From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.animation
Subject: REVIEW: 23RD INTERNATIONAL TOURNEE OF ANIMATION
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01315
Keywords: author=K.Johnson
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:20:35 GMT
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Organization: ?

[Followups directed to rec.arts.movies.  -Moderator]

                 23RD INTERNATIONAL TOURNEE OF ANIMATION
                      A film review by Ken Johnson
                       Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson

105 min., not rated, Animation, 1991 (TOURNEE was put out in 1991
but some of the features were made in earlier years)

     This year's TOURNEE contained eighteen features and overall most
of them were well done.  There were a couple that I didn't like very
much, but overall it is well worth going to TOURNEE.  I am using the
rating system of Poor, Okay, Good, and Very Good to rate the features.
TOURNEE is not rated but it contains female nudity (drawn) and adult
situations.

FAST FOOD MATADOR
4:14, U.S.A., by Vincent Cafarelli and Candy Kugel

     This is the story of the perilous life of a fast-food delivery man.
"Fast Food Matador" is set to music and the feature follows a delivery
man as he tries to make it across the city to make a delivery.  The
animation is done with what looks like fingerpaint.   This style makes
the film look rather like it was done by a child, but it was good.  The
finished product is crude, but enjoyable to watch.  Rating: Good

GETTING THERE
1:36, Canada, by Paul Driessen

     This feature is about a man who sees a poster advertisement and
wants to go where the poster advertises.  He tries various ways of
getting there but always ends up where he started.  Very little of the
background is shown, which makes this feature different from the rest.
Rating: Good

AT ONE VIEW
6:27, Holland, by Paul and Menno de Nooijer

     This is a feature with two people.  The people are photographed
with still shots.  They hold sheets of drawn paper over their faces with
faces on them.  The idea is neat, but the feature is too long.  This
would have been much better if it had been about a half as long as it
was.  The animation, however, was really well done.  The faces look
incredibly life like.  "At One View" won the Grand Prize and the
Stuttgart International Animation Festival.  Rating: Okay

BIG BANG
4:10, Italy, by Bruno Bozzetto

     "Big Bang" is a feature that is very anti-pollution.  It shows the
planet Earth and the refuse created.  It starts with a simple family
creating refuse and follows the refuse in a comical journey.   The idea
behind this feature, I think, is important, and it is presented in an
enjoyable way.  Rating: Very Good

THE LIFT
9:00, U.S.S.R., by Alexander Tatarsky

     This feature shows a comical ride up an elevator.  The elevator
stops at many floors showing different warped points in history.  The
animation was well done and pleasing to the eye.  It is very pleasing to
the eye to watch.  "The Lift" won First Prize at the Hiroshima Animation
Festival.  Rating: Very Good

I SHOULD SEE
2:00, Holland, by Paul and Menno de Nooijer

     "I Should See" is the only other film at TOURNEE by Paul and Menno
de Nooijer.  "I Should See" is completely made up of still shots, so it
contains no animation.  It shows what the inside of a camera sees when
shooting a roll of film.  I am not quite sure why this film was included
in TOURNEE considering it contains no animation.  Rating: Good

PHOTOCOPY CHA-CHA
3:30, U.S.A., by Chel White

     "Photocopy Cha-Cha" is set to music and shows "choreography for
your copy machine".  I considered PHOTOCOPY CHA-CHA to be the worst film
at TOURNEE.  I found myself getting bored with this feature.   The
animation was okay, I guess, but not very interesting.  I didn't pay too
much attention, because like I said, I was bored with it.  It is
composed of fast moving pictures of people.  The end of the feature
states that "Photocopy Cha-Cha" was done on a copy machine.  "Photocopy
Cha-Cha" won First Prize at the U.S.A. film festival.  Rating: Poor

ARNOLD RIDES A CHAIR
1:00, U.S.A., by Craig Bartlett

     "Arnold Rides a Chair" shows Arnold, a little boy, taking a trip
into his imagination.  This feature is done in claymation and was made
for "Sesame Street."  Rating: Good

THE POTATO HUNTER
7:11, U.S.A., by Timothy Hittle

     "The Potato Hunter" is about a miniature man and his miniature dog
who are hungry.  So, to get food, they go hunting wandering potatoes on
what appears to be a kitchen table.  Very creative and humorous and done
in claymation.  "The Potato Hunter" won Most Popular Film and the
Seattle Film Festival.  Rating: Good.  [Moderator's note: It also showed
up among the winners in this season's "Black Maria Film Festival."]

