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5.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Toybox Series #3: Picture Book 1936 remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only watch this if you’re a total animation nerd or someone obsessed with how propaganda looked before everything got so polished and boring. If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend watch, stay away. This will just make you feel like you’re trapped in a dusty, uncomfortable history lecture.
It’s not exactly fun. But it is fascinating in a 'what on earth were they thinking' kind of way.
The villains here are these mouse-like creatures that look like they crawled out of a nightmare version of a 1930s sketchbook. You can tell the animators were trying to evoke that popular American style of the time, but it ends up looking like a distorted, angry version of the mouse we all know.
The way they move is jittery. It’s almost like they’re vibrating with evil, or maybe the film stock was just having a bad day. Either way, it’s creepy.
Watching the Japanese folk characters interact with these creatures is jarring. There’s a specific moment where one of the heroes stands tall against a hoard of these mice, and the framing feels so deliberately stiff. It’s meant to look heroic, but it just looks like a wooden stage play.
It reminded me a bit of the heavy-handedness you find in The Head of Janus, though obviously in a completely different genre. Both films feel like they’re trying to beat a message into your skull with a blunt object.
There isn't much else to say. It’s short. It’s weird. And it’s definitely a product of its time. If you’ve ever watched something like Mechanical Man and thought, 'I want more of this but with weird, propagandized rodents,' then you've finally found your movie.
I think I’m done with 1930s propaganda for the month. My brain feels like it’s been through a washing machine.