Rocks

I really, really felt for these rocks. Seriously. They were imbued with so much personality, and I didn't want anything to happen to them. In addition, there was a skillful back-and-forth device that shifted the POV from the short-term human perspective to the rocks' long-term, uh, rocky perspective. Very cool, very skillfully done. If you told me a German film about rocks would be so charming and touching and funny, I'd have told you to take a hike, but it's true: this little film about rocks is a jewel.

While I won't go so far as to say this "deserved" the Academy Award for Short Animation more than any other nominee (it was a very good field and the winner, The Chubbchubbs, was also extremely good), I do consider this an extraordinary short and would have had no problems with it winning. In this, it becomes quite clear that time is truly relative and that longevity is all a matter of perspective. At times funny and unsettling (often in the same instant), you'll think about this for a while and really should watch it more than once. You'll never quite see rocks in the same way again. In a just and fair world, this would be readily available. Hopefully, it will be sometime soon. This has aired on the Sundance Channel as part of Shorts Program 114 and was also part of the initial program for The Animation Show still currently in release in some areas. By all means, see it if you can. Well worth the effort. Most highly recommended.

Perception is all about your perspective. This short allows you to see the world and the passage of time through the perspective of rocks, which might sound dry but is actually quiet amusing.

This film is a combination of stopmotion animation (one of my favorite styles) and digital animation. They blend the two seamlessly, not an easy feat.

This is one of those rare films that reward repeat viewings. Your eye catches different details each time and you start to appreciate the pain-staking attention to detail that the team of animators put into this work. You can pick it up over at www.Filmporium.com. The five dollar disk also includes the wickedly funny "Astronauts" and the Olympic event parody "Ski Jumping Pairs."

It is a film for discover the reality near yourself in the fair perspective. It is an amusing , touching, ironic and delicate short animation about history, changes, people and nature. And it gives more than a lovely story but a wise manner to discover the essence of the things around every new day. Two characters. A talk . The status of witnesses of a large circle. Small observations and large slices of silence. And the fear of the viewer about the victory of progress against the rocks. The end is a wise one especially as answer to this fear. So, admirable animation.

They say that good art is something that once seen changes one's perspective forever. If so this short qualifies. Once you see it you'll always be a bit aware of the rock's perspective of time.

Bravo on an really well-conceived short film.