Extinguished

Extinguished is heartwarming down to the flickering core. Anderson and Mann's Kickstarter project back in '17 initially seemed like a typical college project that required additional funding to produce. Not an uncommon request. Yet what differentiated these two animators was, not just the four years of relevant education and passion in college, but the pure creativity in displaying one of the most complicated emotions available. Love. From their own words "love can be painful, but we should never fear its potential", and through the medium of animation they were able to just do that. A man attempting to hide his burning desire for the new woman in his life, in this case his neighbour's granddaughter (I think...). Growing eternally worried about the implications of being heartbroken.

A silent animated short that, whilst is rough around the edges of its fiery creativity, ingeniously conveys the emotive force of love. The character renders were well formed, equalling that of early Pixar quality, that occasionally suffered from stilted motion. The choppily framed slow motion sequence becoming the worst offender of strained movement. The blue-haired chick could've had some more interactions with our lovable protagonist, and the neighbouring grandmother seemed all but useless. However, Extinguished works best when it beautifully conveys the inflammatory power of love. The unequivocal flame that lights up our own lives. Bolstered by supremely decent technicalities (adequate lighting, submersible environmental backdrops and exquisite sound design) that allow these muted characters to make a blazing noise. So whilst the short's execution could've received some more finesse, the conceptualised idea is burn-proof from two extremely promising animators.

This short really works. Great animation on the facial expressions. I love the fact that they took a concept and then were able to do something inventive and interesting with it. Very well done and doesn't overstay its welcome. Nice snappy accompanying score too. Delightful.

What a great idea: we can actually see the flame of love-and its size shows how strongly someone is in love or has a crush. It's a unique and clever concept that immediately helps the viewer understand what's going on in this animated short film. It also opens the door to some genuinely humorous moments, which the film makes excellent use of.

The storyline elements are clear and well-structured: a confession, a rejection, a chance against all odds, and a strong sense of determination. These drive the story forward effectively and provide plenty of opportunities for comedic twists.

At the end of the day, Extinguished delivers a romantic and humorous story-with an ending I didn't expect.