The Bigger Picture, a short from the
United Kingdom, is a very downbeat film. It concerns two middle-aged brothers
and their ailing mother who needs to be committed to a nursing home. One of the
brothers, Richard, does all of the work caring for her, but he remains perpetually
underappreciated. The other, Nick, is a bit of a snob, to be honest, and quite
unappealing, but he always takes credit for anything good that he does, no
matter how small. The film gives a clear sense of the different personalities
of the two brothers, one of whom is unemployed and a bit of a loser and the
other being the one for whom everything seems to come easily. The short
features a couple of moments of levity here and there, but I suppose a
filmmaker would find it tough to make this material funny. At times, the
short’s images look almost like paintings, crudely drawn perhaps, but they must
have been large to match the actual sized furnishings on display. The attempt
at reconciliation seems forced here despite knowing that this scenario is too
common among siblings.
The Dam Keeper tackles the subject of how important
friendship can be to someone being bullied. A little pig lives alone in a
windmill that keeps darkness (pollution? bad weather?) away from his town. He
took over the job from his father after the elder pig’s passing, and even
though he is still in school, he has to reset the windmill twice daily to
preserve the town. Sadly, all of the other animals in the school harass and
tease the little pig; the reason is never clear although I guess the
implication is that he’s a loner who prefers to keep to himself, and young
people never seem to understand that impulse. The arrival of a new student, a little
fox, changes the pig’s life when the two realize that they both like to draw.
Although they would seem to be “natural” enemies—after all, a pig and a fox
being friends?—but perhaps the message is that even opposites can have things
in common. A misunderstanding separates them, and the pig doesn’t make it home
in time to prevent the town from being immersed in darkness one day. All is resolved happily eventually, and the
fox and the pig enjoy their time alone in the large windmill. I don’t know how
young a child could be and still understand the message of this film, but given
how many young people we’ve lost in recent years to suicide because of
bullying, I’m certain it would resonate with many, many people. You could
easily “read” the friendship between the pig and the fox as the beginning of a
budding romance, given that both of them are male, but most people would
probably prefer to concentrate just upon their friendship.
Feast, a very polished entry from the United
States, is a delight. A Disney short that aired before Big Hero 6 in theaters, it features the story of a puppy whose love
of food propels the narrative. Unfortunately, what happens in its owner’s life
determines what kind of food the little French bulldog gets. When it’s tiny and
first rescued, the dog gets delicious scraps from the table, pretty much
whatever the owner wants to eat since he’s a bachelor at the time, but when the
owner gets a girlfriend (a waitress) the food switches to healthy food served
with garnish. When the couple breaks up, the food doesn’t revert back to the
meatballs and pizza the dog once enjoyed. The owner’s depression over the split
prompts the dog, now grown bigger and seemingly wiser, to reunite the couple
despite its fears that it will have to keep eating healthily. Later, though, the
arrival of a baby in the house means the dog now gets to eat everything again,
so he gets a happy ending after all. I would warn you not to watch this short
if you’re hungry because the food, especially in the early scenes, looks
delicious. What we’re watching here, of course, isn’t the story of the dog. It
merely foregrounds the story of the couple’s relationship, but the choice to
keep the dog as the central focus is a wise one. Anyone who loves dogs will
enjoy watching the facial expressions on this one’s face.
Me and My Moulton tells the story
of three sisters in Norway whose family life seems to them to be too different
(i.e., strange) from their friends’ lives. Narrated by the 7-year-old middle
daughter, this co-production of Norway and Canada brings into contrast the
lives these girls lead as the children of architects when compared to their apparently
wealthier neighbors. For example, everyone else in the area seems to have a
bicycle, prompting repeated appeals to the girls’ parents to purchase them one
as well. Unfortunately, the parents can’t afford an expensive bike and they
can’t purchase one immediately, leading the narrator to bemoan why her parents aren’t
more like everyone else’s. We learn, though, that the downstairs neighbors who seem
to be so happy truly aren’t. Meanwhile, the girls and their parents live more
simply and seem to enjoy each other’s company more. The arrival of the bicycle,
the Moulton of the title, adds to the girl’s eventual realization that you
should accept your situation in life. It might not be quite as bad as you
imagine it to be. The animation for this short is rather simple, but the use of
bright colors helps to heighten its impact. A few clever moments also add to
the humor, especially the three-legged chairs that keep tipping over and
depositing their sitters on the floor. The narrative doesn’t reveal anything
particularly profound, but Me and My
Moulton is enjoyable to watch.
A Single Life clocks in at little more than two
minutes long and, to be honest, ended just about the time I figured out what
was happening. A woman receives a 45 rpm single in the mail and puts it on her
record player. When the record skips, if it moves forward in the song, she
ages. If it skips backward, she becomes younger. That’s really it. Maybe
there’s a message here about living in the moment rather than trying to move
too quickly to your future or always trying to relive your past. However, given
its quick running time, this short from the Netherlands doesn’t really have or
take the time to have much of an impact. It’s cute and clever, but not much
else. This is the slightest film in the category, and you have to wonder how
the voters selected it over all of the other animated short films released in
2014.
Oscar Winner: Feast.
This short is yet another example of the revived Disney tradition of quality
short films to accompany its feature films.
My Choice: Feast.
It’s beautifully drawn, which you cannot say about most of the other entries,
and the story is beautifully resonant as well.
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