Closed Mondays

It's been 25 years since Closed Mondays was released, and at least 20 since I've seen it... so my fond memories of this short are a testament to it's lasting impact. I too lament it's unavailability on video. I just saw the Wallace and Gromit series, and would love to see Closed Mondays again to remember all the little details.

It's the one-woman show of "Celia Crazelsnuk" that our visitor has come to view. It's supposed to be closed on Mondays, but armed with his bottle and a very limited knowledge of art - in he goes! There are paintings and there are sculptures - and when they start to come alive it gives him (and us) an opportunity to see some vibrant and quite emotional animations. These work well offering quite a wide variety of subject matter and even a very talkative robot, but it's the stop-motion of the man himself that's most impressive. The facial expressions and muscle definition is worthy or Ray Harryhausen himself. I loved the ending, too!

The 1974 winner of Best Animated Short depicts a man looking at artwork that appears to come to life. I especially liked the malfunctioning computer. One might interpret Will Vinton's "Closed Mondays" as a look at the relationship between humanity and the art that we produce. There's even the question of how to define art. I wouldn't call this my favorite Will Vinton cartoon, but I enjoyed it. Personally I don't think that enough people get to see the nominated animated shorts. They tend to be far more interesting than the features voiced by the celebrities of the moment.

Anyway, this one is worth seeing. It's too bad that Phil Knight took over Will Vinton's studio and fired Vinton from it.

To clear the record and correct you all. Bob Gardiner wrote, directed, and made Closed Mondays and California Raisons. Vinton claimed both films along with many others that Gardiner made. Vinton in no small way contributed to Gardiner's decline in later years and helped to cut down one of the greatest minds in the history of stop motion animation. Vinton was a partner in these projects, but its Gardiner's vision and execution that gave the world these films. Please, if you are to discuss these films further, give Bob Gardiner the credit he deserves and thank him, not Vinton, for Closed Mondays. Thank you for time and enjoy this great piece of stop motion animation.

I saw this film on video when I was about seven years old. It was on a tape of various animated shorts, including "Sundae in New York". This was the last film to play, and I have to say I was astounded. Even as a child, I admired the haunting beauty of the animation, and the simple but surreal plot line. I already was a fan of Wil Vinton's work in "Return to Oz", but this film showed a unique creativity that still affects me to this day. I think that it is a crime that it is not available on DVD, and should be offered alongside some of Jan Svankmajer's work. The end (which I will not reveal) still makes me wonder about the nature of the man in the museum.