Little-known cartoons, happiness. Part 1. Loser gladiator.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, people in different countries have created very ambiguous cartoons. And some of them didn’t become very popular, which may even be for the best. This “masterpiece” has quite a few disadvantages. This is why the review is “red.”
The theme of gladiators, as well as Vikings, knights, samurai, etc. is not very suitable for a cartoon with a rating of 6+, especially if you know the history of mankind. And if the cartoon had a rating of 16+, I would treat it better.
Here is another story about the “loser became a hero”. It would be fine, but there is one feature that we will return to later.
The protagonist Tim, like most “rogue heroes”, suffers setbacks from everywhere (especially from others), mainly due to his soft and insecure nature. In addition, he is a lazy person who, after separation from his childhood friend, did not train as a gladiator at all, but only slept, ate and did not idle at all. After several attempts to “get out of the swamp”, he is expelled from the city, and his girlfriend Lucia is disappointed in him. As a result, Tim finds the goddess of hunting Diana, which can be safely called the most strict coach in all the feature films.
And now let’s move on to the main drawback of the cartoon: the theme “loser became a hero” is too exaggerated here, so much so that the whole plot can be described by the phrase “The surroundings are mocking Tim!”: the hero is constantly beaten, scratched, kicked, strangled, and so a good part of screen time (I repeat in the cartoon, with a rating of 6+!). That is, not how much Tim commits stupidities out of ignorance, how much he is really bullied. And the humor came out pretty vulgar. Jokes about a beer belly, doping control, Viagra, the place where Diana stepped on Tim with a heel and a fall into horse dung, as well as the cruelty of some characters (the main villain-typical bully, brazen babies, an aggressive mare, a lynx and a bear, almost all citizens), do not fit with the cartoon, which was advertised as “childish”.
Despite the claimed “historicity” of the cartoon, it has fantasy elements: magic, a crazy witch, the above-mentioned ancient Roman goddess of hunting, intelligent animals and modern “advertising”. Colosseum. This would have been good if not for the above-mentioned disadvantages.
I would not recommend this cartoon to children. If you can close your eyes on the chart, then you can’t close your eyes on action. I only appreciate the design of Tim, Lucia and Diana. A score from each.
In 2011, the Danish cartoon “Ronal-Barbarian” was released, known for its vulgar humor, some as dressed characters with ugly faces and a stupid Russian translation.
He rightly received a rating of 16+. But a year later, the Italians decided to shoot a cartoon on a similar topic and moved the scene to the Roman Empire.
But unlike “Ronal”, “Gladiators of Rome” is not deservedly put a rating of 6+, although the title it becomes clear that the theme of the cartoon, more designed for teenagers and adults, but not for children.
A little bit about the chart. Landscapes are not painted yet, but much worse than in How to Train Your Dragon, for example. Of the characters, only three are more sympathetic - the main character Tim, his girlfriend Lucia and the goddess of the hunt Diana. The other characters are drawn to varying degrees of caricature. And as in "Ronal" (only in a less neglected form) for most of the cartoon, most human characters were dressed somewhat, and many parts of the body (well, not the most indecent) on the torso of men and the figure of Diana were naked.
But before we talk about the characters, let’s pay attention to the plot. The theme of Loser Became a Hero has been raised many times in cinema and animation, so it is very difficult to come up with something new. But if in such cartoons as "Balto" or "How to Train Your Dragon" this topic was developed, more or less democratically, then here the plot can be described by the phrase "The surroundings mock Tim". Most of the characters, starting with the main villain (typical popular bully in society) with impudent children (whom the Alien wanted to feed from the film of the same name) and ending with an aggressive mare with a cartoon bear and a trot, constantly beat the main character, fall on the shoulder blades, lie down, scratch. And it's all pitched as childish jokes! I understand if it happened only once, but for almost the entire screen time.
Tim's not good either. In habits and appearance, this is an exact copy of Artie from the third Shrek, only slightly older in appearance. Same mattress, sucker and pacifist who lets you beat yourself to death. Diana by nature resembles Astrid from the KPD, and the girl of the main hero Lucia with her rabbit clearly hints that the authors of the Gladiators of Rome were the same as the “criticized” animated series Winx, even without a direct message about it. So to speak - the ancient Roman version of Bloom and Pokémon-shaped rabbit Kiko. The witch character from this cartoon is very reminiscent of the one that was in Pixar’s Braveheart.
I will also say a little about humor. He's another reason not to show this cartoon to kids. Jokes about Tim's beer belly, doping control, falling into horse dung when Diana stepped between Tim's legs and having the word 'Viagra' doesn't really fit well with cartoons rated 6+, you know. .
Apparently, they do not give laurels “How to teach the dragon” to the animators of the world. Against the background of its popularity, there were cartoons about the loser who became a hero ("Ronal-Barbar" and "Gladiators of Rome"), and on the theme of northern peoples ("Bravehearted" from Disney / Pixar).
