Twice Upon a Time (1983)

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Siskoid
A 1983 animated oddity from Lucasfilm (and completists should know Darth Vader and Indiana Jones both appear in live action), Twice Upon a Time is essentially an experiment. Or several. Not all of which result in gold. I do enjoy the visuals, a mix of watercolored cut-out animation, live action footage, and black and white photo-collage. The latter represents our (the real) world, under threat from the land of dreams, which the villain of the piece plans to flood with nightmares. The surreal characters and places, pictured as a cross between Terry-Toons and Monty Python, are entirely justified. Where I think the film goes wrong is the sound. The music is bad enough, with original songs that don't really fit the tone of the film, but the improvised banter and people talking over one another gives the soundtrack a messy feel that kept this viewer at a distance and frequently had me wonder what was happening. I liked it the more I watched it, but it's almost too imaginative for its own good and I can't give it higher than a passing grade. 4 years 11 months ago