The Neverhood Chronicles. One of my all-time, most personal favorite series; a wicked collection of deeply inspired stories, games and art, all set in the broad framework of a desolate world of clay.
In 1998, The Neverhood was succeeded by oddball action platformer, Skullmonkeys. Released for the Playstation One, Skullmonkeys offered a conceptually tamer, more lighthearted experience than that of it's borderline psychedelic predecessor; trading eerie ambiance and Biblical lore for a far more accessible - yet nevertheless subversive - approach perhaps intentionally reminiscent of Earthworm Jim; a series created and developed by countless Neverhood alumni. What Skullmonkeys might've lost in straight-edge artistic flair, it more than made up for with strange humor, dark imagery, and it's simply jovial sense of boundless creativity.
Skullmonkeys follows the immediate exploits of Klogg following his defeat and exile from the Neverhood, recruiting the titular Skullmonkeys - the native species of planet Idznak - to destroy the Neverhood once and for all. As Klaymen enjoys a mighty sandwich with lovable village idiot, Willie Trombone, a sole intelligent simian, Jerry-O, cries out for help - sending a pair of mechanical wings to hoist the unwitting Klaymen to their foreign world.
Finally, in 1999, the series' final game hit the PS1 - the oft forgotten Japan exclusive,
Klaymen Gun Hockey; a spin-off title centered on, of all things,
air hockey - a totally left-field choice of gameplay that has nothing to do with the previous two installments, thematically or otherwise. With no clay to speak of, no relevance to the series' continuing storyline, and
none of the series' original staff involved, you'd be forgiven to omit this one from your Neverhood chronology; it's far more interesting for the fact it exists
at all, than of any merit of it's own.
The Neverhood Chronicles sat dormant, having closed on the melancholic, vague ending of Skullmonkeys; Klaymen drifting into the endless void of black surrounding Idznak after defeating Klogg's gargantuan flying doomsday device, Evil Engine Number Nine - mindlessly snapping photos as he's pulled quietly into the abyss, quite literally never to be seen again. Bye, Klaymen.
However, it seemed the series might once again spring to life, as news of a Neverhood movie crept through the web...
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Klaymen battles a monster
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As early as 2007, production on "
The Neverhood" began; it being one of three movie projects, including adaptations of
Samurai Jack and The Seven Deadly Sins, intended to launch then-newly minted production company Frederator Films.
Neverhood series creator, Doug TenNapel, once again lead the project, approaching the film from a holistic perspective; opting to avoid a direct adaptation or follow-up to the 1996 point and click source material, while still including largely the same core characters, concepts and themes. In a now-deleted forum post, TenNapel mused, "I'm putting everything on the table story-wise and saying, 'What is the Neverhood about and who is Klaymen?' "
According to the initial press release, the film would have carried on the series tradition of stop-motion clay animation; this is supported by the photograph of Klaymen battling against an unnamed monster (possibly the Weasel) serving as the outline's cover, as well as a two photographs revealing the development of the models featured posted to the Neverhood Facebook.
An early twelve page outline was uploaded to Frederator Films' co-founder Fred Seibert's Scribd sometime around 2009, offering a glimpse into what the reimagined world of The Neverhood may have resembled; its logline reading as follows;
"A clay being must go on a quest to find a cure for his people who have turned into moronic animals."
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Klaymen and Purpee
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Klaymen, an inherently curious young boy, and Purpee, his easily-excitable dog, discover an abandoned Fish-O-Pod; an odd, four-legged vehicle, of which Klaymen had always wanted - but never been permitted - to drive. Accidentally powering it on, the duo take a brief joy-ride; inevitably crashing as it's steering wheel flies loose, slamming through a clay wall; a huge crack revealing a world hidden
beyond the walls of their clay home, the Neverhood; an overgrown forest known as the Junglehood. The duo briefly explore the alien world, enjoying it's foreign flora and fauna including the burp-inducing Go-Go Fruit; sloppily hiding it's entrance beneath a layer of leaves and clay as they return home.
As per usual, the Neverhood itself - including the Junglehood - is an island of sorts, alone in a vast, empty expanse of black.
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The Never and JungleHoods
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Later that night, as Klaymen and Purpee read of the legendary Big Robot Bil, Klogg - an evil being from the Junglehood - peers through the crack connecting their worlds; sticking a harpooned device, the Moostifier, into the ground; hairy tentacles suddenly creeping through the NeverHood, transforming it's people into the rat-like Moosts; a hunched, hideous vermin common to the JungleHood. Discovering the herds of ravenous Moosts the following morning, Klaymen and Purpee venture into the Junglehood; certain to right their wrong.
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A Moost
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Silent and empty, the Junglehood appears to have once been as populated as the Neverhood; it's clay buildings buried beneath foliage, as it is revealed it's people, too, were turned to Moosts. Soon, the duo encounter the Weasel; narrowly escaping as Willie, adim-witted Junglehood resident, and Hissy, his pet snake-cat, pulls them into the safety of their home.
Willie reveals that Klogg has turned countless Hoods into packs of Moosts; the all-powerful sculptor, Hoborg - his castle on the other end of the Junglehood - being their only hope.
