Author Archive

The Psychiatrist by Emily Howells

Written by andy 21st October 2009, 3:10pm

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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I love the yellow beak of the toucan. You probably shouldn’t draw any conclusions from that. The gentleman in this animation keeps one under his hat and is afraid of being left under the stairs after a party like an umbrella full of sick. Do you think the underside of an umbrella is sick-proof? I’m not sure.

Emily Howells has made a mad, 2d animated, poetic rant. It’s done with a mixture of breeziness and menace. The oddball paranoid versifier is voiced by Rodger McGough who speaks of fantastical, fearful and funny imagery whist a chattering toucan sits comfortably in the brain-space of the patient, smoking a pipe. Depending on wether you found a moose head on your pillow this morning, have recently receive a parcel of encyclopaedias in the mail or saw the ghost of King Edward VII fighting with a Chihuahua through your kitchen window, you might find this deeply disturbing or hilarious. I’m off to look for missing prawns.

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The Accident by Sara Nesteruk

Written by andy 12th October 2009, 7:10am

Posted in: Channel 4, Reviews

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Is a simple, touching story of a character remembered: Uncle Stephen, the smartly dressed writer of letters sitting at the kitchen table. Childhood Memories, tangents and details of family life are recalled and reexamined. The animated pen and ink drawing echoing the pen and ink writing of Uncle Stephen: crossings out, drips, things are done and re-done. It’s quietly enigmatic and poignant.

Find out what makes the director tick on her blog, Circles Squares and Lines.

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The Red Suitcase by Saul Freed

Written by andy 6th October 2009, 2:10pm

Posted in: Channel 4, Reviews

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I love cardboard and I always have trouble putting it into the recycler. Yeah it might be a fire hazard and possible rat nest but you never know when it might come in handy, right?

Well, I guess Saul Freed would agree and maybe if, like him I also had  some yarn, a gravelly-voiced, Jazz narrator and a talent for animation, I might be able to make something like The Red Suitcase.

There’s a whole lot of home-made charm in this animation, with its painted cardboard scenery and people that look like knitted versions of Mr Peanut’s hill-billy cousins. There’s a lot of neat story telling moments and fun in here, but there’s a serious slice of life story behind the off-cute style. It’s the small life of a fix-it man and what happens when a stranger comes to town. Someone crosses the tracks. and things change. Suffice to say it involves jazz, wicked, wicked Jazz.

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Love Triangle by Yasmeen Ismail

Written by andy 29th September 2009, 12:09pm

Posted in: 2D, Channel 4, Reviews

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My mother used to warn me that I might turn into something.

There’s a deep truth in this film. Alright, I admit it, I once had a partner and… she turned into a triangle. I didn’t deal with it very well. There, I said it. I’ve come clean. Sometimes geometry gets in the way of life. I knew somebody who turned into a rhombus. A former flatmate of mine even turned into a 4 dimensional hyper cube AHHHHHHRRRGHH! It’s a modern plague!

Yasmeen Ismail’s simple, uncluttered, hand drawn style gives this slice of life with a twist, real heart.  This charming little film has genuine warmth and humour and more importantly shows how to deal with interpersonal triangulation. It turns out you need a hot oven and a tolerance for infanticide.

Now, is it lunchtime yet, I’m hungry.

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The Man with the Beautiful Eyes by Jonathan Hodgson

Written by andy 28th September 2009, 1:09pm

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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Here is a bright, bold and colourful film about a dark, confusing and sinister event. A group of children are drawn to the strange house of an outcast.

Jonathan Hodgson’s film of Charles Bukowski’s poem is a beguiling visual mix of abstraction, pattern, and typography, always in motion. It takes us deep into the confusion and fear of childhood and the powerful significance of small things. The paint and hand drawn style is simple and powerful. It’s real visual storytelling at its best and satisfyingly compliments Bukowski’s lyrical poem, which tells how innocent games can share a border with the forbidden territory of violence and the unexplained and cause a terrible realisation about life to come into focus. A powerful and beautiful film.

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The Imperfectionist by Asa Lucander & Vicki Kitchingman

Written by andy 22nd September 2009, 7:09am

Posted in: 2D, Channel 4, Reviews

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Doodle, doodle, doodle… Doodling is better than working. It helps you think. Think deep thoughts about the universe (does it end?) and make lists: cake, pie, chips, soap… maybe I should live in a boat?…cake. I’ve drawn a giant snail and a man with one leg longer than the other. A parrot driving a car on a world the size of a balloon held by a cat faced boy. I leave notes to my future self which I cannot decipher. I’ve done it and I’ll do it again in my sketchbook.

