You might be familiar with Garfield the movie, Kung Fu Panda, Minions, The Boss Baby or others that you often see that are categorized as animation and TV?
When we were kids, animation was something that was very close to us. It plays an important role as child-safe and family-friendly entertainment. No lies, animated films are so attached to us, our memory remembers animation as a children’s film. But it seemed like I was stuck believing that animated films were incapable of providing a deep understanding of life. Animated films have the stereotype as a spectacle for children, when not necessarily all animated movies are meant for children.
Minikino presents the short animated film category not only to appreciate, but also celebrate the existence of animated film itself, especially in short films that have less attention than feature-length animated films. The three animated films in the program are Sweet Like Lemons, In the Shadow of the Cypress, and Wild Tale.
Aline Quertain’s Wild Tale (2023), nominated for MFW10 Animation category. The film tells the story of a friendship between a bird and a feline. The feline doesn’t look like a typical cat as it’s not depicted with typical cat ears, but rather upright hair like a punk kid. Cool, right? But that’s the beauty of animation, no need to imitate real-life tropes. The genre is always ripe for exploration without moral burdens, as it is usually encouraged to go beyond the realistic—for example, to have a character with purple skin like an eggplant.
It starts with a feline who is lonely and trying to make friends. The feline approaches a cluster of birds, which then flee. The feline then approaches a group of rats, who of course also run away, as felines are their predators. The rats would probably think that it would be the end of their days if they didn’t run away.
Then came a colourful bird, its wings were blue, its body was red, its head was white, and the feathers around its eyes were dark blue. I imagined that if I saw a bird like this in person, it would be very beautiful. A solitary feline finally had a friend after the bird came over and ate the fish left over from his meal. The bird’s arrival was welcomed by the black-coloured feline.
They continued to be together, they did their activities together, until the bird perched on the feline for so long, it became glued to it and couldn’t get away from the feline. Wiley or not, the feline finally helped the bird to eat, because the bird could not move anywhere. After the bird ate, the feline’s palm turned blue to match the bird’s blue colour, as well as half of his hair turning red. They continue to be together until the feline slowly transforms into the same shape as the bird, this time not only with its colour, but also with its bird-like appearance. But their friendship didn’t last long, as they later parted ways due to the feline changing shape entirely to match the bird.
It started when they both woke up from their sleep. The bird attached to the feline finally woke up too. They suddenly fell from the top of the tree. which eventually changed the feline like the feathers of a flying bird, so that the bird thought that his friend was dead.
One thing is for sure from here, the animation is drawn so beautifully. This film shows the power and tremendous potential of great animation. The drawing of this film feels like a painting, which reminds me of Isao Takahata’s The Tale of The Kaguya (2013), with more intense colours, and thicker lines in the character’s line work. Animation is truly limitless, what is there to limit the creativity in making an animated film? I don’t think there is. I think this is what makes animation close to me as a child, as there are many unimaginable possibilities represented in a moving picture. Don’t ask about the absurdity of animation, because in my opinion, that’s what makes it special.
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