Hertzfeldt's Return to "World of Tomorrow"

Chris here. Even the most niche of cinema is getting sequelized these days. Remember Don Hertzfeldt's masterwork animated short World of Tomorrow? Of course you do. The mini-major was an unforgettable science-fiction mix of rudimentary and complex visuals with equal bits silliness and profundity, and gained as much popularity as any short film in recent memory. Well we'll get to revisit Emily Prime for Hertzfeldt's follow-up, World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts.

Hertzfeldt has been teasing the new short on Twitter for a few months and it played Fantastic Fest to equally high praise as its predecessor. Could this mean that Hertzfeldt could be back in the Oscar shorts race again after losing two years ago? The bigger question might actually be found in the film's not-so-short title: is Hertzfeldt planning an entire saga on Emily Prime or is "episode" simply a cheeky word choice? 

Based on a new teaser, the filmmaker will be delivering on more hypnotic visuals and melancholy wit that made the first so very special. Take a look at what is in store - and if you haven't seen World of Tomorrow yet, it's still on Netflix. Hello Again, Emily!

Trippy Best Shots: "True Skin" and "World of Tomorrow"

Tonight's edition of Hit Me With Your Best Shot is our annual short film episode. The genre is sci-fi but we're looking at two trippy but altogether unalike films.

The first is True Skin (2012) which has rather extraordinary visual effects considering it comes from the DIY world of short filmmaking. It was once earmarked for the feature film treatment but when that didn't work out earlier this year Amazon snatched it up to develop into a TV series. The second film is recent Oscar nominee World of Tomorrow (2015) from animation legend Don Hertzfeld. (His career being Oscarless is just not right.) Lets look at the "Best Shots" as chosen by your host and the volunteer panelists elsewhere after the jump. 

Click to read more ...

Thoughts I Had... First Pics of Oscar Set

Thoughts I had looking at the first pics of the Oscar set for Sunday night in the order they came to me after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Oscar's Animated Shorts. Who Will Prevail?

In Part 1 we looked at the nominees from Best Live Action Short and Best Documentary Short one of which was animated. Here's Part 2 where all the animated films usually go.

Best Animated Short

Sanjay’s Super Team features a young Indian boy whose love of Western television and superheroes frustrates his traditional Hindu father.  The film comes under the Disney/Pixar imprimatur and looks just like every short you see before a new Pixar full-length release.  It has a sweet personal touch from the director, but it’s standard-issue short-form Pixar. 

Pro:  Pixar.  Con:  None.

four more films after the jump...

Click to read more ...