Edwin A. Abbott's landmark 1884 novel has inspired a pair of recent animated adaptations. The only thing missing is the voice of Danica McKellar.
Any film that lists in the end credits the likes of Orson Welles, Francois Truffault, John Ford and Sam Peckinpah as "Inter-dimensional Consultants" has obviously got a sense of humor about itself. That's the case with Ladd Ehlinger's 2007 CGI offering Flatland, currently available on DVD and garnering a majority of rave reviews from the 25 customers who've posted to its Amazon.com page.
Improbably, there is another animated film out this year based on the 1884 novel by Edwin A. Abbott, one with no inter-dimensional consultants. But guess what? Flatland: A Journey of Many Dimensions may be the keeper of the bunch, directed by Jeffrey Travis and featuring the celebrity voiceover talents of Martin Sheen and Kirsten Bell as respectively a square and granddaughter hexagon who set out to determine whether there is a third dimension existing in and around Flatland.
Officially released on the education circuit in May, 2007, and coming a little later this fall on DVD, this second Flatland has been sold to schools in Denmark, Australia and beyond while also making the rounds of U.S. campuses. Latest stop was the Math Department of Texas' Baylor University on Thursday, September 27th. Other voice cast members include Michael York, Joe Estevez and Tony Hale.
"We aimed at middle school kids, and younger kids really like it too," the film's animation director Dano Johnson told the Baylor Lariat. "Parents are surprised when their elementary kids watch it and then are talking about dimensions at the dinner table."
So remember; if you want to learn more about the Flatland movie with the Hollywood cast, go to FlatlandtheMovie.com and not FlatlandtheFilm.com. Although when you get right down to it, either one would seem to be the perfect Christmas gift companion piece to go along with former Wonder Years actress Danica McKellar's August 2007 tome Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math and not Break a Nail.
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