Rock & Rule (1983)

A malevolent rock star kidnaps a singer to force her to participate in the summoning of a demon, and her band must help her stop him.

Director:

Clive Smith (as Clive A. Smith)

Writers:

Patrick Loubert (story), Peter Sauder (story)

Stars:

Don Francks, Greg Salata, Susan Roman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Don Francks	...	Mok (voice)
Greg Salata	...	Omar (voice) (as Gregory Salata)
Susan Roman	...	Angel (voice)
Samantha Langevin	...	Mok's Computer (voice)
Dan Hennessey	...	Dizzy (voice)
Greg Duffell	...	Stretch / Zip (voice)
Chris Wiggins	...	Toad (voice)
Brent Titcomb	...	Sleazy (voice)
Donny Burns	...	Quadhole / 1st Radio Announcer (voice)
Martin Lavut	...	Mylar / 2nd Radio Announcer (voice)
Catherine Gallant	...	Cindy (voice)
Keith Hampshire	...	Other Computers (voice)
Melleny Melody	...	Carnegie Hall Groupie (voice) (as Melleny Brown)
Anna Bourque	...	Edna / Pinball Voice (voice)
Nick Nichols	...	Borderguard (voice)

Storyline

Angel, a member of a punk rock band in the apocalyptic future, is kidnapped by Mok, a legendary superocker. Obsessed with a dark experiment, Mok plans to use Angel's voice to summon a demon from another dimension. The rest of the band follows Mok to Nuke York in an attempt to get her back.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | future | adult animation | slapstick comedy | violence | 

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Taglines:

Sound you can see in the movie you can feel!

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Genres:

Animation | Fantasy | Music | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The clouds in the bird's eye view shot of Omar, Angel, Stretch, & Dizzy traveling to Mok's manor were actually pieces of cotton placed on two layers of glass of the multi-plane camera during the filming of the sequence.

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Quotes

Toad: Make yourselves at home.
[Omar jumps onto the couch, gets caught by Toad]
Toad: Except you.
Omar: It was the freak reference, wasn't it?
Toad: You gonna apologize, rude boy?
Omar: I'm sorry...
[quickly]
Omar: ... dogbreath dicknose!
Toad: [enraged] Why you...!

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Alternate Versions

There are quite a number of differences between the Canadian TV version and the version released in the US. The main and most noticeable difference is that in the American version, Omar's voice was chosen to be re-dubbed over with another actor. In the original version, Omar was voiced by Greg Salata. When re-released in the United States, MGM did not approve of the dialog or voice and chose to re-dub the character with a more notable actor: Paul Le Mat. Another noticeable difference is that the original version features a higher quality soundtrack than the American version. You can actually hear the guitars as well as the back up vocals are much louder, as are some sound effects throughout the movie that are barely audible in the US version. And finally the last main difference is the Canadian version (which runs 20 seconds longer) features an expanded ending: Shortly after Mok gets thrown in the dimensional hole and Mylar comes out and starts to MC again the US version goes from here to the end credits. The Canadian goes on further showing more of Mylar talking about the show where he says "so long Mok, wherever you are", then says "just kidding, Mok's backstage, I think". Also during that they show "Zip" (the one brother that protected Omar from getting killed at the end, and instead he dies in the US version)wake up from slamming into the wall showing he did not die after all. Some other minor differences are when Stretch is playing the arcade game early in the film, in the US, it's a robotic guys voice yelling back at him, while in the Canadian version the game is a regular female voice yelling.

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Connections

Referenced in Ah! My Goddess: Bad Goddess The Anime Video Comic (2017)

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Soundtracks

Triumph
Written and Produced by Lou Reed
Lead Vocals and Guitar: Lou Reed
Keyboards: Michael Fonfara
Guitars: Stuart Heinrich, Chuck Hammer
Bass: Ellard J. Boles
Drums: Michael Suchorsky
Background Vocals: Avery Sommers, Heather B. Withers, Trudy Bayne
Engineer: Sean Fullan
Recorded at RCA Studios, N.Y.

User Reviews

Canadian edit is the only version worth watching.

The re-dubbed American cable edit is absolutely horrible. It rips the heart and soul out of the movie - right from the intro where Mok's code isn't referred to as "satanic", to the removal of almost all of the drug references, and the absolutely horrible replacement voice for Omar (the guy doesn't hold a candle to the original voice actor). Get the 2 disc version from Amazon with the uncensored Canadian version, you won't regret it.. the original movie, as intended.

I think the problem with this movie, ever there ever really was a problem, is that it isn't a kids movie, nor is it particularly well written or clever to be much of an adult's animated feature, but it works well for teenagers (as I was one when I first saw it, many years ago on the CBC late night movie). Given the time the movie was made animation was still thought of as "kid's stuff", or simply dirty (Say Fritz the Cat), and this movie really falls into the grey area between those extremes. Poorly marketed, no doubt, but the American cable edit exists because of this failure to the realize the market.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English French

Release Date:

24 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rock & Rule

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$30,379

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,379

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nelvana, Anaguel Films, Canada Trust

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1