Gudetama An Eggcellent Adventure That’s Too Adorable For Words

Shunsuke Takeuchi voices most of the characters in Gudetama An Eggcellent Adventure, and to say the producers decided to put all their eggs in one basket by only having a single talent do the work is a huge gamble!

Available on NetflixGudetama An Eggcellent Adventure

Gudetama An Eggcellent Adventure is very edgy. Yes, I could’ve used a pun here, but to say it’s edgy is giving it too much credit. The idea of making a lazy yolk co-star in this new Sanrio series with Shakipiyo, a chick, is more than odd. Instead, what they learn together includes more than understanding their meager existance. The end goal is to reunite with their mom with this latest interpretation.

But fans have followed these two clucks for almost a decade! A lot has developed in their past adventures which also includes dealing with the meaning of life and kawaii culture. That is, an examination of what defines cute. These two characters are from the same chickadee breed, but when it comes to figuring out who their mother is, that’s going to be tough! Those who have followed the earlier exploits are at an advantage. For western audiences, not everyone will know of their their early quests. I’m excited to start looking at what has been made prior after watching this new series.

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When The Loneliest Boy in the World Loves Zombies….

When The Loneliest Boy in the World has a blissful dreamlike quality, its possible everything that this film depicts is all in Oliver’s head.

The Loneliest Boy in the World
Available to pre-order on Amazon USA

Well GO USA
Available on Digital and Coming to Home Video Dec 20, 2022

The Loneliest Boy in the World really should not be passed when fans of the zombie genre want a black comedy to enjoy. It tackles an issue I’m sure many individuals dread facing: what’s life like when you are the last of a family lineage? Even harder is the question of who can be there to provide emotional support? There’s no answers in this home video release, as it doesn’t have a lot of extras (only a behind the scenes feature is offered), but in what I can gather, unlike other entries like Fido or Shaun of the Dead which deal with similar themes, this film considers making random members of the walking dead a surrogate family.

After Oliver (Max Harwood) lost his mom (Carol Anne Watts) in a terrible accident at home, the social worker and lawyer who shows up aren’t kind. They say he has a week to get her affairs in order and prove to them he’s capable of surviving on his own. Without batting an eye, he decides going to a local graveyard is the best idea to dig himself up an instant family. He decided the people who were recently buried here are more than capable to become his new father, mother, uncle and little sister. His morbid solution is so surreal, it works. It’s like a fever dream that director Martin Owen and screenwriters Piers Ashworth, Emilio Estevez, Brad Wyman can dream up after watching Marvel Comics Wandavison.

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What to Do with a Dead Kaiju (or should that be What Must We Do) at Fantasia 2022’s Final Day?

The decision over What to Do with a Dead Kaiju was dragged out because nobody realised the clock is counting down to something…

What to do with a Dead KaijuAnyone who watches a lot of Japanese monster movies knows how the story goes. We are introduced to a giant monstrous threat to humanity, people panic, and some force arrives to save the day. The two clash and sometimes the opponent dies, and that begs the question (and also the title of the movie), What to Do with a Dead Kaiju? (大怪獣のあとしまつ)

The answer we get is similar to what we saw in Shin Godzilla (while he’s alive). We have to address the ramifcations of sending out special forces, decide when to make a stand, and consider the cost of rebuilding–especially after all the missiles are fired. The mess that the Japanese special forces have to deal with afterwards is never shown, and as for other monster movies prior, we never know about the damage control that has to take place between films.

And it’s tough to tell if Satoshi Miki‘s film is trying to be serious. This movie was the last thing I saw at Fantasia Film Festival because of my love for this genre. Plus, the trailer made the film look good. Maybe next time, I should consider looking at Japanese reviews. But I have no regrets over my decision.

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On-Gaku Our Sound and the Post Punk Movement?

The home video release has a great selection of featurettes which not only goes behind the scenes but also gets you in the mood to see the film again! Even better are the live performances of nearly half the soundtrack! 

On-Gaku: Our Sound - - Blu-ray/DVD
Available to pre-order on Amazon USA

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Shout! Factory
Release Date: March 9, 2021

Defining On-Gaku: Our Sound will not be easy. We hear a cacophony of musical genres, and not all of them are mainstream. Perhaps it’s because Writer/Director Kenji Iwaisawa was very DIY in his approach. He went old school (hand-drawn) to craft this unique film, and his art style is very non-traditional. We don’t get the wide-eyed manga work. Instead, it’s a mix of Constructivism, Minimalism and maybe Dada. The way he draws his character’s eyes tells all here, and the fisheye look gives his character designs a quality which is very hypnotic.

I particularly like the fluidity found when rotoscoping frames of a film camera onto paper. I’m fairly certain Dire Straits music video “Money for Nothing” is an influence and instead of being very artsy, the technique is more earthy and subdued.

The home video release has a great selection of featurettes which not only goes behind the scenes but also gets you in the mood to see the film again! Even better are the live performances of nearly half the soundtrack!

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Get Animated 2020 with The NFB! and Beyond…

Today is International Animation Day, and The NFB is releasing their 12 best pieces online!

Get Animated

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The National Film Board of Canada has been very busy lately. Not only did they have works featured at the Vancouver Film Festival but also they’re following up with Animez-vous (Get Animated 2020)!

Today is International Animation Day, and this company is releasing their 12 best pieces online! Some old favourites–The Cannonball Woman, The Physics of Sorrow and Blind Vaysha–are in this collection, and afterwards, they will have one work, Old Dog, shown during Spark Animation Festival.

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