Klay World: Off the Table (2005 Video) User Reviews

Hilarious!

[freenrich · 9/10 · 13 February 2006]

For an 18 year old's debut movie made almost entirely by himself, this movie is a masterpiece.

Compared to any short Knox has on the internet, the quality on this movie is excellent. The claymen look good and some of the characters are very well designed. The green screening and some special effects in the movie may not be top budget Hollywood style effects, but he still manages to pull off a convincing viewing pleasure. Knox also has really done well with the sound in this movie. He puts music in the right places. Although there is silence at some parts, it suits this type of movie. Animation in the movie is super and the plot is written well, though I personally think that the claymen didn't spend enough time "off the table" which is the gimmick of the whole film. Nevertheless, the problems with the plot are shadowed by the most important part of any Knox movie; the humour. This movie is hilarious. Knox never fails to make people laugh. This movie will have you rolling on the floor in laughter in no time. Although there is a part of the movie when it starts to drag, it picks right up again and a big action scene, which I say is very well animated for a claymation. Knox really put a lot of effort into this, and it really shows.

The special features on the DVD are excellent. There are two commentaries which are very funny. I must give kudos to Knox for having the patience to be able to talk for hours, even if it was mostly about krap.

If you want a movie that makes you laugh so much that you turn into smiling gary yourself, then this is the movie for you.

Benfer's shorts excel above this, regardless, this is an exceptional film

[Gafaddict · 7/10 · 15 April 2006]

Robert Benfer, known better as Knox, has established an excellent reputation for himself online, his trademark blue blobs of "klaymen" becoming very popular. Personally, I find his 3-4 minute shorts to be very funny. Reportedly, none of his shorts have scripts, he simply makes it up as he goes along. I appreciate this fact very much. However, the lack of script seemed to me a mistake. Making up 94 minutes of dialog and action as you go along does not seem to work, and it shows. There are a few parts I find in the movie that seem to drag on (particularly the very beginning). Usually, I skip through these scenes.

Regardless, the film on its own is hilarious. The humor as always is delivered excellently. I even noticed an increment in the quality and time put into animating his figures. His classic simplicity and dryness from his shorts stays with the film, and creates a mood which I just find irresistible.

I would love to see another full-length film from Mr. Benfer. However, I think it would work better of there was a script for it. Understandably, he did this to give it the same feel as his online shorts, but this does not work for a 94-minute film. Downsides put aside, he has created an excellent piece of claymation here!

One of the funniest independent films I've seen!

[KupaMan · 9/10 · 14 February 2006]

This movie is far from perfect. Every shot shows its low budget and simplicity (most of it is shot in his house with lumps of blue "klay"), but is slaughtered by its amazingly hilarious comedy. Most of the time, the jokes are made (or made funnier) because of the budget and setting. It is clear from the beginning that this film had no script and that there probably wasn't many redo's on the audio, and yet it's funnier than almost anything I've seen out there. It feels very made up on the spot and even occasionally points out its own mistakes, which makes it better than something that pretends it's perfect. The simple and effective animation involved in this 96 minute movie gives it a very neat feeling. Robert Benfer's dynamic voice gives lines that, written or spoken by anyone else, would seem like bad jokes and takes them to an unbelievable hilarity.

This movie is far from perfect, or even all that well made, but it's very effective. There's probably a continuity error in every scene of this movie and the audio occasionally crackles through the speakers, but it works so well. It also helps capture the true idiocy and randomness of the whole thing. If it were animated like Wallace and Grommit, it would have almost too much of a professional feel. This gives it that amateur feel that is essential for this hilarious comedy.

1 Man 1 Mission, only 18years old....

[tmr_ragno · 10/10 · 12 February 2006]

This claymation movie is probably the best movie I have ever seen! Not only is it funny, but to be made by just one man "Robert Benfer" (aka Knox). An 18 year old from Schertz, Texas. I have a lot of respect for this movie as it was made only in 8 months, and is 97 mins long. If your one for slap stick comedy, and you are like me and respect highly a one man effort (with a little help from his friends, a few voices being acted mind. But most voices and animation done by Knox) then I suggest you part with only $25 for this pure work of art.

