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Reviewed by Ben Lee
This
review contains some spoilers.
I was first introduced to this after reviewing The Bird Santuary,
which slightly disappointed me because it did not use the idea
to its full potential. Sure, I was entertained by it, but
something was lacking, and Tuna could have done more with it.
But Yeti and Squidworth shows how it should be done. The bird
creating havoc felt more, dare I say it, life-like. I know, both
of these movies aren't supposed to be realistic, but Yeti and
Squidworth seemed to have their own personalities, and watching
them was a lot more entertaining than the lone bird in The Bird
Santuary. I even had more laughs watching Jon Barton's short
movie, partly because I sensed more of the birds' characters. If
talking birds existed, Yeti and Squidworth could actually be
believable.
The atmosphere set was near perfect, with Thriller, performed by
Michael Jackson, playing in the background. I was told that this
was not present in the original version, and I am unsure as to
whether this movie would have worked without it. I will get
round to watching the original movie one day, it's just not
anywhere near on top of my priority list. But back to the music,
I presume that Thriller livens the movie a lot more than the
quiet mood of the original. Don't take my word for it though,
like I said, I haven't seen the original version, I'm just
presuming. The sound effects are more or less spot on too. Every
hit, flap, scream and so on, has been timed accurately according
to the events in the movie, and top marks go to Yeti and
Squidworth in the 'sounds and music' department.
Jon Barton, doing all the voices, also makes good use of his
voice-acting talent very well, making the birds seem as if they
could exist in some fantasy world. Their voices seemed to suit
the characters so brilliantly, from the screams, to the shouts,
to the monologues, and I have nothing to say against the voices.
And what made this movie even better was the good versus evil
scene. I absolutely loved the little quarrel between the white
angel and the red devil. It is just as good as those cartoons
you once saw when you were little, when the evil cat, dog,
whatever, had a conscience attack. Notice with both cases that
they are almost identical with the ways both sets of angels and
devils acted and behaved. The contrasting angel and devil, in
both situations, are persistent, powerful and determined to get
the victim to side with him. Notice how both scenarios have
almost the same effect, entertaining and amusing the viewers
well, enough to make some giggle. Conclusion? Barton's animating
skills are wonderful. Comparing to cartoons, such as Tom and
Jerry, might be a little bit out of place, but to see someone
directing this fairly common scene, which works just like an
actual cartoon, to me, is pretty stunning.
This movie though could have been more. There was a small lack
of narrative structure, but for a short flick, you can't really
blame the director much for this. Hopefully the sequel to Yeti
and Squidworth will have more of one. Apart from that, I really
can't see much else to critisize. I love both these birds,
including the evil, murderous one, and it was entertaining for
the whole duration of the movie, something which is quite rare.
If you still don't know whether you want to watch Yeti and
Squidworth's Halloween Nightmare or not, look at it this way; I
have praised almost every single aspect of this well-made movie.
And if that isn't enough, just think of Yeti and Squidworth like
Hirolix. Now surely you owe it to the cute birds, who are known
to almost every single active and dedicated member of the 3DMM
community, to do the right thing and watch the movie.
Score: 90/100
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