Review: “Kounterclockwise In Foreverland”

 

Spoilers below! Seriously, if you don’t want me to ruin this for you I wholeheartedly suggest that you watch the flick first! You’ve been warned…

The story starts out with Deacon and Kaya waking up and starting their day. The weather is gorgeous, birds are chirping and pills are ready to be sold out of the back of an ice cream truck. Cleveland. Deacon wants nothing to do with the daytime so he shoots the sun and flashes us forward to the night where they head to a concert by none other than Luiscious Delicious and the Delicitones. As the crowd twerks and grinds to the beat, Deacon laments about how terrible the music is.

Kaya sees an advertisement for Madam Mesmerelda on the TV at the bar and asks Deacon if they can go see her because she recently received a coupon. Deacon wants nothing to do with that as much as he wants nothing to do with the music in the club, but Kaya reminds him that she always sacrifices her needs for what he wants to do. So they roll out of the club in search of the Madam.

Mesmerelda invites Kaya and Deacon into her home and begins to read them. She quickly deduces that Deacon is a believer, but he puts up a front to pretend that believing doesn’t scare him. She also points out that Kaya is pure of heart and that “The Glove” has summoned. Deacon goes off on a tangent as to how none of this is real and the Madam loses her mind, goes into a trance, and causes thunder to roll with her mind. Then she breaks out into a song! The song puts Kounterclockwise into a transient state and reveals to them that there is a glove that helps power the universe with love, funk, and joy. But evildoers who would rather destroy the glove than see it used for good have taken the glove. Kaya and Deacon have been chosen to save the glove and are immediately transported to Foreverland to complete this mission.

They venture around and come across a local who dubs himself a “pillbilly,” because the surface of Foreverland is covered in pills. He tells them that there’s no way to leave Foreverland, thus the name. They continue on their quest and around the wreckage of crashed planes and space ships. They see a note sprawled across the side of a building that reads “Beware Infinitus.” Seems like a bit of foreshadowing to me!

We then transition over to a record shop where a band is jamming. Deacon and Kaya roll up on the shop and begin to wonder if this band is “The Funk Giants” that they heard about from the pillbilly. But before they are able to enter the record shop to ask some questions, Deacon is knocked out of his chair and an evil being appeared. It turns out that the evil being is a member of the troupe that was inside of the record shop. They begin asking questions of Kounterclockwise to see if Infinitus sent them. The Funk Giants call upon their piano player, Dr. Do Nasty, to recant the story of Foreverland. Turns out that Foreverland used to be a peaceful place where singing flowers filled the air with joy. Then one day a Dr. Doom style villain named Infinitus came and declared war on the planet in an effort to destroy all of its music. In an effort to save the glove from being captured, The Funk Giants sent the glove to another dimension. The place was known as “Cleve-Land.” But Infinitus was able to send one of his lackeys, Mr. Creep, to retrieve the glove. Kaya and Deacon go in search of Infinitus to see if they can get home. They arrive at Infinitus’ gates and are greeted by an army that quickly incapacitates them. They are transported to a prison city. Kaya and Deacon become separated when Mr. Creep sends Kaya to Infinitus and Deacon to a cell.

Infinitus begins to chat with Kaya about why she is trespassing on his land. He holds off on disintegrating her and prepares a chamber for her as she wonders what has happened to Deacon. Deacon is in a maximum-security prison and is greeted by a group of prisoners. We flashback to Kaya, who was just shown the last singing flower from Foreverland. Kaya can feel her sadness but when Kaya approaches, the flower begins to brighten up and calls out for Infinitus. Infinitus then whisks Kaya away and shuts out the lights.

Infinitus sets up a dinner date with Kaya in an effort to make her his queen. Kaya obviously declines because she has a man. Infinitus sees a solution to this problem: Kill Deacon Burns! Deacon is back at the prison, being offered pills from the prisoners. Deacon realizes that the lands are covered in pills to keep the people complacent, just like they’ve done to the ghettos in Cleveland. Out of nowhere an assassin tries to stab Deacon, but is quickly dispelled by the back end of a shovel wielded by none other than the pillbilly from earlier.

Kaya sits in a prison cell where the spirit of Madam Mesmerelda greets her. Mesmerelda tells her that she must free the flower because it’s the only way to defeat the mighty and Infinitus. Pillbilly begins to recant a story to Deacon about the old Foreverland. Infinitus was actually a nice kid back in the day. He idolized The Funk Giants and once actually auditioned for them. But his audition didn’t go so well and he has declined entry to the group. This sent Infinitus into a tailspin that caused him to become evil, militant dictator. He covered the world in addictive vices just to keep the people easy to control.

