Ormie

Ormie is a pig who wants cookies – unfortunately the particular cookies that Ormie wants are in a jar on top of a fridge/freezer and just out of his reach. That said, a bit of clever thinking and he should be able to get them no problem, right? Sure.

There is a simplicity to this short animation that is suitable and in particular children will love the physical comedy. The set and props are limited but Ormie has many tries to get these cookies and they pretty much all fail in one way or another – this is a given. The more important thing though is that almost all of his failures are funny; when something comes at you so quickly as this short does it is easy to have a very hit/miss content but here the jokes really do hit home much more often than they don't – and if they don't then it was only a few seconds wasted.

The downside of the film is that although the simple props etc allow you to focus on the gags, it is not a particularly nice looking film. Not just the animation but movement of the camera and the imagination in the view felt a bit bog-standard and perhaps had potential for more polish. Part of me feeling this is probably down to the horrible choice of music – it is like comedy elevator music and it cheapens the film, making it feel lazy which then adds into how I felt about the look. Fortunately it is still very funny and has a high hit rate for laughs (even to this late 30's man) and this does cover its weaknesses.

Rob Silvestri has made a heck of a name for himself in recent years with work in such films as "9" and "Gnomio and Juliet". In addition to his work on full-length films and television shows, he directed a delightful little short called "Ormie".

While "Ormie" isn't 100% original in its plot (as it's much like the shorts before the "Ice Age" films and Warner Brothers of the golden age), it's execution is very nice AND it's fun and will make you giggle. It's a simple story about a pig who wants to get some cookies from on top of the refrigerator--and he goes to insane lengths to try to get them.

If you like this one (and I sure did), also try watching "Knick Knack"- -a terrific early CGI short from Pixar. And, like "Ormie", it's a lot of fun.