A Tiny Tale – Charming Animated Short About a Secret World of Toys in the Garden

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I dig up parts of the garden, I come across the remnants of toys long ago abandoned.  They’re the tiny ones – toy soldiers, pieces of Lego – you get the idea.  This charming animation – A Tiny Tale -  by students at Rubika takes the idea of toys left to their own devices in a garden and runs with it.  We have, more or less, a micro-version of our own society, complete with abandoned dogs, a spaceship-mad boy and a cyclist who really just wants to beat her own records.  But toys sometimes break...

How they come together is up to you to find out – but this inventive and beautifully made animated short is a joy to watch.

It was directed by Chloé Bourdic, Théophile Coursimault, Sylvain Cuvillier, Noémie Halberstam, Maÿlis Mosny and Zijing Ye, with music by Romain Camiolo, performed by Louise Gagnac on flute and Aryane Roy on vocals, and sound design by Théophile Coursimault.

Wings: A Heartwarming Animated Short About a Mouse and an Injured Bird

A little mouse, foraging for food, comes across and injured bird. It has been trapped by the wing and the mouse makes the decision, on the spot, to help the bird, release it and share its home with it until it is fully recovered and can fly again. That’s it – a very simple tale, but so beautifully animated and with great (wordless) character development that it’s simply (see what I did there?) a joy to watch.  This was Casey McDonald’s (aka gothfrog) final film from the School of Visual arts. She directed, background painted, animated, and did about half of the cleanup and coloring herself! The rest was handled by her team (credited at the end).

I do love an animated short that tells a very simple story – young animators often make the mistake of writing plots that are way too complex for five minutes or so, and when things get complicated, people turn off.  Yes, this is a very simple story and told in a way that very young kids can get it, but adults can appreciate it for the extended visual metaphor it really is.  Kindness is its own reward, but sometimes, something done with no obvious incentive can be the best thing you can ever do.

This is not a new animated short – but there are so many out there that I didn’t show on Kuriositas when they first came out, mostly because I didn’t spot them, that I thought I would take the opportunity to showcase some.  So, put this another way – I may be late to the party, but at least I got there in the end! At the time of writing Wings has attracted almost 12 million views on YouTube – quite a feat for a student film.  Watch it and discover why it is so well-loved.

The Big Leap (Le Grand Saut): An Award-Winning Animated Short About a First Crush at the Beach

This is precious.   Le Grand Saut is the French title, so that translates as The Big Leap and I think it’s a great name for this animated short, given that the girl protagonist takes one literally and metaphorically. It doesn’t tell a big story, but for our young protagonist, it’s something of a coming of age.  A simple day at the beach.  There’s the sun, the sand – and, of course, the completely annoying toddler brother that you have to look at (no doubt while the parents go an have an extended lunch at a local bar!).  Perhaps that last bit is reading too much in to it, but there is another thing – the awakening of attraction.  When our young heroine sees a cool young boy on the beach, it’s pretty much love at first sight – but how do you get him to notice you?

There are number of outstanding features to this animated short.  First and foremost, it was created without dialogue (so overcoming any possible language barrier to help achieve a bigger audience), but the animation is so subtly done that you know exactly what is going through the girl’s mind at any given time – and the body language is also expertly conveyed.  Both of these things are difficult to do with animation, so hats off to the students who created this.  The other stand out for me was how the colours so wonderfully expressed the tone and feel of a day at the beach – vibrant and saturated with the sun in charge of how everyone sees the day’s events.  It really does give this animation a lovely, almost nostalgic texture.

The award-winning animated film was directed by Martina Doll, Anaïs Dos, Coline Reverbel, Kenzo Talma, Edgard Vernier, and Lisa Vlaine during their time at École des Nouvelles Images. It received the School Jury Award at the Catch the Moon – Festival Internazionale di Cinema d'Animazione, the Jury Prize (Prix du Jury) at the Big Cartoon Festival, and the Best Animated Film Award (Prix du Meilleur Film d'Animation) at the Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival. The original score was composed by Aloïs Benoit (MAAAV), with production by Julien Deparis and sound mixing by Pierre-François Renouf.

