game begins, with nuclear disaster in the balance. 

Mamuro Hosoda

The writer/director of the film is Mamuro Hosoda. Hosoda-san is an amazing storyteller. How fitting that he should be spotlighted for this Blogathon, as most of his films deal with families. Not only Summer Wars (2009), but Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015) and Mirai (2018), all highlight varying types of family, whether they can transform into wolves, have an orphan human being raised by a bearlike adult or a time traveling sister helping her brother to grow. 

I believe that Hosoda's philosophy can be summed up in some the beautiful words left behind by Great Grandmother Sakae:

"Remember, never let go of fellow family members. Never let life get the best of you. And always eat together as a family, even during difficult times because being hungry and being all alone are the worst things that can happen to anyone."

And we see this through family meals, filled with arguments and laughs. Kenji tells Sakae how grateful he is being included in the celebration. His parents are both busy people and he spends a good deal of his family time by himself. He doesn't have their type of family. He'd obviously like to have that.

One of the most striking scenes is the slow pan of the characters set against a blue sky, each mourning the loss of Sakae. It culminates with a focus of Kenji fumbling to hold hands with Natsuki, giving her comfort. It reminds me of Frank Capra's focus on Jimmy Stewart's hat and his feelings showing through his handling of it in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington."

Hanafuda

Somehow, I am drawn to films with cards in them. This is no exception. Here is a thumbnail of the game of Hanafuda.

According to Wikipedia, playing cards were introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. Between then and the late 19th century, they were banned a couple of times, for being a Western influence and for promoting gambling, mostly, until 1889 when a company called Nintendo began production of the cards nationally. (The entry says little of how this affected this Nintendo company, or whatever became of it. It's a mystery.)

The cards are made up of twelve suits, one for each month, four cards per suit. The game play involves eight cards placed, face up in the middle. Each player attempts to match cards in their hand to the card face up. Points are awarded for matches with some cards being of higher value than others. When one has reached a winning total, the player can call 'Koi! Koi!', allowing the game to continue for an even high point total. 

At least, this is how I read the rules. 

Thank you for looking in on my entry to the Home Sweet Home Blogathon. Please take the time to explore Gill and Rebecca's sites and visit as many of the wonderful writers and their entries to the Blogathon. You won't be disappointed.

Koi! Koi!

The Part of 2020 That Wasn't So Bad

There are many words in my vocabulary. Some, like "was", I use too often. Some, like various obscenities, I use rather sparingly. This year, I found the words "dumpster fire" were put together and expressed by me for the very first time. Those two words have become the embodiment of 2020. 

I won't go into detail about the parts of the year that took on the scent of burning garbage. They're there. I know them. I don't wish to give them more importance than they deserve. Instead, I wish to talk about the opportunities for viewing movies and television series that I have had over the last nine months.

My film diary took up more pages this year than in others. Having access to multiple streaming services, online Film Festivals and a knack for YouTube and Vimeo has been an enormous help. Being home for the last nine months was also an important factor.

Let's begin with my "long suit" - Animation. I must have seen more features and shorts in this genre than anything else. Some of these were seen on line. Some, I have the blu-ray. All were enjoyed. They might not be classic, but they were a fun watch. These are in no specific order.

Ride Your Wave (2019, Japan)

Pom Poko (1994, Japan) Disney+

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (2020, Japan)

The Addams Family (2019) Epix

Children of the Sea (2019, Japan) Netflix

Terra Willy (2019, France)

A Whisker Away (2020, Japan) Netflix

Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (2019, UK) Netflix

The Little Vampire (2017, Netherlands) Amazon

The Willoughbys (2020, Canada) Netflix

Soul (2020, Pixar) Disney+

Over the Moon (2020, China) Netflix

Some of the highlights: Lurch singing "Everybody Hurts" in "The Addams Family", the overall beautiful look of "Children of the Sea", the numerous sight gags and Easter Eggs in "Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon", the tear inducing scenes in "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna", and the sarcastic dialog of "The Willoughbys". 

No, I have not seen "Wolfwalkers" yet! I expect that to be the year's best.

