Movie Slate - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Ask Movie Slate - Episode 207 - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Featuring (from left to right) the characters created by ask-Pun

This is a text book example of a picture that somehow, I don't know how, managed to run away from me and just never stopped. What started up as a simple picture spoofing what would've been the set of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" turned into a group shot with as many characters as I could put in while still keeping it consistent with the movie I'm reviewing with Movie Slate. It sucks that I couldn't figure out how to include more characters in here, and I intend to compensate next year by drawing even more, this time without being constrained by the surprisingly small cast of characters this movie has to offer. Then again I think 12 characters is a fairly good amount for a drawing that I finished in extremis and with a rather ridiculous (and self-imposed) deadline.

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" is one of those movies that fall in the same category as "Birdemic: Shock and Terror", "Manos: The Hands of Fate", "The Room" and pretty much anything Uwe Boll has directed. It's considered one of those "so bad it's good" movies for several reasons, mostly because it has so many problems in it, and they combine together in such perfect harmony, that the end result is something that's incredibly awful but also very entertaining. I kind of agree with that mentality, but to me "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" is above all those other movies because, unlike them, this one feels like it's got all of its cynicism removed from the get go. There is an aura of innocence floating all over the product that I can't help but find intoxication. That guy they have playing Santa is just so joyful, so happy, but at the same time he's so concerned and worried. The Martians themselves actually have somewhat good motivations. While kidnapping Santa Claus isn't the way to go they are rather reasonable when doing so, and their reasons to do that is for the future and well being of their own children. Hell, even the kids are actually quite good. They're not really interesting, but they never feel out of place. It's like watching a school play put together by kids and their parents, achieving a good balance between charming and awkward, but without cancelling each other out. The awkward moments often lead to charming resolutions, while sometimes charming set ups can end with awkward pay offs.

But in the end I'm actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". It's a perfect awful and fun movie that I think anyone should watch during Christmas. Just like "Reefer Madness" it's public domain and you can find it anywhere, even on YouTube. So if you haven't seen it already, stop reading this, go find it, watch it, and then come back and tell me what you think.

I actually enjoyed myself a lot with this one, despite whatever grievances I had with it. If you can't tell, I was inspired by the "Where's Waldo?" books when drawing this one. It was rather heartfelt to bring back the characters of my good friend for a small cameo. I'm feeling more comfortable drawing them after his passing, and I hope to keep featuring them when it feels right for the movie. Yes, I included them because they are colored green, like the Martians. I'm sure he would've found it funny. I was going to have Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak as the two kids in the movie, but on the last minute I went with Mary Sue and Mad Munchkin instead. I thought it would be better to have only OCs featured in this picture, no canon ponies. Also one of the kids behaves exactly like a Mary Sue, being perfect and super smart, and since Mary Sue can't be without supervision she dragged Maddie Pony into the freight. Poor Hoover Sweeps is just there in the background sighing and wishing for a better job, hoping there's not much "Totally-not-Asbestos" to clean afterwards. I like the concept of having many characters and their different stories interconnecting and combined in one single picture. It's so much fun!

Now I have to make it bigger next time.

I hope you guys enjoy the picture!

You can check Movie Slate's post on Tumblr right here.

You can also check the Making of Post right here.

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

Thank you!