Memories

• December 23, 1995

I am a fan of 2-D animation. It ages much better than CGI which is all the rage these days. To be clear I am not against CGI assistance to make the animation more cinematic but 2-D just ages better so a 30 year old 2-D movie I knew nothing about was a relatively easy sell to me.

Memories is an anthology film featuring three unconnected stories. I didn’t even know it existed, but it popped up as I was scrolling through suggestions when I put in the vague ‘animation’ on Amazon Prime.

Going in I expected stories centered around the mind (thus hinting at the title) but aside from maybe the opening story of Magnetic Rose, nothing connects to memories in any way. Weird, but here we go.

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Magnetic Rose

• Directed by Kōji Morimoto

Voice Cast

• Heinz Beckner-Marc Swint
• Ivanov-Frank Todaro
• Miguel Costrela-Robbie Daymond
• Aoshima-Derek Stephen Prince
• Emily-Alexa Careccia
• Eva Friedel-Laura Post

A deep space salvage freighter out on a mission encounters a distress signal.

The first offering from Memories–Magnetic Rose-is a space horror ghost story. Based on how it started I expected something closer to Alien than the ’87 film Nightflyers. Not that I’m complaining here. There is also a bit of a Twilight Zone edge to this. It’s weird and unnerving and just creepy.

I have a little trouble telling if our featured ghost of former opera singer Eva Friedel is some kind of actual ghost or a program of some type that just believes it is Eva. And I guess that is the point. Considering it employs holograms and technology but also does things that seem scientifically impossible based on the displayed level of technology it is a little hard to tell and that’s part of the appeal of Magnetic Rose. There is plenty unanswered. The reality isn’t spoonfed to us right away. Plenty of red herrings are tossed out to blur what is and is not.

The initial ship is a bit of a rarity in science fiction. No artificial gravity nor does it look like an Apple store. These people are not in a nice cozy vessel, but rather something that looks old and beat up. It is not laid out in a fashion like you might find on Earth but rather in a way that makes sense for something where people are working in zero gravity.

The music of this is operatic or just plain minimalistic at times. It creates an unusual feeling and environment. And it helps that these are relatable characters caught in a very strange situation. They aren’t cartoonish or over the top. The living are blue collar of the future but not so far removed from us that they are an unusual other.

If there is any message in this it is about not living in the past and the dangers inherent in doing so. Change in people and life comes along and we can choose to accept it or become trapped by our lack of acceptance. Rose has become eternally trapped by this with her feelings harming others.

Magnetic Rose is an appropriately mature story that despite a downer ending will satisfy.

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Stink Bomb

• Directed by Tensai Okamura

Voice Cast

• Nobuo Tanaka-Stephen Fu
• Oomaeda-Chris Guerrero
• Kamata-Gianni Matragrano
• Grandma-Karen Kahler
• Nirasaki-Steven Kelly
• Sakiko-Kira Buckland
• General Officer-Mike Pollock

A lab technician battling the flu takes some experimental pills he believes to be medicine that are part of a biological weapon program.

If anything Stink Bomb is a comedic story about lethal odor. A fart joke of sorts taken to the Nth degree. I’m kind of stuck on Nobuo taking untested medicine because somebody else said it was okay. He is a scientist and taking untested medicine because his shot has not worked soon enough seems silly. It seems like a really dumb idea but then again without that really dumb idea we would not have a story.

The pill reacts to the flu shot and generates a lethal stink that kills all around though Nobou does not quite figure that out. Our hero (if you can call him that) is carrying a sample along with the accompanying paperwork to company headquarters. He’s just a hapless schlub, a fleshy cog in the corporate machine and no more villain or a hero than anybody else. He simply made a mistake and is caught in a situation beyond his control. 

I do find the main character a little too stupid to be a scientist. As things build I just don’t see how he doesn’t realize he’s the cause of the problems. At least he’s the source with the incompetence and general ineptitude of others creating more problems. But the point is he should be able to figure out that he needs to stop moving since death follows wherever he goes.

Even comedies need to follow a logic with characters acting consistently with how they are set up and I just have trouble reconciling a scientist being so oblivious to things. If he were a low level worker I might buy his actions more. As an educated person it is hard to accept.

Still Stink Bomb is an entertaining short film. And the ending makes sense with the total story even if the main character does not always.

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Cannon Fodder

• Written and Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo

Voice Cast

• Boy-Jack Britton
• Father-Mike Pollock
• Mother-Ellen-Ray Hennessey as Elley Ray
• Teacher-Michael Sorich
• Loading Operator-Phillip Sacramento
• Commander-Ray Hurd

In a walled city filled with large guns perpetually at war, this is the story of a young boy and his father who works as a cannon-loader.

If anything Cannon Fodder is a satire. It mocks jingoism and specifically fascism. It’s clear this is taking place in a world meant to mock World War II Germany. It is not really making a point so much as making fun of things to highlight the stupidity of it all.

No character ever gets a proper name. I really thought that kid that they we go to in the beginning would be the centerpiece of the story but he fades from things pretty quick with the story just moving from scene to scene and character to character in a way that shouldn’t work but strangely does. It’s a bold choice that manages to help you connect to the story. 

While it does eventually move back to the kid he’s weirdly not that important overall to things. He simply questions the status quo. The movie is a bit trippy with its different visual style. Completely different from the two preceding shorts. The people behind this were certainly aiming more for weird than anything else. 

And Cannon Fodder just ends. Nothing gets resolved. This is pure commentary. It takes you through the scenario and then ends leaving you to make decisions on your own which is good storytelling.

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To be honest I do feel that the three stories presented follow in order of quality. They’re not bad, but I do feel that the strongest is Magnetic Rose. They are all intriguing and while Cannon Fodder may not have an actual story and is more a slice of life, it’s still intriguing and nothing will leave you disappointed.

Memories, if you can find it it is worth your time. A must see for fans of mature animation.