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The Boy in the Bubble

  • 2011
  • 8m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
421
YOUR RATING
The Boy in the Bubble (2011)
Rupert, a ten year old boy, falls hopelessly in love for the first time.  When it all goes terribly wrong, he wishes never to experience heartache again.  Turning to a book of magic, he invokes a spell to shield him from emotion forever.
Play trailer0:56
1 Video
1 Photo
AnimationFantasyShort

Rupert, a ten year old boy, falls hopelessly in love for the first time. When it all goes terribly wrong, he wishes never to experience heartache again. Turning to a book of magic, he invoke... Read allRupert, a ten year old boy, falls hopelessly in love for the first time. When it all goes terribly wrong, he wishes never to experience heartache again. Turning to a book of magic, he invokes a spell to shield him from emotion forever.Rupert, a ten year old boy, falls hopelessly in love for the first time. When it all goes terribly wrong, he wishes never to experience heartache again. Turning to a book of magic, he invokes a spell to shield him from emotion forever.

  • Director
    • Kealan O'Rourke
  • Writers
    • Kealan O'Rourke
    • Niall Murphy
    • Ray Kane
  • Star
    • Alan Rickman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    421
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kealan O'Rourke
    • Writers
      • Kealan O'Rourke
      • Niall Murphy
      • Ray Kane
    • Star
      • Alan Rickman
    • 3User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Boy in the Bubble
    Trailer 0:56
    The Boy in the Bubble

    Photos

    Top cast1

    Edit
    Alan Rickman
    Alan Rickman
    • The Storyteller
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Kealan O'Rourke
    • Writers
      • Kealan O'Rourke
      • Niall Murphy
      • Ray Kane
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews3

    7.2421
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    Featured reviews

    4TheMovieDiorama

    The Boy In The Bubble displays adolescent heartache through stilted animation.

    A ten year old boy helplessly falls in love for the first time and inevitably has his heart broken. So to prevent this, he utilises an incantation to shield him from emotion forever. Melancholic whilst imitating Tim Burton's gothic style, O'Rourke's short film feels too simple for its own good. The animation, narration and story is presented in a way that younger audiences can access, which is great. But in doing so, the emotional journey of overcoming heartache is simplified to an extent that all the resonance and attachment to the story has dissipated. A shame considering the unique charm that it exhumes.

    The legendary Alan Rickman narrates the story and, despite harnessing the best voice ever, there was a distinct lack of lyricism to the narration. Its poetic foundations lost amidst the star power of Rickman. Then we come to the animation itself. As always, I applaud the effort that goes into fully animating a story, especially when produced independently. However the stilted style and lack of fluidity was reminiscent that of a PlayStation 2 video game (this was released in 2011). It's a common form of storytelling, with many other independent short films using the style and achieving better results. Still, the story is conveyed through some magical moments, just not enough to fully captivate me and overcome its outdated animation style.
    Kirpianuscus

    nice

    Nice story, remembering classic parables. inspired presence of the voice of Alan Rickman. and answer to pressures, in poetic manner, to a child. this poetic side is the best part of a short animation seductive for the art to tell, in right way, old truths. because something missing. the film is beautiful, shining, well made and similar to many others fantasy films. but it is not convincing in real sense. and this is the small sin of it.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      A huge fan of classic horror movies, director Kealan O'Rourke paid homage to one of his favorites; James Whale's Frankenstein, by basing the narration of the trailer for The Boy in the Bubble on the original introduction from the 1931 classic.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Honest Trailers: Die Hard (2015)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • July 9, 2011 (Ireland)
    • Country of origin
      • Ireland
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Мальчик в пузыре
    • Production companies
      • Igloo Films
      • Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • €60,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      8 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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