Short Animated Films

Day & Night
Pixar’s entry this year shows what happens when Day and Night meet and argue over who is better, only to realize they each have their own great qualities and traits and can get along.  Insanely unique and well done, the animation is amazing as always and the story is different from Pixar’s usual fare.

The Gruffalo
Based on the children’s book of the same name, this short boasts some high profile UK voice talent with Helena Bonham Carter as the narrator, Robbie Coltrane as The Gruffalo, and Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt rounding out the supporting roles.  It tells the story of a cunning mouse who goes for a stroll, outwitting enemies along the way with the threat that he is meeting a scary, made up predator, the Gruffalo.  Only, the mouse finds out that the Gruffalo may not be so made up after all.  The story is long, predictable, and at 27 minutes, tends to drag a bit.  In the end, it’s a sweet children’s story with average animation.

Let’s Pollute
A satirical take on an educational film, this short instructs you on how to pollute best by never reusing anything and throwing everything away.  Because it’s so short (about 6 minutes), it’s obvious message doesn’t escalate to preachy, but with it’s rudimentary animation, it’s probably here for its relevance and nothing else.

The Lost Thing
In a place not unlike our world today, where many are too busy to stop and notice anything, a boy finds a lost thing on the beach and attempts to find it a home.  The animation is beautiful and it’s message, while not very subtle, is conveyed in a unique way when the boy discovers a whole world of things right in front of us that everyone has seemingly forgotten.

Madagascar, A Journey Diary
A traveler has new experiences, including spiritual enlightenment, on a trip to Madagascar, as presented to us while flipping through his travel diary.  In terms of animation, this is by far the most unique, as it flips through the diary every sketch comes to life and in every shot the animation is different.  However, because it’s told in such a different way, the story can be slightly incohesive.

What Will Win: It’s a toss up whether the Academy will favor the star studded voice cast in The Gruffalo or the unique animation with a spiritual side in Madagascar, A Journey Diary.  It really could be either, but I’m going to give the edge to Madagascar, based on last year’s Logorama win and the year before’s La Maison en Petits Cubes.

What Should Win: It’s hard to believe that Pixar is the underdog in this category, but I think Day and Night is one of it’s strongest shorts yet.

Dark Shadows just got a little hotter! According to the Hollywood Reporter, Michelle Pfeiffer is in talks to join the adaptation as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the head of the Collins family in the soap opera from the 60s. She joins Johnny Depp, Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green, Bella Heatcote, and Helen Bonham Carter for director Tim Burton.

I wonder if Burton will be going ultra serious or will have a more lighthearted/dark comedy tone to Dark Shadows. I can only assume that Warner Brothers wants to launch this into a series of movies, and not just a stand alone piece.

I have an undying love for Pfeiffer and I’ll watch anything she does. She last teamed up with Tim Burton on Batman Returns, where she was the only bright spot in the otherwise disappointing sequel.  Pfeiffer is currently filming two projects, the star-studded (and likely awful) anthology flick New Year’s Eve and Welcome to People, which costars Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pine.

It looks like Warner Brothers and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows remake is coming together very nicely.  First Burton cast his good luck charm Johnny Deep in the leading role of Barnabas Collins, followed this week by news of Eva Green possibly signing on to portray Angelique, the witch that curses Barnabas with the vampiric curse. Now we can add three more names into the mix…

Watchmen‘s Jackie Earle Haley is in talks to portray Willie Loomis, Australian actress Bella Heathcoate is up for Victoria Winters, and Burton’s gal pal and one of my favorite working actresses, Helena Bonham Carter is “in talks” for the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman (by in talks we can assume that she has been cast in the role from the beginning, no way should Burton do any films without Carter).

For those unfamiliar with the classic series, Willie Loomis is a violent drifter that releases Barnabas Collins from his coffin and sorta becomes his manservant.  Haley has the right creepiness to make this role even more memorable than it could be. Victoria Winters is the innocent “good next door” type that serves to bring the audience into the world of Dark Shadows. She is a governess with a mysterious past. In various incarnations of the series she has been portrayed by Alexandra Moltke, Betsy Durkin, Carolyn Groves, Joanna Going, and most recently in 2004 by Marley Shelton in a failed television pilot by the WB. Dr. Julia Hoffman is a human character that attempts to cure Barnabas of his vampirism among other things over the very long history of the series. It’ll nice for a change to see Carter in a role that is more normal. Right off that bat you’d think that Burton would cast him as an evil vampire or crazy witch.

The movie begins shooting in April, so we can expect to see a lot more casting news in the near future.