Review: Unidentified Flying Oddball (DMC #70)
Brace yourselves for another strange sci-fi adventure with Unidentified Flying Oddball, the 70th film in our Disnerd Movie Challenge. If you’ve never seen this film before, we’ve included our synopsis, but otherwise you can skip ahead to our review.
Synopsis
NASA scientist Dr. Zimmerman gives a presentation to high-ranking military personnel on the latest NASA spacecraft—Stardust. The craft is capable of going faster than the speed of light and its mission is to journey to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Several of the military officers express skepticism, with one sarcastically suggesting the craft could go back in time. Dr. Zimmerman confirms exactly this, but when the chairman hears Dr. Zimmerman intends to send actual humans on the mission he shuts the project down. Dr. Zimmerman calls Tom Trimble, a robotics specialist. The doctor asks Tom to make a humanoid robot that looks and reacts like humans. Tom successfully creates a humanoid based on his own appearance named Hermes who will be sent on the mission aboard Stardust. On the day of the launch, Hermes refuses to go because he fears he won’t return. Tom goes onto the spacecraft to reassure Hermes and finds a Playtime magazine, which Hermes brought with him for the 30-year-long mission. Before Tom can get off the craft, a sudden bolt of lightning causes the rocket to launch prematurely. Tom pleads with Dr. Zimmerman to abort the mission but the doctor can’t, and simply wishes Tom good luck. Tom attempts to get Stardust back down to Earth, but the craft enters a time warp and travels to 508 A.D. The craft lands in England, where a young woman named Alisande (aka Sandy) is seen journeying to the nearby castle of Camelot with a goose she believes is her cursed father. She’s frightened and curious as Stardust touches down and Tom exits the craft. After Alisande meets Tom, the two are stopped by Sir Mordred, a Knight of the Round Table, who takes Tom as prisoner. Tom is taken before King Arthur himself, who is hosting a banquet while Merlin entertains the crowd. Everyone is frightened at Tom’s strange appearance, thinking him a monster because of his spacesuit. Though Tom attempts to ease their fears by explaining how he arrived in Camelot from the future and recounting future history, he bores everyone in the room. Arthur orders Tom be burned at the stake and has him taken away. Alisande briefly visits Tom in his prison cell, concerned Tom will die, but Tom reassures her his suit is fire-proof. After Alisande leaves, Tom discovers one of his fellow prisoners is Alisande’s father, who was wrongfully imprisoned by Sir Mordred in an attempt to steal the man’s land. Tom promises Alisande’s father that he will tell King Arthur of Sir Mordred’s wrongdoing after the burning. The next day, Tom is tied to the stake and set on fire. However, just as he claimed, his suit keeps him safe and he manages to free himself. To everyone’s shock, Tom walks out of the flames completely unharmed and runs away. Furious, Sir Mordred promises King Arthur he will kill Tom in a duel.
Alisande meets with Sir Mordred’s page, Clarence, to ask for his help to save Tom. Tom doesn’t get the chance to explain to Alisande that her father is being held prisoner as the three of them try to hide from Sir Mordred. Tom soon finds King Arthur’s legendary sword, which has been put back into the stone. Because Tom is pure of heart, he is able to lift the sword out of the stone and plans to use it against Sir Mordred. Alisande hides away and Clarence goes to retrieve Sir Mordred’s sword. Tom pleads with Clarence to help him escape, and the page reluctantly agrees. Tom takes Sir Mordred’s sword and hits it with a large axe which causes the molecules to magnetize. Sir Mordred arrives, but when he tries to hold his sword it gets stuck in its metal scabbard. With Arthur’s help he gets his sword out and confronts Tom. Sir Mordred is unable to hit Tom because each swing of his sword forces it to get stuck against other metallic objects, including his own armor and Sir Gawain’s gloves. The duel moves to the parapets outside the castle where Sir Mordred is about to land a killing blow at Merlin’s urging. However, Clarence sticks a metal candlestick onto Sir Mordred’s already too heavy sword, making Sir Mordred lose his balance and fall into the moat below. King Arthur later has a conversation with Tom at the Round Table. Tom tells King Arthur he needs to get back to the 20th century, but King Arthur is still skeptical of Tom’s claims. After seeing Sir Mordred’s name at the Round Table, Tom begins to tell the king that Sir Mordred is seizing land. Tom and King Arthur head to the prison so they can speak to Alisande’s father for proof, but he is not there. Sir Mordred arrives and angrily confronts Tom over his accusations. He challenges Tom to a joust for questioning his honor. Tom meets with Clarence and persuades him to help him further in exchange for the Playtime magazine. The joust is held the next day, but Tom arrives late. When Alisande gives him a goose feather from her “father” as good luck, we discover that “Tom” is actually Hermes. The real Tom is inside the castle with Clarence searching through Sir Mordred’s papers for evidence of his crimes. Alisande tells “Tom” she has “strange feelings” for him. Tom overhears this through a walkie talkie and is pleased. During the joust, Sir Mordred manages to lop off Hermes’s left arm, then his head, before finally knocking him off his horse, destroying the humanoid. Meanwhile, Tom and Clarence find the evidence they need and rush off to show King Arthur. Merlin asks to take Hermes’s remains back to his laboratory for study and shushes Alisande when she asks him to change her father back to a human. Suddenly, the real Tom arrives to stop Merlin from taking Hermes. Tom presents King Arthur with the evidence. The king is convinced of Sir Mordred’s treachery, but the knight immediately rides off and escapes before he can be arrested.
