Chris Columbus, Jr.: A weird little trip

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you're a completist for early animation or just want to see something that feels like a fever dream from a different century. If you’re looking for a coherent story, you’re in the wrong place. If you want to see a bunch of jailbirds acting like idiots on a boat, you might get a kick out of it. ⛵

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Chris Columbus, Jr. (1934) through its definitive frames.

Who will hate it? People who need logic or consistent character motivations. If you get annoyed when the plot just sort of evaporates, stay away.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Chris Columbus, Jr. (1934) through its definitive frames.

The vibe

Watching this felt a bit like finding a dusty, half-eaten sandwich in a time capsule. The whole thing is just frantic. The crew is made up of guys you wouldn't trust to hold your coat, let alone navigate a ship.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Chris Columbus, Jr. (1934) through its definitive frames.

There's a mutiny, I guess? It’s hard to tell because everyone is yelling and flailing around so much. The animation style is… well, it's definitely from a specific time. Sometimes the movement looks like it’s being held together by duct tape and sheer willpower.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Chris Columbus, Jr. (1934) through its definitive frames.

Random thoughts from the back of my notebook:

• The ship interior is surprisingly cramped, which actually adds to the claustrophobia of the whole ordeal.
• Ferdinand Munier is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Like, a lot.
• The moment they find land, the movie just kind of forgets the mutiny was even happening. Classic move.

It’s nowhere near as polished as The Overland Limited, but it has this weird, jagged energy that I kind of respected. It doesn't try to be profound, which is the best thing I can say about it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Chris Columbus, Jr. (1934) through its definitive frames.

I found myself zoning out during the middle act. The scenes on the deck just repeat the same gags over and over. You can tell they were trying to fill space. It’s like they realized they had ten minutes of plot and needed to stretch it to fifteen. 🤷‍♂️

There’s a specific bit where a character trips over his own feet that lasts about three seconds too long. It stops being funny and starts being just… sad. Like, *buddy, please just get up.*

If you've sat through Hot Hoofs, you know the kind of chaos I'm talking about. This isn't that good, but it's not trying to be anything else either. It's just a weird artifact of a time when animators were throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck.

Maybe skip this one unless it’s a rainy Sunday and you’ve already watched everything else on your list twice. It’s not great, but it’s certainly not boring in the traditional way. It’s just… a lot.