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Directors: Max Lang & Daniel Snaddon
Release date: December 25, 2019
Rating: ★★★½
Review:
‘The Snail and the Whale’ is yet another Magic Light Pictures production based on a Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book. Like all the books and films based on them since 2009’s ‘The Gruffalo’ the film is told in rhyme. But because this adventure takes place mostly at sea, there’s much more CGI involved than usual, and the film thus is less tactile than Magic Light Pictures earlier productions.
The story is cute and shows that even the smallest can make a difference. Yet, the film is less compelling than say ‘The Gruffalo’ (2009), ‘Room on the Broom‘ (2012) or ‘Stick Man’ (2015) and that’s because of the source material, which just isn’t on the same level of story telling. The small gags present in earlier films are also lacking, and for a too large part we just watch the little snail enjoy its travels without anything else happening.
The animation, of course, is top notch, and the designs are, as always, appealing, although the human figures are much less interesting than the animals, and the whale is rendered rather straight. You can also sense the difficulty of the interaction between the two animals, because of the gigantic size difference. The result is a charming film, if not among Magic Light Pictures’ best works.
Watch the trailer of ‘The Snail and the Whale’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘The Snail and the Whale’ is available on DVD
Director: Norman McLaren
Release date: 1961
Rating: ★★★½
Review:
‘New York Lightboard’ is a direct-on-film animation film that was never meant for the cinema. Instead, it was a commercial film commissioned by the Canadian Governmental Tourism Office to be projected in an endless loop on a big screen on Times Square in New York City.
The film is both in black and white and silent, but McLaren makes the commercial a very playful one, with letters bouncing and playing with each other, and metamorphosis running wild (we watch. e.g. the letters Canada change into a fish, which turns into a bird, which becomes a smiling sun, etc.).
Most of the film is pretty abstract, but there’s also some fine animation of swimming fish, a galloping horse, a man in a canoe and of Hamlet and Laertes fighting. Apart from the words Canada and ‘Dial PL 7-4917’ (for more information), the most recurring elements are animated fireworks.
The whole film seems a little too playful and too experimental for a general audience, but it certainly must have drawn attention. There’s also a short equally silent documentary called ‘New York Lightboard Record’ in which we watch the film on a screen on Times Square, and some of the responses of the audience watching it.
Watch ‘New York Lightboard’ & ‘New York Lightboard Record’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘New York Lightboard’ and ‘New York Lightboard Record’ are available on the DVD-box ‘Norman McLaren – The Master’s Edition’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 