Jamie Daily

Paperman (2012) Review | Jamie Daily

Paperman (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Best Animated Short Film (John Kahrs).
Watched March 4, 2014.

 

Paperman is one of the cutest shorts ever and the clear winner from the 2013 nominations.  It is a black and white short with little to no dialogue and a love story involving paper airplanes that takes up a whopping seven minutes of time.

 

The story opens in old school New York City on a man and a woman at a train station.  The man in his suit and his stack of papers and the woman with red lipstick engage in a tangle with papers blown by wind, and then suddenly the woman boards a train and disappears.  A turn of fate finds them just across the street from one another at their end destinations and, convinced that she is The One, the man employs his killer paper airplane skills to try to catch her attention.

 

The story is cute, quirky, and magical.  It does not waste its seven minutes and nor does it over pack them.  There is just enough repetitive action to create a tension the audience can feel, and then as if in response to the viewers, the man changes course into something unexpected and humorous.  

 

Seven minutes of this cute film is certainly not a waste of time.  I definitely recommend it, and it is very easily found online.  Enjoy!

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (2012) Review | Jamie Daily

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Short (David Silverman).
Watched February 13, 2014.

 

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" is a very cute animated short that is right up my alley.  I have been a fan of The Simpsons since I was a kid (much to the chagrin of my mother) but have not watched it in a few years.  Watching this short was very nostalgic and wonderful.

 

The short is without dialogue.  Marge brings Maggie to a very Simpsons-like daycare where she goes through airport style security and has a brain scan that labels her as average.  She joins the "nothing special" kids in a dank corner, with the kid who eats paste, and the baby who loves squishing butterflies with a wooden mallet.  Maggie discovers a caterpillar friend and soon realizes that it will shortly turn into a butterfly.  She must save her little friend from the evil baby!

 

The animation is a step up from your average Simpsons.  It was released in theaters in 3D, but even in 2D it captures shadows and colors that are not normally a part of the Simpsons world.  The story is cute and well executed.  It is a very short short, but it takes no time at all to feel a connection with Maggie and a dislike of the evil mallet carrying baby.  

 

This short is so cute and, well, short that I find no hesitation in recommending you see it.  It is readily available online and if you like The Simpsons, I see no reason why this animation should evade your attention.

 

Head over Heels (2012) Review | Jamie Daily

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.

   

 

Fresh Guacamole (2012) Review | Jamie Daily

Fresh Guacamole (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Short Film-Animated (PES).
Watched January 10, 2014.

 

Fresh Guacamole, the shortest short ever nominated for an Oscar, is a technically sound stop motion film by PES.  A film that once went viral online, somehow, amazingly, garnered recognition from the Academy.

 

PES is well known on YouTube and other internet sites for producing some quality content, and this two minute feast is no different.  It doesn't make any grand statements, although perhaps it was meant to, but instead practices film techniques and the art of stop motion to a T.  

 

If you know how to make guacamole, or if you enjoy eating guacamole, or if art is in your DNA, you will probably enjoy this film.  It takes the simple process of making guacamole but replaces the food items with (mostly) every day objects.  The avocado is a grenade and the pit is a pool ball.  The chips are poker chips and the tomatoes are tomato pin cushions.  The human hands and avocado inards, as well as a few other items are as they should be, but the diced up tomato becomes red dice, the onion (a baseball) becomes dice as well, and so on.

 

The two minute short is slightly entertaining, mostly interesting, and pulls at a curious side of humanity that enjoys every day objects being used other than they should be.  For example, I have always loved The Borrowers (a book and also a movie about tiny little people who live in the walls of houses), partly because of how they use human items in such interesting ways--thimbles as large drinking glasses, and so on.  

 

If you have two spare minutes, I would encourage you to watch the video below to see flawless technique and a cute spin on a simple Mexican treat.

 

Adam and Dog (2012) Review

Adam and Dog (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominate for Best Animated Short Film (Minkyu Lee).
Watched October 8, 2013.

Photo Source: Lasso The Movies 

Adam and Dog is a cute 17 minute animated short about the first dog and the first man, who have inevitably been best friends since first encounter.  Well, at least the dog thinks so.

