1001 Animations You Must See Before You Die #11-20
Welcome to part two of my trek through my own personal list of the 1001 Animations You Must See Before You Die. In this entry, you’ll see me tackle a classic short featuring everyone’s favorite cartoon sailor this side of Donald Duck, the other candidate for the oldest full-color animated feature film to come out of Europe, several adult animated sitcoms of varying degrees of outrageousness, an acid trip of a movie starring a beloved children’s toy, a short that uses an innovative style of stop-motion to take us on a tour through art history, and a few properties from one of the most over-the-top anime studios to come out in recent years.
I’ve already explained how these lists work in the first entry, so I won’t repeat myself here. I will remind you guys that I’ve posted the complete list on my DeviantArt page. Feel free to peruse the list for yourself, see what other properties I may review in future entries, or make suggestions about things I may have missed.
Also, I feel I should direct you to other articles where I’ve reviewed other items on my list before I even started this series:
Watership Down and The Plague Dogs (#292 and 346, respectively)
Robot Dreams (#995)
Nimona (#996)
The Boy and the Heron (#997)
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (#998)
Scavenger’s Reign (#1000)
Blue-Eye Samurai (#1001)
Enough with the preamble, though. Let’s see what the random number generator picked for me this time.
#46: Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
Animation style: Traditional 2D with some live-action elements
Release date: November 27, 1936
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production company: Fleischer Studios
Director: Dave Fleischer
Animators: Willard Bowsky, Lillian Friedman, George Germanetti, Edward Nolan, Orestes Calpini
Writers: Joe Stulz, Bill Turner, Jack Ward, Izzy Sparber
Music: Sammy Timberg, Bob Rothberg, Sammy Lerner
Everyone’s favorite sea-faring spinach-eating Golden Age cartoon character stars in his grandest adventure yet, facing off against another famous mariner from the One Thousand and One Nights.
In this one, Popeye (Jack Mercer) happens to be out sailing with Olive Oyl (Mae Questel) and J. Wellington Whimpy (Lou Fleischer) when Sindbad (Gus Wickie), annoyed that Popeye’s theme song interrupted his boastful song about how he’s “the most remarkable, extraordinary fellow,” orders his pet roc (basically the Middle East’s answer to the Indigenous American thunderbird) to sink his ship and kidnap Olive. Naturally, Popeye isn’t about to take this lying down, but he’ll have to fight his way past the various fantastical creatures Sindbad keeps on his island kingdom (lions, dragons, vultures, snakes, ape-men, a dimwitted two-headed giant named Boola, etc.) as well as Sindbad himself if he is to get his girl back.
This two-reel short gained instant acclaim upon its release, not only because it was the first Popeye short produced in Technicolor, but also due to the innovative animation techniques it employed. The 3D live-action models used in scenes like Sindbad’s opening musical number and Popeye’s walk through the cave are absolutely gorgeous, with the latter sequence featuring one of the most famous early uses of the multiplane camera.
The story has also been praised for its surprisingly well-researched portrayal of Sindbad and his island. Not only is the spelling “Sindbad” more accurate to the original Arabic than the more popular “Sinbad,” but most of the creatures featured on his island are actually taken from the original stories (even the goofy two-headed giant), as is the reference to the giant whale on whose back his island rests (though we never see it in the cartoon itself).
The comedy is also well done, which is unsurprising for a Golden-Age cartoon. Highlights include the way Popeye defeats the roc (“There ya are, with gravy!”), the fight with the two-headed giant (where it beats Popeye up while singing a sarcastic lullaby), Popeye roaring at a pair of lions to scare them away, and the surprisingly dark running gag of Whimpy trying to feed a live duck into a hand-held meat grinder (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for him).
There are a few nitpicks one could make about the short, like how the various beasts on Sindbad’s island sound more like voice actors doing lame impressions than actual animals (I can easily imagine Frank Welker watching this and laughing his ass off). As a whole, though, this is easily one of the crowning achievements of the Golden Age, with the film ranking seventeenth on animation historian Jerry Beck’s list of the 50 greatest cartoons of all time and being selected for preservation by the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 2004.
#112: La Rosa di Baghdad
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: December 22, 1949
Distributor: United Artists
Director/producer: Anton Gino Domenighini
Writers: Lucio De Caro, Nina Maguire, Tony Maguire
Music: Ricardo Pick-Mangiagalli
This late 40s Italian feature is tied with The Dynamite Brothers as a candidate for the first full-color animated film to ever come out of Europe. Unlike the former, though, this one is a more Middle Eastern-flavored Disney-inspired fairytale, taking influence from One Thousand and One Nights.
