It’s no secret how Vancouver filmmaker Eoin Duffy feels about Xmas, skewering the season’s conventions for three years running with short, acerbic animated tales. His 2015 take, titled “Happy Holidays” teams Duffy with character animator Henrique Barone and audio maven John Black at Cypher Audio. [Watch]
Tis the season of tear-inducing animation and Hornet directors Dan & Jason and Hyesung Park bring their best character game to this piece running in Cineplex’s theaters and online thru Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo about “growing up and remembering the things in life that matter.” [Watch]
Over-the-top anti-materialist fun to put you in the mood for holiday shopping (or not) from London animation house Blue Zoo and powered by a cheeky and infectious track written and produced by musical comedian Ben Champion. [Watch]
The fertile Adult Swim ID Project continues (unfettered by the shackles of narrative or common sense) with this languid, morph-adelic short titled “Evolving Thoughts” from the all-Atlanta team of motion studio Awesome Inc and music/sound house Bluetube. [Watch]
Dublin animation powerhouse Boulder Media (The Amazing World Of Gumball, Danger Mouse, etc.) turns their considerable character magic to an in-house short called “Fresh Cut Grass” about an eager little dog on a quest to find his sister but discovers circumstances have changed since their idyllic childhood.
[Watch]
The real-world smartphone zombie phenomenon is proving a deep and rich vein of comic-tragedy for animated filmmakers. Here’s a round up of three of the best we’ve seen over the last 12 months: “Life Smartphone” by Xie Chenglin, Stromae “Carmen” by Sylvain Chomet, and “Way Out” by Yukai Du. [Watch]
