The Remaking of Danger Mouse

   Danger Mouse is a British animated television series and a continuation of the 1981 series with the same name. The series revolves around titular character Danger Mouse, the "world's greatest secret agent", and his hamster sidekick Penfold, who protect the world from a variety of danger. With help from his boss Colonel K and the genius scientist Professor Squawkencluck, Danger Mouse is equipped to defeat his nemesis, Baron von Greenback. In 2013, Fremantle Media confirmed to Broadcast that a reboot of the series was being considered, and in June 2014 it was announced that a new series was being made for broadcast on CBBC in 2015. The reboot is produced by Boulder Media for Fremantle Media Kids. It is directed by Robert Cullen, with Brian Cosgrove, one of the original creators being a creative consultant. According to Eldon, the animation style is 'much the same as the original'. The series is animated in Toon Boom Harmony, as the animators thought that Flash was too limited.

   While Danger Mouse was never necessarily a part of my own childhood, this remake reminded me a great deal of the revival of Hanna-Barbera's Secret Squirrel back in 1993, retitled Super Secret Secret Squirrel and placed as a back-up segment to 2 Stupid Dogs, at least when it came to their character redesigns. If it isn't obvious, their redesigns from the original are noticeably sharper looking

   Considering how old the original series was, the challenge when reviving this show was to bring new life into it through its writing and designs. Seeing Danger Mouse as a comedy than a children's show, they saw it necessary to hire the right writers for the show. There is a minimum of 4 writers for each Danger Mouse episode, as compared to other UK shows that only really have one head writer to write all the jokes. They especially aspired to reach the same level in writing quality like The Simpsons during that show's golden age. And in the end, the key to it all is comedy, so putting it simply, write the show and take the swearing, drugs and sex out. American writers were brought in to make sure an episode was intelligible to audiences outside of the UK (Eg, if there had been a plot about a major tea shortage in one episode, it was pretty obvious that it would have been more of a british joke than an international one), throwing in US jokes while they were at it.

   The designers kept the painted backgrounds from the original as well as the character designs. Its visual style overall was incredibly vibrant looking while also dynamic enough to suit the action packed nature of the show. From the very beginning, they knew exactly how they wanted the show to look, it was just putting it all down on paper. It was most definitely a challenge to effectively blend live action and animated elements together, but they succeeded. 

  And as mentioned earlier, old character designs were only tweaked ever so slightly so that they had a more dynamic overall shape to them. Danger Mouse's nose for example was more accentuated as compared to the original, being given much more structure and definite shape than ever before. But other than that, his design wasn't actually drastically changed from the original. The essence of the original characters were kept in this reboot, that was one of the most important details when their designs were updated. The other challenge was to actually make sure that the new characters actually fit into that universe, that both old and new audience wouldn't have truly noticed whether they were actually from the original series or not.

   Their backgrounds contained mainly photographic elements (Having taken advantage of their incredibly high budget in that area, with it being 70%), looking real yet at the same time stylised. 2D elements were integrated into 3D (Such as reflections and shadows). Which brings up the fact about how incredibly under appreciated that the compositing department in animation studios actually are. Without them, many of these gorgeous backgrounds would have not been possible. There was however the challenge of preventing it from simply becoming a collage, and they really needed to make sure everything actually blended nicely.

   The process for the evolution of each scene goes as follows:

1. Storyboards
2. Background art
3. Adding depth to the background and props (Compositing department strikes again)
4. Atmosphere
5. The animation itself
6. Lighting
7. 3d elements (Such as vehicles)
8. Shadows
9. Extra effects (Such as car lights)

Ernie Biscuit

   

   Titular character Ernie Biscuit is a lonely French man who makes a daring leap in his later life to go to Venice, where he dreams of gondolas and perhaps love. However, as with many of Elliot’s unlucky characters, nothing quite goes to plan and Ernie ends up in Australia circa the 1960s. This beautiful and poignant addition to Adam’s filmography is sure to be screened across the globe and perhaps touch the hearts of all the lost souls out there trying to build the up the courage to make their own defining leap into the exciting unknown of the future.
   I wouldn't have thought that Ernie Biscuit would be my sort of animation, and quite frankly, it probably still isn't. But from what I have heard, Adam Elliot normally produced more emotionally heart-wrenching animations when compared to this, and this was in fact his most light-hearted one to date. It wouldn't be surprising to know this considering the monochromatic look and rather warped character designs (With all their blemishes and other facial flaws, even the more attractive ones), and that is certainly what makes this animation all the more interesting. I would be lying if I said that I didn't get caught up in its story the longer it went on. I hadn't actually realised how long it lasted until the festival staff announced that there had been one more animation to show and that we had gone way past their planned schedule.

