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BAT THUMB
Review by Michael Jacobson
Creator:
Steve Oedekerk
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby
Stereo
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Studio: Image Entertainment
Features: See Review
Length: 28 Minutes
Release Date: July 9, 2002
“I’m
Vicky Nail.”
“What
do you do?”
“Well,
when I get scared, I scream a lot.”
There’s
trouble in Gaaathumb City, and only one thumb brave enough to strike fear into
the hearts of criminals everywhere…Bat Thumb.
Steve
Oedekerk continues his string of all-thumbs comedy short films with Bat
Thumb, a mini feature that spoofs not only the Tim Burton film, but the
campy television series as well. I
actually appreciated the latter a little more, as Bat Thumb kicks cuticle with
the flying word sound effects: “SOCK!”
“SHOE!”
Living
a dual life as mega-millionaire Wuce Bane, Bat Thumb soon finds himself up
against the evil No Face, who wants to turn all of Gaaathumb into faceless
entities just like himself! Will
Bat Thumb save his beloved city, woo the very blonde Vicky Nail, and manage to
convince everyone that his flamboyant tag-along partner Blue Jay is really just
an assistant?
Bat
Thumb boasts
Oedekerk’s highest production values to date, as evidenced by the Burton-esque
opening shot that soars through the city at night (keep an eye out for the signs
and you’ll get extra laughs). But
the comedy falls short of his previous efforts like Thumb Wars, The Blair
Thumb and Thumbtanic. Those
were all worth their weight in laughter.
Bat
Thumb is
less inspired, though his thumb creations are still an amusing sight and a bit
of technical wonder in themselves. A
master of parody and a subject matter that begs to be spoofed should be a match
made in heaven, but many of Oedekerk’s attempts at humor just don’t soar
here. Worse, some of the gags that
aren’t funny to begin with get dragged out to the point of painfulness.
But
all artists are entitled to an occasional miss, and as good as Oedekerk’s
other thumb movies were, I’m perfectly willing to consider Bat Thumb an
exception to the rule…especially considering the trailers show his next spoof
to be of The Godfather. THAT’S
one I can’t wait to see.
Video
***
Image
continues to offer quality presentations of Oedekerk’s filmettes with Bat
Thumb, which is just as lively, clean and colorful as its predecessors.
Even darker scenes come across with integrity and clarity.
Thumbs up here…no pun intended.
Audio
***
The
5.1 audio is a fairly dynamic mix, where dialogue and music come across with
punch and various action sound effects put both front and rear stages to good
use. High marks again.
Features
***
The
features are mostly for fun, but they included deleted scenes,
behind-the-scenes, cast interviews and such (all obviously created for the DVD).
There are trailers to all the existing and coming thumb movies, plus a
filmmaker commentary that surprisingly DOESN’T include Steve Oedekerk this
time!
Summary: