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Because of scenes involving [[Recreational drug use|drug use]], implied [[Satanism|devil worship]], and mild [[human sexuality|sexuality]], the film could only be marketed to an adult audience. No [[film soundtrack|soundtrack]] [[record album|album]] was ever released (though some of the songs appeared as [[B-side]]s on subsequent singles by the musicians involved with the film). Commentary on the Special Edition DVD partially lays the blame for the film's lack of release in the U.S. on [[MGM]]. The DVD claims that management at MGM changed and the new overseers of the project were not as enthusiastic about the film as their predecessors. This caused script revisions and other changes which damaged the flow of the story, delayed its release date and raised costs. In the end, MGM was still unhappy with the film, so it was shelved.
Because of scenes involving [[Recreational drug use|drug use]], implied [[Satanism|devil worship]], and mild [[human sexuality|sexuality]], the film could only be marketed to an adult audience. No [[film soundtrack|soundtrack]] [[record album|album]] was ever released (though some of the songs appeared as [[B-side]]s on subsequent singles by the musicians involved with the film). Commentary on the Special Edition DVD partially lays the blame for the film's lack of release in the U.S. on [[MGM]]. The DVD claims that management at MGM changed and the new overseers of the project were not as enthusiastic about the film as their predecessors. This caused script revisions and other changes which damaged the flow of the story, delayed its release date and raised costs. In the end, MGM was still unhappy with the film, so it was shelved.


Critic [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented: "The animation [...] has an unfortunate way of endowing the male characters with doggy-looking muzzles. In any case, the mood is dopey and loud."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=2&title1=&title2=Rock%20%26%20Rule%20%28Movie%29&reviewer=JANET%20MASLIN&v_id=41756 | work=The New York Times | first=A. O. | last=Scott | accessdate=May 22, 2010 | title=We're Sorry | date=February 7, 2005}}</ref>
Critic [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented: "The animation [...] has an unfortunate way of endowing the male characters with doggy-looking muzzles. In any case, the mood is dopey and loud."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C03E6DD153AF936A3575BC0A963948260 | work=The New York Times | first=Janet | last=Maslin |authorlink=Janet Maslin| accessdate=November 5, 2011 | title=ANIMATED DUO | date=August 5, 1985}}</ref>


In spite of its lack of a theatrical release, the film soon developed a cult following in the United States as a result of late-night airings on the cable channels [[HBO]] and [[Showtime (TV series)|Showtime]]{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}.
In spite of its lack of a theatrical release, the film soon developed a cult following in the United States as a result of late-night airings on the cable channels [[HBO]] and [[Showtime (TV series)|Showtime]]{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}.

Revision as of 05:07, 6 November 2011

Rock & Rule
Rock & Rule movie poster
Directed byClive A. Smith
Written byJohn Halfpenny
Patrick Loubert
Peter Sauder
Produced byMichael Hirsh
Patrick Loubert
StarringGreg Salata
Susan Roman
Don Francks
CinematographyLenora Hume (animation camera)
Music byScore:
Patricia Cullen
Songs performed by:
Cheap Trick
Debbie Harry
Lou Reed
Iggy Pop
Earth, Wind & Fire
Production
company
Distributed byUnearthed Films
Release date
August 12, 1983 (Canada)
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million

Rock & Rule is a 1983 Canadian animated film from the animation studio Nelvana. It was produced and directed by the company's founders, Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith. The film features the voices of Greg Salata, Susan Roman, and Don Francks, with Catherine O'Hara, Chris Wiggins, and Maurice LaMarche as guests. It was the studio's first feature movie and the first one produced entirely within Canada.

Centering on rock and roll music, the film includes songs by Cheap Trick, Chris Stein and Debbie Harry of the pop group Blondie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and Earth, Wind & Fire. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States populated by mutant humanoids. With John Halfpenny, Patrick Loubert, and Peter Sauder at the helm of its screenplay, Rock & Rule was a heavily derived spinoff of Nelvana's earlier TV special from 1978, The Devil and Daniel Mouse. Its distributor, MGM, acquired United Artists at the time and the new management team had no interest in it so it was never released in North America. It received a screening at a film festival in Germany and because it was funded in part by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which had obtained the Canadian TV rights, it did get some minor exposure in that country. A hard-to-find VHS was released at that time, followed by a laser disc. The film developed a cult following from repeated airings on HBO and Showtime and the circulation of bootleg VHS copies at comic book conventions booths (with Ralph Bakshi named as director). In 2005, Unearthed Films released a special two-disc edition DVD of the film.

Plot

Mok, an aging yet legendary rock musician is on the search for a very special voice that can unleash a powerful demon from another dimension. After travelling around the world looking for the right voice, he returns to Ohmtown, his hometown.

Meanwhile, at a nightclub, Omar, Angel, Dizzy and Stretch perform in a small rock band. As Angel performs a gentle love ballad to a mostly empty audience, Mok hears her sing and the special ring that Mok wears goes off, and he realizes that Angel is the one he needs. He invites Angel and the band to his mansion outside of town. While Omar and Stretch are hypnotized by magic "edison balls", Mok takes Angel on a stroll through his garden and tries to convince her to join him. Initially unaware of Mok's true intentions, she refuses to abandon her band. Unwilling to admit defeat, Mok kidnaps her and takes his blimp to Nuke York, where his summoning, disguised as a concert, will be performed.

After Dizzy snaps his band-mates out of their stupor, the trio find out what happened to Angel and they follow the blimp in a stolen police car. Before they reach Nuke York, they're caught by a border guard and are placed under arrest. Meanwhile, Angel attempts to escape with the unknowing help of Cinderella, a sister of Mok's goons. While sneaking through the ventilation system, Angel overhears Mok confirming his plans with his computer. At this time the computer informs Mok that the only way to stop the demon is with "One voice, One heart, One song", but when Mok asks who can do this, the computer replies "no one". Angel and Cindy escape the building and head to the dance club "Club 666", unknowingly being followed by Mok's henchmen.

