The Visit: Animation in Progress

The Visit is a short animated film I was working on about 5 years ago. I was unable to finish. However, the story is so captivating to me and my drive to finish projects so strong that I am gearing up to complete the thing sometime this year (2014). The story is my adaptation of an old Ukrainian folk tale about a little girl who is cast out of her home to live in the forest. It’s a pretty serious and tough little story. No laughs really.

Animation: Red Rabbit

Egmont Mayer of Germany made this 3D animated film. A man lives with his secret rabbit and cuts his social interactions to nearly nothing as a result of his shame. I like the way animators are starting to revel in making their films look like they are rendered in 3D software rather than trying to defeat the software to make things look realistic.

Animation: Pushkin

Pushkin is a stop-motion animation by Trevor Hardy for his Fool Hardy Films studio.  The film is full of very easy-going humor that starts as soon as the old woman first opens her mouth to ask if anyone has seen her missing cat.  I think the way the character talks is just hilarious.  This little studio is a one-man outfit that is producing totally marvelous work.

I found this via the fantastic no fat clips!!!

Pixar Grant’s a Girl’s Dying Wish

PixarUpDisney’s Pixar Animation Studio received a message from a friend of the family of ten-year-old Colby Curtin who was dying of cancer.  The message told Pixar that the girl wanted to stay alive long enough to see Up.  She was too sick to risk being moved to a movie theater and a DVD was the only possible option.  It seems that Pixar management dispatched an employee to the girl’s home with a DVD, a poster and some toys based on the movie.  The girl was able to enjoy the screening even though she could not open her eyes.  As the movie played, her mother described the images on screen.  The girl passed away several hours later with her family at her side.

This is sad story, but it’s a great thing Pixar did and it was a wonderful wish for a little girl to have.  Very nice.  I’m sure this simple act by a few people at a big company made a sick little girl very happy in her last hours.  Well done, Pixar.

Animation: The Legend of the Turning Stone

This French animation was made by Mélanie Climent, Élodie Fraysse, and Émilie Frezet for Supinfocom Arles in 2006.  Some sort of puppeteer tells a story and sets it all in motion with a table-top town.  A puppet woman with a child is tempted to cross toward a mysterious stone that hides a magical secret.

I found this via a fantastic cinema site called No fat clips!!!