Reviews

People not quite into their twenties take for granted the warm, feel good animated films that are available to them these days. Starting with Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988 (though unfairly attributed to The Little Mermaid a year later), a renaissance of animation had begun that is still going strong today (thanks mostly to Pixar). But the privileged children of the 90's would never know of the cold, bleak wasteland of theatrical animation in the 1970's. With the advent of Fritz the Cat in 1971, soft, fuzzy, family-friendly animation fell out of favor with the studios, and ushered in the dark wave of adult themed cartoons. Ralph Bakshi led the pack with such topical and wholly adult productions as Coonskin (a.k.a. Streetfight), Wizards, Heavy Traffic, the original Lords of the Rings, and the previously mentioned Fritz the Cat. Soon his violent vision was adopted by other renegade animators and before long, virtually all animated films were saddled with either a PG or dreaded R rating. So it goes without saying that a sweet little film like Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure hardly had an audience when it was released in 1976. The fact that it ever got made is a testimony to the desperation of the studios and people who so desperately missed the sweet and touching films in the old Disney vein. This film dared to be cute, had the tenacity to be sweet, had the temerity to be gentle, the chutzpah to be (GASP!) KID FRIENDLY! In all fairness, it must be stressed that RAAA was not alone in their attempt to bring softness back into modern animation. Charles Schulz's wonderful Peanuts characters had two great attempts in the seventies with Snoopy, Come Home and Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. And the usually rigid and slap-sticky Hanna Barbera brought us that lovely tear-jerker of a cartoon, Charlotte's Web. But these productions were far and few between, and never on such a grandiose scale as their more violent bretheren. With RAAA, director Richard Williams (the real brain trust behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit, not Robert Zemeckis, who only directed the live action) not only attempted to revive family friendly cartoons, but also attempted to bring back lavish, fluid animation and movie musical sensibilities. In doing so he brought back some of animation's pioneers to make sure the film was done right. Grim Natwick (creator of Betty Boop, animator of Snow White and Richard's mentor) lent a hand, along with countless others, in the creation of The Greedy, King Cuckoo, the Camel with the wrinkled knees and the rest of Johnny Gruelle's storybook menagerie. The Brilliant Joe Raposo (of Sesame Street fame and brain trust of Kermit the Frog's Bein' Green)provided delightful songs for the film (The Camel's sweet and somber song alone is worth watching this film), and Didi Conn and Mark Lynn-Baker voiced the title characters to perfection. The net result of this creative hodge podge was one of the warmest, most entertaining and family friendly cartoons to break through the doom and gloom of standard 70's animation.

Regretfully, movie critics denounced the film for reasons too varied and unfounded to mention here. That, coupled with the fact that RAAA became avalanched by the glut of violent animation and the wealth of bad family films, resulting in it barely making a blip on the pop culture radar. Thanks to old school television programming (does anyone else recall Nickelodeon's Special Delivery?), I re-discovered this long lost treasure in the mid 80's, and had the foresight to immortalize it (along with some vintage 80's commercials) on Beta video (and you don't get much more vintage that Beta). This has been a gem in my movie collection ever since, and still holds a special place in my heart and my childhood. So modern movie going audiences, count your blessings. You have warm, family friendly animation dropped at your feet these days. But you never know. The day may come again soon where such kid-oriented fare becomes passe, and the studios return to churning out violent, bleak animation, just as they did in the 70's. If that day does come, however, I still have a copy of Raggedy Ann and Andy to see me through the darkness, comforting me in the knowledge that, at least in animation, good will always rise out of the ashes of evil.

