Adam and Dog – Review

Adam and Dog is an animated short film nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 85 th Academy Awards. Written, produced and directed by Korean born, Los Angeles based animator Minkyu Lee, this nomination is his first. The film is an absolute gorgeous animated film with beautiful painted backgrounds and wonderful sound effects that put you in this world for a span of 15 minutes. At 15 minutes, this film is better than most movies that last for 2 hours. Sometimes a simple story can be more complex than you would think.
The film is a retelling of the story of Adam and Eve through the eyes of a small dog. The dog discovers a companion, a man (Adam) who is the only human being around. They become good friends and share bonding moments as they play fetch and discover new things. Then, Adam meets Eve, a woman, and Adam goes off with Eve leaving the dog to fend for himself. The film is an absolute delight to watch purely for the amazing animation by Minkyu Lee and his team of animators. The thing that works though is the pure subtlety of everything surrounding them. The dangers that lurk are predators and nature itself is a major character. You can interpret this film however you want but how I see it, it's just a man and a woman who find a pal in this dog and it's something that ANYONE can relate to. Anyone can relate to someone longing to be with somebody else and not feeling alone. This film conveys that message perfectly. Also, regardless of any religious aspects, that shouldn't sway you from watching this film.

There isn't a lot of music in this film but the music adds to the already beautiful palette on display here by Lee. Joey Newman's score breathes through happiness to a life that seems lonely and out of touch. There is no voice acting here, just silence going through the mouths of these characters (except the dog barking and the man mimicking the dog). It would have been interesting if there was voice acting but I think the film being non verbal helps out the story. From the opening shot of the dog waking up to begin the new day to the ending shot of the dog finally having the companions the dog had been in desire of, Adam and Dog deserves the nomination, if not the award itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq0-i8GQbgw
It won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 39 th Annie Awards. Go check it out for yourself. I know I wouldn't have heard of this film if it wasn't for it being nominated (just being honest) but I'm glad I realize my mistake. It's got some tough competition in its respective category but if it won, I wouldn't be surprised. It's worth every 15 minutes of your time.