Shorts SHORT Review: Get A Job

Get A Job

Brad Caslor
Directed, Animated, Produced, Written, Backgrounds
Jay Brazeau
Music and Written 
Al Simmons
Bob Dog
National Film Board (NFB)
Produced and Distributed

This Canadian short was made in 1985, it's relevant to a lot of the post-college crowd, though this was made more than 30 years ago. It's interesting how the mind of an artist perceives life and the experience of being one within a system that doesn't hirer those with the skills to do said job. Like the short shows the main character, Bob Dog, is an anthropomorphic dog that wants to work. A lot of the places in his City have signs for said employment, but don't take him up on the offer that he'll be loyal and trained to preform that action within the best of his abilities. With a montage of the most beautiful, fluid, and bouncy animation Bob Dog heads back home to try a new plan for getting a job. Resume in hand, and dressing the part, he's hitting the pavement with a new attitude toward finding a paycheck at the end of the rainbow/triathlon of interviews.

Tea asks her Uncle Professor Steeping for his advice on her resume.

That's the one side of the mini-movie I like, its dark tone, it shows him within a nightmare world. A place of empty slots to fill, but he's not the coin for the trick. It's a surreal thing, though the music lightens the mood of the over all fraction feature. While still keeping the pace of the horrors of how getting a job can feel like, or at the very least how the interview portion can take a toll on one's self-esteem. Though just wanting to find work isn't enough, but having positivity and preservation is helpful to finding any job.

The style of the short reminds me of Bob Clampett and Milton Knight, here and there I can see a lot of Ralph Bakshi in the mix. With such amazing influences and contemporary inspirations the film took seven years to complete. The song that inspired the film and the title was Get a Job by the Silhouettes (1956), which inspired a lot of other doo-wop singers and groups. Get A Job, the animation, received Best Animated Short at the 8th Genie Awards, Canadian Screen Awards (Les prix Écrans canadiens) for Television & Film.

Gom getting into TV a little too much, take a step away from the set little automaton.

In short, this was a stunning animation and a wonderful musical festival to celebrate the turmoil and challenges of getting employment. The designs and acting were spot on or over the top giving the fraction feature a dream quality, a stress dream, but still something that we've all had once or twice in a life time. Well worth the ten minutes and change to see this, especially if you need a little encouragement to get a job.


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Shorts SHORT Review: Hulk VS Wolverine

Hulk VS: Wolverine
Directed by Frank Paur
Designs by Jeff Matsuda
Distributed by Loinsgate

Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today will be a treat for all, since we'll be talking about three important individuals in my favorite media type. Animated fighting between Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Hulk, this is gonna be a fun one!

Hulk Vs. was intended to be a series, though due to unknown reasons (unknown to me) the idea of a 30 minute presentations of the Hulk rampaging within the Marvel Universe was scraped. Though later they did make a TV series with She-Hulk, Red Hulk, and The Hulk… I know Rick is in the series too, but I really liked him as Captain Marvel with the gauntlets. Still just about every series that Marvel puts out with the Hulk in it, it automatically gets not only their money back, but the fans become the Hulk's own PR team. So why did this popular short film, soon to be short film series, get pulled?

Tea Steeping (niece), Professor Steeping, and Gom enjoying Canada, the Logan way.

My initial response to the idea of the Hulk fighting every bruiser in the Marvel Animated Universe was nothing, but delight. Pure energy and jubilation was my face, especially after I found out that each DVD would be filled with two episodes. Back to back, 30-minutes of Hulk fighting action! Then before the DVD even came out the other film rumors were canceled, though my mind was in a different place, since I came across the cast… DEADPOOL.

Okay, let's calm down, yes Deadpool is in the film, though let's not get too bias with this review, we need to have focus. So now you know, I like Deadpool, I'm one of the classic fans, way back when Wade didn't like to show his face. This was when his mask was what he considered his face. He was a beautiful monster, though during his ongoing series they softened him up, but that's not totally true. The character through all of his series grew to respect himself, skin and all, so by the time Daniel Way got to throw him into the mainstream and video game world, he was a well adjusted anti-hero, unlike his black comedic villainy roots.

Anyhow, we get to see a visual origin story of Wolverine, this is the best I've seen, since I'm not a fan of origin stories. They take up a lot of time if not told in an interesting way. This clip show of memories and implicated future events, is done well, the staff of this film should be over joyed and awarded for their skill in making something so tight into a Hulk story as the origin of Wolverine, and had it fit into the plot. Since the Weapon X program has been hunting the Hulk this origin progresses the villains as a group not each character. This way of getting the core emotion from the viewer is succeeded since we all know, either based on design or alliance, that the five members of the Weapon X program are bad and that Hulk has the heart of a good person, though this feels more like a "Wolverine Versus" story than a "Hulk Versus" film.

We get to see the pain that Banner has felt, that the death of the people of the town, are his responsibility and his fear of hurting those around him. It's for a moment, though it's character development that was literal seconds and showed how both forms of the same man felt. Subtle points are placed through the film, from the acting to words being dropped here and there. It was a playground for people that focus on the films, almost to the threshold of neurosis, though only to the point of finding every hidden gem within the minutes the film played.

Gom in his Omega Red Cosplay

One thing that bugs me is it felt like "Skipping Leg Day" the musical, no one has mass on their shanks and everyone has a screaming solo. Oh, and Lady Deathstrike's "enjoyment" is a bit much, though it's interesting that they made a character that gets aroused by giving others pain. And there really wasn't any payoff for that, no explanation that killing him was a personal pleasure or why she needed to be the one hand deep murdering our Canadian friend.

Animation is the main part of all of this, it's beautiful and well made. There are moments that I feel the CGI wasn't great, though the character cast/voice casting, character/background design, and pacing/storytelling outweigh the bad.

The end with the two title characters in a still frame, on the path toward each other's fist still evenly matched duking it out, is so B-Movie that it's the perfect ending. Especially for this over the top one shot short. Though this is what makes a weak ending in my opinion, since the resolution of Wolverine taking Hulk (or Banner) back to the states isn't resolved, though the Weapon X program has been destroyed and won't make anymore weapons (for this film). It's a nice grey area of no one truly wins, though there is a side that gains from the result.

All in all the casting was perfect, the designs were lovely, and the animation was a pure joy. If you love well made animated films, perfectly executed black comedy and physical humor, with characters that you've been wanting to see duke it out in a film that's "Not Rated" then you have the correct DVD in your hands. Though if you were looking for plot, well resolutions aren't totally here, but that's not to say all the strings are needed. This movie achieved it's goal of making something that's enjoyable and rewatchable, for all the good reasons and everyone of the bad.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
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Keep well and Stay well.