Is nothing sacred? After reading this news about a remake of one of my favorite classic animations, The Secret of NIMH, I see that (certain) movie makers are willing to suck the life out of anything for a profit.
There was something deeply soulful and moving about this movie. The animation had an intensity that I’ve yet to see in any CGI film. I watched it countless times as a child, transfixed by the glowing fluid images that emerged from darkness.
Still frames simply don’t convey the depth of visual experience. The main characters may be cute, but they are entangled in a sinister story of science and destruction. I absolutely love how the cold human practices we barely acknowledge are juxtaposed with the underground magical, mystical rodent kingdom. Humans appear to be the callous, clumsy, alien species through the eyes of these tiny enlightened creatures.
Original trailer:
Anyone else have fond childhood memories of this movie?
I’ve already posted a video from the talented PES, and now I give you a short but wonderful holiday treat. 33 seconds that make me wish everything were made of candy.
Ah, the video montage…a beloved art form that distills hours of uninteresting footage into a hyper-concentrated cocktail of pure
Here, the band Blurt showcases a series of vintage exercise machines and beauty treatments.
Funny how easy it is to scoff at these “primitive” measures when current methods involve paralyzing poison injections, plastic threads under the skin that yank the face in different directions, and the now commonplace bulbous sacks of silicone.
And just for fun, see how Strong Bad makes a montage. Nowhere else can you hear the lyric “You’re a girl…or maybe a wagon, filled up with pancakes.”
I’m fascinated by random cultural explosions that take place around arbitrary objects. Bacon has become a veritable phenomenon over the past two years, and I’m noticing steady growth of the toast trend.
I’ll refrain from posting images of pictures burned into toast…it’s been done ad nauseum. I will, however, show you this meta-toast mosaic:
Who can forget the 1990’s pioneer of these crumbly, starchy heroes, POWDERED TOAST MAN?
High-velocity raisins, corrosive croutons, acidic marmalade, flying butter pats…and of course, flight. He had it all.
Years later, we meet Mr. Toast and his mini empire. There are countless variations of Mr. Toast images and products. Personally, I’m a fan of Vampire Toast:
(Love the shiny cape…very classy)
Slightly more menacing is this toast from one of my favorite web comics.
Never thought toast could be sad? Well, My Paper Crane proves that it can be, if aware of its ominous scorching fate.
If you prefer your toast enraged and screaming, you can now purchase a Mini Toast Pocket Friend:
In fact, angry toast does seem to be all the rage (pun intended).
And my own soft toast creations, circa 2006 (and part of a complete plush breakfast) were pretty happy too:
Yummy Pancake’s Mr Toastee flickr set runs the whole gamut.
Happy…
Dressed up…
Drunk…
Whole wheat, original and rye (together in perfect harmony)…
Some modern toast creations include bizarre, counter-intuitive designs like this Soft Toaster Cell Phone Holder, complete with bear face and ears:
(The toast, also with a face, is supposed to “wipe off” the phone…wonder if it’s large enough for touch screen phones)
Are you…
(Image source link now dead)
What are your feelings about the growing Cult of Toast?
Apparently, this animation was banned from TV. I think I would have loved it as a child because I was strangely hard to frighten, but it’s surely capable of inducing horrific nightmares in the vast majority of the population.
If you have seven minutes to spare, I recommend this stop-motion short film by the Lauenstein brothers.
Fans of Kafka and Sartre will be pleased as the characters shuffle around their fictional microcosm, searching for a piece of auditory happiness…and succumbing to the delicious ironies of human nature.
If the butcher knives in my previous post didn’t tickle your romantic fancy, here’s a short animation about cephalopods in love. Such a testament to the lengths we will go to for one another!
I know nothing about the game Spore, except for the fact that my friend Lee used it to create a hideous amalgam of Ron’s worst fears: sea creatures and human feet. No matter what your feelings are on these topics, I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this little clip:
, 
There are countless variations of Mr. Toast images and products. Personally, I’m a fan of Vampire Toast:
SheWalksSoftly 