Zeman's Baron Munchausen is perhaps not as narratively streamlined, which is a peculiar thing to say, as Invention for Destruction, and frankly I think Terry Gilliam (who apparently/surprisingly saw this only when preparing to make his adaptation, though it may make sense when one realizes this didn't have distribution in the US where he would have seen it at the time) and, in a slightly different context but no less vignette-packed and dreamlike, George Miller with Three Thousand Years of Longing leaped off into greater effects and emotional context. It's the kind of motion picture where a narrator is necessary not simply for it to have a Fairy Tale Storybook feel but becsuse otherwise we would lose the thread here and there.
But Karel Zeman and his collaborators were fearless in combining elements and effects, never stopping to be concerned if a stop motion snake in one shot for example cutting to a puppet in another would be off and it actually works great, and even if I don't connect much with Munchausen or his companions I can enjoy this as simply a series of practical effects wonders and the occasional bit of very odd and idiosyncratic comedy; of course there's another boat inside that sea monster Munchausen sails into (and lo and behold their lights still work!) I also admire the fact that Zelman decided to use color like a kid with a Crayola box, creating and combining colors sometimes from shot to shot, and yet it all flows and feels connected because it's like flipping through a moving picture book (matter of fact the events come one after another like a child telling someone a story that takes many bizarre and non sensical turns, which is part of the charm).
If it's a little less than a masterpiece then being very entertaining and occasionally awe inspiring is enough. I do wonder if kids would be a little bored by this today.
But Karel Zeman and his collaborators were fearless in combining elements and effects, never stopping to be concerned if a stop motion snake in one shot for example cutting to a puppet in another would be off and it actually works great, and even if I don't connect much with Munchausen or his companions I can enjoy this as simply a series of practical effects wonders and the occasional bit of very odd and idiosyncratic comedy; of course there's another boat inside that sea monster Munchausen sails into (and lo and behold their lights still work!) I also admire the fact that Zelman decided to use color like a kid with a Crayola box, creating and combining colors sometimes from shot to shot, and yet it all flows and feels connected because it's like flipping through a moving picture book (matter of fact the events come one after another like a child telling someone a story that takes many bizarre and non sensical turns, which is part of the charm).
If it's a little less than a masterpiece then being very entertaining and occasionally awe inspiring is enough. I do wonder if kids would be a little bored by this today.