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| Negative Space |
However, the spectrum of nominees must start at the bottom, and the gong for worst in show easily goes to LOU (Dir. Dave Mullin; USA, 7 min.). LOU gives Pixar its obligatory annual spot in the shorts category, but don’t expect the animation house to leave the big show with two Oscars in hand. (Its win for the feature Coco is inevitable.) This short is beneath the legacy of the Pixar empire. The 3D computer animation is basic, uninspired, and unimaginative with its pandering story about a schoolyard bully who learns a lesson from the crudely animated items of the Lost & Found box. LOU feels strained even at seven minutes as the two monsters go tête-à-tête and the bully discovers how to be good with materialism serving as a vehicle for cheaply cathartic vibes. The film emotionally manipulative even by Pixar standards and surely has the voters of whichever members are responsible for nominating equally moronic crap Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
Much better and brighter is the wacky Garden
Party (Dir. Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux,
Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro; France, 7 min.). The film sees a bunch of frogs feast on the remains
of a lavish party littering the grounds of a swanky mansion. They nibble on
macarons, roll in silk sheets, and lounge by the pool. However, as the day
darkens, so does the film and Garden
Party reveals sinister notes of violence that mark the house. What looks
like a raucous party becomes a crime scene, yet these innocent animals know
that the mice may play when the cat’s away. The computer-generated animation of
this dark fable is simply stunning with water and glass that sparkle with
breathtaking clarity and animals rendered in such vivid detail that one almost
feels the textures of their screen by caressing the screen. The real stars
here, however, are the delicate shifts in tone that subversively spin the film
from a kids’ story to becoming a droll and violent affair. Garden Party has a wicked sense of humour.
Black comedy and storybook spirit go hand
in hand as well in Revolting Rhymes (Dir. Jan Lachauer, Jakob Schuh, Bin-han To;
UK, 29 min.), which has a lark adapting the children’s book by Roald Dahl.
Dominic West and Tamsin Greig voice a big bad wolf and a babysitter,
respectively, who wait in a café to visit some kids. The wolf recounts stories
about his two lost cubs and he narrates a playful verse that draws upon all the
staples of fairy tale lore with Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and
the Three Little Pigs colliding in a tragedy in which little wolves are poor
victims of voracious appetites. Revolting
Rhymes treads familiar territory since other films have given storybook
classics dark and similarly self-reflexive adaptations, but the film is very
clever with the sinister singsong narration with which the wolf sets his trap
for revenge. At half an hour, it’s longer than all of the other nominees combined,
but doesn’t overstay its welcome thanks to its playful spirit.
Dear Basketball (Dir. Glen Keane; USA, 6 min.), on the other hand, keeps things short
and sweet. This animated poem makes a worthy Oscar nominee out of basketball
star Kobe Bryant who narrates a love letter to the sport that saved him.
Beautiful hand drawn sketches make this short and intimate film an inspiring affair
as Keane illustrates a young boy’s humble love for the game that grows and encourages
more young players to pursue their dreams. The music by John Williams is buoyantly
triumphant and the film lets Bryant soar through an unabashed love for the
game. There’s just something so honest and sincere to the film that makes its
passion so pure. Watch Dear Basketball in full below:
Finally, the Oscar shorts get a slam dunk
with Negative
Space (Dir. Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata; France, 5 min.), an ingenious ode
to the lessons with which parents prepare their kids for life and all its
disappointments from the team behind the brilliant Something Left, Something Taken, which was probably the best animated short I ever saw covering the dearly departed Worldwide Short Film Festival. Negative Space
crafts a touching eulogy for a departed father as young Sam recalls his memory
of his dad going away on business trips and leaving the family at home while
jetting off to one part of the world or another. The clever fusion of style and
storytelling recounts the father-son relationship through the small suitcase
that Sam’s father packs efficiently for each trip. Stop-motion animation folds,
rolls, tucks, and sorts the shirts, pants, socks, and undies that Sam and his
father stow away with expert care as belts slither like snakes and shoes clop
through the air with their footsteps providing simple memories that connect
father and son despite their geographical distance. Negative Space has a great spring to its step as Sam, his father,
and their well-tucked valises move through the frame with an idiosyncratic
beat. Porter and Kuwahata’s character style also gives the humans a refreshingly
offbeat look. Rather than try to make lifelike humans—an endeavour in animation
that I never understand, and can be seen in the dead-eyed children of LOU—Negative
Space creates its world with a true originality of vision. This quirky
short is the most original work of the bunch both narratively and
aesthetically, delivering both witty laughs and a heartfelt punch. Negative Space packs in five quick,
economical minutes a film that is as efficiently bundled as the dad’s travel
bag. It's a beautiful and flat-out brilliant film worthy of Oscar gold. Watch Negative Space in full (with Spanish subtitles) below:
Which short gets your vote?
The Oscar Animated
Shorts open in Toronto at TIFF Lightbox on Feb. 9 and in Ottawa at The Bytowne on Feb. 23.
