Changes, Changes

Hello All,

I have been quite busy as of late, applying for new jobs and recently graduating from college. Now that school is done and out of the way, I should be able to contribute more time to this blog. I have updated the website slightly with a new tab, About Me, and I am now also a contributor to the new website, Character Design References, run by friends in Ireland. :)

With that out of the way, I wish all of you a Happy (Rather Belated) New Years!!

- Natalie

My new business partner.

The Song of the Sea (Review)

Director: Tomm Moore

Company(s): 
Cartoon Saloon, Digital Graphics, Magellan Films, Melusine Productions, Noerlum Studios

Year: 2014

Country(s): Ireland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg

The next Miyazaki is in the making.

Cartoon Saloon is quickly establishing itself as a new animation powerhouse. The studio was founded in 1999, but did not really come into its own until the late 2000s following the release of several short films and its first feature, The Secret of Kells (2009). With the release of their newest movie, two TV series and upcoming feature in the works, Cartoon Saloon is setting an example for other small studios. Ethnically inspired, homegrown cartoons can find audiences, as they offer something different than typical Hollywood fare.

As for The Song of the Sea itself, it is a bit of a departure from Cartoon Saloon's previous film. While also heavily inspired by Irish mythology and traditions, it is set in modern times, specifically 1987. (The Secret of Kells is set around 800 AD.) Both of the film's art styles are also somewhat different as well. The Secret of Kells is dominated by interlacing spirals, geometric patterns, and thick outlines. On the other hand, The Song of the Sea veers more towards a rounded look, with smooth edges and sepia colors. However, the two movies share a similar theme: They stress the importance of family, and maintaining a sense of hope during difficult times. 

Tension bubbles just under the surface within the family.

The Song of the Sea focuses on ten year old Ben, his six year old sister, Saoirse, and his father, Conor. Conor is left heartbroken by the departure of his wife, Bronagh, who disappeared into the sea after giving birth to Saoirse several years before. Ben has grown to resent his younger sibling, due to all of the attention she receives from Conor, and to the fact that he associates her with his mother's disappearance. Saoirse is a very bright and curious child, but is also mute. Saoirse is the spitting image of Bronagh. In fact, she is later revealed to be a silkie (a person who can transform into a seal) like her mother. 

After Saoirse is found washed up on the shore on her birthday night, Grannie decides that Saoirse and Ben would be better off living with her than their alcoholic father. She takes the two siblings to live with her in Dublin. However, Ben plans to run back home on Halloween night. At the same time, Ben  discovers that the fairytale stories he was told by his mother appear to be real, when he and his sister encounter several figures form Irish mythology on their journey back home.

Boredom was also a good motivator to leave Grannie.

The characters in The Song of the Sea are complex and all grow through the trials they experience in their lives. At the start of the film, Ben is far more comfortable retreating into the world of comic books and reading his mom's stories than living in the present. He lavishes attention on his sheepdog, Cu, but rarely shows much affection towards Saoirse. It is not until Saorise falls ill that Ben realizes how much he has neglected her, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. 

Ben encounters many fairytale creatures on his quest to cure his ill sister (and, ultimately, save the rest of her kind). Some of them offer Ben advice, such as the forgetful but knowledgeable Great Seanchai, while others, such as the witch Macha, end up needing Ben's help instead. Macha is a particularly interesting character. Initially, she is introduced as the film's antagonist. She steals people's feelings and turns them to stone. However, we later learn that Macha does so in an attempt to rid others of bad feelings, she has even turned herself partly to stone in the process. Macha's first victim, in fact, was her son the giant Mac Lir, who was morning over the loss of his lover.

Both Ben and the witch, Macha, learn that locking up your emotions can actually do more harm than good in the long run. 

These mythological figures mirror people in Ben's own life. (And are in fact, portrayed by the same voice actors.) Macha represents Grannie, who attempts to help her family, but ends up accidentally causing tension by moving her grandkids in with her. Mac Lir represents Conner who is paralyzed by the loss of his wife. Finally, the Great Seanchai represents Dan the Ferryman, who acts as Ben's link to the outside world and offers him advice. 

