Here is one the funniest ways to attempt humour through animation: character development. Now, when i talk about character development, it's not with the usual meanings that one gives to the expression when it comes to cinema. It's not about depth, about knowing motivations, about having people perform an arc of evolution. In animation, to me, developing a character means to explore the expressions, in faces, in body movements, allowed by the shape chosen for every character. It's about digging into the plastic possibilities of the shapes the creators choose. This funny film is a simple exercise in that kind of exploration.
So check the template. A vast landscape of snow, a road, and a bus stop. All rendered in a very simple way, i think there was an intention to uncomplicate the elements we see, so we can concentrate on what matters, the characters, Chump and Clump. One is a soften parallelepiped, the other one is simply round. By itself, this gives them different characteristics. Than, most of the fun lies in what they do with their eyes. The expression in the eyes, the red capillaries of the hung over, smiling eyes, desperate eyes, sad eyes, crying eyes. Funny, very funny. Great job. See, this short is miles away from the rendering perfection of the big studios that work animation theses days (Pixar and Dreamworks). But these guys know what makes characters funny, they need no more than the basic tools.
The story fits well what they wanted to do with the characters and to the set. So we have the magic mushrooms placed to allow them to build a hallucinogenic fiction with the characters. Nice.
My opinion: 4/5 Cinanima 2009 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com
So check the template. A vast landscape of snow, a road, and a bus stop. All rendered in a very simple way, i think there was an intention to uncomplicate the elements we see, so we can concentrate on what matters, the characters, Chump and Clump. One is a soften parallelepiped, the other one is simply round. By itself, this gives them different characteristics. Than, most of the fun lies in what they do with their eyes. The expression in the eyes, the red capillaries of the hung over, smiling eyes, desperate eyes, sad eyes, crying eyes. Funny, very funny. Great job. See, this short is miles away from the rendering perfection of the big studios that work animation theses days (Pixar and Dreamworks). But these guys know what makes characters funny, they need no more than the basic tools.
The story fits well what they wanted to do with the characters and to the set. So we have the magic mushrooms placed to allow them to build a hallucinogenic fiction with the characters. Nice.
My opinion: 4/5 Cinanima 2009 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com
