Topic: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

This week’s Brickfilm of the Week is Aladibababad by Jonathan Hellerman and Nathanael Hellerman.

Aladibababad follows the story of young Arabian knight Aladibababad and his adventures with a band of thieves and a magical bottle. It was made in 2004 for the High Adventure Theatre Contest on Brickfilms.com and ultimately won first place. Brothers Jonathan Hellerman and Nathanael Hellerman, typically known collectively as Leftfield Studios or the Leftfielders, were members of the Brickfilms.com community from around 2002 to 2009, though they did continue to make brickfilms until 2012. They have made around 20 brickfilms, including Fred’s Day, Special Deliverance, and Star Wars: The Great Disturbance, one of the longest brickfilms ever made.

Watch Aladibababad on YouTube

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SPOILERY DISCUSSION BELOW!

Aladibababad is a great example of memorable Leftfield humor that mixes visual gags with clever wordplay and puns. The plot exists solely to propel the continuous string of jokes, and that’s totally okay. Take special note of the animation at 1:47 - a lot of effort put into a great visual gag. While Special Deliverance delivers a stronger message, and The Great Disturbance grabs all of the attention because of its length, Aladibababad is the quintessential Leftfield Studios film, and my personal favorite of theirs.

What are your thoughts on Aladibababad? What did you like about it? Did you have a favorite moment?

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

A very enjoyable brickfilm. Well-written, well-animated. It had a wacky story that was backed by some suitably wacky animation and cinematography.

My only criticism is that some of the jokes lasted a bit too long.

Spoiler (click to read)

Both getting the genie back in the bottle and the '6 words' gag were dragged out almost to the point of wrecking the humour.

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

This is another example of an older brickfilm that achieved a longer running time. I know the whole discussion of "what's the best length for a brickfilm" has come up before, and, it seems like a shorter time (such as 3 to 5 minutes) has become a sort of accepted norm today. However, back in the earlier days of brickfilms.com, and even before, brickfilms usually had an 8+ minute running time, simply because that seemed to be acceptable for shorts of any kind. 3 stooges skits ran from about 10 minutes to half and hour at times, because, this really was the minimum needed to tell a short narrative. - I still think this should be used as a model for ideas, as, anything under that is usually either rushed, or the concept isn't good enough to keep the audience's attention for longer.

Anyway, onto Aladibababad!

As the title screen hits, it seems to really remind me of my Windows Movie Maker days - before high quality title cards and effects were realistically achievable... However, through those struggles, great films could still be made! mini/smile

Overall, the sets, while not spectacular, are still impressive. They're not as flashy as anything seen in The LEGO Movie, yet, they still convey what they are meant to, and give the film a certain look and feel reminiscent of the Rankin & Bass Christmas specials of the 60's and 70's.

The lighting and camera angles seem to transcend time, being very relevant even for modern brickfilming standards. That's one of the biggest flaws a lot of earlier brickfilms had - they seemed to look very rudimentary. I understand that, because brickfilming was still in it's earlier stages, there were less films to compare to. However, this film is very well directed.

The film certainly does have it's own wacky sense of humor - something that I think is commendable. Many comedies seem to either play it "too safe" and never go all out on their jokes, or, they try too hard at "shock" comedy. This film, on the other hand, is able to keep it's jokes uniform, never breaking from the norm (or, actually, abnormal) that was set since the first real gag shown off.

Spoiler (click to read)

BTW, the happy meal toys joke always gets me, even to this day. mini/tongue I think that, for being one of the shortest jokes in the entire film, it's still one of it's best!

In the end, the pacing is a bit slow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, however, I could see other viewers not taking kindly to it, perhaps even clicking off before it's over. However, I didn't. Whether it was the similar sense of humor that I share with the filmmakers, or it be the "laid back adventure" vibe the film gives off, I loved it. It certainly is a gem! ... or, in this case, an American 3rd edition holographic Charizard with a misprinted hit point counter. mini/smile

https://i.imgur.com/Z8VtGae.png

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

This was a very welcome excuse to watch this all-time classic once again. I've seen it so many times but every single joke still hits just as hard. I can barely comprehend how funny and how consistent this film is, from the writing to the voice acting. I can't imagine a better brickfilm visual gag than the thieves hiding around the tree. One of my top 10 favourite brickfilms for sure; perhaps even top 5.

