Sammy Verni’s stop animated short, Low Down Larry Versus the Reptiles, harkens back to the B-movie sci-fi adventures of the 50s and 60s lost world. Larry and his dog Spike are on an adventure across time as their time machine lands them in prehistoric times. Their mission is to capture a dinosaur…with their dinosaur net…and bring it back to the present. Simple, right? But our intrepid heroes are not alone.
It takes a particular love of stop-motion animation to make a stop-motion animation film. Sammy Verni has that love, and his heart and soul just shine from start to finish. What’s clear in Low Down Larry Versus the Reptiles is that Verni understands his limitations regarding budget and resources and has a plan to overcome them.

“Their mission is to capture a dinosaur…with their dinosaur net…”
Low Down Larry Versus the Reptiles is chock full of dino-puppets. One battle between T-Rex and Stegosaurus reminds me of that iconic scene in Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Detail is key here. The puppets may not be the quality of a Henry Sellick or Laika Studios, but they are a hell of a lot better than I can do. The time machine build is outstanding. Verni gives enough detail to create identifiable characters and monsters and enough background to tell us where we are.
Most scenes feature two moving characters, but the count sometimes goes up to four dinos on screen. The minimal use of CG accents his fantastic animation, and the soundtrack and sound design elevate the entire story. Verni excels at stringing along a series of simple animated scenelets to create a fully fleshed story.
My only complaint is in the third act of the seven-minute animated short. In my opinion, it would have been better if the antagonist’s motivation was fleshed out a little more. Why is he known as Low Down Larry? Either way, this seven-minute animated short packs a lot of punch in the end.