PAPERMAN (2012)

RELEASE DATE: Friday 2nd November 2012

Following on from The Ballad of Nessie, it has since become customary for all Disney animated films to be preceded by a short movie. Paperman was created to be shown before Wreck-It Ralph in cinemas.

The usual reaction to seeing Paperman for the first time (it was certainly mine) is a sense of confusion... Is this C.G.I. or hand-drawn animation that I'm watching...? It's actually both: probably the best example of combining the two different art forms in animation history.

Some very clever tech was designed to make the very distinct visual style work. Instead of trying to explain it, I'll let director John Kahrs explain it himself...

 

Amazing stuff. You can see how the hand-drawn facial features add a spark of life that's missing from the regular C.G.I. models. I adore this little movie on two different levels. For one, it's a charming little story that is beautifully told without a single spoken word. But secondly, the artistry of the piece is simply stunning. It's no accident that it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

PASCAL: This movie's really cute.

 

WENDY: N'yawwwww. I like that when the two characters meet it isn't some perfect romantic moment. "The course of true love never did run smooth." - William Shakespeare.

 

MERRYWEATHER: I love how there's no dialogue. There doesn't need to be any dialogue to tell this story.

 

WENDY: That's the best kind of storytelling. Showing, not telling.

HAKU: They did such an amazing job of making the 3D models look 2D.

 

IRVYNE: And it might seem effortless, but looking at how the movie was made, that weren't easy!

 

WENDY: It's lovely to have it all black-and-white. Except for the lipstick, that's the only colour.

 

IRVYNE: I also love the soundtrack, which was written by Christophe Beck, who would later go on to score Frozen. The quiet bit where the paper planes begin to come to life is just magic.

It makes me really happy that Disney now have short movies before their major releases. I daresay it was largely due to the influence of John Lasseter. After all, Pixar has been doing short films for years now. But this one is really lovely.