I have been, for quite some time, been sifting through a Little Rascals box set. It claims to be complete in terms of talkies. It just may be. However, it includes bonus silent films (about 4 and ingores the rest). Here’s one of the ignored one. It’s a bit of a different game in silents and I rather like this one.
I happened upon this film by chance. I had yet to see a film by Jiří Trnka. Having seen many of Švankmajer’s works I always wanted to. The clay-animation herein is quite excellent and the subject matter appropriately surreal. Enjoy!
OK, so this one is a little different. I have discussed in posts past how amusement parks can and are pushing audiovisual boundaries. This film isn’t exactly a boundary-pusher, however, owing to the fact that the Norway pavilion in Epcot is being revamped and conquered by Frozen; this is a relic. Norway’s film was without question the shortest and oldest country-dedicated short in Epcot. Add to that the fact that it was played after Maelstrom, the former main attraction in the Norway section, and many people talked and/or walked right through it and on to the next ride, and you can see why it needs attention drawn to it. It was always my favorite, and even if going on the ride multiple times I still watched it. Now that it’s closed it’s good to find there are some captures online. This one is particularly quiet and fairly good. Enjoy, because you can’t see it in person anymore!
Yes, if you can believe it this is a Walt Disney production. It is one of the more fascinating of Disney productions in many regards. Firstly, because although Disney did make educational and didactic films on occasion they were rarely on such a frank subject. The forthrightness of it in such a prudish day an age made this a rarely seen title for many years. Anyone who has had health since it became a virtually mandated class will not be stunned but taking the context of this being made in 1946 adds some surprise to the proceedings.
This is great contemporary newsreel look at how Disney creates its animated films. This was made in light of the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. One interesting factoid is the budget cited as $1.5 million dollars. Adjusted for inflation that’s $25 million today; I am unsure how much unionization would have ballooned that but just on raw numbers it’s an interesting tidbit. Despite its dated tone its a more entertaining explanation of the traditional animation process than I would give.
Is the second Adventures in Music short produced by Disney and the first animated film ever presented in Cinemascope. It is a funny and didactic tour through the evolution of the sections of orchestration from pre-history through modern times. Enjoy!
I have previously featured films by Zachary Maxwell. First, was an exposé of public school lunches Yuck; next, a child’s last letter to Santa Claus; most recently, a film about ADD and ADHD. Now comes an investigation into the factors and machinations of decisions about snow days for New York Public Schools.
Not to give too much away but the touched upon rarity of the days does create a circle that closes and is underscored humorously. Once again the film is funny an informative.
I believe that at this point it’s impossible to jinx things this winter. We’re not out of the woods yet with a little more than three weeks to the vernal equinox, so it still is topical.
I previously featured the first two series in the Following Heart series (The Violinist and The Shark Conservationist). This film concludes the series that Jack and Finn Harries produced in partnership with Skype highlighting how the application is being used to help people do their work. Enjoy!
If you’re familiar with Disney’s take on The Little Mermaid or AnnaSophia Robb or Evan Peters or Sofia Coppola this is funny. if you know all three this is very funny!
The Following Heart series will be back with part three next weekend. I previously featured Zachary Maxwell on Short Film Saturday for both his guerilla doc on school lunches and his farewell letter to Santa.
Here he discusses ADHD. As the title indicates many do not even know it stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder much less any actual information about how its diagnosed, and that it’s not a “trend” or a medicate-it-and-forget-it condition.
Taking a personal approach at learning about it, and what makes ADHD different than “that’s just how kids are” make it resonate more and illustrates there is a concrete foundation for those treating and managing the condition.
A-D-Something-Something from Maxwell Project on Vimeo.
The Movie Rat 