Topic: Brickfilm of the Week: Also Thwacked Zarathustra (Jan 9, 2015)
This week’s Brickfilm of the Week is Also Thwacked Zarathustra by Thomas Foote.
Also Thwacked Zarathustra follows the story of a pack of monkeys that are terrorized by a hungry T-rex. It was made in 2001, when a slurry of other 2001: A Space Odyssey were also released. It premiered at Brickfest 2001. Thomas Foote, an American brickfilmer, was an early member of the Brickfilms.com community and was active roughly from 1999 to 2004, producing brickfilms such as The Big Match and Jake Technic. His personal site, BricksInMotion.com eventually lent its name and URL to our own beloved site.
Watch Also Thwacked Zarathustra on YouTube
SPOILERY DISCUSSION BELOW!
Also Thwacked Zarathustra is a perfect distillation of what brickfilming was like in 2001. Namely, creative experimentation, 2001: A Space Odyssey homages/parodies, and monkeys. Brickfilming was still very new. Heck, people were still figuring out what brickfilming even was. Most 2001 parodies rely on decent knowledge of the film to appreciate the parody, but Also Thwacked Zarathustra works on its as a slapstick comedy (though music fans might appreciate the bonus pun of the name). The animation is lighthearted and fun, with moments of impressive creativity (the T-Rex eating the monkey at 0:52). With only music and grunts from monkeys, a swath of emotions are skillfully presented, including fear, indifference, anger, sadness and celebration. I also like how suddenly dark this film gets: at the end of the film, that first monkey is still eaten, and that T-rex is definitely dead.
What are your thoughts on Also Thwacked Zarathustra? What did you like about it? Did you have a favorite moment?
