Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



Rock & Rule (1983)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

Rock & Rule (1983, Canada)

Director Clive A. Smith's work was a feature-length cel-animated film about mutated humanoids. Overall, it was a post-apocalyptic, off-beat, adult-oriented rock & roll fantasy about a world with mutated animals (dogs, cats, and rats) due to nuclear radiation. Its rock 'n' roll score included performances from artists such as Debbie Harry, Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and Earth, Wind and Fire. It had two taglines:

  • Sound you can see in the movie you can feel!
    AND
  • The Beauty... The Beast... The Beat!

It was the first English-speaking animated feature film ever made entirely in Canada, and noted for its bright colors, pop soundtrack, suggestively-drawn female characters, story of good vs. evil, and dazzling effects. The animation used a variety of special effects, from models to paintings to very basic but impressive CGI. It marked the first animated film to use computer graphics, although it was only used in a limited way for just a few of the film's images.

Unfortunately, the film reached only limited theatrical audiences and was a major flop. Most of its viewings were on late-night Canadian television.

  • In the film's opening, a prologue described the futuristic, dystopic setting (after WW3 between the US and Soviet Union) with animal-human hybrids, where a malevolent, retired, decadent and obsessed rocker named MOK (voice of Don Francks) wished to unlock a doorway to a hellish dimension - but only needed one more element to unleash a powerful, demonic creature behind a doorway to another dimension - the voice could help him crack the ancient code and unlock the portal:

    "The War was over. The only survivors were street animals: dogs, cats and rats. From them, a new race of mutants evolved. That was a long time ago. MOK, a legendary superocker has retired to OHMTOWN. There his computers work at deciphering an ancient code which would unlock a doorway between this world and another dimension. Obsessed with his dark experiment, MOK himself searches for the last crucial component - a very special voice."

  • The story was about MOK's world-destroying efforts to kidnap Angel (voice of Susan Roman), a young singer in a struggling band - the one with a 'very special voice.' He heard her singing a romantic ballad "Angel's Song" in a nightclub ("Now I have revealed exactly why I'm here / I'll be your angel if you want to see / How perfect sharing love with an angel can be") and knew she was the one. Seated in the dark, MOK's magical ring began blinking, signaling that he had found what he was looking for - her voice.

Angel Singing Ballad: "Angel's Song"

MOK Realizing Angel Was the Voice

MOK's Blinking Ring
  • MOK (a caricature of Mick Jagger and David Bowie) invited Angel to his palatial mansion-estate, where she arrived with her three male bandmates - hot-headed lover-boyfriend and lead singer Omar (voice of Gregory Salata), Dizzy (voice of Dan Hennessey) and Stretch (voice of Greg Duffell). They met MOK's three oafish, bumbling goons-assistants, known as the "Rollerskating Schlepper Brothers" (Toad, Sleazy and Zip).
  • In his garden with Angel after hypnotizing her band members (with glowing, magical "Edison Balls"), MOK tried to convince her to join him, but she refused to abandon her band. He had no choice but to drug Angel (with a scented rose), kidnap her and transport her in his personal dirigible-blimp to Nuke York. His demonic plan was to open the otherworldly portal during Angel's performance at a concert.
  • Angel's trio of bandmates followed after her in a stolen police car, but were detained at the border by a guard and placed under arrest. Meanwhile, Angel had briefly escaped with the unintended help of Cindy (voice of Catherine Gallant), the busty blond-haired sister of one of MOK's goons. Through a ventilation system, Angel overheard MOK talking to his computer (CPU). She heard about the unleashing of the demon through her singing of a particular series of notes: ("The vibrations of her voice will create a doorway through which the being will enter this dimension") and learned there was a force that could send the demon being back --- with the magic of "One voice, One heart, One song" - but the computer added that "No One can send it back." MOK gloated: "Then the beast is mine!"
  • At the zero-gravity dance club, Club 666, Angel was recaptured by MOK, and then he also captured the band members, tortured them inside a giant "Edison Ball", and brainwashed them with mind-games to enable Angel to agree with his demands.

MOK Communicating With His Computer

"The vibrations of her voice will create a doorway..."

MOK Asking Questions

Club 666

Club 666 Dance Club

MOK's Spell Over Angel
  • However, the first efforts of MOK to release the demon did not succeed - the Nuke York concert at CARNAGE HALL was a disaster because the energy source was insufficient (the demon only partially appeared) and there was a complete blackout ("Carnegie Concert 'A Blast'").
  • A second concert needed to be held in Ohmtown which had a stronger power plant - where MOK demanded that the reluctant Angel sing. She was wearing a white robe over her naked body, and her wrists and legs were bound. There was another overload and power surge on the power grid as the massive demonic creature was summoned - Angel's band members attempted to rescue and free her, but they were too late.
The Summoning of the Demonic Creature
Omar to Angel's Rescue - They Both Needed to Sing to Send the Demon Back
  • The demonic figure attacked Omar, while Angel attempted to sing to force the demon back through the portal, but failed until Omar joined her in harmony to sing the power duet Send Love Through - it took two singers (not just one voice) to produce a counter-spell.
  • MOK's dominance ended when he was thrown down through the pentagonal dimensional portal into the depths by a vengeful Toad after his self-sacrificing, heroic brother Zip died in his arms. Mok screamed back in anger:

    "You can't do this to me! I...AM...MOK!"

  • Mok managed to climb to the side of the portal, where he confessed that he had misinterpreted the Satanic computer prophecy (voice of Samantha Langevin) about how the demon could be sent back:

    "The magic of one voice, one heart, one song, but there is no one!"

  • The now-sunny Ohmtown had a new superstar band with two vocalist singers.

Prologue

MOK's Computer - "A Very Special Voice" Was Needed to Open Another Dimension to Unleash Demon

Omar and Angel - Bandmembers

MOK's Three Assistants - The Schlepper Brothers: Toad, Sleazy and Zip

MOK (a caricature of Mick Jagger) with Angel


Omar Hypnotized with Edison Ball

The Menacing MOK

Song: "My Name is MOK"

Angel Escaping With the Help of Cindy


Bandmembers Captured Inside Edison Ball

Concert at Carnage Hall in Nuke York - A Failure

Amazing Animations


Angel During Ohmtown's Concert - Bound By Wrists and Legs and Forced to Sing


Mok Thrown Into Portal with the Demon by Toad

MOK Hurled Into the Portal To Perish

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