ANIMATED AMERICAN

THE BOOK FOOL GOES TO THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL....

I had the good fortune to see a couple of films at this years edition of the Montreal Film festival. One 15 minute short pleased me ... so here is a small tribute to this little work of Directors James Baker and Joe Haidar . Of course , this was a 'HIGH END " big budget" short...[ How else could such eye-catching and breathtaking talent as Bree Turner and such excellent acting as that of Jason Marsden appear--unless they donated their time ? ]
In some ways , it may not deserve attention, as such a budget may perhaps exclude the film from the category of " Forgettable , Insignificant & falling through the Cracks" , the somewhat muddled criterion I use to choose what I write about.
That it was slotted, perhaps intentionally(?), preceding the showing of a documentary film is perhaps what redeems this film and gives it status in the pantheon of the obscure. The film it served to introduce was " The Price of Pleasure " by Documentary producer CHYNG SUN coincidentally also co-creator of the 2001 documentary film " Mickey Mouse Monopoly , Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power" ( Which -perhaps not so strangely - happens to NOT have a page on IMDB, and which Animated American , the subject of this review does ) , [ Visit : http://www.thepriceofpleasure.com/ ] ---

If the showing of the film was as a sly reminder that Comics have the edge on reality- as witnessed by the several Comic Book inspired films from Ironman and The Hulk to Hellboy and Batman that were offered to us for summer viewing by the studios-- then this Reality Denying Fool considers it noteworthy, if only because understanding why these films have such influence is an important exercise in mental gymnastics. ( Though the films were not Animated , they certainly show the power of the Comic and Animé media... Why else would studios spend the big bucks ?]

That said, despite the dominance of the Comic in the Real World , there are definitely conflicts within World of the Comic itself , which the short film obliquely develops.

In this lighthearted film the theme of technology's encroachment on the world of the Cartoon is humorously portrayed.

" TWO WORDS : C.G.I !!! "

shouts Max Rabbit at the arrogant high powered executive who , bewildered , asks

WHY?

as he becomes the disgruntled Cartoon's plaything ...

The Old penciled ' Toon ( and Roger Rabbit understudy ) takes matters into his own hands to save his Two-dimensional existence from the invasion of Digital Life Forms into the world of animation. Devious and cunning tactics , which exploit well known human weaknesses [ the Lust for beautiful property both as brick and mortar and in shaply two legged form] lead to the defeat of the Executive and to a Table-Turning dénouement . The old penciled Cartoon, once the offspring, becomes the new master in an act of castrating parricide.

Reading a satirical subtext into the theme of the film and interpreting it's title as a critique of American self-aggrandizement remains a delicate question of subjective judgment . It does not stretch the laws of probability, though , to see parallels : The conflicts within the American Psyche are certainly reflected in the' Toon world-These Mythic stories are the dark glass of our passions and most obscure motives.

America is definitely very Animated in the Heroic theater of geopolitical hegemony---whether America will in the long run be a Good old Penciled 'Toon, or completely succumb to the C.G.I. Disease ( Technologization , along with Pornification are infectious World-Views ) , remains to be seen-- for the conservative windstorm sweeping the world has not ended it's whiplash .

As the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus ( No, sadly not Homer, the other illustrious Ancient One ; nor his Geek incarnation as the All American Patriarch of the the 'toon - world ) said :

"...the Gods love to thwart whatever is greater than the rest . They do not suffer pride in anyone but themselves. "

Our modern day Archetypal incarnations of the gods,the beloved Comic Book Super Heroes , will perhaps render judgment on the ones who portray their adventures .

Geek Hubris will only be tolerated so far...



NOTA : For anyone who doubts the power of C.G.I. : I suggest you arrange a screening of The Price of Pleasure above mentioned, in which - amongst other things -the American Supreme Court ruling , on the constitutionality of C.G.I representations ,of Children in Pornography , is carefully exposed - showing how our pornified world view and the Comicalisation of Reality have infested even one of the better institutional examples of human enlightenment to have ever existed.
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you can See the Animated American film web page on IMDB :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1271967/
and:
The Price of Pleasure
http://www.thepriceofpleasure.com/