Oseam (2003)

Two orphans, Gamie, a young blind girl and her little brother Gil-sun, are taken in by a Buddhist monk. While the shy little girl finds her at ease at the temple, the enthusiastic and dynamic little Gil-sun soon starts to disturb this quiet place. After his sister told him their mother had visited her in a dream, the little boy tries to understand why his mom did not come to see him too. In order to meet her again, he decides to follow the monk for a very long initiatic trip.



Oseam is based on a novel by Korean author Jung Chae-bong, who has described it as being a a compassionate philosophical and poetic fable for adults.
Baek-yeob Seong saturated the frames with brilliant colors and imagery that are alternately haunting and inspiring. This film possess a deliberately old fashioned look, comprising of paintings that form a lush backdrop to the moving characters.
It would have reeked of precociousness and suffered far more of emotional manipulation than it already does.

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (Oscar 2005)

John Canemaker uses a dazzling array of animation styles and techniques, from black and white photographs to colorful childish drawings and much, explores the difficult emotional terrain of father/son relationships as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father.
It creates a wonderful mix between the reality and the dream, a true person and his image and for the director, between the desire of rediscovering his childhood and the fear about it. It's very sad as the father died before the film was made and it's strange what someone who didn't talk can say to his child and how love can impersonate itself in our lives and stories.



He made this film to resolve long-standing emotional issues he has with my late father. He wanted to find answers to our difficult relationship, to understand the reasons his father was always a feared figure in his childhood, why his father was always angry and defensive, verbally and physically abusive, and often in trouble with the lawuses.
The drawings are really simple but there's so much emotion and creativity that you go out of this film deeply moved and absolutely fascinated. It's the kind of film which makes you want to make animated films, thinking that it's something great and making you think something you didn't think before : animated films can be sometimes more powerful than any other films.
It is a very unusual perspective on The American Dream across all of the 20th century as it swings back and forth from bitter and cynical to loving and almost forgiving.

Britannia (1993)

Britannia shifted her concern from gender politics to imperialism in an animated history of the political cartoon.
With this short, Joanna Quinn makes an excellent satirical swipe at the British character that, using a bulldog as the symbol of that rise and subsequent recession, shows how, in the pursuit of wealth and power, it has robbed other nations of their pride and national wealth.



The dog discovers tea in India; then, the dog shakes gold out of Africa. Gradually, innocence gives way to more and more ferocious play with the ball. We see terrorized women and children as the dog becomes an enslaving potentate. Harmless English archetypes benefit from colonial riches. Then the world begins to grow, and the dog changes too, from bulldog to effete lap dog.

Stubble Trouble (2000)

Stubble Trouble was directed by Joseph E. Merideth, a former animator for Calabash and a teacher of animation for Columbia College Chicago.
Stylistically, it comes across as a crude melange of the "B.C." comic strip and "The Flinstones".



A caveman, finding himself rejected by the fairer sex because of his heavy beard, resorts to increasingly desperate measures to become clean shaven, but the beard always sprouts right back. Finally, he meets the perfect woman, who can accept him as he is.

Sisyphus (1974)

Sisyphus is an artistically spare depiction of the Greek myth of Sysiphus, sentenced to eternally roll a stone up a mountain. The story is presented in a single, unbroken shot, consisting of a dynamic line drawing of Sysiphus, the stone, and the mountainside.
This short is about political oppression. The futile efforts of trying to create personal works of art are reflected in Sisyphus's unending struggle, with a cold, oppressive force trying to prevent the hero from doing what he has to do.
With only black lines and empty white space, Marcell Jankovics is still able to make us aware of the incredible strength of Sisyphus, and the tremendous weight of the rock. As the rock grows in size, and Sisyphus, despite his ample musculature, shrinks, we truly feel the frustration and pain of the title character.



He pulls back, and for a split second, becomes nothing more than a squiggle of lines. He comes rocketing back, once again his old muscular self for just a brief moment, and shoves the rock on to its final resting-place on the top of the mountain.
By having Sisyphus melt into the mountain, Jankovics is able to show us the exhaustion and frustration of the title character.
The pain is also reflected in the stunning sound track. Gasps and grunts. As the boulder gets bigger, the gasps turn into screams.

The Selfish Giant (1973)

The story's namesake giant erects a wall to keep children out of his garden, reaping the consequences of a continuous winter.



The story is based on Oscar Wilde's novel.



Peter Sander makes a well piece of animation.

The Critic (Oscar 1963)

Mel Brooks is an old man watching abstract animations. Simple, abstract, geometric shapes move and morph on the screen to what sounds like harpsichord music.
He doesn't understand them, so he heckles with strange commentary, to the annoyance of those around him.



In the background we hear a man giving his ideas about what he sees, completely without a clue. The voice of an audience member, who claims to be 71, complains through out most the film despite being told repeatedly by other audience members to keep quiet.
The voice is from Mel Brooks.

