Our final review in our series of Oscar Nominated Animated Short reviews is Disney’s Feast. This endearing short about the life of a man seen through the eyes of is dog has had quite the attention this award season, but will it actually win the award?
Disney’s Feast is the first animated short to come out of the Disney shorts program where staff members of the studio can pitch their own ideas for animated shorts. Paperman‘s head of animation, Patrick Osborne, submitted the idea for Feast and was chosen to make the short. In cooperation with producer Kristina Reed and the incredibly talented crew over at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Patrick made this short using a combination of 2D/CG animation that was previously also used on Paperman.
Feast originally debuted at the 2014 Annecy Festival in France where it was highly praised by attending animation fans and journalists. Later in 2014, the film was also released in theaters in front of Big Hero 6 where it was very well received by moviegoers. The film won the Annie Award for Best Animated Shorts a few weeks ago and is currently candidate for the Academy Awards.
Feast is a fun, colorful, lighthearted short about the life of a man seen though the eyes of his dog, Winston. The short follows Winston, a Boston Terrier, that loves to eat unhealthy human food. When his owner, James, starts dating a waitress named Kirby, Winston is given nothing but dog food and vegetables which upsets him. When the couple breaks up, the duo continues eating junk food but when Winston sees how upset his owner is about the break-up, he rushes out of the house to find Kirby with a piece of parsley to restore the relationship.
On the short they used the Meander technology that Disney previously used on Paperman. By using this technology, they created a beautiful 2D animated look that feels like one of Jeff Turley’s (the short’s production designer) paintings came alive. One of the improvements this short has that Paperman didn’t have is that it is in color, which gives the short a more vibrant and appealing look and feel.
I got to see Feast a while ago during a presentation about the short at an animation festival. I immediately loved the short but what made me love the short even more is how they made it. During the presentation, they also showed us some animation tests, lots of concept art and a full story-boarded version of the very first draft of Feast which made me appreciate the short even more. All the hard work that went into making this short is outstanding, and the technology behind it is groundbreaking and combining that with the wonderful designs and lovely story makes Feast a worthy Academy Award candidate.
✮✮✮✮
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All Oscar Nominated Short Films: iTunes
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Special thanks to shorts.tv and The Walt Disney Animation Studios who provided review copies of the nominated shorts.
Other reviews in this series:
What do you think of Feast? Is it delicious enough for an Academy Award?
Edited by: Kelly Conley