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I love this classic film!

The pacing doesn't seem like much of a problem to me. It's honestly like a lot of older films, things just aren't supposed to happen quickly, and they're left to develop in a slightly different way. Too often it seems that newer films jump right to the joke, and are over before they've really begun. It gives you an instant gratification, but isn't as long-lasting and full of substance as something that sets a slower pace. It's a nice style that you have to get into the right mindset for, but once you do, it's thoroughly enjoyable.

You're right Nathan, this is THE Leftfield Studios film. Nothing else seems to capture their unique style quite as well, and nothing else is quite as memorable as this. And as for a favorite moment, anything with the genie. This has got to be the brickfilm I've laughed at the most over the years, and he's a big part of it.

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

Pritchard Studios wrote:

The pacing doesn't seem like much of a problem to me. It's honestly like a lot of older films, things just aren't supposed to happen quickly, and they're left to develop in a slightly different way. Too often it seems that newer films jump right to the joke, and are over before they've really begun. It gives you an instant gratification, but isn't as long-lasting and full of substance as something that sets a slower pace. It's a nice style that you have to get into the right mindset for, but once you do, it's thoroughly enjoyable.

Great points, Pritchard. I 100% agree!

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I'm enjoying the series a whole lot. It's like the good part of school, but instead of getting exposure to all kinds of different literature, it's learning about historical brickfilms! mini/tongue

Like all of the other films in this series, I had not seen that one. And I enjoyed it completely. I don't think the gags were too long, or there were any mistakes. Often times, people try to critique something that needs no critique. Not that I'm saying that the film is perfect, but it's just a waste to critique it because it's not going to change anything.

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

Probably my favorite brickfilm ever. The amount of times this film made me laugh when I first discovered it is ridiculous.

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I remember watching this a while back, and it still puts a smile on my face.  I have no problems with the pacing; it's long, but it doesn't drag, and although the ending seems a bit sudden it still feels natural and doesn't detract.  I love the jokes, both visual (such as the shot at 2:01, surely one of the most memorable in the history of Brickfilming), and the dialogue ("It's just that this bottle is only a size 9 bottle...").  I don't think that the humour is dragged out too much, either; to me part of the joke is that the "bottle gag" is so prolonged, yet it still manages not to outstay its welcome.  The cinematography is used to great effect, such as the aforementioned shot, the pan from the oasis to the Burger Doodle], and the camera movement showing all the treasure in the cave...

Spoiler (click to read)

only to abruptly track back to the American 3rd-edition Holographic Charizard with a Mis-printed Hitpoint Counter.

All in all, probably one of my favourite "classic" brickfilms.

Last edited by Mr Vertigo (February 7, 2015 (04:43am))

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I love Leftfield Studios. I can still remember seeing this for the first time and being completely blown away. Both by the quality and by how much I laughed. I still love it. Personally, The Great Disturbance is probably the epitome of what a Leftfield Studios movie is though. Probably partly due to the fact that it was the first movie of theirs that I watched. Either way, the jokes and gags in Aladibababad are great and timeless.

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

This is one of my all-time favorite brickfilms, thank you for picking it and reminding me to rewatch it! mini/tongue

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I remember seeing this over four years ago! Boy, I love this thing. The jokes have great timing and the voice-acting is over-the-top-hilarious!

Spoiler (click to read)

"I've got just six words for you. Give me back my Pokemon card...now!"

"That was seven words!"

"Oh, well, the "now" didn't count."

"But you said it!"

"Oh, um..."

"You promised me only six words!"

mini/lol

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

Never seen it until today. I love it! The jokes are nice and funny.
Of course, what I typed was too short for a post so here's a long word for you to read: Aladibababababaddin!

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

It's been far too long since I've watched this. One of my all-time favourites for sure, something about it just makes it feel timeless.

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Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I have always loved this movie! The story telling that went into this and The Great Disturbance is unmatched.

This will always be one of my favorite brickfilms. mini/tongue

Re: Brickfilm of the Week: Aladibababad (Feb 6, 2015)

I thought the middle dragged for too long but everything from 5:00 minutes on was fun. Voice acting was great, the delivery is spot-on for comedic effect! And they made the long Star Wars film, it is also legendary.