Review by David Anthony
Each year the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes on short films in two categories, animated and live action. Last year’s entries were discussed
separately by me and my colleague, Dennis Morton. Today I assess some Oscar nominated animated entries.
The animated shorts were subdivided into two segments, animated shorts and additional animated shorts, totaling 10 films in all. Animated films represent a wide range of visual possibilities, from dazzling imagery to relatively simply sketched, plot-driven originals. There is something for everyone in this set, films awash in color and spare chiaroscuro creations, heavy on dark and light, using sequences evoking the era of black and white. Some have dialogue while others do not. Some feature human figures while others are like fables, with animals appearing with human characteristics, with or without words.
My hands down favorite was Me and My Moulton by Torill Kove, a 14 minute Canada/English offering. Me and My Moulton is narrated by a young Norwegian middle child who with her siblings are children of artist parents who ultimately give her a gift representing something the parents really want and would have bought for themselves, a Moulton bicycle. In telling this tale the viewer sees a slice of life for the society shown.
In the same category but at the other extreme in form is The Dam Keeper, an 18 minute short by Robert Kondo and “Dice” Daisuke Tsutsumi. This is a non-dialogue narrated subject that concentrates on transporting audience members to the domain of a porcine dam keeper who is responsible for protecting his Holland-like village from flooding. This is a fable. The dam keeper attends school during the day along with other animals, but has only one acquaintance who treats him as a friend, Fox. Fox sketches caricatures of his teacher and others and eventually comes to Pig’s aid when he is bullied. Through the interplay of a lush soundtrack that captures the triumphs and travails of adolescence and the wordless sounds of the characters, The Dam Keeper is a tender rumination on friendship and community as the Dam Keeper takes revenge on those who rejected him. The Dam Keeper is far more poignant than I have suggested and that is why it should be seen.
A short short is the 2 minute The Single Life by Netherlanders Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen. This extremely concentrated work is based upon a deceptively simple conceit, the changes that occur in a woman’s life as she listens to a vinyl record. Moving the tone arm back and forth alters time itself, covering all the stages of her life.
These are only a few examples of what is in store in this package. I enjoyed these short animated features enormously. They are only available in short duration screenings. Try to get to see them. You will find them well worth the effort.
This is David H. Anthony.