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Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain · 2013
1h 13m
Director Raúl García
Starring Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Julian Sands, Guillermo del Toro
Genre Animation, Horror, Mystery
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Five of Edgar Allan Poe's legendary stories, including "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," are brought to life by pictorical style animation in this visually intriguing, heart-pounding animated anthology featuring some of the most beloved figures in horror film history.
RogerEbert.com by Brian Tallerico
Both the source material and the man reading it are legendary. And that inherent cool factor in Extraordinary Tales carries the final product a very long way, although its shortcomings do sometimes force me to wonder if it could have been a masterpiece instead of a mere curiosity.
It offers a CliffsNotes encapsulation of Edgar Allen Poe's most enduring works for viewers unacquainted with them.
Los Angeles Times by Charles Solomon
Like "A Cat in Paris" or "Sita Sings the Blues," Extraordinary Tales reminds viewers that animation can enable an artist to realize an individual vision, even on a limited budget.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Harnessing a range of appropriately spooky-oddball narrators and striking visual styles — including graphic novels, early photography and Expressionist painting — the Spanish director and animator Raul Garcia simultaneously honors and reimagines.
The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman
Animator Raul Garcia’s 70-minute anthology of five Poe stories, Extraordinary Tales, has its moments, and will be a welcome respite for any middle schooler sitting through a boring lecture. But if we were ever asked if we wanted a second viewing, we’d have to quoth the raven: nevermore.
Perhaps Poe’s tone poses a problem; the edge-of-hysteria voice does not hold up well over the course of a feature-length film.
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
Each of the shorts has a markedly different visual approach, and they feel radically distinct in terms of pacing and editing as well. In spite of the common source material and tone of oppressive psychological horror, these shorts feel like they could be the work of five different people.
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