Review by Orb

Something interesting caught my eye the other day, and being the fan of computerized art that I am, I just could not pass it by. Caught Between Worlds is a DVD title that is an entirely computer-generated entertainment set to music. Fusing computer animation and fine art, it really defies categorization, except to say that it would probably appeal to the adventure gamer that is so lazy so as to not want to bother even having to click on things to look at pretty pictures, let alone fiddle with a keyboard.

I remember when I was a child, the only way to find unusual animated art was to watch PBS, and every so often, maybe on a lazy Saturday afternoon, in between commercialless programming, an odd adult (that is to say not children's) animated short would be featured. For five or ten minutes I would be transfixed, intrigued by the idea that something animated could be produced that was for an adult—no cartoon characters involved, but things drawn from a mature perspective, and sometimes without a voice, just background music and even random images.

As time went on, the field of Pop Art blew open, legitimized to the world, not just those seeking the cutting edge of expression, and animation became a field for many to enjoy rather than a simplistic machination to occupy children. No longer a mainstay oddity for public television, it has exploded as its own continuing art form, becoming more legitimate as each new generation raised on animation reaches adulthood.

So now we have finally reached a point where animation and computers meet, not just to be an entertaining distraction, but purely as a piece of art to be enjoyed the way a painting on the wall of a gallery would have been absorbed a hundred years ago. Ain't it cool?

The scenery of Caught Between Worlds is as stunning as the best of any prerendered point-and-click adventure title currently on the market, and perhaps more stunning than any I've seen. It features thrilling, eerie 3D modeling, and is exceptionally well-produced.

Once loaded into the DVD drive, this title runs for a full 50 minutes, containing uninterrupted music with a constant, ever-changing calliope of animations rolling past. There are beautiful, spacy rooms, strange creatures mutely standing together, clowns, liquid figures, elaborate buildings floating in space, honeycomb tunnels—a cacophony of images.

It contains nine separate pieces, but these merge together, as the entirety of the piece is abstract art. There are no stories per se, other than just the fact that the mood and tempo of the music changes with the start of each new piece, and the images change for each as well.

Caught Between Worlds is one of a trilogy of titles produced by award-winning artist Beny Tchaicovsky, a 20-year-veteran fine artist and musician who received an award for his artistry at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Each program can be ordered separately, and a boxed set of the three is due out soon. Each can be purchased from Amazon.com or a list of distributors available at the Zoe Productions web site. This is great entertainment for anyone with a DVD drive or player that loves great game graphics, and it should be watched with the lights completely out. 

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Zoe Productions
Publisher: Zoe Productions
Release Date: 2001

DVD Animation

Four Fat Chicks Links

Player Feedback

Screenshots

System Requirements

DVD Player
Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)

Where to Find It

Amazon.com 8.99



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