Ryan

"Ryan" is an animated short story movie which shows us Chris Landreth who introduces himself to us and then he makes something like an intervention to Ryan Larkin. Ryan Larkin was a very popular animator in the 1960s and early 1970s who unfortunately became an alcoholic and he lost his mind because of some things that happened in his life.

We also see Felicity Fanjoy his big love in the best periods of his life and Derek Lamb who was his producer. The movie takes place in a restroom or something like a restaurant and we can observer that in there all the people who are there are homeless and had some issues.

Finally we follow Ryan Larkin to the streets where he is begging for some money, and I think that was the most sadly moment of this movie.

This is not your typical animated short. It's not something you'd normally see before a full length feature at the cinema. It's more complex, and deep as it is fun and entertaining. There are, however elements of that too.

"Ryan" is a story about Ryan Larkin, an innovative, talented and gifted Canadian artist from the late 60s and early 70s. Director Chris Landreth plays himself, only a much more animated version. His body is breaking apart, his memories are haunting him and he's much more interested in the late artist instead of his own life. He introduces us to Ryan, voiced by Ryan Larkin himself, and tells us that he's on the verge of breaking down (literally). The story then starts playing out very visually as Ryan starts explaining the troubles of being an artist and how many are not respected and poor.

The visual style of this is enchanting. It goes through 3D animation, to pencil drawing, to painting, to sketches. Really unique in the sense that it stimulates your eye and allows you to see much more in the screen than most animated features do in a full scene. There are relative clues as to the depth of the main character, and how he's nostalgic of the past, and stricken by the disease of poverty ('Spare change? Thank you, sir, you're very kind.').

Chris starts out by telling us that he's about to explain some things to us. We expect him to tell us a story of Ryan, which has a regular narrative structure in which there's a beginning, a climax and the end. However, he tells us this story in a series of flashbacks, interviews, and visuals. That's where the interesting part really kicks in. Friends of Ryan are brought in through different forms of animation, and they explain to us just how Ryan's life has been.

Every little detail of this movie is flawless. We see a closeup of Ryan and his jaw-dropping realistic face, we see that when he smokes and freezes the camera circles him, exposing every millimeter of perfection, from the smoke to the back of his deformed head. Each shot is so well animated, and yet so deep that it's no wonder it won at the Oscars (ironically since Ryan Larkin was at the Oscars in 1969 and lost only to become unsuccessful and poor). "Ryan" shows us that you can make an animated short that isn't targeted at kids, and have it both entertaining and thought-provoking.

This piece of work is truly the most astonishing animation I have ever seen. Its visual attributes are so rich that the eye fails to follow them on the screen. My experience was indeed enhanced since I watched it on the NFB's big screen in downtown Toronto. Ryan's creators have doubtlessly pushed the envelope in exploiting artistic techniques. Its intelligent plot is also very admirable. Based on the life of a real character, Ryan criticizes the extreme financial difficulties of many unknown artists who struggle with their lives to produce art. All been said, this is one of those cases where any literal description of the work is still far away from the actual visual experience. So Go Figure!

I had seen Chris Landreth's Bingo when I worked at Alias, and I was very impressed by the evident creativity that involved in Landreth's work. . His work is very unique and no cliché, and most importantly, visually very interesting. I have yet to see anyone to produce a 3d short that's as advanced in terms of the creative use of the 3d tool. . My personal belief is, the Ryan is much more than just a 3d documentary(also a very new genre in 3d animation I believe), it is a piece of art, and the medium is computer animation.

"Ryan" deserves ever accolade it has received and more. It illuminates. It shines a light on a piece of animation history while putting it into the greater context of one animator's creative journey. It is that rare example of a true animated documentary, using the form to better tell the story, enhancing it. Utilizing the fanciful to better tell the truth.

It has recently become available on DVD for five dollars at www.Filmporium.com. I highly recommend adding this academy-award winner to your library. This is one film that not holds up to, but rewards repeated viewing. The DVD also contains Bill Plympton's "Eat" and the circle-of-life short "Flux" by Chris Hinton.