OIAF 2008: Shorts Competition 5
Short Films Compete At Ottawa Internation Animation Festival
Sep 24, 2008
(Writer's Note: Due to a time conflict with the Richard Williams interview, I was unable to catch the Shorts Competition 4, so I won't be reviewing that one.)
The Upside
Felix Massie's "Keith Reynolds Can't Make It Tonight" was a wickedly funny examination of one man's hopes and dreams on Promotion Day. The dry voice-over sold this short, perfectly underselling the mayhem onscreen.
If you like Dan Piraro or M.C. Escher's art (guilty!), then Koji Yamamura's "Kodomo No Keijijogaku (A Child's Metaphysics)" is for you. Yamamura's imagination was fresh and unexpected, and showcased an excellent mix of pathos and fun.
Once again, advertisers unleashed some imaginative and witty work. Mike Foran's "Agent" short for Net 10 cell phones depicted the Legion of Evil reluctantly acknowledging that their current cell phone provider was nastier than they were. David Hulin's "Carrier Pigeon" for FedEx was as much live-action as animation, but brilliantly showed the limits of the noble carrier pigeon.
Jan Lachauer & Max Lang's undergraduate animation "Sápmi" brought an ancient Scandinavian myth to life, telling the story of how darkness and evil entered the world. Richard Negre's "En Attendant (Waiting For)" was that rare breed: an interesting experimental/abstract animation.
David Wachtenheim & Glen Steinmacher spoofed Dora the Explorer in their hilarious short "Maraka." The duo brilliantly sent up the essential elements from the popular children's series, while dropping in some of the greatest non sequitors ever put on film. Lines like "Does this look like a girl or a guy?" and "Do you know why my father left me?" generated some of the biggest laughs of the night.
From the 'WTF' file came Bonzom Bonzom's music video for Mika's "Lollipop." The 3:11 short featured Little Red Riding Hood being pursued through various kaleidoscopic landscapes. Let's not discuss the connotations of the repeated phrase "sucking hard on the lollipop" and just enjoy the psychedelic ride.
However, that short paled next to the sheer weirdness unleashed in Yuichi Ito's spot "Bru Bru Dance" for Blueberry Eye. Featuring the product's mascot, a blueberry fairy called Mr. Buru Buru, it was a 30 second animated sequence that ripped straight past 'surreal' and entered some bizarre netherworld that Salvador Dali could only dream of entering.
The Downside
Matthieu Buchalski, Jean-Michel Drechsler & Thierry Onillon's "Camera Obscura" was initially intriguing but overstayed its welcome by about 2 minutes, while Helder K. Sun's "The Idiot Stinks" was simply incoherent and ultimately boring.
But the Wall of Shame entry goes to Don Hertzfeldt's "I Am So Proud of You." He made his point about the futility of life within the first 30 seconds of the short, but unfortunately used the next 19.5 minutes to pound it home. The use of Stephen Wright-style non sequitors was occasionally amusing, but speedily wore out its welcome (besides, if the real Stephen Wright is still going, why do we need pallid imitations?).
There will eventually be an excellent short about people who see their relatives go crazy, and worry that it might one day happen to them. Unfortunately, this ain't it. Hertzfeldt didn't make his character sympathetic, and that turned what could've been a great short into self-indulgent wankery of the first degree.
Yes, Don, life sucks. Get a ******* helmet.
And the Oscar Goes To . . . Just Kidding
The winner was Smith & Foulkes' short "This Way Up," which followed the misadventures of two undertakers as they went through Hell (sometimes literally) in order to get an elderly lady to her final resting place. The blend of droll character animation, vivid imagination, and black British humour was irresistible. Definitely keep an eye on these two blokes.
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