Elaine's Funeral (2013) User Reviews

Another movie that pleases the fans

[c_mar2012 · 9/10 · 18 February 2014]

I am a fan of Cora's work. The animation is good. I like how I can pick right up with what is going on. And there's nothing predictable about this plot. In my opinion this movie is darker than A Beating Heart and Cracked Ceiling. It is realistic because it shows how Elian ruined Sarah's life. After the attack, Elian got Sarah pregnant! But Sarah's story with Elian gets even deeper. There is a strong emphasis on "what goes around comes around." And I think this loop makes the story one of Cora's best movies. I wish that the film could have been longer. But it is satisfying. And I love the voice acting and tension between characters.The on screen chemistry between Sarah and Elian is there and I like how Sarah and Elian are complicated. At one time they did love each other which made it sad. The film is similar to the book except Elian is far worse in the book.

Well done film

[powyang · 8/10 · 29 June 2016]

I give this 8 out of 10 because I liked the writing and the direction. I normally do not watch animated films however this one was good. Cora Clifford is a decent film director and I can tell that a writer made this film because the dialogue is pretty heavy. The animation is pretty good and I like how everything looks so original. My only criticism is that the film needed to be longer than what it was. I would have liked to see more interactions between Sarah Woodland and Elian. Another criticism is that the book series, God and the Coyote, is more violent and more action filled than the film series based on the book. I understand why Cora could not draw everything mentioned in the book series because the book material is so controversial especially when Sarah has an abortion in a school bathroom. Another scene that would have been too hard to draw on film would be when Sarah's mother gets beaten up by a group of middle aged men. While I would have liked Cora to include all of the material from the book series, this film was good enough.

Fantastic art house film for adults who like animated films that mention God

[dknorthjn · 9/10 · 29 June 2016]

Cora Clifford is a very talented, but odd film animator who knows how to draw films and create memorable characters. The film, Elaine's Funeral is for older audiences and I would not recommend it for young children. When I saw it, over a year ago, it was on Cora's YouTube channel "IndieAnimation." The story line of the film takes place after the films A Beating Heart and Cracked Ceiling, and Still Living in God's Universe, and Plaster of Paris.In Plaster of Paris, Sarah Woodland is raped by Elian and Sarah's dysfunctional life starts to fall apart. In Elaine's Funeral, we see what happened to Sarah and how she grows up into an adult who believes in God. My favorite things about this film are (1) The animation is rough looking and very beautiful. I don't like traditional film animation that looks too smooth. Cora's work is an acquired taste. (2) The story is excellent. Cora's film is like a book when you watch it. I also love the broken apart time line. (3) I love how the film is not afraid of diving into controversial issues like alcoholism, abortion, and other topics. (4) The film is for people over 13 years old, even though it is unrated. (5) Cora uses Peter John Ross's music. I love the filmmaker Peter John Ross. (6) Cora's work looks different so I don't confuse her for any other filmmakers. I love her style.

Elaine's Funeral

[allkrueger · 10/10 · 17 July 2016]

I remember seeing this complete film on Cora's YouTube channel Indie Animation a couple years ago. I liked it because the title obviously suggests that this is not a children's movie. Elaine's Funeral is from a long line of animated films based on Cora's self-published book series "God and the Coyote." What is Elaine's Funeral about? Sarah Woodland is a beautiful teen girl with dark hair and blackish-brown looking eyes. (I think Sarah is supposed to be mixed race because she looks half black mixed with Greek and Romanian. In the book, I think Sarah was biracial because her father was black and he died in a nasty car crash because he was driving drunk.) Sarah looks different from other people in the small, money-driven caste system based town known as Coyote. Coyote, Arizona is not a real place. Sarah has a stalker named Elian and he falls in love with her but does not know how to love anyone so eventually Elian rapes Sarah Woodland. Elian is a character that comes from a bad life because his dad is a serial killer and Elian is warped. Elaine's Funeral also discusses philosophical topics such as heaven and hell, and what does it really mean to love someone? This film has so much dialogue. I loved it. The movie is different and visually gritty.

My problem is that this was not animated like The Felon's Claw

[mbhouserx · 8/10 · 22 July 2016]

I loved pretty much everything about this film except that Cora Clifford did not use the sensual looking animation she used in The Felon's Claw. The Felon's Claw was an indie film based on the God and Coyote book series. Elian with the big cat eyes is still in the film and so is voluptuous looking Sarah Woodland. Elaine's Funeral had a good plot. I like the dialogue that takes place between Sarah and Elian when Sarah and Elian are breaking up. I love how Cora draws her characters. Elian looks like he might be part Italian or some kind of Eastern European male. Sarah is obviously biracial because she does not look like a WASP. I bought this film on DVD and I give it 8 out of 10. The plot was better than a 10 but cut out animation is better suited for Jubilee and Elmer movies. Cora has said that she is going to put this film in The Felon's Claw animation. However, I wanted it to be The Felon's Claw the first time around. Cora still has me as a fan. But I hope the new DVDs are not as expensive as the "cut out animation films."

Elaine's Funeral played it too safe

[melforxaz · 7/10 · 17 July 2016]

I rate 7/10 because Cora did not include all of the great things from the book series that she is known for. Cora Clifford is not a well known author but she does have people who appreciate her work. I am one of them. So I expected Elaine's Funeral to be like the book, Kiss Me Goodbye. I am going to list why I give the score that I give.

Animation earned 7/10. Why? Because I have seen Cora Clifford's more tricky and complicated rotoscoping animation. It's not on her film channel Indie Animation. I saw some of her work online at an online "artist exhibit." And it was "Oh my God!" fantastic. While the cut out animation looks original and is pretty good, Cora's full color rotoscoping is jaw dropping beautiful. I hope Cora uses it when she re-releases this film for late 2016 or 2017.

Voice Over Work earned 8/10. Why? Because Cora did not do any singing in this film. Cora once posted a video on You Tube where she sang an a Capella version of "Amazing Grace." Cora needs to put that singing voice of hers in this soundtrack. Cora has a good singing voice and it reminds me of Chrissy Amphlett.

I want to see more of Cora Clifford in her films. And if Cora reads this review, know that your fans want to see what makes you different. Stop excluding the violence and sex from your books. If we want to watch a Disney film we would watch it. Please make your films more like your books.