While Tom repairs Hermes, Alisande asks if he can also do something about turning the goose back to her father. Tom reminds her that her father was taken prisoner, though Alisande doesn’t quite believe him. Fearing an attack from Sir Mordred, King Arthur asks Sir Gawain to fortify the castle and grounds. Merlin overhears this conversation and leaves abruptly. Tom and Alisande are left alone and Tom asks Alisande about the “strange feelings” she confessed during the joust. However, Alisande says she made a fool of herself and bared her heart to Hermes, who isn’t even a real human. Tom tries to tell her that he himself is just as human as she is and asks what more she could want, but his over-the-top Americanized delivery just confuses her. A bit later, King Arthur goes over defensive tactics with his knights. The king believes Sir Mordred will come from the south and attempt to attack the front gates. Tom shows them a NASA laser gun, which has enough firepower to break through solid brick wall. Tom thinks they can use it against Sir Mordred’s forces. Merlin sees all of this and tells his servant, Oaf, that it will be difficult for Sir Mordred to take Camelot with that device. Merlin decides to “help” Alisande to use her as leverage against Tom. Oaf leads Alisande to Merlin’s chamber where she is taken prisoner, and Oaf throws Alisande’s goose out of the castle. Merlin also sends a false message from Alisande telling Tom to meet her at Stardust. While Tom goes to meet with her, the wizard takes the chance to sneak around Tom’s room and steal the laser gun. Hours later, Tom tells Hermes and Clarence he is over Alisande, hurt that she did not meet him as she said she would. Sir Winston arrives with the goose and everyone soon realizes Alisande has been taken hostage. Tom decides he has to fight and asks King Arthur for the “shiniest of armor.” He also returns to Stardust to retrieve a lunar rover vehicle which he uses to go after Alisande. Sir Mordred and Merlin finalize their plans to attack Camelot, but Tom soon arrives. He tries to tell Alisande he loves her, but Alisande only asks about her father. When pressed, Alisande simply says if it were between Tom and Oaf, she would pick Tom. Sir Mordred attempts to kill them with the laser gun, but Tom and Alisande drive off in the rover. Oaf is sent to keep them occupied while Sir Mordred and Merlin sneak into the castle.
