Sticky Ends

A fish-man hybrid named appropriately named Jinx, unknowingly causes havoc to those around him. His latest unintentional victim is a man taking a flight.  Beyond the obvious outcome, it further delves into a contrived yet funny scenario. I've always rather enjoyed animated shorts that are either dialogue free, or include a non-descriptive language, as words don't always matter as much.  The art style is sketch-like, and the animation is uncomfortably twitchy, which is perfect for an uncomfortable scenario.

Cafe Allonge / Happy Hour (NSFW-ish?)

This animated short from French animation studio Kaw Animation may be going on a few years old, but I really enjoyed it and thought it worth sharing. The setting is a cafe,and the protagonist are rather upset young guy.  Clearly having a bit of a moment, he appears bitter and angry regarding his relationships with women.  While I'm sure everyone has had that moment of "COME ON, REALLY?!" (anyone?), this dude takes it a step or ten forward. Or at least, so it appears.  Warning: Kinda-sorta NSFW-ish.

The World Of Kairos Comes To Life

Studio La Cachette was formed by four Les Gobelins students, and unsurprisingly, their trailer 'Kairos' looks amazing.  This hand-drawn, 2D animation is a promo for the upcoming French comic of the same name. With a style somewhat influenced by Studio Ghibli and a feel reminiscent of a mix between Legend of Zelda and a Team Ico game, the trailer sent a pleasant chill down our spine.

There's something wonderfully old school about the entire premise, but the presentation is downright exciting, colorful and excellently animated, begging for a longer length animated treatment. Ankama has a history of creating elaborate promos for their upcoming comics, like 2011's absolutely kickass 'Teotl' mech series.

Images courtesy of Ankama publishing.

'The epic plot follows the story of Nills and his girlfriend, Anaëlle who harbors a deep, ancient secret which ultimately results in her capture by creatures from another world. In his quest to save his beloved, Nills ultimately embarks on an amazing journey into a fantastical world that will change his life forever.'

We were fortunate enough to receive a ten page preview of the comic (Realized by Ulysse Malassagne) as well, showing off the distinct style that got translated perfectly into an animated form by the talented folks at Ankama studios (Wakfu animated series), check it out after the break!

Premier Automne

From animation studio Je Regarde comes this amazingly beautiful short, 'Premier Automne,' or in English 'First Fall.' The story involves a little girl named Apolline, and a little boy named Abel: Apolline lives in the summer time, whereas Abel lives in the winter.

Unexpectedly, they meet one day, colliding their two worlds. The encounter is not without some interesting results, to say the least. You can probably take a guess based on the title alone, but the way everything is executed is beautifully ethereal.  Haunting, even. Bonus: Puppies, yay!

The Legend of Sarila

Quebec's first 3D CGI film was just released there recently, and will also show at TIFF's (Toronto International Film Festival) Kid Festival. 'The Legend of Sarila' is the story of an Inuit clan facing famine, while unbeknownst to them the famine is work of their shaman, who has turned to dark magic. But there might be hope in the mythical land of Sarila, located hidden among the glaciers.

The film's most notable star is Oscar winner and Canada-native Christopher Plummer.  Upon first glance, I'm not a huge fan of the 3D art, it comes across a bit stiff.  But there's something about the overall look, and primarily the story, that he piqued my interest. We'll be on the lookout for a US release, if any.

Upside Down

Two planets live right next to each other, each with it's own gravity. Those who live "Up" are wealthy, affluent, and take from those who live 'Down.' That's the basic setting for the French-Canadian film 'Upside Down,' ever so appropriately titled.  Yeah, there's an added Romeo and Juliet-esque love story and that's great and all, but I'm really interested in both the visuals and how this fantasy world plays out. It's a 2012 film, but it will see a limited US release next Friday, March 15th. 

Mysterious Swamp

Estonian animator Chintis Lundren created a wonderfully moody short with 'Müstiline raba', or it's English translation 'Mysterious Swamp.' This dark, and slightly uncomfortable story is about a stork who finds himself in a less than ideal situation with a group of nefarious frogs.  The art style is quite simplistic, almost childlike.  But it's the colors, textures, and rough appeal that takes it from innocent to something a bit sinister.

