Not Without My Handbag
Not Without My Handbag is a 1993 short comedy horror film created by animator Boris Kossmehl at Aardman Animations. The film is about a deceased aunt who forgets to take a proper handbag on her journey to Hell.
| Not Without My Handbag | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Boris Kossmehl |
| Produced by | Christopher Moll |
| Written by | Boris Kossmehl Andrea Friedrich |
| Starring | Geraldine McEwan Andrea Friedrich Alain Debray Robert Booth |
| Music by | Julian Nott |
| Cinematography | Andy MacCormack Fred Reed |
| Edited by | David McCormick |
Production company | Aardman Animations Channel Four Films |
| Distributed by | Channel 4 Television Corporation (1993) (UK) (TV) Manuel Salvador (all media) |
Running time | 13 min |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
Plot
A girl lives with her aunt in a small house. One day, the aunt gets late for a washing machine payment. When reading the contract, she finds that “on non-payment of installments, the contractee shall go to Hell without further notice.” She makes a phone call for a devil who lives in Hell and when he arrives, he kills her by giving her a heart attack and the girl witnesses her getting dropped to Hell and puts her dead body under a grave she had made. Meanwhile, while falling down the yellow spiral that leads to Hell, the aunt feels that she has forgotten something and starts to return to find out what it is, avoiding the devil. When returning as a skeleton, she explains to her niece that she forgot to take her treasured accessory, a proper handbag. That night, the devil returns and transforms into a handbag when eating the handbag. He causes havoc around the house: he attacks and eats a mouse, and knocks the food in the refrigerator, until the girl catches him, but the devil kidnaps her in the washing machine. The next morning, the aunt looks for her handbag and she finds the devil torturing her niece in the washing machine and says that the monster is a very cheap imitation. The devil says he will give her a cheap imitation and starts dragging her to Hell again, but the girl stops him with a bakery’s worth of food. The devil eats the pastries and grows big and fat. The girl feeds him a chocolate éclair and the devil explodes releasing the handbag and land in front of its owner’s feet. The aunt says she would visit anytime her niece wants, remember to always read the small prints before she buys and also to avoid any cheap imitations. She and the girl bid each other farewell.
Cast
- Geraldine McEwan as The Aunt
- Andrea Friedrich as The Girl
- Alain Debray as The Devil / The Handbag
- Robert Booth as Newsreader
Critical reception
German review site AllesFilm said Not Without My Handbag was "one of the best Aardman short films", and complemented its humour, visuals, deranged tone, and "genius fun".[1]