The Imperfectionist uses the crazy JUXTAPOSITIONS (sorry I have to break off and put 50 pence in the JUXTAPOSITION box) found in a sketchbook to tell the untidy, ink-stained story of an illustrator who has one of those god-awful, embarrassing “relationship” conversations with his mum. Its all played out across the pages of his sketchbook: giant cats, stop signs and street scenes, big sneakers and inkblots, wallpaper-balloons, funny creatures, weird birds, little people, shopping lists, a rogue-independent foot and a series of unflattering self portraits all explained by the effortlessly droll Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Are you alone? Are you some kind of man-beast unworthy of human affection? Watch this. You won’t find the secret to a healthy relationship but you will see some stylish, scribbly doodles brought to life.

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How to cope with Death by Ignacio Ferreras

Written by andy 18th September 2009, 3:09pm

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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The Grim Reaper visits a very old woman. So, here’s what I have learned from this film: don’t mess with old ladies. Don’t go thinking you can turn up round their house with your creepy boney Grim Reaper face and super-bendy neck and just get your big’old scythe out. All I’m saying is there may be repercussions.

Back in 2002 Director Ignacio Ferreras emerged from years of isolation into the full glare of the animation media spotlight and won a pile of awards.

If you follow animation and you’re more than 7 years old then chances are, you’ve seen this. If not, many shames upon you! Either way, what you probably don’t know is… It took 14 years to complete this film. Ignacio drew it with his eyes closed, standing on one leg in a wind swept hut on the slopes of the Himalayas, circled by ravenous wild dogs, eating only gruel. He was visited once a month by cruel monks who made unkind comments about him through his letterbox. It was a tough life. Now some of these facts may be entirely made up by me just now but that does not change the fact that “How to Cope With Death” is cosmically awesome and probably took ages. And even if you have seen it, see it again because you know what, it’s still good.

I hate to say “OOoooh look at the detail in that.” but “OOoooh look at the detail in that”. This is a masterful bit of traditional animation full of great timing and great story telling detail. It’s scary and funny and‚ well, just watch it. And maybe after you watch it you should give your Granny a call.

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BAA, British Animation Awards 2010

Written by andy 16th September 2009, 1:09pm

Posted in: Announcements, Festivals

British Animation Awards

It’s BAA time again! The British Animation Awards are ready to help spread the word about all that’s new and splendid and wonderful in British Animation. The awards cover everything from student work to commercials, children’s entertainment to experimental art films, music videos and more.

BAA 2010 Entry Forms will be posted online very soon. So keep an eye out.
www.britishanimationawards.com

Dates for your diary:
Student Film: October 30th 2009
All other categories: November 30th 2009

Short-listed entrants will be informed in December 2009 and finalists in late January 2010.

Join the mailing list to keep up:
info@britishanimationawards.com

And don’t miss your chance to enter!

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Posthaste by Rob Zywietz

Written by andy 11th September 2009, 11:09am

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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This is a gem. No pun intended because it actually has a gem in it. That’s just a co-incidence.

We all have our own personal peeves and preferences. I for one am always pleased to hear the phrase “It’s the rozzers”. This animation does not disappoint. Especially since it follows up with “step on it!”. It’s all part of the general retro vibe, from the cannonball heads of the gangsters to the domed helmets worn by the police. It’s Ealing comedy meets 70s cop show wrapped up in a Saturday morning cartoon. This is the sort of thing I would like to watch over a bowl of cornflakes, that’s if the postie hasn’t stolen my milk.

The minimal scribbly drawing and hand colouring is full of character and there’s enough going on to keep you entertained.

I did wonder momentarily whether Director Rob Zywietz was harbouring some secret loathing for postal workers until I realized everyone depicted in this short is pretty useless, from the dim witted police to the incompetent gangsters. Either way, this is fun, it has real pace, it even has a convincingly action-packed chase, helped along by Paul Harrison’s jazzy cop show music. It’s cleverly put together and feels oddly satisfying. Like I said, a gem.

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My First Crush by Julia Pott

Written by andy 10th September 2009, 2:09pm

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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If you’ve ever fallen in love with a blue fox then this is the film for you. The animation makes use of interviews with people talking about their first crushes. Then using the magic of imagination, Julia Pott transforms ordinary citizens into a seahorse knocking on a castle door or a polar bear on a telephone. It’s a more oddball take on the Creature Comforts idea.

Julia’s surreal drawing style combines the comically twee and the slightly unsettling with an eye for strong design. She makes these commonplace stories into something transformative.

Like this? Watch Julia Pott’s music video for White Corolla.

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