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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"
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MOK Realizing Angel Was the Voice
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MOK's Blinking Ring
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- 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
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"The vibrations of her voice will create
a doorway..."
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MOK Asking Questions
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Club 666
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Club 666 Dance Club
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MOK's Spell Over Angel
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- 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
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Omar to Angel's Rescue - They Both Needed to Sing
to Send the Demon Back
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- 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.
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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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