G.I. JOE uses iron fists to rip into film fest

Coming to the Cinematheque, straight out of Denver, Colorado, is the first ever G.I. Joe stop-motion animation festival.

All versions of the Hasbro toy are used in each of the short films and it’s amusing to see a crossover of familiar action figures between each film. In one film you might be cheering the 12 inch bearded G.I. Joe as the hero and in the next it might be used as a goon.

Watching these numerous short films is like seeing the realized imaginations of the children who played with these toys, complete with the enormous violence and crassness that propels the imaginations of the average adolescent male. The violence is indeed abundant. The majority of these short films manage to out-gore any of the action films of the ’80s and ’90s for which they are clearly inspired. Said inspiration is made all the more clear when one short re-enacts the laser battle at the beginning of John Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Only about half way through the festival do we get a non-violent film, which features G.I. Joes in stoner-wear rocking out to Steppenwolf.

The credits reveal that several of the filmmakers are considerably young, some even in junior high school, which means the levels of quality are varied, not to say that some do not have some professional flair. A trilogy of shorts called War: American Style was a particular standout as well as being an award winning favourite at the original screening.

It will be interesting to see how this festival develops. The fest is a first attempt, as the second one happens this coming October. The Onion, a popular, satirical news source from the US, sponsors the event and it’s clear to see the comedic roots from whence the idea for this festival came in the shorts themselves. With such a name backing this festival it could be safe to assume that fun will be the active word in the back of the minds of those submitting, be it pure comedic creations or more over-the-top action tales.

The idea for this festival spawned in the mind of Denver native Gio Toninelo, who got worldwide attention for creating a photo journal that narrated the adventures of his classic twelve-inch G.I. Joe collection. It was not very long after starting to organise the idea for a festival that entries started to come in from as far away as Taiwan.

For one night only, August 13, you can catch the over-the-top violence and humour at the Cinematheque theatre. This stop here in Winnipeg is the final for this show’s North American tour of the winning shorts from the original festival. Readers should keep in mind that the future installments of the festival are open to submissions and charge nothing . . . so perhaps it’s time to dust off the old collection and turn the adventures crossing your bathtub into a cinematic wonder. See www.gijoefest.com for more details.