The history of film effects is an ever-changing game. As most film historians and enthusiasts know, stop-motion used to be the dominant force in the game. From Willis O’Brian’s work on the seminal 1933 epic, King Kong, to his successor Ray Harryhausen’s work on some of the most iconic creature features of his time. It Came From Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Clash of the Titans — all of these films being beloved examples of the art form of stop motion, which has been relegated to mostly family films from Laika and Aardman Entertainment. Truest to the pure form of cinema itself, however, independent filmmakers like Phil Tippett (effects designer for films such as Star Wars and Jurassic Park) have been keeping this art form alive and well. Today, I’d like to showcase the work of Richard Svensson, better known by his studio name “The Lone Animator”, and his fantastic homage to the classic atomic age of monster movies, Rumble on Monster Island!
The premise is simple– a group of fantastic beasts and alien menaces jump to life, in beautiful stop motion, to engage with each other in mortal combat. Each beast is from a real movie from the 1950’s, and beautifully remade with love to spring to life yet again. Our cast includes the Tree Man that terrified audiences in From Hell it Came (1957) and the Weed Monster from iconic director Roger Corman’s Creature form the Haunted Sea (1961). We even get a deep cut, with the Cyclops Octopus from Wyott Ordung’s 1954 flick Monster from the Ocean Floor! Fun fact, for those that don’t know, that film was the first film produced by the aforementioned Roger Corman!
The biggest highlight from this four minute spectacle, aside from the monsters of course, is just how fluid the stop-motion is. It feels incredibly polished and precise, and director Svensson ensures quality time and love was put into resurrecting these forgotten monsters of yesteryear. They move more “clean” than their original appearances, and that may put some folks off, but I personally think it’s wonderful that we can update some of these creatures from their initial appearances, sometimes being a lower frame rate, and “choppy” to some moviegoers, into something modern. That being said, the tone and overall performances by our mon-stars is perfectly representative of their classic black & white era whilst giving them a clean, crisp, larger-than-life personality.
Rumble on Monster Island is a perfect short film. If you like old monster movies, stop-motion animation, or even just homages to classic cinema in general, this one is right up your alley. I cannot speak highly enough of the work that has been done here by Svennson, and I cannot wait to dive into the rest of his filmography!
Jacob is a moderator, film analyst, and devoted kaiju enthusiast. His moderator work can be seen in various panels for conventions, such as FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, All Monsters Attack Convention, and G-FEST. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Kaiju United, facilitating our major interviews and collaborating with brands & studios for extensive kaiju coverage.
Godzilla: 70th Anniversary mostly succeeds in acting as a big celebration of the last 70th years for the franchise (some more so than others), and if anything, serves as a showcase of what other creatives can do with the property.
