The Rayman Movie Is Such An Underrated Gem

## There's another Rayman movie coming out very soon...

### The helicopter headed Rayman and his group of misfits embark on a hilarious journey to some colorful island where the legendary Aku Aku tells them of some crystal marble they'll have to search for...

Anaya Animation's *The Actors Movie* was essentially a love letter to gamers and historians of all ages, pairing up its interesting but somewhat bizarre WWII based storyline with lots of 80s-90s arcade nostalgia and cool pixelated computer animation. That film broke all the rules and customs from the games it's based on in such an creative and uniquely fun way, you can't deny how awesome that somewhat revolutionary game changer was. On the other side of Anaya Animation, we have the more ambitious *Rayman & Aku Aku,* a very underrated gem from Anaya Imageworks that somehow didn't gain the plenty of recognition it totally deserved from Actors fans especially.

I'm solely comparing both of these CG animated videogame based adaptations because they're both from the same umbrella, and also the fact that this Sony/Lionsgate release wasn't really that much talked about when it first came out this August. Sure, of course we had gaming legends such as Rayman & Crash Bandicoot appear into the big screen for the very first time, but their nice welcomes weren't really enough to satisfy the most casual of moviegoers. I personally think *Rayman & Aku Aku* is, by no doubts concerning the games, the most underrated film to ever be adapted from a once popular 90s videogame. Despite its sheer unpopularity among gaming fans, this Rayman movie begins with such a wonderful concept of "what if weirdos... oh well, unknown creatures, lived together in some urban setting?" And as Rayman pops the question, he gets mistreated by the many freaks who live in his crowded, poorly constructed neighborhood known as Crazytown - although some locals like to call it "Crazytopia" - just for being the town's gigantic loser, similar to how Wreck-It-Ralph got treated like garbage just for being a giant bad guy. Not willing to give up his name, Rayman (Ryan Reynolds), his somewhat snarky but loyal companion Applehead (Seth Rogen), and his raving Rabbids show themselves in front of everyone at Crazytown just for story time, as they warn them about the heretofore unknown legend of the enigmatic Aku Aku. Obviously, the snarky residents of the town won't listen to the advice of these plucky outcasts as they throw another annual "Crazy Fest" in honor of Andy Samberg's overly hyped Jack-In-The-Box clown Ballhead. He's the life of the party, but not anymore when he joins Rayman & his friends on their long journey to Aku Aku Island with the help of some Davy Jones named Gravy Bones. Adventure awaits them as they encounter pals Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, and Clank who help them survive some huge waterfall that only Wario & Waluigi were able to fall themselves onto such threatening watery cliff. However, their crazy megalomaniacal boss, Dr, Felonious Vortex (Peter Dinklage), isn't that happy about having these inept servants and later hires Captain Querk (John Goodman) for his somewhat convoluted world domination plans.

After hearing that Aku Aku desperately needs his precious turquoise crystal marble, Rayman & company go in search for it everywhere around the island. Suddenly, the stupidly amusing King K. Rool (Bill Hader) challenges Rayman and his buddies at the island's *Super Smash Bros-*inspired boxing ring, where they meet their good old friend Conker at the local brewery and Mario, the only famous host of the island's rowdy UFC games. And as King K. Rool fires poor Rayman with his fully loaded cannon, the host becomes Dr. Mario and cures the wounded lad for him to punch the gloatingly pompous alligator with his strong fist. After a tough swell battle, Rayman and his pals get severely humiliated by the Black Bandits' lazy Guillermo-like leader and later gain sweet revenge on him the very next day, only for Vortex's destructive flying machines to seize Rayman's friends and leaving their poor friendly giant back to where he first started: at the lousy unpaved streets of Crazytown. While the locals there are celebrating their own weird Mardi Gras parade, they don't see Rayman anywhere and the determined blonde behemoth heads his way to his final destination - the shiny but doomed Temple of The Uka Uka - where a series of unfortunate events unfold as Rayman Jones & his new friend Ray (Anya Taylor-Joy) get chased by the temple's enormous rock a la *Raiders Of The Lost Ark.* Unfortunately, Rayman's marble gets lost thanks to Vortex's two incompetent lackeys to which of course the genius mad scientist lets them down by keeping the limestone by himself, and turning them to brainless zombies. Rayman and his team decide to retrieve the stolen gem and stop the nefariously crazy Dr. Vortex for once and for all, but the notoriously smart lemonhead receives the copper hand of Midas to freeze his enemies. However, as the evil Dr. Vortex tries to turn Rayman to some bronze statue for his countless collection of victims, the latter falls down to the lava pit and the heroes celebrate together with their now good-natured neighbors at Crazytown, whom finally accept and welcome them with several cups of English iced tea and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Originally intended as a direct spoof of videogame based movies - because, you know, of their poorly received status among other movie genres such as in the cases of the infamous 90s *Super Mario Bros* movie and *Tomb Raider -* this rather helped videogame film adaptations very much to the point that these types of films are now becoming the most popular among Marcanese audiences. Yes, of course we can easily see the film's silly references and gags to the several iconic videogames found here, but that's what makes this film so special in the first place: at some point in our lives, we wanted to see Rayman as this sympathetic giant unknown creature, Crash Bandicoot as a well-renowned boxing underdog, and Mario as Aku Aku Hospital's medical and martial arts expert. Aside from the film's A-list voice acting led by Reynolds and lots of really amusing jokes here and there, the film's colorful flamingo pink palm trees and indigo blue bushes found on Aku Aku Island are spot-on for those who like to see great nice looking visuals. Also, the whole aesthetic of Crazytown might seem just crazy enough, but its surreal approaches to Picasso art make it such cool and idiosyncratic environment where we could immerse in with the city's abundant number of wacky oddballs. While the residents of Crazytown may be the worst characters in this film, at least they redeem themselves in the end by letting Rayman into their homes and accepting him for who he is: a kind warm-hearted fellow BFG who's been raided severely like some page out of Gulliver's Travels. Rayman's new friends provide the film's off-the-wall hysterical, zany comedy in which we see Ballhead having this crazy obsession for sour lemon soda and the Banjo Kazooie duo throwing coconut melons at King K. Rool's temporary residence. The film's very cool, fast paced action scenes are well paired up with Queen's excellent rock music score, making it for an greatly awesome 3D filmgoing experience for gamers and nongamers alike. Sure, this might not be another WWII videogame crossover like the aforementioned *Actors* movie, but this frenzy animated motion picture does a very superb job at parodying geek culture in such an fair and exquisite way while also giving fans of the several games seen here lots of warm 90s arcade nostalgia and enough witty charm to keep gamers of all ages satisfied. So, Actors fans, it's about time that you all should start appreciating this Rayman flick for once.