[Short Spotlight] '850 Meters' - Hilarious Short about A Fame-seeking Knight

Whenever we see a new animated short that we love, we can’t help but share with everyone. Today’s Short Spotlight is a 850 Meters, a 14-minute CGI short co-produced by Thuristar and Lunanime. The short has been playing in various film festivals across the globe this year and just recently was released online for the public to see.

The idea was originally conceived by the writer and director Joeri Christiaen back in 2002. The studio got a grant from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) in Belguim to help cover some of the production costs such as hiring professional sound and voice actors, but Christiaen and his team put long hours in producing this film for free on their own time after their day jobs. I’m glad they did because the final product is spectacular and definitely worth it.

Official synopsis:

A not-so-brave knight is on a quest for Fame and Fortune – legend says rescuing a princess is the way to go. And in those same fairy tales, there’s only one way to slay the dragon that hold the fair lady captive : find the invincible sword. To reach his goal, the knight is ready to go far. Maybe even as far as 850 meters…

This short is hilarious. There are very few characters, which is fine because the knight steals the show with his over-the-top, megalomaniacal histrionics and behavior. My brother originally sent this short to me while I was riding in a car and once I started watching, I was absolutely captivated by 850 Meters and zoned everything else out.

At first glance, I would have told you this was a stop-motion animated short, but I was wrong. The film is definitely CGI and has a unique, painterly look, which I haven’t seen in many other animated works. The movements and design are beautiful–this is an animated short that is simply lovely to look at.

The studio also released five making-of featurettes, which provide more info and backstory about the creative process of 850 Meters. The first one is posted below, as well as the links to the other videos.