This terrified me as a child. I had nightmares about the particular scene at 1:32 and thought that 'clown thumb' was some sort of evil entity. Now that I'm an adult it's one of my favourite pieces of animation.
I loved Wallace and Gromit as a kid so my parents got me a DVD with a bunch of Aardman shorts on it, a lot of them just went over my head altogether but there were a few I really liked. Pib and Pog probably shaped my sense of humor back then, it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen at that age. I developed a weird obsession with this one, I hated watching it because it freaked me out, but something about it hooked me. I had really bad nightmares where I was in this claustrophobic little stone maze world and the freaky thumb man was chasing me and speaking gibberish while shooting arrows from his mouth. Sometimes the stone face (who I called "Medusa") would pop up and say letters, for some reason that creeped me out even more. Now I'm old enough to get the symbolism and message, I think it's really cool. The gibberish pub banter is actually hilarious, and the ending is pretty powerful. It's fun revisiting something like this when you're no longer a kid who takes things literally. Like when he's yelling at the dog and little arrows come out of his mouth, clearly he's supposed to be saying "Out, out, out". But with the gibberish language and how angry he sounded, as a kid I thought he was genuinely trying to shoot the dog to death. Even sounds like he's saying "die die die". And the whole thing has a weird tone in general, like the part where suddenly his eyes are live-action and he's scanning the room like he's having a panic attack. I think it was good for me to see this at a young age, something weird and more challenging than the usual stuff I was used to. There was something compelling about it even though I was too young to understand it. Watching it now, it's actually much clearer than I ever thought. It's about identity, community and self esteem, how rejection can make us feel small (shown literally here). He's constantly changing his appearance depending on who he's talking to, culminating in a moment where he's in the middle of everyone at once. In a panic, he creates a new identity on the spot, but ends up making a clown of himself. He alienates the others because now they ALL know he's being insincere. Then he literally confronts himself by stepping into the mirror, and in what could be a moment of self acceptance, he still can't help but nitpick and attack. When I lay it out like that it actually *is* pretty literal, but for a kid it just looks and feels like a freaky nightmare. Parts of it still get under my skin in a Pavlovian way, mainly the music. And it does still have that uncomfortable, claustrophobic feeling, but now I recognize it as an artistic choice. It's weird, but there's a pretty reletable story in here.
Yes, it was this and Babylon that gave me, if not nightmares, then certainly difficulty in sleeping. At the time I was barely even old enough to understand why and much like with your parents, my mother thought that as I enjoyed Wallace and Gromit (and before that, Morph and Creature Comforts), this, as an Aardman video, would be more of the same. Still, I also am able to handle more of these as an adult (perhaps because they speak to more of an adult's experience than a child's).
So strange to have seen this as a child and not understood it, now watching it again as an adult I relate to the main character and understand the message
@@dsnever3041 We all wear frames/identities or "masks" to fit in with society and protect our true selves from criticism and hurt, yet even if faced with ourselves we would face scrutiny. (The ending where he is changing his nose etc etc)
I remember seeing this at an Aardman film festival some time in either 1999 or 2000, along with the two original Rex the Runt shorts, Pib & Pog and A Close Shave. So glad to see it get a proper upload.
I remember we had a local Video rental shop that doubled as a cinema. Tiny place, but we were basically a village. I remember my mum renting me a video every Friday and every week I chose Aardman Vol 1 and would watch it so many times over the weekends. This short was one I fast forwarded to a lot. Really liked it more than the rest for some reason. Maybe it was the 90’s-esque style and sounds. Just really enjoyed it. Good to see so many others liked this one
I love this short. It is so weird and funny. I remember watching this Aardman short years ago and that dog is always so funny and cute. Lastly, it's face reminds me of Rex The Runt. Guessing this is Rex The Runts origin.