   When compared to Mary and Max, it is notable that there is a much lower budget for this animation as compared to his previous works. I remembered there being numerous still shots with barely any movement (Save for some blinking and a subtle change in their expressions), with the narrator telling most of the story. And in fact, it is actually really effectively if not cleverly done. It could be said that the clear narration contributed to this, making the story easier to listen to and follow, but in all, this truly was an entertaining animation from Adam Elliot who has proven that some pretty amazing works can come out of a shoestring budget just so long a good story can still be told from it all.

Fresh Cut Grass

Fresh Cut Grass from Boulder Media on Vimeo.

   A sweet little dog visits the big city in search of his big sister. Having been close to his sister from a very young age, the little dog grows worried for her when he hasn't heard back from her in quite awhile. Also excited to see if she was finally living out her dream as a graceful ballet dancer, with a glittery congratulatory card in hand, the little dog readily sets off to find her. Considering the style used and how this film first starts, no one would have expected this animation to take... well, such a turn. But then, again, one needs to learn to expect the unexpected when attending these animation festivals... thankfully however, there was disturbing content for a reason and wasn't simply placed in for the sake of being disturbing. Granted, it has really striking visuals and a really vibrant colour palette (Which still makes the darker scenes oddly bright when they clearly aren't suppose to be). With how clean and fluid the animation and visual style appears at times, there are some times when the animation looks more 3D than 2D.The lighting is one of of the main highlights to me and is always beautifully done in each scene, be it the warm sunlight or the sleazy neon lights.


   Written and directed by Robert Cullen and produced by Boulder Media, the studio is based in Dublin and has produced shows such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, El Tiger, and The Amazing World of Gumball, and Season 2 of Wander Over Yonder. They are currently also producing the new series of Dangermouse. With so many favourites done by this studio, I am certainly going to keep a closer eye on them from here on out.

   While I know that there's a much deeper meaning to this story, all I could really think about was how infuriatingly creepy these human characters are, the Furries, the Beastility lovers. It almost feels like this would be what Zootopia would have been like if humans had been featured alongside the animal characters. Everyone is probably going to wonder why exactly that only humans inhabit the big city, and while there are other animals, all of them appear to be forced into that little part of town and don't appear to be working in any other jobs aside from what we have seen in the animation. Could the same story not be told if it had been an all human cast? When you think about it, the moral is pretty much that while one clearly wants to live out their own dreams, reality kicks in and sometimes, all you are allowed to do is survive. Again, could the same story not be told if the little dog and his sister be humans instead? Most of this beastility stuff feels almost unnecessary, to be honest. And while it made things more visually interesting, I still feel that animal characters don't contribute much to this story aside from the fact that there's clearly some sort of prejudice going on here... which again can be shown through human characters.

My Home

Chez moi - Trailer from Phuong Mai Nguyen on Vimeo.

   My Home (Or Chez Moi, seeing as there are already so many animations that simply go by such a title), tells the story of Hugo as he struggles to come to terms with his mother returning home with a new lover, that being a massive anthropomorphic crow. A French animation directed by Vietnamese Phuong Mai Hguyen (As well as her first ever professional cinematic debut), it was one of ten films nominated for an Oscar award. 

   The 27 year old director came up with the subject matter for the film just one year after graduating from La Poudriere, an animation film school in France, back in 2012. The idea came to her based on personal experience, wanting to depict the relationship between a stepfather and stepson, and the feelings experienced by the young boy as he sees what is practically a complete stranger in his own home. As mentioned earlier, the boy's stepfather in this animation is depicted as largely built man with the head of a crow. Mai goes onto say that “It’s hard for a man and a bird to communicate and understand each other. When you see the head of a tiger or a panther, you might see whether it’s fierce or gentle. However, this rule does not apply to a bird’s head.” 2 years were spent producing this film, with Mai asking for funding and help from many organisations and friends, and with her even partly investing her own money into it as well.