The movie is all about the biggest thing that has ever happened in "KlayWorld" which is a table of little blue blob claymen (Knox's creation, this is what Knox started with back in 2003 with Internet "shorts" on his website). These claymen are contacted by aliens through radio. Being not the brightest creatures on the planet, the claymen decide to leave the house in search for these aliens, but could this be the worst idea in the history of bad ideas? (which in the internet shorts you'll find they have a lot of thous).

I rate this Movie 10/10 for just plain talent in animation, and originality. Plus it is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen

Quite a great movie

[drickula · 10/10 · 24 February 2006]

Klay world:Off the Table is one of those movies that have to be watched to be fully appreciated. If someone described a movie where clay people try to find aliens, one might severely question the movie tastes of that person. Not to mention the fact that it is an indie movie. However, if it is watched all the way through, one will find that this independently produced, low budget film is actually one of the funniest movies to ever be put onto a DVD. The unique, minimalist quality of humor that Robert Benfer portrays is readily apparent through his simple blue klaymen. Vince, for example, is just a hoarse elderly voice, yet contains such humor due to the fact that it perfectly fits the character in the situation. This movie should not only just be considered, but one would be missing out on 91 of some of the greatest minutes of their lives.

Dude! This movie is most Excellent!

[jross12 · 10/10 · 21 May 2006]

This movie is incredible, as young independent director and filmmaker Robert Benfer, a.k.a Knox, shows off his talent in a brilliant claymation movie, not to mention the longest claymation in history. This movie is pure randomness. It has NO script, and it is hard to make that kind of movie. Anyway, all of it is random, but there is a plot to all of it, and how Chip Brown, a young klayman, wants to be as famous as his Uncle Brown who invented the Time-Machine hat. Chip and his best friend Rick the Prick are alarmed to hear that a Klay Man has received message from an Alien from another world, and they confront the men finding out who it is. Chip, Dr. Brown, Rick the Prick, Smiling Gary and Pick delve into an adventure unlike any other seen before, and will have you laughing throughout the entire 94 minutes. This is possibly my favorite movie, and is a great add to your movie collection and is for every true Knox fan!

A pretty good movie

[justsomeguy54 · 10/10 · 27 February 2006]

When Knox first announced that he was making a full-length movie, I was skeptical. I didn't think Knox would be able to do it. I watched the teaser and the trailer and I didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect this. The beginning is a little slow and it doesn't really get exciting until they get on the road. The plot takes an unexpected twist after a main character dies and everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Though most people die in the movie, there is still a happy ending. I enjoyed the comedy in this movie more than anything else. It was the comedy that you see in the internet shorts. Knox fans will love this movie. If you like time travel and aliens this is the movie for you.

Worth Seeing, but not Excellent

[sullibrandon · 7/10 · 13 February 2006]

When I first heard that there was a Klay World movie being made, I was ecstatic. Sad to say, though, I was slightly disappointed by the movie.

On the whole it's a good movie, but when compared to Robert Benfer's hilarious five or so minute claymations, it just didn't live up to my expectations. For one, the comedy in a five minute sketch did not translate well into a feature length movie, probably because of the way Benfer does comedy in the shorts. The shorts are completely random, and Benfer does not really follow a particular plot line. This being a movie, he loses much of his randomness in his attempts to move the story forward. Also, what's funny for five minutes isn't going to be funny for an hour and a half. I watched this movie over a period of several days because I figured it would make each successive part funny. Whereas, if I had watched it all at once, it wouldn't have been that funny.

Another thing that didn't really work was when they went outside of Klay World, Off the Table, per se. When they were outside of the house, I felt much of the comedy was reduced to cliché slapstick, such as a car running into a wall, instead of Benfer's subtle but brilliant, "Hey guys, hey guys. Guuuuys. I see you over there you want some co-co-co-la?" traditional comedy. What was also very distracting was that, when outside, the camera work and poses of the Klaymen detracted from the comedy. They didn't move very much at all outside...a lot of the shots were just pictures of the Klaymen sitting around and Benfer's voice echoing over the whole scene. I know Benfer wanted to go bigger and better than his five minute shorts with this movie, yet the special effects seemed quite sloppily done, even though he is on a limited budget. It was a valiant attempt, but in the end, the funniest parts of the movie are not outside of the house, they're back on the table. Later on in the movie, in the fight with the aliens, the special effects are also distracting with just a shot of Klaymen being thrown around. Again, Benfer's comedy comes from hilariously random dialogue and the occasional good bloody Klayman, not special effects.

