2
(nothing substantial)
7
(some sexuality, implied drug use)
5
(very amusing though not for everyone)
I had never heard of "Comic Book the Movie" until I happened to be looking at Wal-Mart’s clearance DVD’s. The cover, then the title, then the names caught my eye. Having had poor luck with snap purchase decisions on unknown DVD's I almost passed it up (something I would have regretted, in a parallel universe where I knew what I was missing, since every copy was gone within a couple of days and I doubt I would have ever thought to look it up on the internet after that), but the long list of extras and the subject matter along with the names involved became the deciding factors.
I got it home and laughed harder than I have at any mainstream comedy in years, then when I watched "Behind the Voices" on disc 2 I laughed harder still!
Despite the cartoon cover this is not an animated feature. It’s completely live-action with not so much as a CGI character. Despite this being about comic book superheroes this is not an action movie, about the most excitement you’ll get is some costumed fans running through the lobby - in slow-mo super-heroic fashion. So then what is it? A fair question.
It’s a mock documentary. Director Mark Hamill stars as Don (a fictional character, obviously, which I point out only because many of the characters AREN'T fictional), a comic book enthusiast invited to advise a movie studio that is interested in making a movie about a Golden Age superhero (a fictional creation for the movie). The problem is that the studio is more interested in making a movie about the modernized version of the hero who is more of a violent vigilante than the classically noble original. Don wants to convince the studio that staying true to the original roots will make a more profitable movie and plans to use a comic convention to push the idea.
Don and one of the movie producers take a cameraman and the comic book creator’s grandson to the convention where they talk to many famous (non-fictional) faces and plan the announcement of their movie. Events turn sinister when the studio execs realize they have underestimated Don’s dedication to the preservation of the spirit of the original characters. He is now an obstacle to the modernization of the franchise and must be silenced.
All of the primary movie characters are fictional, but the majority of the people they interview are real: Hugh Hefner, Matt Groening, Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, Stan Lee, and numerous others. If you don't know who enough of these people are you may get confused on who is real and who isn't which may stifle your enjoyment. Fans, though, will enjoy seeing them on screen. Um, then again, maybe not fans of Hefner's work. That's a slightly different genre there. But I guess it's a kind of validation for those of us geeks that get the harebrained response, "You need to go out and get yourself a girlfriend" (as if the ability to spout off endless game scores and player stats doesn't make them geeks in their own way, too).
One element that may make enjoyment difficult for the non-initiated is that with the exception of Mark Hamill, all of the main stars are voice actors (well, actually Mark is, too, he's just been more visible than the others as a movie star) meaning they rarely have roles that allow you to see their faces. I personally think these are some of the most talented people in show business. They're funnier than most comedians and better actors than the average Hollywood star (though maybe not always with the emotional range of the REALLY good ones).
Still, with actors that aren't actors in the classic sense in a movie that isn't a movie in the classic sense, the sum of the parts is something that the standard moviegoer just can't sink their teeth into. They just don't know what they're missing.
While extremely funny the plot is quite slow. If you're not into the jokes and the geek factor there's not much else for you. On the other hand, if it does hit home you'll barely notice the slow pace, you'll be too wrapped up in the words of this person or that, looking for faces and costumes in the background, and trying to recover from outbursts of laughter that keep you from hearing the next few lines.
This isn't complete mindless comedy, there is an actual story, and it does have a point believe it or not. Anyone that has been disappointed by the movie of their favorite comic book will stand up and yell, "Get 'em, Swann!" as he makes his charge to save the day.
Most of my friends at the time this came out didn’t follow voice actors or comic books much so I found myself very much alone in my appreciation of this movie when in certain crowds. One person in particular I thought would like it couldn’t even stand to watch the whole thing, so after talking to him I devised a few questions to help others decide.
POP QUIZ!!
I think this quiz will definitively answer the question “Should I see Comic Book The Movie?”
Let's play, shall we?
Rules: If you have to look up the information to confirm your answer it doesn’t count, you either know the answer and know you’re right, or you don’t get it. Essentially, the more you can answer the more likely you are to enjoy the movie. If you don’t know at least half of them you’ll most likely be bored to tears (unless you are just extremely fanatical about one of the names involved). If you’re somewhere in the middle, take into account all I have said about it already to make your decision. The longer your answer is to any one of them the stronger you should consider it against the others. If you know all of them and are excited knowing you know all of them, you must, I repeat, MUST see this movie!
