Claymation Commedia degli orrori

OK, here's a VERY different holiday show...this one focusing on Halloween.

When I say that this is different, I don't mean that this show was different in it being one of the early -- if not the first (possibly?) -- Claymation shows. It's different because it has a lot of very bizarre elements, but that is not a complaint or a weakness...rather, it's a strength, as it goes to show of the originality and thought that went into this tale. I kind of liken the imagination of it to some 16-bit video games that came out back at about the same time period (the early 90's), like the bizarre backgrounds on some of the Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games, which made me think "just what drugs ARE the Japanese ON?"

The same would go for this, but those oddities are only for a few seconds here and there, not detracting from the plot or anything. The show starts off a long time ago, with Dr. Frankenswine (yes, he's a pig) creating his monster, and then it goes back to the present (or the near past) and then focuses on Wilshire Pig and Sheldon Snail, a couple of partners in crime who are developing a new type of carnival ride, but end up accidentally unearthing Dr. Frankenswine's long-lost diary and a map to his castle, where they can claim their fame and fortune.

I WOULD say I can't really dwell any more on an only 30 minute special, but like I said, it was incredibly original and hilarious. There's tons of things going on and a lot of stuff happening in the background where you can watch it 20 times and still find new things going on that you didn't see before. I taped it myself back in 1990, I think it was (and by the way, how come this was only shown on tv once or twice EVER? For shame!), showed it to a friend of mine who was forming a band, and then the next night or two later when his bass player friend came to visit, he popped a tape in his vcr (he just HAD to get a copy of it from me!) and told him to watch it, advising him that it would be the "greatest thing you will ever see in your entire LIFE!"

Well, I'm not sure if it's THAT good, but I have seen it probably 50 times or so, loving the bizarreness of it (why, by the act of a snail picking up a diary would transform him into a movie projector, showing a film clip of the story of Dr. Frankenswine is beyond me, but it's still funny), how our heroes are thrown from one predictament to another (i. e. MANY, one after the other!), the inventiveness of it, and the hilarity of it all.

About the only VERY minor problems with this is that it looks a bit rough around the edges nowadays, since that was Claymation from the early days (Will Vinton's current The P. J.s show is a lot more solid, as far as how the characters look and all), as supposedly stationary objects in the background shift and all, but that's only being nit-picky. If you can find someone who has this, or if you can find it on the net or anything (Vinton and/or his company probably has a website somewhere), as I don't know if you can buy it on video, then prepare to be spellbound and laugh like anything.

I was recently looking for Halloween type movies/shows/specials to watch to get into the spirit and found this little gem on a list of someone's top 10 for Halloween specials.

It has a crude yet creepy vibe but funny and silly at the same time. Something that families could watch together.

Everyone likes a horror spoof, but none are quite like "Claymation Comedy of Horrors Show". When Wilshire Pig and Sheldon Snail coming across a map detailing the works of Dr. Frankenswine (who apparently created a monster out of dead bodies), they decide to go to the castle where he worked. Sure enough, the castle's all full of monsters and things...meaning that Wilshire and Sheldon aren't lucky to be alive. But boy does everyone have a surprise coming! This just goes to show that you don't need an hour and a half to make a good story. As always, Will Vinton has something clever up his sleeve at every turn. This is one cartoon that you're sure to like. It's too bad that Phil Knight fired Will Vinton from his own business.

This is bizarre. A pig searches for the Frankenswine Monster. There are a few cute bits in it.

I have a confession to make. I don't like claymation. Perhaps I just saw too many commercials with those raisins, or it was that annoying Noid from Dominoes Pizza (which was the spawn of Satan if you ask me), but I just never got into the work of Will Vinton. However, even with my predisposition against it, there is no way I couldn't have enjoyed this TV special. Plus, you just have to respect all the time and effort that went into making it.

The show is about a pig who finds the diary of Dr. Frankenstein or Frankenpig or whatever. Unlike your average teenage pig, this one is excited by the idea of being able to create a horrible monster, so he and a friend sneak into a party being thrown for the undead. There, he hopes to gain access to the Frankenwhatever's lab so that he, too, can make an abomination.

The claymation is pretty much what you'd expect except from Will Vinton except that instead of a 30 second TV spot, this lasts about 23 minutes. This intricacies of the sets and creations is pretty remarkable and time-consuming. Plus, and this surprised me, I actually had fun watching it--it made me laugh a few times--especially because the main character (a teenage pig) wasn't particularly nice or wholesome! Amazingly clever.