Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

A Non-Review by Professor Popinjay

I gotta say: I freaking love these.

This is part of The Inventors Specials which I believe are in the same line as The Artists Specials. They’re a series of short films featuring dramatic depictions of various classical artists, musicians, and inventors throughout history. The stories are apocryphal at best and always feature the influence of children in some way. To not call them laughable at times would be a disservice as the tongue-in-cheek storytelling frankly adds to the charm of these specials.

I’ll link my non-reviews I’ve done for the others at the bottom of this article.

Apparently there were no children in Isaac Newton’s life. To appeal to the kid audience, the story of Newton: A Tale of Two Isaacs (yes that is a pluralized proper noun) would be told by a younger Isaac. Not a younger Isaac Newton, mind you, but a different Isaac all together. If I remember correctly I think we eventually learn this Isaac is a descendant of Newton’s assistant or something. Newton was infamously reclusive and kind of a social outcast so I doubt the historical accuracy of this kid’s existence. They should have called this The Tale of Two Isaacs: One Historically Significant, the Other a Fictitious Rando No One Gives a Rats Ass About.

I also doubt the accuracy of the modern New York accent the kid used, as he likely would have sounded more like Charles Emerson Winchester III from the show Mash. No one thought to tell the kid his accent wouldn’t evolve into existence for another 200 years. Who knows, maybe he was the originator of the accent. I shan’t hold it against him though, simply because I found it hilarious. Imagine Oliver Twist being like “Ey! Can’t you see ‘am walkin’ ‘ere! You wanna go! I got yer gravitational pull RIGHT ‘ERE!”

I’m just glad I didn’t have to endure terrible French accents like in the Claude Monet film.

Anywho, these are all great with good lessons and terrible acting which makes them even greater. I fully recommend any film from this series, even if I haven’t seen them yet.

Click here for my non-review of Monet: Shadow and Light: