This batch of "Visions" shorts is much stronger than the ones that premiered in 2021. While the first set was done almost exclusively by Japanese studios, and the stories incorporated common anime and jidaigeki tropes, the participating animation studios this year are from all over the globe, and you'll probably recognize a few of them.
Even though I'm doing this as a "Rank 'Em" post, I want to stress that all the shorts in this collection are interesting and worth a watch. The best of them rank among the most outstanding pieces of "Star Wars" media produced since the Disney acquisition.
1. "Screecher's Reach" (Cartoon Saloon) - If you don't know about Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, this is as good an intro as any. Despite the picture-book character designs and a passel of young protagonists, this short isn't what it seems, and may be the darkest and most sinister story of the whole set. And while the animation isn't as showy, it manages some of the best visual storytelling. The ending is a jawdropper in every sense.
2. "I Am Your Mother" (Aardman) - By far the lightest and most kid-friendly short of the bunch, with a ton of clever sight gags and some appealing new characters. I love the humor here, the way that the animators reference and spoof familiar "Star Wars" iconography, and find some novel things to do with it. And there's plenty for Aardman fans too - check out the familiar looking droid at the race, who may have last been seen skiing on the moon.
3. "The Spy Dancer" (Studio La Cachette) - A fantastic spy story that feels very WWII and very French, much like the studio that produced it. The animation is old fashioned traditional 2D, but lovely to look at, and the story is a heartbreaker aimed at more mature viewers. "The Spy Dancer" probably best fills the assignment of creating an engaging narrative that just happens to take place in the "Star Wars" universe, and manages to show us something new.
4. "Aau's Song" (Triggerfish) - Many of the different animation studios showcase their country's culture. In the case of South Africa based Triggerfish, the beauty and the vibrancy really come through. Unlike some of the other stories starring younger kids, this one truly captures a child's-eye view of the universe and feels like it's calibrated for younger kids' sensibilities. I love how the characters look, with their felt-like textures and bright colors.
5. "The Pit" (Lucasfilm and D'Art Shtajio) - Has very strong writing and story, so I'm putting this fairly high up in the rankings, despite the fairly mundane designs and animation. I like that this is a Jedi-lite story, focusing on the evils of the Empire and the power of collective resistance over the fancy Force battles featured in most of the others. This is also one of the only shorts featuring a fairly recognizable actor - Daveed Diggs - as the main character.
6. "Journey to the Dark Head" (Studio Mir) - This short has a disadvantage, because it's the only one that I saw that was obviously dubbed into English. It's also a very typical piece of anime, from the character designs to the quest-based story. The execution, however, is among the very best of this group of shorts, with intense action sequences and beautifully fluid animation. It's also set up like the first episode of an ongoing series. Can we get a few more please?
7. "Sith" (El Guiri) - Feels very minimalist compared to some of the others, with really only three characters - two very minor - and a very simple plot. I like the way the Jedi/Sith dichotomy is explored, and the stylized CGI animation style, but there's just not as much here as there is in the other shorts. I was surprised that this has a runtime over over ten minutes, because I was convinced that this was one of the shorter installments.
8. "In the Stars" (Punkrobot) - I love the way this short looks, with its unique alien designs and the use of stop-motion. The underlying message is also very strong, conveyed through an inspiration resistance story. The trouble really comes down to the characters. Both of the lowest ranked entries have leads who are mischievous little girls, and both of them got on my nerves a bit. I enjoyed the short regardless, just not as much as some of the others.
9. "The Bandits of Golak" (88 Pictures) - "Star Wars" through a South Asian lens is fascinating to see. This is only at the bottom of the rankings because something has to be, and "Golak" has the shakiest production values. The animation, particularly of faces, still needs some work. However, it's still a perfectly enjoyable short with a unique point of view.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment