The Handmade Character

The Handmade Character
Directed by Ben Rice

Pegged early on as an "HMC extravaganza" cash-in, being made with all the best intentions by a kid who was imitating because he didn't know any better, it's remarkable that this film got finished at all. Usually when the community responds negatively to an idea, it responds EXTREMELY negatively, mercilessly crushing the project and tormenting the director until they dejectedly give up. And typically that's the end of it. Movie and director, and anything they could have amounted to. But Rice has astonishing resolve, maintaining his childlike innocence and determination even when being bombarded with hostility from all angles. Honestly, it's inspiring to see someone this...well, inspired. But does the movie match up to his conviction in finishing it?

You won't mistake it for a cinematic masterpiece or even the more notable releases of the past year or so. The plot exists primarily to exist, revealing little about any character's motivation or assigning any concrete meaning to the events. We're never aware of any meaning to anything that happens. There are far, far too many fades and the pace of the film just barely doesn't connect in the way Rice clearly intended for it to. The music, made up of tunes that have been used one too many times in 3DMM already, serve as a cheap attempt to pull at the heartstrings rather than underline what happens in each scene. The story of this handmade character being pulled into the default actor reality, treated as a deity of some kind, and feeling compelled to return because he doesn't feel he belongs makes very little connection except on the surface level.

But has Ben improved? Oh yes indeed. You get the sense this actually had some effort put into it, and it comes across as a real experience and not a disjointed series of scenes which only gets "Well, the animation is getting a bit better" types of replies. The opening scene in particular is surprisingly engaging to watch. Ben intersperses the black screen titles with the introductory scenes remarkably well, doing a good job disarming viewer cynicism before the plot begins. And the exchanges between Dylan (a nod to Mr. Ghallager?) and the scientists that follow are fairly well-written and acted. The movie manages to maintain itself a few levels above the fatal cheese factor that makes Rice's earlier films difficult to endure.

At times it even rises above that. Watch Dylan's expressions as he delivers several of his lines in the laboratory. Ben achieves a correlation between the acting and the "delivery" on part of the animated character that even Goro or Pikios would be impressed by. The skeletal animation is crude, but in terms of making this character come alive, he succeeds for the duration of the film. We sense exasperation, sarcasm, uncomfortability, loneliness, even a kind of conflicted anguish near the end. These are not simple emotions any newbie could achieve in a week of playing around with spheres, and the accuracy with which the voice acting matches the character's portrayal of it is astonishing.

Which is another interesting thing about The Handmade Character: it's not the innocent, simple tone you might have expected. Dylan carries a certain level of cynicism and irritation that serves as a perfect move on Rice's part, since many viewers are going to be feeling those qualities towards him coming in. It's surprisingly easy to identify with the protagonist, because he embodies the fish-out-of-water persona without coming across as a total wuss. He's actually the most hardened character in the film, rolling his eyes at street people who ask him stupid questions and make irritating comments. This isn't a cliched bullying story, it's a genuine attempt to portray a character who doesn't feel like he belongs.

Still, most of the admirable traits of the project come from the attempt, not the overall product. The film comes together in its own way, but Ben somehow steps from one set of critical flaws into another. Dylan's journey never really makes any sense. Why did the scientists bring him into the actor world from the HMC world? Why is he a particularly special HMC? Are we supposed to be looking for some kind of 3DMM parallel? Because there doesn't seem to be one. Perhaps most devastating are the moments when the motivations contradict each other or come off as horribly hackneyed. If the people who talk to him on the street were any more artificial, they'd be explaining, "I am displaying reverence to you in a situation set up by the professor's earlier comments!" And Dylan's final speech is so pointless it defeats any resonance the scene had going for it. Essentially he gathers everyone for an inspiring message only to tell them that his world is amazing before he goes back there, leaving them behind.

But for the most part, Ben has managed to make something that plays as an actual film, rather than just a collection of scenes he cranked out in a few hours. Some real effort was put into making this as a movie, and it shows. If his success in getting rid of most of the outright corniness of his earlier films highlights the aimlessness of The Handmade Character's plot, well, one step at a time. He's nothing if not persistent.

Critical Score: 50/100.
Personal Score: 55/100.

[Ben Rice]

People remember this movie? Wow I learn new stuff every day. I seriously wish all these reviews your'e posting would be added to an updated LOCK N' TOAD. And that goes for Ben Lee's latest reviews too. Theres so many movies to be added. This, 5DMM, Vlarion, Derelict, Mean Bread. You get the picture.

[Aaron Haynes]

What's the point? It's completely redundant now that the Reviews section is up on 3dmm.com.