 

Dog has been wandering around the Garden of Eden, sniffing, eating, swimming, and sleeping.  He may or may not be searching for his purpose, but as soon as he encounters the tall, naked Adam, his life is fulfilled.  

 

The only dialogue in the short is a brief conversation between man and dog, although it is more of a language that dogs would understand.  The rest is imagery and movement that communicate a simple story.  Adam's other half is Eve, whereas dog's other half is Adam.  They have a short time together just the two of them, but pretty soon Eve steps in and messes everything up for the pup.

 

It's a cute, simple story told with a unique animation style.  My only complaint is its length.  There is a lot of stillness and repetitiveness that drags on a bit.  The relationship between Adam and dog is cute enough to the point that I got sad for dog when Eve showed up.  I appreciated the ending, which I won't give away, but the beginning was way too long for my taste.

 

In the end, I probably won't watch the short again, although I don't consider my first viewing a waste of time.

 

La Luna (2011)

La Luna (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
1/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Short Film--Animated (Enrico Casarosa).
Watched January 4, 2013.

photo source: Whoa, This Is Heavy!

La Luna was an interesting short, but not one of my favorites from Pixar.  Quite the contrary, actually.  There was very little plot or development, very little attachment to the characters, and was more of an exercise in animation than something that should have been up for an Academy Award.

 

Written and directed by Enrico Casarosa, the creator of Up, I was a pretty let down.  It is a coming of age story about Bambino, who is being introduced to the family business for the first time.  He is rowed out to sea with his father and grandpa, who anchor themselves to the moon instead of the ocean floor.  They then climb a ladder and Bambino finds himself on the moon's surface, where it is covered with golden, glowing stars.  His father and grandpa, who seem to always be at odds, teach him that they must sweep, rake, or mop up the stars, depending on their tool of choice.

 

This is essentially the entire plot.  There was zero depth and although the animation was gorgeous and Bambino was cute, there was nothing else to endear me to the story and therefore I am pretty unimpressed with the seven minutes I spent watching it.  The next time I want to watch a short from Pixar, I can guarantee you I will be watching something else.

 

Unless you can find this one for free (I suppose it will accompany Brave, because this is the film it was released with), I would not suggest searching it out.

 

Sources: Whoa, This Is Heavy!, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, 411mania, Paste Magazine, Reeling Reviews

Time Freak (2011)

 

Time Freak (2011)
84th Academy Awards
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Andrew Bowler, Gigi Causey)
Watched October 21, 2012.

 

photo source: Movie Wiseguys

A fairly well done short, Time Freak is a breath of fresh air in the form of comedy amongst its fellow nominees.  Unlike The Shore, it has good timing and a consistent story that answers an age old question about time travel.  

 

A college scientist has done it!  Stillman (Michael Nathanson) has successfully invented a time machine!  When his roommate and best friend Evan (John Conor Brooke) searches him out after not hearing from him in three days, Stillman tells his whole tale.  First he went to the dry cleaners to get his shirt, but the man behind the counter was a jerk and Stillman felt bad about how he treated him, so he went back in time to try and fix it (don't worry, in Stillman's story there are no paradoxes).  This begins his mourned back and forth trying repeatedly to fix the problems and minute details of yesterday.  Evan is understandably concerned and decides to take it into his own hands to fix the situation.

 

The acting is average, the cinematography is basic, and really there is little unique about its creation apart from the semi-clever story line.  This is certainly something that could be made into a feature if more plot twists were incorporated.  However, there was pretty good character development for only a 10 minute film.

 

All in all, if you have some time, this would be a good comedic short to search out.  But then again, if you have a time machine, you have all the time in the world.  

 

Sources: IMDB, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Smells Like Screen Spirit, The Independent Critic, Every Oscar Ever, Movie Wiseguys

Wild Life (2011)

Wild Life (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Short (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby).
Watched September 26, 2012.

 

photo source: Canadian Art Junkie

This Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby animated short is both genius and a boring mess.  There are many reviews online, both positive and negative, and it is easy to understand everyone's perspective.  

