Oedipus

Sophocles' Greek tragedy as a veggie tale? Sliced and diced to a mere eight minutes, Oedipus offers a “sword and salad” stop-motion-animated mini-epic retelling of the classic twister: Abandoned as a baby, the now adult Oedipus (a potato) unwittingly murders his father, the king of Thebes (a broccoli stalk), and sleeps with his mother, the queen (a hot tomato), thereby fulfilling a dire prophecy (not to mention giving rise to Freud's famous “Oedipus complex” theory). A very professional-looking production (and an official selection at over 60 film festivals), presented in a widescreen format with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, Oedipus is obviously tongue-in-cheek (the major fight scene between son and father involves kung fu and a paring knife), but it's also a bit on the puerile side (Billy Dee Williams in a voice cameo as a bartender makes a crude reference regarding the queen, and the incestuous sex scene is as graphic as you can get with a penis-less potato and a moaning tomato). It's also questionable whether the deceptively kid-friendly DVD packaging (“look for these exciting action playsets…collect them all”) was a smart choice, as this could very easily be mistaken for a children's film from the box alone. DVD extras include an excellent behind-the-scenes montage and storyboard bonus footage. Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)