Hard to believe, but I did see some Live Action Features. They ran the gamit, from 1920s Silent Films to 2020 Zombies Running Amok. Here are the best of the lot!

One Cut of the Dead (2019, Japan) Shudder

Colossal (2016, Canada) Amazon

Chestersberg (2019, UK) Sohome Horror Film Fest

Inhumanwich (2017) YouTube

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, New Zealand) Hulu

The Girl with All the Gifts (2016, UK) HBO

#Alive (2020, Korea) Netflix

Dead (2020, New Zealand) Sohome Horror Film Fest

The Oak Room (2019, Canada) Sohoho Horror Film Fest

Witness Infection (2019) Sohoho Horror Film Fest 

The Night Eats the World (2018, France) Tubi

Of course, there are five Zombie films on the list, all well done. The only film that isn't in the horror genre is Taika Waititi's wonderful "The Hunt for the Wilderpeople", which is a definite must see. "The Oak Room" was a 'secret film' for the Sohoho Horror Film Fest and stole the show. If you can find it, it is very different and worth your time. Laughs can be found in "Inhumanwich", "Chestersberg", "Dead" and "Witness Infection". "One Cut of the Dead", well, I can't say enough about this film. As a matter of fact, I can't say anything without spoiling it! I had a 30 Day Free Trial for Shudder that gave me access to it.

Anyone who knows me, knows my love for short films. I don't always go looking for them, but they do find me! Most of these were courtesy of the Soho Horror Film Festivals, and many are now available on YouTube and Vimeo. If there is an "X" next to the film, click on it and you can see it. And yes, most are horror films.

In Sound, We Live Forever (2019) X

Melvin and the Microphone (2020)

Post-Mortem Mary (2017, Australia) X

Quaranstein (2020) X

Finley (2019) X

Don’t Know What (2019, Austria) X

Spiritual Practice (2020)

The View from Here (2019) X

Meta (2020) 

Poltergays (2020)

Stagnant (2020) X

We Got a Monkey’s Paw (2018) X

Floor 9.5 (2017, UK) X

Crop Dust (2018) X

Blood Oranges (2017) X

Burrow (2020) Disney+

Canvas (2020) Netflix

Shaun the Sheep in The Farmer's Llamas (2020, UK) Netflix

Sandwitch (2018, Netherlands) X

Some things to consider: both "Spiritual Practice" and "The View from Here" are by one of my favorite directors, Patrick Rea; expect to see "Canvas" and "Burrow" nominated for Best Animated Short; "In Sound, We Live Forever", is one of the best short films I've seen in a long time; "Quaranstein" is a unique film and needs your attention; you'll laugh out loud with "We Got a Monkey's Paw", "Blood Oranges", "Sandwitch" and, of course, "Shaun the Sheep"; and, yes, "Crop Dust" is what it says it is.

 

I usually don't invest in TV series. I'm not really a binger. But if you have to binge, here are some suggestions.

Perry Mason (HBO Max)

Digimon Adventure (CrunchyRoll) 

Hilda (Netflix Season 2)

Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts (Netflix All 3 Seasons)

Camp Cretaceous (Netflix Season 1)

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO Max)

Upload (Amazon Prime)

The Owl House (Disney XP Season 1 parts 1 & 2)

The Hollow (Netflix Season 2)

DuckTales (Disney XP Season 3 Episodes 1-7)

 Yes, most are animated. "Hilda", "Kipo", and "The Owl House" are incredible examples of story telling. "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" is the hunt for the Golden State Killer and it will keep you up at night. I wasn't sure about the reimagining of "Perry Mason", but Matthew Rhys' performance just won me over. Speaking of reimaginings, "Digimon Adventure" is up to episode 30 and continues to entertain. And "Camp Cretaceous" has dinosaurs. Who needs more? 

Special Notes. "DuckTales" has been cancelled. The rest of Season 3 will be all there will be. Season 2 of "Camp Cretaceous" premieres on 22 January. "Kipo" was cancelled after Season 3 but completed its story arc.

So, the final tally for 17 March to 31 December is - 

Feature - 143  which includes Animated (47) and Zombies (14)

Short Films - 153  which includes Animated (25) and Silent Films (7)

The Sohome Horror Film Festival

 

2020 has been a trial. 