The next morning, Tom distracts Oaf and flies himself and Alisande back to Camelot using the rover’s jet-powered seat. Back at the castle, Sir Mordred orders his loyal knights to begin the attack. Tom arrives just in time to stop Sir Mordred from ambushing King Arthur’s knights on the parapets. Sir Mordred fires an arrow at Tom’s flying seat and causes it to malfunction. Tom gets stuck on a tower and Alisande and Clarence try to get him down. The fight moves around Stardust, and Tom radios Hermes, who is on the craft, to turn on various systems causing high powered steam to blow out at Sir Mordred and his knights. Merlin gets onto Stardust and attempts to shut down Hermes, but Tom sees this and starts singing “The Star Spangled Banner” into the walkie talkie. Hermes immediately salutes which knocks Merlin off balance and sends him tumbling out of the craft. Tom also has Hermes turn on the craft’s magnetic fields, knocking out more knights in the process. The magnetic field also tries to draw Tom in. Tom realizes that his armor is magnetic. He uses this to his advantage against Sir Mordred, allowing the armor to knock the evil knight out. With Sir Mordred and his knights defeated, Camelot is saved. Tom’s name is added to the Round Table, and Tom takes a photograph of him and everyone else so he can bring proof back to NASA. Tom gets ready to go home and tells Alisande he wishes he could bring her with him. Alisande hands him a letter to give to Hermes and thanks Tom for getting Merlin to change her father back to a human, to which Tom just smiles. Tom boards Stardust and it takes off. King Arthur, Alisande, and the rest of Camelot cheer him on as he and Hermes fly away. Tom gives the letter to Hermes, who reads it aloud and shares that Alisande likes Tom more than him. The two discover the goose is on the ship. As the ship enters the time warp, Tom realizes that the goose (which is actually female, having just laid an egg) is not aging. He further concludes that Alisande wouldn’t age, either, if he were to take her back to his time. Tom asks Hermes to turn the craft around so they can return to Camelot, where Tom can pick up Alisande and “live happily ever after.”
Thoughts Before Watching
Kevin: I was surprised to learn this was Disney’s first adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court . Their second was 1995’a A Kid in King Arthur’s Court, which I saw at least a few times as a kid. I’m not sure why Disney decided to call this first movie Unidentified Flying Oddball, but I assume it was to take advantage of the sic-fi craze that was popular at the time. Whatever their reasons, I have a feeling this will certainly be an odd one.
Megan: Outer space + medieval times? I’m scared. Okay, not scared exactly, but I feel like this has the potential to be really, really bad. Maybe we’ll luck out and it will just be okay, but I’m pretty sure it’s safe to assume this is no hidden gem within the Disney catalog.
An accurate depiction of our faces at certain points during this film.
Thoughts After Watching
Well, that was…odd…
Megan: Having worked in publishing where I listened to various story pitches in all sorts of meetings, I’m trying to imagine what the people in the room were thinking when this story was pitched to them. “It’s an astronaut in King Arthur’s court!” “It’s Star Wars meets…” (well, I was going to say The Princess Bride, but it turns out that didn’t come out until the late ‘80s, so it wouldn’t have been an accurate reference at the time). Were the studio executives so hungry for anything sci-fi in this post-Star Wars era that they said “yes” to anything remotely space-themed? On the whole, the film feels to me like someone shook up a grab bag of sci-fi and Arthurian legend tropes and randomly threw elements together within Mark Twain’s existing plot structure from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, with a few jokes thrown in for good measure. Sure, there are a few good chuckles along the way, but the end result is far from groundbreaking. In an attempt to create something new by borrowing from well-known stories, this film’s lack of originality makes for a dull, weird, yet predictable viewing experience.
Kevin: It really seems like Disney saw the success of Star Wars and wanted to create their own epic space fantasy film. But Star Wars was built around the concept of the hero’s journey and just happened to have sci-fi and fantasy elements mixed together. Mark Twain’s original novel isn’t about outer space, so it’s quite clear that the studio was just attempting to capitalize on a popular genre. I suspect the writers of Unidentified Flying Oddball didn’t see past the surface elements of Star Wars and thought “hey, if George Lucas can combine outer space and fantasy, why can’t we?” Well, the result is a film with a strange premise and questionable moments. The movie is very odd indeed and unfortunately suffers for it.
Your wires are showing
Megan: Though this film may have been trying to capitalize on the sci-fi craze of Star Wars, it definitely didn’t match the production value of Star Wars. There were SO MANY scenes where we could visibly see the wires holding up the actors. There’s the scene where Mordred’s sword becomes too heavy and he falls backwards off the castle wall, the wire clearly visible as it pulls him away. Then there are the many scenes involving the jet-powered chair that Tom uses during the final battle. There are so many instances where the wires suspending the chair in mid-air are clearly visible. It’s not even those blink-or-you’ll-miss-it scenes—the wires are incredibly obvious in extended clips. Were the filmmakers hoping to fix that in post-production and then ran out of time or budget to make those edits? Also, the science within the film was hard for me to get behind. I come from a family with several aerospace engineers, and I’ve watched videos of real rockets blasting off into space, so it was incredibly hard for me to suspend disbelief enough to get on board with what this film called rocket science. Honestly, for a film that centers around technological advances, the tech on camera and behind the camera seems to have missed the mark.
