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Review #402 of 365
Movie Review of The 2006 Academy Award®-Nominated Animated Short Films (2006)
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 18 February 2007
Time: 3:10 p.m.
Movie Review of The Danish Poet (2006) [NR] 14 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Website
Directed by: Torill Kove (My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts)
Written by: Torill Kove (My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts)
Featured Voice Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Liv Ullman (The Long Shadow)
Former Academy Award®-nominee Torrill Kove in 2000 is back with a nomination for her animated film The Danish Poet narrated exquisitely by the incredible Liv Ullman. This animated film is a precious gem that hope to shed some light on the randomness of our existence in this universe by tracing back the ancestors of one young woman back two generations and the chance circumstances that led to her parents meeting in the first place. The story is both ethereal and scientific as it unravels the spools of life that form the intersecting web of threads holding these people together. It all begins with a Danish Poet named Kaspar who leaves Denmark for a holiday in Norway where he hopes to meet his favorite Norwegian author (she's originally from Denmark) for inspiration. Along the way, he takes refuge on a farm and meets a young woman with whom he falls in love. Unfortunately, she is already betrothed to another man. She vows not to cut her hair until they meet again. Miles of hair later, her husband is killed accidentally by a falling cow, and she is free. Alas, her letter to Kaspar is eaten by a goat. Don't lose hope they will meet again. The story is charming, witty, and brimming with little inside animation jokes designed to tickle the funny bone especially of those of Scandinavian origin. Liv Ullman does a splendid job of narration and voice characterizations when the characters do occasionally speak. Where I would not give the film the highest marks is in the area of technical animation itself which is fairly unsophisticated and nearly storybook-like. It works for this tale, I suppose, but when compared to the technical achievements of animated films today, it falls a bit short.
Movie Review of The Little Matchgirl (2006) [NR] 7 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
DVD Release Date: already released on the 2006 Platinum Edition DVD of The Little Mermaid
Directed by: Roger Allers (Open Season
Written by: Hans Christian Andersen
If this film bears a strong resemblance to the animation style of Disney® before Pixar® animated films in its animation style that's because it was originally made as part of the ill-fated Fantasia re-make that was never completed and released. Instead, the shorts made for the film have been released as stand alone short films. Re-telling the classic Hans Christian Andersen story of a little girl that survives by selling match sticks and how she imagines her life one cold evening as she strikes each match to generate heat to keep warm, this beautifully rendered animated film reclaims the classic story for a new generation. The dark color scheme was fitting though dreary at times.
Movie Review of Maestro (2006) [NR] 5 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.50
Film's Official Website
Directed by: Géza M. Tóth (Ikarosz)
Written by: Géza M. Tóth
Featured Voice Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Ákos Ambrus (debut) • Imre Madácsi (debut) • Attila Pacsay (debut)
A robotic arm carefully concocts to exact specifications a blended cocktail and sets it on the counter top. It then switches on the mirror lights revealing a green room where the Maestro awaits make-up and preparation for his performance. With mechanical precision, the robotic arm primps and preps every fine detail of the bird-like, tuxedo-wearing star. This highly humorous, CGI-animated film has a whimsical and delightful ending twist that won't be spoiled here, suffice it to say, it will cause a chuckle and a wink for its brilliance. This would be, of the nominees presented in the collection, the best of the bunch by far when it comes to everything that one hopes to see in an animated short: cutting edge technology, great visual effects, wonderful story, and delightful ending.
Movie Review of No Time For Nuts (2006) [NR] 5 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.25
Directed by: Chris Renaud (debut) • Mike Thurmeier (debut)
Written by: Chris Renaud (debut)
Featured Voice Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Chris Wedge (Robots)
First introduced to audiences in the previews for the animated film, Ice Age, some might argue that Scrat (half squirrel / half rat) is the real star of the franchise. He appeared again in Ice Age: The Melt Down, again to rave reviews. Fitting, therefore, it seems that he get his own animated short treatment, this time in a little time travel escapade in Not Time for Nuts directed by Chris Renaud and Mike Thurmeier both with Ice Age experience. The concept for the story is that Scrat will find an acorn to covet—his usual. This time, however, he will also stumble upon a time machine device that will transport him back and forth in time as he travels to protect the acorn from falling into any one else's hands or mouth for that matter. The story is clever and amusing, perhaps not as much as his previous misadventures, but with an even more clever and frustrating ending for the little chap as usual. The CGI-animation is flawless as usual. Unfortunately, the draw back is that there's nothing new in it. The redundancy of Scrat's experiences makes his tales grow a bit tiresome after a awhile. This one is nearly salvaged to encourage another run by the twist ending.
For inexplicable reasons, the final nominee, Lifted by director Gary Rydstrom was not included in the animated short film presentation reel and, therefore, could not be reviewed herein. Based on only these four, the winner of the award should go to Maestro as the best union between the techniques and the story.
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