I know this is a soft assessment of what has been a truly bad year, but I am not given to using expletives in print. 

With all the tumult and turmoil, there has been some bright spots. For me, it has been the Sohome Horror Film Festivals.

Mitch Harrod put together the Soho Horror Film Festival in London in 2018 and 2019, with the physical festivals held in London. When the lockdown occurred, he decided to hold them online. Renaming them "Sohome", Mitch has held three so far this year with a fourth (The Sohohoho Horror Film Festival) slated for 19 December.

Being a fan of horror for most of my life, I am always on the lookout for new scares. Over the years, I have found short films to be a hotbed of inventiveness. Sohome is in the same mindset, usually showing more short films than features. Mitch seems to have a knack for finding some of the best of the year's crop of not only scares, but also laughs, as he tempers his selections with the funny side of horror. This point will be illustrated as I run though the viewing. 

This time, I went through the Sohome website and found the listings for 2018 & 2019's Festivals, as well as this past weekends Fest and the 2020 physical Fest slated for 13-15 November. I was able to track down many of the short films, and a couple of features from the previous Festivals and got a chance to view them. My intention is to give the links to see some of these films, as they are worthy of your time. I will also go over the films I viewed this past weekend and give you a head's off...sorry...head's up on films that you need to see!!  So, off we go!! Click the word "link" to view the film.

2018 Soho Horror Film Festival

Features

Boo!; Framed; Luz; Vidar the Vampire; Winterskin; Dementia Part II; Bong of the Living Dead; Involution; Inner Ghosts; All the Creatures Were Stirring; Trauma; and Rock Steady Row (link).

Short Films

The Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre; Monstagram (link); The Quiet Room; Pyotr 495 (link); The Sermon (link); Unto Death; Sang Papier (link); Oscar's Bell (link) ; What Metal Girls are Into; The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds (link); Tater (link) ; I Am the Doorway; Post Mortem Mary (link) ; Once Bitten; Goodnight Gracie (link); Proceeds of Crime (link); Lunch Ladies; and Holy Fuck.

I managed to find Luz and Vidar the Vampire on Crackle. Vidar is from Norway and is a very twisted spin on Vampirism, Religion and Relationships. Luz I have yet to see. Rock Steady Row is on YouTube. I got a chance to view most of the short films. Tater is the tale of mutant potatoes from outer space. Oscar's Bell and Post Mortem Mary are very chilling. Monstagram is cautionary tale about children and photographs shared online. Sang Papier is a funny spin on immigration. I have heard that Lunch Ladies is outrageously funny, but I haven't found it. The Sermon, The Quiet Room, Pyotr 495 and Unto Death are part of the LGBTQ+ horror genre.

I should mention here that Mitch's selections always include several examples of LGBTQ+ horror films, which is becoming a larger part of the genre. His second Festival of 2020 was exclusively LGBTQ+ and there were a number of short films in Fest III, which we will get to later.

2019 Soho Horror Film Festival

Features

Dreamland; Death to Metal; Attack of the Demons; An English Haunting; Itsy Bitsy; Sator; Z; Scare Package; Swing Low; Punto Muerto; Artik; Blood Machine; Scream Queen: My Nightmare on Elm St.; and Tammy and the T-Rex. 

Short Films

Peopling; Vinyl Destination (link); Brutal Realty Inc; Dead Air; Midnight (link); Finley (link); The Fortune Teller (link); Satanic Panic '87 (link) ; No One Will Ever Believe You; Ghost Turd (link); The Muffin Man (link); Critical Hit; The Fog vs. The Mist (link); In Sound, We Live Forever (link); Killer Date; Penance (link); Crop Dust (link); and We Got a Monkey's Paw (link) .