   Certainly one of the most gorgeously done 2D animations I have seen at the festival, it is certainly interesting to see why it was that Mai had chosen to given the stepfather a bird's head. Especially when she made a comparison between it and other animals such as tigers and panthers, I had wondered if the crow had symbolised so much more than that, especially during several somewhat puzzling scenes that take place, particularly during the boy's dream. Despite the attempts to incorporate heavy symbolism into this animation, it is pretty clear what the main message is behind its story. Though if a regular human was to be put in place of the crow man, the audience might have probably found the story to be a smidge less interesting... it depends, really. And there were certainly lots of advantages that could be taken by having a character such as this, as shown in several scenes as he flies and spreads his massive 'wings' around the boy's mother (Which was certainly one of the most breath taking shots seen in the animation itself).

   But yes, back to the visual style itself, I have always adored the painted style (Films such as the Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea uses something very similar as well, with their avoidance of using black for their line works), especially when the animation (Along with the shading) is just done with such incredibly fluidity. Based on personal experience, it can be such a huge pain to keep the shading constant, making the colouring process just as tiring a task as everything else. In fact, I am still struggling with that aspect as I rush to finish for my Extended Practice animation for our coming school exhibition in June. And I am still learning how to do clean line work on my own animations, and so it's going to take ages before I can even reach this level of delicate line work.

The Same River Twice

trailer of The Same River Twice from WeijiaMa on Vimeo.

     The Same River Twice is the MFA graduation film of Weijia Ma of the United States that was featured in the Graduation Films in Competition category for Manchester Animation Festival 2015. A digitally hand drawn animated short, it contained 5 chapters centring around the her father and her. The father is an architecture engineer, who was born in a village with a strong emotional attachment to the farming fields and his home town. After a car accident, the family shows a calm attitude to every day. As time flows, everything is the same, but everything has changed. 

   I hadn't expected for this animation to hit this close to home... especially during the second half. It had a sweet and cute beginning, but it was definitely the dramatic turning point that especially caught my attention (If not made me weep far too many tears for my own liking... awkward much). Listening to my own mother tongue as the story is told in it certainly brought back lots of childhood memories, it was hard not to smile a little because of that. I could even sense the genuine emotion in the narrator's voice as she goes over each memory... especially during the day when her father had gotten into that car accident. Her voice, while it did not waver, had fallen just a little more quiet when compared to the previous chapters that she voiced over for. It was clear that she held a tight bond with her father, and how going back to these memories still deeply affected her to this day.

   The visual style used greatly reminded me of the illustrations I would see in my old mandarin school textbooks (Which in a way could be another form of nostalgia), with its painted look that was done successfully through digital means. I found it incredibly funny however just how much her father resembled mine, in terms of his appearance and his attachment to nature (While a business man, my father always enjoyed gardening and has many times mused about retiring to a little farm of his own...).

   Despite the fact that I ended up whimpering about this to my parents through Whatsapp by the end of that day, and was humorously told off to get a grip of myself, I really did enjoy this animation. I never would have thought that I would get to see such a heartfelt animation that reminded me so much of my own home and family in this festival, and I am really glad I did. And once again, I really did enjoy the style that was used throughout. There were just so many things about this piece of work that reminded me about what I had left back at home, but will soon enough be returning to after we graduate...

The Moustache

The Moustache -trailer from Anni Oja on Vimeo.

 This town is not big enough for the two of them. 

                                                                  Nor their moustaches... 

   

   ... And that's it really, that really is the gist of this incredibly entertaining animation by Anni Oja. While a short animation with not much depth in terms of its story (Or maybe it does, and I just don't get it, seeing as I don't necessarily possess a moustache as full or as lustrous as the two main characters'). Again, while I won't be going down a stop motion route after graduating from this course (That is if they need background paintings), I can certainly still appreciate works such as these, with its beautifully made puppets, props and settings. While it all takes place in just one setting, there is so much detail seen in this quaint little town street, that is for some reason inhabited by only men with facial hair... One of my favourites was the flower stand to the side, which made for a really love still shot with the vibrantly coloured flowers that decorated that shot alongside the three onlookers.

