The Electric Piper (2003) Reviews

• A fascinating lost film, finally found.

  ThomasBleedPHD2016-10-24

  The Electric Piper is unique in that it is a Nickelodeon animated film not based on any pre-existing property or franchise. It really wouldn't be that notable if this film weren't technically "lost" for the past ten or so years. Produced for airing in 2000 and premiering only once on Nick in February 2003, The Electric Piper was a film with a cast of celebrity voices and a soundtrack of original music. This is probably why it was trapped in copyright limbo three years after it was made and over a decade after it was released. The movie is a modern-ish retelling of the fairy tale of the Pied Piper. I use the term "modern-ish" because it's very clearly set in the 1960s. That's actually one of the coolest things about the film, the style and aesthetic of the film is heavily influenced by 60s subculture. By making the film an intentional period piece, the movie keeps it's setting from feeling stale or dull. It really adds an interesting layer to the film. The film is a beat-for-beat retelling of the Pied Piper with a few extra bits thrown in there. The story follows a pair of siblings, Mick and Janis, who live in the town of Hamilton. Their father is the mayor, and he's stubborn and old-fashioned. This description applies to virtually all the parents in the town. Eventually, the kids start noticing that the city is infested with rats. Sly, a smooth-talking musician with magical powers and a sweet guitar, offers to rid the town of the rats in return for the mayor's Harley motorcycle. The film is a musical, with groups of characters singing songs about the current situation and big dance numbers and trippy visuals. Just about everything you'd expect. Wayne Brady is the voice of Sly, and even though he's as far as a human being can possibly be from Jimi Hendrix, he sings quite well. If your ears could squint, you'd swear he really WAS Hendrix. Amazingly, Rodney Dangerfield, Rob Schnider, and George Segal are all in this movie. They all give good performances but it's not like their characters are very deep or complex. Nobody really gets much of a character arc outside of the siblings, the father and Sly. The plot is very bare bones, doing only what it absolutely needs to and not much else. The biggest problem with the film is its animation. It's very similar to a Butch Hartman cartoon (not surprising, since it's the same studio) which would be fine for a television show, but for a feature-length film, even one made for television, is simply not acceptable. If Scooby Doo can have decent animation in its movies, you should be able to pull it off too. But overall, this isn't a bad film at all. It's entertaining enough to watch to the end and it does everything it needs to do quite well. The music is good, the plot is structured well and moves coherently, and the voice acting is especially good. If you're interested in lost films or just animated movies in general, this is worth checking out. You can't buy it on DVD but it's up on an archive somewhere. Give it a look if you have the time.

• Great retelling of the classic pied piper tale

  kelsonely2016-08-19

  Great musical and retelling the pied piper only with electric guitars. very colorful animation that is nice to look at and awesome writing and likable characters.the only thing i don't like about the movie is that it is a bit cheesy sometimes but that is it!it has really good climax,a really good story,really good characters,and really good animation. It is really good that this film has been found and after watching it i think that nickelodeon should get this released onto DVD/Blu ray because at the moment it has only been leaked online. My conclusion is that this is a really good and memorable film that deserves a higher rating

• A Great Movie

  mguy-874092016-09-17

  This movie is arguably the best retelling of the tale. The Music! The music, Though not the best, it is pretty good for a TV Movie. With me humming some of the songs for weeks The Story! The story is a retelling with the Pied Piper tale, with the ending changed. Not the best story of all time, but very good Characters! I Liked all of the characters by the end, The parents started out as jerks, But after the kids run away they become more and more desperate as they quickly grow old. The kids are also pretty decent, the writing is well done, Bill Burnett did a great job writing this. Overall The movie is very good for being lost for over 13 years, and was better than I expected, I give it a 8/10

• Who produced this rubbish?

  matthewadambird2017-01-06

  Fitting all the common references of American culture into an hour long duration (from motorcycling in the style of Purple Rain, to the throwaway one-liners) this movie is an animated extension of the Pied Piper folk-tale that if you weren't familiar with to begin with, would not persuade you to engage with further. An insular town is invaded by a deliberate rat infestation where the most equipped person to attempt solving the problem is the skill of guitar-virtuoso and wayfarer Sly, voiced by Wayne Brady, a mix-matched personality consisting of a Hendrix appearance despite being referred to as Sly of Sly Stone fame, a match that seems out of place. After saving the can't-do-nothing-for-themselves, sad-sack town's people from the evil rats Sly escorts their children to a perilous mountain where they are kidnapped and detained. One of the most annoying things about the movie is the main character, the boy, seems to have the right of outspoken counsel with his father who happens to be his father, and inflicts his opinion on the entire citizenry. The story is propelled by the boy's desire to learn the guitar which he is obviously disallowed from doing as he is the mayor's son, and of course his education must be of top priority. This becomes redundant when the mayor, his wife, and the rest of the town start their own song, a reminder that the older demographic used to be cool as well. But if the children like the music that Sly plays, doesn't this make them derivative, mainstream and uncool? Which brings us to Sly's vocals during all of these songs, that always seem to lack a sense of urgency and do not change from a relaxed delivery, typical of his character, as if everything that happens is to be expected, shunning his responsibility of temporary custodian of all these underage's, sullying his own reputation as misunderstood, aloof hippy. In summary this is a dopey musical, that could have been improved if it at least had better dialogue supporting it.