Though I am picking apart this movie, the reason I'm giving it a 7/10 and not a 4/10 is that as a movie, it works. No movie is going to have you laughing the whole way through, not matter how good it is. I was laughing pretty solidly the first half hour of the movie, which is exceptional, though the laughter did die down once the car left Klay World. I also like the character development. We live through a lot of these character's lives throughout the movie, so towards the end, I was actually feeling sorry for Chip, Dr. Bob, and other Klay people. For once I cared about whether or not these Klay people died. I also liked the ending a lot - it worked quite well for the movie as a whole.

In closing, if you are a fan of Robert Benfer, or Knox, per se, I would recommend buying this movie, however, be forewarned, it is not as hilarious as the shorts, though it does work as a good movie, as a whole.

Close to perfect

[Soldierusa · 10/10 · 13 February 2006]

Living proof that simplicity is best. The level of animation is of a high quality, and the basic, be highly humorous jokes attack just before you stop laughing from the last. Rarely a break in the pace (once you get past the kinda-slow first five minutes), and will quickly take it's place as one of you favourite movies based on the humor. Has some surprisingly dramatic scenes as well (most notably the road scene and the climax) due to unforeseen and merciless plot twists which have you on the edge of your seat.

You will fall in love with each character because of their individual charm and voice acting, such as the brave and fearless Chip Brown (nephew of the time-travelling Dr Brown), Picks immaturity/insanity and of course 'Rick the Prick', Chips heavily pierced best friend.

It is the special effects that truly bring the movie to life, from laser-blasts, smoke and electrical beams to large explosions and full green-screen background effects.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys Monty Python style absurd humor, or anyone looking for an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes, because this is most certainly what you need.

The movie is GREAT!

[RoboMaster · 7/10 · 14 March 2006]

This movie is fast, funny, & Adventureness! If you've seen the klay world shorts (which are very good) you'll like this film, its twice as good! There are only a couple things i didn't like much about the film. 1)There is more cursing in this movie than in this shorts. 2)There were just a couple slow boring parts. Apart from those to things the Movie ROCKS!!! My favorite part was when they were fighting the aliens, so much ACTION (for a knox film). I think its an inspiration to me since i'm trying to make my own movies. YOU GO KNOXS, Rock ON!! Keep up the good work!

-Robo

excellent

[all-u907 · 10/10 · 19 May 2006]

this Clay movie was the best yet. i have been a Clay clip fan for a long time and i was really impressed in this effort. congratulations on this movie sized animation. keep up the good work... yours sincerely Santa.... OK apparently i haven't finished this comment because it is not long enough. i have decided to blabber on about nothing important, note: you do note have to read this but go for it if you have nothing better to do. where do we start i wonder.. well, i really like clay animations. some of my favorites are... bungee jumping time, clay camping, clay Halloween, that one song, joy ride 1,2 and 3, heaps more that i cant be bothered to name any more because i have written enough so i best be off, the world wont seem to save its self. audios amigos

Disappointed, worth a watch I guess

[Skywalker08 · 5/10 · 13 February 2006]

When I finally saw this movie I was disappointed, the quality isn't exactly "DVD Quality" and I thought the movie would be more like a real movie, buts its kind of like a really long Knox short. It begins boring, and the outdoors scenes went kinda slow. It picks up around the last 20 minutes of the movie. Cut out about 15-20 mins of boring scenes and the movie would be more watchable. Though this is Robert's(Knox's) first full length movie and he didn't use a script purposefully so the movie would feel more like one of his short klay movies. He did a good job making it almost entirely by himself, just don't expect something very entertaining. If you're a big fan of Knox's movies buy it, if not you'll be bored to tears..

::WARNING:: After watching this movie you may find yourself quoting funny scenes un intentailly!!

