Thursday's Three on Animation

Today's column offers a look at three very well-done animations.

✦ The Cat Piano ~ Directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson of Mechanical Apple, with narration by Nick Cave, The Cat Piano (2009) won a number of awards, among them the Australian Film Institute's "Best Short Animation" and APRA Screen Music's "Best Music in a Short Film". 

(My thanks to Thomas Zandegiacomo Del Bel and Eddie White for the link.)

Read Jason Sondhi's take on the video.

Eddie White on Vimeo

✦ Pidge ~ A thesis film by artist/animator and director Renee Zhan, Pidge was produced by Harvard University. The story of a suicidal pigeon whose dark thoughts ultimately turn positive, the animation, which has been shown at Telluride Film Festival, Melbourne International Animation Festival, Animfilm Greece, and Montclair Film Festival, comes to a surprising conclusion. Zhan spent 6 months creating the film. The backgrounds are watercolors.

Pidge from Renee Zhan on Vimeo.

Renee Zhan on Vimeo

✦ Why do cats act so weird? ~ One of TEDEd's "10 Most Popular Animated Videos from 2016", this animation explains the science behind cats' behaviors. The lesson is by Tony Buffington, the animation by Chintis Lundgren.