Go to Hell!!

Last updated

Go to Hell!!
Directed byRay Nowland
Written byRay Nowland
Produced byRay Nowland
Starring Keith Scott
Helen Knight
Production
company
Energee Entertainment
Release date
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Go to Hell!! is a 1997 Australian adult animated comedy film directed, written, produced, and animated entirely by Ray Nowland, making it one of the only feature-length films animated by a single person. The film re-imagines history in a world where God is actually an alien called "G.D.", who wiped out the dinosaurs and replaced them with apes from his own planet (which eventually evolve into humans), with the Devil being G.D.'s son (called "Little Red"), who appears throughout history in an attempt to thwart G.D.'s plans.

Contents

Reception

Go to Hell!! has received very limited distribution, despite having been aired on the national television station SBS in Australia.

Despite this, the film has received positive critical reception. In AllMovie, Robert Firsching awarded the film 3½ out of 5 stars, describing it as "an impressive attempt to completely rewrite the history of the universe in less time than it takes to train a Pokémon." [1] Steven Puchalski in Shock Cinema also praised Go to Hell!!, stating that it "crams a wealth of imagination into only 73 minutes." [2] It described the film as follows: "ultra-crude animated feature from Australia might not look like much at first glance, but give it a chance, because it's actually a raunchy-'n'-subversive sci-fi/allegory/comedy that harkens back to the earliest, most caustic days of Ralph Bakshi." [2]

Underground Animation recommended the film to "anyone that’s into weird fucked up animation, adult fans of ‘Blinky Bill’ or anyone interested in the history of underground, solo or Australian animation." [3] Screen Australia described the film as "hilariously shocking". [4] A review in The Curb wrote that it was "one of the most unique and fascinating Australian films out there." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hercules</i> (1997 film) American animated musical fantasy film

Hercules is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the legendary hero Heracles, a son of Zeus in Greek mythology. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, both of whom also produced the film with Alice Dewey Goldstone. The screenplay was written by Clements, Musker, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi. Featuring the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, and Susan Egan, the film follows the titular Hercules, a demigod with super-strength raised among mortals, who must learn to become a true hero in order to earn back his godhood and place in Mount Olympus, while his evil uncle Hades plots his downfall.

<i>South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut</i> 1999 adult animated film directed by Trey Parker

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 American adult animated musical comedy film based on the animated sitcom South Park. The film was directed by series creator Trey Parker from a screenplay co-written with series co-creator Matt Stone and Pam Brady. It stars Parker, Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, and Isaac Hayes, all of whom reprise their roles from the series, with George Clooney, Eric Idle, and Mike Judge in supporting roles. The plot follows Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick as they sneak into an R-rated film starring the Canadian comedy duo Terrance and Phillip, after which they begin swearing. When the consequent moral panic culminates in the United States declaring war on Canada, Stan, Kyle and Cartman take it upon themselves to save Terrance and Phillip from execution, while Kenny tries to prevent a prophecy involving Satan and Saddam Hussein's intent to conquer the world.

<i>Space Jam</i> 1996 film directed by Joe Pytka

Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated hybrid sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The film stars basketball player Michael Jordan as himself; the live-action cast also includes Wayne Knight and Theresa Randle, as well as cameos by Bill Murray and several NBA players, while Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, Kath Soucie and Danny DeVito headline the voice cast. The film follows Jordan as he is brought out of retirement by the Looney Tunes characters to help them win a basketball match against invading aliens intent on enslaving them as amusement park attractions.

<i>Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas</i> 1997 American direct-to-video film

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is a 1997 direct-to-video animated Christmas musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Disneytoon Studios. It is the follow-up to Disney's 1991 animated feature film Beauty and the Beast. The film sold 7.6 million VHS tapes in 1997. This is the first of two sequels to Beauty and the Beast that were released, with the other being Belle's Magical World (1998).

<i>All Dogs Go to Heaven</i> 1989 animated film directed by Don Bluth

All Dogs Go to Heaven is a 1989 animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and co-directed by Gary Goldman and Dan Kuenster. Set in New Orleans in 1939, it tells the story of Charlie B. Barkin, a German Shepherd that is murdered by his former friend, Carface Carruthers. Charlie escapes from Heaven to return to Earth where his best friend, Itchy Itchiford, still lives, in order to take revenge on Carface. Instead, he ends up befriending a young orphan girl named Anne-Marie. In the process, Charlie learns an important lesson about kindness, friendship and love.

<i>Robots</i> (2005 film) 2005 American animated film

Robots is a 2005 American animated science fiction adventure comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Chris Wedge and co-directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, based on a story conceived by Lindsay-Abaire, Ron Mita and Jim McClain. It stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey and Robin Williams. The story follows an ambitious inventor robot named Rodney Copperbottom, who seeks his idol Bigweld to work for his company in Robot City, but discovers a plot by its new leader Ratchet and his mother to forcibly upgrade its populace and eradicate struggling robots, known as "outmodes".

