Mr. Hublot
Synopsis (from Zeilt's official website):
Mr Hublot lives in a world where characters made partially of mechanical parts, driving
huge vehicles, rub shoulders with each other. A world where the giant scale of machines and the
relentless use of salvaged materials reign supreme
A withdrawn, idiosyncratic character with OCD, Mr Hublot is scared of change and the outside
world. His solution: he doesn't step foot outside his apartment! The arrival of the dog Robot Pet
will turn his life upside down: he has to share his home with this very invasive companion...
Credits:
Produced and directed by Laurent Witz
Co-directed by Alexandre Espigares
(Obviously a bunch of people worked on it. The above two are the ones who are nominated for the Oscars)
Animation Test:
Trailer #1
Trailer #2
My personal opinion (no spoilers):
I'm so fortunate to have seen this short film! I saw the animation test and loved it and just knew I had to see the full film as well. And oh man, I love the real thing too. It delivers.
I started out watching it in "review mode", so I was thinking things like "this music is great" and "didn't the animation look better in the animation test?", but quickly I just lost myself in the story. It's one of those, which effortlessly sweeps you off your feet. (The audio design really is great too though.)
To sum up this film: quirky. From the art direction to mr. Hublot's personality, everything is quirky but in a way that's never over the top, never appalling. The lead character is quite a personality, one which I personally hadn't seen yet in animation. It does a great job of making you relate to something that doesn't have "standard traits".
I watched it with my sister and her first reaction was that this really takes your emotions places, and I completely agree with her. You are introduced to this world, and mr. Hublot himself. You're given time to understand him and love him for what he is, but due to the situation you start to wish he was different. Oh dear, I really want to tell all about it, but I shan't because I promised; no spoilers.
The art direction was great. I really appreciate that it wasn't just quirky for the sake of it, everything served a purpose. From the numbers on his forehead to the plants, to the machines and his portraits. They all helped show the personality of Mr. Hublot.
And can I just say, that ending. I won't say anything else about it, but, that ending.
After last week (mumble mumble, Disney, mumble, Horse), I'm really glad to see this. I mean this has real soul. I still have two short films to review, of which I have already seen one, but I really wish this would win. I think it will, just the way The Fantastic Flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore did two years ago.
By the by, I saw this online. I don't think it was a legal version, for which reason I'm not sharing it on my website, but at least now you know it's out there somewhere.
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