When Fathom Events and GKids announced that they were teaming up to host a Studio Ghibli Fest, I was thrilled. The fest would include six animated features from the Studio Ghibli collection. The films would appear on the big screen, one per month, for six months, starting in June. What I missed when reading up on Studio Ghibli Fest, was that the event would also include a mini animated shorts fest. GKids would select some of the best animated shorts from around the world to show after each Ghibli feature. You can imagine my excitement as I bounced to the last few notes of My Neighbor Totoro’s ending credits song, and then suddenly, a new piece of dazzling animation popped up on the screen, followed by another. In this edition of Creations of Chaos, we look at The Pocket Man and Snack Attack.
The Pocket Man
The Pocket Man is a lovely story about a tiny man who lives in a suitcase. The little man seeks revenge on the owner of a pair of thwamping, destructive, shoes. After realizing he made a terrible mistake, The Pocket Man befriends the owner of the shoes, and the two become a great team.
The film was produced by French animation studio Folimage and Georgian film studio Kvali XXI.
I especially loved the simple, artsy, 2D animation style in The Pocket Man. It resembled a picture book, which is no surprise, since the animation was done by illustrator, Ana Chubinidze. Watching the short brought me back to the days of sitting on my living room sofa as a kid, watching the animated shorts shown on the Nickelodeon kids’ show, Pinwheel. The story had a lot of heart and taught a good lesson about making assumptions, and engaging in rash decisions because of those assumptions.
Snack Attack
Snack Attack was a joint effort between Metanoia Films and Arc Productions. The story is based on a European urban legend.
The animation for Snack Attack is a 3D style similar to something you would see completed by Pixar. Probably due to the fact that I have seen My Neighbor Totoro multiple times, when I left the theater, I was immersed in thought over Snack Attack. I’m still thinking about Snack Attack.
The film would make a great tool to teach kids to be wary about what they see in the media. It shows how easy it is for you to come to a quick judgement and form an opinion about someone or something when it is presented to you from only one perspective. It’s deep for an animated short. I don’t want to give it all away, because I think the impact is better if you see it for yourself below.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure if The Pocket Man and Snack Attack were paired up deliberately, but if they were, I’m impressed. Both shorts have a similar theme about making rash decisions before having all of the facts. I left the theater seriously pondering, more so than I have after seeing many full length animated films.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is next up for Studio Ghibli Fest. I can’t wait to see the next round of accompanying animated shorts.
