I just saw this short a couple of days ago and was very impressed with the beautiful and striking detail-in the backgrounds, the characters, the movement-everything was simply gorgeous. There will be slight spoilers:
This is a short animated adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea and does very well by the source material. With only 20 minutes to work with as a running time, even a novella must be significantly abridged, but the main points are well covered here-the old man's struggles, his bout with the fish he ultimately catches, his problems getting his prize back to shore-all are told in a clear and concise manner. The narration is extremely effective and enhances the beautiful visual elements perfectly.
Though it tells Hemingway's story well, this is, at its heart, a feast for the eyes. The oil on glass technique used makes colors jump off the screen. It reminded me (favorably) of the work of Frederic Back, which is also visually stunning. This short is definitely a piece of art by any definition.
It can be found on more than one DVD release-the one I purchased was an IMAX version and also includes another short (Hemingway: A Portrait) and a "Making of" featurette on both shorts and is well worth having. Most highly recommended.
This is a short animated adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea and does very well by the source material. With only 20 minutes to work with as a running time, even a novella must be significantly abridged, but the main points are well covered here-the old man's struggles, his bout with the fish he ultimately catches, his problems getting his prize back to shore-all are told in a clear and concise manner. The narration is extremely effective and enhances the beautiful visual elements perfectly.
Though it tells Hemingway's story well, this is, at its heart, a feast for the eyes. The oil on glass technique used makes colors jump off the screen. It reminded me (favorably) of the work of Frederic Back, which is also visually stunning. This short is definitely a piece of art by any definition.
It can be found on more than one DVD release-the one I purchased was an IMAX version and also includes another short (Hemingway: A Portrait) and a "Making of" featurette on both shorts and is well worth having. Most highly recommended.