First off, happy National [Enter Your Favorite Funny Satirical Name for Columbus Day Here] Day!
Over the weekend, Time Out London published this feature which (internet fandoms being what they are) didn't take long to send some ripples through the animation community.
Personally, I love the hell out of Gilliam. I hope "Dr. Parnassus" miraculously out-grosses "Transformers: Michael Bay Learns How to Add and Subtract".* I adore his animation style and sense of freewheeling "What the hell" surreality.
And I like what he has to say about "Heavy Metal" in his list:
"Sadly, it's not the breast-filled bloodbath of orgiastic carnage set to the savage cacophony of Iron Maiden and Sabbath that one remembers. What we're in fact offered is a jarringly discontinuous parade of badly drawn cockamamie featuring... Stevie Nicks bleating away over an inscrutable snippet of hamstrung space opera."
"But Trish!" you ask, dear readers (both of you), "Why are you not crying foul over the fact that this is CLEARLY not a list of Gilliam's fifty favorite animated films, and is instead very obviously a list of fifty random animated features he wanted to say funny things about (although you like his 'Top Three')?!?"
Well... actually, I was just about to say that. He does have a lot of questionable entries ("Robin Hood" ranks higher than "Pinocchio"?!?) And the only reason Ralph Bakshi's version of "Lord of the Rings" makes the cut is obviously so he can rip yet another hole into it. But it's a fun read, and it will hopefully introduce people to some great works they've never heard of.
Plus he includes both "The Secret of N.I.M.H." and "The Brave Little Toaster", which is good enough for me.
* - It will never stop being funny. NEVER.
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As a fan of speculative biology and creature design, I'd like to call your attention to The Morae River. Brynn Metheney's artwork is terrific, it reminds me a great deal of Terryl Whitlatch's "Star Wars" creature designs, and I certainly hope she succeeds in publishing her world-building project.
