Historia de un oso

Historia de un oso (2014)

*** (out of 4)

Good animated short from Chilean filmmaker Gabriel Osorio Vargas about an elderly bear who tells his life story with the help of a mechanical diorama.

HISTORIA DE UN OSO, also known as BEAR STORY, was one of five animated shorts that received an Oscar nomination and it's easy to see why so many people have fallen in love with the film. I'm not going to say I loved it because I honestly didn't but I could see why so many people did. The animation itself isn't the greatest out there but for the most part I found the story to be quite touching and it's certainly a unique way to tell a story.

Gabriel Osorio Vargas's animated short Bear Story would be the perfect film to be embraced by the steampunk crowd. Its meticulous, mechanical, almost retrograde-style animation that simultaneously transports us back in time and in the future makes for an eye-catching affair, if those eyes don't well with tears while watching the story untold. The eleven-minute short concerns a lonesome bear, who tells his life story through a mechanical diorama he shows to passersby, as he collects tips while sharing a piece of his unfortunate life, hoping, if nothing else, to keep the memory of his family alive while he's doing what he loves.

While it has its fair share of mawkish sentiments, thanks to no dialog and a soft musical score, there's a commentary in Bear Story that didn't quite hit me until I began writing this review. The entire film's moral revolves around a bear continuing to work through heartbreak, sadness, and personal hardships by way of his passion. His meticulous, uncompromising craft keeps him going in many ways, and his zealous artistic ability is what keeps his gears turning like the gears in his many dioramas. The result produces two lofty morals: exhaust the pain away by fighting the tears by doing what you love and, for the umpteenth time, animation doesn't always correlate to being "for children."

I am not surprised that this film is winning so many awards. Beautifully animated and seamlessly structured, it works as a solid story for both children and adults. It is very enjoyable as a tale of a bear struggling to reunite with his wife and son. But darker themes lace the story - paralleling real world state brutality, animal abuse, and capitalistic exploitation - as do elements of love, loss, and the unconquerable human (or bear) spirit.

If the author of Wicked decided to make a silent animated short film with the brilliant minds over at Pixar, they would probably make something as wonderful as Bear Story.

I really liked this short animation it was cute and entertaining I also liked the animation in this it was very well animated I would recommend this short film to anyone it deserved the Oscar for best animated short film.

The first ever Chilean movie to win an Oscar depicts a bear telling his story. Gabriel Osorio's "Historia de un oso" ("Bear Story" in English) has some ingenious animation - watch the scene where the bear sees the city disappear behind him - and a good story to accompany it. I interpreted the wordless short as a focus on human treatment of animals. I'd say that it deserved its Oscar win, and it confirms that Chile's film industry is turning out some good movies (Pablo Larraín's "No" was another). Not enough people get to see the smaller Oscar-winners, so I recommend checking this one out if you get a chance to do so. Very good cartoon.