Thursday, 28 February 2013

Paperman Review

Disney’s "Paperman"

Directed by John Kahrs

Paperman was recently awarded best animated short film at the Oscars last week and due to this, I decided to review it and let you know what I think of it.
I saw Paperman by accident while browsing the interwebs back in February and I'm glad! It was worthy of that award.

"An animated short film that follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City. His destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced that the girl is the woman of his dreams but will be gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him." - Walt Disney Studios

Firstly the film is completely black and white, except for the single shade of red of the women's lipstick. Plus, not a single word is spoken during the length of the film. The animation runtime is only six and a half minutes for the entire length. So, with no speaking and no colour, it is bearable and, in-fact, I would say it makes it better. What really stood out to me was the animation style, a mix between hand drawn 2D animations overlaid with 3D CGI, which looks incredible. You can see the pencil sketch marks which slowly are lost to digital works. In terms of the story it was a simple story of two people falling in love at first sight, which has Disney written all over it but was told in a fantastic and creative way.
Due to the lack of speak, the soundtrack is the only thing you are given to listen to and the music goes perfectly with the animation; in some parts it portrays the sad and alone feelings of the characters, and in others it  brings out the magic of the two characters reuniting with other. The music was beautifully performed by Christopher Beck.

Overall I would really recommend this to anyone for its amazing animation and simple yet quick story that anyone can enjoy. 9/10

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