One Man Band (2005)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Blistering performances.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Blistering performances.

Unfortunately, the theater's projection screen ruined the animation nuances -- strangely, "Cars" didn't suffer the same way. So this should be better suited to the DVD medium. Think of it as a high-tech nod to Melies.As for the metaphor, it's a Pixar jab at the big studios. This is a reminder that little Pixar doesn't need frippery to succeed. The competition only offers bells and whistles; Pixar offers core values first. Notice that the 'big guys' don't understand why they haven't won the 'gold coin'.Sadly, this is the end of Pixar as an uncompromising entity. The Disney deal will probably spell an inexorable slide into mediocrity.

Pixar, at least the preDisney Pixar, uses shorts as experiments. They've used them for new volume computation routines. Remember the birds squooshed together on a telephone line? Remember "Boundin'" which investigated the use of quickly changing space? This one is an amusement of course, they all are. But its reason to be what it is, is the opportunity to explore how characters define space. A problem with the type of 3D animation Pixar does is that the characters become harder. Their skin becomes more of an edge that separates them from their context. Human actors have ways around this. Digital puppets don't have this same possibility.But they have others, and one of those is to be compound beings. But how to use this so the characters "read" well is unknown. So we have this experiment. As with all Pixar projects, its a triumph. Its more amazing when you know the problem they were solving.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This is different from the other Pixar shorts in a way. For instance it's taken place in a peasant village during the olden days.There's a One Band Guy trying to attract a crowd and get some doubloons.No one to be seen except for a kid with a doubloon.So he performs some catchy lyrics to get the kid's attention and hoping to get the doubloon.But another One Band guy comes by and starts performing his style of music, also hoping to get the doubloon.Eventually the 2 one band guys start competing each other by playing music or trying to look more impressive than the other.There's not much to say about it, so I won't give away the ending, since it's a short film.But one thing similar to the other shorts, is no dialog but contains a very simple and funny plot. Great animation and probably one of the best shorts yet.You're able to see this for yourself on the Cars DVD.

One Man Ban was an absolutely charming piece of work! The colors were vibrant and whimsical and the designs were cute and caricatured. I loved it from the moment it started until the very end! It's surprising it didn't win the Oscar; it was definitely better than the winner. I suppose the judges couldn't justify giving the same crew Oscar after Oscar after Oscar...The story is about a pair of street performers locked in a competition to out-perform the other and win the golden coin of a little girl passing by. Their musical dueling was delightful and I can't even imagine directing a film where the whole script is music! 10/10