Many animated projects that have been made by Kickstarter have turned out hit or miss, but none have ever been more infamous than Cans Without Labels. Created by Ren & Stimpy John Kricfalusi, this prolonged project was announced in 2012 and was set for a release the following year. After numerous delays, angry disputes, and Kricfalusi getting into a lot of trouble (which I won't get into), the project never saw the light of day until this year. However, not only did it not satisfy anyone who donated to the fundraiser, but it could very well be the worst thing John K. has made by far.
Now the basic premise of the cartoon is that George Liquor has a bunch of unlabeled cans that he feeds to his nephews Ernie and Slab. Upon realizing that a face is inside one of the cans, the two youngins have to get rid of it quick. While very simple in concept, a lot of cartoons are in general, so it all depends on the execution to succeed. Unfortunately, this is where the cartoon fails, as a lot of the gags are heavily drawn out and the scenes go on for way too long. In addition, for a cartoon about trying to avoid eating a face, there isn't even enough gross out material for those who find the appeal in it. In addition, Kricfalusi is known for including public domain music in his cartoons, but the sound mixing is all over the place. The musical timing feels off, some tracks play at unnecessary points (you should not have a freakout track play right before a character gets shocked), and there's way too much noise for the viewers to gravitate towards what's happening on screen. Talk about throwing everything in the kitchen sink.
But of course, we need to talk about the animation quality, and my goodness has Kricfalusi fallen from grace in recent years. I know he's all about exaggerating the movements and facial expressions in his work, but his perfectionism has gone to the point of utter repulsion and annoyance. The actual character motion runs at a chaotic pace, making it difficult to gravitate towards anyone on screen. Not to mention, they move so much that your senses may have a hard time picking up on anything going on in the cartoon. There's barely any weight to the characters, as if they're just floating around who they move rather than feeling natural in their surroundings. Not to mention, the CG cans do not mesh well with the 2D animated characters, as they look like they belong in a Newgrounds short than something from a professional animator. Also, the camera movements are bizarrely uneven and they actually make you feel more queasy than the piss poor attempts at shock humor. For something that took seven years to produce, the animation might as well belong in an unlabeled can.
Come to think of it, it's no wonder this cartoon took nearly 3/4 of a decade to make, because Kricfalusi has never met a deadline since his days working for Ralph Bakshi. Needless to say, not only does Cans Without Labels fail as a cartoon due to its boring pacing and nauseating animation, but what it offers in terms of content is so bad that I don't think anybody would be willing to touch it with a 3 foot pole. It's a testament to how bad this cartoon is when even the unfinished cut flows better than the final product. To everyone out there wanting to get their products made, make sure you set straight goals ahead so you can always be on a tight schedule without worrying your supporters. Otherwise, you could end up as an arrogant purist with no self confidence that can't make heads or tails of your own limitations.
