Foreverisacastironmess123 Review of Swing You Sinners!

Swing You Sinners! (1930)

Destructive, demonic and downright deranged, you've just got to love it...

[8/10 · 17 April 2013]

This is a masterpiece!(Of sorts) Every time I believe I've seen the very freakiest of Fliescher shorts a new one pops up to take its place, and this one really takes the cake! This has gotta be a serious contender for the weirdest and scariest cartoon ever made! If you thought the later offerings were Gothic and disturbing, just wait till you feast your eyes on this little animated horror show. I knew this was gonna be a good one when the cemetery gate swallowed that key and then shifted to a smooth wall, it just set the tone so perfectly. Everything in these particular kinds of cartoon terror-tales are always twisted and kind of alarming-everything constantly morphing and hopping around, seemingly just for the sheer heck of it. Somebody sure had one ferocious imagination! The imagery seen here is an acid trip before they were even invented! While I guess you can't deny the evidence of "inspiration", keep in mind that at the time the medium of animation was still very new, with endless possibilities, and there's a remote possibility that the animators simply wished to push things as far as they would go. And it really paid of more than they knew, these things don't age, it's fresher than it ever was! As great as it is, it's not quite up to par in the animation department compared to the artfully surreal flow that entries such as "Minnie the Moocher" or the "Snow White" one put out. The design quality of some of the ghouls and ghosts are very sketchy and crude. That said, it also has the very special distinction of quite possibly being the most spooky and demented of all the Fliescher shorts, which is really saying something indeed! All the numerous twists and turns are heightened and topped-off by a surprisingly jolting conclusion. It does start out a little slow and average, but soon takes off in style, in both music and creativity. It fleshes out like an inky nightmare, and then ends just as abruptly as one. Also extremely worth mentioning is the song, which has some very distinctive and downright vicious lyrics. In the final mad rush that ushers in the end things just go totally nuts! So much endless invention... The hordes of demons that spew out of every nook and cranny, the warping walls and backgrounds, even humble inanimate objects-they all spring to musical and malevolent life! I felt strangely hypnotized at the complete and utter creepy chaos! "Get ready, brother-your time has come!!!"