Week 9 - The Bear & the hare

Week 9 - The Bear & the hare

Year: 2013

Director:  Yves Geleyn and Elliot Dear

Techniques used: Traditional 2D animation for characters, Stop motion environment, Characters printed and cut out to work with the stop motion.

John Lee - Stop motion set designer, modeler and supervisor. Has worked on several other films such as V for Vendetta, Isle of Dogs, Frankenweenie, and the Fantastic Mr. Fox.

While I think the techniques of combining traditional 2D animation and stop motion is an effective and eye catching style, any movie magic is lost to me now that I know how that short was made. Upon re-watching the short film, I spotted several points where things that should have been cut out were left in. An example of this is the Hare's happy hopping upon arriving at the Christmas tree. If the viewer watches closely they can see the connections that hold the Hare up while it is in the air. 

However, this is just me nit picking. The short is very well made and serves its purpose spectacularly. The mix of styles allows for the characters to stand out against the details of the background. The masterfully traditional 2D animation by supervised by Aaron Blaise & Dominic Carola gives the character a full range of life and emotions, yet still blends seamlessly with stop motion environment. The detailed and intricate backgrounds and landscapes were created by John Lee and his team of stop motion modelers and artists, breathing belief into the viewers of a frozen European wonderland. 

Overall, I think that despite a few small meaningless problems, the short animated film is an amazing piece of animation and storytelling.