The Maxx

it truly seems like every time MTV nails something, they throw it away. I fully attribute this to the ever sickening growth of pop culture, and the way that MTV as well as many networks, feel a need to bathe in the conformity of "cuddly" entertainment. in my experience most things being "cuddly" are in actuality extremely non-entertaining. this series/film is a beautifully disturbing piece of art. even as an animation, it is much more a reality then half the rubbish being churned out today. where did it all go?

I loved this series! Having been a huge comic book fan, I had heard about Sam Keith's Maxx characters several months before they premiered on MTV's Oddities series. I was very impressed with the performances of the voice actors, especially Barry Stigler as Mr. Gone. Kudos to everyone involved, this cartoon got me so interested that I had to read the rest of the series in comic book format, and I was very disappointed that the second season never made it onto television. Hopefully, someday in the future, the first season will arrive on DVD or some other collectible format because this show deserves better than to just fade into obscurity.

The Internet Database lists this as a TV show. And yes, it was a series on MTV shown on the "Oddities" program, after "The Head" and before "Aeon Flux" if I recall correctly. But the version I watched this time was a VHS tape with all the episodes run together into a film without annoying credits in between or having to wait a week for the next fifteen minutes.

You have the story of the Maxx, Julie Winters, Sarah and Mr. Gone. The Maxx is a super-hero or a bum, Julie a social worker or a leopard queen, Sarah a girl who should listen to less of The Smiths and Mr. Gone a guy who can't seem to keep his head on. And then there's the other weird creatures...

I use "or" with Maxx and Julie, because part of the fun is trying to figure out which parts of the story are real and which are dreams. Maybe they're all real or dreams. Maybe one of the characters doesn't exist. Maybe only one exists and dreams of the others. You'll have to wait and find out.

I had the comic books before the show came out, and it was one of my favorites. The artwork was spectacular and the story was original -- unlike anything you'll find in Superman or Batman. It will bend your mind, and has strong adult overtones without being obscene or offensive. And the show used basically the same exact artwork (only now it moves) and the same story... guaranteeing that the beauty intrinsically found in the comic would be faithfully reproduced. This was the best show to appear on "Oddities", hands down.

If you like comics of a darker nature or need a good mind trip, this is a show to check out. It's "Donnie Darko" before there was ever such a thing.

The most astonishing thing is that this never went on to become another movie or television series, but I don't say this in disappointment. By keeping it simple, they have sealed this movie in gold and kept it free from the blemishes brought on by successive failures.

Where do I start.. Maybe with the fact that The Maxx is purple? No that doesn't do it justice because that is but a small speck of a detail in the complete and utter psychological nightmare that is The Maxx.

I have seen this movie many times and still I feel utter despair when it's over. I mean it made me depressed for 2 days last weekend. One of my friends had to turn it off because it was too close to his own life.

But the story.. Well that's well dark. We have Maxx. He's this muscular guy in a purple suit with a rather strange mask with big teeth. He keeps shifting between the world of 'the city' and the 'real australia'("but not he Australia they teach you about in school etc...") as he puts it. He has no memory of his past.

Then there's Julie Winters. A Freelance social worker. She has a dark secret.

Then we have Mr. Gone. A Magician/serial murderer/rapist. All time bad guy. Somehow tho he knows something about Maxx and Julie's past. Something very important. "do you remember spirit-animals Julie?"

Then we have Sarah(she's my fave) a teenager who wants to become a writer. Outcast as she is she has some rather serious emotional problems. "luckily I don't get hurt anymore... yeah.. lucky me..."

these are a few of the basics for the story. It gets WAY more confusing as the movie progresses. And yet the story works. It's hypnotic, partly due to the very fitting animation, and completely sucks you in and gives your brain a thrashing and spits it out again at the end.

Dark, brooding and very depressing this is the perfect way to spend a dark evening. One word of advice though. As I have noticed with myself, do NOT watch this if you're very depressed. It will make it worse. MUCH worse.

One comment I'd like to make about the video release. They left out a few pieces that were shown on MTV because otherwise the video would be too long or something like that. The director didn't feel the parts they left out were fitting to the storyline. On some level this is true but they also left out some stuff about the Leopard-Queen which IS important to the story. Therefore I advice you to try to get a hold of the comic as well so you know what I'm talking about.

Okay I'm done for today. Needless to say I find The Maxx brilliant as it taught me a few things about my own personality and I hope others will also find it inspiring.

I knew I was going to need something good and strong to wash off "Snowed in at the House of Mouse" today, so I rented "the Maxx". I saw bits of it when Mtv aired it as a mini-series and was taken in by the excellent visuals and believable -almost pitiable- cast of characters. But before I gush, a little history is needed here.

Some time in the mid-90's, Mtv actually had a few good shows. No kidding. At the time it pained them to interrupt the music videos (!!!???!!!) for a while to show them, but that's another rant in itself. They had an animated mini-series block called "Oddities". One of these was the grotesque, overplayed "the Head" and the other was "the Maxx".

So what would you say if I told you now that this cartoon is darker, more complicated, and better written than any of the live-action movies in the new release shelves the past three weeks?

Go rent it tonight. This is going to stay with you for a long time.