This short has been nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:
This nicely animated short, with the look and feel of a painting, is about a little pig with a big and thankless duty, that of the dam keeper. Inherited from his father, it's his responsibility to keep the windmill turning in order to keep the black clouds of pollution from coming into his town.
Shunned and bullied for being dirty and withdrawn, no one, adult or child seems to know (or perhaps they know but don't care) that he's carrying such a heavy load. He's a misfit, an outcast, sitting alone at the back of the rail car to and from school. Until a new kid comes to school.
He's a fox who sketches and he chooses to sit next to the pig the first day on the way to school. The fox becomes popular immediately and at recess that first day, he accidentally drops his sketch pad in the classroom on his way out to play. The pig retrieves it and looks through it laughing at the sketches.
The next morning, the fox, looking forlorn at the loss of his sketchbook, brightens up when he sees it next to the pig and the two begin to bond as friends, over this and other, less pleasant, experiences. The pig is happy for the first time.
Through an unfortunate turn of events, the pig is crushed and disheartened, causing him to forget his obligations and the windmill stops, letting in the polluted clouds. Once certain incorrect assumptions are cleared up, the pig races to set things right. The short ends rather dramatically and in a most satisfying way.
I've seen all five nominated shorts and though I have no doubt that Feast will probably win, having been seen by more people, while Feast is extremely good, I prefer The Dam Keeper and I hope it wins. All five are worth seeing and they are available for viewing. This short is most highly recommended.
This nicely animated short, with the look and feel of a painting, is about a little pig with a big and thankless duty, that of the dam keeper. Inherited from his father, it's his responsibility to keep the windmill turning in order to keep the black clouds of pollution from coming into his town.
Shunned and bullied for being dirty and withdrawn, no one, adult or child seems to know (or perhaps they know but don't care) that he's carrying such a heavy load. He's a misfit, an outcast, sitting alone at the back of the rail car to and from school. Until a new kid comes to school.
He's a fox who sketches and he chooses to sit next to the pig the first day on the way to school. The fox becomes popular immediately and at recess that first day, he accidentally drops his sketch pad in the classroom on his way out to play. The pig retrieves it and looks through it laughing at the sketches.
The next morning, the fox, looking forlorn at the loss of his sketchbook, brightens up when he sees it next to the pig and the two begin to bond as friends, over this and other, less pleasant, experiences. The pig is happy for the first time.
Through an unfortunate turn of events, the pig is crushed and disheartened, causing him to forget his obligations and the windmill stops, letting in the polluted clouds. Once certain incorrect assumptions are cleared up, the pig races to set things right. The short ends rather dramatically and in a most satisfying way.
I've seen all five nominated shorts and though I have no doubt that Feast will probably win, having been seen by more people, while Feast is extremely good, I prefer The Dam Keeper and I hope it wins. All five are worth seeing and they are available for viewing. This short is most highly recommended.