Sunday, May 16, 2004

A Lilliputian Massacre

First of all, has anyone seen the 1939 animated "Gulliver's Travels?" You know--the one with the kindly, bland-faced Gulliver whose first response to an attempted assasination is a slow and thoughtful, "Myy, my." In fact, as I recall, that was his response to just about everything--the swarming Lilliputians creating a new outfit right on him, the bumbling, munchkin-like watchman who inevitably falls off a bridge or some other tall structure (fortunately?) into Gulliver's hand. Myyy, my.

Back to my main point: Well, think about the tiny, bumbling watchman for a second. Think about his annoying, highpitched yelps and gurgles. (Made you want to step on him, didn't it? Or am I alone here?)

Now, if you've ever played the video game "Halo," think about the little Covenant aliens shaped like triangles with bad attitudes. Think about their annoying, highpitched yelps and gurg.... hey.... Don't they sound IDENTICAL to the Lilliputian watchman? Some designer watched the "Gulliver's Travels" cartoon as a child and thought, "This movie would be SO much better if I could run that watchman over with a ATV and then shoot him with his own weapon."

hmm.

Post Script: I'm not necessarily condoning Halo. I recognize the slickness of the design, but I don't particularly like it. The Boy plays it, and from downstairs I get to hear the sounds of space battles and Lilliputian watchmen getting their butts kicked.


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