However, the cartoon has three small, but still plus. First of all, Tim, Lucia and Diana are not the most template characters. They still have some kind of "highlight." Secondly, it is one of those "historic" cartoons that have fantasy attributes: intelligent animals, a witch with her spells, the goddess of the hunt of the same name and some technical and cultural achievements (Libra and transformation of gladiatorial fights into entertainment business). Therefore, in this matter, the cartoon is not called Dirty Realism. And thirdly, a nice ending. To them:
I loved this movie because of the positivity and jokes. The main character is very funny! Thanks to the voiceover of Dmitry Nagiyev, the character looks even more fun.
The main character strives for the main victory - victory over himself. And this is a great motivating moment, pushing the audience to exploits. The music in this cartoon is always suitable for the moment, everything in general, fun, funny and kind.
But in this cartoon there are clearly noticeable disadvantages.
First, the presence of vulgar ambiguous jokes that are inappropriate in a cartoon with a rating of “6+”.
Secondly, the obvious similarity of the main character Lucilla with Bloom - the main character of another project Iginio Straffi, "The Winx Club". Facial features, character, and of course, a pet rabbit, what are you not Bloom?
These mistakes are striking, but by the way, do not spoil the plot.
The graphics pleased: it is bright, beautiful and almost natural. But Rainbow is a long way from Pixar and Disney. The studio has a lot to grow!
Bottom line: do not show cartoons to young children, but watch teenagers and adults - please!
8 out of 10
The hero of this review, the animated film “Gladiators of Rome” could probably shoot at a wider release, so much so that it would not seem to anyone – the walls of the Academy would crack, Baikal would turn upside down, revealing the world the highest peak, the Martians would think about bombing us. And even the famous Ridley Scott would realize that the potential of gladiator theme clearly did not reveal – so accurately shoot “Gladiators”, which by fate, as if by the hand of God himself, did not become a widely known product. And it is true, as Crowe said in the recent Man of Steel, “the world is not ready yet.”
And indeed, the first minutes of viewing demonstrate almost a new birth of life on the other side of the screen. After that, it becomes clear that the similarity of the taste of the frog and the chicken does not at all pull to prove the existence, if not the matrix, then at least another world that hides the truth of life. Because you see another world here, at arm’s length and forward-looking thought. Even if the characters are not as cute as real people, but there are so many souls in them that you involuntarily begin to doubt whether you have one yourself. Surprisingly, there was no brutal bacchanalia in the hall on the credits - although I think I am not the only one who noticed the hypnotic gesture of a low-poly hand made for safety reasons. A kind of new kind of censorship, protecting weak souls from strong emotional influence, cleverly inserted into the harmony of the narrative.
Against the background of all these ingenious images perceived at the subconscious level, there is a suitable shell in the form of a history of formation, but in fact - self-destruction. Although through self-destruction, the authors teach the values of becoming and correcting. Only on a subconscious level again. Therefore, visually, Gladiators are not strong, if we take the most flat criteria - beauty and realism. But there is also a special beauty that is felt not verbally, but mentally. The authors prove that it is worth appreciating first of all and, like the hero of “American Beauty”, they see beauty where, by definition, it is not. But not only do they see, but they try to convince the viewer of the presence of this ghostly beauty, intangible, which can not be caught by any artist with his brush, nor by a poet, nor even by Murray with a team of “hunters”. But to no avail. And therefore, interesting characters and the storyline can seem flat to many, and the graphics are monstrous. And all because the mind will not be able to fully reveal the layered wrapper of a brilliant work.
During the famous volcanic eruption in the city of Pompeii, little Tim was picked up by the most famous teacher of gladiatorial art. Together with him, the hero arrives in Rome and becomes a very good friend of Lucilla, the daughter of his savior. After a while, the friendship develops into something more, but the girl’s quick departure to study in Greece separates the lovers for many years. Eight years later, the daughter returns to her father already much prettier, but Tim during this time gained a fair amount of extra pounds and turned from a promising young man into a real jester, over whom even small children are bullied. To win the heart of your beloved and earn the right to be her fiancé, the hero will have to win gladiatorial fights, which will take place very soon. Unfortunate lover has to seek help from Diana, able to make any loser a real machine for murder.
Italian animators rarely please the audience with their projects. Normally, they get a misunderstanding like Winx School. Despite all the idiocy of what is happening, this animated series has acquired an extensive fan base and a full-length version. The creator of Iginio Straffi has enriched himself and is now trying to surprise the viewer with something more worthy. Although, given the cruel and specific theme chosen as the basis for a children's cartoon, it quickly becomes clear that the Italian did not conduct any serious work on the mistakes. “Gladiators of Rome” is a set of standardized clichés that can be found in most tapes on this topic, and especially in “Asterix at the Olympic Games”.
Some scenes of this cartoon literally quote the famous French comedy, and given the specifics, it does not benefit her. If you think of Gladiators as a project for kids, it doesn’t look like that. Straffi chose the least appropriate theme of battles known for their ferocity and bloodshed. This is a joke, but I don’t want to laugh. Yes, there were some funny moments and characters, but nothing more. Children are unlikely to like the outstanding forms of female characters, whose sexuality is deliberately emphasized by the authors. Why this is done is also very difficult to explain. Sometimes jokes cross the limits of what is permissible stated by the censors and everything comes down to outright vulgarity. This primarily refers to the episode when an old woman for some reason talks about her achievements and talks about the invention of “Via Gras” so that her old admirer could “please her.” Always spoiling the air horse to exquisite humor is also difficult to attribute. If someone thinks that for a children's cartoon this is quite decent humor, then I do not have the right words about them.
What else quivered when watching was the uneven animation, which is still oh how far to the fantastically realistic level of American studios. Everything looked too cheap and sometimes looked like not the best computer game. But such a poor graphics of the cartoon even despite the presence of not the smallest budget, which is even more surprising. Where the authors managed to squander all the money provided for the creation is incomprehensible to the mind. In addition to the already voiced eroticism of some characters and low humor, Gladiators suffer from excessive directness. The whole scheme of the storyline is clear and wildly simple, even for children. No one asked Straffi and Co. to come up with some scripted delights, but it would be possible to refresh the already boring line about becoming a notorious loser on the right path. Even the action, which towards the end becomes overwhelmingly much, does not shine with originality and constantly gives some kind of secondary.
If you think about the positives, it’s primarily a few really funny characters that were nice to see on screen. First of all, these are wildly funny baby gladiators, who were somewhat reminiscent of the minions from Despicable Me. Each of their appearances caused a sincere smile and sometimes even made them laugh. Not bad turned out and the bunny of the main character, which in some scenes very much got from the insidious boyfriend of the hostess. It seems that in moments of kicking a snow-white bunny should be funny, but there is more appropriate regret and pity for the poor animal. The rest of the characters consisted entirely of walking stamps. If everything is clear with the main characters, then, for example, a small break in the template came out with the teacher of the hero. The wise teacher was not a frail old man throwing wise phrases, but a hot young girl with extremely outstanding forms.
In this cartoon, a certain proportion of stereotypes concerning certain nationalities have not yet been particularly liked. Fortunately, the Italian animators did not touch our country, but they got Arabs, Africans and Spaniards. Characters from these countries were ninjas, native chieftains and burning bull tamers. If it's not called a stereotypical way of thinking, then I don't know what else it's called. Screenwriters tried to stick fashionable jokes for similar tapes, where the action takes place in the past. Heroes try to laugh, often remembering that some words and things have not yet been invented. This is not new and causes a feeling of hopelessness, not a smile on the face.
In the end, the “Gladiators of Rome” even if created for children, it is not. Rough jokes, a passing plot and dull attempts by the authors to play on the long-beaten motifs of old Rome. The cartoon is too secondary and empty, and personally after watching it, it could not linger in my memory for long. A very weak spectacle, which receives only this assessment from me:
4 out of 10
I’m not going to be original and say that the best computer animation to date (of course, in my opinion) is created by Pixar Studio. And so, noticing that Italians can give something at almost the same, rather good, level, I was quite surprised.
As much as I watched cartoons about ancient Greece and Rome (in Soviet times, people often turned to this topic), they were almost always made as part of a tragedy. And only the American animated series “Hercules” from Disney, filmed in the late 90s, was a bright representative of the comedy genre.
“Gladiators of Rome” is not just a comedy, but a real natural disaster, consisting of hilarious characters, a funny plot, all sorts of game techniques and correctly selected actors for voice acting.
The story is brief: after the death of his mother, the boy Tim falls into a foster family, where he grows up with the daughter of a general who oversees the gladiator school. When the girl leaves to study, Tim stubbornly refuses to study, causing ridicule and universal disrespect for his weakness and laziness. But a few years later, Lucilla returns and discovers that she is believed to be the wife of the most popular gladiator, Cassius, the nephew of the emperor. Tim understands that he can not defeat his rival in an honest way and takes a witch potion as a doping before the fight. But when it opens, he's driven out of town. In search of shelter, he comes across the house of a stunning beauty, who simultaneously turned out to be the goddess Diana, who undertakes to train a slut before the upcoming competitions.
Poor Tim has to go through a lot – through traps and obstacles, through swamps and hugs of furious wild animals, through a check on the trust and outburst of jealousy of his beloved girl. And now comes the long-awaited day, when gladiators from different countries gather in Rome in order to measure their strength and win or die in a duel. Suddenly, it turns out that Cassius, too, used a forbidden potion and turned into a monster. Can Tim handle it? Will she save her beloved and her father? Did Ravshan and Jamshut build the Roman amphitheatre of the Colosseum? The scene is so exciting that I do not want to break away for a minute.
Special thanks to the creators for the wonderful and very cute animals. Every animal that meets in the way of Tim, has a special character, mobile facial expressions that cause laughter. And even insects - it would seem, a trifle on which almost no attention is focused - amuse with their grins and believable, almost human reactions.