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Oh, did you think Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (opens in new tab) was the first time Sub-zero and friends assaulted the medium of animation with a big fat stupid stick? Not so! Back in 1995, MK was at the top of its game and not even a major motion picture was enough to contain the Outworldish popularity. Enter: Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins! It%26rsquo;s one of the first times I can remember a straight-to-video animated movie released to coincide with a theatrical film, and that%26rsquo;s not even the end of the new territory this hilarious heap forged on VHS and %26ndash; fuck yes! %26ndash; Laserdisc.
In addition to 55 minutes of unrelenting stupidity, MK: The Journey Begins is also features some trailblazing animation effects, showcasing a combination of traditional hand-drawn toonage with computer-generated animation… and it paid a very high price for being a pioneer. In addition to being just above-and-beyond ridiculous, this is one of the most awkward looking cartoons you%26rsquo;re likely to see starring characters you know and love.
Above: CG animation in its infancy%26hellip; glorious
I have no idea how the hell anyone could craft a piece of animation that looks like it was made using pre-Star Wars blue screen/matte effects, but Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins manages to accomplish that amazingly, and was terrible at everything else. Once again, thanks to theswitcher for editing the outlandish madness into a far more digestible ten minutes of good-natured mockery. More stupidity highlighted in screenshots below.
Above: Did he teleport behind him, or did Lui Kang just have a Scorpion-shaped idea?
Above: So that%26rsquo;s how Scorpion does it! Like Spider-man!
Above: Note the sense of scale, proximity and perspective… Now go ahead and laugh
Apr 14, 2011
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VIDEO: KOMBAT TIME!
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Two titanic franchises collide and the fate of two idiotic, animated worlds hangs in the dumbass balance
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MK%26rsquo;s gone in some strange directions once finishing the fight
