User reviews

This is funny, well-crafted, computer-animated short film that'll give you a good laugh if you watch it. You can find it for free online (and legally) by searching for it at the "Portable Film Festival".

The fact I'm giving the film a 6 does not at all mean that I disliked it - as another user said, the film moves in a very deliberate way to a funny conclusion that you the viewer will probably not expect. It's definitely worth a look.

The thing is, that's all there is to it. The film sets its target low and does a great job of achieving it, but it's still a low target. I'm not sure that it has enough in it to deserve an Oscar nomination (especially when exemplary artistic masterpieces such as Aleksandr Petrov's "My Love" were left out of the list). It's a fine film that's worth watching, but it's still only based around a rather short, simple joke and doesn't aim for anything higher.

This film is a very short film--even for an animated short. Despite only being about five minutes long, it was nominated for the Oscar for this category in 2006, though it lost to THE DANISH POET. The film is very simple and consists of a robotic arm that applies makeup, provides drinks and completely takes care of a cute little bird. You don't exactly know why all this is occurring but it all makes sense at the end of the film.

Now for the first few minutes of the short, I thought to myself that the CG animation was decent but not especially eye-popping compared to many of the shorts that are out there. This isn't just referring to Pixar, Fox and Dreamworks, but even to some of the smaller studios such as Blur Studio (who made the wonderful A GENTLEMEN'S DUEL). However, I am glad I didn't give up on the film, as the punchline was well worth the wait and very, very clever.

This film is one of the bonus shorts included with the wonderful DVD "A Collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films"--a must have for fans of the genre.

I attended a screening of the Oscar-nominated shorts yesterday and if I had a vote in the Academy it would go to "Maestro". At the beginning I wasn't quite sure of what kind of world it took place in. On the surface it looked like a backstage peek at an impennate opera singer preparing for a show. But why was a mechanical arm doing all of the grooming, drink mixing, and other tasks? The interesting thing I noticed about "Maestro" was that as the camera circled around, the perspective changed at one second intervals. This technique recalls the motion of a second hand and hints strongly at the film's wonderful punch line.

We first witness a robot, in the form of a expanding metal arm, mixing a drink for the "maestro" who is sitting in front of a mirror in his dressing room apparently preparing to perform somewhere.

The expanding arm also reaches into a top drawer and brings out selected items for the man. It's his makeup, which the mechanical arm puts on him, along with other chores such as dusting his top hat so he is totally ready for his performance. Meanwhile, the man gets his voice ready with some notes, so our guess is that he's an opera singer.

Two things stood out for me in this animated short: the direction and the ending. The "camera" roams 360 degrees around the little room so we see what's going on from all angles. The ending I can't give away but it was a stunner and made me smile with appreciation for the cleverness. Rarely have I seen an ending so good.

I saw it few times. The kick - obvious the brilliant - touching end. I was seduced by the mechanical arm, the maestro and his state before concert, the details, the presentation in 360 degrades of cabin and, yes, off course, the last scene. A profound touching short animation about prepaires before the big moment. Day by day, off course. Like a kid, I looked for clues. And they are just many. Short, just adorable and aplauses for director and entire team are just fair. Because it is a noble hommage to details.

This short animated film shows a great performer preparing to take to the stage in the last few minutes before the curtain rises. With the help of a mechanical arm, a feathered "Maestro" is groomed and exercises his voice. "The Maestro" was directed by The Hungarian film maker Géza M. Tóth and it competed in over 40 international animation competitions and gained a nomination for an Academy Award. The Maestro is well-animated slowly builds for its five minute run up to one fantastic joke. The animation is solid and the technique of having the camera circle three-hundred-sixty degrees around the characters helps build the suspense towards its funny finale. The sound is well dubbed and matches the tone of the images being presented. Overall, "The Maestro" is a short of great quality.

The real boss is the the mechanical arm! Very unexpected ending.

A bird of some kind, anthropomorphized singer, is primped by a mechanical arm. He goes through all kinds of preparation for a performance. After a while, we begin to think, "Is he ever going to finish warmups and actually sing?" Well, it is worth the wait.

This short film is about the minutes that an opera singer preparing for a performance.

"Maestro" is funny and entertaining. It features a cute chicken like opera singer, preparing for a performance with the help of an automated arm device. The angle is constantly shifting, so it gives the viewers different perspective every second. The music is nice, the opera singing is convincing. The end twist is unexpected and funny, and it certainly made me laugh. However, as a stand alone animation, I think it is a rather forgettable effort. It gives a laugh, and nothing else. I can't say it is particularly artistic or groundbreaking.