Night of the Animated Dead – Why?

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a 71-minute animated remake of George Romero’s zombie movie classic. Night of the Animated Dead retells the 1968 Night of the Living Dead. The studio is promising “terrifying new content not found in the original” (and sent me a review copy). I wouldn’t know, as I don’t watch zombie (or horror) films, although apparently it’s just one scene, extended.

I am mildly curious, though, as to why the world needed a cartoon version of this. I know that there was a mixup with the original that meant it wasn’t under copyright, so anyone can distribute or remake it. But… why? And how much gumption does it take to take a directing or script credit on what is nearly a shot-by-shot redo?

It’s interesting to see that the voice cast reunites Dulé Hill and James Roday Rodriguez, who worked so well together in Psych. Also featured are Katharine Isabelle, Josh Duhamel, Katee Sackhoff, Will Sasso, Jimmi Simpson, and Nancy Travis.

The plot is as follows: “Siblings Barbara and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery in Pennsylvania when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbara flees and takes refuge in an abandoned farmhouse along with stranded motorist Ben and four local survivors found hiding in the cellar. Together, the group must fight to stay alive against the oncoming horde of zombies while also confronting their own fears and prejudices.” Here’s a green-band (all-ages) trailer:

Just based on that, I find that animation stiff and cheap-looking, taking shortcuts and unpleasant to watch. A more knowledgeable review (with spoilers) called it “disappointing” and “dreary”.

The movie is now available digitally, with a Blu-ray version due out October 5.