I'd read that Brian Helgeland had been soured by the movie industry due to his mistreatment on his film, "Payback." I use "his film" in the most liberal sense here, as star Mel Gibson wrestled control of the film from Helgeland and imposed his own view on the final editing process. With this situation in mind, I fully expected "A Knight's Tale" to be a creative response to that negative filmmaking experience, a fun and free film that thumbed its nose at tradition and set style and which allowed the director's true vision to shine through with no outside interference. And my friends, that's exactly what I got when I first sat down to watch in back in 2001. "A Knight's Tale" celebrates the classic and vastly misused/underused genre of medieval movies, while at the same time knocking the genre on its ear by instilling the film with modern themes, attitudes and a classic rock score. Sadly, it was these elements which repelled most viewers and led to "A Knight's Tale's" lackluster performance at the box office. Were these people just a little more open minded, they would have allowed themselves a wonderful movie-going experience that celebrates individuality, love, and above all else, friendship. Though the music is crucial to the uniqueness of this film (and a brilliant addition, I might add), it's the relationships amongst the characters that gives this film its heart. William and Jocelyn are the perfect couple: bickering, floundering, and absolutely in love with one another. Wat, Roland, Kate and Geoff, wonderful characters unwilling to be fopped off as simple comic reliefs, show genuine love and loyalty to William, and do as much to contribute and carry the story along as William and the other two leads accomplish. Count Adamar, the film's villain, is a wonderful foil for William. He is cunning and cruel, and even in his moments of defeat, a character to respect. In many cases, such a villain would be made to seem wimpy or, at his moment of defeat, clumsy. Not so here, as Adamar is, throughout the film, a force to be reckoned with. I suppose part of why I love "A Knight's Tale" is my ability to relate to it so personally. I've certainly had my share of challenges, and aspired to be more than what I currently was. And I've also known friendships so loyal and loving that fiction could never invent. Most significantly, I've lived the pursuit of true love and, like William, have obtained it with no small amount of satisfaction. Everyone to some degree or another has also had these experiences in their lives, and its these experiences that built the foundation of "A Knight's Tale," which is exactly what makes it such a wonderful film, more than worthy of a second chance by those who previously doubted it, and much more than worthy of a spot in any fan's movie collection.

Freddy is easily Generation X's answer to Dracula, just as Jason is their answer to Frankenstein. And, like their classic predecessors, these icons have helped to craft a modern mythology of sorts, comparable to the dark folklore and fairy tales of the 19th century. But like classic folklore, these great characters have, in recent years, suffered a sterilized Disney-esque homogination of sorts, ruined through poor writing/directing, lack of imagination and a replacement of terror with self-depricating laughs, all of which had ultimately castrated our once great monsters. Then, like a crimson bolt of lightning from a jet black sky, Freddy Vs. Jason struck deep into the glut of bad sequels, penetrating deep and bringing forth a smouldering amalgam of two great monsters into one titanic beast. The resultant blood-engourged rampage is a brilliantly fun and faithful tribute to both characters, and our generation's mythology is made solid once again. Now, some random thoughts: At the beginning of this film, I was almost turned off by the often repreated scenario of "modern" teens (using the most pseudo-modern dialogue and catch-phrases)as the "heroes" (target practice may be a more deserved title). Scream did that schtick to death (quite well, though, I must admit), and now it's outlived its cleverness. But then, much to my delight, those same said cocky phrase-spewing stereotypes get mangled and mulched by out true heroes, Freddy and Jason. The film's script may have purposefully done this (and kudos if they did), but it absolutely made me hate these kids and want to see them get a thorough whoopin' in the very least. Needless to say, my hopes were satisfied a hundred times over. Freddy and Jason were each handled brilliantly, given equal home court advantage in their various battles and allowed to use their strengths and weaknesses in ways that stayed faithful to their previous incarnations. Even their origins are kept fully in tact and play largely in the plot, which helps tie this film to all the rest in their separate series'. Freddy is brilliantly cackling and conniving as ever, and no less threatening than ever (more so that some of his sequels). Jason is almost sympathetic at times, which is great, since you really need that kind of personality conflict between adversaries. But don't be fooled, kids. This guy is a terrifying behemoth, and more deadly than ever. The scene where he trudges ablaze out of the cornfield en route to a rave-based massacre is chilling and incredible imagery, and will forever be burned into my psyche. Jason is reminiscent of The Headless Horseman from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (another brilliant addition to our modern mythology, though taken from classic mythology), with his lumbering gait and manic slashing. Freddy is a great flip-side to the coin, with his fast paced movements and rampant attacking style. The scene where Freddy pops out of the water of Crystal Lake is also a note-worthy addition into my charred psyche. For those who complain that this film isn't worthy of its predecessors, you're right. It's far better, and belongs in a category (perhaps even a series) all its own. Long live these terrible icons, and may their continue to haunt out thoughts and strengthen our mythology for all time.