Classics Illustrated #80. "White Fang" By Jack London.

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) by Satoshi Kon.

A masterwork by the late storytelling master, Satoshi Kon.

For those who don't know, Satoshi Kon is the same director who worked on films like Paprika, Perfect Blue, and the mystery/psychological thriller/supernatural anime masterpiece Paranoia Agent. Unfortunately, on August 24, 2010, we lost this creative mind to terminal pancreatic cancer. If you ask me, we're probably never gonna get anything close to the creepy works this guy managed to craft ever again.

Tokyo Godfathers is a really good example of a tragicomedy, and it is one of the most disturbing Christmas films you'll ever encounter (without relying on pure shock value) solely because of the subject matter. While animated, it really focuses on making the setting as realistic and as gritty as a wacky story like this can be, leading to this unsettling, off tone in a familiar, yet urban setting that really made me feel uncomfortable. What makes this movie disturbing is how realistically the developed characters and setting are. These are just average, everyday people - the kind you may have encountered or known in real life - dealing with a stressful/unfortunate situation, while also dealing with the preconceived notions about who they are from the people around them and each other. There are fantastical elements to this movie, to be sure. But I'd say that the grounded nature and focus on mental health and identity are just downright heartbreaking and genuinely hard for me to watch.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what background you come from, what horrible thing has happened in the past or what society says about who you are. The things that make us truly human is the empathy we can have for one another. This isn't your traditional Christmas film, but it's most certainly one of the best I've ever seen. It's not only disturbing, heartwarming and more than earned the right to be labelled as a modern classic, I think it's one of Satoshi Kon's greatest projects that he's ever worked on. To me, this film exemplifies his filmography the best and shows how an artist really can create something that is stunning, beautiful and eerie all at the same time. He has a perfect filmography. Let us never forget.

The biggest mistake is that anime, in general, is often misunderstood. It has created timeless adult masterpieces.

2001 test for film adaptation of Paul Chadwick's Concrete comics.

I loved the superhero boom from the 90s/2000s, seeing mega hits like the Spider-Man films (which are some of my top favorite superhero movies, I think the first Spider-Man movie was developed before even X-Men was on film). The superhero set I would've loved to visit the most is Mystery Men. To me, the first Blade movie was instrumental in showing how superhero movies could exist at the end of the 20th century. There was a collision of Dark City and Blade that somehow, in subtle ways paved the way, via anime/manga, for The Matrix to spawn into the world. 

But, still, back then it was a countermovement to try to do superhero films, especially with material that didn't have Marvel or DC numbers. For many years, the proto-comic book movies were Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop (one of the best Judge Dredd movies) and Sam Raimi's Darkman in so many ways.

In my opinion, Paul Chadwick's Concrete is ripe to be adapted (there was a script written by Larry Wilson and Paul Chadwick, but it didn't go through).

Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese.

Saw this on Netflix, and I say it's pure art.

A study of masculinity, existentialism, isolation, and delusion.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Terry Gilliam.

Based on the tall tales about the 18th-century German nobleman Baron Munchausen and his wartime exploits against the Ottoman Empire.

It is, to this day, a misunderstood film.

A titanic exercise in bravura filmmaking. A testament to the power of imagination. Moving and magical.

Gilliam is a master. ^^

Where you can go on the ride of your afterlife.

Time Bandits by Terry Gilliam.

This just might be one of the very best "children's story" films ever produced. Outstanding imagination and poignant humanism.

It's a Roald Dahl–esque landmark to all fantasy films.

Beautiful! ^^

Our tour begins before we even enter the Mansion itself in the Magic Kingdom, where you can see some of our guests in their corruptible...mortal...busts.

Pictured here, we have the Dread Family. Uncle Jacob Dread, Bertie Dread, Aunt Florence McGriffin Dread, Wellington and Forsythia Dread, and Cousin Maude (Dread, I'm assuming).

They were a family of six who once inhabited the manor before one day they all met their gruesome fate at each other's hands. Uncle Jacob was poisoned by Bertie for his wealth. Who was then shot dead by Florence as an act of revenge. Who was then smothered by bird seed by Forsythia and Wellington, who were then killed in their sleep with a mallet…by Cousin Maude. Who, as the sole surviving member of the Dread Family, burned to death because she liked to use matches in her hair instead of hairpins (really amazing thinking there Cousin Maude…🙄). And now, the Dread Family is no more and haunt the halls of the esteemed mansion.

UPA's The Tell-Tale Heart (1954) by Ted Parmelee, designed by Paul Julian, narrated by James Mason.

My favorite adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story.

I'd give this short an A+++.