Watch Jabberwocky For Free

Thanks for the memories!

Fantastic!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

If you've seen any of Jan Švankmajer's work, then you should have an idea of what to expect in his adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky". "Žvahlav aneb šatičky slaměného Huberta" emphasizes the more disturbing aspects of the story. It's worth remembering that what we now think of as children's stories were not always so cute. Švankmajer's version contains all manner of contorting objects, including a line looking to break free from a maze (what it does at the end might get seen as a swipe at Czechoslovakia's Soviet-backed regime). It's not any masterpiece, but I recommend it, as I do the rest of Švankmajer's work. The Czech title means "Jabberwocky, or Straw Hubert's Clothes".

I understand avid Carroll fans and parents of young children might be disappointed in this film since it seemingly has so little to do with the Jabberwocky poem. But from an art/film theory perspective this film is brilliant. Knowing that this is not a narrative, but a semi- experimental stop motion short animation before watching it might help people critique it by its own standards.There's been a recent surge in considering children's literature, fairy tales, and fables in regards to contemporary social anthropology. I personally study this through visual arts but it's very relevant for scholars varying from gender studies to linguistics. Reading authors like Carroll and relating its historical context to contemporary studies is the sort of thing I geek out on. Svankmajer, through some incredible stop motion animation, has certainly veered off the original poem. In doing so he's developed not a narrative, but a bazaar world that is unsettling and repetitive. Part of the original appeal of the Jabberwocky poem (and much of Carroll's writing) was that he used so many gibberish words. They allowed for ideas of different or parallel worlds. The Jabberwocky is often discussed as a personal foe, what we most fear, and the vorpal sword is the tool by which we overcome that fear -- if indeed we do overcome it. This broad notion means that the jabberwocky doesn't have to be a dragon or a monster, it can be public speaking or a fear of rejection. In the case of Svankmajer's film, childhood itself is scary.The content of the film may be a problem for children viewers. I particularly find the blade dancing in the table cloth and eventually stabbing itself quite "adult". And there are indeed savage notions of dolls eating other dolls. But this isn't meant to be a kids film. It's *visually* beautiful but its subjects are entirely uncomfortable, dark, and bordering on morbid. Just as traditional fairy tales were quite gruesome, Svankmajer is returning to the horror of a childhood nursery -- even if the horrors are in the imagination. Ideas of dolls and objects coming to life are common themes in children's stories, from the Nutcracker to the Velveteen Rabbit. Children seem to intuitively imbue these items with life of their own. As adults we find it creepy, disturbing, haunting, and warped. Stop animation is a very effective visual display of this imagination. The repetition in the toys and their keenness to destroy each other is very un-childlike. It's far more similar to the harsh monotony of adult life. Other interpretations of the film discuss it as quite angsty -- the line in the maze trying to break free and once it does it scribbles all over the portrait of the old man (the authority figure) and then exits out the window and on to freedom. I'm not sure I fully agree with this reading of the film, but it's one of many ideas to consider. I admit that it's relationship to lewis Carroll is a tad nebulous but its significance in animation and visual technique is overt. I'm approaching this as an academic not as a parent, but I think the film is pretty damn amazing.

Jabberwocky is one of the apotheosis in the complexity of animation and amount of work. Very atmospheric with strange music and weird old toys from the east of Europa. See it again and again with the same pleasure.Watch the dancing knife, i still ask myself how they do this...

Spoilers herein.Svankmejer's work ranges from the obvious and tedious to the rich and deep. This is his best in my estimation. His entire career can be seen as experiments leading to his feature-length `Alice,' punctuated by unsophisticated, uninteresting social commentary. `Alice' is fatally flawed, however, because he grossly misunderstands the richness of the story.But this project is not so limited. The little known origin of Carroll's poem is his father's membership in a society to `restore' the English language to its Saxon origins by expelling the French influence. Along the way, Dodgson goofed in all sorts of linguistic jokes based on non-specific sounds. It is the first poem whose images aren't bound to the intent of the poet.Svankmejer surfs this territory by making his own touchstones that have no meaning, but which tap subtle controversies and give us subtle traction on which we can build our own film. It is not as expert as the Quay's `Are We Still Married?' which is the very best of this type. But it is the best of Svankmejer.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 4: Worth watching.