1) What is your favorite comic book? (remember the rules, don't go looking up the correct answer, now.)
2) Why might I refer to Bruce Campbell as "Ash?"
3) Who is your favorite voice actor (if you don't know what I mean by voice actor your answer doesn't count)?
4) Who is Ray Harryhausen?
5) What is at least one thing Kevin Smith is known for other than directing movies?
6) Who created Futurama and the Simpsons?
7) Who does the voice of Wakko in Animaniacs (alternately who is Fry in Futurama)?
8) Name at least 1 credit for Mark Hamill other than Luke Skywalker.
9) What is your best fan convention story?
10) Name your favorite comic book movie and compare it to the original source.
Morality
It's a tame movie but probably deserving of its PG13 rating if just barely. There's some mild sexuality and sexual dialogue, the worst of which is in DVD the special features rather than the movie itself which amounts to a couple of scenes at most. Lori Alan runs around in lingerie for a short time, but there is no nudity. Hugh Hefner and at least one Playboy bunny/playmate (whatever the models are called) make appearances, but we never get into the business of what "Playboy" does.
There's some drunkenness and implied drug use which is really the worst of the questionable material.
Strong language is minimal.
There's no violence at all.
Spirituality
There's no spirituality in this. It's solely focused on the earthly plight of a favorite hero of bygone days. It can be seen as a commentary on how we treat superheroes these days versus how we saw them in years past. Are we more interested in mindless, bloody action than the classic ideals of selfless nobility? I'm not sure that's true. Violent vigilantes like Punisher have not fared well at the box office while Batman, who stands firm on his stance to not take a life, is one of the biggest box office draws. However, there is definitely a push to be more edgy. We see Transformers saturated with testicle jokes and a mother high on pot talking about listening to her son have sex. So "Comic Book" is more social commentary, but it does say something about standing up for classic morals over adding gratuitous violence for marketing purposes.
Final Thoughts
I'll be the first to admit this is not a movie for everyone. You really need to be able to appreciate the world of comic geekdom to get the humor here. I laughed uncontrollably and would rather watch this than most of the popular comedies out there. If you have ever worried about how a movie would treat your favorite comic book superhero then you can probably appreciate the story here. If you enjoy going to conventions like Dragon*Con you will probably enjoy the setting.
Buying Guide
Despite being an obscure movie “Comic Book The Movie” offers an excellent DVD package!
While there are multiple listings, which seem to be solely dependent on what punctuation is used in the title (usually either a dash or a colon), there is only 1 DVD release and no Blu. Some listings say it only has 1 disc, but I have yet to actually see a single-disc edition.
Final Recommendation:
“Behind the Voices” really tips the scales for me. It ranks among the funniest things I own on DVD. If you appreciate the world of conventions, comic book talent, and voice actors there is a lot on this release to offer you.
The DVD is a 2 disc package.
Video
1.33:
The movie was made in the 1.33 TV standard aspect ratio. It’s not pan & scan since it wasn’t filmed for widescreen. The image is a little grainy and pixelated. It's not as sharp as it could be, but it's not awful.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
Despite being presented in surround sound I can’t think of any scenes that are set up to actually take advantage of that. At the very least it has some good fill coming in on the back channels. It's clean and clear enough to carry the kind of movie that it is.
Packaging
This is a standard plastic case.
The interface features a little bit of music and simple animation. There is, of course, a strong comic book feel to the layout and images which ties into the cover art.
Extras
-Behind the Voices (51:25) This is the best feature without a doubt. It’s a convention panel of voice-over performers and was filmed in conjunction with the movie. All of the performers from the movie are here, plus a few more, most notably Rob Paulsen. This is better than a stand-up comedy routine! (Though it starts out as history and explanation rather than comedy.) Even if you find that you don’t enjoy the movie, you should watch this. If it doesn’t make you laugh you better check your pulse; you might be dead. It's pretty long and has its own chapter selection.
-Commentary: Mark Hamill, Jess Harnell, Billy West, Roger Rose, producers: It's fast-paced and entertaining though they step on each other leaving a lot of unfinished ideas.
-Cameos: A page of names links to images and brief descriptions of most if not all of the famous names in the movie (once in that mode you can scroll through them like a slideshow). Some of them also include links to their scenes in the movie. The list is long, but it will help you put familiar names with faces and vice-versa.
-Deleted Scenes (Each scene has a page with a written intro with details about the scene and who's in it):
-Absinthe Andy (3:27) Jim has too much to drink and has an amusing conversation about alcohol and the Hulk.
