More

Mark Osborne is a truly gifted man. More does not break new ground in the visual field of cel and claymation, but does that matter? A film can only be truly enjoyed if you like its story. More succeeds immensely.

After a first viewing, you'll be confused. "Uh, the goggles?...The glowing stuff?...The kids?" Let me tell you something: You MUST see More several times before you understand its meaning. And what a meaning it is.

There is an obvious fact that so much work and toil went into this six-minute short; the simple-modeled clay drone's emotions are perfectly modeled and presented; you feel his pain, frustration, and sadness.

Two versions of the film exist: The original, with a soundtrack by New Order, and a recent music video with the song "Hellbent" by Kenna. Despite most people saying they prefer the original, I don't think I can pick one over the other. The New Order music does a wonderful job of making you feel how bleak and dull the world is, while Hellbent contrasts with the main character's emotions.

You owe it to yourself to spare six minutes and watch this at ifilm.com. You simply cannot call yourself a viewer of art until you have seen this messiah of animated shorts.

This is an absolutely astonishing short work concerning the meaning of life and what can not be manufactured in a synthetic factory. It presents a proletarian (in fantastic clay-mation) day in and day out, as he works in a factory assembly line building impersonal products to keep society happy. His dream is to one day create a new life affirming 'lense machine', for he is also an inventor with ingenuity.

In his struggles, he continues having glimpses of children playing around a merry-go-round and they are in vibrant color, while laughing and involved with joy. His dream is achieved, and then he becomes an over zealous capitalist who is sitting all alone in his skyscraper office, after directing the harsh void of the assembly line that manufactures his new product.

In the fleeting time that this short film runs, one gathers that it is something stupendous and magnificent, and the true satisfaction of creativity is not how many products one sells but the "fire that burns within"...

The song by the band 'NEW ORDER', is also melancholy, which adds to the ambiance, and is a joy to listen to.

Strongly recommended!

Look for it on Sci-Fi channel's "Exposure" or on PBS "High Intensity TV".

George Santayana, call your answering service. This is a perfect example of what he was talking about with history repeating, if on a smaller, more localized, scale. Watch this carefully and you'll see what I'm talking about. This lost to Bunny for Animated Short, which I'm certain Bunny won because it is a more visually stunning cartoon. Given that both have a lot going for them in terms of intent, plot, ideas and eloquence, I suspect More could have won if Bunny hadn't been visually incredible. Personally, I wish there had been a tie between them. There is certainly nothing for either of these magnificent shorts to be sorry about and both deserve praise and a wider audience. More is solid in all respects-animation, backgrounds, story, music and so on. In most years, probably a winner of record. Given how precious little recent short animation is in print at the moment (very little), an audience for More is preferable to any award, in any case. Too bad that there isn't perceived to be much of a market for things like Bunny and More. It may not be huge, but a market does exist. If you can see More, by all means, do so. Most Highly Recommended.

One of the most beautiful and poignant animated shorts I've ever seen, if not the most. Unfortunately, I got to see it only once and didn't get a chance to fully take it in, and there was definitely a lot there to take in. Some beautiful animation and a beautiful story about what happiness really is. Full of symbolism and a look at a future which may not be far off. Shows that happiness doesn't come in a box or any other sort of artificial means. Something which most of the world doesn't and probably never will get.

...because films like "More" really deserve it.

This is the kind of work that makes me want to quit my job and learn stop-action animation. It's amazing how much life you can infuse into a simple construction of clay-and-wire with a camera.

The world needs more short films like this! Let's start a petition to have a short flick preceding EVERY feature film. (Maybe that would make the $8 ticket price less of a punch in the eye.)