Genius in form and content. Nice to see on RUclips. I have had the Aardman VHS compilation for years.Great set & the sound design is superb, & the voice acting perfectly hilarious. I love the existential Dada vibe of it. Feel fresh everytime...Bravo
I've watched this loads of times and it's hilarious especially that fella with bowler hat who shows the sausage guy his question mark card. It's also bizarre. Good night from Ireland 🇮🇪
This short has opened in me the question: Where the real identity comes from? The scene where the guy finds out there's a land beyond the mirror reminds me the time I got introduced for the first time in the internet world and the main rule: never reveal your true identity and that was a relief because I hated the way I was in those days but the more time pass I built a new identity for the internet and It happened like it was depicted in the final scene, so if there's an another land beyond internet Will I build a new identity? If that's the case I would have 3 identities So what's my true identity?
Ardman in the day used to do some warped stuff, it was awesome! And that Aardman compilation vhs/dvd was so cool! Me and bro used to watch it all back in day blown away by how weird and entertaining it was. That Adam animation was funny as hell! Good Times.
Both my boyfriend (now ex) and I were hugely into Aardman Animation, and we had the VHS tape that included this, Creature Comforts, Next, and a bunch of other shorts. We watched it incessantly. We could re-enact the entire Ident bar scene -- "Chessis? Chessis?!?! Nahhhh! Es 'e is! Nahhh! Es 'e is!," and other sound effects from this piece became some of our catch phrases. I'm not sure I understand every minute of this piece, but I sure do love it.
I saw this cartoon as a child and honestly thought I was the only one who did until I saw this comment section. Why did so many people have access to this cartoon when they were kids 😆
As someone with autism i can relate with the concept of wearing a mask, attempting to conceal parts of yourself you view as undesirable in an attempt to be more appealing, but the more you do it, the more it becomes a part of you, and you start to lose yourself
4:00 how I feel after coming home from work. Exhausted, joked/teased at by other workers with zero respect. Dealing with idiotic costumers. I mentally imagine peeling off the clown makeup as I wash my face with cold water. Screaming hard in a pillow. And finally Have some chocolate & Ibuprofen. 🥲
The guy who came up with that pub chat gag is a genius.
Apparently, the actors Phil Nice and Arthur Smith improvised that whole scene.
3:27 Mascot character impersonating
Chaz has
@@Mistopherchristopher Chaz 'as?
@@elwoodjacobs4353 he has
The therapist: all dreams have a meaning
My dreams:
It does have a meaning tho
@unknown_ u sure?
I watched this as a kid and nothing has give me such an uncomfortable sensation ever. Just terrifying.
Reading these comments, I'm glad I'm not the only one! This short makes me feel weirdly claustrophobic, it's nightmarish.
Your parents had that aardman animation vcr too?
@@BakedPotatoFiend I had it! Still have it!
Wore out the tape I watched it so much. 8 year old me loved this!
I'm so glad people were horrified of this as a kid. Didn't stop me watching the entire VHS tape.
I have a collection of hundreds of stop motion animations - including many by Aardman - but this has always been my all-time favorite.
1:42 😂😂😂 bro thought he was chill with the boss
This terrified me as a child. I had nightmares about the particular scene at 1:32 and thought that 'clown thumb' was some sort of evil entity. Now that I'm an adult it's one of my favourite pieces of animation.
Weird but you can see real human scenarios all over. Fascinating. Just discovered this.
2:30 Lol that pub convo about Chaz 😂😂😂
3:45 potato head
As e? E as.
2:54 Drinking Trashcan
'Ave ya?
I loved Wallace and Gromit as a kid so my parents got me a DVD with a bunch of Aardman shorts on it, a lot of them just went over my head altogether but there were a few I really liked. Pib and Pog probably shaped my sense of humor back then, it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen at that age. I developed a weird obsession with this one, I hated watching it because it freaked me out, but something about it hooked me. I had really bad nightmares where I was in this claustrophobic little stone maze world and the freaky thumb man was chasing me and speaking gibberish while shooting arrows from his mouth. Sometimes the stone face (who I called "Medusa") would pop up and say letters, for some reason that creeped me out even more.
