The Sandman

I saw "The Sandman" at an animation festival several years ago, and just saw it again. Pretty creepy - and well done - short. Sort of like something that Tim Burton would do. I interpreted it as a look at the fear of going to bed that many children have. And if your opinion is that the final scene was too horrific for children, just remember that animation is simply another type of filmmaking. "The Sandman" shows that animation can be as dark as a typical horror movie.

Director Paul Berry died of a brain tumor in 2001. Too bad. I bet that he would've gone on to make a number of clever shorts just like this one. In the mean time, I recommend it. One of the cleverest shorts out there.

I saw this in one of the Spike & Mike festivals years ago & would say that this is probably my all time fave short. Very simple & short, but quite devastating. I have been trying to track this down on DVD..... The story of the creator is tragic, had he lived longer, I'm sure he would have rocked the animation world. The story is the classic, oft told tale of a kid afraid to go to bed because of what might lurk under his bed. It is told (if i remember correctly) without proper dialogue (I think there are mutterings by the characters, but not of an intelligible language). I assumed from the dark tone & detailed sets & figures that this one came from Eastern Europe, but was quite surprised to find it was not the case. Think Quay brothers, but with real characters in clay & in color.

at my school we were doing studies on the sandman and i wondered what it is because i never heard of it before. My teachers said it was an animation and i thought it was going to be a sweet, innocent film, BUT...... until i watched it i was shocked i thought to myself animations aren't meant to be like this! what freaked me out was the Gothic presentation the way he moved, the way the music was played in it all squeaky and high pitched like a crow squawking. but overall i think the way they made it was rather interesting the shape of the sandman's head like a moon, the way he moved everything! all i say is u should see it but if you get nightmares easily don't bother going and seeing it!

Easy to define it as creepy short animation. Obvious, too easy.

In fact, a smart crafted, scene by scene, story , using memories from our children about monsters under bed, defining the poverty in precise terms, like the darkness fear of child , reminding old fashion shadows in room and , not last, the parent care for his children.

The Sandman is almost a hypnotic presence and the food for its kids symbolic at whole.

In same measure, fists of clues, from drum of boy to clock and the last kiss of mother for her baby and the loneliness in a too large room. And, sure, the moon.

Dark story, admirable crafted, wise used .

This was a fantastic short film that I had the pleasure of seeing at the Mill Avenue Animation Festival in Tempe, AZ in 1992. This film is a great combination of spooky, cute, suspenseful, and freaky. While it reminds me of Tim Burton, it is more genuine. The story plays like an Edgar Allen Poe work, in that it is simple and to the point, while leaving a lasting mark. The animation is very Edward Gory, mixing cartoonish elements with the macabre. This piece is definitely on a different page than other animation, and I find myself thinking about it much more than should be demanded by a short film, and I would love the opportunity to see it again. Stop motion is usually very hit or miss for me, and in this case it is a dead on hit.