The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

A boy wakes up in a snowy field. Soon he is joined by a mole. The go on a quest together, the boy looking for a home, the mole for cake. Along the way they encounter first aa fox, then a horse, who join them. This looks like the likely winner for Best Animated Short Oscar. It's certainly the most beautiful, with a lovely impressionist look to its art, and credited personnel that will garner votes, including Woody Harrelson as a producer, and Tom Hollander, Idris Elba, and Gabriel Byrne taking three of the voices. Unfortunately, I found it puerile, an infantile meditation on death, and after the first few minutes I noticed that the dialogue sounded a lot like something you'd read in a fortune cookie.

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse (2022) - There were definite similarities to 'The Gruffalo' (2009) and also to Dorothy's journey in 'The Wizard Of Oz' (1939), where she met friends whilst trying to get home too and the script was full of morals and lessons for all, but I felt that they were all just a bit too simplistic and probably very easily lost on a younger audience as well as a bit forgettable, with most of them just being quoted and not matched up to a specific situation to make them memorable. I did like the style of the cartoon, but was more than a bit confused by the Moles oddly shaped legs, especially when I considered how beautifully the Horse, the Fox and the Boy were drawn. I also liked Gabriel Byrne as the voice of the Horse, which seemed appropriate and fitted with the rest of the film, but I wasn't as sure about Tom Hollander and Idris Elba as the Mole and the Fox respectively. They both felt a bit juxtaposed and not the sort of voices that I had expected as part of this film short. I felt that it had a slightly lacklustre ending too, but overall it was skilfully painted and drawn, as well as being well transferred to film. Credit should definitely be given for that. I wondered if the film might be too slow and lacking in activity to keep the smallest of little ones interested, especially as I found myself drifting away from it too, but I will be interested to hear what my friends thought of it when I post the review on Facebook, those with children in particular. 403.44/1000.