Books are Made out of Trees

Leon is a grumpy old badger.  You can’t blame him really – as this Animation Workshop graduation project opens, we see a tree felled in his beloved woodland and scores of refugees leave to find a home elsewhere.   He must realise that his destiny may not be stay in the place he loves. Leon witnesses the destruction and retreats into his home – which has yet to be harmed by those with axes.  However, he discovers an unwelcome guest in his library and this is where the story really begins…

This is a profoundly melancholy animated short but essentially it is more about resilience and hope – and what comes after destruction. The simplicity of the artwork contrasts with the subtlety of the storytelling.  Yes, children will get this – but there are layers here that adult viewers will appreciate too.

The direction of the project was led by Julianna Jakubowska. Karen Haldrup served as both the Production Manager and Animation Lead, while Emma Olivia Dueholm supported the team as Production Assistant. Amalia Eiron took the role of Story Lead, and Ágúst Elí Ásgeirsson contributed as the Technical Director. Inès Zulianel oversaw the visual style as Art Director, and the design work was carried out by Alicia Ludwig.  Watch it below.

Slug Invasion

Morning breaks on a sleepy suburb but the quiet is soon to be disturbed by an army of slugs with only one thing on their mind – to find and eat the flowers in the garden.  Yet they have an enemy, the little old lady who tends the lawns and shrubs each day.  Total war is about to break out – one of savage attrition and in which there can only be one winner, but who will it be?

This is a great animated short by a group of students at The Animation Workshop in Denmark.  The Animation Workshop is an international centre of knowledge and development for animation (and related) professions and businesses.

Ride of Passage

It seems that in the way back when men used to measure their manliness by the size of the... dead creature on their head. So, when young Toki’s turn comes to go in to the forest and kill the biggest animal he can then he is determined to do just that. However, the jungle can do strange things to a boy and he meets a new friend who gives him the chance to achieve something much greater than anything he expected.

This is yet another marvelous Bachelor Film Project from The Animation Workshop. It was created by Christian Bøving-Andersen, Casper Michelsen, Eva Lee Wallberg, Tina Lykke Thorn, Søren B. Nørbæk, Allan Lønskov, Jakob Kousholt and David F. Otzen. Enjoy!

Roommate Wanted - Dead or Alive

If you have ever been a student then you have probably had to face the prospect of living with strangers in order to afford a place to live and all its associated expenses. So it is with this medical student in this entertaining short by students of the Animation Workshop. Yet smelly socks and untidiness are the least of this medical student’s problems when his prospective roommate turns out to be a zombie.

Parrot Away

When today’s fashion conscious pirates look to accessorize they go for vintage avian – basically a parrot on the shoulder. Yet when the prettiest pirate is stuck with the ugliest parrot, his attempts to cast the bird in his own image leads to… well, a series of unfortunate events! Made by students at the Animation Workshop in Denmark this is probably the funniest animation you will see in quite some time!

Heart

A lot of people have been waiting a long time for Heart to come online and after its round of festival appearances Erick Oh’s latest animation is finally here. The eponymous organ is at the center of the action: discovered discarded but coveted by all who see it.

You can see this animated short as an extended visual metaphor if you will and it allows us to make of it what we want. 

It’s a confident, enigmatic and ferocious piece of animation which was produced at the UCLA Animation Workshop and was made possible in part 'by the generous support of Matt Groening'. 

Load

This is for you if you feel, as I have recently, completely overburdened by work!  Load is a Bachelor film project by a group of students at The Animation Workshop. You might argue that students may not have much of an idea about the true nature of work (if you were feeling jaded and a little cruel!) but the visuals in this animated short would seem to indicate otherwise.

In one of the strongest visual metaphors I have seen for quite a while, the protagonist here is covered in green post-it notes from head to toe.  When you have a trillion and one things to do at work and no time in which to do them, this is how you feel!

Hyperbole aside, our unlikely hero finds himself on the outside and slowly but surely he learns an important lesson about priorities that changes his perception of the world around him.