Now I'm old enough to get the symbolism and message, I think it's really cool. The gibberish pub banter is actually hilarious, and the ending is pretty powerful. It's fun revisiting something like this when you're no longer a kid who takes things literally. Like when he's yelling at the dog and little arrows come out of his mouth, clearly he's supposed to be saying "Out, out, out". But with the gibberish language and how angry he sounded, as a kid I thought he was genuinely trying to shoot the dog to death. Even sounds like he's saying "die die die". And the whole thing has a weird tone in general, like the part where suddenly his eyes are live-action and he's scanning the room like he's having a panic attack.
I think it was good for me to see this at a young age, something weird and more challenging than the usual stuff I was used to. There was something compelling about it even though I was too young to understand it. Watching it now, it's actually much clearer than I ever thought. It's about identity, community and self esteem, how rejection can make us feel small (shown literally here). He's constantly changing his appearance depending on who he's talking to, culminating in a moment where he's in the middle of everyone at once. In a panic, he creates a new identity on the spot, but ends up making a clown of himself. He alienates the others because now they ALL know he's being insincere. Then he literally confronts himself by stepping into the mirror, and in what could be a moment of self acceptance, he still can't help but nitpick and attack. When I lay it out like that it actually *is* pretty literal, but for a kid it just looks and feels like a freaky nightmare.
Parts of it still get under my skin in a Pavlovian way, mainly the music. And it does still have that uncomfortable, claustrophobic feeling, but now I recognize it as an artistic choice. It's weird, but there's a pretty reletable story in here.
I've had pretty much the same experience with this short. Its a pretty amazing work of art
Yes, it was this and Babylon that gave me, if not nightmares, then certainly difficulty in sleeping. At the time I was barely even old enough to understand why and much like with your parents, my mother thought that as I enjoyed Wallace and Gromit (and before that, Morph and Creature Comforts), this, as an Aardman video, would be more of the same. Still, I also am able to handle more of these as an adult (perhaps because they speak to more of an adult's experience than a child's).
So strange to have seen this as a child and not understood it, now watching it again as an adult I relate to the main character and understand the message
Wtf is the message, this is nonsense
@@dsnever3041 We all wear frames/identities or "masks" to fit in with society and protect our true selves from criticism and hurt, yet even if faced with ourselves we would face scrutiny. (The ending where he is changing his nose etc etc)
@@dsnever3041 Nah there is actually a deep message in this though
@@freshbeats5144 self acceptance?
Aardman's Magnum Opus in my eyes. It's hilarious and creepy yet deep and with so many details to discover every time you watch.
What details, this is just fucking nonsense
1:28 I love how the clock seems to keep moving, then stops when the guy stops, and goes super fast when he's running, for some reason that got me 💀
It was a clever way of visually showing how time can easily go by or how it feels when you're working to tight deadlines.
I remember seeing this at an Aardman film festival some time in either 1999 or 2000, along with the two original Rex the Runt shorts, Pib & Pog and A Close Shave. So glad to see it get a proper upload.
Thank you! Pib & Pog, I was tryna remember this short!
3:38 The Live Action eyes. 😅
This was my favorite short when I was child. It enriched my point of view about animation and drawing.
Yes this so much
You just didn’t if you were a kid though
As you know this short film was made in plasticine, because Aardman was taking to long from these stopmotions
I remember we had a local Video rental shop that doubled as a cinema. Tiny place, but we were basically a village. I remember my mum renting me a video every Friday and every week I chose Aardman Vol 1 and would watch it so many times over the weekends. This short was one I fast forwarded to a lot. Really liked it more than the rest for some reason. Maybe it was the 90’s-esque style and sounds. Just really enjoyed it. Good to see so many others liked this one
this used to upset me so much as a child
I had nightmares about this when I was about 2-3 years old
How come?
@@bettyottman1718 I found the imagery profoundly disturbing
@@frostymintofdeath oh.
This short film is not suitable for children under 12 according to the BBFC on the Aardman classics dvd that’s the certificate.
1:37
I love how the mask just suddenly decide to go from neutral to smiling expression and then they become all sad and distorted
Good catch, I completely missed that
We Live in a Society: The Short Film
I love that this is technically the debut of Rex the Runt.