At first glance, the animation used in The Song of the Sea seems rather simple looking. However, this works to the movie's benefit rather than hindering it. The stylized characters fit the mood of the film. They contrast with film's extremely detailed backgrounds, helping establish a relatable, but slightly otherworldly look. Since Ben's quest takes him between both the human and faerie worlds it works rather well. 

Both the final animation and concept art are beautiful.

The Song of the Sea is clearly a labor of love, having spent over five years in production. It tackles subjects not normally touched upon in mainstream family films, but does so in a way that is perfectly acceptable for children and that is easy to understand. The Secret of Kells already proved that Tomm Moore is a talented director, and this film further proves it. It is easily one of the best animated films to recently come out, and it was wrongfully robbed of its Oscar. Hopefully, The Song of the Sea will eventually get the attention it deserves.

Learning to accept life's troubles and moving on is the key to happiness.

Rating: 5/5

Thoughts on This Year's Oscars

Let's all agree to disagree.

Another year, another of the same... Well, not entirely. I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised that Birdman won Best Picture, and that it was tied with Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel with its number of nominations: nine total. Both were great films and I highly recommend checking them out if you already haven't seen them.

There is only one true Birdman.

In terms of animation however, the Oscars have delivered yet another predictable, non-deserving win. As with last year, several of the voters on the board admitted to not even seeing most of the nominees outside of a couple of mainstream movies. (The same also goes for the Shorts categories and Best Foreign Language Film.) As a result, Big Hero 6 won. I have nothing against Big Hero 6, in fact I favorably reviewed it earlier this year. It is a fun movie, but nothing out of the ordinary or outside of Disney's comfort zone. It's infuriating that either Pixar or Disney win each year just because they are Pixar/Disney. Personally, I would have either chosen The Song of the Sea or The Tale of Princess Kaguya as the best film. Both moved me in ways that none of the other nominees did and have gorgeous artwork to boot. At any rate, I digress. What did you think of this year's Oscars?*

Two trailers for the two best animated films of the year.

* PS: I will get to reviewing Kaguya and The Song of the Sea, asap. The local theatre will finally be showing them, and I have been waiting to properly see them on the big screen.

The Oscar Nominated Shorts of 2014 (Who Will Probably Win & Who Should Win)

Why is the statue called Oscar anyway?

The Oscars are fast approaching with a live screening set for March 2nd. While the Oscars are and have always been biased towards certain films (specifically English speaking ones usually produced by major Hollywood studios or well known directors), they have become increasingly popular and prestigious. The movies nominated for best picture always get lots of fanfare, but films in other categories are sometimes overlooked.

The short film categories often suffer from this. This is shame because they are a great way to showcase talents from across the globe. Because they cost significantly less to produce they can vary greatly in their subject matter and style. While some of them are made by larger studios, many of them are not and are very personal films made by small independent creators/companies passionate about the medium.

The Oscar nominated animated shorts from last year.

For those of you who have yet to see them, the Oscar nominated animated shorts this year, are overall, a pretty solid bunch. The nominees include a Disney short, three entries from Europe, an anime, and an independently produced short. If you happen to attend the screening of the nominees at your local theater, you will probably notice that the program also includes three honorable mentions which were not nominated for the Oscars. Fortunately, they are also fairly enjoyable as well. (Unfortunately, the animated shorts are 'hosted' between each segment by two obnoxiously unfunny CGI animals. But, hey, at least the awards aren't being hosted by Seth MacFarlane again this year.) So without a further ado, here are some brief reviews (and winner predictions) for the nominees and honorable mentions for the Best Animated Short of 2014.

The Nominees

Get a Horse!

