Experimental short film from Richard Condie. No real story but lots of colors and sounds. We kind of follow the lead character in his quest to get to the castle.Out of 100, I give it 73. That's good for **½ out of ****.Seen in Sudbury, on December 31st, 2002.

Really, this animated short is pretty dumb and random -- the hapless jester; the cackling, mocking flowers; the lurching sun with the Frankenstein voice. Nevertheless, I have never laughed so hard in my life at anything I've seen on a movie screen. "The Apprentice" was part of the Canadian Festival of Animation, back when animation festivals were huge and there were, like, four a year. How come none of them are available on video? Man, I miss those.

Richard Condie, under the umbrella of the National Film Board of Canada, does some fairly odd and wonderful work. This one is pretty strange even for Condie! I am seldom at a loss for words, but trying to describe this one and do it justice is difficult. This airs somewhat frequently on O Canada on the Cartoon Network. The show itself is well worth watching. Catch this one if you can. Highly recommended!