"Everybody
knows that good little robots shouldn't be awake after dark..."
So begins the trailer for Christopher Mullins' short film
BLUE. The tone is intriguing, and ominous. The trailer makes
you want to know more about what will happen to this inquisitive,
lonely little robot, and so it works as trailers are intended
to. Back when I first profiled this film, I was excited, hopeful,
crazy with anticipation. It looked gorgeous, and very promising.
After seeing the film, I can say that it is an impressive
accomplishment. The renderings are beautiful, and the story
is well-told.
If I had just one criticism of the film, however, it would
be that it seems too long, or at least slow-moving. I believe
the film's over 20-minute length hurt it in animation festivals,
which seem to prefer short animations of 15 minutes or less.
I would love to see an edit of this movie down to 10 minutes
or so.
Now,
I am aware that my criticism is similar to those levelled
at many artists before. Mozart, in fact, was once told he
was using too many notes. "Which ones would you have
me remove?" he is famously reputed to have answered,
and I'm sure Mullins would answer my similar critique in similar
fashion. Fair enough.
The things the film does well, it does very well. It creates
a great atmosphere of mystery that actually carries it very
far into the first act. You really are pulled along, wondering
who this little robot is, why he's here, and what's going
to happen to him.
And as the film progresses, the action scenes are very well
done. Mullins makes great use of colour theory to differentiate
the calm scenes from the intense ones near the film's conclusion.
Audiences have responded very positively to the film over
time, and critics have tended to agree. It has won several
top awards at different animation festivals. This audience
reaction should make Mullins proudest. The film is an incredible
accomplishment.
Christopher Mullins' original comments, during the final weeks
of production on his film, are below...
"As a small-time video game artist and animator, I
often felt constrained. I enjoyed working on games, but
while having to create a character or environment under
such restrictions made for an interesting challenge, it
was a hindrance nonetheless. The limitations of real-time
graphics, though quickly diminishing, greatly stifled my
ability to create the characters and worlds that I envisioned.
Through film-making I saw that not only would I be able
to create my art without limitation, but I could also say
what was on my mind and exhibit what was in my imagination.
So I created my first short film, "Blue."
On the surface, "Blue" is the story of a small
robot who, through circumstance, finds himself set free
in a world of mysterious machines and gadgets. His curious
nature triggers a chain reaction of events that create quite
an adventure, while at the same time, intensifying his own
loneliness and need for familiarity and understanding. His
adventure eventually escalates into an all out disaster
complete with a twisted and jolting finale.
"I
tried to steer away from the bright, welcoming worlds
of so many classic animated films."
- Christopher Mullins
I
tried to do a bit more than just tell a story with "Blue."
To me, "Blue" is a film-maker's attempt at capturing
a mood. Artistically, I tried to steer away from the bright,
welcoming worlds of so many classic animated films. I wanted
loneliness, sadness, and mystery to dominate this world
while still captivating the audience and giving them a sense
of adventure."
