Rejected (2000)

Director:

Don Hertzfeldt

Writer:

Don Hertzfeldt (writer)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

An animator's commissioned works, rejected because of their increasingly absurd and violent tone (reflecting the animator's own progressive breakdown)...

Plot Keywords:

Rejected | Covered In Blood | Fake Commercial | Blood | Black Comedy

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Robert May	...	Guy #1 / Guy #2 / Fluffy Guy / Ticks Announcer / Left Hand Characters (voice)
Don Hertzfeldt	...	Spoon Guy / Banana / Queen of France (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Nyholm	...	Mother (voice)

Runtime:

9 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:Unrated | USA:Unrated

Company:

Bitter Films

Trivia:

Production for the DVD release cost more than the production for the film itself.

Quotes:

Father: [in a deleted scene] What's wrong, son?
Son: I want to drink goat's blood.
Father: But son... it's only *Tuesday*!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Barry Lyndon (1975)

Soundtrack:

Nu är det jul igen

Wow

Anyone who loves absurdity should watch this cartoon. I can't put it into any more simple terms. A friend of mine just showed me this film, and it blew my mind. I'm a huge fan of spontaneous/absurd/random humor. I love the work of Jhonen Vasquez, a comic book writer. This film reminds me of what might have happened had Vasquez started using animation earlier in his career, circa his "Bad Art Collection." If you are looking for deep meaning or warm emotions, go watch a drama. If you are looking for something completely different (as a certain group of British fellows who were also fond of absurdity might have said), then find or buy a copy of this and watch it. Don Hertzfeldt's "Rejected" is shocking, and it is meant to be. It also serves as a comment on commerciality and its effects on the creative spirit. But, really, the meaning is not the most important part. Some people who have commented on this movie have questioned the validity of the companies for which these "rejected" ads are supposedly made. I believe that is like going to watch Superman and saying "Ya know...I don't think Planet Krypton is real. I can't watch this." It's called "a willing suspension of disbelief." Whether or not these are REAL rejected advertisements is unimportant. Just watch the film as if they are real, and try to imagine how you'd react if you saw such an ad on a Family-based channel. That is really the only joke there is to get. If you can get through that, there is no doubt that Hertzfeldt's simple cartoons and their absurd and brief lives will make you laugh, and can make you enjoy your own life in our absurd world. Somewhere in between "Un Chien Andalou" and "Ren and Stimpy" lies "Rejected", an amazing piece of surreal animated bliss.