First shot of animation: Baby Herman in his crib

The headline here is the technical achievement, and for good reason. Any single scene would have been the highlight of any previous hybrid picture but they just keep coming. Every action has a reaction in the physical space, a philosophy perfected in The Matrix. When the seams do show it’s because the armatures can’t move as naturally as the characters composited over them.

But that doesn’t give credit to how airtight the story is. Parodies can take it easy, just do the thing from the thing. But everything is set up well beyond expectations. Judge Doom bought the election with the cash from the bank heist that killed Teddy.

It’s Disney animation but in a Looney Tunes style, visually and most of all in humor. The film-original characters look like Tex Avery designs, and Goofy never did a shave-and-a-haircut bit. I wonder if this was like getting to play an away game in your childhood home stadium, living two dreams at once.

I don’t feel bad about skipping The Reluctant Dragon back in the 40s anymore because it’s significantly featured. This counts. Fuck Bedknobs and Broomsticks though. No regrets there.