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As requested by my mate, Vinson. My review of El Arca (The A
18 years ago
General
Note: This review contains some spoilers.
El Arca (The Arc) is an animated film by Estreno Julio produced by the Pantagonic Animation studio in Argentina. The film is a comedy version of Noah’s Arc, mixed with The Lion King, via The Love Boat. There are two ½ concurrent stories being told here, one is the well-known tale of Noah, a good man given an impossible task, with little help from anyone, including his bickering family. The other story involves the (mostly anthro) animals that are the “low berth” passengers of the arc, a pair of every species, which have to coexist in cramped accommodations without killing/eating each other.
Since the animals are forbidden (by some universal fantasy law) of talking to humans, the two plots are kept separate through most of the film, with Farfan and Esther, a pair of shiftless stowaway villains providing a (low) comic relief bridge. The other minor plot involves God (portrayed as an obese, multi-ethnic boss) and his loyal (scrawny Poindexter) scribe-angel/stage hand (he handles the “special effects”, as well as being the (Holy?) ghost writer for God’s new book, which portends to be the biggest “best seller” of all)
The animal protagonist is a spoiled pretty-boy lion prince, Xiro, who is supposed to be the inspired leader of the animals, but would rather party-hardy on what he thinks (due to an accident with torn message from Noah) is a luxury cruise. Bombay, his advisor/valet/masseuse, a rather “flamboyant” orangutan manages to come up with a female partner (obviously not his preference) so he can accompany his handsome prince. Kairel, the old lion king’s smart, organized “press secretary” daughter ends up being the sole lioness on the voyage, after an unfortunate accident befalls the bimbo that was the prince’s choice for a mate.
One rather upsetting thing about the film (as it is with any proper Noah story) is that a lot of really cool characters (including Sabu, the old lion king and his queen, Oriana) “miss the boat” as it were. While Noah’s daughters and their husbands argue and fight over control (with Noah and his wife remaining oblivious) Dagnino, a scheming tiger hatches a plan to turn the arc into a feast for the carnivores by discrediting the erstwhile prince and his comrades and replacing them with himself and his gang as leaders. To help soften the playboy prince for his downfall, and spread some dissention among the good guys (Kairel in particular), the tiger relays on the sexy black panthress, Panty, to seduce and abandon Xiro. Panty’s sultry nightclub style torch-song, “I will Survive” (with gleefully cannibalistic new lyrics) it the Furry high point of the production.
With the reluctant help of Farfan, the stowaway money-lender, the tiger springs his trap and it looks like curtains for the clueless Xiro and his friends, as well as all the herbivores on board. Luckily the clever, loyal orangutan uncovers the plot and the good guys challenge the bad guys to a fight (which turns into… a soccer game?), and the tiger’s gang are defeated, and imprisoned. All is not well yet, however, as Noah has been injured in an accident (caused by the stowaways, of course) and his bickering sons have managed to run the arc off-course and ground it on a giant ice flow.
It’s up to Xiro, who has finally managed to get a clue, and become the leader he was born to be, along with the rest of the animals to save the day and re-float the arc. Noah’s sons and daughters have learned their lesson, too, and after nursing their patriarch back to health, Noah gets the arc back on course to the start of the New World.
Some of El Arca’s adult themes would be too much for American family audiences, but it should be fine for South American and European family fare. There is enough slapstick silliness for the kids and a lot of visual and dialog humor for teens/parents. The UPA-Jay Ward Prod. style character designs over standard painted and CG backgrounds is unique and pleasing. The music is fun and does not interrupt the action. The dialog is very clever, with lots of jokes and puns (which amazingly translate well in the English subtitles) and the voice acting top notch. My only complaint is that there are almost too many plots and important characters. Some scenes (like the climax fight becoming a soccer match, complete with a weird fan “dancing” sketch and the rather forced, misdirected scene when the animals disembark on the ice flow) just don’t flow as well as the majority of the film.
We were lucky to catch a screening at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles as part of The American Cinematheque’s Argentinean Film Festival. Sadly, this may be one of the only US screenings of El Arca. If you hear of a screening in your area, I recommend you see it. It’s refreshing to see a well made animated feature from somewhere besides the US, Japan or Europe that doesn’t look or feel like clone of some previous work. If you can’t make a screening, hopefully a DVD will be available eventually (or you might find it on-line, or course).