Director: Lauren Macmullan
Company: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Country: USA

Get a Horse is a throwback to Disney's original rubber-hose Mickey Mouse shorts from the early 1930s with a twist. When Peg Leg Pete attempts to run a hay wagon off the road, Mickey and Horace are forced out of the movie screen and into the theater, becoming CGI colored versions of themselves. Horace and Mickey then battle Pete, who has kidnapped Minnie, by finding ways to interfere with movie playing on screen. While the premise is a bit gimmicky and not entirely original, (Tex Avery loved inserting self aware sight gags into his cartoons, and Get a Horse bears some resemblance to Osamu Tezuka's 1985 short, Broken Down Film) the film has been made with so much love and passion it is hard not to smile at the character's antics.

Get a Horse is not necessarily the best nominee, but it has already become an audience favorite, having won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject and being nominated for Best Animated Film at the San Diego Film Critics Society. More than likely it will probably win the Academy Award. Get a Horse also features original voice recordings from the 1930s, marks the first appearance of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in a Disney cartoon in over 84 years, and is the first Disney production to be directed solely by a female animator.

Rating: 3.5

Mr. Hublot

Directors: Laurent Witz & Alexandre Espigares
Company: ZEILT Productions, WATT Frame
Country: France

Mr. Hublot moves at a far more leisurely pace than Get a Horse and has no dialogue. However, this largely aids the film rather than hindering it. The short follows a little mechanical man who lives in a Victorian era steampunk-like society. But Mr. Hublot largely chooses to ignore the beautifully rendered CGI/ stop-motion animated landscapes around him. Instead, he focuses intently on his work, preferring the company of his typewriter indoors rather than socializing with others. One day, his work is disrupted after he discovers a small robotic puppy abandoned outside his apartment. Mr. Hublot takes pity on the creature and adopts it. Eventually the puppy grows into a huge dog, and Mr. Hublot is faced with a difficult decision: Should he keep his pet / only friend and allow it to disrupt his work? Or should he get rid off it?

Mr. Hublot is a charming short. Although the story is a bit familiar, the short's animation is very distinctive and Mr. Hublot's apparent OCD is very relatable in our day and age. While not as likely to win the AA as Get a Horse, this film has a bit more substance to it. I would love to see what the short's creators do next.

Rating: 4/5

Feral 

Director: Daniel Sousa
Company: SousaAnimation
Country: USA

Feral greatly contrasts from the other contestants mentioned so far. It is not cute, funny, or heartfelt, but it is a rather mature, gloomy piece. The short tackles a difficult, yet intriguing subject with no clear answers: How would a feral child react if suddenly he or she were suddenly placed back into society? The huntsman who discovers the lost boy in the film certainly thinks that he is helping the child by reintroducing him to his 'proper place' in society. But the audience is left unsure, especially after they see the boy alienated by his strange new environment. The boy tries to adjust by using the same methods that kept him safe in the woods, but is teased by his peers and misunderstood by others. Feral ends openly with the boy running back towards the forest.

The short is quite ambitious and manages to tell its story with little to no dialogue, but, unfortunately, it can be difficult to understand at times due to its level of abstraction. Feral is indeed beautiful to look at, but feels a bit unevenly paced and may leave its audience cold. Still, one has to admire the efforts of Daniel Sousa's creation as he created almost entirely by himself.

Rating: 3/5

Possessions

Director: Shuhei Morita
Company: Sunrise
Country: Japan

Possessions is perhaps the most unique of all of the nominees and bears a couple of distinctions. It is the first anime film to be nominated that has not been directed by Hayao Miyazaki and its animation is blend of both cel shaded characters and traditional background art. The film's director, Shuhei Morita, is perhaps best known for his half-an-hour ghost story film, Kakurenbo ['Hide and Seek']. (It should also be noted that Possessions was originally part of an anime anthology film, Short Peace, which contained three other shorts including the award winning Combustible.)

