"Nid Scho Widr," for those of you not living in Switzerland or up to speed on your Romansch, means "Not again!" In this case, it's an expression suitable for the marmots and hedgehogs populating this stop-motion animation from this now-disbanded Owl Studios (a quartet of Swiss animation students). Gotta say, though, those marmots and the hedghog all look a lot like Sid from the Ice Age movies. Must be the eyes.
Monday Morning Smile: The Cats of Mars Meet the Toy Car
It has been awhile since I've posted a Monday Morning Smile, but, y'know, I only post them when I find something worth sharing. This 8-minute animated short from Sweden's Jacob Stalhammar has been dubbed into English, but the sound and look is retro all over the world. The outer space theme gives it a bit of a Halloween feel to me. It's lots of fun for any age -- make it a part of your own next personal animation festival.
Monday Morning Smile: The Dog Who Was a Cat Inside
Ah, so lovely, both in the fleeting details (the shimmery Eiffel Tower that kicks off the animation) and in the big picture (the theme and the ending). Wonderful stuff from director Siri Melchior and Trunk Animation.
Monday Morning Smile: "New York City" - They Might Be Giants
The They Might Be Giants version of the song's been around for more than a decade, and even this video isn't particularly new -- it was originally made in 2006 by animator/designer Joshua Hester as a grad school project. But for those of you who are Readeez fans, and even those who aren't (though I'd have to wonder about you types), the detail here is pretty awesome. Everything in the video -- from the telephone cord at the beginning to the Brooklyn Bridge at the end -- is based on a typographical element.
They Might Be Giants - "New York City" (video by Joshua Hester) [Vimeo]
Monday Morning Smile: "When I Grow Up"
Sometimes you don't have to look very far to find a role model.
An animation from Jasmin Lai; as much as I dig the message of the animation, I love the style of animation even more.
Monday Morning Smile: "Elephabet"
Like elephants? Portmanteaus? The alphabet? Whimsical sculptures that are elephants and portmanteaus and alphabets in and of themselves? Then I would suggest the video below.
It's from Hilary Pfeifer, who makes whimsical sculptures at Bunny With a Toolkit. The video is associated with Elephabet, a book which Pfeifer successfully Kickstarted last year. (If you think that looks fun, you can join in on her new Kickstarter to bring the book to iPad and poster formats.) It's a little long (9 minutes), and takes a while to warm up, but when it gets going, there are some particularly inspired creations -- I like the "K" through "N" run especially.
