7/10
An emotionally touching animated short
18 March 2015
"His mask protected me from the cloud, but nothing I had, protected me from the people."

The Dam Keeper is an emotionally engaging animated short co-directed by Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi, which I thought could've upset Disney's candidate (Feast) for the Oscar win this year. The hand painted 2D animation style wasn't my favorite, but the story makes up for it with a lot of heart. The short centers on a young pig who has a very important task. He is the Dam Keeper, in other words he is in charge of operating a large windmill at the entrance of the city which keeps all the pollution out. But that isn't the only darkness that the pig has to face. In school the rest of the kids make fun of him and he is constantly bullied by everyone. This is a darkness which he doesn't know how to face. When a young new fox arrives at the school the two become close and he learns that through drawing he can find a new means of expression. The story is emotionally engaging and we sympathize for the main character and how he is alienated from the rest of the kids. The only dialogue in the film is voiced by a narrator (Lars Mikkelsen), the rest of the story is told through the animation and its accompanying score. There is an interesting resemblance going on between the darkness that the pig faces to protect the city and the darkness he faces in his own personal life. The Dam Keeper is a rare animated film that manages to make an impact on the audience despite its short run time.

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