Product Details

• Actors: John Goodman, Ted Rosnick, Alex Xydias, Paul Le Mat, Ann-Margret
• Directors: Ron Mann
• Writers: Adam Cawley, Solomon Vesta
• Producers: Ron Mann, Bill Imperial, Martin Harbury, Michael Boyuk
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Shout Factory Theatr
• DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000H6SY3M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,707 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Tales of the Rat Fink" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

From the award-winning director of Comic Book Confidential and Grass comes Tales Of The Rat Fink, Ron Mann’s wildly inventive bio about Renaissance man Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who engineered a shift in mid-twentieth century culture with his customized cars, "monster" T-shirts and America’s alternative rodent—"Rat Fink".

Mann’s largely animated documentary-style film features the voice talents of:

• John Goodman 8-time Emmy® Nominee (The Big Lebowski)
• Ann-Margret Academy Award® Nominee (Carnal Knowledge)
• Jay Leno
• Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin
• Tom Wolfe (author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test)
• Matt Groening (creator of "The Simpsons")
• The Smothers Brothers
• And many more!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Big Daddy Lives! — Rare interviews with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth
• Rat Fink Reunion — Painting jam with Ed Roth and Von Dutch
• Big Daddy's Garage — Virtual art gallery
• Interview with director Ron Mann
• Deleted scene
• Theatrical trailer
• The Sadies music video

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pushing the boundaries of traditional documentaries!, November 28, 2006

By 

Cubist (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of the Rat Fink (DVD)

Ron Mann is a Canadian filmmaker who specializes in documentaries about alternative culture; be it comic books with Comic Book Confidential, a famous dance craze with Twist or marijuana culture with Grass. His latest film, Tales of the Rat Fink, playfully profiles Ed "Big Daddy" Roth who helped popularize the customization of cars in the 1950s. Roth saw automobiles as much more than just modes of transportation but rather blank canvasses just waiting to be adorned with his stylish artwork or to be rebuilt from the ground up in his own unique way.

Mann does a fantastic job of taking us back to the `50s with period music and plenty of archival footage. However, his documentary is far from traditional as he has Roth narrate his own life but voiced by actor John Goodman. Mann also gives several classic cars their own voice as they tell their own story and how they contributed to hot rod car culture. It's an unusual move that takes a little getting used to but for those who have seen Mann's other documentaries it is merely a natural progression of his idiosyncratic style - kind of like Roth himself.

Mann animates still photographs and instead of having someone drone on about the different kinds of paint jobs, shows it through stylized animation techniques and footage of cars being customized. Throughout it all, he has Roth's most famous creation, Rat Fink (his answer to Mickey Mouse - a bright green mutant rat - whom he had grown tired of and created a symbol of everything that was cool and dangerous about the hot rod culture), bridges each segment via animated interludes and accompanied by the surf music of the Sadies. Tales of the Rat Fink does an excellent job immersing us in the custom car culture, how it came to be and its distinctive characteristics. This documentary takes a nostalgic look back at a time when cars had their own distinctive look; they were works of art - something that is missing today in our current homogenous culture. Its unorthodox approach may put off some but it does mirror the gonzo the look of Roth's artwork and takes it away from the stuffy confines of traditional documentaries.

"Big Daddy Lives!" is a rare, archival interview with Roth who talks about how he designs cars and the criteria he used to do this. This extra provides fascinating insight into the man and his work.

"Ratfink Reunion." To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Rat Fink, Roth and Von Dutch did a customized paint job on a car together. It's great to see these two artists doing what they do best.

"Big Daddy's Garage" features galleries of his rough sketches for t-shirt designs, stills from the 2006 Detroit Autorama that featured a collection of many of Roth's classic cars, samples from the Rat Fink comic strip, and other artists' interpretation of Rat Fink.

"Interview with director Ron Mann." A friend turned him onto Roth's work in the 1990s and in 2000 he decided to make a film about the man but when he died suddenly in 2001 Mann shelved the project. A few years later, he got the idea to tell Roth's story from the point-of-view of his cars.

"Deleted Scene" is a brief clip that shows the Rat Fink merchandise explosion with model kits, t-shirts, hats, etc.

Also included is the theatrical trailer.

Finally, there is a music video for the Sadies who provided the music for the documentary. It's animated and features Rat Fink with members of the band.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fitting Tribute to THE Rat Fink, January 18, 2007

By 

Trebor Anthony (Milwaukee) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tales of the Rat Fink (DVD)

A respectful homage to Ed Roth by those who knew , and loved him. If you are a fan ,you should have this already.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old School, March 8, 2007

By 

Wild Bill (Mo.-U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of the Rat Fink (DVD)

I grew up in the 60's-70's & Im still a motor head,It brings back the good old days,if you don't know what went on in those days,you will find it fascinating < far out-cool > I always wonderd about Ed Roths real life,now I know.Anybody else out there??