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The Mascot
A toy stuffed dog has just been sewn together when it hears a young child ask for an orange. The child's mother explains that they have no money, and so she cannot buy any oranges. The dog is then packed up along with a box full of other toys to be sold, but it soon winds up in the street. The dog picks up an orange from a curb side stand, and hopes to take it home to the child. But that night, before the dog can get back to the child's home, it must face a series of strange and frightening adventures.
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Reviews
Overrated and overhyped
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
"Fétiche" is a 25-minute French black-and-white animated short film from over 80 years ago. The director is Lithuanian animation pioneer Wladyslaw Starewicz. The main character is a stuffed dog, but fittingly with the atmosphere, the dog looks rather weird than cute. The entire film is basically about the dog going through all kinds of mayhem and scary situations to get an orange for a little girl. Which sounds like a cute story is actually as much horror as it gets, especially for an animated film. I can very well see that the like of Tim Burton or Jan Svankmajer were inspired by Starewicz' work here and in general, but it's not really my preferred choice in terms of style. Still I can't deny it is an interesting watch for how different it looks compared to American cartoons from around that era. Even their takes on horror, such as the dancing skeletons were something completely else. Oh yeah, there is no dialog in here, so you won't need subtitles for French parts and you don't need to be looking for an English version. I think the most common English title for this one here is "The Mascot", but there are others too. All in all, not recommended, but that's mostly a subjective choice because of the reason given in the title.
The Mascot is Ladislaw Starewicz's masterpiece. It tells the tale of a stuffed toy dog who searches for an orange after he overhears the mother tell her daughter she hasn't any money. The dog gets picked with other toys to be sold off. In the truck, after the others jump off while the vehicle runs, the dog stays and waits to be picked up from store before setting off on his own. He manages to get orange after biting woman's leg as she was holding and selling the fruit. As he runs, he encounters the devil and accepts his offer to stop at nightclub. There, he meets the other toys who jumped off truck. The cat who was next to him in vehicle is especially determined to get dog's orange. I'll just stop here to mention that other wonderfully bizarre things happen in nightclub that you'll have to see for yourself. Suffice it to say, if you love Starewicz and is interested in all animation from the past, I most definitely recommend you seek this one out!
Straight from the brilliant mind of animation pioneer Wladyslaw Starewicz, "Fétiche", or "The Mascot" as it is known nowadays, stands as a masterpiece of stop-motion animation that sadly, has been almost forgotten by now. Nevertheless, the work of this man deserves to be seen, and in fact, must be seen to be believed because the outstanding way the animation flows is simply unbelievable.Decades before "Toy Story", Starewicz conceived the idea of moving toys, in "Fétiche", he tells the story of a small stuffed dog that gets makes friends with the sick daughter of his maker. One day, his maker takes him away to sell him, and the adventure begins as he tries to find his way back home. In his Odyssey, he'll travel from Paris to Hell, and will find the other toys that were supposed to be sold with him.It is a surreal experience to watch this movie, as Starewicz makes every imaginable creature come alive with grace and beauty. The other toys include a beautiful ballerina, who loves a thief, but she also is secretly loved by a clown, forming a love triangle; an old woman, a stuffed cat and a stuffed ape complete the group. every toy is so detailed and very expressive that without words one can understand their motives.Truly, the surreal atmosphere the whole animation has it is remarkable. It is hard to believe that a work of this magnitude was done in 1934 since it looks even better than most of the current day animation. The influence it has in modern day animator such as Tim Burton and Henry Selick is very significant.This short is a masterpiece of animation and the outstanding work of one genius who done everything by himself and that has influenced animators for decades. Starewicz's work is an immortal piece of art that should be seen by everyone. This work is not only for kids, adults as well will enjoy it and probably catch most of the subtext hidden in the movie.It is possible to find it in the "Vampyr" DVD as a bonus feature. Anyone with the slightest interest in animation should give it a look.
I recently down-loaded a short film off the Internet called The Devil's Ball. It would seem to be very old and if it is the same as this film I'm even more impressed that it was made in 1925. A short animated devil emerges from a cast aside bottle of cheap wine and holds a grand party, which is attended by a number of grotesque characters. The animation is done in a stop-motion style and is very smooth and clever work, impressive by any standards. Seeing the film show up on the internet was very strange as I saw this film as a kid 35 years ago, but never since then. I was beginning to wonder if I had actually seen it or just imagined it.