   The violin sound cues and whipping sound effects (Which sadly aren't featured in this trailer, though then again, a lot has changed in the final animation from this trailer) used in this animation added so much to the humour and tension between these two competitive moustachioed gentlemen. It was just impossible to hold back my chuckles from the poses, expressions and body language and movements seen throughout. Endearingly silly with some beautiful puppet designs and character animation (That swagger, though), this was a really enjoyable little piece of animation to watch and was definitely one of the more memorable stop motion pieces that I watched at the festival. It's been months and honestly, I can still remember most the cartoony closing sequence to this day...

Life with Herman H. Rott

Trailer - Life with Herman H. Rott from Chintis Lundgren on Vimeo.

   Herman H. Rott is a rat. He prowls the streets, drinks and pukes his way through life. One day when he has hit rock bottom, he attracts the attention of a cat that spontaneously decides to move in with him and help him straighten out his life. In a first step, the cat replaces Herman's metal sounds from the record player by classical music – only to be kicked out of the house by Herman. But the cat doesn't give up and reappears the next morning, serving fresh espresso instead of red wine. The apartment, too, is tidied up beyond recognition. It is inevitable that all this leads to further conflict. Chintis Lundgren’s animated cat-and-rat film about opposites attracting each other has won several awards. It also shows that no alcohol is no solution either.

   Chintis Lundgren is an Independent animator and painter originally from Estonia but is at the moment residing in Croatia. Animals are normally featured in most of her animations and illustrations and are usually placed in absurd if not hilarious situations. And based on what I have seen from her animations, I believe that Chintis favours traditionally hand drawn animation (When considering how the lines of each frame are always in constant motion, even the backgrounds themselves). It is still amazing however to see how fluid her character animations are despite such a choice in animation style. Chintis also tends to use a very warm looking colour palette in her works (With a lot of red, brown, pink, yellow and cream). 

  While it might seem like the typical odd couple tale, this animation was hilariously done in its execution and elicited more than its fair share of laughs from the audience. And after going back to her past works, it is interesting to see some of the running gags that she places in her works, such as the trio of bunnies that abruptly begin singing christmas carols, be they on or offscreen. It is also lovely to see that their stories actually continue outside of these individual animations and are actually featured in illustrations and other animations (As little cameos). 

   

   Chintis clearly loves all her characters and enjoys reusing them and expanding upon their stories whenever she can.

Guida

Rosana Urbes: Guida from Animation Libation Studios on Vimeo.

   During this period when it would seem that edgy, dark, if not ''controversial" animations are the 'IN' thing to submit into these sort of animation festivals, I was pleasantly surprised to see an animation such as this, let alone one that would actually win an award! (I have been yelling over this for months now, to be quite honest, just ask Anna!)

   Guida, a sweet lady who has been working as an archivist at a Courthouse for 30 years, has her routine changed when she sees a newspaper ad about life drawing classes in a cultural centre of the city. Through the main character's creative sensibility, the short film offers a reflection about the artistic inspiration recovery process, art as a transformation agent and the concept of beauty.

   From the moment I saw the opening to this animation and the sweet music that played along with it, I just knew that this was going to be one of my most favourite animations from the festival (And the more I think about, the more sad I am knowing that I won't be able to attend next year's festival...). This truly was the epitome of character animation, bringing out the beauty of a character such as Guida. From her sweet, dreamy expressions (It would notably change at certain times, from a more haggard look to a more youthful one) to her elderly but still willowy if not graceful frame. I absolutely adored the various depictions of the character that were contributed by other artists, that were shown in the opening and closing sequences.

   And to think that the entire animation itself was traditionally hand drawn just further adds to its overall appeal. Some compositing was obviously done (And by Iara Guedes), but other than that, each frame was lovingly hand drawn by Rosana Urbes. Each squiggle giving loving life to the character herself that makes my heart swell with warmth the longer I look at her. Speaking of the creator herself, Rosana Urbes has actually worked as an assistant clean-up animator on Mulan (1998), an assistant animator for Kuzco Llama in The Emperor's New Groove (2000) and an assistant clean-up animator for Nani in Lilo and Stitch (2002). Come to think, a tiny bit of "Disney" quality can be seen from the animation short itself, the more I think about, albeit of course, with a much more personal touch from Rosana herself. Based on her more personal works, very much like Guida, Rosana has a considerably loose looking art style, which especially suits the animation itself, especially during the life drawing scene. 

