(USA, 10 min.)
Dir. Patrick Osborne
Leave it to Disney Animation to be the top dog of the 2014
Ottawa International Animation Festival. This year’s OIAF features a spotlight
on the Mickey Mouse studio, and the sneak peek and behind-the-scenes talk of
Disney’s latest short, Feast, arguably
marks the highlight of the festival. Feast
is easily one of the best shorts that Disney has ever produced.
This short from director Patrick Osborne, one of the animators on Disney’s Oscar winner Paperman, introduces audiences to the most loveable puppy that animation fans have ever seen. His name is Winston and he loves to eat, especially the comforting junk food his owner plops before him as they bond over pizza, nachos, spaghetti and meatballs, and more. However, when a third party—and a leaf-eating health nut—moves in, the dinner dynamics drastically change for Winston and food just isn’t as fun as it used to be.
Feast comes from
Osborne’s idea of shooting his daily dinner in a one-second Vine montage that
captures the communal joy of sharing a mealtime. Feast heaps plate upon plate of mouth-watering goodness into the
centre of the frame as Winston’s happy appetite becomes a metaphor for the pleasure
of sharing a meal with a loved one, as the tone of the film changes even when
the comfort food stays the same. It’s the company, not the food itself, that
gives meals their flavour. Feast
features an unexpected arc as it takes viewers through a lifetime of highs and
lows for the pooch and his master told primarily through the grub they share.
Feast marks one of
Disney’s most significant shorts because of the wondrous animation with which
Osborne tells the tale. The film features cutting-edge 3D animation, yet the
characters resemble something closer to classical 2D animation, for they have
the depth and dimensions afforded to characters by contemporary technology. Winston
is an endearing pooch that moves with the lifelike briskness, energy, and spunk
of a real dog, but he has the affectionate flair of originality that comes when
an animator offers a unique creation instead of trying to emulate the real. The
result is a dog who looks and feels more real than a conventional
motion-capture simulation. (And Winston is definitely a ‘who’ rather than a ‘that.’)
The success comes primarily through the emotional
authenticity that Osborne and his team of cunning animators inject into the
dog. Thanks to the sparkles in Winston’s eyes, the expressiveness of his saggy
jowls, and the scampering of his paws through the little dust particles that
float throughout the frame, Feast adds
human-like traits to a character without fully anthropomorphizing him into a
full-fledged talking dog. He’s the latest breed of the spaghetti-slurping
doggies from Lady and the Tramp.
The film also has an impeccable attention to detail that
makes it feel especially cinematic. The light textures look better than ever
for an animated film as Feast
features warm glows and swathes of sunlight that make the mealtimes extra
appetizing. A lovely, subtle score by Alex Ebert (All is Lost) also accentuates the emotions at just the right
moments, but Feast smartly lets the
endlessly adorable face of Winston the dog work as its best special effect. Feast screened twice during its
presentation at OIAF and my only complaint is that it didn’t play a third time.
Rating: ★★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Feast screens before Big Hero
6, which opens in theatres November 7th, 2014.
Please visit www.animationfestival.ca for more information on this year's festival.
Please visit www.animationfestival.ca for more information on this year's festival.