In Possessions, a traveler comes across a shrine when he tries to find shelter from pouring rain. He decides to spend the night there, but notices that the shrine is full of neglected items. According to Japanese legend, abandoned items will come to life after one hundred years have passed. The umbrellas, kimonos, and other objects attempt to scare off their unwanted guest. However, the man decides to mend all of the tarnished objects instead and is rewarded for his efforts. Possessions may be more unusual then some of the other candidates, but there is still a small chance it could win. After all, Miyazaki's Spirited Away won Best Animated feature back in 2002 (making it the only anime film to do so so far).

Rating: 4/5

Room on the Broom

Directors: Jan Lachauer & Max Lang
Company: Magic Light Pictures
Country: UK

Easily the cutest entry on the list, Room on the Broom is based on a picture book by Julia Donaldson. The short also sports a well known cast, featuring the voices of Gillian Anderson, Rob Brydon, and Martin Clunes among others. Like Mr. Hublot, Room on the Broom blends several animation mediums (specifically models for the sets, CGI for the characters, and traditional animation for fire and water effects). This gives the film its own unique look, which is refreshing in this age where everybody seems to try and copy Pixar's style.

The short itself, is of course, aimed primarily at children, but is actually the longest nominee running at about half an hour. It manages to keep audiences of all ages alike amused with its gentle humor and rhyme filled narration. Room on the Broom is about a kindly witch who flies around with her grumpy cat in tow. The witch keeps dropping things, but the objects are always found by a forest animal. The witch always invites them to ride on the broom with her, despite her cat's protests. However, the broom eventually becomes to heavy to float and the witch runs into trouble with a hungry dragon. While nothing complex is offered in this short, it is quite enjoyable and certainly will please young ones and their families.

Rating: 4/5

The Honorable Mentions

A La Francaise 

Directors: Morrigane Boyer, Julien Hazebroucq, Ren-Hsien Hsu, Emmanuelle Leleu, William Lorton
Company: Supinfocom Arles Animation Film School
Country: France

A la Francaise is sort of a one trick pony. The short is about a bunch of pompous 18th century aristocrats attending a party at Louis XIV's palace…except that they all happen to be chickens. That's about it. Most of the gags actually tend to be pretty funny though and occasionally even a little risqué. The plot becomes increasingly chaotic and disorganized after a hen writing down all of the details about the party loses her papers, which fly throughout the ballroom and start offending all of the guests.

The biggest letdown of this short, however, is its very unsatisfying ending. The audience doesn't even get to see Louis XIV's full reaction to the disasters occurring around him. Still, there is much to be admired about this short on a technical level, given that it is CGI student film that was worked on by only handful of people over the course of three years. It's apparent why A la Francaise wasn't nominated, but it was rightfully given an honorable mention.

Rating: 3/5

The Missing Scarf

Director: Eoin Duffy
Company: Belly Creative Inc.
Country: Ireland

The Missing Scarf is one of those films that takes all of your expectations then completely subverts them in the best possible way. The short begins like a typical children's story. Narrated calmly by George Takei, it tells the tale of Albert, an optimistic squirrel, who has lost his scarf. Albert goes to the woods to search for it, but meets several other animals who have problems of their own (such as an owl who is afraid of the dark and a fox who fears being disliked by others). Albert gives each of them advice about how to deal with their problems, however the short becomes subtly darker as time goes on. So much so that even the bear's troubling existentialist question may not seem as impractical as it sounds.

The Missing Scarf's animation, done in a combination of Adobe Flash and Blender, suits the style of the film well. It is simple and to the point. The cute character designs also greatly contrast with the black humor at The Missing Scarf's ending. Personally, I think this short should have also been nominated, but The Missing Scarf was probably too unorthodox for the Academy's tastes. Their loss.

Rating: 4/5

The Blue Umbrella 

Director: Saschka Unsled
Company: Pixar
Country: USA

Many people where surprised when they discovered that Pixar received no nominations this year, not just for their main feature, Monsters University, but also for for their short, The Blue Umbrella. In the case of The Blue Umbrella, however, it is pretty apparent to see why it wasn't nominated. There is nothing wrong with the film, in fact it contains some beautiful CGI effects and utilizes some really creative animation on various inanimate street objects. However, The Blue Umbrella fails to offer its audience anything that they haven't already seen before.

