Ladybug on a Mission

September 7, 2006 3:02 AM

"Imagine a blend between a National Geographic documentary and a Tex Avery cartoon. This short is a combination of 3D characters and live footage." Five-ish minutes in the life of a ladybug with anger issues. (YouTube)
posted by Orb (21 comments total)

That's superb!
posted by twine42 at 4:15 AM on September 7, 2006

The short appears to be posted without attribution. Amid Amidi, writing at the blog Cartoon Brew, identifies the origin of Minuscule:

Turns out that MINUSCULE is a TV pilot co-created by Hélène Giraud (production design) and Thomas Szabo (direction). The show has been picked up and they're currently creating 78 dialogue-less 6-minute shorts chronicling the adventures of the entire insect kingdom. The production company is France's Futurikon and the series is slated to air in the US on Disney Channel. If the rest of the episodes hold up to the quality of this pilot, I think we're in for something special.

A bit more information is available at Futurikon's website.
posted by RichardP at 4:25 AM on September 7, 2006

Cute.
posted by Vindaloo at 4:38 AM on September 7, 2006

Big ole floppy titties?
posted by delmoi at 4:53 AM on September 7, 2006

I felt sorry for the spider.
posted by oddman at 5:08 AM on September 7, 2006

pretty fun. Another rip off homage to the race scenes in Star Wars, but it done quite well.
posted by edgeways at 5:12 AM on September 7, 2006

that was just great. what a fine way to start a morning. thanks orb.
posted by nola at 5:26 AM on September 7, 2006

Thanks, RichardP for the added info. I did a little searching trying to find out who made it and what it was, but the rest of my household woke up and morning kitchen duty called. :D
posted by Orb at 5:32 AM on September 7, 2006

That was awesome. Ta!
posted by jimmythefish at 6:26 AM on September 7, 2006

Really enjoyed that... Put me in mind of Pixar's glory days. Thanks!
posted by String at 6:30 AM on September 7, 2006

How fortuitously odd that, in a medium where the vast majority of the artistic output is of poor to dismal quality, the films created exclusively via computer animation are so far, with a few exceptions, well above par.

I wonder if the relative ease and economy of the medium frees up resources both mental and financial that can provide unaccustomed focus on the script?
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:24 AM on September 7, 2006

As Ryan North says, "it has everything but narrative closure!"
posted by Iridic at 7:29 AM on September 7, 2006

Nice! The ending left me wanting a bit more, though.
posted by justkevin at 7:38 AM on September 7, 2006

Nice! The ending left me wanting a bit more, though.

I was fully expecting them to hold that long shot and just have the sound effect of the lady bug racing back towards the camera followed by the sound effect of the flies hitting the sign in quick succession...
posted by fairmettle at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2006

I expected a car to come barreling down that road at any moment.

I wonder if the relative ease and economy of the medium frees up resources both mental and financial that can provide unaccustomed focus on the script?

Animation takes more time and more effort and aren't held as tightly in the grip of star power, which means it's less likely that throw-away animation films will be made.
posted by luftmensch at 9:19 AM on September 7, 2006

[prink]There were continuity issues with the spider web[/prick]

Awesome stuff -- five minutes of my life enjoyably spent.
posted by bpm140 at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2006

Very nice.
posted by Tuwa at 9:43 AM on September 7, 2006

Quite good, though I would have liked to see more with the spider. I really dug how the flies wings sounded like WW2 fighter planes when they started up.

I very much look foward to more.
posted by quin at 9:46 AM on September 7, 2006

My that was fun! Thanks Orb!
posted by owhydididoit at 11:16 AM on September 7, 2006

Thank you, Orb, I watched it as this morning's asploding thread was blooming, before it was deleted. This is delightful animation!
posted by nj_subgenius at 2:52 PM on September 7, 2006

It's been removed. :^(
posted by deborah at 9:56 AM on September 8, 2006 [1 favorite]