Animated Shorts Day!
Thanks to the people at the TIFF Lightbox theatre.
So! First of all there was:
I'm kind of wondering why this short was nominated. It seemed to be trying too hard with stereotypical Simpsons jokes and the shots chosen (on a 2D screen) were quite obviously trying to play for stereoscopic 3D. Having Hans Zimmer do the soundtrack for this short was unexpected, and it stands out in a good way on a certain scene where I am convinced James L Brooks did what sometimes appeared in the Simpsons, wherein a character is directly imitating the acting in a scene from a great work of cinema/theatre. It looks jarring placed next to the usual Simpsons animation. The Simpsons Movie did a better job for Oscars.
Then there was:
Aaand I loved this. The animation in this one wasn't entirely smooth. It looked like some scenes were just slightly faded keys and others were fully inbetweened, however the faded-keys only ever happened when the character (Either Adam or Dog) was very, very small in the shot.
Which, I will say, was a lot. This film was made to be seen on a giant screen. The layouts were beautiful, looking very similar to Impressionist paintings, and in many shots they were the focus. The characters were so small in screen I question how this may transfer to television or even smaller computer monitors. As a storytelling device, however, I loved it. I did also like the interaction between Dog and Adam (and the acting was truly what one could expect being the 'first man' and 'first dog' meeting up at the time). The film was also slowly paced, but seemed more like it was meant to tell the audience to be patient rather than trying to stretch time. I really enjoyed the color palette used, and when Adam is (inevitably) kicked out of Eden, and it presents a truly bleak picture of things. The subtle suggestion and transfer of the bright, colourful garden to this scene is also very well done, and very quiet. The poses and acting are great, and I'm almost sure the entire thing was done using pencil-and-paper, which is just amazing. Thumbs up.
Next was Fresh Guacamole by PES who I'm sure released this short earlier last year (possibly even earlier than that) as I have seen this clip before. The audience (which was notably older, and notably rich, although that may have been because it was a Friday Afternoon) laughed the most at this, probably because they were delighted at what non-food props were used to fill in for ingredients. I think this short was entirely meant as a technical stretch. PES did another short before this: 'Western Spaghetti' using the same style, same 'props as food' thing, and this worked out nicer. I was entertained, but I'm not sure this deserves an Oscar for it.
Paperman I've seen before Wreck-It Ralph, and in this I was quite pleased with the animation. It was smooth, masterful, and that weird combination of 2d and CG that it invented. I enjoyed the humor and acting more, and Disney knows how to be snappy when it comes to set up and punchline jokes. The first time I saw it I wasn't big on 'magic paper airplanes' but whatever, the music makes it all 'It's oh so magical!' and my heart was all 'Look the world is helping them be together!' so I'm pleased but not in shock over this short.
Head Over Heels is about an old man and his wife living on separate planes of gravity in the same house. It was fun to see the execution of this story, and stop motion is always fun, although I wasn't sold either way from it. I enjoyed how the story was resolved, which was creative, and I hope the people who worked on it get their due recognition. Not sure if it deserves and Oscar.
And those are the noms! I'd like Adam and Dog to win, but I have a feeling Paperman will, being so progressive in sticking 2D on 3D and being in black-and-white-40's land. If not, then Paperman will win the technical Oscar and, Adam and Dog will win the Oscar in general.
