Harvie Krumpet

I first saw Harvie Krumpet in my high school science class. That class is amazing at being loud and obnoxious. People are regularly yelling across the room, throwing stuff, blaring music at full blast, and generally making the teacher's job very difficult. In fact, earlier in the class, two students had got into a verbal fight, yelling obscenities at each other for what seemed like ages. So when the teacher told us he was going to show a little animated film that I had heard of, one called Harvie Krumpet, I was a bit weary.

Harvie Krumpet it a claymation short running in at about 20 minutes, that details the life of an extremely unlucky man. The animation is crude yet not without its charm, the music is sparse but quite appropriate, and the story is flat out bizarre. In short, it was something I assumed my class would talk through. But I was wrong.

In the beginning, everybody was a bit weirded out by the style, and didn't really grasp it. They quickly adapted however and were soon laughing out loud at almost every joke the movie flung. People went 'awww' at the cute moments, said 'poor Harvie' at the bad, and as said before, laughed at the funny. But the moment I knew there was something special in this short was near the end. The was a moment of uncertainty where there was complete silence. Not a soul was speaking, or even breathing. For the first time ever in that class, everybody was quiet. You could literally feel different emotions coming from everyone. And when it was all over, as everybody was walking out of class, I didn't hear one person who didn't have something positive to say about Harvie Krumpet.

And I think that's what makes Harvie Krumpet so great; it can invoke feelings in everyone, from all walks of life. Despite being so different from the norm, everybody could appreciate the simple life that Harvie lead. Never before have I seen a movie with such an ability as that. And I'm unsure if I ever will again.

What a fantastic 20 minutes!! I watched this on SBS the other night, and I was utterly charmed. Its funny, poignant, touching, sad and has a few life lessons we could all take on board. Adam Elliot deservedly won the Oscar for this one. Its charmingly narrated by Geoffrey Rush who has such a wonderful voice, it shows the entire lifetime of a Polish boy who moves to Australia to start a new life when his parents are killed in a tragic accident.

Bad luck seems to plague the lovable character, he lives alone, endures illness, falls in love, has a family and ends up realising some truths about life. I saw an interview with Elliot on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope programme and he is as utterly charming and humble as his little character, everything from his mum knitting Harvie's costumes to being awestruck at the Oscars. He is destined for big things. Dont miss it!

When I saw this short animation on the Monday night in question, I was surprised to see how such a sad story about a 'retarded migrant' could be so humorous. His story from a lumberjack's son to an animal- liberationist to an alzheimers patient is a well written and an entertaining one. I won't give away too much, but you will be pleased at just how entertaining this film is.

It definitely deserved the Oscar. I was quite surprised that it won, but then I saw the film and understood why.

If you every get a chance to watch it, take advantage of it.

I especially enjoyed the minor story about Harvie's doctor. Very clever.

I rented the DVD out last week to watch the film that made Australia proud by winning that shiny gold Oscar.

This movie was short, it was only twenty minutes, but in that twenty minutes you become part of the little soul that is Harvie Krumpet, the animation was done by stop motion/claymation (which is tedious, trust me I study animation). The story is funny and sad at the same time and I promise you, once you watch it they'll be only 'one song' you'll be singing!

And you feel engaged in the film thanks to the great narration done by Geoffrey Rush, he has one of those powerful voices.

I rate this movie 10/10 and recommend it to everyone and anyone studying animation.

Thank you.

Harvie Krumpet is a strange little man and life has never been on his side. This film tells his story and takes you on the journey.

The story is very well written and it mix drama and comedy very good. It is very funny, but still serious. The story is unique and original for a short film and it turns out quite good on the screen. The characters are charming and good. You really have sympathy for them and you get to know them. Especially Harvie. The animation is very good. It's stop motion clay animation in the best Nick Park style. It's very impressive. The narration by Geoffrey Rush is very good. I was skeptical when I saw that this film lasted for 20 minutes, but 20 minutes later I wondered where the time went. The film thrilled me and got me hooked and I was never bored. It turned and twisted and kept the audience interested.

All together a very good and very charming little short film about the outsiders in society. A movie well worth to watch.