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Now, there’s nothing wrong with using a pattern like this to tell your story, but rather, it’s the number of scenes in the pattern that makes things feel overly long. A good rule to use in a situation like this is the rule of three, a principle in English writing that says things told in threes, be they slogans, films, jokes, etc. are generally funnier and more satisfying for the reader/ viewer. A comedic short could greatly benefit from using the rule of three as it helps create a structure for the movie that will (hopefully) give it more of a satisfying punch. This also helps with running time since the basic structure requires setup, reinforcing setup, and punch line. Ironically, the opening montage of Ninjews actually uses this rule to great effect. Two Mohels are asked to circumcise an Asian-Jewish baby (setup). The parents request the Mohels use a Katana (reinforcing the setup). But the ritual goes horribly wrong resulting in the Mohels becoming the Ninjews (punch line). However, the main storyline involving Mary would have benefited from this structure so that the jokes involving Fyvush’s slow conversion to Catholicism didn’t feel so dragged out and redundant.
Without a doubt, the voice acting in Ninjews is the film’s greatest strength (along with the sound, but more on that later). Actors Albert Vera and Joey Milillo strike an excellent tone as the two brothers, delivering the jokes smoothly. They never felt like they were hamming up their roles, even though material like this often lends itself to such broad theatrics. Also, actress Julie Oliver as Mary (and another character discussed in the “spoilers” section of this critique) used an effective Irish brogue that never slipped into an American accent (or any other accent for that matter, since I’m assuming she’s not natively Irish!). None of the actors ever broke character and all delivered well-balanced, professional-quality performances. Apparently, of his $500 budget, creator Josh Bass spent almost half on hiring talent. And while he definitely got more than his money’s worth out of these three, making the gesture to pay talent for their time is always a good practice for microfilmmakers. Even if it’s much less than scale, it gives the production an air of professionalism and prevents people from having the “oh, this is just a volunteer gig, so I don’t really have to show up, right?” attitude.
The editing on this film was fluid and technically proficient, especially the opening sequence as mentioned earlier. That particular sequence was a well-cut together montage, using split-screen, wipes, and zooms as transitional pieces that condensed the prologue’s time frame, giving the viewer only what they needed to know to understand the brothers’ backstory. There was only one jump cut in the film that I noticed, but it wasn’t glaringly obvious since it was cut on the action. It occurs just before the film’s climax, the brothers are knocked to the floor. Fyvush is in a trance-like state, so Yoav must use the “Jew-slap of awakening”. They are framed in a wide two shot, but as Yoav raises hand to slap his brother, the camera tilts up with the hand. As Yoav brings his hand down on Fyvush’s cheek, we cut back to the original wide two shot, which is compositionally the same shot. This type of cut can be jarring because there’s not enough difference in the framing of the two shots. However, because it was cut on the action and sound effects were used effectively, it wasn’t as distracting as it might have been. Perhaps, a close-up insert of Fyvush’s face as the hand makes contact, and then cutting back to the wider shot would have been a little less noticeable.
Perhaps the most politically incorrect moment (and that’s saying something!) in Ninjews comes at the end. After Mary is confronted about her real motives, she transforms into Catholica, a demonic-like creature whose master plan is to convert everyone in the world to Catholicism. She turns on the brothers, causing them to transform into the Ninjews to stop her. However, the outcome of the fight is never in doubt, so there’s little suspense. Of course, this wasn’t the point of the ending. Much like the rest of the film, the point was to use Jewish and Catholic beliefs and rituals as sight gags.
The ending is also the first time (other than the film’s beginning) we actually see the brothers as their alter-egos. Considering the film’s title and the excellent opening montage, I expected to see more of the Ninjews earlier on. Because they didn’t show up until the ending, it was as if the Ninjews themselves, along with Catholica, were only used as the punch-line to a joke that had a really long setup. It would be like watching a Superman movie, but 90% of it featured Clark Kent. I know this was a short, but if there are going to be future episodes of Ninjews, the amount of screen time the title characters have might be something to consider.
The writer-director was also the sole animator of Ninjews. He spent two years putting it together, which I can only imagine was a time consuming and arduous process. Considering the limitations he faced as a one-man animation studio, the visual results are impressive. He used Anime Studio Pro (the current version is 7 and retails for $199), and I’d say the quality of the animation was similar to South Park. And, considering the subject matter, this animation style seemed appropriate. The characters have a hand-drawn quality, but were effectively rendered. This is especially true of Catholica, who was so well-drawn she almost seemed out of place with the overall aesthetic of the short. The design of Yoav and Fyvush’s house was the only visual problem area. It lacked the details that can really give an animated location a sense of being a “real,” complete world. For example, large windows fill a wall in the living room, but nothing is seen beyond them. No neighborhood. No cars driving by. Just white or dark blue to indicate day and night. Because this was animated by one person, details like this are simply left out. I’d say that for any future animation endeavors bringing on board one or two additional animators (if possible) could help flesh out these sorts of details.
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