Viewed in
2009
Premise
Based on the short film, human-like dolls must survive a post-apocalyptic world where killer machines rule the land.
Who should watch
Twelve year-old boys.
Thoughts
As a screenwriter in my previous life, I wanted to root for the film because of the story behind the story.
The animation was quite cool, with its grimy details and creative fights. The enemies were jagged, dark, merciless robots, and the six-inch tall heroes fought them with human household items, such as scalpels.
For those who have seen the original short, this movie was an elongated, fleshed out version. The original also had miniaturized heroes using their creativity to fit robotic killers in a fantastic, barren landscapes. Fans might recognize some shout outs to scenes from the short.
However, as a movie, it failed to be better than average.
The whole story was extracted from any given fantasy RPG video game, as characters ran from one objective to the next. Given that it was computer graphics animation, I felt like I was watching a video game without playing it. Add to the fact that the cast characters were typical RPG archetypes without much personality.
I guess the voice acting was okay. Sometimes the cast was too obvious. Innocent plucky hero? Elijah Wood! Friendly sidekick? John C. Reilly! Crazy lunatic? Crispin Glover!
While I was happy that a college kid accomplished his dream of getting his story and characters onto the big screen, I was not exactly happy to give him my money to see a mediocre story.
What I would change
Not sure.
Random
I know it's an Asian name, but I couldn't help but laugh at an animator called 'Ho Suck Moon' in the credits.
