Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short format productions, whether they be high-budgeted commercials, low-budgeted independent shorts or something in between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attest to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for exhibition of them or even written reviews. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of the most interesting with short, descriptive overviews.

If you have the QuickTime plug-in, you can view a clip from each film by simply clicking the image.

This Month:

Annie & Boo (2003), 15 minutes, directed by Johannes Weiland, Germany. Contact: Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttenmberg Institute of Animation Mathildenstr. 20 71638 Lundwigsburg Tel.: +49 7141969-800 Email: animationsinstitutut@filmakademie.de Website: www.annieandboo.com, www.animationsinstitute.de

The God (2003), 4:20 minutes, directed by Konstantin Bronzit, Russia. Contact:Alexander Boyarksy, Melnitsa Animation Studio, Melnichnaya ul. 4, St. Petersburg 192019, Russia. Tel/fax: +7 81256715 40 E-mail: info@melnitsa.com Website: www.melnitsa.com

Hike, Hike, Hike (2002), 4 minutes, directed by Anouck Iyer, U.S., E-mail: anoucksi@mindspring.com.

Delivery (2003) 8:30 minutes, directed by Patrick Smith,U.S., E-mail: pat@blendfilms.com Website: www.blendfilms.com

Pavlov’s Bell (2003) 4:27 minutes, directed by Evan Mather, U.S., E-mail: evan@evanmather.com Website: evanmather.com

A little girl meets up with a coincidence in Annie & Boo. © Filmakademie Baden-Wüerttenberg/Schaefer Filmproduktion.

Annie & Boo
Annie & Boo really, really wants to be endearing. A girl named Annie is tripped up by an unseen hand on her way to catching her train, and, while waiting in the station for the next train, she strikes up a conversation with a fanciful character named Boo who looks equal parts rabbit and vacuum cleaner. Boo is a Coincidence, one of a team of chimerical agents of mayhem who create all the synchronicities we run into daily. Boo isn’t supposed to reveal himself to humans, but he’s clearly smitten with Annie and so has come into the open to chat her up. Bouncing around the interior of the train station, his metallic limbs magnetizing a dizzying array of loose objects, Boo explains the Coincidences’ modus operandi to a by-turns intrigued and exasperated Annie. Finally, annoyed that Boo has made her late, Annie boards the next train out, but Boo is determined not to let her get away and attempts to charm her one last time.

This 15-minute CGI short wishes it were a feature in many ways; the train station set is cavernous and packed with detail, and the acting conveys maximum emotional information with minimum facial expressions. The abundance of orchestrated music wants a feature in front of it, too, but it demands an emotional weight the narrative doesn’t earn. The cinematography is feverish with hand-held frame weave and smash zooms, evoking first documentary and then bad documentary. There’s too much exposition and too little follow-through to movements — and the filmmakers have put themselves at a disadvantage by giving one of their leads a name that’s already familiar to CGI fans and children everywhere.

Annie & Boo was directed by Johannes Weiland, and animated in Maya as a graduation project at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Institute of Animation.