Archive for the 'Stop-motion' Category

Madame Tutli-Putli

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 25, 2008
in Animation, Canada, Foreign, Puppets, Short, Stop-motion and Trains
. 0 Comments

I don’t think I would have watched Madame Tutli-Putli if I hadn’t noticed it was nominated for Best Animated Short Film last night while watching the 2008 Oscars. Besides being animated and a short, this film is also done with stop-motion and utilizes puppets or marionettes.

The story line was kind of confusing. There’s no dialog, but there is a soundtrack/score to it. We start off seeing a woman waiting at a train station with a huge pile of suitcases and stuff. Next thing we know, she’s on the train and every time she looks up, we are introduced to more people in the train car with her. Eventually it’s nighttime and some weird guys board the train and things get really strange. I figured there had to be some sort of message to this because everything seemed pretty symbolic. I found this description on IMDB.

Madame Tutli-Putli boards the Night Train, weighed down with all her earthly possessions and the ghosts of her past. She travels alone, facing both the kindness and menace of strangers. As day descends into dark, she finds herself caught up in a desperate metaphysical adventure. Adrift between real and imagined worlds, Madame Tutli-Putli confronts her demons and is drawn into an undertow of mystery and suspense. The National Film Board of Canada presents a stunning, stop-motion animated film that takes the viewer on an exhilarating existential journey. The film introduces groundbreaking visual techniques and is supported by a haunting and original score. Painstaking care and craftsmanship in form and detail bring to life a fully imagined, tactile world unlike any you have seen. Jungian thriller? Hitchcockian suspense? Artistic tour de force? The Night Train awaits you. Written by courtesy of National Film Board of Canada

Hopefully I’ll be able to see some of the other shorts. I wouldn’t say shorts are always great just because, however, they usually pack a punch if they’re done well. They don’t have 90-120+ minutes to beat around the bush while getting their point across.

Rating: ★★★½☆

The Science of Sleep

Published
by
Chalupa
on October 23, 2006
in Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Independent, Romance and Stop-motion
. 2 Comments

This is another one of those long-awaited movies. The Science of Sleep stars Gael Garcí­a Bernal (Motorcycle Diaries, La Mala Educación, Y tu mamá también, Amores Perros) and is directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and many music videos). So if you’ve seen Eternal Sunshine or some of his music videos, you probably have an idea of the kind of off-the-wall genius and humor this man possesses.

Bernal plays Stéphane who has just been tricked into moving back home by his mother, who owns some apartments. He then meets his neighbor, Stéphanie, whom he almost immediately falls in love with. Meanwhile, his mother has hooked him up with a job at a calendar company where he’s supposed to be able to utilize his artistic abilities. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, however, his co-workers more than make up for it. Despite all of this excitement and drama, Stéphane has just one problem. He has problems seperating reality from his world of dreams.

I think my favorite parts of the movie are Stéphane’s dream sequences. In them, Stéphane is a host for a popular TV show where he performs music, has guests, talks about all kinds of intellectual things and has a time machine. His whole attitude is different, which makes the whole fantasy world that much more believable. He’s loose, he’s free, he says what he wants, he does what he wants. In this dream land, Stéphane can be the person he wants to be with nothing holding him back. It’s in this dream land where he can evaluate his relationships and work out the “real” problems he has. In the dream land, Stéphane is refined, articulate and intelligent. In the real world Stéphane is sometimes forgetful, says the wrong things and sometimes comes off as a little crazy.

I like to think this is the way we all are to one extreme or another. Everybody has had at least one experience in their life where they wish they could have said something else or done something else. I like to think, this is just a little to the extreme. Another aspect I really liked in this movie was the variance of language. It takes place in France, but throughout the film you hear the characters speak in English, French, and Spanish.

This is definitely one of those “art films” so if you’re not into those kinds of movies, maybe you won’t like this. I loved it, but this is a genre I enjoy. I’ve also seen numerous other works be Bernal and Gondry, so that helped influence me to see this as well. There is also some nudity/almost nudity and language that might offend some of you. Other than that, I gave this film 5 stars on netflix.

Corpse Bride

Published
by
Chalupa
on April 4, 2006
in Animation, Black Comedy, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance, Stop-motion and Wedding
. 0 Comments

Once again I was amazed and awed by the brilliance of Tim Burton. This man is awesome. Have you ever seen a picture of him? If not you should bust out google. It’s always interesting to see what people really look like.

I could really see some people not wanting to watch this movie simply based on previews and media. In fact, I just got my mom to watch Edward Scissorhands over the weekend and she loved it. I think she was actually surprised she even liked it. So I told her she needs to watch this one too. Yes it’s dark and dreary, but the movie is really good. Tim Burton is just really really good at dark and dreary movies that don’t turn out to be The Exorcist or Nightmare on Elm Street. This guy is talented.

The music is wonderful as always. Just wonderful. In fact, there’s even an option to play the movie without the dialogue in the special features of the DVD. This would definitely be worth checking out if you’ve already seen the movie.

One awesome part of this movie is the fact it takes place in Victorian England. The colors are drab. The clothes are tight and uncomfortable. Children are seen and not heard. There are arranged marriages. Nobody is happy.

Then you have the underworld where bright colors abound. Music is fun, jazzed and happening. People are allowed to drink and be merry. But everybody is dead. A bit of a paradox, right? So there’s two people arranged to be married that have never met each other. This could be really horrible but the two characters are probably the only two ‘normal’ people in town. Unfortunately, Victor accidently marries the Corpse Bride while practicing his vows and is then dragged into the underworld. Well, I won’t ruin the whole plot for you, but I will say, “WATCH THIS!”