Animated Shorts Review

Gopher Broke

The animated short film ‘Gopher Broke’ is about a gopher living on the countryside who is shown trying hard to procure vegetable/fruits in the film to eat. It opens with the sign board which reads ‘Farmers house’ and then at the root of the board we see the gopher. It is in this way that the main character – the gopher is introduced.

The characterization of the gopher is very good. He has an innocent looking face and has two big frontal teeth which further show his gullibility and country fool characteristic. The naiveté and yet the clever tactics he applies to procure food reveal to us the interesting character that he is.

He is on a road where trucks are moving produce to market. He digs a pit on the road so that every time a truck passes it jumps up and fruits-vegetables fly into the sky. The fruits-vegetables are shown in slow motion for added effect, and the sparkle in his eyes when this happens is a very heartwarming moment. But he can never really enjoy the feast as the crows always get it before him.

The audience feels sorry for him, we connect with him because we have seen him try for food, get really close and then get disappointed. We too get disappointed with him.

The film has a comical ending, as this time around a truck carrying a cow passes and jumps up because of the same pit he had dug. The animal then flies out and lands on the poor gopher! Following this we see the truck go away with the cow in it and the gopher stuck on his behind! :D

A very cute short, with a simple storyline and basic human emotions we can connect too.

A Gentlemen's Duel

This animated short film opens like a typical princess in the castle or fairy tale. We see a beautiful pond, with two frogs trying to have the same butterfly. Then the frame expands and we see a very pretty lady looking out from the balcony to the left and there the title of the film is shown.

The film as the name suggests is about two men fighting for a girl. The girl like in all classical fairy tales is shown as a passive participant who has a pretty face. The characterisation of the two men is very interesting, one is very English and the other is very French in his appearance. So the classic rivalry between the English and the French is revived.

They fight verbally, bicker over the lunch, but the main fight happens with the men running huge robots. In this too fun is made of English traditions like the evening tea. In the middle of the fight, at a very decisive moment the servant comes and rings a tiny bell. All of a sudden the fighting stops and we see both the men and the lady at table sipping tea like civilized human beings!

Once it’s over, they return and resume from exactly where they had left. Finally after a lot of destruction, they realize the woman is missing and later see her boots under a boulder. Assuming that she is dead, they both run away. We see all the destruction they’ve caused and then see rustling in the nearby bush. We then see the lady naked in the bush smiling - we wonder who is she with and we soon see the servant pop out of the shrub too. So somewhere in the middle, the lady had gone out with the servant leaving both the men to fight! :) An unconventional end to a very predictable plotline. 

My problem with depiction of Old age in cinema!

Mainstream popular cinema always plays on all the existing stereotypes associated with elderly people. Old Age is generally associated with impending death and sadness, which is funny considering it’s the last stage of life and should be rich in experiences and valuable lessons learnt. But death, especially when it comes at the right age is nothing to cry about but to be celebrated and cherished. 

Also you have memories of a lifetime with you, but that doesn't mean you stop creating new memories, new experiences, you are still living and so still learning. Old age is about experience and it does not entitle every old person with the wisdom of an owl. They've lived, they've flawed.  Some learn some, still make mistakes. Old people are humans too, so stop painting them in virtuous light all the time. ‘Angel in the house’ holds true only in the Utopian fictional world, not in reality. So old age should be portrayed in not only the idyllic white but blacks too.

Its grey that is interesting, black and white are plain boring. 

Manmohan in a mess!!!! XD

I won the first prize in Inter College Cartoon Making Competition - Bazinga...here's my entry! :)
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Topic: Sometimes even my lucky rocketship underpants won’t help!!!
Idea behind it: The cartoon focuses on Manmohan Singh and the sticky situation a few months ago he was in and still is. Anna Hazare and the anti corruption protest, the slew of scams and corruption scandals that were unearthed, the Food Bill and the newly revised BPL index, followed by Kapil Sibbal’s attempt  at monitoring all online content,  all these were responsible for making the situation worse for Mr. Singh. In short nothing can help our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from the ugly situation he is stuck in!

Swine flu scare & hypocrisy

Showing the hypocrisy generated over swine flu in India though more people die every year due to diseases like malaria and TB. Have a look at the facts given below and decide it yourself:

• 1,173 people died from malaria in 2007 with nearly 1.5 million reported cases and 93 million probable cases, according to the World Health Organization.

• 331,268 people died from tuberculosis in India -the highest rate in the world- while there were nearly 1.3 million reported cases.