The story is cute (involving a male blue umbrella who gets separated from his love interest, a red female umbrella), but it bares an uncanny resemblance to the 1954 Disney short, Jonny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet, and is rather predictable. The animation on the umbrellas is also somewhat disappointing. The drawn on cartoon faces simply don't blend very well with the short's otherwise photorealistic style.

Rating: 3/5

The Secret of Kells Trailers

To follow up the review, here are a couple of trailers for The Secret of Kells. If you are an animation fan, this is a must see. The US trailer evokes an eerier tone and focuses more on the action scenes in the film. The second trailer gives a better sense of what the film is about, but also has a few spoilers.

(Note: The Secret of Kells is now on Hulu. You can watch it for free here.)

The Secret of Kells (Review)

Director(s): Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey
Company: Cartoon Saloon

Year: 2009
Country: Ireland

Hand drawn animation is not dead.

The Secret of Kells is a mixture of Irish folklore and an original storyline which explains the origins of Ireland’s most famous religious text, the Book of Kells. It centers around the childhood of Brendan, a young monk, who longs to see what life is like outside of the walls of Kells. He lives under constant pressure from his oppressive uncle, Abbot Cellach, who obsessively works on his wall in order to fend off Vikings, barbarians, and other dangers from the outside world. In his over protectiveness, he fails to realize that his is actually harming his nephew and the rest of the abbey’s inhabitants by cutting off their contact from the beauty and knowledge that can only be gained from firsthand experience. 

Brendan befriends Brother Aidan who serves as the father figure he never had. Aidan realizes Brendan’s talent and teaches him how to become an illuminator (a kind of medieval book illustrator) and encourages him to venture into the woods outside of the walls. It is in these woods that Brendan befriends a young forest spirit, Aisling, who provides an interesting contrast to the other characters. When she states that she is the last of her kind it symbolizes the extinguishment of Celtic animism. Never the less she and Brendan never argue about their different beliefs. (In fact, despite that the movie is based on a religious text the movie never preaches to the audience or tries to shove an overly moralistic message down their throats. The word Bible is never even mentioned; it is just passively referred to as the Book of Light.) 

Brandon, Cellach, and the Monks

Being an animated film, The Secret of Kells is automatically required to have a good artistic design in order to be successful. This is where the movie achieves its greatest success. The whole visual style of the movie is based off of medieval manuscripts and limited television animation contrasted by lushly detailed backgrounds (in places the character design resembles that of the cartoon series Samurai Jack and the video game series The Legend of Zelda). Each setting has its own unique style as well. For instance, the Aisling’s forest is heavily inspired by Art Nouveau and Gustav Klimpt which gives the scene a very intriguing, mysterious, yet welcoming feel. This is the exact opposite of Cellach’s tower which is very tall and looms over the entire abbey suggesting Cellach’s harsh leadership and constant wariness. (Cellach himself actually resembles his tower because of his own unnaturally tall height and slim build.) Other parts of the movie make great use color scheme. For instance, when the Vikings raid Kells the entire sequence is animated using only red, black, and white which adds to the unease and distress of the scene.

 Art Nouveau meets Celtic Art

Cellach is tall and imposing like his tower.

Animation style and color change with the mood of each scene.

Overall, The Secret of Kells is a unique visual experience that will not easily be forgotten once seen. I would not recommend it to the typical movie goer who is unfamiliar with Irish culture or is expecting a ‘typical kid’s cartoon’ to simply rent for their children’s enjoyment. However if you are an artist, interested in other cultures, or tired of this summer’s redundant sequels and blockbusters, then I would highly recommend this film. This is truly a wonderful yet overlooked film about how the preservation of one’s culture, acceptance of one’s core values, and the acceptance others are all essential in order to find hope and happiness in troubled times.

Rating: 4.5/5