The Adventures of Mark Twain

source: The Adventures of Mark Twain

This movie is a wonderful treat for any age. A child can grow up with this movie and see it differently as he/she matures. As a great fan of Mark Twain, I can say this movie has never disappointed me. It has a wonderful storyline and the claymation makes for better than average animation. There are some truly dark parts in this movie that young children will not understand, but that adults may find disturbing. I have watched this movie many times and have never tired of it. There are few movies I have watched more than once. The script is so well developed from all the material that Twain wrote, that I have been continuously impressed at its depth. The broad outline of the story is based on the fact that Samuel Clemens was born and died in successive passes of Halley's Comet. Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher are along on a ride on an airship invented by Mark Twain. Portions of Twain's stories are presented as "chapters" in the overall storyline. The sad part is the unavailability of the movie. It was released on video tape, but now there are only a few used tapes for sale. I vote for release on DVD so the movie could reach a wider audience. I will certainly buy multiple copies to give as presents to all the Twain fans I know.

This is an amazing piece of animation and script. The script is taken almost entirely from the works of Mark Twain, especially some of his lesser known pieces of satire. The whole sequence on Adam and Eve is the best. The "Mysterious Stranger" segment is particularly dark and brooding. Vinton has done an excellent and clever job of mixing real events in Twain's life, the fact that he was born and died with the appearing of Haley's Comet, and events and characters from his "fictional" life, the characters of Tom Sawyer. A masterpiece for devotees of Mark Twain and those who know little but want to know more. We can only hope that it will be released soon. The is no artistic reason to lock it away in a vault. I first saw it 15 years ago on an overnight movie program on a local TV station. I have regretted not being able to see it again except on a poor quality video tape I made of the show.

Where do I begin to explain the splendid majesty of this highly acclaimed film? It is...enlightening, educating, and most of all...inspiring. It jolts the imagination to confusion, it swirls the mind around the idea of Mark Twain in a submarine in the sky, it makes you wish that you too could be made of clay and have adventures in the sky. The most inspiring character is Becky "Angelfish". Her role is small, but she plays it with awe-ing acting and her beauty is undescribably off the charts. Her braids swishing in the wind of the air, her squeaky voice shouting at her Tom, and her obvious statements are so charming that you wish that she was real. Tom and Huck also play amazing characters in this film, but the real actor in this...is Homer, Huck's frog. Homer's part has action, adventure and lines that only the wisest can truly fathom. The sequence where Homer (spoiler warning) is dangling off the edge of the balloon during the storm is dramatic, well-played and excellently managed. Mark Twain saves him and Homer is happily reunited with his pal, Huck. Huck's character is mature while you may want to beat Tom's character with a stick for his ignorance. Twain is the star, but his acting cannot compare with that of Becky's and Homer's. The animation is superb, the quotes are well placed and the story is imaginative and dark, comical, and unique. I suggest that you go out to the store and fling yourself at the first copy for it shall change your life as you know it. Please do not wait for this opportunity may pass you by. As Mark Twain once said (and says in this movie): "Naked people have little or no influence on society." -- Mark Twain

I'm a fan of Mark Twain as well as of claymation, so it's a given I like this feature! Will Vinton is not a household name any longer but the impact he had on the field can not be overrated (he even coined the term "claymation"). In the 80s, he was still a big name and had already done tons of animation, yet the production of "The Adventures of Mark Twain" must have been a real adventure. This is not easy stuff, it's not targeting children, and animation for adults has always been - and will propably always be - a big financial risk. Still, "Don't be such a sissy in face of a real adventure!" as he lets his main character say to himself. Basically, we have a frame story (M.T. chasing the comet where he plans to end his earthly life, with Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky as stowaways on board) framing several episodes from his writings, most of them from his more cynical works. Not every episode works equally well but overall the quality is OK and there's a certain momentum built up towards the conclusion. The gags are rarely laugh-out-loud but mostly hit the spot, and the outstanding thing is the animation - the quirky sets, the lively faces, the colours! There may be more creative animation out there, but never in a 90 minute feature. It's a feast for claymation fans (and should be for every cinephile but still animation carries that birthmark of childishness). Is this film perfect? No, and I guess no work which ventures that far from the trodden path can ever be. Some episodes rather stop than advance the story; the faces of the children look too grown-up; sometimes the dialogue feels pretty forced just to prompt one of M.T.'s aphorisms; and some of the visual gags seem targeted at children while the story as a whole is certainly not for them. But the wonderful animation and philosophical depth make up for such shortcomings - while by now Aardman or Laika have surpassed this film from the technical POV, it still remains one of the most grown-up claymation features I know.

"The Adventures of Mark Twain" is a fascinating animated feature. The clever mind of Will Vinton fashioned a masterpiece from the works of one of America's greatest writers. Seeing stories like "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" fleshed out in animation is something else. Of course, it's doubtful that any studio today would make an animated film exactly like this. Still, I'd think it's a wonderful way to introduce younger people to classic American literature.

My mother brought this movie home from the library once when I was a young child, about 4. I didn't understand it very well, but I was thrilled by the clay animation. When I was about 13, I came across it tin the library again and after checking it out, I found a post-it note stating: "May not be understood by children under Junior High level." When I watched it again, I understood it. There was the story of Adam and Eve and how they didn't understand what each other did, and thought each other foolish. Then there was the dark side. I still didn't understand it quite as well after watching it a second time, but it was slightly understood. This may not being a good movie for younger children, but they do get a thrill out of the animation, although they may not fully understand it.

Why isn't "Adventures Of Title" a trope yet? Seriously, I see that title everywhere. This was a good movie for me, but it wasn't that good. It's mostly because I wish they would have had more Mark Twain stories that we're familiar with. Then again, it was kind of nice to learn about ones I was not familiar with. The stop motion effects are the highlight. I remember seeing the part with Satan the angel on the Internet years ago. That's easily the best part of the movie. This film tells the story of how Huckleberry Finn, Tom Swayer, and Becky Thatcher stumbled onto Mark Twain's airship. Mark Twain was a critic of religion, but the stories here didn't seem anti-religious. The Adam and Eve one was more funny than anything else. It has some interesting morals to it too.

This is some great claymation. Great detail caught in the facial expressions, lots of characters and settings. This film is truly a captivating visual experience. Mark Twain is driving an airship to Haley's Comet into his demise, and his characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn have stowawayed themselves on the ship. Some of Mark Twain's other stories are told in the process in claymation, and creation, death, and the afterlife are all explored. This film is not just for kids as it has a very adult sense of humor and some very deep themes. I really enjoyed it more than I expected too, definitely a classic in clay-animation.

I saw this when I was small at my grandmother's house. I saw it only once more, years later somewhere on TV. I had never loved a claymation film more until Tim Burton's NBC. I was lucky enough to find it on DVD, and promptly rented and watched it last night. I fell in love all over again. Tim could learn much from this gem. The facial expressions are spot-on, almost photographic, the story is great, and the sly humour is wonderfully refreshing. This is such a huge labor of love,for the art itself and for the man that inspired it,leagues away from anything animation has been for the past 15 years or so. I loved it because it never talked down to me as a kid, and wasn't afraid to show me that innocence can be terrifying. "I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is" is the most chilling line I have ever heard spoken in any film. Rent this or buy it as soon as you can, you won't be sorry.