-A Hard Day's Note (3:03) Jess and Billy performing an original song.
-Weasely Bruce Easely (1:18) Trying to get Courage to do some promo work.
-Educating Edd Hall (2:49) Talking to Donna about her breasts.
-Robots Vs Zombies (5:44) One comic book creator and his crusade to sell his book.
-Internet Call To Arms (0:58) A Flash-style animation calling for the demise of Codename Courage.
-The Comic Book Store (2:19) A couple of scenes in the store.
-Sidekick Wanted (0:56) A bunch of people saying why they should be Liberty Lad.
-More Matt Groening (0:35) A few comments on the Commander Courage book.
-Marvelous Mike (2:26) Talking about some comic book covers.
-Blackmail Take 2 (2:46) Jess is supposed to be filming sex instead he does impersonations.
-Jonathan Unplugged (1:08) Winters gets threatening.
-Team Titans (0:34) A superhero photo shoot.
-More Interviews (Some additional interviews with various people building the history of Commander Courage):
-Interview with Mark Evanier (3:41) Comic book movies, shows, and advertising.
-Interview with Scott Shaw (5:00) The golden age of Commander Courage.
-Interview with Billy Mumy (4:35) Thoughts on his TV roles including Liberty Lad.
-Interview with Peter David (5:38) Writing for struggling properties and views on violence.
-Interview with Paul Dini (5:24) The Commander Courage screenplay and merchandising.
-In-Depth with Kevin Smith (20:26) Don talks to Kevin about comics, the screenplay, and other things.
-Stan Lee on Comic Book Movies (9:10) An amusing look at movies compared to comics with some interview clips and some panel discussion clips.
-Don Swan's Bruce Campbell Interview (17:23) Comics and the movies made from them with and his misconception that the Codename Courage update is the original.
-Hugh Hefner on Comics & Women (40:46) His fandom of comics, Batman & Robin, and cartoons in his magazine.
-Behind the Voices Bios: Text bios for 4 actors.
-Four Color Frenzy (17:27) Behind-the-scenes with a lot of entertaining material.
-Commander Courage Radio Show (7:01) An original radio show makes use of the cartoon voice actors to perform it. It's pretty entertaining.
-About Comic-Con: A short write up about what it is.
-Actor Comic Fund: A paragraph about what it is.
-Art Gallery: This showcases the Commander Courage sketches and covers created for the movie. There's some interesting comic book artwork in here.
-Cast & Crew Bios: 16 short bios also provide comic style representations of the cast and crew with some info about who they are. Once you activate one of them you can scroll the the rest like a slideshow.
-Previews: 2 in a menu with a play all option.
Easter Eggs:
This release has more elusive Easter Eggs than any other I can think of. There are supposedly 6, but I have yet to find anyone who knows what or where #6 is. Most sites I visited while looking for it had a mere 1 or 2 of these included, so after reading every post I could find and doing my own hunt I have compiled a list of 5 – the most complete list of which I'm aware. One thing that makes these so hard to find is that using a typical DVD remote it is very hard to select the hidden menu items. I recommend using a DVD-ROM drive so you can use a mouse.
-Subpoena Band Poster: D1 go to the last image in the art gallery (rough sketch of a movie poster idea), there is a hidden “Subpoena” to highlight over the top edge of the notebook. Hitting the right arrow on the remote a few times should reveal it. Notice anyone familiar in the picture?
-Jess and Billy Write (6:20) Writing the song they perform in the deleted scene. D1 go to the deleted scenes, on the intro page for “A Hard Day's Note” is a hidden “Violets” graphic underneath the text. I was able to get it to appear by pressing back twice then forward once.
-Outtake (1:28) D2 on the Bonus Features menu there is a “Have Courage” graphic hidden in the top right corner. I've only been able to highlight it using a mouse, but sometimes it is highlighted when returning to the menu after watching one of the extras though that seems to be completely random. The actors try to get a little boy involved, but he just isn't into it.
-Mark Hamill Interview (5:50) D2 go to the More Interviews menu and highlight just the “Bonus” portion of the “Bonus Features” button (I couldn't find a way to do this with the DVD remote). It's fun seeing Mark as Don interviewing himself.
-DVD Credits: D2 on the Comic-Con page a “DVD Credits” button is hidden just above the “Main Menu” button (I couldn't find a way to highlight it with the DVD remote). It's just a static page, nothing special.