Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
This 6-minute short film from Irish director Nicky Phelan was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010, but lost out to Logorama. All in all it's decent one, solid in every area, but not really a standout in regards to anything. It starts with a little kid with a massive 'fro in bed obviously scared in the dark. But no worries, her beloved Grandma (with an even more impressive haircut) is ready to save the day and enters the room to chase away all the kid's fears. Or is she?The animation is all in all fine. It features two different styles, which both didn't exactly blow me away, but I thought the little kid was nicely designed and I also loved the reaction when Granny asks her whether she wants to hear a nighttime-story. The story is okay and mostly interesting, because it's different than the usual, while the ending came a bit as a surprise, although it probably shouldn't looking at the tone of the film from early on. It's an okay little movie, sometimes struggling to find the right balance between comedy and horror, but if spooky animation films like Coraline are your preferred choice, this one deserves a watch.
bob the moo
Fairy Tales are full of fantasy and hope and wonder and are often told to young children to help them get off to sleep with heads full of perfection and dreams of love. Of course, when they are being told by an aged Irish grandmother, perhaps some of the detail is different n the way it is told but, hey, Sleeping Beauty is Sleeping Beauty right? I watched this film (finally) because it somehow managed to get itself nominated for an Oscar – a fact which, no offence, suggests that it was a rather slow year in the ol' "animated shorts" category because, while amusing, it is certainly no more than that. The idea is sound though and I thought it would be much smarter than it was but it does still have enough about it in terms of potential to be "pretty good" even when it falls short of what it could have been. The fairy-tale section is rather crudely OTT and obvious and it does detract from the "real world" animated stuff that does have a touch of comedy about it. It is in these section where the bitterness of the grandmother comes through best, because it is a bit more subtle than the overblown version of the story she is telling – it also helps that the animation is more appealing too.As it is though it is never as sharp nor as funny nor as clever as one would have hoped (or the Oscar nomination suggests). It is amusing and technically well done but nothing more than that – solid little short film but the potential was there for more than that.
paudie
I watched this on youtube and I thought it was very funny. It shows what would happen if a slightly deranged Granny used a bedtime storytelling of Sleeping Beauty to reveal her anger at the mistreatment of older people by society! It's funnier that it sounds.And less than seven minutes long. The animation is excellent. There are two styles used. One for the sequences with the Granny and the terrified grandchild and a more basic style for the Sleeping Beauty story. Kathleen O'Rourke wrote the script and does the voice of Granny. Great to see Irish films being nominated for Oscars in both the feature and short animated film category this year. I understand most of the filmmakers involved in both films (and one involved in Avatar) studied at the animation course at Ballyfermot College in Dublin. Congrats to all involved.
elsinefilo
Granny O'Grimm is apparently a cute old lady and her granddaughter is a terrified little buddy waiting for her grandma for her bedtime story. Even before the story begins she is already too scared to enjoy the story. I assumer she already knows what kind of a story teller her grandma is. According to what I have read on the net, the character Granny is inspired by a character in Irish writer Kathleen O'Rourke's stand-up comedy show. The granny has such long and upright hair, a style looks like Marge's blue beehive hairstyle in Simpsons. Though she looks calm,sweet and non-cantankerous she shows her real face when she starts reading "Sleeping Beauty" in her version. She creates her own world of fairies where they are badgered by an old woman who was forgotten long ago. The animation looks pretty artistic though you may need a bit of knowledge about Kathleen O'Rourke's writing and Grimm fairy tales. The granny's bursting out the story in her own bitterness and resentment doesn't really look pleasing either. If you are not into dark short movies you won't like it.
AD
