This short mockumentary looks at the career of Mr. Director – a man who has had his highs and lows within the industry, most of which he is happy to talk about in this film (well, apart from his short film phase – give a man his dignity). We hear from the man himself, while also seeing clips from his vast body of work.
I do like a good stop-motion film; and probably due to growing up around the time Wallace & Gromit were getting going, I do tend to like ones using plasticine materials since it reminds me of them. It is not the only thing that reminds me of those Aardman animations here, because the style of humor, with the accents and the very British way, also reminds me of it. Technically the animation is really well done, very smooth, very good attention to detail, and well coordinated with camera movements to give the film a visual energy that is not easy to create when moving one frame at a time. All of this side I really liked.
In terms of the material though, the film always felt too broad for me. The jokes being affectionate I didn't mind, it was just that they were mostly fairly simple and didn't get me laughing – okay I snorted air down my nose a couple of times, but otherwise it didn't really make a mark. This isn't helped by the arc of the short having no build to speak of, which is highlighted by the rather weak ending it has. It is a shame because the animation is so good that it looks like it should be funnier than it is, but it didn't fly with me, although the broadness of the material does mean it is still generally amusing.