+6
Hedgehog in the Fog
This adorable and atmospheric Russian short plays out like an adaptation of the best children's book you've never read. Speaking of, if it is an adaptation, I'd pay a lot for a copy. I love how fluid and nuanced the animation is and I credit it for not looking like any other animated short - or feature length animated movie, for that matter - I've ever seen. For the most part, it looks like Norstein used cardboard and/or paper cutouts, but in some shots, I have no clue how he pulled them off. To be specific, the rotating shot of the tree - taken from the hedgehog's perspective - and the animation of the water in the scene where our hero floats down the stream. They are so detailed and realistic that they might as well be real thing.
Is there more to this short than splendid animation and the thrills and chills in the hedgehog's adventure? I found it to be a tale about the importance of taking a leap of faith and the road less traveled every now and then. The fog, like any place outside our comfort zones, is full of dangers both real and imagined. It's a place where bad things can happen, but as evidenced by the kindly dog who returns the hedgehog's knapsack, that's not all that can happen. When the hedgehog finally meets the bear, he is justifiably silent because his experience has left him with a lot to think about. However, they're memories that will last a lifetime, and when he does speak, he'll likely blow the bear's mind!
Last edited by Torgo; 06-02-22 at 01:01 PM.