Adam and Dog (2013)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

...for a close relationship. more significant, the touching simplicity of story and the magic illustration. result - a nice trip in the childhood circles. because it is a stylized story about the roots of humankind. in naive, at the first sigh, manner. full of charming moments, remarkable for the status of new story, escaping from expectations and becoming a precious gift for discover the old story in the most moving light. and this is the basic motif for see it.

The artwork of this Oscar-nominated animated short is lovely--probably the best of all the animated shorts this year. In particular, the backgrounds are great--and seem inspired by Asian art styles. As for the story, it's not bad but it is the weaker link with this one.The film is done without words and is the story of creation from the Bible--but coming from the dog's point of view! In some ways, the film SEEMS to say that life was great for man and dog...until woman came into the picture! My daughter didn't like this at all but I am not sure this message was at all intentional. In fact, I'd have been quite happy to see this one win the Oscar--it is very lovely.

As you might guess from the title "Adam and Dog" is a retelling of the Adam and Eve origins story, focusing on a dog.As is typical with such stories, it doesn't look good for you if you're a woman, and if you know any women, you can't really respect this. Dog meets boy. Dog befriends boy. Then, even though she's barely more than a prop, girl manages to steal boy, turn him into a creep, and get everyone kicked out of Eden. Yay! Not. And here's a protip for the animators. (I'm not a pro, but obviously they need the help). If you're going to animate a nude male, then animate a nude male. The animators here are clearly embarrassed at actually having to draw penis. They do just about everything they can to avoid doing it (inexplicably dark shading, unnatural poses, convenient view angles, blurry motion, vague shapes) but as time progresses, they realize they can't avoid it and half-heartedly splotch it in. It's so silly and uncomfortable that it distracts from the story, and is ironically inconsistent with the Adam and Eve story they base this on.The first half of the story isn't that bad. A cute dog is alone in the forest, but one day emerges onto a plain where he or she meets a naked man, Adam. They grow to become great friends, playing and barking together.But then it abruptly turns from dog to dogma. One dark day, the dog notices Adam has a new friend, a woman (presumably Eve). If the interest is sexual in any way, it doesn't show in the obvious unclothed place, which is pretty strange. Maybe he's impotent. But whatever the interest is, the man hurls a stick far away, the dog chases it, and when the dog returns, the humans have vanished. Eventually the humans are located, but the man turns around in a vicious snarl. At the end, dog and now-clothed humans make up on the plains, as they head off. This story doesn't really make much sense, and doesn't fully satisfy, unless you already buy into Adam and Eve, something fewer and fewer of us are doing every day.If we're being honest with the evidence, our genetic Adam lived about 150,000 years ago, and genetic Eve lived about 200,000 years ago. They never met, obviously. The current domestic dog was domesticated from the grey wolf, roughly 15,000 years ago. Neither Adam nor Eve ever met these dogs. But there's still room for a good animated story here about early domesticated wolves and their humans. I guess I'll be waiting a while for that one, as I'm ill-equipped to do it myself.All that said, there are worse ways to spend your time. Generally, the animation is good, and the ability to tell a tale without words is always something I look for. Hopefully this team will choose a clothed subject next time, something they can commit themselves fully to.

I genuinely enjoyed this film. I saw it today along with the other nominated animated shorts. I thought this film stood apart from the others, even from Paperman. The other films are indeed all excellent, including the honourable mentions. Adam and Dog, though, captures the essence of engaging animated story-telling. The film's realistic and stylized depiction of the dog and its behaviour were both spot-on and very charming. However, the film's evocative aesthetics, and rich, painterly illustrations really drew me in. I was transported. It's unlike any animated film I'd seen before. Realistically, I don't think the film will beat the Paperman juggernaut, which is marching smartly to the Oscar podium. But it's my favourite and I hope Academy voters will appreciate this film's sublime sensibilities, enough to snatch the statuette. (I don't wish to disparage Paperman in any way. It is a stunning and fresh work, and worthy of the highest accolades.)