Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
After a little riesling in the morning, Jim and I went to see an anthology of all of this year's Oscar-nominated animated short films. Due to one very long one with adult themes, they also threw in a few of the (merely) commended ones so that parents who fled with their children before the end would still get their money's worth.
Blind Vaysha - A girl is born with a significant handicap: one eye only sees the past and the other eye only sees the future. Literally, she cannot navigate in the present world. Great idea, interesting 'woodcut' look, but ultimately dissatisfying because the storyteller forgot to end it.
Borrowed Time - A sheriff in the Old West revisits the scene of a childhood trauma. Made by Pixar moonlighters, this is high-quality work, a sad tale told in moody tones.
Pear Cider and Cigarettes - The adult-themed one for its grindingly cynical story wrapped around a nihilistic main character. The most tl;dr thing I've seen in a while.
Pearl - Father, daughter, guitar and car. Eh. Nothing new here. (I've read that this is a VR cartoon so I wonder if the scene with the Roman candle is supposed to echo the grossly-manipulative scenes in 1950's "3-D" movies.)
Piper - A little bird learns to eat. The Pixar submission. Cute, perfect.
And a few 'Commended' ones:
The Head Vanishes - An old lady loses her head. Obvious trope. Meh.
Asteria - The dangers of planting the flag on a new world. Short, snappy outer-space gag.
Once Upon A Line - All doodles and outlines, we watch the timeline of a man-line's day and of a relationship with a female line. Clever and entertaining.
Blind Vaysha - A girl is born with a significant handicap: one eye only sees the past and the other eye only sees the future. Literally, she cannot navigate in the present world. Great idea, interesting 'woodcut' look, but ultimately dissatisfying because the storyteller forgot to end it.
Borrowed Time - A sheriff in the Old West revisits the scene of a childhood trauma. Made by Pixar moonlighters, this is high-quality work, a sad tale told in moody tones.
Pear Cider and Cigarettes - The adult-themed one for its grindingly cynical story wrapped around a nihilistic main character. The most tl;dr thing I've seen in a while.
Pearl - Father, daughter, guitar and car. Eh. Nothing new here. (I've read that this is a VR cartoon so I wonder if the scene with the Roman candle is supposed to echo the grossly-manipulative scenes in 1950's "3-D" movies.)
Piper - A little bird learns to eat. The Pixar submission. Cute, perfect.
And a few 'Commended' ones:
The Head Vanishes - An old lady loses her head. Obvious trope. Meh.
Asteria - The dangers of planting the flag on a new world. Short, snappy outer-space gag.
Once Upon A Line - All doodles and outlines, we watch the timeline of a man-line's day and of a relationship with a female line. Clever and entertaining.