Don't Watch 'The Plague Dogs', Plus: Doc Ock Deviance?!

I've been thinking about random garbage the past few weeks, mainly to past the time at work, where I actually should be thinking about work. But, what are they gonna do about it? That's right, nothing.

Lately, I've been telling my friends to avoid watching The Plague Dogs, not because of lack of quality, but because it is a really depressing film. I've seen it only once, a while back when it was shown on Space's long-lost Space Bar late night movie sector. For those who know nothing of it and don't feel like clicking the IMDB link, the movie is a British animated tale from the 80s, revolving around two dogs who escape from a test facility and wander around talking and having flashbacks, and befriend a fox who is later mauled by a pack of bloodhounds. The one dog keeps having flashbacks to when his owner died (hit by a car...PWNED!!1!), and all the people on the street start blaming the dog for it (for reasons I can't remember, possibly because they're all drooling idiots). They are hunted down by the token faceless humans, who believe they are carrying a form of the bubonic plague (thus, the title of the movie). And the movie ends with the dogs swimming to an island for some reason. It was the follow-up to Watership Down, an equally bleak animated fable with talking animals.

In remembering these films, and the fact that they were very much for older audiences (the amount of blood and death in Watership alone would make most children cry, as well as I), I wonder how many people these days would even dare think about making an animated film that is adult-oriented (aside from Richard Linklater, with both 2001's Waking Life and the upcoming A Scanner Darkly) and taking it to a studio. Or, I wonder if they would shoot themselves before trying the same with a Bakshi-style R-rated (formely X-Rated) flick, ala Heavy Metal or Fritz the Cat? 'Fraid not, as some overprotective soccer moms who have no idea that some films are meant for kids (you know they're there) will likely break into your house, bound and gag you, burn the film and then beat you for good measure.

Okay, I've scared myself now. I'm going to lock the door extra tight tonight.

One final, unrelated observation: DeviantArt, that ever-wacky art site for teenage girls and people who like to think themselves as being teenage girls, has more Doctor Octopus fanart than I think is actually legal. Otto should be flattered, for sure, but it's still rather odd.