Good performances, bland characters
Kevin: It’s not only the general production work and camera work that missed the mark. The characters, unfortunately, leave a lot to be desired as well. With this film, all the actors played their parts well. There are some genuinely good performances here from the leading man Dennis Dugan. Additionally, the film sports an excellent group of well-known British actors including Jim Dale, Sheila White, Kenneth More, Ron Moody, John Le Mesurier, and plenty of others. The British cast did a great job conveying confusion, wonder, and fear at Dugan’s Tom Trimble. However, good performances don’t necessarily make the characters good. Tom is a very unmemorable protagonist when it’s just one of him, let alone two. I couldn’t help but be annoyed with Tom any time he showed the Camelot denizens some new technological marvel because he almost always seemed surprised at their reactions. Does he not realize he’s so far back in time that what he’s showing them would be considered potentially evil and unholy? He’s also a totally unlikable character whenever he interacts with Alisande (more on that later). White plays her role as Alisande very well, though she’s sadly underwritten. Jim Dale and Kenneth More are probably the funniest in their roles as Sir Mordred and King Arthur, respectively. Honestly, it’s really the British cast that are most enjoyable to watch, though I wouldn’t say much more. All in all, I think many of the actors were miscast and the script doesn’t fully utilize their skills.
Was that a Playboy magazine in a Disney film?!
Megan: The magazine shown in the film might be titled Playtime, but it’s pretty clear it’s a Playboy stand-in given how popular the magazine was in the ‘70s. If it were a film by any other studio, I’d roll my eyes, call it yet further evidence of sexism, and move on to the other aspects of the film, but because this film was produced by Disney—a brand that is so very cautious with how it represents itself—I have to stop and question how this magazine made it into the film in the first place. Was Disney not as strict about its family-friendly image at the time? (Walt Disney died in 1966, so perhaps in this era after Walt’s death the company had gotten a bit lax about the brand image.) Was the popularity of Playboy so ubiquitous at the time that not one of the (largely male) filmmakers thought twice about including it in a film meant for general audiences? Since we weren’t there in the room when decisions were being made, it’s hard to say for sure, but it sure felt weird seeing that in a Disney film!
Straying from legend
Kevin: It’s not the worst thing about the film, but I noticed at least a couple major changes to Arthurian legend that bugged me just enough to warrant their own section. First, I was really confused by how and why Tom was able to pull the sword from the stone. I mean… Disney even had an animated film about this already; only the rightful king of Camelot can pull the sword, and it remains so even if the sword is put back into the stone. So, does this mean Tom is now king? Is the movie trying to imply that Tom is Arthur’s distant descendent and thus would have royal blood? The film only has one throwaway line by Alisande to explain this; Tom can lift it because his heart is pure (although I’m not convinced of that). It would have been nice if the moment had some value related to the original legend. Maybe the original spell broke when Arthur pulled it? I don’t know, but I get the feeling the filmmakers just threw the sword in the stone in there because it’s a piece of Arthurian legend. The second thing I didn’t like was the portrayal of Merlin. Sorry, but I just don’t personally like Arthur’s close friend and mentor being written as a scheming traitor. I think Sir Mordred was more than enough of an antagonist. Now, I get that Mark Twain’s novel took this route so the movie was just following suit. I haven’t read the novel, but perhaps if the movie hadn’t made Merlin’s villainy obvious from the beginning it could have worked better. Still, I doubt I would have liked it any different. I much prefer Ron Moody’s second portrayal of Merlin in the 1995 adaptation of Mark Twain's novel.
Such low opinions of women in this film
Megan: Yes, this is a film that came out in 1979 about someone from the 1970s who travels back in time to 508 A.D.. And yes, women admittedly did not have it great in the 500s. However, it is also very much a fantastical fiction that is very rarely historically accurate. With that in mind, did the male characters have to have such low opinions of women? I don’t think so! Yet the film we’re left with is incredibly sexist. It’s not just that there’s this Playtime magazine that the male characters cling to, or that the film fails the Bechdel test because Alisande is the only named female character who speaks, yet she never speaks to another woman (unless you count the goose who’s mistakenly referred to as a male until the end of the film when it lays an egg). No, what I find more troubling is the way the male characters talk about females to each other. For example, when Tom Trimble teaches his android double Hermes about women, he uses a single photo of a swimsuit model. He (and the filmmakers) could have chosen to show multiple images of women—perhaps women succeeding in their varied careers, hanging out with friends, or playing sports. But no. For Tom, the one image that sums up his idea of “woman” and is the perfect image to teach a robot about women is a sexualized ideal wearing the least amount of socially-acceptable clothing. In this case, Hermes is the blank slate on which Tom Trimble is perpetuating the mainstream media message that women are only to be valued for their sexualized, attractive appearance. Things only get worse in medieval Camelot.
