Angry Kid - Season One (DVD)

Angry Kid - Season One (DVD) ... Pathe Distribution / Features of the DVD: Animated, Full Screen, PAL / He's a ginger-haired kid in a parka, but don't underestimate this little hellraiser; Angry Kid is the product of Aardman Animations but couldn't be further from the amiable antics of Wallace & Gromit. If he's not stuffing himself with chocolate and fizzy drinks until he's sick, Angry Kid is ramming a cotton bud up his nose or relentlessly picking on his little sister. Originally played on the Internet and digital television, these (roughly) one-minute sketches are sarcastic, irreverent and definitely not aimed at kids. In "Bone" Angry Kid falls off his bike and has to fend off a ravenous dog who's after the bone newly jutting out from his broken elbow, while in "Hoax Call" he torments a directory enquiries man into shooting himself. Animated using a process called pixilation, director Darren Walsh created Angry Kid using a real actor as a base for a series of masks, creating movements frame by frame. His expressions are hilarious, but what's most appealing about this repugnant little brat is his embodiment of teen angst. Alongside the gross-out humour come some classic observations on teenage quirks, like Angry Kid facetiously enquiring which swear words he's allowed to use. Remember doing that? On the DVD: Angry Kid's animated menus show him abusing the viewer and lead to a generous amount of extras. The making-of documentary "Inside Angry Kid" goes some way into the process of pixilation and the creation of the masks, together with interviews with the animators. A montage and teaser trailer for the next series highlight some of the best moments, as does the image gallery. Copies of Angry Kid's school and police reports highlight some of his worst moments, but the funniest touches are a director's cut of one episode and three bizarrely hilarious foreign language (read: Angry Kid impersonating Chinese, French and Spanish) films. --Laura Bushell