Animation, Art, and Other Shiny Things
A detective tale with a jazzy soundtrack and… chickens. Simple animation but a fun romp.
In true hard-boiled detective style, a rooster tries to find the thief of the egg that was stolen from his chicken. Soon all traces point towards the farmer. But before the egg can be saved from becoming hard-boiled itself, the rooster and his chicken have to fight the farmer’s cat for it. Spectacular action, including a fight, a chase, and the birth of a new chicken.
Directed by Arjan Wilschut
The animation is just beautiful and atmospheric, and the story is surprisingly rich and touching. Set in London’s Trafalgar Square, a starving corpse meets a pigeon with a broken wing who insists on befriending him.
Written by James Pout and directed by Gergely Wootsch.
This is the second of two (so far) shorts set in a small village with a church that has a problem with attendance, or rather, the lack thereof. In this one, the priest may, or may not, have induced a bit of a windy path to heaven. (One can never tell in these situations.)
For general information Fluctus is Latin for a flow or billow, or possibly disorder. Many apply here.
Animated by Stefan Vogt at Filmbilder.
This is one of two (so far) shorts in the same village where the church has a bit of a time getting the parishioners to attend service. Figuring to take a page from Arthurian legends, the priest brings out to the square a sword caught in a stone. (Well, a Gladius. A Roman short sword.)
Animated and directed by Stefan Vogt via Filmbilder.
I’ve spent a lot of time on the Pacific coast over the years and, no matter the weather, there is always wind. This short spends a day on a uniquely whimsical, and very blowy, shoreline populated with odd characters and creatures. My impression is of Shel Silverstein art animated by Sally Cruikshank. There are lots of fun details in this little film, so keep a sharp eye.
Music is the jazz classic Sea Journey by Chick Corea and done by Daniil Kramer and Alexei Kuznetsov. Animated by Ivan Maximov.
Tortov Roddle quietly adventures from one unique destination to another.
This beautifully whimsical animation was originally created in pieces, 6 of them for this short. Part of this animation was set to Pink Floyd’s The Narrow Way off their Ummagumma album.
Animated by Kunio Katou, who also did House of Small Cubes.
Jim is determined to conquer his extensive list of phobias by bringing them all home with him.
From the folks at Bat Collective.
In a near future, a lonely man is addicted to a product called ‘’Best Friend” which offers him perfect virtual friends.
I was born at a time when phones had actual dials and mail required a stamp. (My imaginary friend says that I’m old. Being a mature being, I stuck my tongue out at them.) In that short space of time our technology has raced into realms I’d only read about in science fiction stories. In many cases, the stories were conservative in their estimations of the future and we’ve blown right past their predictions.
With the speed we’ve attained these new heights, we still have feet of clay when it comes to guarding ourselves from the often unintended consequences of new technology. It’s not that tech is the culprit, the issue lies with ourselves. As our civilization’s tools mature, so do we need to advance along with it. So far we’ve been lucky.
This film won the ‘Best Student Film’ at the 2019 Annie Awards, the animation equivalent of an Oscar. From Gobelins School of Images in Paris, France.
A simple story of making friends that hits you right in the feels.
A Pixar SparkShort directed by Rosana Sullivan.
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