The Wizard of Speed and Time

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

I do love my old school fx and this one is all about them. A film that celebrates the insanity and hard work and hoop jumping to get animation to screen. Despite the slightly fantastic reality created in the film it still manages to portray a section of the film industry from a time gone by, as it will never exist again. There's not really anyone left that does effects the old fashioned way but the hand made quality of them really does have a nostalgic flare.

The story is simple enough, self referential and semi-autobiographical, based on Mike Jittlov's experiences trying to get a job at Disney with a 3 minute demo reel. It moves at quite a pace and is filled with little fx flourishes all over the place. For better or worse, it's also a musical.

While the story is nothing amazing the film is quite charming. You get a whole lot of great old school effects and a look at the real problems of trying to break into the industry. Good stuff.