Harvie Krumpet DVD Review
- Sunday, 23 May 2010 09:05
- Last Updated on Monday, 16 May 2011 06:15
- Written by Marc Spess
Recently we got our first copy of this brand new DVD. The first thing you notice when you see the picture on the front is Harvie staring right at you. It's not the usual Aardman look, or the usual Nightmare Before Christmas gothic look that is way-overdone these days. Adam Elliot has his own style that is refreshing to see.
On the back of the DVD is this synopsis:
"Harvie Krumpet is the biography of an ordinary man seemingly cursed with perpetual bad luck. From being born with Tourette’s Syndrome, to getting struck by lightning; from having his testicle removed to developing Alzheimer’s disease; Harvie’s troubles seem unending! Yet, Harvie learns many lessons in life and enjoys its many fruits. He finds love, freedom, nudity and ultimately the true meaning of what it is to be human."
When you watch this film, the first thing you think is that Adam has a twisted sense of humor. The characters are animated and filmed perfectly to make light of Harvies bad luck.
Aside from a good film there is one feature we like best. When you select to watch the film with Adam Elliots commentary - he reveals a lot of how the film was made. More so then any other DVD of this kind with regards to almost every shot. Adam goes on to tell how the hair on the puppets were made, how the mouths were held on and other such secrets.
So not only do you get to be humored, you learn something too!
What about the technical aspects of the film? To start, the set work is great. It's simple, cleanly made and in all scenes the lighting is really nice.
The puppet work is really good as it's a new style, and the sculpting and casting work is seamless.
The animation however is not ground breaking, it just gets the job done to tell the story. Adam's animating style is very to-the-point and simple. This isn't a bad thing though since it works, and the story is what counts. Expect to see lots of blinks, head turns and some arm movements though. Some scenes are more elaborate, but there aren't too many.
In the "Extras" section of the DVD you can select one of four options. Directors Commentary "our favorite", Adam Elliot Films "four of Adams older films", Storyboard Featurette "a sample of what could have been in five minutes", and Character Model Shots. The model shots show four characters in different degrees of rotation. Harvie, Ruby, Val and Hamish can be turned around so you can see all the little details of their sculpts. Really nice!
So your not just getting one film but lots of stuff to spend your time looking over. It would make a good holiday or birthday gift for anyone who enjoys stop motion.
Our conclusion based on the price and features this DVD has is that it's well worth the list price of $20.00. We give it 8 out of 10 stars.
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