Lorenzo

My jaw literally dropped halfway through this short film. It was so beautifuly done. It is a bit dark, like some beautiful nightmare. And probably meant more for adults than kids. But wow.... What a film.

The setup is a fat spoiled cat who flaunts his unearned advantages in front of skinny little felines. He is especially proud of his magnificent tail. Especially when a tailless cat shows up. But this cat has something Satanic about him and takes it upon himself to teach our big guy a lesson. The animation is striking, full of color and movement. The threatening of the cat is quite frightening.

"Lorenzo" is an interesting sort of experimental film but even though it's from Disney, it's an animated film that no doubt would appeal more to the adults out there than kids. This is because the film is set to very loud tango music and the usual sound effects and style are absent. This isn't a complaint...it's still a very nice cartoon.

The story begins with a very spoiled cat enjoying the life of luxury--and not caring the least for the poor and hungry cats just outside his house. When a cat missing a tail comes by, Lorenzo is sure to rub it in that he has a beautiful and long tail. And, because of this, he is taught a lesson as the tailless cat is magical...and makes Lorenzo's tail come to life on its own. Lorenzo is terrified because the tail wants to do his own thing and so he tries a bunch of funny (and brutal) methods to get rid of the pesky tail. A cute story about karma.

I'd like to know what the creators smoked before going through the storyboards for this one. It's definitely trippy. Also quite artsy. Not for children but entertaining for adults. A bit messed up but like all the Disney shorts, always astonishing how much story they managed to tell in five minutes.

Tonight I went to go see "Raising Helen". I was pleasantly surprised to see this pre-show cartoon! I was taken aback. What an absolutely incredible piece of work!! An astonishing blend of traditional (2-D) animations and CG environments and painting techniques. But beyond the technical achievements, the story (based on an original idea by Disney icon, Joe Grant) was darkly hilarious!! Quite a style break for Disney, yet it wasn't edgy for edgy's sake. Totally satisfying. It was a perfect marriage of fun storytelling and great design and technique. Pure artistry. I will buy "Raising Helen" on DVD just to get this cartoon alone. I sure hope it will be available!