Artik can be found on Crackle. Z is part of Shudder's collection. Tammy and the T-Rex has been run on cable numerous times. Quite a few of the shorts leaned toward horror/comedy with Vinyl Destination, Finley (which made another appearence in a 2020 Fest), Ghost Turd, The Muffin Man, The Fog vs. The Mist, Crop Dust and We Got a Monkey's Paw, all generating laughs. The Fortune Teller is scary. Under the heading of 'Incredible' are both Midnight, which plays with the viewer's sense of time, and In Sound, We Live Forever, which is one of the most ingenious bits of storytelling that I have seen in a long time. It is a must see. Penance is another LGBTQ+ short.

2020 Sohome Horror Film Festival I

2020 Sohome Horror Film Festival II: Pride Edition

2020 Sohome Horror Film Festival III

Features

Bad Candy; Dead; Danni and the Vampire; Medusa: Queen of the Serpents; The Returned; Survival Skills; Death to Metal; The Quiet Revolution; Bleed With Me; Threshold; Ill: the Final Contagion; and Re-Elected.

Short Films

Milk Teeth; Backward Creep; Council House and Violent; A Funny Way to Die; Couriers; Night Feed; No Hard Shells Crack?; Phantom; Cursed Connection; Caught on Tape; Insecticide (link); Stagnant (link); The Drawing (link); Livin' After Midnight; Snake Dick (link); Grisley Girls; Behind the Door; Mateo (link); Little Willy (link); It Came from the 80s; Melvin and the Microphone; First Bite; Vinyl Destination; Regret; Sleep Tight; Going Steady; The Cleanse; Meta; The Hollow Hours; Don't Text Back; Polter; Limerince; Poltergays; Morbus; Unholy Mole; and Downs of the Dead. 

Among the Features, Dead from New Zealand is a must see! Through a combination of weed and his late father's medication, Marbles can talk to ghosts and help them cross over. Problems start when he meets up with a recently murdered policeman who wants his help to solve the crime. The Quiet Revolution is a documentary about the horror movie movement in Canada from the 1970s to the present. Incredibly informative and a must for the horror historian. Survival Skills is a very disturbing film. Done as if you are watching a VHS tape, Stacy Keach narrates you through the training and decline of a rookie police officer. Re-Elected....what can I say. Any film with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson coming back as Zombies has my vote. Silly film that makes you laugh out loud. I also saw Bad Candy and Bleed With Me.

I managed to see all but one of the short films. There were two sets of grouped short: Lockdown shorts (A Funny Way to Die; Couriers; Night Feed; No Hard Shells Crack?; Phantom; Cursed Connection; Caught on Tape; Insecticide; Stagnant; and The Drawing) and Horrorisqueer shorts (Going Steady; The Cleanse; Meta; The Hollow Hours; Don't Text Back; Polter; Limerince; and Poltergays). 

In the Lockdown shorts, Night Feed was hilarious, Stagnant and The Drawing were scary and Couriers was just unnerving.

The Horrorisqueer Shorts had several that dealt with issues among the LGBTQ+ community and handled them in amazing ways. In Meta, Artie is transgender and the favorite for King of the Prom, until becoming a monster as he questions what people see when they look at him. In The Hollow Hours, a cursed clock shows the relationship of a gay couple from best to worst. Poltergays explores a straight couple who think that the gay couple they share the house with are the spawn of Satan. This one is hilarious. Polter is also funny as a man is forced to share his deep secret to satisfy the ghost in the house.

Of the others, Milk Teeth is a poignant yet horrific spin on the Tooth Fairy. In the funny category, Livin' After Midnight, It Came from the 80s, Melvin and the Microphone, Sleep Tight, and Unholy Mole are good for a laugh. In the Zombie category, Mateo from Mexico gives you a peek into the mind of a zombie, while Downs of the Dead from Norway, casts a group of patients with Downs Syndrome as the heroes in a Zombie Outbreak, saving themselves and an inept orderly. 

As you can see, it was a very busy horror movie weekend. 

My thanks to Mitch Harrod for guiding us through another Sohome Horror Film Festival. All the best, Mitch!

Halloween Sing Along

 Aside from films, I am a music lover. I'm not bound by one type of music, or one period. There is beautiful music to be found everywhere. I love Beethoven. I live for the Beatles. I am of the belief that one of the greatest bands of the 1960s was The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. I believe that one of the most creative bands around was 10cc. My first concert was Queen at the Spectum in Philadelphia. I managed to see The Ramones twice, David Bowie twice, Berlin & the Thompson Twins twice and The Moody Blues twice. I think Scott Joplin was one of the most creative geniuses of American Music History. And I think novelty records are underappreciated.

