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:

Backseat Bingo (2004), 5:25, directed by Liz Blazer, U.S. Contact: Liz Blazer [W] www.backseatbingo.com

Fowl Play! (2002), 2:45, directed by Christopher De Santis (U.S). Contact: Christopher De Santis [E] c7036440680@yahoo.com

Save Virgil (2004), 14:00, directed by Brad Ableson (U.S.). Contact: Brad Ableson [E] brad@savevirgil.com, Steve Hein [E] steve@hypnotic.com, [W] www.savevirgil.com

A Work in Progress [2003], 8:00, directed by Wes Ball (U.S.). Contact: Wes Ball [E] wesball@mindscheme.com

Tricks for a Treat [2004], 1:50, directed by Jeff Mednikow (U.S.).

Are you thinking about it right now? They are in Backseat Bingo. © Liz Blazer.

Backseat Bingo
You thought about sex a few minutes ago. You’re thinking about it right now, and in 28 minutes you will ponder it once again. Weighing as heavily as it does on your mind, O Relatively Young One, it shouldn’t surprise you that sex is a choice topic with senior citizens, too. Libido has no sell-by date, which means people who probably look just like your parents are doing it RIGHT NOW.

It’s good news for them, a concept that is not lost on the interviewees in Backseat Bingo by Liz Blazer. Blazer interviewed a gaggle of pensioners and used their voices as the basis for her animated short, which was created digitally in a cartooney, 2D idiom. In choice sound bites, Blazer cross-cuts between interviews with men and women, some alone and some with their spouses, talking about shopping around after the death of a loved one or describing their best character traits in a slow slide from documentary interview to video dating testimonial. In one memorable exchange a husband reveals that, yes, it still works, and when it works it’s just the best time ever. This earns a frankly ambiguous chuckle from his wife. Great for him, maybe, but well…

Backseat Bingo is cut together with spot-on timing, is full of momentum, and makes a terrific short. On the face of it, though, it’s hard to see why it had to be animated. The characters are unexaggerated, never going beyond mild caricature, and the acting is dispirited. To make elements of documentary work in animation, usually the reality must suffer some major stylistic mash-up, whether it be the species-switcheroo comedy of Aardman’s Creature Comforts series or the normality-smashing psychedelia of Chris Landreth’s Ryan. Backseat Bingo appropriates the voices of old folks at home and through the magic of animation transforms them into — old folks at home.