Dear Basketball

I grew up as a Laker fan since the early 2000s after their 3-peat championship rings, 1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002. I've always admired the Mamba for his greatness on and off the court. It's a shocking demise as we all are saddened by the loss of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. He created a legacy which is, will and forever celebrated around the globe.

I can't believe this is happening, tears have just fallen. Rest in Power Kobe, love you always.

Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant announced his 2015 retirement from the sport through a poem entitled "Dear Basketball". It's a sweet little poem, basically saying that the sport will always be in his heart. It's easy to imagine a short being made based on this, but harder to imagine being a legitimately emotionally affecting one.

This animated short jumps back and forth between a young and adult Kobe following his professional sport dreams, from shooting tube socks to his injuries on the court. The animation, by Disney Legend Glen Keane is done in a fluid, but delightfully sketchy style. The lovely musical score that really amps up the emotion is by the surprising, and always wonderful John Williams. Kobe serves as the narrator, reading his poem throughout. Obviously he wrote it, and it has the most meaning to him, so who else would read it. His voice is full of humility and humanity.

This is a beautifully animated, wonderfully scored short. Even for those not interested in the sport, you may find yourself invested in Kobe's emotion. This is about as good as it can get for a 6-minute long retirement announcement!

My rating: **** out of ****. 6 mins.

Kobe Bryant's words describes in personal flashbacks : The gratitude, the love for game, the proud to represent the same shared spirit of success around the years, with his fans and country. The life, our life without witnesses is a kind of dream. A one that have to become real until the clock stops. Who knows? The time to love, to go, to rest, to grow up or just to thank.

Then the humbles traces of Glenn Keane come over Kobe's words. Few colours but always brighted by the warm voice of a grateful Kobe. Some seconds flow like a game clock and Keane play back to back, to Kobe's words. Sometimes the complex drawings appears when the last Kobe's moments appears playing on the Court or he had growed. Others are just like a little boy sketches and strokes, just living the emotion of respresent the idea that we'd enjoyed in our childhood: Play, have fun and smile.

Finally, John Williams conducts the heart of two men in the play court. Reads any creative and emotional moment, the movements between Bryant and Keane looking for success until the farewell. Williams is the coach, seeks the moments to take timeouts, no matter what come next, is Kobe's time. The chords touches the heart such a Mother listens to her kids, waiting for the time Kobe's call the game as the same way he love his family and parents. Maybe in this day, seems to be words to thank every one who had witness his life. Finally Williams, repeat in a triunfal and powerful chord, the crowd, success until the farewell.

Is an amazing short film, powerful and lovely. A perfect way to honor a great player and show us the way of built our dreams since childhood.

In Memoriam of Kobe Bryant's sport words, the Academy Award 2018 Winner - Dear Basketball...

"There is power in understanding the Journey of Others to help create your Own".

Obviously you will feel identified with this, whether you are a basketball fan or not, whether you are a Kobe Bryant fan or not, it is simply a conventional short film that plays the right keys to create melancholy feelings in us, superficially speaking of inspiration, perseverance and our constant struggle to fulfill our dreams, but there really is nothing new here, we already know that old story, obviously you will love it if you are a fan of Bryant and this short will probably make you cry, but if we see more objectively It is out of level Oscar's I didn't let Kobe Bryant's sudden death just a couple of hours ago eclipse my vision of this, I saw it objectively and found nothing exceptional, if not a story of universal motivation, a message that can be expressed by any profession, a filmmaker I could do something like this and call it "Dear Cinema" is a love story for the profession, any profession.