Mad God

Phil Tippett hat eine beeindruckende Odyssee durch fantastische Kriegszonen, Tyranneien, grausame Ökosysteme, postapokalyptische Welten und möglicherweise sogar die Hölle geschaffen. Und wenn uns das ganze depressive Panoptikum durch einen kontinuierlichen Faden in Form eines Charakters führen würde, den wir als stille Beobachter während des gesamten Films begleiten würden (wie ich am Anfang gehofft hatte), wäre es genial. (31.10.2021)

The title Mad God does not refer to any character in the film, but to the film’s creator, Phil Tippett. The legendary master of stop-motion special effects, who worked on the original Star Wars trilogy, RoboCop, Jurassic Park and other classics, reflects here on the very essence of animation, which consists in breathing life and identity into inanimate objects. Mad God thus actually expands on the constituent philosophical ideas of the excellent documentary Creature Designers – The Frankenstein Complex, which also features Tippett. At the same time, however, it doesn’t dwell on the relationship between the creator and his creation, and Tippett’s trauma caused by the rise of computer-generated effects has nothing to do with the fear that the creation will gain power over its creator. Tippett presents the divine principle at the core of handmade stop-motion animation, where every detail bears the imprint not only of the creator’s hand, but also his personality and artistic license. He thus becomes not only the omnipotent creator, but also decides the fate and life path of his creations based on his own whims. The film’s dystopian worlds of beings toiling in vain mirror the minuteness of one life and the all-encompassing nature of the entire universe. They are all the more beautifully unsettling when we realise that they must occupy not only all the space of Tippett’s studio, house and basement, but mainly his mind. As is evident in the astonishing careful animation, however, Tippett is not a sloppy creator, as he not only breathes life into each of his creations, but also instils individuality and humanity in them. But the fact that he doesn’t give them the comforting safety of a conventional story, but leaves them at the mercy of random destruction, gives them an even more terrifying existential dimension. Mad God thus shows us creation in all its beauty and monstrosity. (04.11.2021)

The magnum opus from practical effects master Phil Tippet, who has worked on Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Star Trek and Dragonheart. He delivers an original, depressing, dreamy and bizarre stop motion animation film where form clearly wins out over content, but it's a highly original and essential work that will be an instant cult classic for some people, and an unwatchable and indigestible chore for others. Work on this project started back in 1987 and only now has it become complete, which is crazy in itself. There is no dialogue, the plot is told through imagery and sounds, which makes it not always easy to understand what is happening and why, and most of the events are grotesque in nature, so I give a warning to viewers. This is not for everyone! Fans of post-apocalyptic worlds, bizarreness, philosophical undertones and practical effects will probably be purring with bliss. At times it was weird, at times unexpectedly wild and at times incredibly stylish and beautiful. A very interesting film that is hard to rate, but I quite enjoyed this animated and twisted variation on Mad Max and am rooting for it. 7/10. (04.01.2022)