The Dot and the Line (Oscar 1965)

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics is a book written and illustrated by Norton Juster, first published by Random House in 1963, which Chuck Jones and the MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio adapted into a 10-minute animated short film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, narrated by Robert Morley.
Jones had fun with the form.



A straight line is in love with a dot; however, the dot finds the line too plain, unimaginative, and rigid. She would rather spend her time with an undisciplined squiggle who is much more fun. The dejected line later realizes that he doesn't have to be unbending.
When the line demonstrates his abilities to the dot, she realizes that true beauty comes from discipline and that the squiggle is not for her.
You can buy Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection.

En Marchant (1969)

Ryan Larkin employs a variety of techniques (line drawing, color wash, etc.) to catch and reproduce the motion of people afoot. The springing gait of youth, the mincing step of the high-heeled female, the doddering amble of the elderly: every event is registered with humor and individuality, to the accompaniment of special sound.
A cinematic portrait of people walking in their individual ways!



Excerpts from this film also appear in the Oscar-winning short about Larkin, Ryan.
Walking made Larkin an animation celebrity, catapulting him into the international spotlight.

Au bout du monde (1999)

The adventures of a precariously-balanced house. Built on the top of a hill, it swings to and fro to the great displeasure of its inhabitants. Through various gesticulations and unintelligible verbal exchanges, these small characters are imbued with a lot of personality.
The gags build seamlessly on each other as the house teeters on the tip of the mountain.




The dialogue-free comedy transpires on both sides of a house perched on a peak so pointy the tiny structure see-saws whenever humans or animals make a move. Konstantin Bronzit's sense of comic timing couldn't be better and his cartoony drawing style is very appealing.
Its humor is quite understated, with gags based on timing, perspective, and sound, all used sparingly.

Africa (1997)

The idea of this film is based on the interest in african painting and masks about faces and human body. This is the story of a young man who, doing is boring duty in an office, dreams about a journey into the mythical continent.

Francisco Lança realized a black and white crayons over acrilic painted backgrounds.

Ersatz (Academy Award 1961)

This short traces evidence of American cartoons, specifically from the UPA studios. Dusan Vukotic takes cues from modern art and graphic design. The animated figures consist of simple geometric shapes and most of their movements are either parallel to one of their edges or else curvilinear. Despite this minimalism, the characters are identifiable as characters, and within the boundaries of fable the story works just fine.



The Substitute was the first film produced outside the USA to win an Oscar for best animated short.
It's a simple story about the man who comes to the beach and uses inflatable objects for all of his needs.
You can buy The Best of Zagreb Film: Be Careful What You Wish For/The Classic Collection.

Munro (Oscar 1961)

Tiny Munro, a four year old boy, is drafted into the army. Then his life profoundly changed.
Jules Feiffer's parable about the dangers of a mindless military mentality is accurately presented in this funny little film. Howard Morris narrates and voices the various grown-ups.



You can buy Rembrandt Films Greatest Hits.

You can visit Rembrandt Studio.

Now Hear This (1962 Oscar nominee)

Now Hear This is without a doubt one of the weirder shorts that Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble ever made. This short is one of the Looney Tunes series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.
Looney Tunes is a variation on Silly Symphonies, the name of Walt Disney's concurrent series of music-based cartoon shorts. Looney Tunes originally showcased Warner-owned musical compositions through the adventures of cartoon characters.
This was the first Warner Bros cartoon to use the "modern" Looney Tunes opening and closing sequence featuring stylized animation.



An old man finds a red horn and uses it as a megaphone, unaware that it is really a lost horn from the Devil's forehead. The Britisher finds that the horn has the effect of amplifying every sound psychedelically and causing him serious bodily harm.
It's impressive how economically Chuck Jones packed in so much expression and character into so little. You'll enjoy his artistic style and abstract design!
You can buy Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection.

Sub (2000)

Sub is an exquisitely-timed, hysterically funny, stunningly expressive story of one sunny afternoon in a cool Italian plaza.
It's a strange short: a spare dialogue, a striking illustrative style and a decidedly red aesthetic. Someone will see in the short the decline of the Soviet Empire or a treatise on the vulgarization of mass culture and the decline of religiosity.



I'm not sure if it's simply a surreal short about the crew of a miniature submarine attempting to save their captain from being splattered about the ground of a European plaza but I'm sure this film will fascinate you for its inventiveness, its dynamic editing, its continual narrative surprises but most of all for its subversive humor.

Scurtă Istorie (Palme d'Or 1957)

Short History has a dual philosophical content. It's full of ideas and poetry, in a funny short story full of rhythm and imagination.
Ian Popescu-Gopo admitted that he tried to start an "anti-Disney rebellion" with his animated films. He knew he would be unable to surpass Disney's animation characters in color and beauty, so he tried to be more profound in message and substance: he simplified the form and techniques used. Gopo is, in fact, designed in simple lines.



