The World of Stainboy

In this mini series animated by Flinch Studios and written and directed by Burton, we get to watch Tim's characters brought to life from the pages of his book 'The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories' Each episode focuses on one individual with Stainboy being assigned cases to bring in unusual children that are seemingly causing havoc in Burbank. There's 'Staring Girl', Toxic Boy', 'Bowling Ball Head', 'Robot Boy' and 'Matchstick Girl' with the final episode being a look at Stainboy's origins. I was reminded a lot of the animation work of David Firth, mostly known for the 'Salad Fingers' series which, if you haven't seen, needs to be seen to be believed! Stain Boy is similarly bizarre and creepy in places but with a more childlike innocence than good old Salad Fingers! It's a wonderfully off-kilter series and a good introductory presentation for the book which is well worth a read. Burton has since reflected that he'd like to adapt the characters into a stop-motion format but said the animation they used at the time was a fun different experiment

I felt when watching this film that we are getting a glimpse at what's going on in Tim Burton's head (much like we do with anything else he creates). The film is quite strange and with a run-time of less than 8 minutes, it's hard to really develop any kind of plot line. This, of course, is quite needed because we as the average viewer may not understand the concept of what a "stainboy" actually is. Once the film is over, we question everything we had seen before. We see Stainboy and he is told by a chief that he can go home because there is no trouble in their town. He goes home and turns on the TV. A commercial for stain remover comes on and he begins to get sad. You see, he is basically a stain himself. He lays down and remembers his life filled with rejection and sadness. He is abandoned by his parents and sent to live with a bunch of other freaks. At the center, the chief from the beginning shows up and mentions Stainboy by name. He faints and returns to his reality where the chief is telling him to get up. This time, the chief is in his home and we see on the TV the same scene from the beginning. This raises the question of how much we have just seen is actually true. Is he actually a stain, or does he just feel so rejected? Was he actually abandoned or does he just feel that way because he feels different? I think this is a very personal movie and most people will just think it's stupid. Look beyond the face value and try and find the meaning behind it. I think Tim Burton is expressing his true feelings and he does so in a very original and creative way.

It is difficult to describe what Stainboy is. What we can say is that Stainboy is another one of Burton's darkly mischievous and funny creations. Directly from his book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, Burton takes Stainboy's character from a sketch to a full-fledged character who tackles his counterparts in, well, rather unique ways.

The series is almost a parody of superheroes (what kind of a power is staining, anyways?), yet you as the viewer will indefinitely find yourself cheering him on towards success. Although the villains aren't as evil as they could be (and bizarre nonetheless), the creators have envisioned a world mirroring our own, where superheroes are simply strange creatures, and life is simply screwed up.

Tim Burton has always impressed with his unique styles in filmmaking. I grew up loving his films, particularly The Nightmare Before Christmas. I had heard of Stainboy not too long ago, possibly a few months ago. At first I had no idea who Stainboy actually was. This may sound pretty silly, but I pictured Stainboy as a boy who kept wetting the bed or something like that. Well, now I know that he can wet his beds, but not with urine. Instead, with greasy stains. I also discovered that Stainboy is a superhero, whose only power is to stain. I found a link on imdb.com to watch a video clip of Stainboy, which was titled The Birth of Stainboy. I enjoyed watching this short clip very much. In fact, I watched it over and over again. I thought that The Birth of Stainboy was partial to a long-length movie. Then I discovered that Stainboy was an Internet cartoon series. So I found the link to atomfilms.com and I was stunned by the remaining five Stainboy cartoons I had missed. I was truly stunned by Stainboy's unique--and short--adventures. Then I heard that the characters from Stainboy were originally from Tim Burton's poetry book, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. I quickly became obsessed with Stainboy and quickly purchased The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. I also took great interest to the other bizarre children that Stainboy encounters in the cartoon series and the bizarre children from Tim Burton's book. The book may possibly be a tad inappropriate for young children, but I am 14 and I know I love it. Tim Burton never ceases to amaze me and I cannot predict and wait for whatever else he has in store. Stainboy is unlike any other superhero, and that is one thing that makes him special. Every Tim Burton character is special. I love them all and I am glad that I introduced myself to Stainboy and Tim Burton's book. Believe it or not, I never knew that Tim Burton had written a book. If Tim Burton illustrated the pictures in his book, I must say he has powerful imagination. He's very artistic in anything he does. If there are future Stainboy episodes coming soon, I am eager to see them. Tim Burton is my hero for his inspiration to me. I recommend Stainboy very much. If you are thrilled by the short cartoon series, you will be even more thrilled by The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.

stars: Glenn Shaddix as The Police Chief.

This is really weird. Its about superhero Stainboy that never really does anything to stop the villain but always prevails. He fights such enemies as Match Lady, Staring girl, Toxic Boy and others. Stainboy never talks, but instead everyone else does. In every episode he is pestered by the chief (Shaddix from Burton's Beetlejuice and Nightamre Before Christmas). They are directed and written by Tim Burton and even the music for these are done by Danny Elfman. 6 episodes were made, the last of which amused me the most.

Contains some animated violence/gore and some language.

My rating-B.