<i>Chicken Little</i> (2005 film) 2005 animated film by Mark Dindal

Chicken Little is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson, based on a story by Dindal and Mark Kennedy, loosely inspired on the European folk tale "Henny Penny", known in the United States as "Chicken Little". In this version, the title character is ridiculed by his town for causing a panic, thinking that the sky was "falling". A year later he attempts to fix his reputation, followed by an unexpected truth regarding his past being revealed. The film is dedicated to Disney artist and writer Joe Grant, who died before the film's release. This also marked the final film appearance of Don Knotts during his lifetime, as his next and final film, Air Buddies, would be released posthumously.

<i>An American Tail: Fievel Goes West</i> 1991 animated film directed by Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated Western musical adventure film directed by Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells, with producer Steven Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment and animated by his Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. A sequel to 1986's An American Tail, the film follows the story of the Mousekewitzes, a family of Russian-Jewish mice who emigrate to the Wild West. In it, Fievel is separated from his family as the train approaches the American Old West; the film chronicles him and Sheriff Wylie Burp teaching Tiger how to act like a dog.

An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult audiences in most cases. The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, South Park, and Family Guy are four of the longest-running animated sitcoms.

<i>Fritz the Cat</i> (film) 1972 film by Ralph Bakshi

Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.

<i>Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs</i> 2009 American animated film

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a 2009 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the sequel to Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and the third installment in the Ice Age film series. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and co-directed by Mike Thurmeier, from a screenplay written by Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Mike Reiss, and Yoni Brenner, based on a story conceived by Jason Carter Eaton. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Chris Wedge reprise their roles from the first two films and Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, and Queen Latifah reprise their roles from The Meltdown, with Simon Pegg joining them in the role of a weasel named Buck. In the film, while Manny and Ellie are preparing for their baby, Sid the Sloth is kidnapped by a female Tyrannosaurus after stealing her eggs, leading the rest of the herd to rescue him in a tropical lost world inhabited by dinosaurs underneath the ice.

<i>Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars</i> 2005 American film

Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy-adventure film starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., it is the second made-for-video Tom and Jerry film.

<i>Shrek</i> 2001 DreamWorks Animation film

Shrek is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, it is the first installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. In the film, an embittered ogre named Shrek (Myers) finds his home in the swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures banished by the obsessive ruler Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek makes a pact with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.

<i>The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!</i> 2010 American film

The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! is a 2010 American adult animated parody musical black comedy film based on the Comedy Central animated sitcom Drawn Together written and executive produced by creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, produced by Richard Quan, and directed by Greg Franklin. The film is the first Drawn Together release since the TV show's cancellation, and the film itself deals with the subject. It is the second animated film from Comedy Central, after South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Hertzfeldt</span> American animator

Don Hertzfeldt is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films It's Such a Beautiful Day, the World of Tomorrow series, ME, and Rejected. In 2014, his work appeared on The Simpsons. Eight of his short films have competed at the Sundance Film Festival, a festival record. He is also the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice.

<i>Anomalisa</i> 2015 film by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

Anomalisa is a 2015 American adult stop-motion psychological comedy-drama film directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson and written by Kaufman. It is based on a 2005 audio play by Kaufman that explores the Fregoli delusion. Anomalisa follows the British middle-aged customer service expert Michael Stone, who perceives everyone as identical except for Lisa Hesselman, whom he meets in a Cincinnati hotel.

<i>Its Such a Beautiful Day</i> (film) 2012 animated feature film directed by Don Hertzfeldt

It's Such a Beautiful Day is a 2012 American experimental adult animated comedy-drama film directed, written, animated, photographed, produced and narrated by Don Hertzfeldt.

<i>Hazbin Hotel</i> American adult animated musical television series

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical comedy television series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for sinners to be "rehabilitated" and allowed into Heaven, via her "Hazbin Hotel", as an alternative to Heaven's annual "Extermination" of souls due to Hell's overpopulation. The series is produced by SpindleHorse Toons in collaboration with A24, Amazon Studios, and the animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.

In the United States, before the enforcement of the Hays Code, some cartoon shorts contained humor that was aimed at adult audience members rather than children. Following the introduction of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, independent animation producers attempted to establish an alternative to mainstream animation. Initially, few animation studios in the United States attempted to produce animation for adult audiences, but later examples of animation produced for adults would gain mainstream attention and success. Some of the most prominent animations with these mature/adult themes include Aqua Teen Hunger Force, BoJack Horseman, South Park, Family Guy, Mission Hill, and Archer, along with other adult animated television series, feature films, and animation in other forms which helped the genre expand over the years, beyond animated sitcoms.

Arthouse animation is a combination of art film and animated film.

References

  1. "Go to Hell! (1997) - Ray Nowland | Review | AllMovie".
  2. 1 2 "Go to Hell!!". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  3. "Go To Hell! – Solo Feature Animation by Ray Nowland |". 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  4. "Go to Hell (1997) - the Screen Guide - Screen Australia". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. "Go to Hell!! Review - A Trippy Underground Animated Adventure Through Space, Religion, Capitalism, and Time - The Curb". www.thecurb.com.au. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2024.