Rock & Rule

Rock & Rule (known as Ring of Power outside North America) is a 1983 Canadian animated musical science fantasy film featuring the voices of Don Francks, Greg Salata and Susan Roma. It was produced and directed by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith with John Halfpenny, Patrick Loubert, and Peter Sauder at the helm of its screenplay.

Centering upon rock and roll music, Rock & Rule includes songs by Cheap Trick, Chris Stein and Debbie Harry of the pop group Blondie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and Earth, Wind & Fire. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States populated by mutant humanoid animals.

The film was released on April 15 by United Artists, distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Company and produced by Nelvana Limited. It grossed US$30,379 in the U.S. and Canada.

Why It Rocks & Rules

 * 1) A concept of the mutant humanoid animals ruling the United States after the end of World War Three, is very appealing.
 * 2) It was a very good way to bring the Nelvana magic to the silver screen, making it Nelvana's very first feature film.
 * 3) Despite being dark-toned, it was very kid-friendly, compared to American adult animated movie, Heavy Metal, which was released two years ago.
 * 4) Very epic 1980s-style soundtrack.
 * 5) It had catchy musical numbers from the very popular names in rock music of the late-1970s and the early-1980s:
 * 6) * Cheap Trick
 * 7) * Chris Stein
 * 8) * Debbie Harry
 * 9) * Lou Reed
 * 10) * Iggy Pop
 * 11) * Earth, Wind & Fire
 * 12) The Richard Willaims-esque animation was appealing for the 1983 standards, as the upgrades of most of the very early Nelvana cartoons.
 * 13) Clive A. Smith does a very good directing.
 * 14) Nice voice acting, especially for both Canadian and American versions.
 * 15) Decent CGI effects, in set to create the world's very first animated movie with CGI effects.
 * 16) Superb special effects for the early-1980s standards.
 * 17) Five years before the feature film, the Halloween-themed TV special was inspired the movie.
 * 18) Neat character designs, which are almost influenced by the Disney studios.
 * 19) Rich, colorful and colossal Disney-esque backgrounds.
 * 20) Memorable characters, including Omar (its main protagonist) and Mok (its main antagonist).
 * 21) It spawned into a comic book.
 * 22) Appealing story.
 * 23) A very heartwarming happy ending.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some of the scenes, including the scene with the hideous, demonic monster from the dark dimension eating some of the audience members alive, can be too frightening for a PG rating.
 * 2) Much like the 1978 British animated film, Watership Down, it feels conflicted on if it wants to appeal to kids or adults. The animal characters, slapstick and comedy make it a bit goofy for adults, while suggestive scenes, mild profanity, brief nudity and violence, and frightening scenes make it not exactly suitable for kids.

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