We visit a fantastical version of Baghdad under the rule of the much-beloved Caliph Oman III (Olinto Cristina/Arthur Young). As his niece, Zelia (Germana Calderini/Julie Andrews), approaches her thirteenth birthday, however, trouble begins brewing as the devious Sheik Jafar (Giulio Panicali/Stephen Jack) and his dark magician lackey Burk hatch a plan to take Zelia as the former’s bride so he can take over the kingdom. But an unlikely hero is standing in their way: Amin (Patricia Hayes), a young snake charmer and Zelia’s best friend, who, along with his singing pet magpie Calina and a genie given to him by a kindly beggar woman named Fatima (Giovanna Scotto/Reta Shaw), may prove a surprisingly significant threat to the sheik’s evil plan.
Between this and The Dynamite Brothers, La Rosa di Baghdad (or The Singing Princess, as it was titled when it was dubbed into English in 1952) likely has greater appeal for the casual animation viewer due to its more conventional story structure, which was (unsurprisingly) influenced by contemporary Disney films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This is especially obvious with the designs and general personalities of the caliph’s three bumbling ministers.
The animation can definitely give Disney a run for its money, especially with the gorgeous watercolor backgrounds. The voice acting is also very well-done, especially in the English version, including the first-ever film role of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music star Julie Andrews as the speaking and singing voice of Princess Zelia (which Andrews would later describe in her memoirs as some of the most challenging singing work she ever did).
Of course, given that this film dates back to the 1940s, some aspects haven’t aged well. For instance, there’s the subplot where Burk turns Amin black so that anyone the boy could warn about Jafar’s plot wouldn’t recognize him, which isn’t helped when Amin begs the genie to turn him white again (Hey, Amin! You’re in Iraq, not Iowa!). Princess Zelia’s portrayal also feels far too passive and often has her fading into the background, which feels wrong considering that the damn film is named after her. The film also has an undoubtedly Orientalist overtone (although Muslim reviewer Osaed Dhaher on Letterboxd complemented the movie for its proper use of Arabic calligraphy and accurately pronounced Arabic character names, so take that how you will).
Finally, there is the uncomfortable fact that this film was produced in Italy under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini by a director who was a firm supporter of Il Duce and even took government funds to make the film (only escaping significant prison time after Mussolini’s downfall because of all the animators he kept from dying in the war effort).
Despite all of this, however, La Rosa di Baghdad remains a significant milestone in the evolution of animation, particularly as one of the earliest full-length features to emerge from Europe. Perhaps it will have more appeal for animation historians rather than modern-day kids more accustomed to Disney’s Aladdin, but that doesn’t mean it deserves to be forgotten.
#281: Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: April 1, 1977
Distributors: 20th Century Fox, ITT Inc.
Production companies: The Bobs-Merrill Company, Lester Osterman Productions, Richard Williams Productions
Director: Richard Williams
Producers: Richard Horner, Stanley Sills
Writers: Patricia Thackray, Max Wilk (based on characters created by Johnny Gruelle)
Music: Joe Raposo
One may expect a film based on a little girl’s toy to be a saccharine-sweet adventure, but don’t be fooled. This musical adventure, brought to us by one of the most legendary animators ever to work in the craft, is considered one of the most deranged pieces of animation ever to emerge from the Western scene.
It starts relatively normally, with Marcella (played in live-action by the director’s daughter, Claire) receiving a French doll named Babette (Niki Flacks) for her seventh birthday. Babette is distressed to be so far away from her beloved home country, despite Marcella’s other toys, including the titular duo (Didi Conn and Mark Baker, respectively), trying to reassure her that she’ll love it there. But then Captain Contagious (George S. Irving), a sneezing pirate toy with a prehensile mustache, kidnaps Babette in an impulsive act of lust. As such, Raggedy Ann and Andy have to go on a bizarre fever-dream of a journey to get her back, accompanied by the lonely Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (Fred Stuthman). Among the strange denizens of the outside world, they encounter a Lovecraftian self-devouring taffy pit named the Greedy (Joe Silver), the creepily wacky knight Sir Leonard Loony (Alan Sues), and the small and short-tempered King Koo Koo (Marty Brill), who tortures his subjects so he can laugh at their pain and inflate his body parts. The Raggedy siblings escape these villains and reach Captain Contagious’ ship, only to find a surprise waiting for them…
Much like Richard Williams’ magnum opus, The Thief and the Cobbler, this film had a very troubled production. Production originally started with Abe Levitow in the director’s chair, but he died early in the production process, so Williams reluctantly filled his space. Williams’ insistence on full 2D animation rather than the limited UPA style proposal, as well as setting up two different animation units in both New York and his home country, England, also complicated the process (with some animators getting confused over which team was supposed to animate which scene) and rapidly caused the film to go over budget. Emery Hawkins, the lead animator for the Greedy, was forced to animate the scene twice over and quit halfway through the second attempt, and his assistants had to finish it for him. In an eerie foreshadowing of what would happen around fifteen years later with The Thief…, Williams would even get himself fired near the end of production due to going over budget one too many times. Williams subsequently dismissed the film as “a fuck up”, and animator Steve Segal even argued that the artbook produced during production was better than the film itself.
