We Are the Strange (2007)

Two outcasts fight for survival in a sinister fantasy world. Their lives are constantly in jeopardy after they're caught in the middle of a deadly battle between bizarre monsters on their way to the ice cream shop.

Director:

M. dot Strange

Writer:

M. dot Strange

Stars:

Chaylon Blancett, David Choe, Stuart Mahoney

3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Chaylon Blancett	...	The Wooo Monster (voice)
David Choe	...	Rain (voice)
Stuart Mahoney	...	Ori / The Pastor (voice)
Halleh Seddighzadeh	...	Blue / Prologue Narrator (voice)
M. dot Strange	...	HIM (voice)

Storyline

Blue is a young girl navigating the streets of a terrifying, sinister fantasy world all alone. When she meets Emmm, a fellow lost soul, she joins him on a quest for some ice cream. Upon arriving, they realize the ice cream shop has been taken over by dark forces, and the whole city is teeming with evil. Bizarre monsters surround Blue and Emmm on all sides until Rain, a sadistic hero, arrives to rescue them and exterminate the source of the evil.

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Plot Keywords:

ice cream | blue | monster | rain | giant robot | 

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Taglines:

Beware I live

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

San Jose, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Str8nime

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 98 min (Director's Cut)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

M. dot Strange actually turned in the movie to the Sundance Film Festival incomplete. He still had the last 15 - 20 minutes to finish.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
HIM: Welcome to your doom.

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Connections

References Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

User Reviews

Tough To Stay With, But I Give It Points For Originalty

The man responsible for this film is called "M. Dot Strange."

That kind of gives you a hint of what you are going to see - something very "strange."

Listen: you'll either think this is super cool and love this film, or you'll get so disgusted you'll yank it off your screen within minutes. Actually, I was somewhere toward the latter, but I lasted longer than a half hour before losing interest. I really tried to like this.

The good aspect of this film is the clever animation done on a low budget. This is an original film, that's for sure. The visuals and the sound are different and mostly interesting. You also have the option of hearing various soundtracks - now that's unique!

The bad part of the movie is that it's hard to watch much of it in one sitting. It gets to be too much and is weak in the area of getting the viewer involved with the characters and story. Very little of the story is explained, so you can get lost in a hurry and never recover. After a while, I found myself not caring what was happening and just attempted to enjoy the strange visuals and sound- effects.

The visuals are a combination of computer-generated, stop motion and bluescreen effects. It is also a combination, according to its writer-director- producer-etc, of 8-bit and anime. I'm not versed enough in all of this to explain it. I'm just trying to give you an idea how different this film is from other animated movies you've seen.

Also, it was first released on the Internet instead of movie theaters, I think, but did play in the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and the following year put out on DVD.

For the average movie viewer, this film would be torture to sit through. It would be a long hour-and-a-half. For someone who enjoys something different visually, this is a unique film that deserves a look and might prove to be fascinating, especially for some young person interested in becoming a filmmaker. I'm sure one could learn a lot of techniques and be inspired.