6 Short Animation Reviews
We had the privilege of screening a wide selection of wonderful animated films at our 2022 film festival, all of which were pretty short, so here’s a collection of mini-reviews for these brilliant animations.
A Pet
Directed by Nastimir Tzatchev
Bulgaria • Animation • 8 Mins
A Pet is a humorous and charming animated film about a lonely young girl in need of company & attention who dreams of having a pet as a companion, and proceeds to do all she can to make that dream come true.
The animation has a wonderful childlike simplicity to it, looking like the pages of a children’s picture book have come to life and the gags are sweet and well thought out, also evoking a childlike sense of imagination and whimsey.
The soundtrack, simple as it is, moves the animation along while maintaining the upbeat nature of the film.
A Pet is a funny and endearing animation that’s perfect for younger audiences while providing the odd laugh (and maybe a mirror) for grown-ups with their nose in their mobile phones.
8/10
A Pet was nominated for Best Animation at our 2022 film festival.
Earlybird
Directed by Daniel Fitzgerald
UK • Animation • 3 Mins
Upon being rudely awaken by his alarm clock, a ravenous little bird tries all he can with very little success, to find a nice juicy worm like the one he’d been dreaming about.
Earlybird is a riot! While it has a classic Loony Tunes vibe about it with the outrageous, relentless and somewhat violent cartoon gags & gaffs at the expense of the main character, this is very much a modern take, very firmly rooted in the present with clever jokes centred around drones, online shopping and fast food delivery. And much like the Loony Tunes shorts, while it works brilliantly on it’s own, you also get the sense that this could easily become a recurring character/premise for an ongoing series.
Some great sound design & music help bob this cool little film along and the 3D animation is impeccable, and I dare say, along with the script, as good as anything Hollywood produces. Director Daniel Fitzgerald has truly done an incredible job to bring this nippy little animation to life.
Earlybird is exquisitely animated and packed with loads of new & innovative gags to enjoy.
9/10
Earlybird won Best Animation at our 2022 film festival.
Place to Place
Directed by Natasha Cánepa
Puerto Rico • Animation • 2 Mins
A text from a lonely traveler encourages a group of friends from faraway places to reunite.
Place to Place by animator Natasha Cánepa is an excellent and uplifting little animation. The animation itself if faultless as well as being enjoyable, eye catching and to the point. The spot on sound design and soundtrack add to the urgency and fun, making this an all round, well conceived and executed little animation.
9/10
Place to Place was nominated for Best Animation at our 2022 film festival.
Be Free
Directed by Samuel Owonte
Canada • Animation • 2 Mins
Packed with fantastic sound design and vivid & interesting imagery, Be Free is about a sad young girl Merry, who makes her heart’s desires known to the water spirit Mami Wata.
Despite the clear theme of recycling and learning to keep our environment clean, the intention of the film for director Samuel Owonte is more personal. It’s a message from his younger self to ‘be free’ from fear, challenges and anxiety and he notes that change and confronting challenges doesn’t come from wishful thinking, but active change. However, what will resonate more with audiences is the message that we’re killing our environment, and change is a must.
The animation style is fluid & bold and despite its brown colour palette it’s beautiful to look at, and even more so upon its conclusion.
Be Free is a fun, visually appealing animation with a great message.
8/10
Be Free was nominated for Best Student Animation and Best Sound at our 2022 film festival.
Divination Dave
Directed by Georgia Madden
UK • Animation • 7 Mins
Savoury snack addict Dave must resort to extreme measures in order to satisfy his salty cravings.
Divination Dave is totally bizarre, somewhat grotesque and very British - and it’s brilliant!
Dave is a grubby, overweight and extremely lazy individual whose place is being firmly rooted to his armchair in front of the TV in his filthy flat, munching on bags of crisps. After his common-or-garden lamp breaks he replaces it with a salt lamp, and this is where Dave’s journey toward enlightenment begins (and ends).
The miniatures, animation and camera/lighting on this stop-motion animation are all top notch with some very inventive animation techniques subtly slipped in to replicate aspects of our real world. It would be of no surprise to anyone if director Georgia Madden ended up working for the likes of Aardman in the near future as an animator - but perhaps not as a script writer!
The script is deliciously dark and twisted, featuring endless gross-out gags and hilarious piss-takes on British culture - and it’s this indulgence and parodying of British-ness that really sets this animation apart from others that strive for a more bright, poppy, universal appeal. It’s also made all the more extraordinary that Divination Dave comes from the mind and skillset of a 19 year old student - Georgia definitely has a bright future in stop-motion animation.
If the British TV series “Bottom" was an animation, it would be this!
9/10
Divination Dave won Best Student Animation at our 2022 film festival.
Early Birds
Directed by Cole Stevenson
Canada • Animation • 3 Mins
Not to be confused with the earlier EarlyBird, Early Birds from Cole Stevenson is about a small, lonely penguin who tries all he can to wake an older, sleeping penguin so he’ll have someone to play with.
The animation style is quaint and the story & gags are very witty. One of the stand out aspects is the score and sound design which dance together brilliantly and meld with the action becoming one at times, while at others purely helping this nippy little animation bounce along.
This animation opened our festival as it was the perfect piece to kick off proceedings; a funny, crowd pleasing short for all ages.
9/10
Early Birds was nominated for Best Student Animation at our 2022 film festival.
Reviews by Philip Pugh
