CU gets animated

With social commentary, a giant nasty Gruffalo, and of course, the latest Pixar creation, Oscar animated shorts aren’t your average Sunday morning cartoons.

This week, the International Film Series came to the rescue as the scramble to catch up on obscure Oscar titles begins. From Wednesday to Sunday, the Series is hosting screenings of nominated short films in the documentary, live-action and animated categories. Thursday night, there wasn’t a child to be seen, as students and adults showed up in numbers to enjoy the animated picks.

Dan Atwood, a 19-year-old sophomore aerospace engineering major, said he was specifically drawn to the animated shorts because of the possibilities in cartoons.

“We were going to go to either the animated ones or the live-action ones,” Atwood said. “I decided on the animated ones…I feel like more exciting things can happen in a cartoon than in a live action short film.”

The first film of the night, “Madagascar,” transported the IFS audience into a colorful world of sketches and paintings. Now this may seem like business as usual for a night of animation, but “Madagascar” took an artistic angle that was astonishing to watch. Scenes continuously shifted between various painting styles, each more striking than the last. It felt as if a travel sketchbook filled with poignant memories had come alive on screen.

Molly Enright, a 19-year-old sophomore film and political science major, said that seeing animated shorts was a guaranteed night of fun.

“I went last year and I really liked them,” Enright said. “I felt like this wasn’t as much of a risk as the other IFS films might be. I knew I’d have a good time.”

And a good time was had, but with not without some heavily satirical undertones. Short film “Let’s Pollute,” emulated a 1950’s-style informational tone to explain just how wonderful pollution is. Dripping with sarcasm, lines like, “Today, polluting is better and more convenient than ever!” and “Luckily, corporations are on your side!” had audiences laughing and connecting to the film’s cause.

Another darker film, “The Lost Thing,” had a few messages of its own to share. The story followed an Australian man, living in a society entirely dominated by conformity and machinery. One day, on a “beach” (more like sand by a nuclear plant), he finds a giant octopus-like mutant concealed in a red shell of metal casing. Through the touching portrayal of a creature who doesn’t even have a face, the story glorifies, as the movie phrases it, life’s “odds and ends.”

Brooke Wylie, a 22-year-old senior news editorial and film studies major, said that by the end she already had a few favorites picked out.

“I’m super Oscar obsessed so I try to see as many of the nominated films as possible,” Wylie said. “I definitely liked ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Day and Night’ the most. They were very exceptional. It seemed like a pretty eclectic, decent mix.”

“The Gruffalo,” featuring the voice of Helena Bonham Carter, was the most child-like cartoon of the night. Based on a popular children’s book, a mother squirrel tells her children a story about a creative little mouse. By inventing a horrible beast called “The Gruffalo”, the mouse avoids being eaten by larger animals. The sweet tale had beautiful cinematography, but with slow pacing it felt very clear that it was meant for a much younger audience.

Another whimsical film shown was “Day and Night,” also seen as the featured short before Pixar’s Toy Story 3. The animation bounced between the merits of day versus night and ultimately questioned the human fear of the unknown. Though not one of Pixar’s best short films, with its plot somewhat searching for new ways to be clever, it still managed to retain the usual humor and vibrancy that the company is so well known for.

Short films will be playing in Muenzinger, Friday through Sunday, and cost $5 for students. Visit the International Film Series website for more details.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Stephanie Riesco at Stephanie.riesco@colorado.edu.