![]() Filled with oil pastels, charcoal drawings and brush strokes, The Dam Keeper managed to highly impress me, so it was a bit of a let down to see them letting go of this gorgeous rough painterly style they achieved there. In terms of visuals the Tonko House duo made a bold move to do something different compared to what they did in The Dam Keeper. A bit like onomatopoeia and reminiscent of what maestro Miyazaki Hayao did in his last feature Kaze Tachinu ( The Wind Rises). Instead of realistically mimicking the noise of a flying helicopter, directors Kondo & Tsutsumi decided to use something that just vaguely resembles it. Another interesting choice of sound design can be heard in a scene where little Moom and his spacesuit friend are flying a helicopter. Kiddy, yes, but with the big difference that Moom actually has something meaningful to bring to the table. MOOM TONKO HOUSE SERIESIn a way this reminded me of BBC's pre-school children's television series Teletubbies. Also, when memories detach themselves, we can hear children laughing. Little Moom doesn't know how speak, instead he-or at least I guess Moom is a he-makes baby sounds. This can be seen by its visuals and the type of story it tells, but is just as much underlined by Moom's sound design. With its anthropomorphic Pig & Fox, The Dam Keeper certainly had its dose of "kawaii-ness", but Moom easily surpasses that, which isn't strange as it seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Moom on the other hand is more at the opposite side of that spectrum. While still innocent and colorful, The Dam Keeper handled its themes in a dark and adult way, delving on the fears of rejection and isolation many experience during late childhood. Kondo & Tsutsumi's short, which is about 13 minutes in length, seems to be quite different compared to their debut feature. She has lost something, which blocks her of moving on and so their journey to help memories let go begins. One day Moom finds a box with a pair of ballet shoes and attached to it is a memory just like Moom. MOOM TONKO HOUSE FREEMoom is one of those memories and ended up becoming the little helper of a nameless character who's job it is to free those memories. Every day new rubble arrives, each with its memory still attached and occasionally a memory that can't let go comes along. Taking place in a somewhat desolated world filled with grassy hills and the occasional rubble, we meet the short's titular protagonist Moom, who simply is the epitome of cuteness. While this might sound a little harsh and I might be wrong, the end result is what counts and it is more than pleasing to the eye. Collaborations like these are far from a rarity in the world of animation, but for Tonko House-a young & small studio with big ambitions-it almost seems a necessity. Also, in terms of animation Tonko House isn't flying solo either and teamed up with Craftar and Japan based Marza Animation Planet (of Space Pirate Captain Harlock fame). That same Kawamura-san also happens to be one of Moom's producers (together with Tomohiko Ishii) and was earlier involved in producing films like The Wolf Children and Confessions. Unlike The Dam Keeper, which was an original written by Kondo & Tsutsumi themselves, Moom is an adaption of an illustrated children's book by Genki Kawamura and Yuki Mashiko. This time the duo brings us a fantastical tale of a memory who helps releasing lost memories from their objects. It was a welcome surprise and-next to making my list of 2014 favorites-deservingly earned an Academy Award nomination. In 2014, after leaving the safety of the Pixar nest to start their own studio Tonko House, directors Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo already brought us the wonderful The Dam Keeper. Today Tonko House's latest creation, called Moom, is having its world premiere at Cinequest Film Festival. ![]()
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