Oktapodi

The French animated short "Oktapodi" tells the story of a pair of octopuses (octopi?) who refuse to get separated. It doesn't have the most sophisticated plot or animation, but I liked it. Like many cartoons, it shows that a story doesn't need words. The setting looks like a Greek village. Some of the octopus's stunts look like what we see in action flicks.

"Oktapodi" has several credited directors, including Emud Mokhberi, who spent part of his childhood in Iran and France, but is now a US citizen. It got nominated for Best Animated Short Film at he 81st Academy Awards but didn't win. It's not a great cartoon, but I think that it's worth seeing.

in simple words, it is an animation who must see again and again. not for a precise reason. maybe for memories, streets of Greek small town, the right attitude about see fruits or for not ignore a special feeling. for humor and adventure and the great end. because it is a lovely film. maybe, almost amazing. and it is not a simple, easy, too subjective definition. but only the truth.

The animation here is not perfect; not something comparable to what the preeminent studios do. However, take into consideration that it is from a Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image graduate student and we are left speechless. A cute love story with tentacles, ink, chase, slingshotting, and Greece.

Regardless of merit (which is most definitely there), this short film includes two of my favorite things: Octopuses and Santorini. Then again, the word octopus does come from Greek, and the plural for octopus in Greek? Octopodes.

Something I notice about the comments is that people do not seam to know that Gobelins is an Art School, so for a student film to be nominated for an Oscar, and for winning the Sigraph 08 audience and best of show award, is a great achievement. And I would have loved to have seen for them to have won the award, just to see what it would bring to them in the, animated, future.

I loved the short, the animation was original, the comic strength of the octopuses was great and the overall look, tinging and feel of the move was inspiring for an animation student as myself. The best to you all.

Make it grand.

An octopus in a shop loses his partner when she is plucked from the tank and loaded for shipment. The octopus gives chase through the Greek town in order to rescue her.

A very short film this one in the mould of Pixar animations. The computer animation looks good even if it does owe a debt to that studio in terms of what it does and the story allows for the delivery of a good run of chuckles and action. I did think it was just a little too short and that I could have done with a bit more edge or reference in the humour (if ever a sequence was crying out for a Raiders of the Lost Ark reference, it is the fight in the cab here) but it was still amusing and had a good firm ending. The music is a little obvious and I wasn't really loving it with its obvious Greek soundtrack, but the action on-screen mostly distracted me from it.

Fans of the Pixar shorts will enjoy this as it mostly shares qualities with those, despite being not quite of that standard. Amusing and looks good though.