SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Good concept, poorly executed.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The Search For Animal Chin is a skateboarding movie, directed by Stacy Peralta, and starring members of The Bones Brigade, a globally popular skateboarding team who formed in the late 80's, and continued to dominate the skateboarding scene until the mid 90's. After releasing two prior videos, 'The Bones Brigade Video Show', and 'Future Primitive', Peralta wanted to make a movie that was less commercialized, but at the same time more ambitious, complete with a story, and acting. The plot is as follows: The creator of skateboarding, an bearded Asian named 'Animal' Chin has gone missing, and the Bones Brigade, a group of young skaters, set out to find him. The plot is light on depth, but it conveys a general message about how skateboarding became by that time overblown and commercialized, and encourages skating for fun, not money or popularity. The dialogue is very loose and almost entirely improvised, with only a very vague script from surfing journalist Paul Gross. As well as that, the Bones Brigade members don't show much acting ability, and you can see that in some scenes that they are extremely tired and physically exhausted. Despite this, the humor works, in a very camp way, and a lot of the jokes are based around what the Bones Brigade members joked about off set in real life, so some skaters may be able to relate to the humor. But the real star of the show however, is the skateboarding itself, which makes up the majority of the movie. The Bones Brigade and friends are on top form here, and show the very best of their talents. Especially notable is a young Tony Hawk, who proceeds to dominate the final sequence with amazing trick variety, and style to match. The filming also showcases talent, with some of the first moving camera shots in a skateboarding video (Stacy Peralta came up with this concept), which is now a mainstream staple of all skateboard videos. In all, The Search For Animal Chin is a fun ride which isn't meant to be taken seriously, that also showcases some great skateboarding with an all star cast of riders. So leave your seriousness at the door, do a bunsen over the junsen, and give it a watch.

As far as the Bones Brigade goes, many skaters know this movie as one of the best films Stacy Peralta has directed by far. But as a FEMALE Bones Brigade fan, I enjoy this movie more than any female skate enthusiast should (and I have watched well over 20+ times now).With many hilarious scenes and fantastic skating, what's not to remember about this movie? It's a given that skaters aren't actors, but with improv dialogue from the Brigade, it's always guaranteed for a laugh, especially from Lance Mountain.Check out the movie whether you're a skater or not, it's worth watching & very quotable.

There were indeed several other Bones Brigade videos, as other reviewers have mentioned. The full list is: Bone Brigade Video Show (1984) Future Primitive (1985) Animal Chin (1987) Public Domain (1988) Ban This (1989) Propaganda (1990) Eight (1991) Celebraty Tropical Fisdh (1991) Hot Batch (1992) Chaos (1992) Play (1993) Suburban Diners (1994) Scenic Drive (1995) Strip Mall heroes (1998) Magic (1999) Animal Chin is certainly the best one in my book. I think the "classic" Bones Brigade videos ended with "Ban This," depending on how you define classic.The videos are all available on Powell Peralta's web site.

The Search for Animal Chin is a skateboarding classic for those of us skating in the 1980's. This video was a huge followup to the Bone's Brigade's other videos like Future Primitive. Animal Chin was a huge leap in production value from their prior videos and was highly anticipated as it featured the most insane wooden dual half-pipe superstructure the world had ever seen. We go on a journey with the Bones Brigade as they search for the elusive "Animal Chin". The journey takes us through multiple locations including Hawaii, San Francisco's Chinatown, Vegas, a backyard half-pipe in Texas, and their ultimate destination in Guadalupe.The Bones Brigade is at their peak with hilarious performances from Lance Mountain and endearing scenes with the likes of Guerrero, McGill, and some heart warming moments with Tony Hawk. Well, okay, this video is not about acting but skating, and loads of it is there to be had! Besides featuring the Bones Brigade, there are many other skaters who make appearances including skaters that just happened to be around during the shoots. An improvisational style is held throughout.Highlights include a skate party at Johnny Rad's in Vegas with hor'deurves served on skateboards, a converted car scene, and an impromptu skate at a hotel which just happens to have an empty pool in the back, convenient, huh? The final skating scenes on the giant ramp were the epitome of vertical skating at that time. Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Cabellero and the rest of the crew perform mind blowing vertical tricks, set against a backdrop of freshly laid plywood curves and sun.Only nitpick for me was the notable absences of freestyle skaters, Rodney Mullen and Kevin Harris. Mullen was my hero growing up and I remember being disappointed that he only participated in about 2 shots in the film. His skating is legendary.These videos were all about the skating and having a good time with friends. We spent many, many afternoons watching these, getting inspiration, and skating afterwords. For myself and many of my friends, this video marked the beginning of the end of the Bones Brigade and Peralta videos as we headed off to college and became "grownups". However, moments from Animal Chin have stuck with me (having watched it 100's of times!) and I can recite them to this day, cornmelia!