The early 1980’s seemed like the time and place to release rock and roll animated cartoon films like Heavy Metal. There was always one film that I have been meaning to see for quite some time and so I decided to watch Rock & Rule for today’s film. For Angel (Heavy Metal‘s Susan Roman) all she wants to do is be able to have the chance to sing, but her boyfriend Omar (The Pink Panther‘s Gregory Salata) is a little jealous and wants the spotlight. Meanwhile, a legendary singer named Mok (Heavy Metal‘s Don Francks) has retired from performing, but he has gotten himself into the dark arts of life. Mok needs to find the perfect voice in order to conjure out the dark beings from the dark dimension. So, he decides to kidnap Angel and force her to sing in Nuke York to conjure the evil. The film also stars Samantha Langevin (Anne Of Green Gables) as Mok’s Computer, Dan Hennessey (The Care Bears Family) as Dizzy, Greg Duffell (Inspector Gadget) as Stretch/Zip, Chris Wiggins (Friday The 13TH: The Series) as Toad, Brent Titcomb (C.O.P.S.) as Sleazy, Martin Lavut (Heavy Metal) as Mylar, Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone) as Aunt Edith, Iggy Pop as Monster From Another Dimension, Deborah Harry (Videodrome) as Angel’s Singing Voice, and the film was directed by Clive A. Smith (Babar).
Rock & Rule is one of those films that seemed to try and build off the success of Heavy Metal, but doesn’t fully succeed. The best thing about this film is quite frankly the soundtrack which features songs from Cheap Trick, Deborah Harry, and even Lou Reed. The film kind of moves a little fast through the story for my liking, but what can you do when the film is only one hour and seventeen minutes long. The animation is real old school and if you’ve seen Heavy Metal, it’s almost the same style except there is something wrong with the inhabitants of post-apocalyptic Earth. The sequences with Mok were pretty cool because he made it like he was performing magic all the time which can be trippy even in that time. The thing about this film is that the story was cool, but it jumps quick into the conclusion without any real turning point. I mean is Mok throwing away Zip’s doll the turning point that sets up the conclusion? Or is it the fact that Omar’s friends tell him to open his eyes that sets it up? That was really my only problem with the film, but that is only one factor. The music is great and the voice acting was great. Check it out on Youtube or just about anywhere on the Internet I can imagine. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 