Malice in Wonderland by Vince Collins

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I’ve linked to Vince Collins’s animation before, but I hadn’t run across this hallucinogenic 1982 piece of animation he made called Malice in Wonderland. Quite appropriately, it was pointed out to me by Christy Karacas, who’s currently working on a trippy animated series of his own, Superjail. It’s probably NSFW but don’t let that stop you. Creator Collins also has a MySpace with an entertaining account of his animation career thus far and links to more of his work.

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  • http://www.octop.com Aleksandar Vujovic

    …..so?

    I didn’t like it. Not because it wasn’t well done, not because I wouldn’t like Vince’s other work, but because this is just seems to have no point. Maybe I missed the message among the vaginas and screams.

    • Jack

      I think that in order to appreciate Collins’ work, you have to be someone who can appreciate animation for the sake of animation as well as the mood he tries to convey. I think he’s aiming more at simply disturbing you rather than trying to teach you a Cosby Kids lesson. But if you’re not the kind of person who is into pure animation, then yeah, its probably one to skip. I love it though.

  • Nic Kramer

    To weird for my taste. Personally I prefer this little animation he did in 1974 for Sesame Street:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw4XgiNRUnA

  • http://tsutpen.blogspot.com Stephen Cooke

    …and I thought Sally Cruikshank was trippy…

  • Jesse

    Thanks Nic for the Sesame Street clip. And I’d agree with Aleksandar as well. The “alice/drugs” approach isn’t exactly new material and, despite the wild and creative imagery this kind of project always allows, there’s not all that much substance underneath to support it.

  • http://gagaman.blogspot.com The Gagaman

    Probably best to watch this one with the sound off, me thinks. The soundtrack is rather annoying, what with the constant screaming and all that..

  • http://stephansolarchive.blogspot.com Stephan

    I can see where the creators of Superjail got their inspiration from ;)

  • http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/ Esn

    Thanks Amid. I saw this before, and quite liked it. This is from the same “school” of filmmaking as Bruce Bickford’s films and Ryan Larkin’s “Street Musique”. Those who’re looking for some kind of easily-digested moral (as the first three posters may have been) are missing the point. This is the animated equivalent of stream-of-consciousness writing, and its value is that it allows a glimpse into someone else’s psychology.

  • David D

    Thanks Amid! I saw this about a month ago – It’s on Will Krause’s youtube favorites. I’d really like to see it in film form. The body turning inside out from the mouth to the vagina (or was it anus? I’ll have to look again) is something I’ve hallucinated. Has anyone else? I wonder how many other people have seen that, under the influence of psychogens or mental stress.

  • George Lutz

    In the mid-1970′s, full animation (or at least full inbetweening) was a rare treat. This kind of film played well on college campuses in 16mm, and not only with the stoners. Old Fleischer stuff was also loudly cheered, because fluid cartoon motion was then thought virtually dead. The interlude in cinema when it was believed that virtually anything could fly also lasted well into the decade when this baby was made. Without this historical context, contemporary viewers might well consider “Malice” pointless.

  • http://highlyrecommended.blogspot.com Satorical

    Whoa. Was looking for the Mad Tea Party, but didn’t catch it. Of course, it was all a mad tea party.

  • big bad balloon

    Outstanding. Some of the most imaginative animation I’ve seen this year.

  • Cadychan

    Umm…I’m kind of wondering if my dinner was throroughly cooked. o_O;;
    Interesting, definitely…I do like Vince’s work (Superjail stands as my fave), but..not something I’d watch again. I agree with Mr. Vujovic: a bit much with all the screams and va-ja-jays. Although the quality of animation is astounding. ^_~

  • http://http:www.trnorton.com Tennessee

    I was watching this early in the morning before my wife awoke so I had the sound off. I LOVED THIS !!! Perhaps not as much with the sound on… still this astounding experimental animation is simply amazing.

    Personally I love that the creator allows the viewer to ‘fill in the blanks’ from the viewers own life experiences. The comments beg the question – why is it that some viewers are incapable of looking at a moving piece of art? When you are looking a a master piece of a painting or a sculpture do you say to yourself – I don’t get the story the artist is trying to tell.
    Look I LOVE a great story – and certainly NEED one for an animation that lasts longer than say – 6 min – perhaps. But IMO its works of art like these that can open your mind up folks. Grow some new synaptic paths in your brain when you let some surreality take you to another plane of thought.

    Wow I think I will get some more coffee now…

  • Patrick Dean

    That short bit of animation has scared me off of breasts.

  • Samuel Barriball

    My favourite cartoon for sure. deffinantely a must if your cooked out of your mind.