When Animation Meets World War II

With a top notch cast consisting of stars such as Ewan McGregor, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall, Alan Cumming, Tom Wilkinson and Dominic West, it’s fair to say there isn’t an animated film out there that has a better group of actors associated with it than “Jackboots on Whitehall.”

However, in spite of an amazing cast, the slapstick comedy and bizarre story is far from a home run. While there are some definite moments of legitimate humor and pop culture odes, it’s not enough to make it a laugh out loud adventure.

The biggest problem in “Jackboots on Whitehall” is it never fully develops any of its characters to the point that you can get truly attached to them. While Chris (McGregor) and his overtly large hands [Apparently, it’s a sign of being Scottish and having large reproductive organs] is the main character of the tale, it’s easier to appreciate the antics of West’s character, Billy, a wiseass American Air Force pilot or the drunken Vicar, who calls Chris a bastard nearly every time he speaks to him.

In the end, the lack of a character that is truly hilarious or compelling hurts the story the most.

What else hurts the film is that the plot jumps around and introduces far too many characters in too short a time. Right around the point of the climax, there’s also a major plot shift and the introduction of a character that changes everything. While it’s one of the most enjoyable moments of the film, it continues to make “Jackboots on Whitehall” somewhat disjointed and frenetic.

At other times, the film just plain drags. You’ll wait for action [which when it comes, is incredibly solid and amusing] and get stuck with chatter and story development that doesn’t advance the plot. As a result, it’s hard to watch the film in one sitting.

The animation is also a concern. While the live action segments are fantastic with a Michael Bay-esque level of explosions and action, the animation when the characters speak isn’t nearly as solid. Sometimes, it’s plain impossible to know if a character is speaking or not.

Nevertheless, it’s truly awe-inspiring to see these puppets involved in huge battle scenes. Fans of this style of animation [think a better-looking version of “Team America: World Police,” minus the strings] will appreciate its attempt to create something wholly original and spectacular, but overall, there’s just not enough comedy and polish to make this film truly special.

It may be one of a kind in many ways, but in the end, “Jackboots on Whitehall” is mediocre at best.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*