When I first saw a Heavy Metal magazine, I was about 11. Some kid brought it to school and showed me a segment with the penis monster. If I recalled correctly, it was sliced in half by some warrior with a sword, destroying the beast. It was all I needed to see to know this wasn't an issue of Spider-Man. I didn't understand the reasons as to why any artist or writer would even create such a thing, but I understand now. The worship of the phallic symbol, the slaying of a male dominated society, perhaps? The movie takes on the surrealistic touch on the same thing, everything from a crummy sci-fi future taxi cab to a fantasy setting with lots of breasts and violence. It includes several short stories, including a wrap-around story. If you don't like one story, you are going to love at least one other. I personally liked "Harry Canyon" & "Taarna", but I enjoyed the others as well.
While it may seem obvious that the amount of nudity and violence will attract teens and older geeks, animation has continued to make strides in a variety of genres. Heavy Metal had so much to offer aside from this. It could have been a stepping stone to much larger projects where a live action camera can not compete with. But, alas, here in America we have hit a wall in creativity for the animated adult market, and it just about ended with Heavy Metal. Movies like "A Scanner Darkly", or even "South Park" come around rarely, and I find myself dipping into the only thing I can, and that's Japanese anime. It has evolved to the point where deep character study, stunning visuals, & great story lines is the norm.
As of this writing, May 2009, rumors exist that a new Heavy Metal is to be made. Let's see how that pans out, but I will keep my expectations low. Heavy Metal 2000 wasn't very good...
While it may seem obvious that the amount of nudity and violence will attract teens and older geeks, animation has continued to make strides in a variety of genres. Heavy Metal had so much to offer aside from this. It could have been a stepping stone to much larger projects where a live action camera can not compete with. But, alas, here in America we have hit a wall in creativity for the animated adult market, and it just about ended with Heavy Metal. Movies like "A Scanner Darkly", or even "South Park" come around rarely, and I find myself dipping into the only thing I can, and that's Japanese anime. It has evolved to the point where deep character study, stunning visuals, & great story lines is the norm.
As of this writing, May 2009, rumors exist that a new Heavy Metal is to be made. Let's see how that pans out, but I will keep my expectations low. Heavy Metal 2000 wasn't very good...