More on the Nicktoons Festival, part 3
The Nicktoons Film Festival is over, but Coldhardflash’s continuing coverage of the featured Flash films is not.
Moving to a new neighborhood is always a chore, but it’s far more traumatic when you’re young. This seems to be one of the many underlying themes packed into the hysterical new series of ‘Rotting Hills’ shorts created by Glen Wyand. Only this time, the new neighborhood is crawling with the rotting corpses of the undead.
The Nicktoons Film Festival recently aired the ‘Drive to School’ episode. Clark, a leery, newcomer to the spooky city of Restful Hills, is carted off to school by his completely clueless Dad. As far as old Pops is concerned, school starting at midnight is just the way it works around these parts.
It’s a clever set-up, and we get the feeling Dad will never quite understand what he’s gotten his family into, and Clark had better buy some fast, new running shoes. The design work is elaborate, with great attention put to setting the right mood. There’s surely no mistaking this town for Springfield. The Nicktoons website lists the show as a Flash production, and Macromedia’s software has truly been put to the test. This show is heavy on design, animation and action, and the final result is a real feast for the eyes. The shadows on the BGs are almost as fun to look at as the slick character designs, and the beautifully designed karate-kicking dog, Buddy, seems destined to steal the show.
I hear that Canada’s YTV ordered 5 episodes of this short, and it makes perfect sense. Glen and his gang of animation zombies have crafted a project that’s begging to get picked up for a full season. If it gets called up for a full run, I’m hoping young Clark might find a backbone in one of the open graves littering the landscape. He’s a bit soft for a show lead, but other than that, it’s hard not to love the sweet smell of decaying flesh coming from Rotting Hills.
