Mr. Hublot

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': Four Stars (Out of Five)

One of the five 2014 Oscar nominated animated short film is this 11 minute sci-fi tale, about an introvert scared of the outside world (in the future) who brings a robot dog into his home and has his life drastically changed by it (for the first time). It was directed by Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares and written by Witz. The short contains no voice actors as Hublot (the only human character) never speaks. I definitely found it to be one of the best nominees (for animated short this year) and felt like it's something the filmmakers could easily expand on in multiple more movies. Witz and Espigares do a great job of creating an entire new futuristic universe (for just an 11 minute short) and I really liked the simple tale of a shy insecure guy finding happiness with a friend for the first time (reminds me of the bond I have with my cat). Definitely worth seeing!

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAefz9rzS5w

I've heard some Oscar prognosticators say that the Academy might eschew the obvious (Disney's "Get a Horse!") and vote for this seemingly more original piece. Frankly, I didn't think it was all that original. It's a pretty basic animated short and isn't anywhere near as clever as "Get a Horse!" It's nice, though, and great to look at. A man in a futuristic, mechanical world notices a robot dog that has been abandoned outside his apartment. He adopts it, but it starts to grow too large for his home. As cute as dog stories are (my favorite animated short last year, by far, was "Adam and Dog"), my main thought about this one is "It's a robot dog. Why is it growing?" Still, this was the only one that garnered applause from the audience with which I saw it.

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.

This year's crop of Oscar-nominated animated shorts is unusual. In the past, normally there are 2 or 3 films which are exceptional and I would be happy seeing any of them win. This year, however, "Get a Horse!" is so superior that I would be incredibly shocked if it did not win. Now I normally prefer shorts from small film companies--as I want to encourage the non-corporate players and an Oscar is a great way to do it. But Disney simply outdid itself and the rest just pale in comparison.

Of the rest of the crop, I think "Mr. Hublot" and "Room on the Broom" are the best of the rest. While "Room on the Broom" is more of a complete film (combining a nice story with good animations), "Mr. Hublot" is the best (aside from Disney's) when it comes to animation style, quality and artistry. I really want to see more films from the folks who made this--they have incredible animations.

As far as the story goes, I don't want to give too much away. The story is set in a weird alternate reality that is a combination of steam punk and a bizarro futuristic world. Mr. Hublot seems to have a lot of problems with obsessive-compulsive behaviors (though in this world, I might also!). Into this very ordered world comes some disorder in the form of a robo-dog. I cannot really say more--because it's indescribable.

The bottom line is that this film is a visual treat. I strongly doubt it will win the Oscar but it clearly deserved the nomination.