Meth: not even once
That was basically my thought. Props to Rachel, she pointed out the fact that they looked a little like the Minions from “Despicable Me.” I mean they do, but only if the Minions picked up a hard narcotics habit.
These did a great job of telling a story with no dialogue. If the short films we watched last week was told through interactions and camera work, these ones were all about atmosphere. The animations are beautiful. The environment is creepy as hell. But it’s cute enough to not weird you out so hard that you want to stop watching.
The stories were pretty simple but they contained a fair amount of ambiguity. I have absolutely no desire to live in their world (or really learn what the heck they do in that tower), but I was captivated watching it. By using weird creatures anything was in play without it getting too disturbing. It was actually a very appropriate level of disturbing.
But what really sold it was the sound effects. Sonically you have to be strong if you’re using no dialogue. They did that.
So, as always, what can we learn from this? Other than become a total rockstar at 3D motion graphics, learn how to use sound and atmosphere to tell your story for you. When you don’t have a lot to say, the atmosphere can be worth 1,000 character developments.