Looking Back on the Stop-Motion Nightmare of 1986’s ‘The Pied Piper’

With the release of films like Mad God and The Spine of Night (not to mention a poignant reminder by Guillermo del Toro at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony), it seems like Western audiences are one step closer to catching up with the rest of the world in realizing that animation is more than capable of telling complex, adult-oriented stories.

However, this doesn’t mean that older animated films avoided mature themes and experimental narratives – it’s just that many of these movies turned out to be huge flops, with the very best of them destined to become cult classics decades after they underperformed at the box-office. And when it comes to animated flops, there are few films more remarkable than Clive A. Smith’s beautiful disaster, 1983’s Rock & Rule. An unprecedented financial failure, this oddball rock opera would go on to entertain fans of weird cinema for decades to come as they slowly discovered the flick through underground word-of-mouth and midnight showings – which is exactly why I think it’s a perfect candidate for today’s Horror Adjacent.

The strange story of Rock & Rule begins in 1978, with Canadian production company Nelvana (best known for wholesome cartoons like Care Bears) deciding to develop a large-scale project in order to prove that Canada could compete with the US animation industry. While the studio was given the chance to work on the then-upcoming Heavy Metal, Nelvana instead chose to produce a more kid-friendly musical named Drats! which would follow a rock band comprised by mice living in the distant future.

However, a series of narrative revisions resulted in the project pivoting towards a more mature audience, with the story gradually becoming darker, the animals less cutesy and the soundtrack more intense. Renamed to Rock & Rule, the film nearly drove Nelvana out of business as its budget ballooned and big-name performers like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Cheap Trick and Earth, Wind & Fire were brought in to work on an original soundtrack.

In the finished film, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by anthropomorphic animals, we follow aspiring singers and conflicted lovers Omar (Greg Salata/Paul Le Mat/Robin Zander) and Angel (Susan Roman/Debbie Harry) as they become involved in a supernatural scheme orchestrated by aging rock star Mok Swagger (Don Francks/Lou Reed/Iggy Pop). When Mok kidnaps Angel in order to use her in a ritual to summon an interdimensional demon, Omar teams up with the rest of the band and embarks on a quest to save his partner – and the world.

SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?

While most cinephiles are aware that you shouldn’t equate box-office success with a film’s quality, you’d be forgiven for immediately disregarding a movie that only grossed a little over $30,000 on a budget of $8 million. However, I’m pleased to say that Rock & Rule’s bafflingly low box office numbers had more to do with a botched marketing campaign and a limited release than the film itself.

After all, the flick managed to impress even the harshest critics at the time with its energetic visuals and unique tone, though many of them pointed out that it was a little too ahead of its time. The animation alone was stunning with its use of state-of-the-art lighting and visual effects combined with meticulously detailed pencilwork. And while the mutant animal designs were deemed unsightly by general audiences, there’s no denying that every single character here is visually memorable.

That’s not even mentioning the eerily beautiful backdrops and dystopic cityscapes that make up the film’s deeply immersive world. In hindsight, the film’s setting feels more like a warped version of the 80s than the distant future, but I think that only adds to the retro charms of an already fascinating production.

Of course, the main attraction here is the killer soundtrack, which thankfully does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to telling the story. The script may be loaded with enough structural flaws to bring down a skyscraper (not to mention an inexplicably unlikeable protagonist), but it’s hard to dislike a movie when you’re constantly grooving to memorable tunes accompanied by jaw-dropping artwork.

AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?

Whether it’s the grimy post-apocalyptic dystopia or the less-than-human characters that can’t quite make their way out of the the uncanny valley, Rock & Rule is an admittedly unsettling watch if you’re not prepared for 77 minutes of pure strangeness. However, I think the film boasts even darker elements that are likely to appeal to horror fans.

I mean, the story is basically about a Mick Jagger lookalike attempting to summon an eldritch god through the power of music (with the otherworldly beast being brought to life through ten different kinds of psychedelic special effects), but it can also be interpreted as a grim cautionary tale about how the entertainment industry takes advantage of up-and-coming artists and distorts their “voices.”

There’s also the matter of the flick’s surprisingly bleak worldbuilding. The film explains that nuclear war killed off all the humans and left animals to take their place in the radioactive aftermath, but this information doesn’t really factor into the main story. In fact, one could easily assume that this is just another cartoon world populated by anthropomorphic animals if it wasn’t for the bizarre inclusion of grotesque mutants that continue to attack civilized society years after the bombs fell.

It’s decisions like these that make me think the filmmakers were actively trying to subvert the Disney formula by intentionally making the experience feel unhinged and slightly off-putting. While the movie isn’t nearly as dark as some other animated features from the time, I think there’s a reason why so few kids flocked to theaters to check this one out back in 1983.

Rock & Rule definitely isn’t for everyone. The messy storytelling and odd subject matter will likely scare off mainstream audiences, and you’d be forgiven for skipping the movie entirely solely based on its ugly character designs. However, those who can stomach a little bit of surreal magic alongside their animated musicals might agree with me when I say that this is one of the greatest midnight movies of all time – especially when paired with 1981’s equally strange Heavy Metal.

There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.