I just watched this new Pixar short and was just blown away by how beautifully executed this very simple idea was. If you have seven minutes, sit down and watch this: I think it works on every level: artistically, story-wise, technically, sound, picture, design, movement, color, everything. It also packs a huge emotional wallop I was not expecting. The first thing I thought of with this short was Stephen King's epic Dark Tower novels, which also tell the story of a gunfighter who has a harrowing, tragic backstory. It almost makes you wonder what that would've looked like if told in this kind of animated style. If this short doesn't walk away with an Oscar, I'll be shocked.
Well — that ends my dislike of CG rendered animation. Wow. All the detail and nuance of reality, but unashamed to present the characters as traditional animated cartoon forms. Incredible sound, production and storytelling. What a balancing act. Walt would be very impressed. I want to see the feature length film... It would be interesting to learn what this seven minute short cost, in both hours and dollars; as well as how many people worked on it. Thanks for sharing.
Wasn't that great? I particularly liked it for its simplicity. Very straightforward idea, good storytelling that just sucks you right in. :30 seconds in, I completely forgot it was animated. And I agree: an entire feature film based on this beginning could be remarkable. There's also a "making of" documentary up on YouTube that goes into how they opted to limit the story they told in the final short.
We may have been Pixar's second East Coast customer back in 1987. We used their hardware and cranky software for scientific visualization. Even then, it was evident in Red's Dream and Tin Toy that Pixar's ambition went far beyond bits, bytes and tools to heartfelt story telling. Thanks for sharing their latest short
Thanks for posting that, much appreciated. What an elegant closing. CGI animation is more than one eyed yellow gum drop shaped characters!
Yeah, while I think the Minions movie had its moments (particularly when they sang "Revolution" at the end), the animation was for crap. There's a reason that the Universal/Illumination movies cost $50M-$60M each while the Pixar movies cost upwards of $150M. They spend a lot of time and effort and money getting all the little nuances just right. On the short above, I was struck by the scrape on the kid's face, which was bleeding. When do you ever see somebody bleed in an animated cartoon? This kind of attention to detail is just absolutely amazing, and it's one of those things that Pixar does better than anybody.
I bet Pixar has been thinking about doing a serious cartoon for years, but the source material would have to be pretty impressive, and even then, the risks would be huge.
When Pixar is on top of their game nobody can touch them. I hope they're out of their rut (Cars/Cars 2/Monsters University) now.
That was truly poignant and powerful, but it's too somber and intense for young kids. I applaud the wonderful artistry in no uncertain terms from my adult standpoint but I hope that's not the lead-in for the next "bring the whole family" Pixar flick that comes around. I'm not sure my youngster would be ready for that. Aaron
I think there should be reasonable restrictions on what young children can and can't see, and I think the parents have to be part of that. I would call Borrowed Time a "PG-13" show, as opposed to PG or G. Just because it's a cartoon doesn't make it for kids. I'm reminded how, in the thread elsewhere on Sausage Party, somebody mentioned they saw a mother rushing her two 6-year-old children out of the theater after the first ten minutes or so. That's a heavy, heavy R-rated film by any standard. At the same time, I wouldn't want kids under 13 to watch Walking Dead or Westworld, either, because of the adult situations and violence going on. Way too heavy for kids that age.
Watched it as well and it is remarkable, although I couldn't quite understand why the man would want to commit suicide so many years later... apparently, this cartoon is just two animators, small budget, a project within their free time. ‘Borrowed Time’: How Two Pixar Animators Made a Daring, Off-Brand Western Short »
With some stories (particularly short stories), you have to fill in the missing gaps yourself and assume the guy had a very, very difficult life in the years after the accident. Perhaps all those events led to him walking back to the cliff to mull over what happened, and then he decided to take the jump. It's good writing whenever somebody can convince you that these fictitious characters were real enough that you care about them and want to know why something happened.
true. I just didn't understand... it felt like he was still eating himself about not being able to save his father and finally succumbed and decided to jump, which doesn't make sense to me. Blame the bandits who attacked, forgive yourself. It's what his father would have wanted anyway...
Well, again... it's just a movie. If the guy has lived 50 years with all kinds of heartache and grief, and then finds himself at the top of this cliff again... who's to say he wouldn't be right to jump? And they needed a dramatic excuse to bring the watch back into it, so it all works as a continuous circle. You can't have a happy ending without a pivotal conflict to hold it together -- that's the essence of drama.