MovieChat Forums > Deddo ribusu (2004) Discussion > 'Jac Mac and Radboy Go!'

'Jac Mac and Radboy Go!'

posted 14 years ago by torpedoboy4
3 replies | jump to latest

"Jac Mac and Radboy Go!" is a short animation from the 80s from Wesley Archer. It is noted for influencing tons of cartoons, including Beavis and Butthead. When I first saw the trailer for "Dead Leaves", I was convinced that the animators HAD to have at least SEEN "Jac Mac.." There is a similar acidic color palette, frantic and relentless pace, and a fractured sense of space and reality. Not to mention some over-the-top violence! "Jac Mac..." has sort of a punk/new wave aesthetic whereas "Dead Leaves" mixes the punk thing with a more traditional anime thing. I appreciate the mash-up as it offers an alternative to the wealth of run-of-the-mill Japanime available for consumption.

Please check out "Jac Mac.." and report back.

[–] hoffrick 11 years ago

Jac Mac and Radboy GO! is my all time favorite animated short. I saw it in the theater at an animation festival when I was in high school and it forever altered the way I would view and create cartoons and animation.
I am now an animator in LA and have become good friends with Wes Archer over the last few years. He is a great guy with a twisted brain and truly unique vision.
I finally just saw Dead Leaves for the first time, and it has now become one of my favorite animated films. I hadn't made the connection between the two before now, but I can see where you can draw similarities with the loose stylized frenetic pacing of the animation and borderline psychotic behavior of the characters. I am always stoked to find someone else who has a true appreciation for Jac Mac and Radboy!

[–] torpedoboy4 11 years ago

Thanks for the reply, and that's amazing that you are acquainted with him. Does he ever get the urge to move towards that style of raw psychedelic animation again? I truly miss it as there is NOTHING out there similar these days. I've also been looking for a link to his student work, "A6YX". It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen! I would tell him this myself, but I've tried to contact him to no avail. He seems to not be connected to any social media. I assume he is a very private person. Please tell him that his work is greatly appreciated in the fine arts realm.

Can you provide a link to your animations? I'm always up for learning about new artists. I'm an artist as well. a painter to be exact. My name is "Trenton Doyle Hancock" and I'm heavily influenced by the animations of Ralph Bakshi, John K, Tex Avery,...etc...

[–] hoffrick 11 years ago

Wow Trenton, your work is amazing!!! You are a truly talented and innovative artist, really great getting to see your stuff. My name is Eric Hoff, and you can see my animation reel and other work on my blog at http://erichoff.blogspot.com/ I am still at the beginning of my career as an animator, but I have had the chance to work on some great shows for Adult Swim and Comedy Central.

You know I have never seen A6YX, but I have heard of it, and I always forget to ask Wes about it when I see him. I actually got to know him as a fan as well, I was working on my student film, Bacon Bourbon and Boobs, which was meant to pay homage to the independent animation I loved as a kid, such as Jac Mac & Radboy, Lupo the Butcher, and the works of Marv Newland (Anijam, Black Hulu, etc.). I contacted Wes and asked him if he would be willing to mentor me on my film and he agreed! Since then we have hung out several times at his work or over lunch and become pretty good friends.
Wes does want to get back into making more edgy surreal films, he and his brother (a storyboard artist on the Simpsons for over 20 years) are working on an old project Wes had started years ago, and trying to complete it and submit to festivals.

It's good meeting you Trenton, if you're ever in LA get in touch, you can reach me at [email protected].

Take Care