I Love Don Hertzfeldt

Back in 2003 or 2004, I had a friend who was obsessed with cartoons, specifically the [adult swim] Network, which shares channel space with the children-oriented programming on the Cartoon Network. [adult swim] began as a "spinoff" of Cartoon Network, premiering on September 2, 2001 with the airing of Home Movies. The first anime broadcast was Cowboy Bebop. On March 28, 2005, Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting split [adult swim] from Cartoon Network so Nielsen Media Research could treat it as a separate channel for ratings purposes. Though I very nearly detest all forms of anime, the humor found on [adult swim] is about as transgressive and sick as you'll find on the entirety of cable television. I'm speaking of Metalocalypse, Sealab 2021, The Tim & Eric Awesome Show, and my two personal favorites, Squidbillies, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

But this post is not about [adult swim] or their shows - it is about deliberately rudimentary animation utilized to display dark and twisted comic genius for my viewing pleasure. Some people do not like the crudeness of the animation found on [adult swim] shows, but that is to miss the point - the crudeness only underlines the minimalist sophistication, deadpan wit, and profoundly bizarre non-sequiturs of these demented shows. But before all these shows even existed, there was Don Hertzfeldt, now 31 years old, who pioneered this technique with short works such as Billy's Balloon (1998) and Rejected (2000). These make Aqua Teen Hunger Force look mainstream in comparison.

The first time I saw Rejected was when that friend I mentioned earlier attended one of the annual Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Animation Festivals back in 2003 and brought back a DVD compiling all the stuff that played there. Some were just disturbing, some were sickening, a few were fairly innocuous, but one that especially stood out was Don Hertzfeldt's Rejected which, at 9 minutes, seemed like a magnum opus compared to the others:



Your reaction to this will speak volumes about your sense of humor and/or your perception of things in general. Some might find what you just witnessed to be "stupid" or "frightening." But if you're like me, you found it to be brilliant and wonderfully absurd. This Hertzfeldt must be some kind of lunatic, you might be thinking if you know nothing about him watching it. I think I enjoy his earlier Billy's Balloon even more. If you did not care for Rejected, it is likely you will not enjoy what you are about to see: