Sundance Film Festival

There is something to be said for a movie that can get across a wave of emotion, however slight, in just over a minute’s time. It will take me longer to write this capsule review than it will for you to watch Hermann Karlsson’s melancholy animated short simply titled Dog. What this Icelandic import (although Karlsson currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland) lacks in running time, it certainly makes up for in feeling.

A muted color palette of mostly gray and white, Dog feels like an overcast winter afternoon. It looks like the director used old-fashioned animation techniques only—like maybe it was drawn on film or sketched on paper. In reality, Karlsson used a mixture of 2D computer-drawn animation and painted-cell animation to bring to life the story of a late, lamented dog and a decision that will haunt a boy forever.

Mat Elliot’s sparse piano accompaniment holds out each keystroke for maximum resonance while non-diagetic sound effects such as wind blowing and stereo-panned, crackling fire enhance the visuals. Karlsson’s inspired use of imagery has parallels to the story he’s telling, but he never falls into the trap of the two being too directly and literally related. Read On and watch the entire film at Scene-Stealers.com