Review: The Old Man Movie

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

The Old Man Movie (aka Vanamehe film; Old Man Cartoon Movie)
Directed by Oskar Lehemaa and Mikk Mägi
Eesti Filmi Instituut; Apollo Film Productions; BOP Animation; Unearthed Animation; MVD Entertainment
88 minutes, 1995 / 2022
www.facebook.com/vanamehemultikas
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDEntertainment.com/

At first, one might see this Estonian (with English subtitles, though an English dub is also available in the extras) Claymation film looks like it might be along the lines of Up (2009) or, thanks to the farm motif cover, Chicken Run (2000). However, it is important to note that it was released by Unearthed Films, so you know there is something more to this than young adult fare. So, let’s fire up this puppy and see what’s what.

Right off the bat, during an old-type newsreel, we meet the world’s greatest cow milker, but he waits too long to milk his cow one time and… badda bing, badda BOOM!

Decades later, three little kids are dropped off at their grampa’s farm. He’s a tough old coot who is the current head milker, much to the dismay of his cow and her sore teats. We are introduced to a bunch of locals who are apparently addicted to milk, including a near toothless alcoholic, a younger woman wearing a tank top and lots of cleavage, and an older woman in traditional dress that spits on grandpa often.

Grampa and Cow

How tough is the old man? He immediately grabs the kids cell phones and destroys them. The youngest boy, Mart, is an inventor of sorts, the second oldest boy. Priidik, is, well, a typical boy, and the oldest is a girl, Aino, who is obnoxious, yet quite wily. So far, the story is going along well, and I can see this is not your typical cheerful Babe (1995) farmer tale, but rather a dark and comic tale more in the lines of The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001).

There are some insane animals on the farm, such as a pig who poops like crazy, and my favorite, a rooster with a vicious and conspiratorial mind that has a fixation on Priidik. Like the cow, Grampa does not treat them well. Which is why when the cow goes missing, that’s when the storyline really picks up. Who will get him? The older man in a wheelchair who is afraid of the Lactocalypse, a band of hippies, a horny tree god, or our central characters of the Grandpa riding his tractor in search with two of the three kids in tow?

Mart, Aino, Priidik

From this point, the story becomes completely unhinged, and I will not explain much other than the rock concert was my fave part. Because this is animation and not “real” life, there are things than can be presented that are out of the realm of reality in a way that is totally unexpected. There are so many curves in the story that it is nearly impossible to guess what will happen next.

Along with Unearthed trailers, the extras are all Old Man/Grampa related shorts. The first is “The Taste of Cow” (2 min), which is a warning about where to swim in farm country. Next is “I Went to Sauna with Grandchildren” (2 min) teaches a lesson about going into an icy lake after a hot sauna. “My Cow Gave Birth” (2 min) describes a bad place to sleep. “The Old Man is Tired” (2.5 min) has grandpa depressed as Autumn springs. Finally, “The Old Hag Had Me Put an Implant” (2.5 min) warns of where not to hide your vodka.

This is such a fun film, and much better than I even expected. Some of the animation is quite stunning, especially those scenes dealing with animals, most notably during close-ups. Most of the film is a mixture of outrageous, outlandish, and wildly WTF. There are scenes that are quite dark in tone, but still manages to keep the humor on various levels, from “hunh?” to laugh out loud. Don’t let the subtitles get you, they are clear and stay up long enough to read (pet peeve of mine is when the subtitles are flashed faster than I can comprehend the whole text). While this is not as horrifying as the usual Unearthed releases, it is also definitely not for kids.

IMDB listing HERE