|
|
Wet Shorts:
A Liquid Television Collection
 Warning
: RARE DVD!
To
purchase this DVD, Click Here
The TV Series :
Liquid Television was
an inspired MTV series that spawned several amusing new-age animation
shorts of modern times. The success of such modern animated series
like Beavis and Butthead, Aeon Flux,
The Head, and even (to a point) King of the
Hill, all lead to Liquid Television; a
collection of the best animated film shorts of the early 1990s.
What is on this DVD? Well, consider this the best of the best.
No less than 34 animated shorts are on this disc! Obviously,
I can't list them all here, nor review them all, though I will
salute some of my favorites. Among them is Crazy Daisy Ed in
"To Officer With Love," where a small flower sitting
in a pile of dirt suddenly says, "Okay, I'M BORED!"
He uproots himself and steals a ride on a motor bike. When a
policeman stops him for speeding and asks for his ID, he asks
if the officer is kidding; he's just a flower, give him a break,
man! Such film shorts are good signs of the unique, fertile,
and arguably peculiar minds behind Liquid Television, and
when it was still on TV, I loved every minute of it.
The unique visions continue with shorts like "Grinning
Evil Death," which uses both classic and modern (CGI) animation
tricks. The story involves a giant killer mutant robotic cockroach
from space. The only person who can stop this menace to Earth,
is a young boy! What is his weapon? Why not; the super hero ring
he found in his cereal box. Yes, as a matter of fact, that is
all he needs to destroy the grinning evil death. Another reason
to love the inspired humor of the Liquid TV series.
Other animated shorts include "The Dangwood's : Nightmare
in Trailer City," where a trailer park husband has a lot
of explaining to do to his wife. Two Bobby and Billy shorts are
parodies of the 1950's school films that taught kids how to be
good boys and girls...all except Bobby and Billy, of course.
Winter Steele is a puppet show with a macabre edge; the main
puppet is a biker chick. "The Blockheads" are
3D blocks, with video of the voice actors' heads mapped onto
the blocks. The result? The Blockheads!
Review ETA: I guess it's a final testament
to this show's still-strong fan base when I keep getting letters asking me
what is on this Best Of collection, in full. For the purposes of being
thorough --and since even a title of a clip brings back fond memories--
here is the full collection of shorts on the DVD, which can also be
purchased as separate "Volume One" and "Volume Two"
VHS tapes:
- Uncle Louie's Travels
- Aeon Flux (first clip)
- Craisy Daisy "To Officer With
Love" (mentioned above)
- Stick Figure Theatre, "Shakespeare's
Henry V"
- Doktor ZUM "The Forbidden Secrets
of the Unknown and the Forbidden."
- Doktor ZUM "The Atom Bomb
Factory"
- Aeon Flux (second clip)
- Stick Figure Theatre, "Night of the
Living Dead"
- Stick Figure Theatre, "The Crash of
The Hindenberg, 5/6/37"
- The Dangwoods "Nightmare in Trailer
City"
- Aeon Flux (third clip)
- Craisy Daisy Ed (second clip:
"Fast, Dumb, Loud and Proud")
- The Big City
- One Less Ant
- Aeon Flux (Fourth Clip)
- Smart Talk With Raisin, "Pulling a
Malad Out of a Hat"
Note: the following are also on the DVD,
but were sold on VHS under a "volume 2" label:
- Joe Normal
- Grinning Evil Death "Part 1"
- Bobby and Billy "Let's Go to the
Party"
- Winter Steele "Ball of
Communion"
- Brad Dharma "Bum Kharma"
- Bill and Willis
- Bobby and Billy "Camping Out"
- Uncle Louie's Travels
- Genie Junkie
- Cut-Up Camera (aka "Cut-Up Kamera")
- The Blockheads
- Bobby and Billy "Soap Box
Derby"
- Street Sweeper
- The Adventures of Thomas and Nardo
"Airplane Trip"
- Grinning Evil Death Part 2
- Autoguard 2000
- Human Bomb
Just about everything animated these days, that isn't Disney
or Japanese anime, can probably trace its roots back to this
novel series. From the cardboard cutouts of South Park
to the modern CGI tricks that make movies like Antz,
modern animation FX tricks were all here in some fashion, on
an MTV show that began in1991, and lasted some years later. Sadly,
such film shorts are no longer shown on MTV (darn it). Even the
spin off shows are long gone. Thanks to DVD, 34 of the best from
this series are given one more chance at the limelight. Any fan
of novel animation ideas should check them out. Definitely.
The DVD : Nothing special added to this DVD.
Just 34 animated shorts from the original Liquid Television
MTV series. The problem apparently being, as much fun as this
series was, it's an underdog/cult fave, at best. I doubt anyone
would put too much effort into bonus materials on such a DVD.
Even so, it was very nice for MTV to put these classic animated
film shorts on DVD in the first place; an excellent archive of
some intriguing animation breakthroughs.
Warning
: RARE DVD!
To
purchase this DVD, Click Here
MTV's the Best of Liquid Television, on VHS, is divided into two tapes. To buy Volume #1, Click Here.
For
Vol. #2 on VHS (included on the DVD already), Click Here
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed products, are created by Techtite,
copyright 1999-2001; all rights reserved. Picture of DVD cover is used only for the purpose of review (and to make shopping for
product easier); it by no means represents any affiliation with Techtite
and the distributors of this product. For further "legalese"
& disclaimers, click here... |
|
Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
Deep
Impact
