3 Misses

misses, as in ladies, and misses as in failures. both meanings of the word 'misses' are meant in the title. this very funny short animation is about 3 'lady-misses' that are in trouble, every miss is about to be saved by a hero, but all heroes fail.. a parody on all the big fairy tales, it's cute and it's funny. i enjoyed it.

I've seen this one at the animationfilmfestival in Annecy. The audience was extremely amused seeing the film and me too! I liked it so much I bought 12 drawings from this picture (in pencil). I got the last take from that picture on paper! yihaaaa! very funny. Nice graphics!!!!

I may have not been in the right frame of mind at the time I watched this. It seemed scattered and lacked editing. Still, there are images that are interesting, and the damsel in distress thing has always had some success.

This is the story of three different klutzy people or groups of people who all come running to the rescue. They consist of the 7 Dwarfs, a guy in the city and a cowboy. Unfortunately, their efforts are pretty lame and it is enjoyable watching them screw up repeatedly. Oddly, the stories are all intermingled--even though all three stories take place at different time periods.

When I saw 3 MISSES, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Paul Driessen's animation style, while far from pretty, is rather enjoyable. The story itself is amusing but never really caught my fancy until the end--and then the punchline was terrific. However, at no point did I think that the film was that special or deserving of an Oscar nomination. Perhaps it was a slow year, but it just seemed out of place. Other Oscar nominees, such as MY GRANDMOTHER IRONED THE KING'S SHIRTS, HUMDRUM and especially the winner, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA were all more memorable as well as more enjoyable artistically. Just my two cents worth.

Some animators have a very distinctive look or style to their work that makes them unmistakable with anyone else's work. Tex Avery is one-while early Tex Avery can sometimes be generic, mostly his work is quite recognizable. Paul Driessen is another animator whose style is immediately and clearly marked as his. Character design is one feature that is a dead giveaway to Driessen.

This particular short, nominated for an Academy Award, is typically Driessen in approach, style, tone and substance. Darkly funny and occasionally unsettling, this has a few running gags and a sub-plot that ties the three separate story lines together rather effectively. Filled with tons of allusions to fairy tales and quite charming in a somewhat twisted sort of way. Not great Driessen, but very good nonetheless. Recommended.