C'est La Vie

Simone Rovellini's short essentially throws together an adorable array French cliches.  It's the day in the life of a young woman, Henriette.  It's just all so incredibly pink, frou-frou, lacy, ribbony... Essentially, every single item on the stereotypical girly-girl's list is checked off.  Twice. All done in good fun, and incredibly tongue-in-cheek.  Though narrated in Italian, we found the English subtitled version.  Enjoy!

Les Poings Sur Les Iles

My obligatory animated short is the Korean animated 'Les Poings Sur Les Iles', which is French for 'Fists of the Islands', a French children's book. It's a perfect chill, end of the day short with beautifully serene visuals.  Unless you speak Korean, the story may be hard to follow. I really just loved it for the bright yet not overly striking colors, the watercolor look and the charming soundtrack.

Monster Mom

Wow, young Sullen sure is a bratty child. While left home alone by his mother, he decides to cover the kitchen walls and appliances with marker. As he retreats to his bedroom, something extraordinary happens. Moral of the story: Don't f**k with Mom. This bright and rather unique-looking (I'm curious about those yellow beak-like noses...) animated short was created by a team of 6 animation students in Italy, as a graduation project. And today, it made for the perfect Sunday morning cartoon.

Rhapsody for Pot-au-Feu

Another day, another film for the students at Les Gobelins. This minimalist and subdued animated short tells the story of a large family all living together under one roof. It's the mother who has to wrangle everyone together for dinner. It's a perfect mixture of chaos brought together by simple yet stunning animation. Just watching this family makes me want to desert to a quiet corner to chill out.

Toys in the Attic

This 2009 Czech animated film is making it's (English dubbed) US debut this coming fall. Here we have the English-subtitled trailer for Na pude, or Toys in the Attic, is the story about a group of attic-banished toys that come to life when no one is around. Sounds familiar... Anyways, the pretty doll Buttercup is kidnapped by the "Head of State", the ruler of the Eastern section of the attic, which is represents the divide during the Cold War. With the combination of traditional animation, stop motion, and claymation, we can't wait to check this out come September.

Now You Know It Anyway

For a fun, simple Sunday morning (er, afternoon) animated short, we stumbled across Polder Animation's "Now You Know It Anyway". This Dutch-made story is about a little girl who creates short stories, and sells them at a local flea market. As she recounts one of her stories to an interested gentleman, the animal characters begin to come to life. When she gets to the end, she realizes her mistake: Giving away her product for free. Perhaps selling stories isn't quite as lucrative as lemonade for the 5-10 year old run businesses. I really loved the simple, subtle animated style which definitely succeeded in capturing the charming nature of the little entrepreneur and her imagination.

Patrice Leconte's Very Unique Shop

French director Patrice Leconte will show his dark animation, The Suicide Shop (or Le Magasin des Suicides) tomorrow at the Annecy Animation Festival in Annecy, France (it also debuted recently at the Cannes Film Festival). Based off of a book, it tells the story of world riddled with ever-increasing suicide. A rather dark family sees a business in that, and opens a suicide shop: A store filled with anything you might need to help you end your life. But a new family member is born, one who is actually happy... Joyful, even. And thus, conflict arises. No release date has been given for the US yet, but we hope it makes it's way over the Atlantic sometime soon.

Monsieur Perine : Sabor A Mi

There's something absolutely wonderful and uplifting about seeing raw talent performing in the humblest of settings, and giving it their all. This up and coming 5 member group from Bogota, Colombia delivers an amazing cover of Alvaro Carillo's classic love song, 'Sabor A Mi' with their own take on swing jazz, spiced up with their own Columbian twist.

The group performed for the first time outside of their home country at South By Southwest (aka SXSW,The massive Austin music festival) as well as Miami and New York with an incredibly positive reaction. And the best part about these guys? They haven't even released an album yet, which is quite incredible considering they've been working their way up to this point for five years. If you like the sound, you can find one of their original tracks after the break!