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Film: The Big Bang
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 75 mins
Director: Picha
Starring: N/a
Genre: Animation
Studio: Lace
Format: DVD
Country: France/Belgium
This is an English-Language release.
Belgian cartoonist Jean-Paul "Picha" Walravens has only made a handful of feature films and so this DVD release of his 1987 X-rated animated sci-fi is something of a collector’s item. Dealing with themes ranging from world politics to domestic disharmony in a tongue-in-cheek (amongst other places) style, The Big Bang is the last film Picha made before opting to focus on television.
In 1995 World War III breaks out on Earth. A Mafioso with an overly itchy trigger finger uses a nuclear device to assassinate his target and Libya is destroyed. Libya then destroys Israel. Africa bombs Germany and Sweden annihilates itself. The chain reaction of countries wiping each other off the map continues until the face of the Earth is irrevocably changed and only two continents remain.
In the north, America and Russia have merged to become the USSSR, where all of the world’s remaining men have been horrifically mutilated by the nuclear fallout. The fairer sex has retreated to the south to form the new continent of Vaginia.
When war between the two nations threatens to destroy the universe, Fred Hero is sent by the Council of the Universe to make peace between the warring nations. Armed with a strategically placed light bulb which grants him invincibility, Fred makes his way to Earth to see if he can finally complete a super-hero mission…
If you are the kind of person who considers Family Guy to be a touch crude, or The Simpsons to be overly controversial, do not even consider watching The Big Bang. The film is a nonstop parade of sex gags and foul-mouthed dialogue, which unapologetically lampoons the worst aspects of both sides of the sexual divide.
The characters range from skin-crawling, through baffling to just plain outrageous. The Comrade-in-Chief and Una, the leaders of the USSSR and Vaginia respectively, stand out in particular. The former is a mess of skin and eyeballs who is carried around by a skeletal slave which he uses as a body; the latter consists almost entirely of boobs. Loads and loads of boobs.
Taken at face value, the story and much of the dialogue could have been written by a horny teenager, albeit a particularly demented one. However, there are moments of genuine ingenuity that make the film tolerable. The sparse and murky landscapes are well drawn and vaguely sinister, presenting a suitably bleak and unmanageable post-apocalyptic landscape. There is also something reassuringly real about the soundtrack’s use of gruff voices, footsteps, clicks and wobbles. The animation is incredibly creative and charmingly simple and serves as a reminder of how striking filmmaking of this kind could be in the age before computers did most of the work.
Picha is clearly not aiming for satire, despite his use of themes that were pertinent at the time, and the threat of nuclear war is approached with humour rather than foreboding. Light relief the film may be, but there are not enough jokes for it to carry this off successfully, and the script is full of far more smut than wit. The result is that, with its contorted characters and organised chaos, which vaguely recalls Pink Floyd’s The Wall, The Big Bang is often more terrifying than entertaining.
The Comrade-in-Chief is a nightmarish figure and, as such, his aggressive sexual advances towards the nation’s mascot, Liberty, make for uncomfortable, if not stomach-churning viewing. There are entertaining scenes here, a coastal struggle between the two warring nations which takes place over ‘I Get Around’ by The Beach Boys is a particular highlight, and Fred Hero is a humorously narrow minded and incompetent character- he may have all the superpowers in the universe, but lacks even a thimbleful of common sense.
While there are positives to be taken from The Big Bang, the prevailing feeling is one of discomfort. For the most part it is a headache of a film, so bafflingly unfamiliar that every frame is a challenge to the senses. It is, however, difficult not to recommend, if not for repeated viewings then certainly just to see once. This is the kind of madness that Seth McFarlene and Matt Groening can only dream of. It may lead to nausea, nightmares or even insanity, but The Big Bang truly has to be seen to be believed.
It may be hard to watch and lacking in the kind of humour that would have made it a more fulfilling experience, but The Big Bang is commendably anarchic, and demonstrates the kind of sexually charged animation that simply would not get made nowadays. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is open for debate. PK
This is the English-language dub version.
In 1995, Italy annihilates Libya, which destroys Israel. Africa bombs Germany, which in turn attacks France. Luxembourg conquers England. Sweden, Monte Carlo and Switzerland immolate themselves....
The Russians decide to liquidate the Americans, who unleash their nuclear fleet, leaving only two continents on the verge of World War IV. In the north, a mutated strain of males in America and Russia merge, forming the USSSR.
All that is left of womankind retreat to their territory of Vaginia in the south, as they deal with the scenario of a Third World War!
Film: The Big Bang
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 75 mins
Director: Picha
Starring: N/a
Genre: Animation
Studio: Lace
Format: DVD
Country: France/Belgium
Film: Jungle Burger
Release date: 31st January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 79 mins
Director: Picha, Boris Szulzinger
Starring: John Belushi, Billy Murray, Christopher Guest, Johnny Weissmuller Jr.