Kaya makes a rope ladder and escapes her room. Infinitus is in a bubble bath, preparing for his nuptials. Mr. Creep warns Infinitus that killing Deacon and Kaya might be the better play because they are a threat to the glove and a threat to the kingdom. Kaya continues her quest for the flower but is chased by a gigantic green monster. She takes refuge in a room, which just so happens to be the flower chamber. The flower summons her forward.

Deacon is trying to devise a plan to escape his prison, rescue Kaya, and head back to Cleveland. The flower tells Kaya that she was chosen for this mission due to her positivity. The flower also says that she must obtain the glove to restore the planet. Just then, three guards roll up to the scene but are quickly dispelled as the flower literally evaporates their heads! Deacon shuns the prisoners and attempts to leave, but they all become saddened and beg him to stay. A little girl shows Deacon her doll and where Infinitus tried to hurt it. The little girl’s story warms Deacons heart and he vows to help them all out.

Kaya and the flower are in a vehicle headed towards the glove. They take out a few guards and continue on their quest. They reach a huge steel door and are cornered. Deacon has organized the prisoners and they start their uprising. The flower begins to blast a hole in the door and wouldn’t you know it, the hole is in the shape of Ohio! (Such a cool idea!) The glove is positioned on the other side of the door. The glove is powerless within the city, so they must retrieve it and head out of the city.

Deacon and his crew bust into a control room and disengage the security systems. They must make their way through the city to escape. Unfortunately, this will require using a whole lot of stairs. Two guards enter Infinitus’ chamber and tell him of the uprising. Infinitus summons Mr. Creep and orders him to kill them all. The entire army is mobilized and positions to strike. Deacon and the prisoners make it through the front gate only to be attacked by Infinitus and the army. Deacon recognizes Mr. Creep and the ice cream man that sold pills out of the back of his truck. Deacon talks with the prisoners Braveheart style and motivates them to fight. The army begins their assault. Deacon tells the prisoners to pick up the army’s weapons and use them against them. The battle begins to turn in the favor of the prisoners until Infinitus uses magic on them.

The Funk Giants are meditating when they “feel a disturbance in the funk.” Pillbilly and Deacon are the only two survivors. Infinitus kills the pillbilly and slowly makes his way towards Deacon when suddenly a huge flying-V guitar arrives on the scene to even the score. The Funk Giants begin blasting everything to smithereens! Infinitus’ army begins to retreat. The flying-V is struck and crashes. Deacon calls out Infinitus because he’s an untalented sell-out. Infinitus goes in for the kill but is struck down by Kaya, the flower and the glove. With her positive energy, Kaya begins to restore Foreverland to the beauty it once was. Kaya then takes down Infinitus and beats the brakes off of him with forehands and backhands. The flowers all grow back and dispel of the mighty Infinitus to the cheers of the crowd. Mr. Creep tries to join in on the celebration and says he was tricked into believing Infinitus. Kaya decides that it’s best to disintegrate him as well. The last flower tells Kounterclockwise that they must transport the glove back to Cleveland. They awaken in Madam Mesmerelda’s house. She thanks them for returning the glove and talks about how we all put on a different face every day. Deacon puts on a brave face and Kaya puts on a happy face. Even Mesmerelda puts on a face, but it is truly not her own. She reveals herself to be Michael Jackson and thanks to them for returning his glove as the credits begin to roll!

 

What. A. Fucking. Journey! This movie is much longer than the shorts that I usually review but the action and story kept me glued to the chair. The songs were catchy and I more than once caught myself nodding along to the beats. When the music and script were paired with Lujan’s eclectic and deep animation style, it was like I was transported to Foreverland as well. That what an excellent movie can do for you: transport you there and make you a part of the action! The twist at the end left my mouth agape until I actually processed who it was. I had a feeling it might have been the singer from the band at the beginning of the movie or possibly Mr. Creep had come back to steal the glove again, leaving room for a sequel. But when the unmistakable MJ voice came through the speakers I busted out laughing harder than I ever should at a Michael Jackson joke. There’s not much more that I can say about this film other than watch out at the end of the year because even though it’s March, we could be looking at a dark horse in the Movie Of The Year category! Keep your eyes and ears here on Bubbleblabber as we report more on the release of this flick to the masses, both in theaters and in homes. Big thanks to Jim, Deacon, and Kaya for putting together such a solid flick!

And for your viewing pleasure, here’s the flick on YouTube in its entirety! make sure you go and like Kounterclockwise and Jim Lujan on all of your social medias!