PUSH COMES TO SHOVE (an excerpt from THE TUNE)
4:41, U.S.A., by Bill Plympton

     "Push Comes to Shove" is about two men who start doing harmful
things to each other.  Each time, things get worse, and the feature gets
funnier.  This film is not made to be looked at for the art, but to just
amuse the viewer.  "Push Comes to Shove" won Best Short at the Cannes
Film Festival.  Rating: Very Good

SLOW BOB IN THE LOWER DIMENSIONS
5:30, U.S.A., by Henry Selick

     "Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions" is a combination of computer
animation, live acting, and drawn animation.  It shows a double headed
girl who watches the hero, Slow Bob, save some photograph people who are
being terrorized by scissors.  Made for MTV.  I was not very impressed
at all with the animation in this feature.  It was rough in some places
and smooth in others.  Rating: Okay

CAPITAL P
3:30, CANADA, by Stephen Barnes

     "Capital P," I feel, is the best feature at TOURNEE.  It shows a
little boy who needs to use the bathroom on a stormy night.  He has to
go all the way down a hall to get to the bathroom.  The animation is
cute, and the idea is really cleaver and humorous.   Rating: Very Good

SURPRISE and LIGHT AND HEAVY
1:15, U.S.A., by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton

     "Surprise" is only a few seconds long and just shows the unveiling
of Luxo Jr., a little Luxo light.  "Light and Heavy" shows Luxo
Jr. learning the difference between light and heavy with a beach ball for
light and a bowling ball for heavy.  Both features are done on a
computer and were made for "Sesame Street."  Visually these films are
okay.  There is nothing really spectacular about either one.  Rating:
Okay

ORAL HYGIENE
3:17, U.S.A., by David Fain

     "Oral Hygiene" is set to music, and has a skeleton who is very
conscious of keeping his mouth clean and dances around with other
skeletons while singing about his mouth.  The animation is really
nothing to brag about, but the idea is original.  "Oral Hygiene" is the
Winner of the Sinking Creek Film Festival.  Rating: Good

THE WRONG TYPE
4:14, U.K., by Candy Guard

     "The Wrong Type" is about a woman who is not qualified to do
anything.  She is given a job typing at an office that she has trouble
handling.  There is nothing really spectacular animation-wise with this
film.  The animation is more pleasing than some of the other films at
TOURNEE.  Rating: Good

ODE TO G.I. JOE
4:55, U.S.A., by Gregory Grant

     Every child's nightmare comes true; the child's G.I. Joe toys come
to life and start playing in the child's room.  In doing so they trash
the room.  The animation is average, nothing really new here except for
the brilliant story idea.  "Ode to G.I. Joe" is the Student Academy
Award Winner.  Rating: Good

THE BREAKDOWN
3:25, Germany, by Klaus Georgi

     "The Breakdown" is about an interestingly drawn man who is standing
on the side of a highway trying to get a car to stop for him.  "The
Breakdown" is the winner of the Audience Award and the Stuttgart
International Animation Festival.  The animation is rather crude, but
the overall finished product is pleasing to watch.  Rating: Good

THE GRAY WOLF AND LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
22:00, U.S.S.R., by Garri Bardin

     "The Gray Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood" is the longest feature
at TOURNEE this year.  It is a retelling of the classic "Little Red
Riding Hood" story.  Little Red Riding Hood has to bring a Russian pie
from her house in Moscow, U.S.S.R., to her grandmother's house in Paris,
France.  Along the way she is chased by a bad wolf with metal teeth who
wants the Russian pie.  Probably there is a hidden message you will
catch if you happen to be up on Russian politics.  The story line was
well written, I think.  The overall product was a little rough, but
still fun to watch.  "The Gray Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood" was the
Grand Prize winner of the Annecy International Animation Festival.
Rating: Good

Ken J.
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu