Face Like a Frog

I first saw Face Like A Frog (or at least part of it) on an episode of Liquid Television when I was about 10 years old. I absolutely loved, LOVED the "Don't Go In The Basement" song and I had no idea that it was part of a larger animated short until recently.

The cartoon is mostly unintelligible first time around (and none the worse for it) but it features a frog going into a cursed house to sort it out...and that's basically it. But the colors, characters and background are all so brilliantly surreal and exaggerated you'd be forgiven for thinking you've gone on the ultimate acid trip. Directed and animated by Sally Cruikshanks, Face Like A Frog displays an exceptional imagination and talent. I'm amazed to find that she hasn't gone on to do much more.

For a utterly surreal and dreamlike five minutes, look no further than this short.

Other than the Bon Vivant frog ending up in a weird haunted? house full of all kinds of beings, there is little plot. He meanders, led by a vampy female with an accent. Eventually, there is this great song, "Don't Go in the Basement." There are colors galore and continuous movement, a kind of pulsation. I really became engaged.

The plot essentially follows a frog-man who enters a "hexed" house in order to lift the curse.

The incoherent, if existent, plot may remind some people of Forbbben Zone. The animation is beautiful, and full of rich colors; in addition, the music is eerie and well-fitting to the story. The song Don't Go in the Basement, performed by Danny Elfman who also scored this piece, was just as fun and strange as the movie itself

It is an enjoyable, outlandish piece of animation, and is worth taking five minutes to appreciate.

I would recommend it to every Danny or Richard Elfman fan as well as those who love anything bizarre.

A short movie like this would probably irritate your average nerd that lives on logic. "Face Like a Frog" doesn't really have any kind of coherent plot line, and that's what I love about it! Every frame is an explosion of ecstatic creativity that can barely be restrained by the rectangle of the viewing screen. Such a frantic array of sounds, music, colors, movement, constantly-changing characters and backgrounds NEEDS to be in a short-subject format, because anything longer would wear everybody out! I'm over fifty now, and I'm proud that gleeful, out-of-control animation like this still excites me. Small children will probably "get" this film, and so do I, even if it intentionally ignores all rules and expectations. Great job, Sally!