The Amazing Screw-On Head (2005)

(Europe and America; 1862)

This was not the quirky animated feature I had expected, but rather the pilot to a proposed cartoon television series based on the comic book by Mike Mignola (Hellboy). The story concerns Screw-On Head, Abraham Lincoln’s top secret agent, who also happens to be a detachable robot head who had been heavily involved in important events in American history. In this pilot ‘Head’ must prevent his former man servant, now a zombie, from releasing an ancient demi-god with the help of Heads vampire ex-lover. It is an odd, odd thing, but I liked it. Especially worth mentioning is both the voice cast, including Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce, and the animation style which seems inspired by 19th century illustrations.