Rejected (2000)

Powerful

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Don Hertzfeldt has managed to make some of the most innovative and hilarious animated shorts by using the most primitive style of doodling and stick-figures, which, in my opinion, only helps accentuate the charm of his work. Hertzfeldt is a commendable artist with a plethora of ideas, frequently finding a way to make his random ideas flourish through the limitless realm of animation, and Rejected shows the kind of activity that I'm sure floods his head on a daily basis. The connective tissue of the short, as its a collection of miniature shorts within nine minutes, is that Hertzfeldt was hired to create some animated spots and advertisements for The Family Channel but, in the mix of himself going absolutely crazy with sketching and writing, almost losing control, all his proposed segments were rejected. Rejected shows all the spots/advertisements, with the last couple minutes of the short showing Hertzfeldt's complete spiral into insanity as all the animated figures are thrown into chaos by crumpling paper and the entire destruction of their world.Rejected is a zealous little gem, colorful and vibrant despite being so minimalist, and its traditionally-animated style proves that one can still captivate even when they resort to the bare basics. Hertzfeldt's craft is the kind that, even when stripped back many layers and nowhere near as expensive and detailed as larger, more mainstream projects.Directed by: Don Hertzfeldt.

i loved this short from the first time i saw it in the theater back home in Hawaii. they were showing it before some Australian flick at the Hawaii International Film Festival. I went to see it with my boyfriend at the time, and we seemed to be 2 of the 3 people laughing in the theater. i was laughing so hard i almost fell off my seat, but controlled myself enough to stay upright and watch the whole thing. i'm not quite sure what was wrong with the rest of the crowd (i guess they wanted to see the Aussie movie). and maybe the humor is just a little too "different" for them. but, i'm glad the rest of the world appreciates REJECTED as much as i do. i watch the DVD at home and laugh out loud every time.

I happen to adore the humour of the absurd. I am a fan of absurd comedians such as Monty Python, especially of their wackiest sketches, and since I discovered this wonderful gem of a short film, I can't help but rewatch it every now and then and I laugh out loud every time. I think it's a work of genius. Sometimes I wish it was longer, much longer, but I realize that would inevitably detract from the freshness.I see from the comments that some people don't seem to get this kind of stuff, or worse still, they take it seriously, at face value, and apparently think that these adverts are real and Hertzfeld's mind maybe really was damaged... Well, I think that could be taken as praise for this deranged creation.

May be a Don Hertzfeldt animated short is not really your taste. The first experience I had with the animator was 'Billy's Balloon' which is very sadistic, it shows balloons attacking children, but it's also one of the funniest shorts I have seen. 'Rejected' is less sadistic, but a lot more disturbing; if you didn't like 'Billy's Balloon' or other Hertzfeldt-work you will not like this one either.It starts with showing some commercials the animator has made. They are disturbing, violent and therefore rejected by the people who gave him the assignment. All the rejections lead up to a breakdown the animator has, something we see in a brilliant piece of animation. Telling you more about the story we see would spoil things for you.The animation itself is terrific. It has some very simple looking things in it, the way 'Billy's Balloon' was animated, but the "breakdown"-part I mentioned above together with some other special effect sequences look amazing. The way the whole thing is presented is pretty inventive as well. Even the classical music is perfectly chosen. Another great short from animator Don Hertzfeldt.