   There is just so much life placed into this character that it's incredible. And it really goes to show you that a simpler story can outdo one that attempt to be too deep in their meanings.

We Can't Live Without Cosmos

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos from Iñaki Bonel on Vimeo.

   We Can't Live Without Cosmos was Directed by Kostantin Bronzit and featured in last year's first Manchester Animation Festival. Two dorky cosmonaut buddies do their absolute best every single training day to make their common dream a reality. However, this story is not only about that dream alone... but friendship.

   A Russian animator and animation film director, Konstantin Eduardovich Bronzit is a graduate of the St Petersburg Repin Institute of Fine Art in 1983. He worked as an artist-animator at the animated film studio Lennauchfilm (Studio of Popular Science Films), which created educational animations (Which is not surprising considering this animation's setting). It was there there he completed his first ever film, Merry-Go-Round in 1988. Since 1999, he has worked at Melnitsa Animation Studio where he served as a director on several projects.

   Alongside Guida (Which will be written about after this), I was absolutely overjoyed that this animation was placed as runner up (As well as nominated for a 2016 Oscar in the animated-short category). With an adorable if not clean and wholesome looking art style (That reminded me so much of Calvin and Hobbes), this works incredibly well for the hilarious if not heartwarming scenes that unfold between these two best friends as they bond and support one another through the space program that they are participating in. The second half of the film however takes a mediative, even mystical turn... exploring into feelings and experiences that are much harder to name than what took place in the first half of this animation. As cliche is it may be, a series of emotions was truly experienced whilst watching this film, their almost kiddy happiness and exuberance infectious to even the audience themselves, to the despair and loneliness that is felt by one of the poor guys during the second half as he mourns for his friend...

   This was truly one of my most favourite animations from the festival and is certainly one of very few works that have stayed in the back of my head since. I found the animation's visual style to be incredibly endearing and absolutely adored the focus on the adorable bromance friendship that these two astronauts had. For a film that had no talking whatsoever, it was all effectively portrayed through their expressions and body language alone, eliciting many laughs and held back breaths as the story progressed.

Meanwhile

   Meanwhile follows 4 different characters that traverse a city, each lost in their own little worlds, trapped in their memories, regress and frustrations. It is a blend of 3D and 2D drawn animation techniques done in an incredibly stylistic manner.

   There were a lot of things that had drawn me into this animation in particular, from the visual style that was used (And I am always a sucker for 2D looking 3D animations) to how the story was actually told. I believe I found myself swallowing down a huge lump in my throat by the time I reached the ending for this animation. I loved the colour schemes that were used for each character and what they could each possibly symbolise for each of them. 

   Blue represents depression and sadness, which most definitely suits the angry cyclist, tired of his life and hold drab it has seemingly become (Despite having a job, wife and child). While yellow tends to symbolise joy and delight, chances are that this is the female character's waning hope and optimism, especially once she loses her beloved mother. Green is a more challenging colour to figure out, symbolising many things such as stability, masculine power and independence. Which could pertain to the character's stubbornness, arrogance and obliviousness as he struggles to come to terms with what he has done in the first place to cause his wife to leave him. And finally, red, represents anger. Light red especially, normally represents sexuality, which does suit the youngest character in this short as he struggles with puberty (Especially with his growing curiosity of the female body) and being bullied and pushed around by nearly everyone around him. 

   

   The final scene at the very end, while brief, is especially gorgeous when all 4 characters do come together, all four worlds clash as reality sets back in as all their focus is instead placed on someone else other than themselves...

  

   Creator Stephen McNally is an Irish Animation director and a Masters student of Animation at the Royal College of Art. His other works include a promotional videos, music videos and other original shorts. After looking through his other works, it is clear that he has an incredibly distinct art style, especially when it comes to his character designs (Big eyes with really defined if not detailed noses). I honestly hadn't expected to like his works as much as I do now, but I really do find his hybrid animations to be incredibly appealing and would like to look more into the 3D aspects of his works.

