Twice Upon a Time
Released: August 5th, 1983. Rated PG. 75 min.
Cast:
Lorenzo Music—Ralph, the All-Purpose Animal (voice)
Marshall Efron—Synonamess Botch (voice)
James Cranna—Rod Rescueman (voice)/ Scuzzbopper (voice)/ Frivoli Foreman (voice)/ Rusher of Din - Street Preacher
Julie Payne—Flora Fauna (voice)
Hamilton Camp—Greensleeves (voice)
Storyline:
This is a story of the creation of dreams and nightmares. All sleepy storylines are created in sunny Frivoli, the land of dreams, and at the Murkworks, the land of Nightmares. These two warring factions deliver their stories to the Rushers of Din (read: human beings) every night. Until one day, when Synonamess Botch, the evil ruler of Murkworks, hatches a plan to steal the Cosmic Clock, the center of all time. He plans to stop time long enough to fill the land of Din with enough Nightmare Bombs to keep the Rushers in nightmares forever. In order to stop this evil plan, we are introduced to a pair of quasi-heroes, Ralph, the All-Purpose Animal (a shape-shifter), and Mumford, a mute, Charlie-Chaplin clone with a penchant for accidents.
What makes it special?
Besides being the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), this movie has Hollywood blockbuster written all over it, yet a bumpy history and arguing owners have kept this gem from being embraced by movie lovers today. I was first introduced to this movie on HBO in the early 80's where I quickly fell in love with the hand-placed paper cutout animation (think South Park stop-motion animation) and beautifully painted watercolor scenes. The writing is razor-sharp, the comedy is laugh-out-loud, and this film can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike. Originally made in 1983, the soundtrack is hopelessly dated and sappy, but it still has its place in the film. Ralph is voiced by Lorenzo Music, a near-celebrity in cartoon voice acting (he voiced the original Garfield as well as Peter Venkman in the Real Ghostbusters). The one and only George Lucas of Star Wars fame produced the film at Lucasarts, as well as lent his highly successful Industrial Light & Magic production company to the creation of this story. Sadly, the original creators were at odds over the final cut of the film, and a version that aired on HBO is not the version that was released to VHS in the early 90's. A DVD version is not planned, as Warner Brothers now owns the rights to the movie as of September 2012. Truly a rare gem that needs to be seen by as many people as possible, this film is a reason why Hollywood can still create a wonderful movie with heart.
