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Rating:  - Rock & Rule rules
When I saw that Cheap Trick had done songs, I knew that I couldn't go wrong by watching it. I was very surprised to find an actual moral to the story, love conquers all.
Rating:  - One of the most underappreciated animated films ever made
I had never heard about this movie until I saw the DVD at a local video rental. "Rock and Rule" is a Canadian animated film from the 1980's that was made by Nirvana Studios, and was almost going to be a children's film except the filmmakers took a lot of liberties with the storyline and content, turning it into a more adult film. (and by "adult" I don't mean porn, but subject matter like drugs and swearing) Because there wasn't much of a market for adult animated films back in 1980's America the film was a flop and the animation studio nearly went out of business. They were clever, though, and made money through several succesful cartoon shows. Know what cartoon shows they worked on? "Inspector Gadget," "The Care Bears"...just to name a few.
The film itself is set in an apocalyptic world years after World War III. Rats, cats, and dogs have evolved and live a life among the ruins. In the city of Ohmtown resides rockstar genius Mok Swagger. (a major satire of Mic Jagger - in fact, I've heard his lawyers threatened to sue the studio) His musical career is going downhill, and his last concert was not as succesful as it should have been. (there were two empty seats) Because of this Mok vows to win back his fans and rule the world, discovering that if he can find the perfect voice to sing the right notes, then he can resurrect a demon from an alternate dimension. He attends the concert of a four-person band and hears the singing of Angel, the sole female of the group. She is the right voice! He invites the group to his mansion and kidnaps Angel, heading off to "Nuke York" to have the concert of a lifetime. The three other band members (including lead singer Omar, who loves Angel) head to Nuke York to rescue Angel. Meanwhile, Mok's world domination attempt fails and he realizes that to have enough power to resurrect the demon he has to use the power station in Ohmtown. Hence the plot thickens...
As you can probably tell from the previous paragraph, (if not its first two sentences) this movie is very different from any other film you've seen, animated or otherwise. What was my initial reaction to it? Well, admittedly it was quite mixed. The story tends to meander, especially around the Nuke York part, and at times you're left wondering if the filmmakers became overindulgent in what they had. However, I think another reviewer put it best when he said that while you're initial reaction is a bad one, this film quickly grows on you. As I've said it's very different, but it's also very well done. The characters are all well realized and stand out on their own in a quirky way, from Mok as the villain to the "French Canadian sailor" who has only a few minutes of film time. The world is also well realized, and from the mighty power station of Ohmtown to the housing complexes clinging to the destroyed ruins of the Statue of Liberty you really do get a feel for this world. I have to also admit it was VERY well animated. Expect the fine animation you'd see in any big budget Disney film and you'll get it. I really do commend the fellows up at Nirvana for the work they did in regards to that.
Some might compare it to "Heavy Metal" because of the use of music throughout the piece. Yet unlike "Heavy Metal," which used music in the background, "Rock and Rule" incorporates the music with the characters. Lou Reed is the singing voice for Mok, Deborah Harry from Blondie is Angel's singing voice, Cheap Trick provides the singing voice for Omar, and Iggy Pop sings for the demon. (and don't worry, I won't forget the great Earth, Wind and Fire, which made a fitting song for the dance club) All the singers fit the characters and are close to their voice actors, and I'm happy to say "Debbie" Harry is good as Angel's singing voice, so you do believe it when Mok finds her the best suited.
The DVD I'm reviewing is the special edition one, not the 2-disc set. Any one who was a lifetime fan of this movie will love the DVD release. There are character sketches of all the players, small or big, and includes concept artwork of their early designs. There's a commentary by director Clive Smith, which was an excellent listen as he goes into detail about how the film was made, and I'm happy to say he comes across as a pretty cool guy. (he's constantly complimenting those who worked with or under him) The only thing that took me aback was the making-of documentary, which seemed to focus a lot of attention on the more famous singing voices rather than the lesser-known voice actors. While Lou Reed deserves credit for "Triumph" and "My Name is Mok," I think Don Francks deserves even more credit - he stood out among everyone else and quite frankly I think he made the character of Mok work.
A rare gem - I would definately suggest people check this movie out, especially if you are fans of animated films. Even if your first reaction is lukewarm, be like me and give it a second shot. Trust me, it deserves it.
Rating: - From an artist's son
My father worked on this movie while my mother was pregnant with me. This is the movie that helped launched his career and made him into the Dad he is today, so I'm a little biased. Sorry :-)
As you may imagine, I've seen this movie many times. Only in the past few years, however, after going through school and learning about the history of technology and art, have I really been able to appreciate the movie for what it is, especially considering the resources they had at their disposal.
I, of course, preordered the collectors DVD months before it was released. I've watched it many times and I love it for all it's cheesy spendor. It's a great semi-independant film, and Canadian to boot!
Rating: - I wish I bought the 2 disc set!
I was not sure what the movie was going to be like but after hearing from other animation nerds how great it was I gave it a try. I was blown away, I wish I had got the 2 disc set because I wanted more Special Features right away. I usually hate the Special Features because they are lame and in many cases have nothing to really do with the movie, but in this case there were not enough Special Features at all. The Directors Commentary was the best I have ever heard it was great to hear about all the different ways they animated the movie and the different influences going on and how it all effected the movie.
The animation it's self was great and just very, very, smooth. They don't make movies like this any more and that is why animation sucks these days. Companies are shutting down their animation departments left and right may be if they put out quality work like Rock And Rule they could revive the dying industry.
If you just want a cool movie give it a try, if you want a great animated masterpiece with an amazing soundtrack and cool 80's feel this is the movie!
Rating: - Flawed DVD, but still great
I really liked the movie. Other people have discussed the movie in detail, so I'll talk about the 2-Disc Set.
First impression: the people doing the transfer never saw the movie and never bothered to watch it after they transferred it to digital. Two major flaws that I saw right away:
1. In the car at the beginning, when Mok is muttering "downward trend in popularity", he blows smoke in the shape of a skull. I know this because I had an old videotape from a TV version years ago. *This* version has almost eliminated the smoke entirely. Anti-smoking message or poor transfer?
2. The video blacks out nearly two minutes before the end of the end credits ... although at least they kept the music going.
The extras were great, especially the low-resolution cut of the movie with the alternate lead actor voice (which *kept* the smoke skull in the same scene, if you want to see it), but I can't give a "Collector's Edition" 5 stars with two such major gaffes in the film digital transfer itself. (And I haven't even tried to go through it for minor gaffes, yet.)
Four stars.
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