Omar and his friends are soon bailed out by Dizzy's aunt, who tells them the whereabouts of Angel and Cindy. They follow, but Omar eventually bumps into Mok, who has already recaptureed Angel and uses an impersonator to fool Omar into thinking that she is into Mok. To manipulate Angel, Mok then captures the band and tortures them with a giant "edison ball" to force her to agree with his demands. He also brainwashes them to ensure that they stay out of the way. The Nuke York concert turns out to be a disaster, because of an electrical failure. Mok relocates the summoning to Ohmtown, where the power plant has unlimited energy. During the second concert, a power surge causes overloads all over the city. The shock also brings Omar and his friends out of their stupor.

Omar, still believing Mok's earlier deception, refuses to help Dizzy and Stretch stop the concert, but he finally decides to trust Angel. However, they are unable to prevent the demonic summoning, freeing Angel after it is too late. The invoked demon starts consuming the audience and attacks Omar. But he is saved by one of Mok's simple-minded minions, Zip. Angel tries singing to force the demon back, but her sole voice has no effect. Omar joins in harmony with Angel, driving the demon back through the portal. Mok realizes that "no one" did not mean that a single person could stop him, but that more than one person was needed for the counterspell. As he scrambles to stop the duo's interference, Toad, the brother of the fallen Zip, throws him down the portal.

The film ends with a cheering crowd as the band is introduced as the newest superstar talent, fronted by a vocalist duo, in the now-sunny Ohmtown.

Cast

Singing voices

Production and release

Rock & Rule was Nelvana's first animated feature film, and also the first Canadian animated feature to be produced in English. (Le Village enchanté, a 1956 production from Quebec, was the country's first overall.[1]) The film spent several years in production and underwent many changes from the original concept, which was titled Drats! and aimed for children. The cost of production, $8 million in studio resources, nearly put Nelvana out of business. Over 300 animators worked on the film.[2]

The animation was of unusually high quality for the era (it began production in 1979), and the special effects were mostly photographic techniques, as computer graphics were in their infancy. Computers were used to generate only a few images in the film.

Controversy and reaction

Because of scenes involving drug use, implied devil worship, and mild sexuality, the film could only be marketed to an adult audience. No soundtrack album was ever released (though some of the songs appeared as B-sides on subsequent singles by the musicians involved with the film). Commentary on the Special Edition DVD partially lays the blame for the film's lack of release in the U.S. on MGM. The DVD claims that management at MGM changed and the new overseers of the project were not as enthusiastic about the film as their predecessors. This caused script revisions and other changes which damaged the flow of the story, delayed its release date and raised costs. In the end, MGM was still unhappy with the film, so it was shelved.

Critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times commented: "The animation [...] has an unfortunate way of endowing the male characters with doggy-looking muzzles. In any case, the mood is dopey and loud."[3]

In spite of its lack of a theatrical release, the film soon developed a cult following in the United States as a result of late-night airings on the cable channels HBO and Showtime[citation needed].

Alternative versions

US version

The American distributor, MGM, disliked Greg Salata, who voiced Omar, and insisted that he be re-dubbed by an actor with name recognition, along with several edits being made to the film. Paul Le Mat was cast and Omar's obscenities were rewritten. Under the misnomer Ring of Power, the revised film was unable to find an audience at the box office, and it was this chopped version that quickly found its way to video and laserdisc.

Canadian version

The film was initially broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1984 (uncut, and including parental warnings). In 1988, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began airing the alternate cut, which featured extra footage, a different, clearer audio mix, the original voice of Omar, and the shot of Zip, still alive, at the conclusion.

Home media

Original home video release copies of Rock & Rule are extremely difficult to find. MGM released the film on VHS video in 1984, and again on the Laserdisc format in 1986. Both of these editions soon went out of print. Bootleg copies of the film ended up being sold at comic conventions but these copies erroneously listed the film as being done by Ralph Bakshi. Soon after its demise in the home entertainment market, copies of the film could only be acquired by writing to Nelvana. The studio charged a fee of $80 to create and send a video copy of the film.

On June 7, 2005, a DVD and a two-disc Special Edition DVD set were released by Unearthed Films, and are available at Amazon.com. The two-disc set in the first disc includes the theatrical dub and the second disc includes the VHS dub of the film (though the original print was destroyed in a fire — this is taken from a VHS source); The Devil and Daniel Mouse, the TV special that was the inspiration for Rock & Rule; and a slightly different rough cut version of the ending.

On September 28, 2010, a Blu-Ray version of Rock & Rule will be released by Unearthed through their new distributor, Breaking Glass Pictures.

A PSP version of this movie will be released soon by Summit Entertainment UMD.

Merchandise

Because of MGM's disinterest in the film, very little promotion was given. The film was mentioned in an episode of Night Flight, when Lou Reed was interviewed. There was also an official Marvel Comics adaptation, with authentic pictures from the film and its production.

Soundtrack

See also

References

  1. ^ Nordicity Group Ltd. (February 2007). "The Case for Kids Programming: Children's and Youth Audio-Visual Production in Canada" (PDF). Canadian Film and Television Production Association. p. 24. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 1956: Le Village enchanté, becomes Canada's first animated feature film {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 54 (help)
  2. ^ Walmsley, Ann (May 27, 1985). "A bearish movie with bullish results". Maclean's. Maclean Hunter Limited: 54. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Maslin, Janet (August 5, 1985). "ANIMATED DUO". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
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