 

The animation is incredible.  Each frame is an individual oil painting which results in a constant flickering of color.  It isn't the best when used to animate humans, especially in an era when one has become accustomed to Pixar, but it is reminiscent of impressionist paintings.  

 

It is a story of a British man who moves to Alberta in 1909 to pursue being a rancher.  Really I don't think he was pursuing anything because the only thing we see him do is sit and read or write, although at one point he walks onto a railroad track and shoots a gun.  There are certainly impressive scenes, of which my favorites were in winter when the snow was falling and the stars were out in full force.  

 

As a huge documentary fan, I appreciated the style, which moved from first person narrative in form of letters to interview style with the small town people who greatly disapproved of Englishmen.  

 

The reason I gave it four stars is because, despite the lovely animation and documentary style, the story itself was lacking.  There is very little character development and the ending is just odd.  I found the short very humorous and therefore the ending seemed very inconsistent.  

 

 

 

  Sources: Canadian Art Junkie, 411mania, Lights Camera Jackson, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Reeling Reviews

The Bread Game (1977)

The Bread Game (1977)
50th Academy Awards 1978
5/5 Stars
Nominated for Short Animated Film (Ishu Patel).
Watched September 14, 2012.

 

Surprise!  A short film that is not being posted on Short Movie Monday!  What is this?!  Don't feel gypped, this is a great little five minute short that I think you should all go watch right now!  It is stop motion animation, which is one of my absolute favorites.  It started out a little slowly and immediately I was rash and foolhardy and said, "Oh this is very simple, I could do this.  This might be a long five minutes."  Don't worry, though, I was quickly humbled and in awe of this colorful, intricate, statement piece.

 

The reviews for The Bread Game seem to be in short supply.  It begins with small organisms, but you aren't exactly sure what they are, only that they seem to be chasing each other around and morphing together, then separating into something different, and so on.  Suddenly the organisms become something more--small crustaceans and other ocean life that continue to chase each other and devour one another.  It quickly becomes apparent that this is a type of "circle of life" piece.  The animals progressively get larger and eventually become monkeys and then man.  Once man is introduced, it is no longer about consuming another animal, but about killing other men.  From Cane and Able, to Romans, and onward, it is a statement piece on war and men and humanity.  Animals, for the most part (unless you are a Velociraptor), kill for food and to sustain themselves.  Humans do not.

 

Ishu Patel's use of color pallet and movement are amazing.  There is always motion and a stark contrast between the black background and the light, frolicking movements that represent death as well as life.  The music choice is also very fitting--very tribal and a bit chaotic.  

 

Soure: IMDB

 

 

A Morning Stroll (2011)

A Morning Stroll (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
3/5 Stars
Nominated for Short Animated Film (Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe)
Watched September 19, 2012.

 

photo source: DC Shorts Film Festival

There is so much to say about this short, and yet I will say very little because so much would be given away!  That's the trouble with shorts--7 minutes of film doesn't give a lot of room for mystery in your review.  

 

It is the story of a chicken, but is told from three different eras in three different animation styles.  The animation isn't the best, especially when set next to something done by Pixar, but I enjoyed the change.  It begins in 1959 with black and white silent film style, accompanied by simple stick-figure-like animated characters that are fairly time appropriate.  

 

Next is a longer sequence, perhaps emphasizing a move from the simple into the distracted and chaotic 2009.  Here we are introduced to carelessness, pointless video games, cell phone distraction, and lack of respect.  

 

The last time we visit is 2059.  If you are wondering how the world will look forty-seven years from now, you will have to see this short, as I'm not going to mention anything except that it holds the best animation of the short.  However, it still falls a little flat and I am left in more appreciation of the classic simplicity of the 1959 animation.  

 

There are a lot of laughs and somewhat unexpected turns, complete with a cute, cheesy ending that makes the entire film worth it.  It you can locate this one I definitely suggest you watch it.  I think that any generation will be able to watch it, appreciate it, and connect with it in completely different ways from one another.   

 

 

Sources: DC Shorts Film Festival, 411 Mania, Lights Camera Jackson, Opinionless, Paste Magazine