On the way to the coveted flakes The business savvy of George Lucas, developed after the incredible success of Star Wars, simply could not help but work on the second successful franchise, born under his leadership. Fascinating retro adventure “Seekers of the Lost Ark” had a fantastic effect, giving the audience one of the most memorable heroes of cinema in history. On the archaeologist Indiana Jones, created by Lucas in the company of Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, boys were equal, adults secretly dreamed of finding a scientific title that allows you to climb into ancient tombs. and women would not mind that in their lives there was an equally talented adventurer, ready for great achievements. The box office success of “Lost Ark Seekers” spurred George Lucas, the rightful owner of the rights to the frnachise, to release numerous related products based on the film, which, along with the products of the “Star Wars” series, many times exceeded the financial achievements of the film at the world box office. The debut film was followed by an equally intriguing sequel known as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Destiny, marked by the classic logo of the cult story. And at the very end of the prolific era of the 80s, Lucas, Spielberg and Ford closed the adventures of Dr. Jones on the big screen, but only to return two decades later with the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Development of the fourth film in the series “Indiana Jones” began immediately after the release of the triquel, but neither Steven Spielberg nor Harrison Ford was not eager to return the hero, idlely galloping into the sunset after exploring the secrets of the Holy Grail. Nevertheless, George Lucas was in no hurry to part with the beloved story of millions, working on several versions of the script, and at the same time releasing a very attractive television series, telling about the young years of the most eminent archaeologist ever seen in the classroom of the college. Having dealt with the filming of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Lucas was able to begin more active work on the sketches of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and in the spring of 2008, the audience again heard the whistle of a whip dissecting the air and saw an imperishable silhouette with Fedora on its head. The next chapter of the adventures of Indiana Jones, unlike the previous parts of the franchise, was met with controversial reviews, most of which blamed the creators for departing from the canons of the series associated with imitating the style of adventure cinema of the 30s. In response, the Lucas-Spielberg-Ford trio explained the change in the tone of the series by the transition of Dr. Jones in the 50s, when inexpensive space fiction ran the screens. But despite criticism, accusations and open indignation of fans, the fourth “Indiana Jones” brilliantly proved itself at the box office, and at the same time spawned an impressive collection of themed figures, video games, books and comics. Unable to change himself, George Lucas once again confirmed his exceptional financial streak, allowing the audience to take a piece of adventure to his home.
The successful experience of cooperation with the Danish concern Lego on the bridgehead of “Star Wars” provided the audience of “Indiana Jones” with a number of thematic game designers, who later migrated to the monitors in the exciting game “Lego Indiana Jones”. In addition to gaming adventures in the style of the notorious plastic, the creators of Lego pleased fans with a couple of comic short cartoons with the invariable Dr. Jones at the head. A well-planned advertising campaign allowed Lego to sell a giant circulation of designers without any problems, reinforcing Lucasfilm’s confidence in the correctness of the decision to shoot the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. On the wave of general archaeological excitement in the entertainment segment of amateur independent cinema broke and Thomas Fife, one of the founders of the animation studio Blobstudios, later became famous for working with the designers of Lego “Star Wars”. In parallel with the work on the first festive release of the adventures of Darth Vader and Santa Claus, Thomas Fife was preparing for the release of the short film “Lego Indiana Jones and the Temple of Corn Flakes”, hotly followed by the fame of “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. And just in this modest and completely optional tape were born the canons used by Fife to this day.
The plot of the short film takes us to the humble home of Indiana Jones, resting on his laurels after another successful campaign for antiquities. However, this time he should not count on peace, because in the care of the archaeologist is suddenly found son nicknamed "Dog" (in the world - Henry Jones Jr.), annoyed by the lack of cornflakes in the kitchen, the guy is not going to go to the store on his own and carries his father with him. It would seem that something interesting can happen on the path studied by heart, but the store is not as ordinary as we may think. Crossing the threshold. Indina and son are forced to go through a lot of traps, repeatedly risk their lives and all for the sake of the young man spending the evening at a delicious delicacy. With each step, the characters come closer to the desired purchase and in this situation it is important not to forget anything superfluous, because you will hardly want to return back to the archaeological madness.
The tape of Thomas Fife does not have special plot assets, and the humor of the short film is built on very primitive patterns. It is noticeable that the director at the stage of creation of Lego Indiana Jones and the Temple of Corn Flakes was looking for his own creative path, experimenting with the technology of step-by-step movement, dynamic editing and neat weaving into the narrative of the original musical accompaniment. Unlike Darth Vader’s Christmas adventures, Indiana Jones’ search for cherished cornflakes can hardly be called a cartoon worthy of repeated revision. The main advantage of the short film by Thomas Fife can be considered a pleasant visual series, entirely built from the designers of the Lego Indiana Jones series. In addition, positive emotions come out at the first chords of imperishable music by John Williams. Still, the use of some elements of the original franchise allowed Fife to avoid failure and even recreate around the tape a fervent, adventurous halo.
In the end, I want to say that Lego Indiana Jones and the Temple of Corn Flakes will be of interest to all fans of the adventures of Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford at the head, and at the same time, to fans who have managed to acquire Lego thematic designers. Thomas Fife showed by his own example how the love of cinema and free time can be transformed into something more than sitting at the TV. His short film may not be perfect, but made with love for the cause and is able to lift the mood. It is pointless to demand anything else from Fife and his work, since she performs her main task perfectly. I wish you a very pleasant view!
6 out of 10