The main character is Gopo, a Homo Sapiens, featured in most of his films, and he is a reflection of himself, almost a self-portrait. He appears to be a lost creature, an innocent party, not knowing how and why he came about. But as the plot develops he adjusts his outlook and attains the upperhand. He goes through all the evolutionary stages of history until he reaches space and discovers a new life.

The Thief and the Cobbler (1993)

This film is based upon the ancient Arabian character of Nasruddin, a figure from the classic texts of '1001 Arabian Nights'. The Thief and the Cobbler is esotic and extravagant. The sheer beauty and subtlety of the simplest details are breathtaking. Generally, The Thief and the Cobbler remind me of the finest mimics of Buster Keaton.
The scenes are very intricate and it's all hand-drawn and painted cel animation. The Thief and the Cobbler is the best animated long film I've ever seen!
I hate Warner Bros for having stopped the work of Richard William.



Williams conceived the project (as a nearly silent movie) as early as 1964 but he started this ambitious animated film only in 1968 together with Art Babbit, Grim Natwick, Ken Harris, Emery Hawkins and other great animators. The film was originally self financed by Williams with money coming in from his animated commercials.
The film was gaining notoriety in the animation world as a masterpiece in the making, with over a decade of part-time attention devoted to it but it really did need some serious funding. In the late 70s, Saudi Prince Mohammed Faisil agreed to finance the film's most spectacular sequence 'The War Room'. After winning an academy award for Roger Rabbit, Williams got the film financed externally so it could be completed. I can imagine Williams' excitement: eventually each and every element which could be animated would be animated!
But he was a perfectionist and took time to work and work, often without sleep, more often without pay. Unfortunately, Williams took such a long time to make the film that Warner began to fear that their work would be stolen by Disney’s Aladdin (1992). This turned out to be a bad decision because after going over the budget the investors got nervous and pulled the film from him and had it completed by someone else. The film had about 10 to 15 min left to complete when it was taken out of Williams hands. Instead of just completing the film, the person in charge of the completion decided to re-work the film to make it more mainstream: Fred Calvert not only added dialogues and songs but replaced much of the original scenes and changed the editing.
You can buy The Thief And The Cobbler.

Meow (1982)

Meow is a funny political tale which won the Jury's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.



Marcos Magalhãe show us the effects of american cultural invasion. The story is simple and essential, the animation too.
He also makes Animando , a documentary about various animation tecniques.

The Heart Collector (2006)

The Heart Collector is a Vancouver Film School 2D animation. Featuring various surreal and metaphorical scenes of a man searching for the confidence to interact with those around him, Michael Fallik explores the harsh realities of mood disorders through his sound design.



A man with no heart rips out the hearts of lovers in order to make himself one of his own.
This short has been screened in many international festivals and was elected Best of 2006 by Channel Frederator.

Allegretto (1936)

Allegretto develops itself as an invigorating contrast between overlapping, expanding concentric circles and flocks of angular, foreground shapes that sail across the screen in time to Rainger's jazzy score.
There's a series of white and pale green lozenges, irregularly distributed across a larger rhomboid shape composed of rectangles divided into red and deep green at each of whose tip hovers a scattering of white diamonds. Diamond and oval shapes in primary colors perform a sensual, upbeat ballet to the music of composer Ralph Rainger. The geometric dance is set against a background of expanding circles that suggest radio waves. Allegretto presents an intricate layering of a number of recurring motives.



This was the first film Oskar Fischinger made after he emigrated from Berlin to Hollywood in order to escape the increasingly difficult political situation in Germany. He made the film for Paramount as a kind of interlude in a longer musical film but the collaboration collapsed completely and it was never used.
He found that Paramount had changed the film project from Technicolor to black-and-white. Also, Paramount printed the black-and-white version intercut with various live action images, so it was no longer totally abstract.
Several years later, with the help of Hilla von Rebay, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (Guggenheim Foundation) allowed him to buy his short film Allegretto back from Paramount, so he was able to complete it in color as he had originally intended. Fischinger then redid and re-painted the cells and made a color version to his satisfaction. The layers of cels allowed Fischinger to develop rhythms, harmonies and counterpoints of forms, while the colors change from frame to frame to create lush hues on divisionist principles, achieving particularly luminous and chromatic hues that could not be produced by normal methods of animation photography (William Moritz). Fischinger was forced to finance the distribution of this film himself and was able to make only a few copies but the film was shown at museums and centers of advanced art all over the world. This became one of the most-screened and successful films of visual music's history and one of Fischinger's most popular films.
You can buy these: The importance of being Fischinger and Oskar Fischinger: Ten Films (DVD).