Extraordinary Tales

The idea of an animated anthology of macabre Edgar Allan Poe tales, presented in different visual aesthetics, seems great on paper. But the promising concept suffers somewhat in the execution. Despite the diverse "looks" of the animated segments, the animation is all of a similarly limited CGI variety. The film's biggest weakness is the framing device, which involves the spirit of Poe in the body of a raven having an introspective conversation with the spirit of Death in a cemetery full of statuary. The animation in the cemetery scenes is particularly lackluster (almost like flattened objects in a three-dimensional space), the voice work is uninspired, and the whole thing is set in the bright daylight, which is a curious choice for an anthology of such dark tales. Luckily, the Poe stories themselves are appropriately atmospheric, once they get going.

The movie tells five classic Edgar Allan Poe tales. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is narrated brilliantly by British horror icon Christopher Lee. The animation is fluid and designed with a stylized, quasi-geometric, "carved-out-of-wood" quality. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is accompanied by a seemingly ancient audio recording of the great Bela Lugosi ("Dracula"), and presented in a stark black and white style inspired by the work of comic artist Alberto Breccia. Incorporating long-dead horror icon Lugosi is a cool touch, but the muffled audio seems too quiet and detached from the animation. "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" (with the voice of Julian Sands) has a comic book aesthetic. "The Pit and the Pendulum", set during the Spanish Inquisition, is narrated by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, and the animation approximates a photo-realistic video game. The medieval tale, "The Masque of the Red Death", is told solely through its imagery (no narration), and has a watercolor aesthetic. The stories are dark and eerie, and occasionally gruesome. Some use Poe's original words, some paraphrase within Poe's narrative, and one uses no words at all.

Edgar Allan Poe's short stories are well-served in the anthology format, and stylized animation captures Poe's eerie atmosphere better than live-action ever could. This movie seems like a match made in heaven, but the animation is not entirely satisfying and the cemetery framework is a drag. Still, you can't go wrong with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and "Extraordinary Tales" (2013) would be a nice introduction to Poe's classic stories for modern audiences.

This animated anthology based on 5 of Edgar Allen Poe's stories is well done, complete with choice actors for narration such as Christopher Lee, Julian Sands and a surprising (but obviously dated) monologue from Bela Lugosi who does a fine job reading through one of Poe's most well-known tales, "The Tell-Tale Heart". Animation is slick in 5 different computer-enhanced styles including a linking story between Poe in the guise of a Raven and a mysterious entity desperately trying to conceal her identity when it's obvious from the start that it is Death. This anthology focuses solely on Poe's more famous dismal stories ("The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar", "The Pit and the Pandulum", "The Masque of the Red Death" as well as the aforementioned "Tell-Tale Heart") and only hint at the less gruesome works and love poems Poe produced during his lifetime. Designed primarily of kids, the interaction between Raven and Death touch on some historical facts of Poe that are quite adult and sad if you know anything about the writer. It's interesting to note how they seem to talk about Poe in both present and past tense. The problem with this anthology is not in the end result but on the material; Poe's works can be very cryptic, hard to read, filled with lavish but difficult to comprehend wording, and host periods of history that sometimes does not translate well with younger generations albeit adults. This anthology may truly only be for Poe fans, as those who do not know his works, or only lightly, may find themselves lost in the imagery and symbolism that he's most famous for.

It was fun to see a series of animators and directors put their mark on some of the most recognizable Poe stories. First of all, each animation technique is quite unique and good fun. They are not for the faint of heart, some of the images being quite graphic. Last night Guillermo del Toro won the Academy Award for best director and best movie. I was surprised to see that name in the credits for one of the films, but it certainly gave them credibility. And, to get an old narration of Bela Lugosi to do the Tell-Tale Heart was really interesting. I found the best of these to be the last: 'The Masque of the Red Death." I''m quite glad I had an opportunity to see this, considering I had never heard of it.

In the time of excessive CGI, it's nice to see that there's still a place with distinct comic book, video game and ever classic painting style. This anthology is a delightfully eerie visual parade of short stories, each account spans for approximately ten minutes. While this eccentric niche unfortunately might not appeal to everyone, it's a great homage to the poet and frighteningly quirky enough for fans to thoroughly appreciate.

The tales are treated as separate stories, with different production value and narrator. For those who like graphic style of Corpse Bride, Coraline or even Sin City, they might find fascinating surprise here. There's even a nod to comic book signature, as well as my favorite "The Masque of the Red Death" which seem like a living portrait from centuries before.

They have one underlining theme of dread, with scare and gore one would expect from horror nowadays, although nothing too intrusive that it would repulse audience. Most have narrators and voice acting, these instances have such surreal feel about it. Many, especially gamers and animation enthusiasts would recognize the voice of Christopher Lee. However, the silence can just be equally effective to deliver the short burst of fright.

Its main obstacle is, ironically, its own unworldly styles. They can be so strange that one or a couple of them might alienate the audience. Among even fans of comic book or horror, not every tale would resonate on the same level. Still, they are relatively short, so one would most likely find something to adore here.

This collection is a myriad of uncanny tales affectionately crafted with unique visual. They are unmistakably bleak yet charming and designed to charm viewer with sheer oddity.

Not sure why the average ratings ... I found this quite beautiful.

Its only flaw is how short it is, however its gorgeous visuals, voice acting and symphonic music more than atone.

The final short did not need narrating because its clear what the message is. I loved how different they all were, intententinaly so, and believe it or not voice matters.

The first short was Gothic perfection! The second not my favorite, but it was good. The Third and Fourth had some suspense and horror in it and the final one had an excellent theme.

There is not much to say about an animated tribute to EAP work summed up in 117 minutes or so, but this came close enough to say plenty.

Final Grade -A