Edmond

      Edmond is a stop-motion and 2D animation by Nina Gantz from the United Kingdom. It focuses on an oddball of a character who slips through floors and further into his past and the deepest parts of his psyche in his pursuit of self-understanding... Which all seems a little unnecessary once you reach the ending... or perhaps, this was more so of a case where is entire life flashes before his eye-- whoops. Nah, it's fine, would you really be THAT surprised to get an ending like that when it comes to this sort of animation?
   
   There have been numerous stop-motion works as of late that have made use of super imposing their facial animations onto their puppets. Edmond was one of those that was able to effectively incorporate 2D animated eyes on its characters without making it seem unnatural if not creepy. (The uncanny valley is somewhat apparent in several other examples, regardless of how beautifully done they may be, such as that one train animation where real human eyes are first recorded before imposed onto the puppet themselves) In fact, while its story might not be everyone's cup of tea, one could certainly appreciate the animation for its cinematography, beautifully done set designs and puppets.

   Speaking of which, I cannot help but grow all the more curious on the message behind this animation's story. Alright, so it is pretty apparent that this character might have a vore fetish of sorts, but, what stemmed from that? And to me, each memory only got more horrific (Despite the music trying to fool you into thinking that that isn't so)... did he have a twin? That he himself devoured before leaving their mother's womb? Was that meant to be taken literally? You can't possibly fit an entire leg (No matter how slender) down your throat? Just, what ever, Edmond??? Nina Gantz, I hope you got interviewed on this because I am most definitely going to find out what goes on in your head when I get the chance to.

Being stuck in a room full of these eye-less puppets, though.

Banaroo

   Banaroo is 2D animation by Grace Cooke from United Kingdom. The story follows a strange creature known as the Banaroo as he is taken on a epic journey around the world during Christmas Eve to get the gift he so desires.

   Now the first thing that definitely came to mind was how incredibly traditional this animation came off in terms of every aspect, from its visual style to its storytelling, I actually feel that this might have been a loving tribute of sorts to some of Disney's classics from the Bronze Age (Such as The Aristocats, Robin Hood, and most definitely The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh), especially in terms of the art style chosen for the character and background designs. And well, obviously, that had immediately won me over when it came to this beautifully animated tale.

   ... The drawback however is that the main character isn't as appealing as the creators clearly intended him to be. It is obvious that the designers wanted the audience to sympathise with him from the get go, and while he does get his sentimental happy ending, it falls short seeing as... we never truly empathised with him. This does not only include his less than appealing design, but how he is portrayed as well. The Banaroo seems like the biggest jerk from the very beginning, it doesn't matter whether he was feeling lonely or not as he sat in his fancy room full of royal luxuries and servant crabs (If my memory serves me right, sorry, I had watched this numerous months back, after all), he just never truly came across as likeable, no matter how hard they tried to write him as such.

   But overall, this is definitely one of the most impressive Graduation films featured at the festival, not simply for its duration, but also for its almost Disney-esque quality in animation.

Breaching the Seawall: Modern Love

   Breaching the Seawall: Modern Love is a CGI animation by Adam Wells from the United States. This animation tells the story of introvert Laurel Fantauzzo, who falls in love with another woman when moving to the Phillipines. The story is told in an almost nonchalant manner, despite the rather major events that take place from beginning to end... and well, that just adds to the overall charm of it. 

   I got such a contemporary feel from this animation in terms of its visual style (While I know many graphic artists have tend to specialise in this sort of art style, it will always remind me of Jessica Hische and her typography and illustration works), and while it isn't exactly as abstract as BAMPA, there are still some really clever visuals seen throughout, especially when transitioning from one setting to the next. 
    
   The animation's color palette, while vibrant, was somehow still able to set the mood of the story that is told by the narrator. These characters are practically composed of various simple geometric shapes (As seen above), with the main character herself transforming every now and then into a cube with a single eye (Which most possibly connects to her introvert tendencies). Overall, I feel that this is a pretty interesting way in telling a story like this, it might come off a little odd if not awkward in some parts (Mainly the story itself, especially when I feel like they are trying to insert some metaphors here and there, particularly when it comes to her bicycle... still haven't really gotten that part figured out yet, to be honest), but it is still a decent watch with really pretty and interesting graphics.

