I recently went to see Big Hero 6 and before the film began I saw the short animated film, “Feast” which I thought was great, but still think it doesn’t compare to the awesomeness of the “Paperman” short animated film, which is probably my favourite short film. Paperman (which released in 2012 alongside Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph) is a black-and-white short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by John Kahrs, which embraces the style of Disney drawings and 3D animation. It is about a man who falls in love with a woman at first sight and after failed attempts to meet her again, destiny intervenes and helps him find her.

 

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Paperman concept art 1 Paperman concept art 2 Paperman concept art 3 Paperman concept art 4 Paperman concept art 5 Paperman concept art 6

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Paperman is considered “a hybrid of both 2D and 3D technology”. When describing the inspiration for the film’s unique style of animation, which was created with a new in-house technology called Meander, Kahrs stated, “We brought together as best we could the expressiveness of 2D drawing immersed with the stability and dimensionality of CG. It really goes back to working with Glen Keane on Tangled, watching him draw over all the images.” You can view my post on Glen Keane’s animated short, “Duet” by clicking here. Paperman won both an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards, and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 40th Annie Awards.

Below is the trailer for Paperman. If you’re lucky you might be able to find a good quality video online, but I would recommend watching it on a TV (big screen) so you can see beautiful detail of brush strokes and so you can hear the sound properly (give it a bit of volume!). This short is available on the DVD or Blu-ray of Wreck-It Ralph; I’d get the Blu-ray again for quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo7cjPi8Xvw