Cornerhouse Digital Reporter Mark Slattery enjoys another dose of cartoon cinema…
Maybe you’ve been to watch both of the previous programmes in this year’s British Animation Awards Public Choice screenings and are researching for the third? Well here’s a final convincer to brave the unpredictable Manchester weather and head down to Cornerhouse today for the final installment of this diverse animation programme.
Really three things stood out for me in this final screening: birds, dark colours and the dark, adult themes.
Thursday features blackbirds surviving in the near-future world of technology, in the music video Lukid: Stripes the magpies take what they please, no matter who is inconvenienced, and there’s even a little, feathery play on words in The Henhouse, which sees an urban fox get a job in a café of the same name.
Black and white, muted colours and monochrome was the pallet of choice for Moxie, the tale of a lonely bear who plays with fire, as well as the music videos for Liz Green: Displacement, a tale of an angry puppeteer, and Dry Riser: Tangerine’s kaleidoscopic montages, imagery that will remind me of the wax crayon scratch paintings from primary school.
More than before, these shorts focused on adult themes. There are more tales of drinking, violence and sexual related trips to A&E from the Get Well Soon series. I’m Fine Thanks’ tells the story of one man’s anger and frustration at the world around him, while depression and masochism are the motivators for the bear from Moxie.
Don’t fret though, it’s not all doom and gloom. The series ends on a bright, cheery, musical note with Ernesto; the story of a little boy who feels left out as the only kid in school with all his milk teeth intact.
Bears, birds and foxes. The past, the future and the modern world. Shouting, singing and storytelling. As always there’s a little bit of everything in this final selection of animations. Hopefully there’s something here to tempt you to join us this evening for the last BAA Public Choice screening of 2012. Enjoy and don’t forget to vote for your favourite.
Programme Three in the British Animation Awards screens tonight Tue 7 Feb at 18:20. Book your tickets here.