The scars of this chaotic production process are evident in the film’s story, which suffers from slow pacing and frequent detours into bizarre set pieces that lack a clear connection to the main rescue plot. The story also has a bad tendency of leaving character arcs unresolved, such as failing to provide a proper explanation for why Babette belongs in Marcelle’s room rather than back in France, and never addressing Andy’s angst over being a male-coded toy in a feminine environment after “I’m No Girl’s Toy.”
Then again, the film’s weirdness is likely what makes it so memorable. Indeed, it’s likely that more people come to this film to see the Greedy or Loony Land than because of how compelling Raggedy Ann and Andy are as characters. Much like the dream parade in Paprika, the Greedy is definitely one of those animation sequences that makes you ask, “How did people draw that?!”
This isn’t to say that the animation is the only worthwhile thing about this film. Raggedy Ann and Andy themselves are likeable protagonists, especially with Didi Conn’s sincere performance as the kind-hearted Ann. Several of the songs are also quite memorable, especially “I Look and What Do I See,” “I’m No Girl’s Toy,” and “Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers,” even if the latter’s lyrics sound a little too romantic for what is supposed to be a duet between a brother and sister. A few of the songs run a little too long, thus contributing to the film’s pacing issues, but they are still pleasant to listen to.
It’s far from perfect, but the film has gained a cult following for a reason. It’s likely gained a whole slew of new fans in recent years thanks to the several references to the film in The Amazing Digital Circus, with even entire characters like Ragatha and the Fudge being based on Raggedy Ann and the Greedy, respectively. Richards Williams may not have been fond of it, but many animation fans still consider it a worthy feather in the maestro’s cap.
#355: Crusher Joe: The Movie
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: March 12, 1983
Distributor: Discotek Media
Production companies: Studio Nue, Nippon Sunrise
Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Writers: Haruka Takachiho, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (based on their novel series of the same name)
Music: Norio Maeda
This space opera classic may seem a bit simplistic by modern standards, with the antiheroic main character types it presents being a dime a dozen in the decades since its release. Even so, it earns its keep with a stunning array of beautifully animated action setpieces.
The story centers on a team of “Crushers,” that is, teams of space-faring mercenaries that will perform any dangerous task as long as it doesn’t involve anything illegal or unethical. Our Crusher team consists of the headstrong anti-authoritarian leader, Joe (Hiroshi Takemura/ Michael Brady); the perky and quick-witted navigator, Princess Alfin (Run Sasaki/Juliet Cesario); the tough and reserved cyborg pilot Talos (Kiyoshi Kobayashi/Dave Underwood); the quick-witted but hyperactive and bad-tempered teenage engineer Ricky (Noriko Ohara/ Shaun O’Rourke); and their assistant droid Dongo (Issei Futamata/Amiga 3000). They are assigned to transport a cryogenically frozen woman named Jonah Matua (Reiko Mutou/ Stacia Crawford) to a different planet for medical treatment. After something goes wrong during their warp travel, however, their cargo vanishes, and the team finds itself accused of piracy, with their licenses suspended for six months. Their quest to clear their name leads them to the planet-wide pirate stronghold of Lagol, where they discover that Matua is being used as a pawn to activate a terrifying new superweapon.
As I mentioned earlier, this film is notable for its place in anime history rather than any merit of its own (hell, even the original author, Haruka Takachico, is better remembered these days for Dirty Pair rather than Crusher Joe). Created as a Japanese answer to Star Wars, this film was one of the first to star antiheroic characters in its sci-fi epic, rather than the more straightforward heroes in properties like Mobile Suit Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato. Joe’s team is likeable enough on its own, but they’ve definitely been overshadowed by the Spike Speigels and Vash the Stampedes that came after them.
Even so, the action scenes alone make this movie worth watching. We get not only the obligatory space battles, in which the exploding starships are drawn in loving detail, but also hover-car chases, laser gun shootouts, and a bar fight in a nightclub that ends with the whole building collapsing in on itself. You can tell how much fun the animators were having on this project.
There may have been many animated works since the early 80s that have taken what Crusher Joe does in a far more thematically interesting direction. Still, one cannot deny the sheer vintage action thrills of this anime classic.
#487: Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase
Animation style: 2D stop-motion
Release date: 1992
Distributor: Pyramid Films
Production company: Joan C. Gratz Productions
Director/producer: Joan C. Gratz
Music: Jamie Haggerty, Chel Whitetion
This Academy Award-winning short film has a deceptively simple premise: a selection of 35 paintings by 55 artists morphing into one another for seven minutes. But it’s the way director Joan Gratz does it that makes it a worthwhile experience.
MLDAS, as I’ll be calling it from now on, was animated using a 2D form of stop motion animation that Gratz refers to as “clay painting,” which consists of clay being pressed against a flat surface and molded in a manner similar to oil painting. Wikipedia describes it as blurring the lines between claymation, cel animation, and cutout animation. She developed the technique during her tenure at UCLA and quickly caught the attention of claymation pioneer Will Vinton, who hired her as an animator at his studio.
Gratz spent eight years selecting which paintings she would showcase in MLDAS, during which she helped animate several of Vinton’s most iconic works, including Return to Oz and The Adventures of Mark Twain. By the time she started animating MLDAS (a process that took 2 1/2 years), however, she had left Vinton’s studio due to a feeling that she wasn’t getting proper credit for her work.
While Gratz has several other acclaimed short films to her name, as well as commercial work for companies like Coca-Cola and United Airlines, MLDAS is still considered her magnum opus. It is a fitting tribute to the great painters of old, progressing linearly through several art movements like Impressionism, Pop Art, Hyperrealism, and many more. Some are instantly recognizable to the average layperson (Mona Lisa, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Edvard Munch’s The Scream, Frida Kahlo), while others require a bit more knowledge of art history to be understood (Henri Matisse, Max Ernst, Amedeo Modigliani, etc.). It’s all tied together with a musical score that subtly weaves in influences from the cultural backgrounds of all the artists presented, like environmental sounds and didgeridoo sound effects. I especially love how the music subtly shifts into darker sounds whenever darker artistic works appear, such as Picasso’s Guernica and Francis Bacon’s works. I also appreciate the little character moments Gratz adds to some of the figures in the paintings, such as the way the Philip Guston eye-monster (shown in the image above) sighs and slumps down on the bottle, as if exhausted from concentrating so hard.
In all, I’d say MLDAS has plenty to offer, even to those who aren’t particularly interested in art history. It feels leisurely paced, even with the speed at which it transitions between 55 different artworks in seven minutes. It could also make for a great party game. Quick! How many artists can you name?!
#581: Daria
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: March 3, 1997-January 21, 2002
Distributor: MTV
Production companies: Heyday Media, MTV Animation
Creators: Glenn Eichler, Susie Lewis Lynn (based on characters created by Mike Judge)
Producers: Abby Terkuhle, Glenn Eichler (executive); Susie Lewis Lynn, Cindy E. Brolsma, Amy Palmer
Music: Splendora (theme music)
One of the all-time classics of American television animation, this series remains beloved to this day for its insightfully satirical takes on high school life and late 90s pop culture, as well as its tackling of social issues that often feel as relevant today as they did when first aired.
We follow Daria Morgendorffer (Tracy Grandstaff), highly intelligent for a sixteen-year-old and with a snarky, cynical streak befitting a woman three times her age, as she tries to settle into her new hometown of Lawndale and its local high school. This is easier said than done, though, as said high school is filled with living caricatures just as dysfunctional as her former classmates, Beavis and Butthead. From the airheaded footballer and cheerleader duo Kevin Thompson and Brittney Taylor (Marc Thompson and Janie Mertz) to serial sexual harasser Charles “Upchuck” Ruttheimer III (Geoffrey Arend), from the sickeningly sweet English teacher Timothy O’Neil (also Thompson) and the perpetually anger-prone history teacher Anthony DeMartino (also also Thompson), to her own vapid, looks-obsessed sister Quinn (Wendy Hoopes), she has more than enough wacky characters to deal with. She finds a kindred spirit in the equally antisocial aspiring artist Jane Lane (also Hoopes), who also enjoys observing the craziness surrounding her and making jokes at its expense. But can Daria really make it through high school as a self-isolating loner, or is she only causing more problems for herself by not allowing herself to act like a normal teen?
Probably the biggest reason this show has remained so beloved is that it challenges the characters and forces them to grow beyond the confines of their standard archetypes. Whereas other sitcoms are content to keep their characters confined to the same personalities they started with (like Daria’s predecessor, Beavis and Butthead), this show prefers to explore beyond the one-note archetypes to uncover the layers of depth within. For example, while our titular character is presented as being somewhat justified in her antisocial, suffer-no-fools-lightly attitude, it also shows how she’s not as above all the petty teenage drama surrounding her as she thinks she is, especially when the love triangle subplot between her, Jane, and Tom Sloane (Russel Hankin) plays out during the last two seasons.