Twin Islands: A Beautiful Animated Short About Twins, Gods and the Curse of Symmetry

When the gods wish to punish us… and if you’re twins, then your run the risk of double trouble.  This animated short from Rubika students tells the story of a pair of twins who are rescued by the gods and are gifted a place to live.  Twin Island East for one, and Twin Island West for the other.  The only problem is that the gods (twins themselves) ordain that everything must go two by two in a kind of cult of symmetry.  That leads to a big problem when the queen of Twin Island West gives birth… and it isn’t twins!

To find out what happens, watch the video the below.  This very professionally made animation is the work of directors Manon Sailly, Charlotte Sarfati, Christine Jaudoin, Lara Cochetel, Raphaël Huot, and Fanny Teisson with music and sound design by Valentin Lafort. Voices are by Daphné Westelynck, Robert Bennett, and Eon Ballinger.  There is a little twist in the tale, so watch to the very end!

Fire: An Atmospheric Animated Short Capturing the Horror of Wildfire

As you (may) know, at Kuriositas we like to showcase some of the best student-created animated shorts.  Many, if not most of them, tell stories that are action-heavy, which helps show off the technical prowess of the students.  Fire is something quite difference.  While it certainly covers the elements that the students must show in order to complete their degree, this tells and altogether different story.  As such it is refreshing to see a group of collaborators take such a distinct and different pathway to the norm.  What we get initially is a beautifully rendered series of images of a languid summer’s afternoon, almost as if time has stood still.  It's a perfect summer's day. A cat is our protagonist (if it can be called that) as he meanders around the yard and inside the house. Yet even as he does so, there is a steadily increasing sense of unease that something isn’t quite right.

Of course, the house has been abandoned due to an encroaching fire.  It’s a prescient piece of filmmaking in that respect, as so much of Europe has been impacted by successive heatwaves over the last few months.  As the fire encroaches, its impact is felt. This is an impressive piece of animation, one that had me transfixed from start to finish.  Congratulations to the directors, Baptiste Fraboul, Esther Lamassoure, Julie Le Forban, Valentin Serre, Léna Gittler, and Florent Sabuco of École des Nouvelles Images for producing something so special. Fire was produced by Julien Deparis, and sound design was by Pierre-François.  I would also like to specially mention the soundtrack by Mathis Coopman which superbly catches the atmosphere of the disaster in a very Pink Floydy kinda way, combining with the animation to create something truly cinematic.  No wonder this animated short has won awards!

Watch Fire below.

What NOT to Do If You Crash Land on an Alien Planet – A Brilliant Animated Short by ESMA Students

Lurks should be a training video for the Intergalactic Federation of Planets called “What NOT to do if you crash land on a mysterious alien planet” because the protagonist does so many things wrong.  You would think that she has never watched a horror film before – and this trope-laden animated short by ESMA graduation students deliverers them one after another (after another).  Now, reading back, that doesn’t look like much of a plug for this, but I found it immensely entertaining (although I desperately wanted some sort of final twist in the tale, right at the end, which did not appear but which could have raised the bar here, in terms of structure and storytelling). 

The planet, spacecraft and character animation (especially the monsters) are extremely well realised, especially considering this is a student film.  There are any number of technically very difficult sequences in this short, and hats off to the team for delivering them with great aplomb.  Altogether, a chilling cautionary tale of how to survive an alien environment – or not.  The students who created this are Kelssy Abdou , Ikram Benmaza, Mélodie Carn, Amanda Cere, Adrien Chaumier, Maëlle Couzinier, Maëline Dalous, Victor Del Campo and Aglaée Pons. Music was by Valentin Guay with sound created by Tristan Le Bozec, Guilhem Favard and Jose Vicente.  Well done to everyone involved in the project.

