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 Fun,
eye-opening documentary about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, creator of Rat Fink and
the entire Kustom Kar movement, by junk culture king Ron (Comic Book
Confidential) Mann. Brilliantly and subtly animated, using a cartoon
Rat Fink as the erstwhile guide, John Goodman's voice as Big Daddy
himself, and a variety of celebrity voices (including Jay Leno) as Roth's
many cars, this movie traces Big Daddy's career from his teenage gearhard
days to his final years as the undisputed king daddy of customized car
creations. Along the way, Roth pioneers just about everything cool about
the 50's and 60's, from t-shirts with designs on them (entirely his idea,
if the doc has it right), to drag racing and skateboarding, to model
monster kits, to using fiberglass to create wild new car shapes, a
technique that was later plundered by Detroit with nary a thank you to ol'
Ed. It's really hard not to be in awe of the guy, really, even when they
show a few of his foibles, including a 'flying' car that lost a propeller
during it's first exhibition, nearly decapitating some startled
on-lookers. We owe a lot to this guy, that's for sure. Don't expect any
dirt, as "Tales" is purely a valentine to the dearly departed big daddy,
but even despite it's sweet nature, Tales rocks and rolls along nicely,
thanks in no small part to the groovy animation and the tasty soundtrack
by the Sadies. Think Fink!
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-Sleazegrinder
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