Wolf, Are You There? (Loup, y es-tu?)

This is dark.  Created by a group of Rubika students, this animated shorts tells the story of Mischa, a girl who seems to be left pretty much to her own devices by the adults who surround her.  The short is symbolicaslly rich – Mischa makes a violin out of paper, which perhaps shows the fragility of anything beautiful or special in her world.  As she proceeds around the apartment in a vain attempt to play for the “monsters” who inhabit the apartment (ie the adults) she is met with ill-temper, disregard and finally interest, but not in her music.

The wolf of the title is always there and always closing in… “Loup, y es-tu ?” (“Wolf, are you there?”) is a very well-known French children’s game and song. It’s commonly played in nursery and primary schools in France and other French-speaking places. The game works a bit like “What’s the Time, Mr Wolf?” in English-speaking countries.  Whether or not the wolf will eat Mischa in the end, you must discover for yourself.  This is an incredibly striking animation, which will stay with you afterwards.  The design, from characters to backgrounds is outstanding.

Well done to the Rubika students involved in the creation of this remarkably mature yet sombre piece of art with deep psychological undertones.  It was directed by Louise Laurent, Alizée Vandevalle, Emma Fessart, Jeanne Galland, Célina Lebon and Annouck François, with music by Mathis Coopman and sound design by Louise Laurent. This is a challenging watch but a rewarding one.

Monsterbox

When you are a little girl and your best friend is a monster then you will soon make finding it a home a priority.  What you need is a box – or put properly, a monsterbox. So, this particular little girl visits a shop where she finds exactly what she wants. However, she has more than one monstrous friend!

This charming animated short was created by a group of students at Bellecour Ecoles d'Art in Lyons, France.  Created as part of their Bachelor degree program the team consist of Ludovic Gavillet, Derya Kocaurlu, Lucas Hudson and Colin Jean-Saunier. This is every bit as good as something you would expect to get from a professional studio, so a huge well done to the students involved!

Backwater

(Warning: If you are at work then please note there is some artistic nudity in this animation)

A man awakes alone and in a place he does not recognize. Where is he and what is he doing among these strange new surroundings? And is he truly alone? This beautifully put together animated short is as beautiful as it is sensuously enigmatic.

It was developed by Susanne Herzog, Sabine Koops, Sebastian König, Janina Putzker and produced by the Hammer Animation Team. I particularly like the use of color in this animation and the way it does not answer any of the obvious questions that we may ask. Mysterious, and unfathomable it may be, but it looks and sounds wonderful!

Rising

This is an enigmatic piece to say the very least and something I am still trying to completely fathom despite having decided to share it with you within the first twenty seconds! A caterpillar (or is it?) circumnavigates a globe (or is it?) and then undergoes a metamorphosis (OK, I am pretty sure of that) before emerging in adult form and flying away. That’s pretty much it – but the way it is done is something quite different and profound.

Created by Michaël Moercant et Jean-Yves Parent and a team at Mikros Image, this animated short is spell binding. I’ve watched it twice now and am still not sure what it signifies but I think that is part of its allure.  I have to admit, though, I would like to see what these extremely talented guys would do with a certain Kafka novella!

A Family Man

StoryCorps continues to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives – in a rather unique way. The volunteers are recorded and their reminisces are often then animated – and wonderfully so.

In A Family Man, we go back to 1955. John L Black is the eponymous hero of this tale, a man with a large family of eleven children and a backbreaking job as a school janitor.

His story is told by his son Samuel who recounts, particularly, the day when his father discovered him in a moment of dishonesty. This is a simple story told simply – and it is all the more for it.StoryCorps has recorded 80,000 stories since it began in 2003. Highly respected and enjoyed now, these humane stories will be cherished in future centuries.

Moment

This is rather lovely. It is the latest piece by animator Raoul Olou and is based around the theme that in a single breath, life goes on. It was created in Flash which surprised me as it has a much more textured feel than your average flash animation.

However, when I learned that Raoul then painted it frame by frame in Photoshop it made a lot more sense. Hats off to Raoul for what must have been a back breakingly long job.

You have to admit – the overall effect is, indeed, rather lovely.