KING ARTHUR: I can’t understand all this fuss over a mere slip of a girl. I can find you five girls more comely and more cooperative than that one.
TOM: Yes, but not as dingy.
To King Arthur, women are a dime a dozen, easily swapped in for each other, and the best qualities a woman can have are to be “comely” (attractive) and, more importantly, cooperative (i.e., submissive). While Tom at least recognizes that there’s something special about Alisande (you know, the only female character he ever has a conversation with), he’s not much better than the king. He seems to value that Alisande is “dingy” or naïve. Perhaps he thinks her simplemindedness that led her to believe her father had been transformed into a goose could be used to his advantage so that in a relationship with her he’d always be the smart one, thus giving him power over Alisande. Not exactly the makings of a great love story.
Alisande is not in love with Tom
Megan: While the film seems to want us to believe that Tom and Alisande are meant for each other, I’m not buying it. Sure, Tom is infatuated with Alisande. No contest. But there is no way that Alisande is in love with Tom. Does Alisande feel concern for him? Sure she does, much in the same way someone who finds a lost puppy or kitten feels the need to make sure it’s safe. But I don’t think Alisande feels for Tom the way he feels for her. Even when Alisande confesses her “strange feelings” to Hermes (believing him to be Tom), that’s all she says—she has “strange feelings” for him. Tom, listening via the walkie, interprets that to mean that Alisande likes him, but I’m not so sure. She only confessed her “strange feelings” because she was convinced Tom was going to die in the joust anyway, and when her prediction comes true and Hermes is destroyed, Alisande shows little grief. In fact, once she sees the crackling wires of the robot, she seems more frightened and confused than grieving. Moments later, she’s asking Merlin to change her goose father back into a human, seemingly unconcerned about the corpse before her. Then, when Tom reveals himself and proves that he’s okay, Alisande’s response is “You are?” I might be reading too much into this, but is there a hint of disappointment in her confusion? Like, “You are? Oh. Darn. I thought I was done dealing with you.” Even more telling is what Alisande says when Tom comes to rescue her. Though Tom rides in dressed as a literal knight in the shiniest of armor, his way of professing his love to Sandy is…well…a bit lackluster.
TOM: Sandy, in case I don’t pull this off, I just want you to know that I really groove on you. And my idea of heaven would be to split a pizza and a six-pack while watching the Super Bowl on television. Maybe smooch a little at the half. Well, what do you think?
ALISANDE: Any news of Father?
TOM: Didn’t you hear me? I just told you I loved you!
ALISANDE: I’m not going all through that again. On the other hand… If it’s between you and Oaf, I’ll take you.
Though Tom seems thrilled that Sandy chose him over Oaf, she basically just told him that if it’s between Tom and an animalistic caveman of a man like Oaf, she’ll settle for Tom. It’s not exactly a resounding endorsement. What’s more, Alisande’s first reaction when Tom tries to share his feelings about her is to ask about her father. He’s the man she cares most about in this story—not Tom. Though she tearfully waves goodbye to Tom at the end of the film, I think it’s the sadness of saying goodbye to a friend, not the man she loves. I can’t imagine that she would be thrilled to have Tom return and essentially kidnap her into the 20th century to fulfill his own personal wants and desires.
Kevin: I completely agree with all of this. I also rolled my eyes once the “romance” thread kicked off. We just really need to stop forcing characters to have some kind of romance when it’s clear there shouldn’t be one. Also, Tom’s way of sharing his feelings with Alisande was really cringeworthy. Does he not realize Alisande has no concept of what a pizza, a six-pack, or the Super Bowl are? Time after time Tom has confused the folks around Camelot with some of his vernacular. Here we again see his total lack of awareness at best and his arrogance at worst for trying to woo Alisande this way. Maybe he’s nervous, and maybe it’s just the weird script having an effect on me, but I cringed so hard at that line.