Canada | English
1971 | 71 Minutes
Director: Gerald Potterton
Cast: Peter Cullen, Barry Baldaro, Patrick Conlon,
Jean Shepherd, Ted Zeigler, Gayle Claitman, Joan Stuart
Sometimes in the world of cinema, there exists a film that is more myth than anything else. Something that few have seen but many speak of. Elusive pieces of celluloid hidden away or seemingly lost to time, waiting to be reborn to new eyes. The legend of Tiki Tiki surely fits that bill.
Every now and then, a conversation amongst lovers of film might lead down these paths and to a film such as Tiki Tiki – and now, thanks to a fresh new 4K transfer and the fantastic folks at the Fantasia film festival, I can say I have seen Tiki Tiki.
See Also: Bookworm at Fantasia Fest 2024
But what the hell is it that I have just subjected myself to here?
In the 1960s Russia, there existed a film that was considered to be the Soviet answer to the Wizard Of Oz – only in terms of how it was viewed by their populous and how much air time it received on Russian television. Of course, someone soon jumped at the chance to acquire the rights to the film to bring it to North American audiences and capitalize on it. But slow down a tick – this truly bizarre film was an absolute flop on these shores, to the point that those that now owned its rights didn’t know what the hell to do with it.
Enter Gerald Potterton. Director. Animator. Man with a vision and on a mission to salvage this shipwreck of a film, using monkeys. Animated primates. And assumedly, fists full of illicit drugs. Speculation! Over ruled!
A decade before Potterton would create the film of his career, Heavy Metal (1981), he would make Tiki Tiki – a film about monkeys making a film, using a stoned biker turned director that seems to hint more than a little bit at Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, and with folks onboard who had worked on Yellow Submarine (1968) – the fantastic animated film based on The Beatles. Signs were pointing to this maybe being a lost gem, right? See, that’s what I thought too.
As a child, I grew up with Yellow Submarine – and as a teenager, fell in love with Heavy Metal. The film, the magazines – and the music! So, having heard about this piece of cinematic history for years and never finding a trace of a copy of it, I naturally jumped at the chance to finally see it at Fantasia festival.
I came in blind. I left blind.
I know what you’re thinking, because I too once had the same thoughts. How do two esteemed animators tie into a crazy live-action Russian film about clowns and pirates. Oh, had I not mentioned the theme prior to this? Clowns. Pirates. And animated monkeys. Is this an acid trip or a kids film? To be honest, I’m still not sure.
It starts off fine. Like a blend of Fritz The Cat and Heavy Metal. Awesome. Right? And if I’m honest, the animated segments really are great and I was enjoying it – until the filmed parts kick in and I’m suddenly watching pure chaos unfold and not in a good way. Who came up with this idea? How does any of this stuff fit in with itself?
While I am supremely glad to have had a chance to see this film finally, after it being little more than a myth to me for the majority of my life – or at least the part that I cared about films, I can’t help feel a tad let down by Tiki Tiki. As a huge fan of 60s and 70s animation, in large part for its liberated and wild storylines and wackiness – Tiki Tiki comes across as confused and directionless, and as a film just made for the sakes of it.
I came into this hoping to have found and laid eyes on another Yellow Submarine, Heavy Metal or Fritz The Cat – but left feeling let down. I suppose this is like that old adage about not meeting your heroes; sometimes the films that were buried by the sands of time where buried for a reason.
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The clues were all there. Hidden in plain sight. Tiki Tiki was a salvation project that has a crazy history and story of its own. For that, I am glad to have seen it (thanks Fantasia!) Alas, I didn’t find the treasure I was hoping to have unearthed. Yet, at least I know now – at least I was able to check Tiki Tiki off my list of white wales and can now move on.
Who knows – maybe there’s a niche market that wants to see this so they spend just over an hour saying “what the fuck” to themselves as I did.