Sy Sable
El Arca (The Arc) is an animated film by Estreno Julio produced by the Pantagonic Animation studio in Argentina. The film is a comedy version of Noah’s Arc, mixed with The Lion King, via The Love Boat. There are two ½ concurrent stories being told here, one is the well-known tale of Noah, a good man given an impossible task, with little help from anyone, including his bickering family. The other story involves the (mostly anthro) animals that are the “low berth” passengers of the arc, a pair of every species, which have to coexist in cramped accommodations without killing/eating each other.
Since the animals are forbidden (by some universal fantasy law) of talking to humans, the two plots are kept separate through most of the film, with Farfan and Esther, a pair of shiftless stowaway villains providing a (low) comic relief bridge. The other minor plot involves God (portrayed as an obese, multi-ethnic boss) and his loyal (scrawny Poindexter) scribe-angel/stage hand (he handles the “special effects”, as well as being the (Holy?) ghost writer for God’s new book, which portends to be the biggest “best seller” of all)
The animal protagonist is a spoiled pretty-boy lion prince, Xiro, who is supposed to be the inspired leader of the animals, but would rather party-hardy on what he thinks (due to an accident with torn message from Noah) is a luxury cruise. Bombay, his advisor/valet/masseuse, a rather “flamboyant” orangutan manages to come up with a female partner (obviously not his preference) so he can accompany his handsome prince. Kairel, the old lion king’s smart, organized “press secretary” daughter ends up being the sole lioness on the voyage, after an unfortunate accident befalls the bimbo that was the prince’s choice for a mate.
One rather upsetting thing about the film (as it is with any proper Noah story) is that a lot of really cool characters (including Sabu, the old lion king and his queen, Oriana) “miss the boat” as it were. While Noah’s daughters and their husbands argue and fight over control (with Noah and his wife remaining oblivious) Dagnino, a scheming tiger hatches a plan to turn the arc into a feast for the carnivores by discrediting the erstwhile prince and his comrades and replacing them with himself and his gang as leaders. To help soften the playboy prince for his downfall, and spread some dissention among the good guys (Kairel in particular), the tiger relays on the sexy black panthress, Panty, to seduce and abandon Xiro. Panty’s sultry nightclub style torch-song, “I will Survive” (with gleefully cannibalistic new lyrics) it the Furry high point of the production.
With the reluctant help of Farfan, the stowaway money-lender, the tiger springs his trap and it looks like curtains for the clueless Xiro and his friends, as well as all the herbivores on board. Luckily the clever, loyal orangutan uncovers the plot and the good guys challenge the bad guys to a fight (which turns into… a soccer game?), and the tiger’s gang are defeated, and imprisoned. All is not well yet, however, as Noah has been injured in an accident (caused by the stowaways, of course) and his bickering sons have managed to run the arc off-course and ground it on a giant ice flow.
It’s up to Xiro, who has finally managed to get a clue, and become the leader he was born to be, along with the rest of the animals to save the day and re-float the arc. Noah’s sons and daughters have learned their lesson, too, and after nursing their patriarch back to health, Noah gets the arc back on course to the start of the New World.
Some of El Arca’s adult themes would be too much for American family audiences, but it should be fine for South American and European family fare. There is enough slapstick silliness for the kids and a lot of visual and dialog humor for teens/parents. The UPA-Jay Ward Prod. style character designs over standard painted and CG backgrounds is unique and pleasing. The music is fun and does not interrupt the action. The dialog is very clever, with lots of jokes and puns (which amazingly translate well in the English subtitles) and the voice acting top notch. My only complaint is that there are almost too many plots and important characters. Some scenes (like the climax fight becoming a soccer match, complete with a weird fan “dancing” sketch and the rather forced, misdirected scene when the animals disembark on the ice flow) just don’t flow as well as the majority of the film.
We were lucky to catch a screening at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles as part of The American Cinematheque’s Argentinean Film Festival. Sadly, this may be one of the only US screenings of El Arca. If you hear of a screening in your area, I recommend you see it. It’s refreshing to see a well made animated feature from somewhere besides the US, Japan or Europe that doesn’t look or feel like clone of some previous work. If you can’t make a screening, hopefully a DVD will be available eventually (or you might find it on-line, or course).
Sy Sable