Temporarily taming the Weasel with the help of Willie, the cast venture to Hoborg's castle; encountering a broken, precarious bridge, soon further destroyed by the Weasel's unpredictable antics - halting their progress.
Looking back wistfully on the world of the Junglehood, seemingly defeated, they notice the faint impressions of a man along it's underside - realizing it to be none other than the fabled Big Robot Bil, climbing down to activating the gigantic, mythical being. Big Robot Bil, thankful to once again be awakened, launches the group across the gap to Hoborg's castle.
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| Klogg |
Inside, they discover Hoborg, too, has been transformed - now powerless against the devilish Klogg; sitting, crowned, atop Hoborg's throne. Klaymen manages to steal the Moostifier as the gang escape into Big Robot Bil, quickly returning the Jungle and Neverhoods to their former glory.
Klogg, using his Robot Hecto Nine, follows closely behind; battling against Big Robot Bil before both machines plummet into the surrounding abyss, leaving Klogg behind as he ejects himself via large mechanical wings. Crash landing, Klogg fearfully threatens to turn the people back into Moosts - cornered by the enraged clay-people of both worlds - as Klaymen, alone, offers forgiveness; hoping Klogg would be willing to join their newly discovered family.
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Big Robot Bil and Robot Hecto Nine
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Klogg reveals his heart is made not of clay, but stone - certain he'll never be able to join them. Klaymen, however, offers the power of Hoborg - knowing it will be able to save him; and, as Klogg lowers his defenses, his stone heart turns to clay; ending in a large, celebration as Hoborg, still in his castle, cures himself of Moostification - silently congratulating the faithful Klaymen.
As the party rages on, Willie, Klaymen and Klogg venture into the abyss in search of Big Robot Bil; flying off on Klogg's now repaired mechanical wings.
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| Willie |
Though featuring most, if not quite
all of the original Neverhood's core elements, the film greatly expanded on and added to the concept's setting and characters; most notably in the enhanced humanization of Klaymen, Willie, and further Neverhood geeks.
Once dissonant, silent, and perhaps even
eerie, the film's Klaymen is talkative, adventurous, and youthful - aspects not
entirely inaccurate to his original portrayal, but nevertheless, different. This sums up the majority of the film's changes to the original game's concepts. TenNapel seems to have heavily battled with and focused on the sense of visual engagement, as well as simplicity necessary for such an adaptation; particularly, one set to retell the story of a decidedly abstract game. In the words of the man himself, "
Part of Neverhood's problem is that it's so unique. It almost CAN'T be a
TV show or movie because it really is a gaming experience...
a lot of story elements came about because it was a game that would be weird in a movie."
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Mock-up development
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Frederator Films ultimately never released any features, including the three pictures intended to introduce the company. Needless to say, The Neverhood was dead in the water. Though most sources chalk up the Neverhood film's cancellation to budgetary reasons alone, TenNapel further explains as follows; "[The Neverhood Movie is] dead as far as I know. Or I should say that it never quite got off the ground... the heat came off of the project. We
were talking to Lyca and Sony about a movie. Close but no cigar."
Aspects of the film's narrative lived on through the series' following installment, Return to The Neverhood; a self-described "musical novella" in which the lead characters, Clay-Guy and Mud-Gal, undergo a transformation of sorts after consuming a rather literal "forbidden fruit" - both, of course, reflecting the Biblical recount of Adam and Eve, carrying on the religious theming and imagery present in all Neverhood stories. The Neverhood spiritual successor, Armikrog, also carries on certain elements of the film; small aspects of Klaymen's revised design, such as his odd, noodly "hat", reappear in the analogous Tommynaut; with the general role and appearance of Klaymen's pet Purpee morphing into the outspoken canine sidekick Beak-Beak. Likewise, both characters are comparatively expressive against the original version of Klaymen, and even speak.
Am I a huge fan of this interpretation of The Neverhood? Not really. I've nothing against alternative takes on characters, storylines; I enjoy when a concept is able to experiment within a new vision. Still, I feel the appeal of the original Neverhood games and world was it's mysterious, and alien nature; both mainline games felt deeply personal and artistic, flying far above and beyond most video games in tone. This version of the Neverhood universe is simply too homogenized. Rather than the memorable impressionist vibes, or strange, exciting worlds of the titles preceding it, the film seems to have aimed for something less Dali, more Dreamworks. For every interesting new idea, five more have been, quite frankly, dumbed down. They certainly nailed what they were aiming for, I just can't say I'm too impressed by the target.
In this sense, I agree with Tennapel's sentiment that The Neverhood is not perfectly fit for the film medium; though the awesome in-game cutscenes are a highlight of the series, the manner in which a story and world can unfold is entirely different between the sometimes parallel mediums of games and movies. Perhaps this explains the series' transition to the page in the aforementioned following installment, Return to The Neverhood.
I plan to look further into the obscure and unspoken areas of The Neverhood Chronicles soon; from comics to concept albums, there's plenty to explore. We'll see, won't we. 'Till then!
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