There's a certain charm to it, but even more, there's the way he creates his effects despite but also from the limitations of the animation.
I'm thinking of M's conversation by the campfire with PJW in The Alt Light episode.
As crude as the animation is, a great deal of mood is squeezed from the campfire setting with a few simple sound effects, background photos, and music. Really, to my mind, he gets as much mood and feeling from that campfire setting as I've seen in any movie. The guy who creates these things is a master of tropes -- dramatic tropes and comedy tropes, but also tropes of mood and setting as in this scene.
Next, there's Murdoch's line delivery. He's so sincere and earnest, with that wispy voice, and so patient with the obtuse PJW. It's amusing, but also touching. I don't know if anyone has used a wispy, soft sort of voice like that this well since Neil Young was recording songs like after the gold rush ages ago.
And then there's the writing. In this scene, Murdoch makes one of the most persuasive cases for ethnonationalism I've ever heard. It's logical, poetic w/o being cringe, and artfully kino in the shot selection and editing. John Ford could not have gotten more out of this scene than Murdoch-the-filmmaker does.
Then there's his skill as a writer to turn on a dime with PJW's brain force line.
Then there's the animation -- it's funny and kind of amazing how much is conveyed by something like PJW's eyebrow movements, but there it is.
The whole scene plays on a fine edge between ludicrous and touching. It's beautifully done, by a natural-born dramatist with a flair for comedy and an interestingly twisty sensibility.
