Tom Thumb is startling, disturbing, and super creepy. Director and writer Dave Borthwick used a stop-motion animation technique called pixilation to bring exquisitely detailed latex and metal models to life. Human actors were filmed in the same frame-by-frame method as the models. The result is a herky-jerky, dreamlike atmosphere that's as compelling as it is repulsive. The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb is highly recommended viewing just be sure to keep a can of bug spray handy.
Perhaps these animated film adventures are secret because they're too freaked out for mass consumption. But The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb is twisted in the best way - it's a technical and creative marvel. Courtesy of the bolexbrothers, a production team in Bristol, England, this dystopian take on the famous 17th-century English fairy tale is in no danger of being confused with the Disney production of similar name.
In the film's post-industrial, nightmarish land, everybody sweats a lot, insects cover every slimy surface, and human "giants" are filthy, drunken slobs. It's into this squalor that little Tom is born. Because of a slip up at the artificial insemination plant, he looks like a hydrocephalic alien preemie. Mom is horrified, but the father - who puts high-heeled shoes on rats for kicks - bonds with the lad immediately.
Soon, evil government agents kidnap Tom and take him to their research labs, but Tom manages to escape with a mutated lizard in tow. After hooking up with Jack the Giant Killer, the two new friends trek through the wasteland. Jack wants to put poison darts in the oafish, booze-soaked humans and bewildered Tom tags along for the ride. Meanwhile, Dad searches fruitlessly for his lost boy and drowns his sorrows in one scummy pub after another. A feel-good family outing this isn't.
Visually,
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb is playing at selected theaters in the US and is available on videocassette in Europe. Manga Entertainment Inc.: +1 (312) 751 0020, fax +1 (312) 751 2483.
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