I'm a fan of Mark Twain as well as of claymation, so it's a given I like this feature! Will Vinton is not a household name any longer but the impact he had on the field can not be overrated (he even coined the term "claymation"). In the 80s, he was still a big name and had already done tons of animation, yet the production of "The Adventures of Mark Twain" must have been a real adventure. This is not easy stuff, it's not targeting children, and animation for adults has always been - and will propably always be - a big financial risk. Still, "Don't be such a sissy in face of a real adventure!" as he lets his main character say to himself.Basically, we have a frame story (M.T. chasing the comet where he plans to end his earthly life, with Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky as stowaways on board) framing several episodes from his writings, most of them from his more cynical works. Not every episode works equally well but overall the quality is OK and there's a certain momentum built up towards the conclusion. The gags are rarely laugh-out-loud but mostly hit the spot, and the outstanding thing is the animation - the quirky sets, the lively faces, the colours! There may be more creative animation out there, but never in a 90 minute feature. It's a feast for claymation fans (and should be for every cinephile but still animation carries that birthmark of childishness).Is this film perfect? No, and I guess no work which ventures that far from the trodden path can ever be. Some episodes rather stop than advance the story; the faces of the children look too grown-up; sometimes the dialogue feels pretty forced just to prompt one of M.T.'s aphorisms; and some of the visual gags seem targeted at children while the story as a whole is certainly not for them. But the wonderful animation and philosophical depth make up for such shortcomings - while by now Aardman or Laika have surpassed this film from the technical POV, it still remains one of the most grown-up claymation features I know.

I don't know how they did it. This movie is as close to memorable as "movie magic" will ever get. As i sifted through the previously posted comments i came to realize that i wasn't the only one who was completely "tranced" by its animation and story line as a little kid. Unbelievable! Kudos to those who did it.I watched it only once before, i think i was around 7, and i NEVER EVER forgot about it! Then i watched it again yesterday, and then an avalanche of unexplained and repressed memories came down trickling as things became clearer. Well, a bit more clearer! At any rate, now that i know what it's about, i can't say i am disappointed. This time nostalgia really paid out. Beautiful movie, even if broody, in every respect. That said, this clearly isn't a movie for everyone.

I love this movie! I can't believe it's not even available on VHS. My TV tape copy is dying and I can't replace it. I'll have to look at transferring it to DVD from tape.This is a great fantasy tale of Mark Twain and Halley's Comet with Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, and Huck Finn. I love all the sidepieces just on their own: the story of Adam and Eve, how everyone's heaven is not the same, and the mysterious stranger, the time machine. It is also an excellent example of Claymation. This should definitely be a classic. If someone like Disney created this, this would have made it to DVD or even VHS by now.

I must have seen The Adventures of Mark Twain for the first time over twelve years ago, and for over a decade it had haunted me... rarely, if ever, rebroadcast, I was left only with vague memory of what I remembered as one of the most vibrant pieces of visual art and storytelling that I was exposed to as a youth. I recently purchased it directly from the studio that released it, and got to return to it for the first time in a long time. Of course, when returning to childhood films, you always run the risk of being disappointed by the film being worse than you recall. Luckily, I was not disappointed at all. The story is of Mark Twain's characters Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Becky Thatcher as they stow on board an airship created by Mark Twain himself. Through the course of their journey across the world to meet Haley's comet, we are invited to retellings of Twain stories and meet all sorts of different characters. The humour is intelligent and dry, but not over the heads of children.Visually, this piece is stunning. There is something vivid and tactile about stop-motion animation that will always appeal to me more than any CGI creation. Will Vinton outdoes himself with this piece. From the grandeur of Twain's airship or the Garden of Eden, to the detail of Twain's parlour/billiard room and the simple, truthful human expressions that the animators manage to create on the characters' faces, the film is impressive from first to last.What surprised me the most is how this film, which I remembered as a children's or family film, is in fact quite dark. It deals with aspects of life, death, evil, and human nature that one would never expect in a so-called "family" film. But while the outward darkness, and, at times, even morbidity of individual aspects may seem inappropriate for family viewing, it comes from the sane and grounded perspective that Twain himself seems to have been known for. Like in any good storytelling, the dark side of humanity is not spared from the viewer just because of the potentially youthful audiences. By way of criticism, the film could definitely move at a faster pace. The humour, while clever and dry, as I said, could have been pushed farther. There were many times the film set us up for quite a punchline and then didn't deliver, instead settling for a consistent level of pleasant amusement. And I wish the episodic structure had been more fully taken advantage of, and had been extended into even more stories. But that may just be me wishing the movie was longer than 86 minutes. You can't have too much of a good thing.I give the storytelling an 8 out of 10, and visuals a 10 of 10. Overall, a 9. There aren't too many of those, as far as I'm concerned. And even if you didn't like this movie, you gotta admit, it's one of a kind.