Animation by its very limitless nature is always predisposed to taking us to places that enchant and enthrall our imaginations. In a world that, for all its wonder and expanse, has quite firm parameters on what can and can’t happen, animation offers the chance for filmmakers to go all out Continue Reading
Animation
Lessons from the Screenplay: The Soul of character design
SNAPSHOT[This video examines] two fundamental elements of character design—want and need. Pixar’s film Soul puts these aspects of story structure right on the surface, and demonstrates why they’re so critical to creating a compelling, emotional character arc. (synopsis via YouTube (c) Lessons from the Screenplay) Soul is a beautiful, funny, Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The bear and fleeting fame of The Moon’s Not That Great
SNAPSHOTAfter an astronaut returns from her lunar mission to find that the public lost all interest in the moon, the stories of the astronaut, a film director, and a bear intersect. (synopsis via Laughing Squid) There is a compellingly beautiful heart to this most attractively animated of short films. The Continue Reading
Underdogs forever! Luca releases gorgeous teaser trailer
SNAPSHOTSet in Italy, Luca is a fun and heartwarming story about friendship, stepping out of your comfort zone and two teenage sea monsters who experience a life-changing summer. This coming-of-age adventure will tell the story of a young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer with his newfound best friend in a Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: Have Heart and the existential crisis of an animated looping GIF
SNAPSHOTWill Anderson’s latest Have Heart, a humorous and relatable tale of a looping animated GIF in the midst of an existential crisis, has already charmed live audiences worldwide and is now looking to blow a few minds online. With a healthy festival run throughout 2017 and early 2018, Have Heart Continue Reading
The world is broken: New poster + trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon
SNAPSHOTRaya and the Last Dragon takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The touching search for love in Unbreakable
SNAPSHOT“Unbreakable” is the story of Barbara the Bunny. When she begins to persistently cough, “Quality Control” at the toy factory labels her “defective,” and so her search for treatment begins. She goes from shop to shop to no avail, until she discovers a loose string of yarn that takes her Continue Reading
Delicious shorts: A review of the ten bite-sized stories of Pixar Popcorn
There is no point at which you can ever say “I have had enough Pixar, thank you.” The now Disney-owned and run animation powerhouse has a proven track record for delivering animated features that is visually lush and evocative, stories that don’t simply tug at the heartstrings but rip them Continue Reading
Crack them open! Easter Eggs revealed for The Mandalorian and Soul
If you consume any kind of pop culture media in our postmodernist, digital, information saturated age, you will be well acquainted with the concept of “Easter eggs” which are defined, as per Wikipedia, as “a message, image, or feature hidden in a video game, film, or other, usually in electronics, Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The beautifully affecting friendship of Chocolate Cake & Ice Cream
SNAPSHOT“My son, Trent, began spontaneously playing a sentimental tune on the piano. My twin brother, Scott, joined in with singing the words ‘chocolate cake and ice cream’. The silly words seemed to lighten our heavy hearts. I came alongside, and we all sang in harmony together. It was just a Continue Reading