Hahahahaha! great

[stueyboy01 · 10/10 · 15 March 2006]

hilarious, though i suggest that before buying this movie people view the short movies on the website, the klayworld movie although those who like it may disagree, is only really for those who enjoy stupid comedy. I absolutely loved the shorts on the website so i bought this and although i didn't like it as much as the shorts thought that it was amazing especially as it was just made by one guy! I recommend it highly. This is all i want to write but it is not enough line so I'm writing this to make the lines up, it is a great movie, watch it watch it watch it. one more line to go, take my word for it this movie is awesome buy it because it rocks!

A Personal Classic

[Mara-Jade-Skywalker-23 · 9/10 · 7 July 2019]

Introduction:

I use to be a huge of the Klay World Series, it was at one point my favorite show. And I was so upset when it ended. And honestly, it remains as one of them. The show was created in 2003 and ran for ten years, and in that time, some of the best comedy hit the Internet. And in my opinion, this film is the best thing to come out of Robert Benfer's stop-motion series.

Pros:

The film is very impressively made, as it was created by one man, Robert Benfer. And the film is also funny, creative, and well animated. Centering around a group of clay-people who are sent on a mission to explore the outside world, the world off the table they live on. As the table had received a message from off the table.

The comedy really lands, as the series relies on slapstick, but utilizes word humor. And the jokes in the film land. The story is also is easy to get invested in, and very fun to watch, as the over the top nature of the series carries on into this film. The climax of this film is one the most creative, funny and entertaining climaxes of any film.

If you told me to describe this film, I would call it, fun. The movie is just fun to watch.

Cons:

Honestly, problems are hard to find in this film. Because it's just a classic to me. And it deserves to be an animated classic. If I had to criticize it, I would say it has problems with some of the storytelling. I think the pacing is a little off at times. But it's not too much of a criticism.

Conclusion:

Klay World: Off the Table is one of my favorite comedy films. It's hilarious every time I watch it, it's fun, it's entertaining, the animation is surprisingly. And it's a hidden gem of cinema.

Not too shabby for a movie without a script!

[jermlot · 8/10 · 24 February 2006]

This movie is recommended for people who likes laughing at the stupidity of the klay people, and for anyone who are a fan of knox's previous works.

the first time i watched the movie, i noticed the film could need some further editing, like the klaymen voices. But because the movie was unscripted, (knox wanted his movies all like that) i guess editing wasn't necessary.

There were also some repetitiveness in the film that i found most distracting. However, the super funny moments drowned the annoying repetition.

the techno music in the film and was written by knox ;sounds real good and original.

A genius random comedy

[aragon2411 · 10/10 · 22 July 2006]

This movie is amazing. Every few seconds there is a new joke, and the jokes just keep getting funnier. KW:OTT was very enjoyable. It just took Klay World to a whole new level. Every character is very different, but they are all still retarded, which I love. Robert did an amazing job, even though there were some blank spots, the jokes made the movie so great it didn't even matter. Even though this movie is clearly low budget, the movie is so funny you have to watch it more than once. Before I got the movie I was expecting it to be the best comedy ever, and Rob did not let me down. The animation was also really smooth. Excellent job Robert!

Pretty good.

[ohmygollygosh · 9/10 · 20 September 2007]

"Klay World: Off the Table" has no script, so don't expect stellar writing or an amazing plot line. But if you enjoy cheap, goofy entertainment, this is the movie for you. There are no sets and the clay figures are incredibly simple, yet the simplicity adds to the movie's charm. This movie would simply not work if it were a live-action movie with a 30 million dollar budget and jaw- dropping CGI, because the movie clearly doesn't take itself seriously at all.

There's no romance, no character development and pretty much every single line of dialogue is insane, so there's no boring "filler" to get in your way. This movie, instead, focuses on the neglected groups of cinematography, such as aliens, death, stupid jokes and ridiculous amounts of violence. It is possibly the most cheerful movie with over forty deaths in it that I have ever seen. So if you have a cynical, yet completely moronic sense of humor like me, you will enjoy "Klay World: Off the Table".

Not bad.

