Invasion

This film screened at the Melbourne International Animation Festival for 2006. I saw many of the screenings for the international programs (over 300 films) and this film was one of the best short animations there.

The film had a wonderful pace and was also very beautiful to look at. It was a simple hand drawn traditional animation in all black and white. In less than 3 minutes the characters were extremely well realised (which is not easy in such a short space of time) and the relationship between the two characters was established in a quite delicate fashion due to connection between them feeling very genuine and honest.

The "statement" that the film makes is subtle and poetic yet quite potent. I appreciated not being force fed the "message", which is the problem with a lot of short films (especially animation).

To round up I have nothing but praise for the script, animation and performance of the voice actors. In short this production is a very efficient animated film in all respects.

I loved it...

A soldier lands on an island and storms it. Only finding it defended by sheep and one old shepherd he claims it on behalf of his king and country. The shepherd though, doesn't seem that bothered and is happy just to see where it goes.

Based on a comic book that looks a lot funnier than this short film, this Blackwatch animation delivers an enjoyable style but seems to lack substance. Of course, this is what I have said about several of their shorts and it hasn't been a real problem but here it was a problem and the short felt quite muted. The plot is simple and I was hoping for it to be funnier and to have a touch of the pointless about it. It did this to some degree but not to the point where it is that successful. The conclusion could have been interesting but by this point it had failed to win me over.

This is not to say that it isn't worth seeing, because it is still interesting to watch. The animation lacks the imagination of other Blackwatch shorts but it has its own style and it looks good despite being very basic outlines. Overall an OK short film that has a nice look to it even if the material is not all that it could have been.