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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
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!