[crappyflashes · 8/10 · 21 April 2018]

This movie had a lot of potential, and was great. Amazing voice work from Knox as usual, and also Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin. If you don't like slapstick comedy, or dumb movies, I highly doubt you should watch this. Newgrounds has been a huge part of my life, and knowing they produced this masterpiece makes it better. It's just basically like the original flash short videos, except longer with a runtime of 90 min. I highly recommend you watch this.

Just a bad "film"...

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef · 1/10 · 9 July 2006]

Although Robert "Knox" Benfer has his fans, I'm not one of them. His films are asinine and amateurish, and and just not very funny, unless you're a 14 year old with an underdeveloped sense of humor.

He's certainly not famous, as him immature fans would like you to believe, by harassing people at Wikipedia, or stuffing the ratings votes here at the IMDb. He's certainly not been profiled by any major media outlets, which speaks volumes about his and his creation's "fame".

Benfer does have some slight skill at limited animation, but he needs to get away from his young sycophants and learn to write some actual funny material before he'll be taken seriously as a real entertainer. As of this moment, though, he's just a kid with a camera, and it shows.

A bizarre, but laughable film.

[jwlmoore · 9/10 · 12 January 2014]

I love stop-motion animation films cause interesting and fun to watch, but I had doubts that Klay World: Off the Table would be not as good as Nightmare before Christmas. But I was wrong, It's really funny and amazing animation work. This comedy has everything I want, funny characters, okay cast, weird plot, and great stop-motion animation.

There were a lot of goofs in the film I saw. But I just ignore them cause it's funny. I tried Stop-motion animation and it's hard work. but I'm surprised that Robert Benfer made it in only 7 months. That's an achievement. Overall its a great movie. I love it. It's now part of the Stop-Motion animation family.

Not for everyone, but I liked it a lot.

[snowwhistle-rk · 8/10 · 13 January 2013]

I understand this movie may not be for everything. The type of comedy in this movie is mostly physical humor with a couple of witty lines and slight language squeezed in here and there. In short, if this is not your type of humor, you will probably not like this movie.

The fact this was made by Robert Benfer at age 18 or 19 is astounding. To this day, I find the animation, camera work, and sound effect/music in this film to be well above the standard of an average independent film. Also, I'm pretty sure this is in the top five longest animated films to date. How he was able to do all of this stop-motion with fragile clay models outside is still a mystery to me today.

This film features wonderful voice acting, granted the voices do sound a bit the same, but I can overlook that.

So how does the plot and comedy hold up. Well, the plot follows the story of a bunch of Klay men who live on a table. They receive contact from aliens and decide to send a "specialized" group of Klay men to leave their house to find them. Ironically, the aliens find the house and begin to decimate the local Klay men population. In my opinion, the plot is okay. The scenes outside are a bit forced and contribute little to the film. However, there are some really clever twists in the film and I found the plot to be engaging and kept me entertained.

The comedy works rather well, but does create some pacing issues. To give this movie the same zaniness as his shorts, Robert Benfer made the film with no script. While this works in a five minute short, it makes the movie drag in places and really hurts the pacing. However, the comedy is amazing and kept em laughing the whole time.

This movie is probably not for everyone, but even if you do not enjoy this film, you can still admire the work and effort put into this movie, as well as it's creativity.

Well, I like this film a lot. I give this movie an 8 - 10.

Definitely longer, but not just the same krap

[NightlySun · 10/10 · 1 January 2023]

Here's another childhood favorite of mine. It has a special place in my heart, because I first got into Robert Benfer's (formerly known as Knox) claymations - er, excuse me, klaymations - during my final year in elementary school. I even managed to get my very small and loose group of friends into them. And before he released All Gone eight years later, this was the peak of his klaymations.

It amazes me that he was only 18 years old when he made it. Granted, there are plenty of filmmakers whose talents exceeded their age, and Benfer is just one of them. But he manages to make do with what little he's got, and make it hilarious and genuinely entertaining.

His klaymations all more or less have the same basic concept: blue, faceless characters made of clay - I mean, klay - who live on a table where you can see Benfer's various possessions, act stupid and sometimes downright sociopathic, killing themselves and others through increasingly stupid means, such as drowning themselves in a spilled cup of water. 11/12-year-old me found that hilarious, and 29-year-old me still does. Despite how unconventional and minimalistic they are, somehow, it works.