Bot and Cat: An Emotional Animated Short Film That Will Melt Your Heart

A robot works deep underground for a civilisation long since disappeared (that would be us).  It is a lonely existence and when a cat strays from the surface and finds its way down to the bot’s subterranean lair, what’s a cat expected to do except steal the shiny, bouncy antenna thing from the bot’s head.  And so ensues a chase to the surface and the discovery of a new friendship for both bot and cat.  Sounds very simple?  Well, it is – but the secret of good story telling always lies in the way it is told.  Bot and Cat manages to be very, very straightforward yet deeply profound at the same time. It’s charming yet thoughtful simultaneously.

The commenters of YouTube love it. Many describe the seven-minute animation as an emotional masterpiece, praising its beautiful storytelling, evocative music, gorgeous backgrounds and polished animation. Viewers say they were left in tears by the robot's touching journey, with one remarking they'll "never get tired of 'robot goes against its programming to experience the beauty of nature' stories". Others were astonished by how few people had seen it, repeatedly calling it "underrated" and predicting the studio behind it is destined for future success. Several even suggested it outshines big-budget Hollywood productions, while hoping it goes on to win festival awards and reach the much wider audience they believe it deserves. Agreed!

Created by a group of students (collectively known as HermitCat Studios for their thesis project at Canada’s Sheridan College, this wonderful piece of work utilises the talents of Mo Hassan, Jenna Pomfret, Julia Lin, Nomy Fang, Rie Wong, Daniel Young, Travis Li, Yi-Ting Yuan, Kiwi Prommart, Charlotte Royal, Yoonji Nam and Heidi Pan. The original (and rather lovely) score is by Johnny Knittle.  Watch Bot and Cat below.

Temptation – Will Dave the Bungling Bear Get his Tasty Treats?

Meet Dave. Dave is a bear.  And he is hungry – always hungry.  And there is candy and other sweet treats everywhere.  Of course, in time-honoured toon tradition, he must have a nemesis who stands in his gluttonous path.  But spare a thought for Dave – he has two, in the shape of compulsive hoarder Roy the Squirrel and Audrey, the “Fearless Leader” of the local scout pack.  Oh dear. Poor Dave.  Will he ever manage to get his furry mitts on the goodies or will Roy and Audrey forever stand in his way?

He certainly has his work cut out for him, as did the bunch of Rubika students who produced this outstanding (and gleefully violent) animated short. The film was created by Camille Canonne (who came up with the original idea), Laura Bouillet, Michael Hoft, Catherine Le Quang, Pauline Raffin and Martin Villert, with music and sound design by Julien Auclair and Arthur Romain. Voice performances are provided by Arthur Romain, Julien Auclair and Coralie Vallias.  This is a superlative piece of animated glee, especially when you take into account that these are students working on a limited budget.  Fantastic – take a look below.

Yallah! - Animated Short Film

Yallah! is an Arabic term and can mean anything from “Let’s go!” or “Come on!” or “Hurry up!”.  I guess it could be any of the three in the context of this animated short from students at Rubika.  Set in the middle of the Lebanon war of 1982, we meet Nicolas, a man about to flee his virtually destroyed city, Beirut.  However, before too long he encounters Naji, a teenager who lands abruptly on the bonnet of his car. Despite the chaos and destruction of war (or perhaps because of it), he has become determined to go swimming – and the pool is only a few blocks away.  Ignoring Nicolas’ warnings and protestations, Naji is determined to swim – and Nicolas feels the need to try and somehow protect him as he makes his way there.

This is a beautifully made film, and you may find yourself disbelieving that it is a student film, such is its exceptionally high standard of animation. Exploring identity and movement through powerful visual storytelling,  It has a certain lyrical quality to it, despite the backdrop and is much more fun than you might expect, given the time and place in which it is set. Yallah! was directed by Nayla Nassar, Edouard Pitula, Renaud De Saint Albin, Cécile Adant, Anaïs Sassatelli, and Candice Behague. This animated short won "Best Student Project" at SIGGRAPH 2022 (prestigious because it showcases world-leading innovation in computer graphics, judged by experts, and launches careers in film, gaming, and technology). It has only just become available to stream and I’m really pleased to be able to share it with you on Kuriositas.