SPRING: Animated Short Brings Warm Feelings

Spring has sprung and the result is truly a thing of beauty. This new animated short by writer/director/animator Andy Goralczyk tells the tale of a young Shepard Girl and her dog as they begin a journey to bring life back to their frigid valley after a long winter.

Simple Idea. Complex Elegance.

The film begins simply enough, introducing the adorable protagonists with the playfulness of a children’s narrative. All too soon, a tonal shift of both background and mystery draws the viewer into the expertly rendered world being unveiled. Bright, sunny landscapes of emerald green flora quickly transform into a drab, frost-covered forest as our heroes venture to the lower reaches of their valley home. Fog-enveloped skies, slow dripping icicles, and crackling ice effectively cranks up apprehension caused by the bitter scrim of winter.

Imaginative creature design in the form of what one might interpret as god-like entities bring the story to an interesting climax. Almost arachnid amalgamations of elements found in nature, with their tree trunk limbs and cloud covered heads, tower high over the forest. It is here where the use of xylophone-esque sounds help the young girl communicate with the titans of the forest. Reminiscent of Spielberg‘s use of music as a language bridge in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it’s played to wondrous results, leading to a whimsical ending and a want for more.

Bringing Creativity Out Of The Cold

Made entirely on Blender, a free and open source 3D animation program which at the time was in beta, the film breathes all of the magic and life into its characters the way major studios the likes of Pixar and Dreamworks have been doing for years. Endeavors of this caliber could open doors for more animators to tell their stories without the trapping of conglomerated production companies adding hindrances to their artists in order to meet a bottom line.

Sometimes a story yearns to be told without the need for toy crossovers and celebrity stunt casting. Spring has none of that. Instead, what we are gifted with is a powerful narrative with no need for the song and dance often wedged into many high budgeted productions. The character designs share many of the qualities of its studio system brethren. The wide-eyed child hero, a scrappy animal side-kick and innovative creatures do feel Hollywood in style down to the occasional Dreamworks face expressed by the Shepard Girl. Even still, a trope easy to forgive when said and done. All and all, the viewer is given a budget short with a powerful impact.

Spring: More Please

With technology in the realm of digital art ever advancing, the emergence of other works like Spring is inevitable. At a brisk run-time of just under eight minutes, sometimes less is more, though I wouldn’t say no to a deeper look at this richly thought-out world. Andy Goralczyk spins lore worthy of expansion, but for now, Spring does just fine on its own.

Short film is often overlooked or lost in the shuffle of feature-length fare. With our recent YouTube style of viewing content in short bursts, it is surprising to not find more worthwhile productions gaining popularity in our endless library of media content.

Are there any short films, animated or other, you’ve come across that bears mentioning? Please let the Film Inquiry community know about a film you feel worthy of recommendation in our comments section.

You can watch Spring for free as a Blender Open Movie found in the link below.