Posts with tag the-rumpus-machine

One of the mainstays at BlizzCon is the machinima contest – talented artists submit their movie ahead of the convention in hopes of winning fame and prizes. This year's BlizzCon is no different, and we're sure to see some great videos during the largest gathering of WoW players outside of Azeroth. Over the next few days let's take a look back at some of the winners and runner ups of last year's movie competition.

We'll begin with the winner in last year's comedy category, The Rumpus Machine by Oblivious Films.

The short film is about a Gnomish box that can do whatever it wants, thanks to some handy quantum manipulation. (Note: This movie and its acknowledgement by Blizzard proves WoW has a Heisenberg compensator built into the game. Be afraid. Be very afraid.) The box can summon dancing Blood Elves, teleport the group to Old Ironforge, and even make some Braaaains.

The movie runs a little long for my tastes, but I'm sure some of you are okay with that. It has a certain Adult Swim feel to it; not terribly "lol" funny, but more humor that makes you chuckle and has a few moments of intelligent absurdity.

The voice acting is good for the most part. The main Gnome character is done wonderfully, and the Dwarf fills his role. I wasn't very fond of the Human, however. He seemed bland and lacked inflection compared to the others. Regular people don't talk in a flat voice most of the time.

Of course the real positive with the voice acting comes in a special appearance by Deckard Cain of Diablo fame, voiced by the original actor. That adds a lot to the film, and the dialog and plot involving him works wonders for the movie. I can see why it was selected as the winner in the comedy category for this reasons alone.

The Rumpus Machine is the latest offering from Oblivious Films, of The Grind fame. It's the story of what happens when an easily-frightened dwarf and his friends stumble upon a "metal pig" which seems to grant their every wish. It's not a follow-up to The Grind storyline, but rather a new, self-contained story. It's kinda like what O. Henry would have written if he'd only lightened up a bit. The moviemaking here is top notch and the storytelling is quite funny with everything from sexy dancing girls to throwback dungeons. Make sure you stick around throughout the entire credits roll for some final jokes at the end.

Drew "Drewbie" Syring from Oblivious tells Moviewatch that Macheath made this film for the BlizzCon machinima contest and, for you Diablo III fans, "yes, that is really the real Deckard Cain who was kind enough to lend his voice talents to our production." How'd they manage it? Just watch it, you'll see.

Updated: In case it wasn't clear to anyone who watched the film: The filmmakers want you to know that they got the actual voice actor for Deckard Cain to perform in their film.

[Via Vimeo]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...