I’m a sucker for anything remotely twee, so Helium Harvey is right up my street. The three-minute animated short from Daniel Savage follows a young boy on an imaginative, balloon-fueled journey across the globe. The imagery is gorgeously retro, turning the simple story into something quite magical. If you’re up for something sweet, take a look at…
Short film round-up
If you don’t mind a bit of obtuse surrealism, check out This is Not a Time to Lie, a three-minute animated short from China’s Lei Lei that follows its main character on a trippy journey through a lush geometric landscape. None of it, from the poetic narration to the almost frantic animation, has a discernible point,…
Critic touched and amazed by ‘The Wind Rises’
I am appalled that The Wind Rises did not take home the Oscar for Best Animated Picture. It makes Frozen look like a straight-to-DVD castoff. A beautiful farewell from Hayao Miyazaki, it is utterly magical – and in a way that eschews Disney’s heavy-handedness in favor of a much gentler, realer approach. The film presents…
Entertainment news round-up for March 6
Idris Elba is in final talks to join the cast of Disney’s animated The Jungle Book reboot, directed by Jon Favreau. Elba would voice Shere Khan the tiger. Elba has recently been seen in Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom and Thor: The Dark World. For more on The Jungle Book and on Elba’s other projects, click here. FX…
Short film round-up
For something a little off-kilter, take a look at Cockatoo, an 11-minute short from Australian filmmaker Matthew Jenkin that explores heartbreak and closure. The film follows a man who makes a desperate attempt to get over his previous relationship by hiring an actress from the Reality Dreams agency to play his ex-girlfriend for a few hours….
Short film round-up
For something that is at once charmingly fantastical and deeply relatable, check out I Am Tom Moody, a seven-minute animated short from Ainslie Henderson. The film follows a young amateur entertainer struggling with the conflicting voices in his head, one plagued by insecurity and the other aggressively negative. The stop-motion animation is masterfully done, and the…
Short film round-up
As someone who isn’t too fond of Wes Anderson’s feature films, I was pleasantly surprised by Castello Cavalcanti, an eight-minute short commissioned by Prada that stars Jason Schwartzman as a 1950s race car driver who has an unfortunate crash in a small Italian town. Though certainly stylish, it’s a little subtler than Anderson’s usual efforts, and…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 30
Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in Gold, which tells the story of athlete Sebastian Cole’s rivalry with Steve Ovett in the years leading up to the 1980 Olympic Games. The film will be directed by The Woman In Black helmer James Watkins, with a script by Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy and How to Train Your Dragon screenwriter Will Davies….
Short film round-up
For a sweetly melancholic treat, take a look at Reflections, a five-minute animated short from Bosmat Agayoff & Alon Ziv. It’s a sad little coming-of-age story that’s told through the eyes of a man named “Barnie,” whose desire to stay young is illustrated by the childish reflection that taunts him from various reflective surfaces. The sharp 2D…
Critic perplexed by classic animated film
I’m not entirely sure why I enjoyed The Last Unicorn so much as a child. Then again, I can’t really say I dislike it now. What I can say, however, is that it is one of the strangest animated films I’ve ever seen. Released in 1982 and adapted from Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 novel of…
