Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Jesper Brun
This was spectacular! Love the art of claymation and especially when it's well done like this. There were surprisingly many emotions expressed through the characters' facial expressions and a great music score to enhance the mood of every scene. Especially the darker segments like the nihilistic Mysteious Stranger. Love how disturbing it is, but still in a thoughtprovoking way. In general, the whole adventure gives you a lot to think about. Mark Twain and the characters of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky have some engaging conversations about his journey to go out with Haley's comet which makes a beautiful ending. It was a pleasure watching this journey through different works of Mark Twain, especially the one about Adam and Even which was amusing and made me smile several times. And, of course, The Mysterious Stranger made a creepy tale with a disturbing yet engaging nihilistic view of humanity. I like when animated movies go into such territories. Go watch it if this provoked your interest. I hope it will get more praise for its artistic value.
IndustriousAngel
I'm a fan of Mark Twain as well as of claymation, so it's a given I like this feature! Will Vinton is not a household name any longer but the impact he had on the field can not be overrated (he even coined the term "claymation"). In the 80s, he was still a big name and had already done tons of animation, yet the production of "The Adventures of Mark Twain" must have been a real adventure. This is not easy stuff, it's not targeting children, and animation for adults has always been - and will propably always be - a big financial risk. Still, "Don't be such a sissy in face of a real adventure!" as he lets his main character say to himself.Basically, we have a frame story (M.T. chasing the comet where he plans to end his earthly life, with Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky as stowaways on board) framing several episodes from his writings, most of them from his more cynical works. Not every episode works equally well but overall the quality is OK and there's a certain momentum built up towards the conclusion. The gags are rarely laugh-out-loud but mostly hit the spot, and the outstanding thing is the animation - the quirky sets, the lively faces, the colours! There may be more creative animation out there, but never in a 90 minute feature. It's a feast for claymation fans (and should be for every cinephile but still animation carries that birthmark of childishness).Is this film perfect? No, and I guess no work which ventures that far from the trodden path can ever be. Some episodes rather stop than advance the story; the faces of the children look too grown-up; sometimes the dialogue feels pretty forced just to prompt one of M.T.'s aphorisms; and some of the visual gags seem targeted at children while the story as a whole is certainly not for them. But the wonderful animation and philosophical depth make up for such shortcomings - while by now Aardman or Laika have surpassed this film from the technical POV, it still remains one of the most grown-up claymation features I know.
D_Burke
A lot of things amaze me about this movie. First of all, this movie came out when I was a kid, and I had never heard of it until this past week. Second, someone actually got around to releasing it on DVD, although with virtually no special features. And third, of all the movies the Claymation guys could have picked, they chose this one. They could have had a California Raisins movie, but instead they chose to go with Mark Twain. In the short run, it was probably not a financially successful move. In the long run, however, it was a very smart move.This movie, simply put, is so . . . cool. I've always been a fan and admirer of Mark Twain, but never in my life could I have imagined that he could be the subject of a movie where he flies a hot-air balloon/spaceship into Halley's Comet. The Star Wars-esquire introduction in the beginning, however, ties it all together pretty well, at least for those of us who are paying attention.One of my complaints about the movie, which is more of a compliment than anything else, is that the movie wasn't long enough. Of course, I know that in stop-motion animation it takes an 8 hour day for an animator to make 5 seconds of a film. The fact that it made me want even more is a testament to how good this film is. Anyone who is a fan of animation, AND a fan of Mark Twain will love this movie.Having said that, however, there were a few issues I had with this movie. First of all, despite the fact that it was G-rated, it was pretty dark in some areas. The one part in particular which I would think would send kids out of the TV room screaming is the part where the three kids (Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Becky Thatcher) encounter an "Angel" named Satan. This part of the movie encompasses Twain's unfinished novel (and unquestionably his darkest story), "The Mysterious Stranger". I personally found that part very chilling, but I can't say for sure if it was because Satan himself was frightening to hear and look at, or if the subject matter from an adult's understanding was too much to handle. Perhaps both.Also, there were some parts in the movie that were very confusing, and contained a half-baked explanation towards the end. For instance, it's very confusing when another member of the ship is found aboard, without giving too much away. The sequences with this member (up until the very end) are choppy at best, and make way for some serious plot holes. It is also not very well explained why Tom Sawyer wanted off the ship. He was eager to get on, and I could understand his equal eagerness to get off too. However, when you're in space, there's really not a lot you can do about it.My other complaint with the movie was that it spent way too much time on Mark Twain's take on the Adam & Eve story. I really wanted to see other Claymation interpretations of his other stories, such as Pudd'nhead Wilson or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, to name a few. Although the Adam & Eve segment was funny, and in the end was actually quite sweet, it still should have been shortened to ten minutes tops.Other than that, the movie was great, and one I'll probably keep in my DVD collection for as long as I can. James Whitmore made a great Mark Twain (although Hal Holbrook also could have done a great job, since Mark Twain is his most famous role outside of film), and the plot, although confusing at times, was so original. Kids may not get the Mark Twain references that other adults may pick up, but they could return to the movie after graduating high school or college and pick up the references immediately.So I highly recommend "The Adventures of Mark Twain" to everyone. I loved it, and I'm telling everyone I know about it soon.
cookies_n_cream007
My mother brought this movie home from the library once when I was a young child, about 4. I didn't understand it very well, but I was thrilled by the clay animation. When I was about 13, I came across it tin the library again and after checking it out, I found a post-it note stating: "May not be understood by children under Junior High level." When I watched it again, I understood it. There was the story of Adam and Eve and how they didn't understand what each other did, and thought each other foolish. Then there was the dark side. I still didn't understand it quite as well after watching it a second time, but it was slightly understood.This may not being a good movie for younger children, but they do get a thrill out of the animation, although they may not fully understand it.
