I just ran across this zany ten-year-old short film, Dr. Kill & Mr. Chance. It’s a live action short built on a classic cartoon aesthetic. It was all shot on blue screen, with the background and effects added. It is reminiscent of the Jim Carrey movie, The Mask. The director, Jean-Yves Chalangeas, plays the bad guy, Dr. Kill. Mr. Chance is the kind of character who has luck on his side. I wrote about these types in my post, The Lucky Character. The storyline is very much like the roadrunner and coyote cartoons, where everything goes wrong for the bad guy. Dr. Kill is apparently an assassin, and Mr. Lucky is his target, but there is no other information than that, so we don’t know why he’s sent to kill such an apparently nice guy. At least the Coyote has the motivation of being hungry.
I would not describe this film as successful. But I do appreciate the effort, and it encourages me to wonder how this sort of thing could work. Even The Mask, with top talent involved, had its shortcomings. I think trying to recreate Tex Avery style in a realistic environment is not very appealing. The curvy buildings and garish colors are just weird. There are some modern live-action films with extreme slapstick that are way funnier. The films of Stephen Chow, such as Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, are great examples.
There is one curious moment. A bundle of dynamite with a lit fuse comes into the story. Mr. Chance uses it to light a cigarette, then a cigar, and finally a huge joint. That was the one moment where I thought it could develop into something interesting. I would rebuild the story around that, and have Mr. Chance be a likable stoner, and Dr. Kill be Attorney General Jeff Sessions. At least it would be relevant and make more sense.
It appears they wanted this to be the first in a series, but the website is no longer active. Here is a making-of video with English subtitles.