Head over Heels (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
1/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Short (Timothy Reckart, Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly).
Watched January 28, 2014.
Head Over Heels is a claymation, stop motion animated short that has a really cute concept. It is about an older couple who has obviously been together for a long time--so long that they have forgotten what it means to be in love. The symbolism for this is a little unique and extremely obvious--Walter lives on the floor and Madge lives on the ceiling. They may share the same fridge, but that is about it. One day, their house literally falls out of the sky and they are forced to reassess the way they have been viewing their relationship.
While the concept is cute (and solid), the execution is not. It seems more like an exercise in animation than a success at story telling. What could have been told in less than five minutes instead is told in eleven and we spend a long time watching the couple fight over a picture, vacuum the floor, fiddle with antennas, and take a walk outside. It is hard to make their faces communicate their emotions, and after watching ParaNorman (another nominated film that I will be reviewing next week), the animation seems extremely lacking.
I really enjoyed the concept of this film, and it was certainly cute, but it is sad when an eleven minute short is too boring. Unless you are studying stop motion animation and/or claymation, I would not recommend this film to you.
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