Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Adam and Dog (2011)

1 Nomination, 0 Wins

Nomination: Best Short Film, Animated - Minkyu Lee

Apparently I didn't get the memo, but it seems that to be nominated in the Best Animated Short category a film must be free of any dialogue, or at least that's what the Academy effectively said in their selections for the 85th Academy Awards.  Maybe this was for the best, because it's pretty hard to argue with the stellar crop of films nominated this past year.

"Adam and Dog" wordlessly tells the story of what is presumed to be the first dog on earth, who wanders the world alone until he encounters Adam, and the two become fast friends.  Anyone familiar with the story of Adam and Eve can imagine what happens next, but telling the story through the dog's eyes adds a nice twist, and though the film's ending can be pretty easily inferred, it still packs a hefty emotional punch when the moment arrives.

The animation is a lovely blend of traditional 2-D character animation and more traditionally painted backgrounds, and the animators succeeded in conveying complicated and deep character emotions without the crutch of dialogue.

The entire short is a set up to the punch line, and therefore not as complex as other nominees like "Head Over Heels," but it's still a gem of a film, and I'm more likely to return to it than any of the other nominees from this past year.

Remaining: 3151 films, 872 Oscars, 5411 nominations

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