I was completely charmed by today’s video, Paperman, a short animated piece from Disney that was all over the interwebs last week. Here’s the official description:
Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with the Oscar®-nominated short, Paperman. Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Paperman pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction.
I often have problems with Disney and their often vexing gender issues, but never with their animation.
By the by, the score for Paperman is by Christophe Beck, who also scored my favorite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Below are two of my favorite Beck BtVs pieces, both of which are guaranteed to make me a little teary and/or dreamy, which is how I like my scores.
“Close Your Eyes,” the Buffy/Angel love theme:
“Sacrifice,” from the fifth season finale episode, The Gift:
