[SHORTS REVIEW] Closed Mondays (1974)

 

OR

Title: Closed Mondays

Country: United States

Genre: Surrealism / Fantasy 

Company: Lighthouse Productions

Directed by: Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner

Year: 1974

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  N/A

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE!

The short starts off with a drunken old man going to an art museum, despite the fact that said museum is closed on Mondays.  As the old man goes inside the museum, he starts noticing that the artwork is coming to life!

"Closed Mondays" was an animated short that was directed by Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner and it was often considered one of the pioneering works of Stop Motion animation.  Now, I have heard of Will Vinton's works before, especially the California Raisins and "The Adventures of Mark Twain" and I'm aware of his reputation as being the "Godfather of Claymation."  However, I was quite surprised that he made an animated short way back in the 1970s and one that was like the WEIRDEST thing that I have ever seen from him!  I must admit that I was quite impressed with this short as it was weird and yet so beautifully animated!  I just loved the facial expressions on the drunken old man as his facial expressions look so realistic and I especially loved the moments where the man looked so surprised and confused at the artwork coming to life.  I also loved the way that the artworks coming to life were animated as it was done in a fluid way and I was quite impressed and terrified of the scene where a machine ends up malfunctioning and started changing into these different forms, including Albert Einstein himself!  I also loved how bizarre this short was as I was wondering to myself about why the artwork came to life so suddenly and that ending was so confusing and mysterious!

The only problem that I have with this short is that the plot is a bit confusing (although that's pretty much a given with over 90% of the shorts that I review on this blog).  I'm curious about why the artwork came to life in the first place and just what was up with that ending?  I can't really say too  much about the ending without spoiling things for people who haven't seen this short yet.  But I have to say that the ending has got me thinking about what was really going on in this short.

Overall, "Closed Mondays" is one of the most bizarre animations that I have ever seen from Will Vinton and it definitely deserved its recognition as being one of the pioneering works of Stop Motion animation with its gorgeous animation and unique plot!

• Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions
• Quasi at the Quackadero
• The Triangle (Kolmnurk)

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[SHORTS REVIEW] Quasi at the Quackadero (1976)

OR

Title: Quasi at the Quackadero

Starring:  Sally Cruikshank and Kim Deitch

Genre: Fantasy / Science Fiction / Comedy 

Company: N/A

Directed by: Sally Cruikshank

Year: 1976

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  N/A

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE!

The short is about how two "ducks" named Quasi and Anita, along with their robot friend Rollo decided to go to a strange amusement park called the Quackadero.  It was there that the three "supposed" friends saw all kinds of surreal activities going on, such as having their thoughts painted on pictures and going through several time traveling dimensions.  Also, Anita and Rollo are plotting against Quasi and want to get rid of him.

Wow! I can't believe that I've never seen this animated short before until just recently!  I bet that if I had watched this animated short when I was little, I would have loved it! "Quasi at the Quackadero" is certainly one of the WEIRDEST animated shorts I have ever seen!  Sally Cruikshank (who had also done animation work for "Sesame Street" during the 1980s) had done an awesome job at animating this short as the characters and the wacky world that they live in come to life and I have to say that this animation was very well done for the 1970s!  I also loved the fact that there are so many details going on in the animation like there was one scene where a circus master of sorts was yelling at his crew and you can see a strange creature pop out of his pants for no reason at all.  I was also entertained by the bantering between Quasi and Anita, as I found it interesting that while they went out to the Quackadero together, it seems like they can't stand each other and I was interested in seeing how Anita and Rollo will get rid of Quasi towards the end of the short.

The only problem with this short is that it can be rather confusing at times, especially during the scenes where Quasi, Anita and Rollo go to the Quackadero.  Also, if you are not a huge fan of bizarre imagery, this short has plenty of bizarre imagery that might creep out some viewers.  And another thing, even though this aspect is probably not that important to the story, I would have loved to see more from Anita, Quasi and Rollo's relationship with each other since I wanted to know why they treat each other so terribly.

Overall, "Quasi at the Quackadero" is one of the most bizarre yet creative animated shorts I have ever seen and I can't wait to check out the sequel "Make Me Psychic" someday!