Rejected (2000)

I love this movie so much

Simply Perfect

Powerful

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I stumbled upon some Web-hype of this short film, easily found it online, and wondered how it ever achieved much status. It comes off as a work of minimal effort that became a curiosity because it was different. But different doesn't mean good, per se. The "jokes" are mainly of two types:1) Discontinuity, with people saying things that don't make sense. No particular skill is needed for those bits. Here's my effort: "It's raining outside!" "My turtle just ate my fish!"2) Huge amounts of blood coming out of various wounds, spontaneously or through violent acts. The animator comes off as simply twisted, not a twisted genius. Gags are predictable; you know an innocent scene will turn bloody "just because." Is gratuitous gore funny?I guess people who like sick, vapid stuff like "South Park" might find "Rejected" appealing, but for me it's just...rejected. I rated it a "3" because it's at least somewhat original in its crassness.

Rejected is Don Hertzfeld's masterpiece. It's semi-autobiographical and insane, the perfect cartoon, I haven't seen anything this great since Bambi Meets Godzilla. The film starts off with a message of "The Family Learning Channel" about Dons' work being rejected by the FLC, which may be representing Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. The animations feature a BOY WITH A LARGE SPOON and a banana, did I mention a banana? Oh yeah, I did. It also features two stick men saying very odd things, and the satire of products these days. As the animation gets more surreal and insane, the cartoons begin to fall apart...and I shouldn't spoil it for you, you must find out yourself to see what happened to Don Hertzfeld's animated creations.

Rejected is a short composed of short bits that are basically animated "blackout" gags that sometimes leave you rolling on the floor and occasionally will have you blinking and scratching your head. The ending plays with the concept that an animated film is only as stable as its animator's mind and is probably the best section of the short. Inexplicably, the Cartoon Network contracted for the US broadcast rights, sat on it for roughly a year before putting it on their schedule and then yanked it shortly before the scheduled airing with no real explanation. I wonder if anyone at Cartoon Network even saw the short before they bought the broadcast rights.I saw the short as part of The Animation Show and also got the DVD release that Bitter Films put together. There's supposed to be another DVD release later this year containing all of Hertzfeldt's shorts, including Rejected. The short is most definitely worth seeing, though it is most definitely for adults more than children. Recommended.

I happen to adore the humour of the absurd. I am a fan of absurd comedians such as Monty Python, especially of their wackiest sketches, and since I discovered this wonderful gem of a short film, I can't help but rewatch it every now and then and I laugh out loud every time. I think it's a work of genius. Sometimes I wish it was longer, much longer, but I realize that would inevitably detract from the freshness.I see from the comments that some people don't seem to get this kind of stuff, or worse still, they take it seriously, at face value, and apparently think that these adverts are real and Hertzfeld's mind maybe really was damaged... Well, I think that could be taken as praise for this deranged creation.