You *know* this thing is good if I, who loathes and fears claymation, refuse to dock it any points for the visuals. They are at times hard to look at. But, if anything, they just add to the effect.
"Opal" is what happens when you take the standard trope of characters traveling from their ho-hum lives to a fantasy world, then flip it on its head, and bash that head in once or twice for good measure. It is a story about escapism; dysfunctional families; and the desire to be loved, and to have your needs met in a world that can't provide for them. Everything in this film feels deliberately "off," from the misshapen characters to the lighting and eerie score, from Opal's happy family seen at the beginning to the dysfunctional one that lives in the spooky house across the street. By venturing into that house, young Opal will encounter three adults who each view her as their "Claire," a child who they can use to feed their own self-destructive lifestyles. Along the way, she'll start to learn why these people are the way they are, usually through weirdly catchy musical numbers... as well as learning something about herself she might just wish she didn't.
Fair warning: Those who have been victims of child abuse or neglect may find Opal a difficult watch. Though it may also make you feel seen in a way that few other stories do---and that is probably true for anyone who watches the film, not just survivors.
With a twelve-minute run time, this short does far better at crafting characters who feel human than do most full-length films. The three adults, while all objectively bad people, are just so trapped by their vices that it becomes almost impossible not to relate to them. In particular, Claire's vain and self-obsessed father stands out as a fully realized character. His song, "Mirror Man," is the most visually inventive song sequence I've seen in quite some time (and a total bop, at that), almost like being in a hall of mirrors. You don't see too many male characters that struggle with their appearance... even though feeling insecure about one's looks is pretty much a universal human experience. It's little touches like this, avoiding stereotypes, using clever symbolism and visual allegory, and drawing on the emotional core of common problems, that take this short from just another creepy animation to something that can speak to things beyond itself.
This is actually my first encounter with Jack Stauber's work, and I will no doubt be exploring more of it in the future. The songs are great... but really, the story and the characters are what I'm here for. As not to give away the excellent twist, I'll just say that the subject matter is treated with the horror and gravity that it deserves. Whether you want to escape from Opal's story or return to it is up to you. But it's well worth a watch.
"Opal" is what happens when you take the standard trope of characters traveling from their ho-hum lives to a fantasy world, then flip it on its head, and bash that head in once or twice for good measure. It is a story about escapism; dysfunctional families; and the desire to be loved, and to have your needs met in a world that can't provide for them. Everything in this film feels deliberately "off," from the misshapen characters to the lighting and eerie score, from Opal's happy family seen at the beginning to the dysfunctional one that lives in the spooky house across the street. By venturing into that house, young Opal will encounter three adults who each view her as their "Claire," a child who they can use to feed their own self-destructive lifestyles. Along the way, she'll start to learn why these people are the way they are, usually through weirdly catchy musical numbers... as well as learning something about herself she might just wish she didn't.
Fair warning: Those who have been victims of child abuse or neglect may find Opal a difficult watch. Though it may also make you feel seen in a way that few other stories do---and that is probably true for anyone who watches the film, not just survivors.
With a twelve-minute run time, this short does far better at crafting characters who feel human than do most full-length films. The three adults, while all objectively bad people, are just so trapped by their vices that it becomes almost impossible not to relate to them. In particular, Claire's vain and self-obsessed father stands out as a fully realized character. His song, "Mirror Man," is the most visually inventive song sequence I've seen in quite some time (and a total bop, at that), almost like being in a hall of mirrors. You don't see too many male characters that struggle with their appearance... even though feeling insecure about one's looks is pretty much a universal human experience. It's little touches like this, avoiding stereotypes, using clever symbolism and visual allegory, and drawing on the emotional core of common problems, that take this short from just another creepy animation to something that can speak to things beyond itself.
This is actually my first encounter with Jack Stauber's work, and I will no doubt be exploring more of it in the future. The songs are great... but really, the story and the characters are what I'm here for. As not to give away the excellent twist, I'll just say that the subject matter is treated with the horror and gravity that it deserves. Whether you want to escape from Opal's story or return to it is up to you. But it's well worth a watch.