Off the Table manages to do something unique: create a plot and character development. Sure, a lot of the short animations and miniseries had a basic premise, but for most of those, they would just spend the majority of the shorts being morons until they got killed or someone else killed them. There's more of an element of self-awareness in the klaymen here that would be explored in Benfer's later klaymations before he retired the series for good. In some ways, I see this progression as reminiscent of my own journey.

There's plenty else to love. Of course it carries a lot of Benfer's trademark absurd humor, like when a klayman commits suicide mid-conversation for no reason, or when another klayman starts spinning after talking about starting a band, as well as a few background moments, including a murder-suicide by impalement while signature character Dr. Bob is talking to another character. But there's still more.

Seeing the klaymen be EXTREMELY out of their element when they voluntarily leave the table and the house for the first time leads to some hilarious comedic interactions, but also parts that tug at your heartstrings when the majority of them die. Stupid as they are - with the exception of Chip Brown, the sole voice of reason among the dumb and insane klaymen - and equally stupid are the means of their deaths, you still feel for them and grow to love them.

You're also likely to end up rooting for the blue idiots as they make their final stand against the aliens. I won't go in trying to act like it's some sort of commentary on retaining your individuality and free will (though given the existential overtones of the later klaymations and some dialogue in Off the Table, it's entirely possible it's intentional), but these are characters that have grown on you, and of course, you're gonna want to see the series continue.

Even the animation is more impressive than ever. The scene where the aliens first appear and climb up to the table is nothing short of amazing, as is Chip suddenly growing an elongated arm while fighting Rick. For such a low-budget independent film made by an amateur and his friends, I give all due respect.

I should really go through this series again. I don't recall ever watching it in its entirety and I'm pretty sure there's plenty I've left unwatched. You'd be hard pressed to get a copy on DVD (Benfer is notorious for taking a long time to send out copies and isn't the most responsive) but if you can somehow find a way to watch it, definitely do. It's a more than worthwhile experience.

Disappointed

[tylermoore · 4/10 · 8 October 2012]

Let me make one thing clear, I am a fan of Robert Benfer. I love a lot of his internet videos from the recent years. But I'm sad to say, I didn't care for this at all and found it really hard to sit through. Maybe if I hadn't spent money on it I wouldn't feel as bad. Don't get me wrong, there are funny bits but very few and far between. I'm 18, but I think this is more geared towards 9-15 year olds. I decided to give it a shot knowing I'm a fan of his current work but I seemed to forget that even listening to old Knoxkast episodes, I found him a little annoying. He has grown and not only a filmmaker, but also a person in the time since this movie's release. Wish I would have skipped this one, but I do look forward to future works.

Painfully bad. Worst movie ever?

[WeekendUpdateAnchor · 1/10 · 31 March 2006]

I saw this movie the other night. I can't even begin to express how much this movie sucked. The writing, the voice acting, even the claymation. Terrible, Terrible, Terrible. It's like watching 24 hours of C-Span for the sake of comedy. It just doesn't work. It literally falls flat at about every spot possible.

Also, the movie's animation is very poor quality. I know that this is an movie made by one person, but to think that he could make 97 minutes worth of crap, maybe he could at least make 1 second worth of funny.

This show may take the cake for being the worst film of all time. Yikes. It really was that bad. If you're looking for a movie that will make you laugh, steer clear from this abomination. My advice: Don't even buy it, or look it up for that matter. Your brain will than you.

Klay world is a disappointed..

[Jedibry08 · 1/10 · 24 August 2006]

boring stuff we got here. His 5 minute shorts are better than this. know why? because there only 5 minutes and not 91 minutes or how ever long this is.

The plot is kinda... eh.. the last half hour is alright the rest is boring and not funny =( I had my hopes up, the trailer made it look funny but the pace of this movie is pretty slow and sadly not funny. Just plain boring klaymen running into each other and trying to make us laugh.. not working.

Maybe next time knox.

Maybe re-cutting this movie and adding better scenes would do a lot of healing but for now its just not good.