Pixar’s playful “Day & Night,” which was the opener for “Toy Story 3,” is one of the two best of this quintet, directed by Teddy Newton, a conceptual coup, a hand-drawn treat after the fashion of late caricaturist Al Hirschfeld that in its first iteration exploited 3-D to rich result. The teach-it-to-kids CGI “The Gruffalo,” about a nut-hunting mouse in the woods who faces a fox, an owl and a snake, repeats itself, but at least boasts narration by Helena Bonham Carter. From the U.S., Geefwee Boedoe’s “Let’s Pollute,” a salute to all-American waste keeping the economy strong, is a keen parody of stentorian educational films. (Boedoe designed the title sequence of “Monsters, Inc.”) “The Lost Thing,” an Australian short about a boy’s hope for a home for a weird creature he comes across on the beach while scavenging for bottle tops has a grown-up absurdity and sadness, largely from explaining neither beast nor boy. Perhaps best in its sculptural form and dimensional delight is “Carnet de Voyage,” a travel diary in scrapbook form that comes to life as a European who encounters the traditions of Madagascar’s Malagasy people. Bonus shorts include Bill Plympton’s “The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger.” 85m. (Ray Pride)
“The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2010 Animated” opens Friday at Landmark Century.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Talking Screens, September 2-8, 2022: $3 Movies, For A Day | 10 Remarkable Films | Ozon Makes Fassbinder Lite National Cinema Day. In Chicago: "The Creepshow: A Stephen King Film Festival"; ten remarkable films in "The Story of Film: A New Generation—A Film Series"; Chicago Film Society presents "Foolish Wives"; and a five-picture run for Pier Paolo Pasolini begins with "Mamma Roma." Plus, a pair of female-led Mexican wrestling movies. New films this week: "Peter Von Kant," "The Good…
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