Similarly, the series makes it clear that Quinn is much more intelligent than she lets on, but is afraid to drop the shallow front she puts up due to peer pressure from the Fashion Club (also, that she respects her sister a lot more than she lets on, as, despite pretending they’re not related in public, Daria is usually the first person she goes to for advice). Their parents, Helen and Jake (Hoopes and Julian Rebodello), are also deeper than they seem. Helen often seems too absorbed in her work at a shady law firm to notice her kids are even there, but she is much more perceptive than she appears and is quick to come to their defense when she sees them being mistreated. Meanwhile, Jake seems too high-strung and clueless to be a meaningful presence in Daria and Quinn’s lives, but it’s also made clear that he’s doing his best to raise them better than his own abusive, drunkard father.
The series’ tackling of the social issues of its day is another area where it excels. Granted, not all of its takes have aged the best. Daria’s put-downs of Quinn’s obsessions with boys and fashion can come uncomfortably close to slut shaming territory at times, the show’s only explicitly queer character (Angela (Bif Naked) from the Is It Fall Yet? movie) is portrayed as a predator who tries to gaslight Jane into sleeping with her, and Daria’s apathetic reactions to the social problems around her feel somewhat outdated with the constant crises that have plauged this nation in the post-9/11 era.
As mentioned before, however, the show does challenge Daria’s cynicism and reveals that she cares about the world around her a lot more than she lets on. Some of its critiques of beauty standards and the fashion industry in episodes like “Fat Like Me” and “This Year’s Model” remain relevant even to this day, and its explorations of race relations in the form of the perpetually overworked black student Jodie Landon (Jessica Cyndee Jackson), who is constantly being driven to do absurd amounts of extracirricular activities by her overachieving parents in a misguided attempt to mold her into a “model minority,” much to the detriment of her social life.
In summary, Daria fills its world with characters that are just cartoonish enough to give them distinct and engaging personalities, but not so wacky that it detracts from the semi-realistic tone the show is aiming for. It may be a product of the supposedly halcyon days of the 90s (although the show points out many of the problems boiling under the surface of that not-so-utopian era), but it still has a lot to teach us even in the quarter century since every disaffected teen’s favorite cartoon role model first snarked her way into our hearts.
#651: TV Funhouse
Animation style: Various (mostly 2D and stop-motion)
Release date: September 28, 1996- May 14, 2011
Distributor: NBC, Comedy Central
Production companies: J.J. Seidelmeier Productions Inc., Broadway Video, NBC Studios, SNL Studios, Poochie Doochie Productions, Comedy Central Productions
Creators: Robert Smigel, Dana Carvey
Producers: Robert Smigel, Dino Stamantopoulos, Lou Wallach (executive); Samantha Scharff, Tanya Ryno
Music: Steven Gold
Saturday Night Live has had its ups and downs in the half-century it’s been on the air. Many viewers seem to agree, however, that the series of animated shorts known as Saturday TV Funhouse was one of the best ideas the showrunners ever had.
TV Funhouse was the brainchild of Robert Smigel, who is probably best known these days for his puppet character Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. The series spawned several parodies of Hanna-Barbera and Filmation cartoons, as well as Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, and featured several recurring original segments. The Ambiguously Gay Duo is undoubtedly one of the most famous segments in not just TV Funhouse but in SNL’s entire history, featuring Ace and Gary (Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, respectively) as they fight crime and engage in behavior that seems vaguely homoerotic, much to the obsessive frustration of their gossipy rogues gallery. The series is much beloved to this day for its send-up of the persistent accusation of Batman and Robin being gay lovers and its potshots at people poking into others’ personal lives when it isn’t any of their business.
The “X-Presidents” segments, in which Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush form a superhero team, are also remembered for their political satire. The episode “Propaganda” is especially infamous for featuring SpongeBob SquarePants getting imprisoned by the team when he refuses to go along with the racist propaganda cartoon they’re trying to produce, and then beating up the Powerpuff Girls when they try to rescue him. SpongeBob is even voiced by his official voice actor, Tom Kenny, albeit without Nickelodeon’s permission, leading them to threaten to fire him if he ever pulled a stunt like that again.
Still, I think my favorite segment is “Journey to the Disney Vault,” especially for how it doesn’t go for the easy joke of making Mickey Mouse a vicious corporate tyrant and instead keeps him as his happy-go-lucky self, even as he grapples with Walt Disney’s questionable legacy like a disappointed and embarassed kid dealing with his racist grandpa.
