furtech: (RoadsideRomeo)
furtech ([personal profile] furtech) wrote2010-09-24 09:30 am
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Alpha and Omega: furry fan-service

I'll give you a break from my interminable trip reports to talk about the new animated film, "Alpha and Omega"

alphaomega

The ads foretold a terrible film: actors in fursuits (they bore more of a resemblance to actors than to wolves), corny gags (more impossible sledding), bad humor, etc., etc.

And...those impressions were realized in spades. At one point I had to apologize to [livejournal.com profile] martes for dragging her to see this. I think it was at the point when, during a "howl", the wolves suddenly stood up on two legs and launched into a Bollywood-style dance number. Really.

At the same time I had to admit: If I were 5 years old, this would be MY MOST FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!1!. I saw Disney's "Jungle Book" at about that age and not only was I mesmerized, it remains one of my all-time favorite films. When you're five you have a pretty clean slate, experience-wise. Wolf-behavior, non-sequitor dance numbers, corny plots: there are definitely parallels. I'm sure Kipling rolled in his grave when the wise bear, Baloo, suddenly spoke scat and launched into a dance number like "Bear Necessities".

So, yeah. I'm not saying go see it generally, but if you've got Very Young Children, you might take a bullet and take them to see this.

The end credits were beautifully designed: one of the best I've seen. What I found particularly intriguing were the 2-D character development and design art: they were *wonderful!*. Now my mission is to find someone with access who can get me a set. I'd love to see all of the development-- my best hope is for a making-of type book, but there is no such thing on Amazon yet. I wish this had stayed a 2-D animated feature.

Oh, and fwiw: most of this was done in India, possibly by the same talent who did India Disney's "Roadside Romeo". The character animation and many of the story elements reminded me a lot of Roadside.

[identity profile] oats-a-plenty.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I liked the kipling book and the other animated film (I forgot who did it, they also did a few other kipling stories) to the Disney film. The wolves lived to be in their 20's just fine (in the book). The village rejected mogli, so he burned it down.

I had a hunch it was animated by the same people who did Roadside Romeo and even expected a Bollywood dance number in it (haven't seen this movie yet). The studio listed on IMBD was located in Malaysia.

[identity profile] fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I know I've seen animated versions of Riki-tiki-Tavi and Kotek the White Seal, but can't remember seeing many of the other stories translated to animated film.

[identity profile] oats-a-plenty.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't remember the animation studio for the life of me. They had their movies at Target once. They played them on Nickelodeon back in the late 80's when it was the cool kids network.

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Chuck Jones did several Kipling stories, plus Toei Animation (Japan's version of Hanna Barbara) did an extended series based on the Kipling Jungle Book world. The Toei series was all right, considering their normal fare.

[identity profile] okojosan.livejournal.com 2010-09-25 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
The Russian Jungle Book series looked cool from what I saw of it, too.

[identity profile] haamel.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm. Hmm. I actually thought the trailer looked possibly promising, knowing nothing about the studio, its previous projects, or whatnot. Then again, my perception may be tainted by memories of Romancing the Stone and vague hopes for "odd couple vs. the world" chemistry. If this film is really targeted at young kids (which your review points to, and belies the innuendo from the trailer about "repopulation"), Bad Things(tm) might be expected. Not thrilled to hear about the Bollywood number for non-supposedly-anthro wolves (though I hear that you Khan't Touch This). Still, the art strikes me as kind of cute... [Was that Sonata Arctica turning over in their grave?!] Maybe I'll catch it on FiOS some year.

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2010-09-25 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
No, it's squirmingly bad. Seeing it on tv or for free is your best bet (with fast-forward your friend). Oddly, the potentially stupid duck and goose were not as annoying as I expected them to be...but that might be a relative-kind of phenomenon.

[identity profile] iisaw.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
So... Pixar shouldn't be looking over its shoulder at the out-sourced animation competition? XD

I may have been the only kid in the world who hated Disney's version of The Jungle Books... because I read them first. Life-and-death struggles woven around the wisdom of the Animal Powers... all reduced to a moronic song-and-dance puppet show. What's not to hate?

[identity profile] kynekh-amagire.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
You weren't the only one. See also: my intense loathing for Disney's "The Fox and the Hound".

[identity profile] gilmorelion.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
THIS! Oh most definitely THIS!

I thought Chuck Jone's animated Kipling stories were infinitely better.

[identity profile] c-eagle.livejournal.com 2010-09-25 11:00 am (UTC)(link)
I agree with Gilmore... my expectations for Fox/Hound were high, yes, but it underperformed way below the bar... vapid, plodding story.. inane birds.. forced, idiotic plot conclusions... sooooo much is wrong about it. All there is to like is some of the art.

Thanks also [livejournal.com profile] furtech for the heads up on the Aplha/Omega!

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2010-09-25 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
That's why it would take someone of few life-experiences (ie, a blank slate) to enjoy it. I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky that I saw most of the Disney films (including Bambi, F&H, etc.) long before I read the books. I'd almost consider them (and the Kipling works) separate creative works...

FWIW, I had looked forward to seeing the live action/Sabu version because sources has said that it was so much truer to the original stories than the Disney film...only to find upon seeing it that it was even more egregious in it's "creative license" than the Disney version was!

[identity profile] iisaw.livejournal.com 2010-09-25 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Oh ghod... the Sabu version! I, too, was sucked in by the assurances of some lying bastards people of small understanding.

[identity profile] beetlecat.livejournal.com 2010-09-24 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha I also though the trailer looked *horrible* but I can imagine children under 5 just falling over themselves to go to it. Thank god I don't have any yet so I don't have to take them! rofl