Blue (Zack Keller) and Red (Ed Skudder) have been inseparable since grade school, when a new-to-the-school Red arrived just in time to save Blue from a beat down by a bunch of bullies. Over the years of their friendship, Red turns out to be one of those guys who is extremely popular, though rude, lazy and a borderline douchebag, while Blue winds up being the less-than-adventurous scholastic overachiever. Polar opposites, essentially, connected thanks to the moment they first met.
With Blue’s girlfriend Pink’s (Shea Logsdon) birthday approaching, Blue wants to get her something truly special and memorable. Stumped for ideas, he asks Red, who suggests they ask their friend the Raccoon (Ed Skudder). Raccoon tells them a complicated story about his life as a Japanese warrior, battling the demon army of the evil Lord Takagami (Eric Bauza), and asks them to find the lost Great Sword of Destiny. If they do, he will give Blue the ultimate gift for Pink.
And thus our two heroes are off on a globe-trotting adventure to find the Great Sword of Destiny. Along the way they battle demon ninjas, survive multiple explosions and get in an action-packed chase through the streets of Paris. Did I mention this is an animated film starring stick, I’m sorry, DICK, figures?
My love of stick figure animation was cemented with Liquid Television‘s “Stick Figure Theater,” so Dick Figures: The Movie was right in my wheelhouse. Just something about the simplicity of the image, even as it evokes the most complicated of scenarios, that sings to me.
And with this film, there are no shortage of exciting and strangely compelling sequences for our stick figure heroes to survive. The chase sequence in Paris, for example, is ridiculously over-the-top and perfectly executed. There are truly epic moments to be found throughout this film, even if they’re there just to be mocked.
That said, for as spectacular as I think this film is, the personalities of Red and Blue do start to grate after a while. Red’s whole “beer and boobs” bro-ness is funny at first, but then it starts to wear you down. Likewise, Blue’s constant disapproval of Red, even if warranted, makes him start to feel needlessly annoying. I reasoned it away because, while I’ve only spent a little over an hour with Red, Blue’s had most of his life with him, so he might have even less of a tolerance by now.
Overall, though, I adored Dick Figures: The Movie. It may appear to be as simple an animation as you can get, but it is perfectly executed and extremely entertaining. It’s an animated film for adults who like their imagery minimalist but their films action-packed with funny.
This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you’d like us to see, and we aren’t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.
