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Star Warp'd
Ventura // Unrated // May 14, 2002
List Price: $12.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Parody is arguably one of the hardest genres to pull off correctly in film (or perhaps in any medium), but when it's done well, it can make for some great comedy. And what better to parody than not just one of Hollywood's most enduring science-fiction franchises, but two? In fact, why not throw in the whole lock, stock, and barrel? That's what Star Warp'd does, and plays it to the hilt, taking on not just Star Wars and Star Trek, but also any number of other famous science fiction movies and television shows, from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Terminator to The X-Files.
Star Warp'd is a good-spirited parody, presenting an absurd and humorous story that could only be created by people who really get a kick out of the source materials as well. Star Warp'd is in my opinion considerably funnier than the well-known Star Wars parody Spaceballs, which has a few amusing moments stretched too thinly over a feature-length film. Star Warp'd cheerily and crazily bounces along a storyline that has just about the running time that it needs in its thirty minutes. In fact, it felt like it could have been drawn out a little longer... which is a good sign that the creators knew when to quit. It's always better to leave the audience wanting more than to leave them overstuffed.
Don't expect a polished look from Star Warp'd: consider it a well-made and creative "garage gem" rather than an amateurish professional feature, and you'll be in the right frame of mind. The "claymation" figures don't have the polished look and smooth movement of a well-known claymation film like Chicken Run... the latter film having been made with a budget that was undoubtedly larger by several orders of magnitude. Nonetheless, the puppet figures are amazingly good at capturing the essence of their respective characters, in both facial detail and movement: each one is a dead ringer for its "real" counterpart... but wackier. (The wiggly Vulcan ears are great.) The voice acting is also quite well done, and in fact the behind-the-scenes featurette reveals that a fair amount of effort went into finding proper voice actors for the characters.
The important part of Star Warp'd is not the polish, but the charm: did they hit the right notes with their take-offs of popular TV and movie characters? The answer is a resounding "yes." The creators' sense of the absurd leads to inspired wackiness from beginning to end, starting with a recognizable U.S.S. Enterprise (or rather, the "Consolationprize")... with propellers. I won't spoil this very short piece by recounting any more of the events that go on; suffice to say that they're lots of fun.
The one prerequisite to enjoying Star Warp'd is being familiar with the shows it parodies. The more you're a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, the more fun you'll have with it; and if you have an appetite for science-fiction movies in general, you'll get a kick out of the way that different characters are tied into the story. I'll note that the malevolent E.T. is not to be missed.
Video
Although the DVD back-cover copy claims that the film is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio, this is incorrect. What we actually get is in the full-frame 1.33:1 ratio. As to whether the film was pan-and-scanned or whether this is a misprint, there's no actual data; however, I would suspect based on the framing of the scenes, as well as seeing the film being handled in the behind-the-scenes material, that 1.33:1 is probably the original aspect ratio.
I'd put the image quality at a notch below average. The image tends to be blurry, with a fair amount of noise in the picture. On the other hand, it's not the kind of piece that really demands good image quality in order to be enjoyed, and the DVD is perfectly watchable.
Audio
There's not a lot to say in this regard: for what it is, the Dolby 2.0 track is quite good. The dialogue is clear and correct-sounding, as are the sound effects. The music is nicely done, coming across with a nice sound while remaining balanced with the other elements of the track. As far as music itself goes, composer John Schuermann has done quite well to create a soundtrack that blends aspects of the two main themes of the shows being parodied, while also creating a sound that's different enough to be its own track, not a copy.
Extras
The special features add a considerable amount of value to the DVD. First of all, it comes with a full audio commentary from director Pete Schuermann, scriptwriter John Schuermann, and set designer Dave Carty. There's also a ten-minute behind-the-scenes segment which is quite interesting; it's fairly informal, featuring interview clips with the major participants in creating Star Warp'd and some glimpses at the actual filming.
There's a promotional trailer for Star Warp'd, and a preview of Star Warp'd 2, which at eight minutes long is practically a stand-alone piece. The preview is very amusing and I'd certainly like to see the full movie, if and when it's released.
Note: the 60-minute running time listed on some online sites is the combined running time for all elements on the DVD. The main feature is thirty minutes long, with the special features making up the remaining thirty minutes.
