Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain, known collectively as H5, are the creative force behind this interesting short, which was nominated for 2010 Oscar. In a world made completely out of corporate logos, Ronald McDonald goes on a violent crime spree through the streets of a city much like Los Angeles. Michelin Man Mike and Michelin Man Mitch are cops who set out to stop his bloody rampage.
That description highlights the potential of the premise. That's why the resulting film is a bit disappointing. For all intents and purposes, the film takes a standard action/disaster flick plot with all the requisite adult humor and casts corporate icons as the characters. In the end, the film works as a satire of Hollywood films more than the corporatization of America, which the logos seem to suggest.
Ronald McDonald, Bob's Big Boy, etc. cursing for 16 minutes gets tiresome real quick. The use of the logos works the best when they are woven in in ingenious or unexpected ways. For example a Parental Warning label is used brilliantly and you'll never look at Mr. Clean the same again. But too often it's just logo overload. They're crammed in wherever they fit best without any comment. It's like if Pixar's CARS wasn't about racing or driving, but about space exploration. Because the film ends up being a benign critique of Hollywood filmmaking, the film looses a great deal of its edge by not setting its satirical eye on the corporations whose logo star in the film. I don't blame the filmmakers for not wanting to risk getting sued, but without a critique of corporate excess, the logos come off as simply a gimmick.
Of all the animated shorts nominated for the 2010 Oscar, this is the one that takes the most risk, both creatively and thematically. But in the end, I can't recommend it outright because of the thematic confusion. It kept me wanting more. There was one moment where the film hinted at the film it could have been. Ronald McDonald is racing down the street and is thrown from his motorcycle after hitting the Weight Watchers logo. Now that's the special sauce I wanted more of.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
