Monkeybone is without doubt one of the most underrated and badly-marketed films of recent years. The DVD cover was very misleading, and made it look like a tasteless B-comedy; the names of Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda and Chris Kattan didn't do much good either. I never would have dreamed of picking it up in the video store if it wasn't for the director, his name hardly even noticeable on the back cover.
Henry Selick is the man responsible for two of the most remarkable animation features of the 90s - James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton's vision, sure, but ultimately Selick's film). Both were sardonic, immensely stylish animated films and had some of the most wonderfully designed cartoon characters I've ever seen. Watching Monkeybone proves beyond doubt that even though Burton was the main brain behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, as far as design and character creation goes, most of the credit for the brilliant animation work should go to Mr. Selick. On Monkeybone Selick decided to make his first attempt at directing live actors, and does less than well. Aside from having a not very impressive lead actor in Brendan Fraser, most of the live action part of the film is - despite some moments of inspiration - not much more then slapstick and low-brow comedy. Sure, you may get a couple of cheap laughs out of Chris Kattan and Dave Foley, maybe even from Fraser (one of my least favorite actors, actually), but that section of the film is nothing to write home about.
However... about half the film takes place in a fantasy world called Downtown, a place where the comatose souls live, waiting to die or to awaken into the real world. Not only is that world designed in the most wonderful sardonic humor of Henry Selick's previous exploits, it's horded with one of the most wonderful casts of animated monsters I've ever seen - one that would make Jim Henson proud. Selick does not once give in to computer generated animation; all of the characters are entirely mechanical. Real life animated figures have a feel to them that computerized characters could never have - the kind of feel the characters on Nightmare have or in Henson classics like Dark Crystal and Storyteller. Each of the monster characters in Monkeybone is an intricately designed, finely crafted living creature with immense personality. The fascinating extras on the DVD include a wonderful gallery of sketches for each of those characters, as well as an inside look on how they were created - there are some original and brilliant technical solutions for some of the characters. John Torturro supplies Monkeybone's hilarious voice in a performance that reminds me slightly of his memorable appearance in Miller's Crossing, and Whoopi Goldberg grants a lovely cameo.
If you're reading this, you're one of two - either you're a Brendan Fraser or Chris Kattan fan, in which case you're likely to enjoy the slapstick humor of the real world section of the film, or you've heard about the film or about Henry Selick and are into it for the animation and design. From the point of view of an animator or anyone who is interested in the more classic side of animation, Monkeybone is a fascinating watch. Don't expect it to be another Nightmare Before Christmas, but try to ignore some of the dumb jokes and cheesy humor, and really get a load of the incredible work done on it. They just don't make animation like this anymore.
By the way: The Amazon.com editorial review said Fraser plays 'the best-looking cartoonist you'll ever see'. Wrong! You forgot one important precedent - Brad Pitt in Cool World. And the similarities between the two movies don't stop there. The design and styling, though, are entirely different.
Henry Selick is the man responsible for two of the most remarkable animation features of the 90s - James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton's vision, sure, but ultimately Selick's film). Both were sardonic, immensely stylish animated films and had some of the most wonderfully designed cartoon characters I've ever seen. Watching Monkeybone proves beyond doubt that even though Burton was the main brain behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, as far as design and character creation goes, most of the credit for the brilliant animation work should go to Mr. Selick. On Monkeybone Selick decided to make his first attempt at directing live actors, and does less than well. Aside from having a not very impressive lead actor in Brendan Fraser, most of the live action part of the film is - despite some moments of inspiration - not much more then slapstick and low-brow comedy. Sure, you may get a couple of cheap laughs out of Chris Kattan and Dave Foley, maybe even from Fraser (one of my least favorite actors, actually), but that section of the film is nothing to write home about.
However... about half the film takes place in a fantasy world called Downtown, a place where the comatose souls live, waiting to die or to awaken into the real world. Not only is that world designed in the most wonderful sardonic humor of Henry Selick's previous exploits, it's horded with one of the most wonderful casts of animated monsters I've ever seen - one that would make Jim Henson proud. Selick does not once give in to computer generated animation; all of the characters are entirely mechanical. Real life animated figures have a feel to them that computerized characters could never have - the kind of feel the characters on Nightmare have or in Henson classics like Dark Crystal and Storyteller. Each of the monster characters in Monkeybone is an intricately designed, finely crafted living creature with immense personality. The fascinating extras on the DVD include a wonderful gallery of sketches for each of those characters, as well as an inside look on how they were created - there are some original and brilliant technical solutions for some of the characters. John Torturro supplies Monkeybone's hilarious voice in a performance that reminds me slightly of his memorable appearance in Miller's Crossing, and Whoopi Goldberg grants a lovely cameo.
If you're reading this, you're one of two - either you're a Brendan Fraser or Chris Kattan fan, in which case you're likely to enjoy the slapstick humor of the real world section of the film, or you've heard about the film or about Henry Selick and are into it for the animation and design. From the point of view of an animator or anyone who is interested in the more classic side of animation, Monkeybone is a fascinating watch. Don't expect it to be another Nightmare Before Christmas, but try to ignore some of the dumb jokes and cheesy humor, and really get a load of the incredible work done on it. They just don't make animation like this anymore.
By the way: The Amazon.com editorial review said Fraser plays 'the best-looking cartoonist you'll ever see'. Wrong! You forgot one important precedent - Brad Pitt in Cool World. And the similarities between the two movies don't stop there. The design and styling, though, are entirely different.