Smigel also created a spin-off called TV Funhouse, which aired on Comedy Central between December 6, 2000, and January 24, 2001 (contrary to some IMDb users’ speculations that the show only lasted one season due to “an avalanche of lawsuits,” it was actually cancelled due to constantly going over budget and because the puppets were rather tedious to work with). That version took the format of a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse-style children’s show, in which host Doug Dale would choose a theme like “Western Day,” “Christmas Day,” and “Mexican Day” to base the episode around. Unfortunately for him, his ostensible puppet co-hosts, the “Ani-Pals,” refuse to cooperate, going off on wacky and hard-R rated misadventures like trying to distill Christmas spirit from Doug’s cerebro-spinal fluid, trying to rescue Chickie the chicken’s son from a cult, and visiting Triumph on a wild weekend in Atlantic City.
None of the animated segments rise to the same level as any of Saturday TV Funhouse’s best offerings, but there are some good ones there, like a parody of the Beatles cartoon starring Black Sabbath going on a Hawaiian vacation, a parody of Pokémon starring the infamous cigarette mascot Joe Camel, and a Christmas-themed stop-motion cartoon starring Tingles the Christmas Tension Elf, who causes Yultide stress with his “tension dust.” Honestly, though, my favorite segements are probably the live-action “Mnemonics” segements, which take the form of educational films which feature hilariously age-inappropriate mnemonics for such things as North, South, East, and West (No Spaniard Enjoys Washing) and Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species (Please Come Over For Gay Sex).
The Comedy Central version may prove a little too over-the-top for some to handle, but on the whole, I’m happy that both it and Saturday TV Funhouse exist. While I can’t speak to anyone else’s sense of humor, I know they gave me plenty of laughs.
#748: Frisky Dingo
Animation style: Flash animation
Release date: October 16, 2006- March 23, 2008
Distributor: Adult Swim
Production companies: 70/30 Productions, Williams Street
Creators/writers/co-executive producers: Adam Reed, Matt Thompson
Co-executive producers: Keith Crofford, Mike Lazzo
Music: Casey Willis, Killer Mike
Brought to us by the same creators who later gave us Archer, this Adult Swim classic takes several familiar tropes of action and superhero films and filters them through a deconstructive sitcom-style lens, with a hefty dose of awkward humor as befitting an adult situation comedy.
We follow two main characters: the ambitious yet incompetent supervillain, Killface (Adam Reed), and the obnoxiously self-centered billionaire, Xander Crews (also Reed), who moonlights as the superhero Awesome X. Killface wants to advertise his evil plan to push the Earth into the sun (with a giant jet engine he calls the Annihilatrix) to the entire world, but lacks the budget to do so via TV, so he starts sending out postcards instead. Xander is delighted when he receives one in the mail, as it means he won’t have to retire from superheroing and have to run his family business instead, much to the chagrin of his lead advisor, Stan (Stuart Culpepper). What results is an outrageous plot that involves a presidential race, a whole host of disgruntled former associates trying to assassinate both Xander and Killface, and both of our main characters getting caught up in the annoyingly mundane aspects of being part of the superhero/supervillain game.
Like a lot of Adult Swim’s programming, Frisky Dingo is a bit of an acquired taste, especially because much of its humor comes in the form of brick jokes and call-backs that sometimes take several episodes to reach the punchline. Indeed, even I had trouble getting on its wavelength at times with how subtle some of those call-backs were. This isn’t to say there were no funny jokes, like when the rapper Taqu’il (Killer Mike) creates an album cover so ridiculously anti-Semitic that it would probably make Kanye West blush, or the way the show completely goes off the rails in the best way possible during the final two episodes. Still, it’s not really the kind of humor I usually look for in an adult animated comedy.
Indeed, it was mainly the characters that kept me watching. The inversion of the hero/villain personalities with Killface and Xander is enjoyable enough, with the former being genuinely friendly and personable despite his omnicidal tendencies, and the latter having virtually no redeeming qualities to speak of, yet still being fun to watch thanks to his undeniable charisma.
Their dynamic is enhanced by the characters that surround them, who are all different shades of messy and fucked up. There’s Killface’s sexually confused teenage son, Simon (Christian Danley), who annoys his dad by pushing cereal bowls off the kitchen counter and speaking in incoherent mumbles. There’s the Xtacles, Xander’s team of armored foot soldiers whose collective incompetence rivals their leader’s. There’s Grace Ryan (Kate Miller), Xander’s clingy and put-upon ex-girlfriend, who becomes the supervillainess Antagone after falling into a vat of radioactive ants. There’s Sinn (Kelly Jenrette) and Valerie (Amber Nash), two former assistants of Killface, who both decide to take revenge after being wronged by him. There’s Mr. Ford (Mr. Ford), a marble-mouthed black man with a love of double-entendres and enough new jobs every episode to make Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks jealous. There’s Arthur Whately (Scott Lipe), who Xander tries to transform into a half-man, half-crab called the Dread Lobster in a desperate effort to create a new supervillain to fight. Best of all, however, is probably Wendell Stamps (Reed again), a chipmunk-voiced former Department of Labor employee who joins Killface’s presidential team as his lead bodyguard but then becomes more and more of an utterly deranged chronic backstabber as the story goes on.
Like a lot of Adult Swim shows, Frisky Dingo might not be to everyone’s taste. Still, for anyone itching to see the superhero genre taken down a peg (especially in 2025 when everyone seems to be getting sick of the MCU) and isn’t satisfied with The Boys or Invincible, this show might just be up your alley.
#872: Kill la Kill
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: October 4, 2013- March 28, 2014
Distributors: Crunchyroll LLC, Aniplex of America, Anime Limited, MBS, TBS, CBC TV, Viceland, Adult Swim/Toonami
Production company: Trigger
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
Music: Hiroyuki Sawano
Coming from the same creative team that gave us Gurren Lagann, this “magical girl anime on speed” served as the mission statement for the newly created Studio Trigger, formed from a mass exodus from Studio Gainax amid legal and tax problems that the latter would never fully recover from. Said mission statement was to take Gainax’s formula of over-the-top comedy and fanservice, mind-bending plots, and stylized limited animation and turn it up to eleven.
The story of Trigger’s maiden voyage follows Ryuko Matoi (Ami Koshimizu/Erica Mendez), a hot-tempered delinquent wielding one half of a giant pair of scissors, who transfers to Honnouji Academy in her quest to solve her father’s murder, as she thinks the president, Satsuki Kiryuin (Ryoka Yuzuki/Carrie Keranan), knows more than she’s letting on. Ryuko’s one-woman war on her and her absurdly powerful student council goes badly, however, as the council’s Goku uniforms grant their wearers enhanced supernatural abilities that she can’t hope to match up to. All that changes when she befriends a sentient sailor uniform named Senketsu (Toshihiko Seki/David Vincent), who grants her similar superhuman abilities. From there, Ryuko’s journey takes on a wild journey as she fights her way through the Academy’s elite and discovers the dark secrets behind the Life Fibers that give the Goku uniforms and Senketsu their unique abilities.
Kill la Kill has proven somewhat controversial among the anime community for the way it handles its fan service elements, especially the designs of Ryuko and Satsuki’s sailor uniforms after they power up (they use the wearer’s blood to power up, so the less skin is covered, the less chance of the uniforms sucking them dry). Some fans accept it for how well it fits the tone of the series, while others feel that it is far too over the top to take seriously at best or outright sexist at worst. This isn’t helped by how Ryuko and Senketsu’s first meeting almost plays out like a sexual assault due to how starved he is of blood (although he calms down significantly afterward).
The show’s pacing has also divided viewers. Some, like Kotaku critic Richard Eisenbeis, called its pacing “perfect,” especially complementing how the plot point of Senketsu getting shredded at the midpoint gets resolved in just two episodes rather than a season-one arc. Others have argued that episodes 4-15 are nothing but filler, since the origin of the Life Fibers isn’t revealed until episode 16.
Maybe one or both of these issues will be a dealbreaker for you, and that’s perfectly fine. As for me, though, this series is way too much fun for me to care. The action is ridiculously over the top (even by anime standards), turning even simple items like tennis rackets and musical instruments into weapons of mass destruction. The psychosexual Looney Tunes-style comedy is also top-notch, especially whenever Ryuko’s hyperactive and airheaded best friend Mako Mankanshoku (Aya Suzaki/Christine Marie Cabanos) is onscreen. Episode 16, the so-called “recap” episode, is an excellent example of this; whereas other anime might dedicate a whole episode recounting the plot, this anime prefers to cram the recap into a 1 1/2 minute segment narrated by a motormouthed Senketsu before continuing with business as usual.
It also helps that the entire premise of the show is based on several puns one might find in the Japanese language. For instance, the Japanese title, “Kiru ra Kira,” pokes fun at how “kiru” can mean “kill,” “cut,” or “wear,” depending on the context. Furthermore, the kanji for “school uniform” and “conquest” are remarkably similar, as are the words for “fashion” and “fascism.” Indeed, Honouji Academy is an appropriately over-the-top parody of fascism’s social Darwinist tendencies, with the school constantly forcing its students to prove their worth in contests and battle royales to assert their power over their fellow students.
Like I said, Kill la Kill’s explorations of fan service won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for those willing to give it a chance, it’s a hilariously action-packed thrill ride that takes everything up to eleven and then yanks out the knob, thus setting the standard for every Trigger anime afterward. Who knows? It might just change the way you look at magical girl anime forever.
Hold onto your butts, though, because we’re not done with Studio Trigger yet…
#947: Promare
Animation style: Traditional 2D
Release date: May 15, 2019
Distributor: Toho Animation
Production companies: Trigger, XFLAG, Sanzigen
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Producer: Keisuke Ukai
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
Music: Hiroyuki Sawano
For their next project, Kill la Kill’s creative team decided to shift to the big screen. It was a wise move, as a film budget allowed them to take the Trigger formula to new heights of ridiculous awesomeness.
Our story takes place thirty years after the apocalyptic Great World Blaze, caused by the oppression of the Burnish, a new type of superhuman with the power to create and control fire. Since they usually discover their powers through powerful explosions caused by stress, many in this world are afraid of them and thus viciously prejudiced. Matters in the current day aren’t helped by the high-profile arson attacks on the city of Promepolis caused by the terrorist group Mad Burnish and their leader, Lio Fotia (Taichi Saotome/Johnny Young Bosch). As such, a fire and rescue/counterterrorism unit called Burning Rescue is created to fight them, with the hot-headed rookie Galo Thymos (Kenichi Matsuyama/Billy Kametz) being especially eager to take them down. As he continues his pursuit of Mad Burnish, however, Lio reveals the shocking truth behind Kray Foresight (Masato Sakai/Crispin Freeman), the governor of Promepolis and Galo’s mentor, who has a nasty plan to get rid of the Burnish once and for all…
The biggest thing that stands out about this movie is the animation. Not only does it take its sakuga to bigger heights than previous Trigger works, but it also contains bright pastel colors that really give it a distinct look. The Burnish flames are an especially great highlight: as opposed to natural fire, which burns in shades of red, orange, and yellow (or blue if ignition is at 100%), Burnish fire mainly burns in shades of purple, befitting its supernatural origins. The sweeping scale of the action is also aided by copious amounts of CG, helping the animation team push beyond the limits of traditional 2D for an extra helping of epicness.
The story and characters have received some criticism, however, as some reviewers thought they were too similar to previous Trigger and Gainax works. Indeed, some felt that Galo was too close to Kamina from Gurren Lagann, both in appearance and personality. Others, like Anime News Network reviewer Kim Morrissey, point out that Galo is more like Simon in that he’s the one who changes and goes through an arc through his evolving relationships with Lio and Kray (I do agree with the criticism that the filmmakers didn’t do a good job of hiding that Kray was evil all along, though).
Indeed, the biggest sleight one could make against the film is that it doesn’t spend enough time with the side characters once Galo and Lio’s relationship evolves from enemies to friends. The only exception is fellow Burning Rescue member Aina Ardebit (Ayane Sakura/ Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld), whose relationship with her older sister, Heris (Ami Koshimizu/ Erica Lindbeck), who is working directly under Kray as a researcher, becomes strained the more she learns about what Kray is really up to.
Even if we’ve seen a lot of what this film does with its characters and story before, including from the very creative team that made it, Promare still manages to set itself apart with its vibrant and colorful animation, gripping character arcs, and surprisingly thoughtful meditiations on the effects of racism (including a scene where Lio chastises Galo over his surprise at seeing the Burnish eat human food, reminding the viewer that even the staunchest allies of oppressed minorities aren’t immune to dehumanizing propaganda). If you’re already a fan of Trigger’s over-the-top style, it will be right up your alley. It might even prove to be a good gateway if you’re not already.
You know, it occurs to me as I write these mini-reviews how often I end up saying, “This might not be for everyone,” which feels weird in a series called “1001 Animations You Must See Before You Die.” Then again, this is probably just as true for the official 1001 Before You Die titles as well. 1001 Movies…, for instance, has included films as offensive and disturbing as Pink Flamingoes, Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom, and Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible in its list, as well as arthouse films so weird and out there that most people are probably too basic to appreciate them (Dog Star Man, Heaven and Earth Magic, and Wavelength come to mind). Of course, as a firm believer in the aphorism that “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable,” I think it’s good to encourage others to try to broaden their horizons and try things out that they otherwise wouldn’t. I hope this series inspires you to do the same.
But that’s all I have to say on the world of animation, at least until the special Halloween episode of 1001 Animations comes out next October (or until I finally get around to completing the 2024 retrospectives; whichever comes first, I guess). But first, I think I’ll return to “Cryptids of North America” and find out which beasts of legend are lurking in the Buckeye State.
Until next time, fellow animaniacs!
