{"id":9120,"date":"2009-08-14T17:18:22","date_gmt":"2009-08-15T00:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9120"},"modified":"2020-12-21T00:02:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T07:02:43","slug":"twice-upon-a-time-1983","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9120","title":{"rendered":"Twice Upon a Time (1983)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The spring is on the loose. We&#8217;ve got to get it, and we&#8217;ve got to get it now!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-58789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster-180x270.png 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Twice-Upon-a-Time-Poster.png 725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nRalph the All-Purpose-Animal (Lorenzo Music) and his sidekick, Mum, are tricked by evil Synonamess Botch (Marshall Efron) &#8212; ruler of Murkworks Nightmare Factory &#8212; into releasing the &#8220;Magic Mainspring&#8221; from a &#8220;Cosmic Clock&#8221; of time, thus freezing activity in the human world of Din. They join forces with an inept superhero named Rod Rescueman (James Cranna) to free Greensleeves (Hamilton Camp) &#8212; the ruler of Frivoli, Home of Sweet Dreams &#8212; from Botch&#8217;s clutches, and prevent Botch from unleashing a torrent of nightmares on Din.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Animated Features<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>John Korty Films<\/li>\n<li>Superheroes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis little-seen animated fantasy (produced by George Lucas, and co-directed by John Korty) features a unique form of animation known as &#8220;Lumage&#8221;, in which cut-out pieces of plastic and fabric are illuminated by light tables and combined with live-action stills and footage to create an effect much like that in Terry Gilliam&#8217;s animation, or found in the television series &#8220;South Park&#8221;. The overall result is both stunning and consistently innovative, helping to make up for the film&#8217;s supremely dated &#8217;80s soundtrack (you&#8217;ll want to plug your ears) and rather labyrinthine storyline. Indeed, you&#8217;ll probably need more than one viewing to understand exactly who all the characters are in <em>Twice Upon a Time<\/em>, how they&#8217;re related, and what they&#8217;re up to &#8212; but you won&#8217;t mind rewinding, since the visuals are unique enough to merit another look. <\/p>\n<p>In a creatively surreal twist, the main character (Lorenzo Music, best known as the voice of Garfield) is capable of changing animal-shapes as needed to best suit his situation (his &#8220;default&#8221; mode is an innocuously bearish-looking fellow); meanwhile, his black-hatted sidekick Mum &#8212; true to his name &#8212; never says a word, instead simply conducting a steady stream of magic tricks (they&#8217;re like a less abrasive, vertically altered version of Penn and Teller). These two hapless but well-meaning souls are thrown willy-nilly into a plot in which a motley crew of would-be heroes and superheroes must save the world from eternal nightmares &#8212; with the wry &#8220;assistance&#8221; of a hilariously no-holds-barred New York Fairy Godmother (&#8220;Call me FGM; I hate excess verbiage.&#8221;). <\/p>\n<p>Despite its overt fairytale leanings, however, this one isn&#8217;t necessarily for kids &#8212; at least not the version I saw, which is full of surprisingly salty profanity (at one point Botch yells, &#8220;So come on, you garlic breathing, garbage sucking dipshits. Move out! I&#8217;m not talking tomorrow! Haul ass, you mothers!&#8221;) Apparently an alternate, sanitized version was also released, but regardless of which version you locate, the story itself may still be too scary and baroque for kids to fully &#8220;get&#8221;; it&#8217;s ultimately more for adults or adolescents. Read Ward Jenkins&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/wardomatic.blogspot.com\/2007\/09\/twice-upon-time-movie-that-time-forgot.html\">interview with writer Taylor Jessen<\/a> for many more details about the making of the film, as well as all the various and sundry reasons for its failure to be released on DVD. For now, you&#8217;ll have to catch a rare copy on video or try to search for a streamed version online. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Impressive, highly creative &#8220;Lumage&#8221; animation<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-animation.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-animation.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9124\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-animation2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-animation2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9125\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Enjoyably irreverent characterizations<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-fairy-godmother.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-fairy-godmother.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9126\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Rod Rescueman&#8217;s botched &#8220;superhero test&#8221; with the Fairy Godmother<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-test.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-test.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9127\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The &#8220;office nightmare&#8221; sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-office1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tuat-office1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9130\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an historically important animated film. Listed as a Sleeper in the back of Peary&#8217;s book &#8211; for good reason!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0086489\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shoestring.org\/mmi_revs\/twiceuponatime-pp-257142415.html\">Movie Magazine International Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/wardomatic.blogspot.com\/2007\/09\/twice-upon-time-movie-that-time-forgot.html\">Interview with writer Taylor Jessen<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The spring is on the loose. We&#8217;ve got to get it, and we&#8217;ve got to get it now!&#8221; Synopsis: Ralph the All-Purpose-Animal (Lorenzo Music) and his sidekick, Mum, are tricked by evil Synonamess Botch (Marshall Efron) &#8212; ruler of Murkworks Nightmare Factory &#8212; into releasing the &#8220;Magic Mainspring&#8221; from a &#8220;Cosmic Clock&#8221; of time, thus freezing activity in the human world of Din. They join forces with an inept superhero named Rod Rescueman (James Cranna) to free Greensleeves (Hamilton Camp)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9120\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9120"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58791,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9120\/revisions\/58791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}