I love this short. It is so weird and funny. I remember watching this Aardman short years ago and that dog is always so funny and cute. Lastly, it's face reminds me of Rex The Runt. Guessing this is Rex The Runts origin.
I’m so happy to see this uploaded! One of my favorites! Hoping for Pop or Babylon too
Genius in form and content. Nice to see on RUclips. I have had the Aardman VHS compilation for years.Great set & the sound design is superb, & the voice acting perfectly hilarious. I love the existential Dada vibe of it. Feel fresh everytime...Bravo
This Is Creepy, Terrifying, Scary, Unsettling, And Traumatizing.
Yep, claymation is pure evil and this clip is a perfect example.
Yes I know 😮
3:03 I think he's drunk. Sir have you been drinking tonight? 🤣
well he turned into a trash can and drank with another one
*One of Aardman’s best work along with Chicken Run, Creature Comforts and Wallace and Gromit*
Pacman-like chatter 2:28.
I've watched this loads of times and it's hilarious especially that fella with bowler hat who shows the sausage guy his question mark card.
It's also bizarre.
Good night from Ireland 🇮🇪
I remember watching this on video when I was a kid, this one was by far my favourite. This and the Peter Gabriel music video.
2:55 i love this part with the drinking trash can
So this is where Rex the Runt was first introduced, wonder why Richard changed his colour to Purple in the series?.
I LOVE Rex the Runt!
@@danielslade9485 Rex the Runt is awesome!, i also a saw some of the stuff related to it on your channel, I can tell you are a big fan!
Same Here!
This skit represents our inner selves
Legit had a nightmare about this exact animation 18 years after watching it. Still creepy AF
This short has opened in me the question:
Where the real identity comes from?
The scene where the guy finds out there's a land beyond the mirror reminds me the time I got introduced for the first time in the internet world and the main rule: never reveal your true identity and that was a relief because I hated the way I was in those days but the more time pass I built a new identity for the internet and It happened like it was depicted in the final scene, so if there's an another land beyond internet Will I build a new identity? If that's the case I would have 3 identities So what's my true identity?
That piano sound at 0:20 🎹🎶🖤
This music gives me chills and i realy like the art behind thouse background paintings 4:38
@@TobyDBZSkellington1 The background music at 4:36 sounds Heavenly. 😇
It sounds really majestic.
( 0:22 , 1:13 , 3:04 , 3:31 , 4:11 ): And thus, "Rex the Runt," is Born!
0:23 0:29 1:13 3:05 4:12 Vince from Rex the Runt when he was not yet suffering from the random Pavorotti disease.
This short has so much content for a video essay about Identity that I've seen from other RUclips comments 🔎
*From the studio that brought you Chicken Run & Wallace and Gromit Aardman Animation Studios🔴*
I had this on VHS as a kid and it freaked me out.
Well im glad im not the only person who some how watched this as a child
Ardman in the day used to do some warped stuff, it was awesome! And that Aardman compilation vhs/dvd was so cool! Me and bro used to watch it all back in day blown away by how weird and entertaining it was. That Adam animation was funny as hell! Good Times.
This is an absolute fever dream
Aardman: 50 Years of Animation (1972-2022)
2:34 Pointy clayman: NAAAAH
Pointy clayman 2: mo
Pointy clayman: GAAAAAH
Pointy clayman 2: mo
Pointy clayman: [gibberish]
Pointy clayman 2: woah alright not cool which one done
Pointy clayman: Chazsers
Pointy clayman 2: Chazsers
Pointy clayman: Chaz Aces
Pointy clayman 2: Chaz Aces
Pointy clayman Chaz Ace
Pointy clayman 2: Brazil
Pointy clayman: yes
Pointy clayman 2: Brazil
Pointy clayman: yes
Pointy clayman 2 butt Chaze
Pointy clayman: wooop
Pointy clayman 2: Chaze
Pointy clayman: wooop
This is such a real debate
the classic aardman
Interesting piece of art
0:01-0:03 way before, the very first Aardman animation logo from 1989-1999.
