Ward 13

Maybe it's because I'm such a big fan of both horror and animated films, but in my eyes this was one of the best animated short films I've seen so far. And I've seen a lot of them because I usually don't miss one single episode of the short film festival specials in German tv. It was well animated and synchronized, the grunts sounds of the "Jason" character are hilarious. So are the fighting scenes and the wheelchair chase. That is exactly what I missed in Wallace and Gromit, the good old violence shown with a big smile. I hope it runs again soon, I have to own that for my VCR. I hope the team that made this one brings out another, longer animated film of this quality. I'll go see it, in case it's as funny as this.

This really geeky animated short simply manages to crawl in a most unpleasant way under your skin. After an accident, a rather sinister looking patient wakes up in a rather sinister looking hospital with a load of weird and creepy nurses/doctors. So, once he discovers the cable to the big red "I need you nurse" button has been cut, our friend and patient starts wandering the long and confusing corridors of the hospital. On his way to freedom he faces not only the terrible doctors, but also the monstrosities resulting from some seemingly inhumane experiments. And let me tell you, the road to freedom has never seemed so long.

All the characters look really spooky and the "things" our patient encounters - both objects as well as...beings - were humor-fully thought of and brilliantly implemented. It's a "parodical" and yet scary short, which keeps clinging onto you like some slimy liquid you wish not to have stepped in. Totally awesome!

A man falls onto a road, and next thing we know he's in the hospital with bandages over his head... only the hospital is more like a mixture of hell and Lovecraftian horror imagery.

This short is featured on the Animation Show 2005, and it is the strongest animation of them all. It is an absolutely stunning display of almost seamless stop-motion animation that is at times hilarious and disturbing. What is of particular interest to the craft of the feature is the way the expressions of the patient are done only with slight changes to his eyes, while expressions of other things range from full-faced to slightly hidden. The animator, Peter Cornwall, seems to have real control over his animation and storytelling.

This film speaks towards the fear of being hospitalized... there you are, in a weakened state, with strangers and strange things around, with fear of surgery, drugs, and blood, and sometimes you don't know if you'll ever get to leave. It illustrates this issue with a man who runs, hides, fights, and blows his way through obstacle after obstacle to check himself out, and all the situations and things he comes across... a wheelchair chase, a Lovecraftian monster, sadistic surgeons, pills of head-explody... everything that says fun! A very entertaining time that will leave your mouth agape at the end, struggling to decide what exactly to feel about it... see it if you can.

--PolarisDiB

This film excels in so many areas.It has won awards or jury mentions for almost every facet of movie making including the script writing, film editing, "for amazing timing and extreme imagination in animation,""action sequences (which) are in no way inferior to those of live action thrillers", fast paced editing, and numerous audience awards. Audiences connect really well with WARD 13, and a full theatre, in hysterics during the screening, was quite an experience. I have seen this film several times, and it continues to amaze, with the fine attention to detail, and the hilarious wheel chair chase at the finish, said to "out-Ben Hur, Ben Hur". The only surprise was that it was not nominated for an Oscar.

There hasn't been a short animation as heartfelt or mesmerizing as this. Ward 13 takes you to the pinnacle of breathtaking action packed adventure, complete with tremendous craftsmanship and superb Direction. Not a great fan of stop motion animation? That's OK, here is your cure. After seeing Ward 13 for the first time, my immediate response was that it is easily the best animated short film I have ever seen. There are many animated shorts which come close but there is nothing compared to how much energy and entertainment Ward 13 has given to many a audience. No wonder there ware 2 sellout crowds at Fantasia film festival in 2003 where all that most of the unfortunates could do was stand outside and hear a roaring audience from within the cinema.