The Present

     Since it's Christmas, what better time to post about gifts than now? In The Present, Jacob Frey presents a boy coming to terms with a surprise. To avoid spoiling the end, the only things that I will say is that it warms my heart that the "gift" helped him with his own life. I feel that the gift's animation and the boy's attitude towards it helped stir some emotion. Below is the film.

The Wishgranter

     Making wishes aren't always as simple as they seem, as shown in The Wishgranter by Echo Wu, Kal Athannassov, and John McDonald. In a small town, there is a magical fountain that is managed by a small creature that has been shown to grant wishes when a coin is thrown. This concept of wish granting is a fresh twist on that fountain myth, and it is interesting to see how it occurs. The animation quality is professional as it has a style that looks like it could be a full-length movie. Below is the film.

Pretty Ugly

     Step aside, Ugly Duckling, Ugly Unicorn's in charge now! In this film made by Abbey Paccia, a girl discovers the true meaning of beauty and to not take things for granted. I appreciate how the work did not go the traditional route that most works follow under The Ugly Duckling. The art style and the animation's bouncy quality looks like it could be its own cartoon for children. I find it sweet that the unicorn tried to console her at the end. Below is the video.

Out of Sight

     A blind girl creates a world to see for herself in this cute film. I adore the creativity the three students from the National Taiwan University of Arts placed into this film as the little girl searched for her dog. To me, this resembles Hayao Miyazaki's works like Spirited Away. I find it charming that the girl knew what certain things were based on her other senses and that she replaced unfamiliar objects with her own imagination. Despite its cutesy charm, it does make me feel bad for the girl as this strongly suggests that she had recently lost her sight. Below is the video.

Wolfsong

     Toniko Pantoja comes back to this blog once again with Wolfsong. This was heart-wrenching to me when I first saw it. I cannot put into words how devastating it was as it would spoil parts of the film. It centers around a young hunter who soon realizes the motivations behind a sudden "theft". The color choices add to the grim nature of the battle that occurs and establish the tense atmosphere. As always, Pantoja's involved animation helped successfully delivered an emotional response from the audience.

Kagemono: The Shadow Folk

     In Sabrina Cotugno's short film, a small fox named Beopup searches for food and instead finds an unlikely surprise. The smooth animations add on to Beopup's cute design and the watercolor-like environments are easy on the eyes. As a result, this film is charming and easy on the eyes. The animations are smooth and the cuteness (disregarding certain scenes) overall complements the film. Below is the film.

Crayon Dragon

     The genius behind Tiny Nomad, Toniko Pantoja also animated this "drawn-to-life" film. In it, a lady embraces an unexpected surprise which changes how she is. When she was pulled into the other world, it felt like a place of whimsy and wonder. The dragon faintly reminds me of Ord from Dragon Tales, which helps give it more of a magical feeling for me. Pantoja's fluid animation helped reel me into the world and connect with the characters. Below is the film.