Strange Invaders

While FOR THE BIRDS copped the Oscar in 2002 for Best Animated Short Film and definitely deserved the award, nominee STRANGE INVADERS really captured my heart. While FOR THE BIRDS had top-notch graphics and an amazingly likable and cute story, there was a certain bizarreness about STRANGE INVADERS that made me laugh even harder than I did with FOR THE BIRDS.

To begin with, the animation looked as if you took the animators from the BOB & MARGARET television series and got them seriously drunk. While the style is similar, the quality of the animation isn't great. However, this is actually a bit of it's charm, as the styling and colors used all really made the most of this ultra-simplistic hand drawn approach. However, the big star of this animation is the writing--with some of the most surreal and just plain strange plot elements I've ever seen on film. Suffice to say, it's a lot like the old classic film VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED--but funny!! For normal folks, you must see FOR THE BIRDS. For weirdos and lovers of the fringe, you must see STRANGE INVADERS--a delightfully wacky alternative to all the polish of FOR THE BIRDS.

Roger and Doris are a childless couple who are perhaps a little broody – Roger especially. However when a strange baby arrives at their door (from space?) it brings about a massive change in their lives that they may be unprepared for. As they attempt to continue their life with only the addition of a new family member they find that in reality their whole lives are being changed by the baby who may or may not have more sinister aims.

I happened to tape a film on late night television and, having been burnt by ITV's inability to end a film on time, I added my usual 20 minutes to the running time. When I watched the film, I lingered on the tape and found that I had also taped this amusing animation. The animation style was fun and refreshing in the way that it was hand drawn – refreshing because so many these days are CGI shorts that are made to appeal to the award ceremonies.

Aside from the enjoyably energetic animation the short is also well written as it makes a normal story become extraordinary by way of a simple twist. The arrival of a new baby is like having a strange invader in your home and the short takes it to extremes here in a way that is amusing. It isn't groundbreaking as other films have done the same idea the same way (Rocket By Baby for one) but it is effective none the less and I found it to be well observed at the same time as being imaginative! The humour is good too with nice characters and strange plotting all the way.

Overall this is a simple but enjoyable short film. The animation is a nice change from the current overuse of CGI and the plot is a good comment on the impact a baby can make without ignoring the joy that they can bring as well.

An enjoyable little short that I was glad I had managed to stumble across.

A very strangely drawn couple have been spying on others who are having children. While they are intimate, something crashes through from outer space. It is a hideous child who wreaks havoc on their lives. As it turns out, this is pretty much what a birth would do. The animation and the threatening being of the ersatz infant is quite remarkable.

It's no "The Cat Came Back," but Strange Invaders is another quirky animated treat from Cordell Barker of the NFB. Compared to the other entries in this year's Short Animated Film category for the Oscars (with the notable exception of Ireland's "Give Up Yer Aul Sins"), Strange Invaders comes across as a refreshing dose of absurdity, conveyed through dazzling hand-made animation (as opposed to the CGI trend that seems to be slowly taking over). It's creepy, funny and distinct. Check this one out. Be be forewarned: you may never look at babies the same way again ("Peanut!").

Quite a bizarre little animated short and definitely not to all tastes, this one makes The Cat Came Back seem normal by comparison! Though a bit overlong (a judicious trimming by 30-45 seconds would probably helped this out considerably), it's a very good cartoon, deservedly receiving a nomination for the Oscar for Animated Short and also a nod for the Genie, if I remember rightly. I'm not really sure who I'd consider the strange invaders, though-the parents are perhaps a bit stranger than the baby! Well worth watching. Recommended with the above caveats.