BAMPA

   BAMPA is an animated documentary by Daniel Evans from the United Kingdom. Through this short animation, a grandson reflects back on the deterioration of his beloved grandfather's mental health due to Alzheimer's disease, with all visuals presented through abstract motion graphics in showing the worsening condition of his grandfather. 

   The conceptual and/or abstract approach to things is something that can really strengthen the presentation of the chosen topic, or fall completely short. I believe however, that in this case, this was a really well-done piece of animation that managed to touch the majority of the audience that viewed it with me. This is definitely a much more clever way in showing his grandfather's deteriorating state of mind, especially to those are are less than familiar with Alzheimer's disease AS WELL as how much it affects the rest of his family whilst the helplessly watch on (Which makes me think, would a more literal if not traditional presentation create an impact just as strong? It certainly will depend on the chosen media, however). 

   As a documentary, it is meant to make others learn and become more aware about these sort of things, and Daniel Evans was certainly able to achieve that (And it's pretty obvious that the narration itself was read right from the heart...).

   

A Single Life

   A Single Life is a 2014 CGI short animation by Job, Joris and Marieke from Netherlands. I found it to be a cleverly well-paced little animation, with an effective execution in terms of its (Dark) humor. When the ending came, the majority of the audience (Including myself) practically gasped in horror, before groaning and laughing softly in disbelief (Hope that isn't enough to spoil it for you folks that haven't had the chance to watch it. But, compared to their previous work Mute (Which was hilariously cringeworthy for all the right reasons), this really isn't all that bad.

   Job, Joris and Marieke is a studio composed of three folks, aside from animation (Obviously), this trio also specialise in illustration, character design and music. And from the song that I have heard in A Single Life, I do believe that they are just as gifted in that area as they are with the humorously dark animated works. In terms of its visuals, it is definitely interesting to note that this studio goes for such a bright and cartoony (If not adorable) style when it comes to most if not all of their works, practically leading the viewers on before realising there is more to these cutesy characters and settings than we initially believed. Nonetheless, I can certainly appreciate their character designs and vibrant color palettes (As seen above), and quite frankly, it still goes really well with their tone of story and joke telling.

   So, hat's off to you guys. I actually look forward to seeing more of your works. And speaking of which, I should probably go check out the rest of your animations on your website now.

#286

   #286 is a stop animation Israelian animation directed by Einat Rudman and Shani Zaltsman that premiered at Manchester Animation Festival under the Graduation Films in Competition 2 Category. Starting off with your typical mad scientist who is absolutely set on creating the most evil creature that humanity would have ever seen. His 286th experiment however, turns out to be the complete opposite of that, an adorable ball of fluff that wants his beloved creator to love him.

   I suppose I always had a little soft spot for these types of animations where there is no real dialogue and that the story is told through actions alone (And a few adorable grunts and squeaks). I am rather curious especially about what the mad scientist is made of (I mean, it's obvious that his clothes is made of fabric), while it is evident that his creation is made of fabric, from what I have seen of my own classmate's puppets, the mad scientist himself might have been made of silicon. I can't say for certain, seeing that I don't necessarily specialise in stop-motion (Or plan to), but, I can always appreciate how much work is put into it (Why else would I be talking about this animation, then?).
   
   There is so much detail put into the setting and props (Are those little glass tubes really made of glass? Either that or, well done when it comes to the sound effects during those scenes). It really does feel like a real little basement laboratory, with the chalkboard and notes being plastered all over the walls.

   Speaking of which, there was only one little thing that bothered me about the animation, and that is the fact that the sound design. While I did compliment it earlier, it honestly could have used a little more polished in terms of its volume as it tends to get abruptly loud at times, such as when the mad scientist suddenly starts yelling. Though, I still did enjoy the voices that were given to the scientist and of course, the creature itself (Effectively cute without being the least bit obnoxious).

   Overall, it was a very endearing little story, a simple plot that can be enjoyed by all, with appealing little characters and beautifully done setting and props. Now, after all that, I think it's time that you go ahead and watch it for yourself (Yes, yes, I know how incredibly late this little write up is... stay tune for more).

#286 from Einat Rudman on Vimeo.