Yeah clay face logo
@@chikamotokenji3217that’s right.
@@nathancruz9172 :)
Both my boyfriend (now ex) and I were hugely into Aardman Animation, and we had the VHS tape that included this, Creature Comforts, Next, and a bunch of other shorts. We watched it incessantly. We could re-enact the entire Ident bar scene -- "Chessis? Chessis?!?! Nahhhh! Es 'e is! Nahhh! Es 'e is!," and other sound effects from this piece became some of our catch phrases. I'm not sure I understand every minute of this piece, but I sure do love it.
Please take me back! We can mutter the noises again together! It’ll be like the old days!
@@TheDarkHour684 LOLOLOL! Thank you for the best response ever. :) It made me laugh and cry simultaneously...just like our relationship did. :D
Aw. My pleasure. His loss, right? Just glad I helped you live up to your screen name. X
i like the part with the drinking trash can he just shapeshifts into another trash can and drinks
The intro sound is WAY scarier
David Firth owes a lot to this short.
This was one of my favourites, as teenagers me and my friend would smoke weed and watch the AARDMAN CLASSICS on VHS.
Bro, I *remember* this.
2:21 me at the bar
1:46 just turns man on the right into a breadstick
2:14
I'd Run too if a crowd of Freaks were stampeding towards me
Imagine if Ed, Edd n Eddy became created by Aardman animations. How weird would that be?
Classic Mr Potato head at 3:45!
Love from my heart
The logo said a random word at us
This makes me want to ask - are we a product of our environment or is our environment a product of us.
thought provoking!
I saw this cartoon as a child and honestly thought I was the only one who did until I saw this comment section. Why did so many people have access to this cartoon when they were kids 😆
I see it as a tribute to Olivier De Sagazan
3:38
No one's talking about this?
Are these the animations they made before Wallace and Gromit? 😮
As someone with autism i can relate with the concept of wearing a mask, attempting to conceal parts of yourself you view as undesirable in an attempt to be more appealing, but the more you do it, the more it becomes a part of you, and you start to lose yourself
LIP! SYNCH!
Jonty!
0:06 3:40 3:48
Rex the runt first appeared in this
Yep
Very dark
Chazaz Wot ..Chazaz gnaaahhh yeez
Hahaha that scene makes me laugh
0:27 did he throws out arrows in his mouth 😱😱😱😱
0:28, you meant, and yes, he did!
@@ethanscoville7312 ahshhshs
What?? I'm just trying to correct you.
I’m back
@@ethanscoville7312 lol
CHACE ACE?
0:03 lip synch
3:38
_What am I doing with my life?_
I don't know if I want to watch this.
Hows this video got 75k views and 1.2 million likes?
It has 1.8K likes
@@brandonspain12345Probably a glitch or something. Also thanks for re-uniting me with this cursed video.
But... what does it all mean??
Lip synch aardman
Inseguridad ciudadana
What chase? WOOP Chase? WOOP Chase? WOOP
Chess.
Clarence David y Yoshi y Red Kevin Stuart Bob y Ident Lip Synch
Creppy eye😮
Clarence ident
0:14
As Seen on Stay Tooned!
What just happened.
Anyone came from Dr.K?
Did he talk about this short? I would be interested to hear his interpretation.
these remind me of The beta humans from Wall-e
*JAZZ AS*
Chazsers
Trousers
IDENT LAND We work we happy mask all day to get shrink beard all day long.
This is such a bad trip visualized.
That’s old
1989
@@brandonspain12345 yep old
@@brandonspain12345 looks more older then that or is it just me
@@brandonharris7516 I agree
@@gangstagamegangstagame4467 yeah
Uusop
Dog
Dog
4:00 how I feel after coming home from work. Exhausted, joked/teased at by other workers with zero respect. Dealing with idiotic costumers. I mentally imagine peeling off the clown makeup as I wash my face with cold water. Screaming hard in a pillow. And finally Have some chocolate & Ibuprofen. 🥲
0:28