Which leads me to this subject. 

I have compiled a small group of Horror/Sci-fi themed Novelty Records just right for Halloween, for your listening enjoyment. I tried to steer clear of many of the usual faire for this time of year. So, if you want to hear "The Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett, you'll have to read someone else's blog. These are among my favorites that just don't get the proper airplay. 

Click on the picture and listen to some fun recordings that are of a monsterous nature. They sound so much better if you have a bowl of candy corn to dine on while you listen.

This first one goes out to all you Kaiju lovers. Here is Cornell Hurd and the Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra with "The Texas Behemoth".

The song "Psycho" was originally recorded by Leon Payne. It has been covered by a number of singers over the years, one of which was Elvis Costello on the album "Almost Blue". Here is an excellent version by Jack Kittel.

Rose and the Arrangement, or Possum, recorded the iconic song, "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati". It would later be covered by The Misfits and a couple of full orchestras.

The one and only Nervous Norvus, who gave us great tunes like "Transfusion", "Ape Call" and "Noon Balloon to Rangoon", gives a taste of science fiction with an alien known as "The Fang".

To continue with the alien theme, here are The Ran-Dells with the story of an intergalactic dance, "The Martian Hop".

Herb Sage & the Spices gives us a live version of their classic tale about love gone wrong, "Cannibal Cutie".

Carrying on the Cannibal theme, sometimes, a father and son don't see eye to eye about dinner. Here's the music hall sounds of Flanders & Swann with "The Reluctant Cannibal."

In the 1940s, Phil Harris gave us "The Thing", which you'll never get of, no matter what you do. An updated version comes to us this thing from the brilliant minds of Barnes & Barnes, who gave us "Fishheads". Here's "Something's in the Bag."

Speaking of coming home from the Beatles concert....Jimmy Cross shows us that true love knows no boundries, with "I Want My Baby Back."

To finish, one of my favorite bands, They Might Be Giants, sing about the unusual things you might see if you just "Turn Around".

So, there you have ten songs to get you in the mood for that movie marathon you're thinking about for Halloween, or another Political Debate, whichever scares you more. I hope you enjoy them. 

I'd like to thank Dr. Demento. I spent many a Sunday night listening to his syndicated radio show while growing up. Without the good Doctor, I would never know the delights of such "laughing wax", as he called them. 

Stay Demented!! 

Halloween Short Films

 As anyone who has read my blog or the blog at BloodyWhisper.com, I am a big fan of short films. I marvel at the talent that goes into telling a story in less time than it takes you to pour milk on your cereal. Halloween is one of the best subjects for films, short or feature. 

Here are some of my favorite short films with a Halloween theme. I will be providing the link, so you can watch them as well. I will steer clear of spoilers.

I'm going to start and finish in the same place, with Canadian director Marc Roussel. In 2006, he gives the viewer a tale of "Sweet Tooth", a man who has issues with Halloween.

Animation always tops my list of qualifications for a viewing. Mike Inel's "Missing Halloween" (2015) is the touching story of a lonely boy, who finds friendship on Halloween. 

Humor is always a help. In Adam Green's "Monster Problems" (2015), three monsters want to eat a boy who is going to bed after Trick-or-Treating. Arguments ensue, as does hilarity!

Miguel Ortega's tale of "The Green Ruby Pumpkin" (2012) shows a witch who rewards those who have the Halloween spirit with wonderful treats from her magical pumpkin. The film is beautiful in its vision, but is also a cautionary tale.

Aaron Yonda in 2007, gives us "The Life and Death of a Pumpkin", a chilling tale of vegetable horror not often found in the cinema.

To end this, we return to Marc Roussel, with his award-winning film "The Last Halloween". Four children Trick-or-Treat in a world falling apart. A magnificent story.

So, take some time. Click on the photos. Enjoy the films. See Halloween in ways that will amaze and even frighten you. 

Happy Halloween.