'Search for Animal Chin' was one of a few mini-skate movies put out by Powell Peralta and featuring their Bones Brigade troupe which featured an all-star line-up of skateboarders like Steve Caballero, Mike McMagill, Tommy Guerro, Lance Mountain, and of course, Tony Hawk. The Bones Brigade commanded the skate scene in the early 80s.
The movie, directed by former Dogtown Z-Boy and co-founder of Powell Perlata skateboards, comments on the quest for the ultimate soul skater. Here, it is represented in the form of an icon known as Animal Chin, the legendary guy who supposedly founded skateboarding some time long ago like during the Confucianism days. We follow our team of skaters around the world on their quest for Animal Chin.
Though Peralta makes a few comments about how overblown and overcommercialized the skate scene has become (as illustrated by the opening sequence with the guy nailing the tv after some old tv spokespeople are blabbing about skating), the movie is really just a demonstration of the talents of the Bones Brigade team just as it is the primary purpose of all skate demo videos put out by skate companies these days, to show off the talents of their pros and amateurs.
The skating is pretty good and the Bones Brigade, being pretty laid back, make a fun hour or so video time. It seems to be about a hundred percent improvised, so basically, you're just watching the guys do whatever it was they felt like doing on camera, probably given some general plot line and asked to carry the movie along. Their skaters for crying out loud, not actors. The skating, too, is pretty good. I think this was filmed just after Tony Hawk built the huge ramp at his house in the Falbrook boonies.
If you like this movie, search out the rest of the hard-to-find Powell Peralta series. I think there was more than "Ban This" and "Public Domain" before the Bones Brigade finally disbanded. I think Animal Chin is the first of the series which struck upon a new way to promote skateboarding. For once, a kid didn't have to pay to see a demonstration or have to pick up a magazine to catch his favorite skaters in action. And of course it has caught on, because every manufacturer seems to have an endless supply of skate movies. Although few seem to try to develop any sort of story and instead are just shot after shot of skate sessions. Which is fine, but then again, with some of the skating that goes one in present day videos (those without a story), you could just as well go out on the street and find a bunch of skaters who are just as good. Because, it looks like just about everyone gets sponsored these days.
The Bones Brigade were really the best of their game--as they have proven, especially Caballero and Hawk who have defined most of the skateboarding tricks out there today.
Even though this movie is directed by Peralta, however, do not expect a mini-documentary resembling 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' or 'Riding With Giants,' two exemplary masterpieces of Peralta's cinematic abilities. These were just like little test pieces soon to be developed into something better. Peralta may have been starting out in his directorial career, going on to do great things.
