Zach Passero and Lucky McKee are frequent collaborators. Typically they assume the role of director (McKee) and editor (Passero), this partnership being responsible for May, Kindred Spirits and Old Man to name just three. Now they have once more combined their talents for a personal project, but the roles have changed. For new animated sci-fi horror, The Weird Kidz, McKee undertakes the position of producer and Passero assumes the role of director. Funded partially via Kickstarter, The Weird Kidz is an ode to the eighties and late night science fiction movies, making it a perfect choice for this year’s FrightFest line-up.
Handmade in El Paso Texas, The Weird Kidz is an obvious labour of love. All films have the hearts and souls of those working on them poured into them, but with animation that bond between art and creator is even closer. Passero himself painstakingly hand drew onto tablet all the characters and scenes, whilst his wife, Hannah Passero, painted the backgrounds. Outside of themselves, the crew was kept small and that intimacy feeds into The Weird Kidz.
Set in the fictitious and generic small town of Black Bird, ‘a real nice place to raise your kids up’, The Weird Kidz joins a trio of friends – Dug (Tess Passero), Fatt (Brian Ceely), and Mel (Glenn Bolton). The young adolescents spend their days playing arcade games and obsessing over the female form. Their reasonably peaceful existence is upended when they decide to go on a camping trip with Dug’s older brother Wyatt (Ellar Coltrane) and his new girlfriend, Mary (Sydney Wharton). What begins as ghost stories and camp fires morphs into a fight for their lives as they encounter the mythic, and horrific, Night Child.
The Weird Kidz channels components of classics The Goonies, Stand By Me, and American Pie, mixing them in with B-movies of the 1950’s such as Them, and finishing with a dollop of Aliens and cults. Initially there is a dissonance to the blending, with the introduction to the group of protagonists being a little wobbly. This group, like most teenagers, are a lot to get used to. Their language is coarse and crass with near every other word being some kind of insult. Dug’s older brother is extremely obnoxious, and all the boys in the group are very, very horny, and poor Mary is their current fixation. As the story progresses these traits become muted and by the end the audience will have been won over by the group. It’s exactly the formula that other teen films have been following for decades, and The Weird Kidz adheres to it perfectly.
What may start out as irritating teens squabbling, becomes an oddly tender tale about a group coming-of-age. Amongst the chaos and carnage, The Weird Kidz has plenty of softer, more tender moments. As in The Goonies, the story is peppered with heart-to-hearts between previously warring characters, and as they connect with each other, the viewer is won over. By the finale The Weird Kidz has charmed everyone with its frank sincerity and a movie monster with heart. The Night Child is a wonderful throw-back to B-movie cinema, and is one whose fate the audience can invest in.
The true power of The Weird Kidz takes the viewer by surprise. It happens during a quiet moment with the creature. The Night Child is in a state of sadness, and without realising it the viewer too will feel an ache of pathos. That this happens without the audience realising they were this emotionally invested is testament to Passero’s talent at orchestrating heart strings. Don’t worry though, The Weird Kidz isn’t all soft and fluffy feelings, there is also a ton of gore and violence. This being an animation there isn’t the hurdle of having to perfect practical effects and so the red stuff is thrown gleefully across the screen. Limbs fly, heads are wrenched off and eyeballs pop out sockets, creating an inspiring display of blood and viscera.
An oddly charming, uber-violent, gross-out funny slice of teenage coming-of-age nostalgia, The Weird Kidz is a testament to the talent involved. A small scale production that hasn’t scrimped on heart; prepare to be bowled over by this strangely satisfying sci-fi animation.
The Weird Kidz
Summary
Blood sheds and feelings soar in this wickedly charming animation.
The Weird Kidz was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2023.