Final thoughts
One of the great things about reviewing DVDs is finding unexpected gems. Star Warp'd is one of those: for me, a long-time science fiction fan, it just kept hitting the "funny" buttons with enough charm and panache to earn a spot in my collection. If you're a fan of either Star Trek or Star Wars, I'd definitely recommend it; if you're a fan of both, even more so. It's silly stuff... and lots of fun.
Star Warp'd is a good-spirited parody, presenting an absurd and humorous story that could only be created by people who really get a kick out of the source materials as well. Star Warp'd is in my opinion considerably funnier than the well-known Star Wars parody Spaceballs, which has a few amusing moments stretched too thinly over a feature-length film. Star Warp'd cheerily and crazily bounces along a storyline that has just about the running time that it needs in its thirty minutes. In fact, it felt like it could have been drawn out a little longer... which is a good sign that the creators knew when to quit. It's always better to leave the audience wanting more than to leave them overstuffed.
Don't expect a polished look from Star Warp'd: consider it a well-made and creative "garage gem" rather than an amateurish professional feature, and you'll be in the right frame of mind. The "claymation" figures don't have the polished look and smooth movement of a well-known claymation film like Chicken Run... the latter film having been made with a budget that was undoubtedly larger by several orders of magnitude. Nonetheless, the puppet figures are amazingly good at capturing the essence of their respective characters, in both facial detail and movement: each one is a dead ringer for its "real" counterpart... but wackier. (The wiggly Vulcan ears are great.) The voice acting is also quite well done, and in fact the behind-the-scenes featurette reveals that a fair amount of effort went into finding proper voice actors for the characters.
The important part of Star Warp'd is not the polish, but the charm: did they hit the right notes with their take-offs of popular TV and movie characters? The answer is a resounding "yes." The creators' sense of the absurd leads to inspired wackiness from beginning to end, starting with a recognizable U.S.S. Enterprise (or rather, the "Consolationprize")... with propellers. I won't spoil this very short piece by recounting any more of the events that go on; suffice to say that they're lots of fun.
The one prerequisite to enjoying Star Warp'd is being familiar with the shows it parodies. The more you're a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, the more fun you'll have with it; and if you have an appetite for science-fiction movies in general, you'll get a kick out of the way that different characters are tied into the story. I'll note that the malevolent E.T. is not to be missed.
Video
Although the DVD back-cover copy claims that the film is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio, this is incorrect. What we actually get is in the full-frame 1.33:1 ratio. As to whether the film was pan-and-scanned or whether this is a misprint, there's no actual data; however, I would suspect based on the framing of the scenes, as well as seeing the film being handled in the behind-the-scenes material, that 1.33:1 is probably the original aspect ratio.
I'd put the image quality at a notch below average. The image tends to be blurry, with a fair amount of noise in the picture. On the other hand, it's not the kind of piece that really demands good image quality in order to be enjoyed, and the DVD is perfectly watchable.
Audio
There's not a lot to say in this regard: for what it is, the Dolby 2.0 track is quite good. The dialogue is clear and correct-sounding, as are the sound effects. The music is nicely done, coming across with a nice sound while remaining balanced with the other elements of the track. As far as music itself goes, composer John Schuermann has done quite well to create a soundtrack that blends aspects of the two main themes of the shows being parodied, while also creating a sound that's different enough to be its own track, not a copy.
Extras
The special features add a considerable amount of value to the DVD. First of all, it comes with a full audio commentary from director Pete Schuermann, scriptwriter John Schuermann, and set designer Dave Carty. There's also a ten-minute behind-the-scenes segment which is quite interesting; it's fairly informal, featuring interview clips with the major participants in creating Star Warp'd and some glimpses at the actual filming.
There's a promotional trailer for Star Warp'd, and a preview of Star Warp'd 2, which at eight minutes long is practically a stand-alone piece. The preview is very amusing and I'd certainly like to see the full movie, if and when it's released.
Note: the 60-minute running time listed on some online sites is the combined running time for all elements on the DVD. The main feature is thirty minutes long, with the special features making up the remaining thirty minutes.
Final thoughts
One of the great things about reviewing DVDs is finding unexpected gems. Star Warp'd is one of those: for me, a long-time science fiction fan, it just kept hitting the "funny" buttons with enough charm and panache to earn a spot in my collection. If you're a fan of either Star Trek or Star Wars, I'd definitely recommend it; if you're a fan of both, even more so. It's silly stuff... and lots of fun.
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