On Saturday night Karen and I met up at the Tivoli for shorts showcase. They were running both short animation and short fiction as separate programs, but back to back.
The EmCees were William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, who won the Oscar last year.
Overall, I enjoyed the showcase, and I thought all the films were deserving. Interestingly enough, none of the films relied on dialog, which Karen and I discussed this at the end of the showcase. She would like dialog, but a large part of the appeal of the genre for me is that dialog isn't necessary. She made the argument that since "The Artist" won last year, now does everyone need to make their film silent. But no dialog in animation is nothing new.
And the program went as follows:
1. Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare': Excellent as expected from the Simpson's team. No dialog, but several jokes on posters/signs in the background. I remember the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" from a Treehouse of Horror episode or something a long time ago. The story was cute and fun, and there was a unified gasp from everyone in the big theater at a plot point near the end. Executed perfectly as expected from seasoned vets, but I don't think the academy will let Simpson's win.
2. Adam and Dog. At 16 minutes, this was too long, and it seemed to drag on. I appreciate that it was all cels and that a person actually painted all those pictures and exposed each one. I also appreciated the details in the man, such as the hair on the back of his hands, and also the exclusion of details, as in his swinging junk. Some of the walking movements were a little wonky, but again, this definitely did not have the smoothing aid of a computer. The sound was superb! Especially the wind sequences and leaves rustling. I was expected a credit from a film school at the end, but that wasn't the case, which surprised me. It just had a student film/thesis feel to it to me. I also had a problem that the Eve character who showed up with full perky breasts and long reddish hair.
3. Fresh Guac: Cute and creative, but not a winner. Clocking in a two minutes, it also had a student film feel to it. It was exectued well, and I enjoyed the creative inclusion of the "ingredients" such as Monolopy houses and colored die of various sizes, pool balls, Christmas lights, golf balls, and Trivial Pursuit pies. But again, student film feel, maybe trying out a few different in camera techniques.
4. Head Over Heels: Loved this. And this is my vote for the win. Perfect length of story but didn't feel rushed or sluggish. And I liked the story, too.
5. Paperman: Allegedly, this one seems to have the buzz about it that it will be the winner. I personally have a problem with Disney. I do not like the look of their artwork: Big doe-eyed characters, perfect-figure females. I was drawn into the story initially, but then I was just kind of put-off when then paper planes were dancing cutely behind the man and finally leading him and the girl to each other.
The showcase concluded with a few honorable mentions:
6. Dripped: It was from France, and in my opinion, was one of the best one of the night! I don't know why it wasn't nominated. I liked the artwork, the storyline, and the flying sequences and the general depressed feeling I could identify with in the main character. The premise is an art thief eats the paintings and turns into them/gets powers from them. When he has eaten all the famous paintings he has stolen, he tries to paint his own and ends up puking (hahaha!)
7. The Gruffalo's Child: I was a bit worried when I learned this one clocked in at 27 minutes, but those 27 minutes went by in a flash. All-star voice cast, excellently executed, smooth animation. Awesome sequences and sound with the snow/blizzard and the ice breaking on the lake. A cute story, to boot. I laughed out loud several times. Not sure why this one wasn't nominated as well.
8. I have a feeling there was another honorable mention that I am failing to recall/include.
I kind of had a headache by the end of the showcase, probably because I ate so much popcorn and was incredibly salted up. I passed on staying for the short fiction showcase, which was the right choice as I had a bitchin' migraine by the time I got home.
I might go back later in the week to check out of the short fiction showcase.
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