This short was the winner of best animated short in 2015, beating out very strong competition from things such as World of Tomorrow (my personal favorite of the ones I have seen). Bear Story is certainly a worthy winner though because it is made up of tremendous animation within a clever narrative frame, and delivers an emotional punch as it ends.
The story sees an old bear working on some mechanical device. Later we see him on the street where it turns out he was building a mechanical diorama which he then plays for kids. The diorama plays out the story of a bear captured into a life of performing in a circus, and separated from his wife and son. From a technical point of view I loved this idea of an animation within an animation; it allows a change of style while also justifying the diorama style within a clever narrative. And of course the narrative itself is great. It not only captures us up into caring about the bear via his mechanical version, but it makes us focus on this telling of the story, providing us with a happy ending. When returned to the real life we get some smiles which continue this feeling, however since it puts us back in the real world, it allows us to remember the empty rooms and the fact he was alone – thus that his story is not totally true, but rather what he wishes for – a very impacting way to close it out but done in a very restrained way.
A really well designed and executed film; a deserving Oscar winner, and well worth seeing.
The story sees an old bear working on some mechanical device. Later we see him on the street where it turns out he was building a mechanical diorama which he then plays for kids. The diorama plays out the story of a bear captured into a life of performing in a circus, and separated from his wife and son. From a technical point of view I loved this idea of an animation within an animation; it allows a change of style while also justifying the diorama style within a clever narrative. And of course the narrative itself is great. It not only captures us up into caring about the bear via his mechanical version, but it makes us focus on this telling of the story, providing us with a happy ending. When returned to the real life we get some smiles which continue this feeling, however since it puts us back in the real world, it allows us to remember the empty rooms and the fact he was alone – thus that his story is not totally true, but rather what he wishes for – a very impacting way to close it out but done in a very restrained way.
A really well designed and executed film; a deserving Oscar winner, and well worth seeing.