Welcome To Twister

Grandpa is asked to tell the kids a story, and he does. It's an improvised tale, drawing cues from the various bits of detritus lying around his grandchildren's bedroom. Apparently he was a sheriff in a town that happens to share its name with a family game, and his story is as clumsy.

The animation is crude, though the backgrounds are good. The character design is in amateur webcomic territory - it's expressive enough, but in comparison to Savage Mountain or Bruce or Zbigniev's Cupboard it is miles behind. Also backwards are some of the sound decisions - when Grandpa rapidly backtracks at one point it's accompanied by the sound of a needle skipping across a record. That's industry shorthand, and one can't help but wonder how many people have never heard that "in real life". From Grandpa's perspective, perhaps, it's justified, but it comes across as lazy.

The ending saves Welcome To Twister, adding a further revelation to its reconfigured narrative. The end credits are the best part though, stop motion (as distinct to what has gone before) made with what appear to be children's drawings, culminating a cavalcade of cowboys with a robot, a wizard, and a dinosaur. Owen Rixon is the director and screenwriter, working with Rossie Stone who provided the end credits. Welcome To Twister is ultimately hampered by its visuals. It's sad, but given how distinct animation is in appearance it's almost inevitable that it'll be judged by its cover.