Follow The Bouncing Ball

The animation shorts were our third slot today. It’s a bunch of films, try to keep up:

Let’s Pollute: In the style of a 50’s civics film, this short has the satiric message of how pollution and consumption are a patriotic and civic duty. No one comes out unscathed in this. Highly recommended, 5 out of 5.

Bring Yourself: A comic-book, Sin City-style short about a guy who’s having a really hard life, but maintains an oddly-positive outlook as everything around him goes to hell. Recommended, but not memorable. 3.5 out of 5.

The Birds Upstairs: Okay, this one is weird. The story of a bird couple, but in anthropomorphic form and with costuming and set dressing from Upstairs, Downstairs. Great animation; weird, weird story. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

Tanko Bole Chhe (The Stitches Speak): Here’s an unusual one, animation by taking images of embroidery and using it as textures on flat shapes to be animated. The story is about Pakistani refugees who come to create a narrative tradition in embroidery, and how they got there. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

Denmark: Imagine you’re a crustacean in an inhospitable land (Portland harbor). What would you do? Build a spaceship to take you home, of course! That’s the premise behind this unusual bit of puppetry in a mix of created and live settings. Weird and unusual in a good way. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

Dried Up: Obvious mad scientist/tinkerer type in a dried-up landscape. What is the purpose of the odd machine he’s building? Will it restore the world, or just blow up? Recommended. 4 out of 5.

The Wonder Hospital: The story here is weird (are you sensing a trend?) A youngish-adult wanders into the hospital for a before-and-after treatment. But what he’s really found is the funhouse of weird mirrors, and strange and threatening creatures. It’s a one-way trip that he is mostly powerless to control. Highly recommended for extremely creative visuals. 4.5 out of 5.

Prayers for Peace: Leave to to the Festival to find an Iraq War-related animated short. It’s a touch piece about peace and remembrance. I found the ending a little heavy-handed, but otherwise it’s a well-done work. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

That’s it for the shorts, back to the longs! Gratz to Martolli’s Pizza for (unwittingly) letting us blog from there (here).