Thru the Moebius Strip (2005)

Directed by: Glenn Chaika | 86 minutes | animation, action, fantasy, science fiction | Original Voice Cast: Dee Bradley Baker, Daniel Davis, Daniel Davis, John DeMita, John Di Maggio, Michael Dorn, Jack Fletcher, Peri Gilpin, Mark Hamill, Chris Marquette, Kellie Martin, Kevin McDonald, Michael McShane, Andrea Miller, Phil Proctor, James Romanovich, Michelle Ruff, Jean Simmons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Daisy Torme

A Moebius strip is a mathematical figure, a kind of band, folded into a cylindrical shape, where the band is twisted once before the ends touch again and the circle is complete. What its use is or what it is for is explained a few times in the film, but that hardly matters. Moebius is also the pseudonym of Jean Giraud, a French cartoonist who has drawn, among other things, the famous strip ‘Blueberry’ (filmed in 2004 by the Dutch director Jan Kounen). His (later) comics are realistically drawn, but always with a serene, dreamy atmosphere. As a draftsman and artistic advisor he was also involved in ‘Willow’, ‘The Abyss’ and ‘The Fifth Element’, especially in the last film his signature is clearly visible.

That tasteful atmosphere that characterizes his comics is a bit lacking in this film. The animation style is a bit too smooth and the story too American for that. Like that boy Jac, who is very smart for his age and becomes a great hero. Giraud wrote the script himself, but shows little authenticity in both the storyline and the design. The computer animations look great, though. And it is striking that those animations come into their own best in a futuristic environment; the digital techniques make a field and a tractor smooth and unnatural, just like people, but it works better with cities and fantasy figures.

The story is not intended for most adults among us, ‘Thru the Moebius Strip’ is more of a children’s film. The plot is simple, but especially the elaboration and the resolution of conflicts is sometimes a bit too simple. Violence is not shunned, which means that it is clearly not intended for the little ones. The sound of the voices is sometimes reminiscent of a TV movie, as if there was no time and money to find better recording locations or a good mastering studio. However, this production must have cost quite a few cents. It is not an amateur film. Some elements could have been given a little more love and attention, but things clearly didn’t roll off the computer in an afternoon. Had Hollywood hired Giraud to make a fast money generator? That probably didn’t work out, since the film has remained relatively unknown. Next time Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud should try again to make something in his own authentic style and forget about the dollar signs a bit, that will probably work wonders.