For the last several years I have gone to see the Academy Award nominated shorts--both live action and animated. This year is a first for the animated category in that as we sat watching, I overheard a lot of murmurs about how bad the nominees were. The folks watching seemed, at times, genuinely mad at the choices. Fortunately, after three very sub-par films, the final three were excellent and it seems pretty clear that the race is between "La Luna" and "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore". And, like the last couple years, following these nominees, they showed some animated shorts that were not nominees but were sort of like runners up--and the folks I talked to preferred these films to several of the nominees.
"Wild Life" is another of the animated shorts that left me flat this year....VERY, VERY flat. While I appreciated the art style (using a paint on glass technique perfected by the likes of Aleksandr Petrov), I have seen several artists who simply did this much better. Unfortunately, the art is the best aspect of this confusing film. It's about a Brit who moves to the Canadian wilderness to become a cowboy but he instead freezes to death! The audience was aghast and confused--and I'm with the audience on this one. Why was this nominated? Who wants to see a film like this? What is the point? Was it THAT slow a year for animation that this apparently mean-spirited film was among the very best?! I sure hope not...
"Wild Life" is another of the animated shorts that left me flat this year....VERY, VERY flat. While I appreciated the art style (using a paint on glass technique perfected by the likes of Aleksandr Petrov), I have seen several artists who simply did this much better. Unfortunately, the art is the best aspect of this confusing film. It's about a Brit who moves to the Canadian wilderness to become a cowboy but he instead freezes to death! The audience was aghast and confused--and I'm with the audience on this one. Why was this nominated? Who wants to see a film like this? What is the point? Was it THAT slow a year for animation that this apparently mean-spirited film was among the very best?! I sure hope not...