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5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Toytown Tale remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for weird, jerky animation from the early days of film, sure. It’s only a few minutes long. But if you’re looking for a coherent story, you’re gonna be let down. It’s basically just a bunch of toys acting out a playground drama. 🧸
The whole thing starts with the toymaker leaving. Standard stuff. The wind-up policeman gets tasked with guarding the place, which is a big mistake. The other toys immediately decide he needs to go into the glue pot. It’s pretty dark for a children’s story, honestly.
The animation style is… let’s call it determined. Things move in ways that feel like they might break at any second. The wind-up soldiers have this stiff, march-in-place energy that makes me think of Noisy Neighbors, mostly because the chaos level is about the same.
There’s this soldier who decides to ditch his duties to flirt with a doll. It’s all very low stakes until an elephant shows up. And not a cute one. This thing just starts vacuuming up the other soldiers like a hungry appliance. 🐘
Our hero soldier is a total coward. He just cowers. It’s actually kind of refreshing to see a main character be this useless. It reminds me of the shaky confidence in Cheap Kisses, though obviously in a totally different genre.
Then a monkey shows up to cause more trouble. The soldier does absolutely nothing to help. The shepherd guy finally steps in and handles the monkey, which wins him the girl. The soldier is left with nothing but his own fear. 🤷♂️
It’s not trying to be a masterpiece. It’s just a toy shop tantrum on film. You can feel the age of the thing in every frame. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you watching until the end, even when the plot goes completely off the rails.