Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie

Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie gave me a potentially new way to detect a bad movie. When the film opens with a close-up on a woman's crotch and the insects that reside within the pubic hair, I was met with immediate disgust and sickness. I expected low-brow humor; I didn't expect loathsome humor, devoid of all forms of wit. This is my introduction to the work of popular stoner comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, and I'm sure many fans will say this project greatly misrepresents their work. All I can say that is it left me with lower expectations of their body of work, along with lower expectations for Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, the animated feature film starring another popular stoner duo.

This is a film that has no agenda and no real coherent plan, kind of like the stereotype of a stoner. If the film is trying to mimic the listless style of a common stereotype, that's about the only thing it succeeds at. The entire film focuses on bathroom humor, the stupidity of its protagonists, and jokes so foggy in their punchline they appear to be resting in used bong-water. The film revolves around its title characters, who are aimlessly cruising the streets, one higher than the other, and discussing whatever seems to come to their mind at the moment. This lasts for about twenty-five minutes before the duo come home and watch whatever is on TV for about twenty to twenty-five more minutes. Finally, the last thirty minutes seems to focus on...whatever the animators felt like. The precious minutes are wasted on ridiculous comedy skits, captured in retro but relatively uninspired animation with little coherency between scenes. One minute we're on Earth, two minutes later we're in space with little explanation.

Perhaps the assistance of chemical reinforcement helps in the coherency department. Maybe after a few shots and a few puffs of a not-so-legal substance, I would've been enjoying the ride Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie provided me with rather than condemning it. Films like this almost don't feel like they're worth the time they take to analyze and review. They simply are, the film simply is, and the work stands as it is. What I mean by that is that the film is already marketed to an audience that will find it (the audience in this case being fans of stoner humor, actual stoners, and Cheech and Chong fans). I wish them the best possible viewing. However, from my point of view, if the bottom barrel humor showcased in Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie is the kind of humor they predicated their entire career on, I can't believe they still get work.

The animation is reminiscent of one of those cheesy cartoon specials from years past, or even a low-quality product utilized in a Flash animating program. The colors are vibrant and the animation flows nicely, but really, why does the stoner duo even need animation? Their antics in real life seemed to work for decades, so why must the popular stoner duo return to a medium that really isn't met for this kind of material? Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie is a mere seventy minutes and in that time it doesn't do enough to exercise the boundaries of its medium. So my question in the long run, is why even bother making it or even watching it?

Voiced by: Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. Directed by: Branden Chambers and Eric D. Chambers.

And in their newest artistic veneering of their oldest and most popular material, "Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie" paints a new face on their old faves Containing classic cartoon infused bits such as "Let's Make a Dope Deal," "Drive In," and the iconic "Dave's Not Here," the film is definitely a niche release, leaving little orientation to the uninitiated. For those familiar with the dynamic doobie duo however, the film is a laced love letter to the heyday of Cheech and Chong, who received much of their turn-and-burn earnings from the 1978 stash-starter "Up In Smoke." And while Animated Movie wreaks less of the early films, and more like Comedy Central's short-lived series "Shorties Watchin' Shorties" – an on-par animated vehicle in which stand-up acts are morphed into cartoonish mini movies – the groundwork laid by the early days of Cheech and Chong comes alive in this priming for a whole new generation of eager beavers. Never ones to stay stoned and silent, three commentary tracks top the extras menu, with a good burn given by directors Eric and Branden Chambers and Lou Adler on all things production. Tommy Chong and son Paris provide a great track that explores some known and not-so-known insights. And with the third pass, Cheech and Chong together gaze through the glaze and haze of their off-and-on careers taking viewers on a bong-filled ride fueled by cannabis and comedy. A Cheech and Chong stills gallery, an appropriate "Low Maintenance Listening Mode," and footage from Blind Mellon's "Medical Marijuana" recording session also pad the stash. So with two likable guys with half-opened eyes that have grown extra large in comedy size, "Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie" still may insist that "Dave's not here man," but the sultans of smoky jokes are most definitely still in the building.

I've always been a Cheech and Chong fan, so I was looking forward to Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie, but basically it's an animated "Greatest Hits" collection of some of their audio skits from their albums. The animation is pretty decent, looks bright and vibrant in High-Def. The animation is better than a Flash animated movie per-say, but it does have that type of feel to it. The movie segways between set pieces, and really all I can say is if your a fan of the duo you'll still enjoy it even though it's not new material. It reminds me of the Looney Tune movies that used old animation mixed in with new in a way.

It could have been worse though, it is fun for what it is, as long as you don't go into it with huge expectations.

....with somewhat disappointing execution. I was really looking forward to this, being a fan of the many "Cheech & Chong" comedy albums, and was excited to see/hear such classics as "Dave's Not Here" and "Sister Mary Elephant". This is a difficult movie to review because while it is extremely funny....it's not very well made. at all. The various bits from the comedy albums are just as funny now as the first time you've heard them, but they don't really flow together in any form of a cohesive narrative. Also the animation is extremely lacking. I expected better, but don't let the negative attributes steer you away, there is still a lot to enjoy here, just not as much as I was (personally) hoping for. 6/10 - average.

You have to be high to actually enjoy this one. Just saying.