Chicken Scratch, Flying Squirrels, |
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Well, what an animated summer this is turning out to be. Aside from Dinosaur, which disappeared without even leaving behind a gallon of oil, the triptych of the moment includes Titan A.E., Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Chicken Run. Running the gamut, these three movies include traditional animation, traditional animation combined with live action, and claymation. Not since Ren & Stimpy tag-teamed with The Simpsons have Americans had so much to choose from. And for those suffering from Garofalo withdrawal, Janeane voices characters in two of the three films. Since Chicken Run is stylistically similar to Mr. Bill, and starred Mel Gibson vocally, one has to wonder if Janeane was wary of being portrayed as a flabby conglomeration of white meat ready for a Colonel Sanders mud pack. Too bad she couldn't pick up the hat trick, because Janeane's deserving of all the success she has. Titan A.E. features the most comprehensive list of stars' voices: Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, John Leguizamo and Ron Perlman. Rocky & Bullwinkle has vocals by Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Jonathan Winter helping Rene Russo and Jason Alexander, along with DeNiro. Chicken Run continues Nick Park's work, which I first saw in the amusing short Creature Comforts and later in Wallace And Grommit clips. So let's see what we have here: British claymation chickens with lips on tricycles, and Rocky and Bullwinkle, afraid of Fearless Leader. |
 Chicken To Go |  E.T., Extra Tasty! |
| Given that Moose and Squirrel are battling Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, but someone's better off pulling rabbits out of their...hat.
Remember HBO's short-lived Hardcore TV? DeNiro's Raging Bull was hilariously parodied in black and white, dubbed Raging Bullwinkle, and subbed Bullwinkle for DeNiro's character in the boxing ring. Those two minutes were more riotious and worthwhile than Con Air, Twister, and
Independence Day combined. My point? Cold War's over, the kids have no idea what it's all about, and those who remember would probably much prefer a marathon of the original shorts stitched together. Either put the steroidal cow and the atrophied cat in the chicken coop for an alternative Celebrity Deathmatch or don't bother me until the South Park sequel comes out. I remember seeing the first previews for Titan A.E. during the Superbowl, while, ironically, the Titans were getting their butts kicked at the hands of, again, ironically, The Warner Brothers. |
 Space Truckin'! |
| When you look at Akira and Aeon Flux, not to mention the long-standing prepubescent fantasy Heavy Metal, it's not difficult to see where A.E. draws its inspiration. Too bad John Travolta had to revise Plan Nine From Outer Space under the title of Battlefield Earth, leaving SF fans leery of yet another end-of-the-world catastrophe flick. So what's the deal, you ask? Should you stay home and save yourself $21 while layering up in a 3-pack of briefs? Well, the chicken looks tasty, I do admit. Animated SF can wait for video, and moose and squirrel always did look best on the small screen. So join Mad Max as he skewers the poultry genre in a madcap British farce that has more than its share of lethal weapons. |
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Created 24 June 2000