In this acclaimed, animated rock and roll feature, Angel, a member of a punk rock band in the apocalyptic future, is kidnapped by Mok, a legendary super rocker. Obsessed with an evil experiment, Mok plans to use Angel s voice to summon a demon from another dimension. The rest of the bands follows Mok to Nuke York in an attempt to rescue her and then the ultimate battle of good vs. evil begins.Although it featured songs by Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, and Earth, Wind & Fire, Rock and Rule (Canada, 1983) never received a general US release. Set in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by mutants, the underdeveloped story centers on the rock star Mok and his efforts to summon a demon from another dimension. Only the voice of aspiring singer Angel can cross the dimensional barrier and free the monster. Mok pursues Angel through series of chases and concerts that produce complications involving her true love/singing partner Omar and his band. Clive Smith’s direction is simply inept: the story plods along listlessly; the characters change motivation on a dime; the crude CG special effects are squandered in minor scenes, rather than used to punch up the climax.
Rock and Rule reflects the confusion of the animation industry in the early ’80s. Yellow Submarine and Fritz the Cat had proved there was an audience for hip, edgy animated features. But nobody could make a good one, and a series of bombs caused animation to be labeled box-office poison. More than 20 years later, Rock and Rule holds a curiosity value for fans of old rock, but it’s not a memorable film. (Rated PG: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon
Buy “Rock and Rule” For Only $8.34
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on Rock
March 12, 2010
#1
I saw this movie like 12 or 13 years ago on cable so when I learned it was on DVD I had to get it. First off for a movie about Rock the Audio is terrible espescially with the music. You hear music its probably in english but you can’t understand a word anyone is singing. The dialogue comes out but the music is so distorted. They really must have found the best VHS or Beta copy they could find for the music. The video is even worse there are SO many drop outs in color and lighting it gave me a head ache. The whole film looks like a bootleg.
The film itself is another “it came from the early 80′s” mess. This film is such a mess I don’t know where to begin. The plot is the only thing thats holding this thing together. Its original and interesting for the first 5 to 10 minutes but soon it starts to drag like a drunk caught on a DeLorean. The plot centers around Mok a waning Shockrocker’s attempt to ressurect a Demon from another dimension by kidnapping Angel a struggling muscician and Angel’s band spending the entire film trying to rescue her. The movie is hurt even more by the lack of appealing characters. Mok is the only character that has appeal but we never learn why he wants to ressurect the demon or what the demon is. He’s the only developed character in the whole film. Omar the lead hero is an angst ridden struggling muscician, Thats it. He’s rude to everyone in the film and his jokes and taunting make him a very annoying lead. Thankfully he only gets plot driven screentime. We never learn Omar’s story or why we should care about him he only serves as an alternative to Mok. Angel the female lead singer in the band(by the way we never learn the bands name or what their story is either) serves only as a helpless victem of Mok we never learn anything about her except that she has “the voice”. The 2 remaining band members I forgot their names thats how memorable and appealing they are and I just finished watching the movie 10 minutes ago. One’s thin, one’s fat and thats it. They spend most of the film following Omar on his crusade to rescue Angel. There’s also these rollerskating goons that make bad comic relief. Their big strong and stupid,where have we seen that before? They roll around on rollerskates and are brothers on the account that they all look the same. There’s this subplot about one of them questioning Mok and getting the rest of them to turn on Mok at the last minute. The art in the film is interesting if you can make it out because the video feels like a bootleg. The animation looks and feels like rotoscope but its not. The film had potential to be a colorful commentary on Rock culture as well as good sci-fi animation. But now its just a smeared window into the forgotton era of the early 80′s. I can now see why this film bombed and dropped off the face of the earth.
March 12, 2010
#2
I suppose that this was Canada’s attempt to repeat the success of Heavy Metal. Unfortunately, Rock and Rule falls quite short of HM’s status. The songs are supplied by certified geniuses, Rick Nielsen/Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop, but all of these artists were at a nadir at the time of this movie. While their worst songs are still much better than most artists’ best songs, those used in the movie just aren’t great and they don’t fit into the movie really well. It is hard to determine if the songs were meant to relay plot aspects or are merely background mood setters. The lone exception is Lou’s “My Name is Mok”, perhaps the highlight of the film.
Basically, Mok is a super rocker who wants to bring in a demon from another dimension but needs a voice of specific timbre to make it happen. If that sounds cheesy, you should hear the dialog. The “humor” is sophomoric and most adults will find the script asinine. After all, the characters are mutated rats, cats and dogs (though I can’t tell which are which). I guess I was in a different mind frame 20 years ago when I first watch this film. That being said, fans of REAL animation will probably enjoy it. No annoying CGI here! The animation and “My Name is Mok”, coupled with nostalgia, are the reasons that I can warrant the three stars. For better plot lines and music, check out HM or American Pop.
March 12, 2010
#3
I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I saw this movie! I can still sing some of the songs, remember vividly some of the scenes, and can even recite some of the lines. Not too bad for a movie that came out when I was all of 13 years old, and only available at that time on HBO.
I’m a collector mostly of anime, a cause that came upon me later in my life, but I can remember when “The Devil And Daniel Mouse” and “Rock And Rule” were very visually stunning, and incredibly entertaining. It was one of the first animations to use the technique of shining light through the cells to cause ‘illumination’, like for electronic displays. It was also perhaps the first time I ever heard a ‘cartoon’ character say “…still, she pissed me off!”, which was rather shocking in those days.
The music was great, and still is if you can forgive an original soundtrack its 80′s style. These songs were never hits so you’ve never really heard these songs before; but they’re still good enough to be remembered twenty years later from a 13-year-old’s point of view who still loves punk and new wave: “…my name is Mok, thanks a lot…”. And yes, I’m still waiting for real live rock-video holograms to this day.
And from the point of view of an anime collector who has over 600 DVD’s of the stuff, no, this will probably not be technically impressive. I didn’t see anything this good again until “Akira” which didn’t come out for five more years. What was impressive is that this little un-known movie was not created in Japan, but back here in the West and for it’s time was quite creative.
Buy this movie if you want to be entertained. If you are into animation you need this film in your collection for its historical value. If you like 80′s music you will find great tracks that have probably never been released anywhere else (accept Iggy Pop’s “Pain And Suffering”). The bonus “Devil And Daniel Mouse” is a nice extra as well.
I can’t wait to see this movie again. I was afraid it was so unknown that I WOULD never see it again. It’s been some twenty years and I can still see this movie when I close my eyes. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
March 12, 2010
#4
i used to think this movie was the best, i had an open mind and i viewed the messages in this movie with such
i watched it at least once a month, sometimes twice and it really brings back old memories when i look at the box art for it here on amazon, but sadly im an old prune now at the age of 39, and i dont got time to relive the fun of my youth by buying this movie and watching it again
im old i got kids and im a christian so this sorta *evil* content doesnt work for me anymore, i would rather recommend a movie for those with *mature* tastes, like Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Flower Drum Song, The Sound of Music and many other movies that only appeal to those over the age of 70 and living in asorted nursing homes
or in real life we can also discover that growing up has nothing to do with your taste in movies and just say that as we grew up we found bigger and better things, regardless this movie is one of the fondest memories of my youth and im very happy that its out on dvd so i can relive what i never really thought id get to see again… how if they can just bring back the old mego toys id be set
March 12, 2010
#5
What a movie. Great music. Interesting concepts. New DVD lacks the brightness of the original format. Great for early heavy metal movie junkies.