Mr. Hublot

Its impossible to mention, "Mr. Hublot" without naming the creator of those absolutely brilliant 3D characters. Well, *almost* impossible, as I have not read a single review of the film where the creator was, in fact, mentioned.

The denizens of "Mr Hublot" were invented and physically created by the genius Belgian artist, Stephane Halleux and pre-dated the film itself!

His absence in all of the film's reviews is most odd, since when the film had won 'Best Animated Short' at the Academy Award, it was Mr. Halleux himself who had graciously (and most deservedly) accepted the award in 2013.

The entire film is based upon his fantastic creations- their iconically quirky and unique Steampunk design. There would be no film without them. Unlike most all animated films, the characters are created for the film itself and did not exsist until the fulm was produced. But here, Mr. Halleux's characters were already physically created and it was their design that begged the need for an animated movie.

Ultimately, the fact that his name never comes up in the reviews is disturbing. Its like giving an Academy Award to "Fantasia" and not mentioning that it was Walt Disney who had created Mickey Mouse.

This shirt is completely deserving of the Oscar it won. The animation is out of this world and the twist ending give it a nice, satisfying wrap up of the whole story.

MR. HUBLOT is a nominee for the Best Animated Short Subject for its year and it is an interesting and amusing silent cartoon. Judging by the movie's title, its makers are fans of Jacques Tati and his Monsieur Hulot.

Although Mr. Hublot -- the character, not the film -- lacks the slapstick skills which underlay Tati's films -- and hence is a little too serious to be terribly amusing with his realistically detailed agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive behavior -- the film's basic good story and its technically proficient animation certainly help maintain interest throughout. I greatly enjoyed the film, without feeling it should win the Oscar.

Is the only point to this a sense of responsibility for what we bring into our homes. The robotic dog absolutely destroys the calm of our OCD guy. He eats too much; he does damage; he takes up all kinds of room; and he offers virtually nothing in return. Unless you give him a space-taking kind of companionship. The development of feelings never really takes place and we are left with perpetual suffering.

Mr Hublot is really a charming short film. It has a great central idea and character, the story is narrated well, it has a fabulous animation, great atmosphere and music, and a high dose of imagination. The general atmosphere, hues and quirks immediately brought to my mind the imaginative worlds depicted in some of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films.

Mr Hublot captures with almost mathematical precision and even compulsion, the ticks, tweaks and quirks of Mr Hublot, an old guy suffering from OCD, and how his life changes when he shelters a street dog at home. His compulsive behavior, his obsession with order, time, and balance, and his compulsive doing things at a certain time in a certain way is really well captured and delightful to watch.

Perhaps because it won an Oscar, I expected something different or perhaps something more. Don't take me wrong, this is a very enjoyable short film that will put a smile on your face, but I thought that it wasn't especially original as the subject of exploring people with syndromes and rare disorders is already a mainstream theme in short films, and the aesthetics of the film are already familiar to the viewer. I don't want to rest merit to the short, because it does what intended to do, wonderfully well. It is just, that that it didn't speak to me as much as I would have wanted.