Genre: Animation
Studio: Lace
Format: DVD
Country: France/Belgium
This is an English-Language release.
As the first foreign-animated film to receive an X-rating and a wide distribution in the United States, Jungle Burger (or Tarzoon: Shame Of The Jungle as it’s known outside of the UK) has quite the reputation. With voice acting by comedy legends John Belushi and Bill Murray, and created by cartoonists Picha and Boris Szulzinger, Jungle Burger is an outrageous play on the Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Deep in the heart of the African jungle lives Shame – a timid, weak and sexually impaired ape-man with his mate, the sexually demanding and mostly nude June. But elsewhere, the evil Queen Bazonga is looking to take over the world, if she can get rid of her baldness first!
Her underlings agree that the best course of action is a scalp transplant, and June is chosen as the most suitable match. June is subsequently kidnapped, and it is up to Shame to race to Bazonga’s lair and save the day! Along the way Shame goes must go head to head with hunters, cannibals and a legion of anthropomorphic penises if he is to save his mate and put a stop to the Queen.
In 1976, Tarzoon: Shame Of The Jungle and its French distributor, 20th Century Fox, faced a lawsuit from Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs for alleged plagiarism. The case was unsuccessful as it was found to be a legitimate parody. The film was subsequently brought over to the United States in 1978 and, following a reedit and dub, released under an R-rating. Once again it faced lawsuits from the Burroughs estate, and the film was forced to drop the ‘Tarzoon’ in its name…
It’s clear almost immediately that Jungle Burger is devoted to delivering visual humour non-stop rather than a witty narrative. Within the first five minutes, the film has already descended into a mosquito raping a fly and racist stereotypes of jungle aborigines – and the film doesn’t get any cleverer from there. From a masturbating chimpanzee to semen-firing penis soldiers, Jungle Burger really scrapes the bottom of the barrel for laughs. Not only that, but several scenes are horrifically drawn out to the point where if the viewer were finding them funny to begin they would have lost all effect by the time they finish. It doesn’t take long for jokes to start being recycled either, which immediately gives the idea that the filmmakers were merely making something for the X-rated factor than something that could be genuinely funny.
Jungle Burger has the potential to be a strong parody of Tarzan. Portraying Shame as a clumsy weakling instead of an athletic, masculine hero, and June as a sexually strong female lead instead of a token damsel in distress are interesting role reversals. Unfortunately, this is about as close to Tarzan as it gets, opting not to create any further parallels in favour of its own brand of toilet humour. With that in mind, Jungle Burger is actually at its funniest when it is parodying other animated features rather than the Tarzan fiction. Moments include a nude Flintstones-esque shower sequence with an elephant and a bizarre cameo by Belgian cartoon superstar Tintin.
The characters are thin and one dimensional, and aside from Shame, June, Queen Bazonga and main henchman Charles of the Pits have an average screen-time of about five to ten minutes. It’s impossible to engage with most of the characters due to the sheer lack of dialogue in the film (and in some cases, the dialogue is almost incomprehensible). The voice talents of comedy legends Murray and Belushi go to complete waste, and if their names weren’t on the film’s credits it would be difficult to identify them in the first place. The only real highlight character-wise is Charles of the Pits – a crazed two headed beautician who seems all too aware that he’s starring in a cartoon.
There’s not a lot to say about the animation either – it’s about as crude and basic as an animated film can get. The characters are simple and the backgrounds mostly amount to simply one colour at a time. However, this actually compliments the film given its simplicity in both structure and intelligence.
Jungle Burger is lewd, crude and vulgar – and it has no shame in being so. Those with the most juvenile sense of humour may find some entertaining factor, but even then, most will be left confused by what on Earth they had just watched. A forgotten relic that’s best left in the past. AJ
This is the English-language version.
Voiced by alumni of Saturday Night Live, and 1980s legends John Belushi (Blues Brothers) and Billy Murray (Ghostbusters, Stripes), Jungle Burger is the outrageous cult cartoon from cartoonists Picha and Boris Szulzinger.
The film is a rare treat, an adult animated feature that is outrageously sexy, unashamedly rude and decidedly earthy in dialogue! Inspired by the classic jungle duo Tarzan and Jane (not forgetting Skippy the chimpanzee), it is an hilarious exercise in role reversal.
Tarzan becomes Shame - weak, cowardly and sexually inadequate. Jane becomes June - strident, sexually demanding - and naked most of the time.
Film: Jungle Burger
Release date: 31st January 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 79 mins
Director: Picha, Boris Szulzinger
Starring: John Belushi, Billy Murray, Christopher Guest, Johnny Weissmuller Jr.
Genre: Animation
Studio: Lace
Format: DVD
Country: France/Belgium
