The Girl and the Fox

A great combination of beautiful artwork, flowing animation and touching (though not maudlin) sentiment!

Unlike many recent animated shorts that attempt to convey a meaningful and philosophical message (but do so perfunctorily and with no true soul or insight), "The Girl and the Fox" contains true emotion. Perhaps humans are not truly as brave and decent as the the girl character, but it is refreshing to see a film that dwells on the idea that we can make positive, self sacrificing choices in life.

Through subtly nuanced facial expressions, the characters convey great emotion and connect powerfully with the viewer.

The film is paced extremely well, with none of the "boring patches" that plague most films, and the motion of the animation is exemplary. The drawings contain exquisitely graceful lines and the characters move with masterful timing. This film will most likely be overshadowed in the Oscars, Annies (and other awards) by predictable, uninspired Pixar and Disney drivel (like "La Luna" and "Ballad of Nessie") but is far superior.

Winter is coming and a young girl finds that a predator has been killing the family livestock, she sets out to take care of it once and for all.

Very nicely animated, this short film tells a simple tale – one of compassion and survival. The narrative is delivered without a word, with a lot said in the expressions and actions of the characters; it isn't an unique story or message but it is one that pleasing in its simplicity. The animation is deceptive because the characters appear reasonably simplistic but yet a lot is done with them, and the background and shot framing is well done; the only issue I really had was that I thought the fox was created in a bit too soft a style and came off a bit too Disneyfied compared to what I would have liked.

It is a light film and the shortness of it and the simple nature of the message is not going to blow anyone away, but it is generally pleasing and engaging, with very good animation on the whole.