Review: Wild (2013)

Directed by: Harry Arling | 2 minutes | animation, short film

Happy Ship is a computer animation studio in Groningen and consists of a small team, which has already delivered great achievements. For example, the studio was responsible for the well-known rain of fish in the much-watched TV series “The secrets of Barslet” (2012) and they caused the explosive demise of the Royal Palace in “Spy van Oranje” (2009). For Ultrakort, the annual project that gives Dutch animation talent the opportunity to show their skills to visitors to one of the 22 Pathé cinemas, the studio created “Wild”. The idea came from Harry Arling, who also took over the direction, Bastiaan Hooimeijer arranged the design and animation very well, and Martin Venema took care of the production. Ultrakort kicks off 2013 with “Wild”. The two-minute movie is shown as the opening act for “Despicable Me 2” (“Despicable Me 2”).

“Wild” opens with an idyllic picture of a wooded area; butterflies seem to glide along gently in a gentle breeze. That soon changes when a nameless hunter and his excited dog races through the screen. The pair’s car tears so hard that a part breaks off, but that does not hinder the hunter. Just let the dog out, and then go! It is of course no surprise that this fierce raging riot comes across himself.

“Wild” is a funny video with a strong ending. The uplifting country-like music and the annoying yelping of the dog keep the tempo good. The colorful animations have a unique, slightly off-beat look and make you long for a full-length film from this studio. Very nice!