Ask Movie Slate - Zardoz

Ask Movie Slate - Episode 192

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You could say I meandered about this one for enough time to work on several other pictures (which is something I did, actually). I was never comfortable with the idea of drawing an update for this movie, but I guess talking a lot about something ends up giving its fruits. The original idea was a lot more risqué than this one (it involved straps and a table). In the end I think this one is still silly enough and jokey enough to make up for its rather mildly saucy tone. I wonder if Movie Slate does make the mares stop in the middle of the street as they stare at her ridiculously large horn (which I enlarged for this update for comedic purposes, like the most obvious penis joke in the surface of the planet). I also think this wasn't enough "Brain Bleach" for her, but if I were to add a realistic amount of it then we wouldn't be able to see the Spa.

I get asked every now and then if Movie Slate's opinions reflect my own. Since she's a character of mine, and not a representation of who I am in pony form, our opinions differ more often than not. However in the case of "Zardoz", I find myself agreeing with her (something that has rarely happened). This movie is one of the best definitions of a complete time sink that meanders way too much with psychedelic set pieces and needlessly sexualized scenes, offering little to no substance. This would be fine if the movie was fun, campy, or self-aware, but it isn't. It plays like it's telling a very important story that's full of relevance and symbolism, like it's George Orwell's "1984", or Phillip K. Dick's "Blade Runner", except with more speedos and topless women. That ending where the two protagonists progressively grow older, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 plays at full volume, screams "THIS IS SYMBOLIC AND PROFOUND YOU MUST BE IN AWE!" so much it drives me mad. In that regard it's kind of an impressive movie. Never have I seen a film being simultaneously so boring yet so infuriating. I really don't recommend this one, not even for Speedo Connery. If you want to watch a bad Sean Connery movie that's a lot of fun, watch "Highlander II: The Quickening" instead.

Aloe and Lotus are two characters I've always wanted to draw more of, yet I've never had the chance to actually do so. They didn't say or do much during the first three seasons of Friendship is Magic, but as of late they've had a somewhat bigger presence. They have a bit more character and personality than just the two cute pretty ponies that run the Spa, and I see a lot of people enjoy drawing them and writing stories and comics about them. I haven't shown enough appreciation for them and I hope this can change in the future. They are too much fun not to draw (especially now that I've started to be able to tell which is which).

I hope you guys enjoy the picture!

Please, let me know what you think of it in the comments. I appreciate each and every single one I receive.

Thank you!

You can check the update on Movie Slate's blog right here.