Sebastian's Voodoo (2008)

Such a frustrating disappointment

A different way of telling a story

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This short film had great animation. The artwork was dark and outstanding. Yes, there's also a little cuteness in there, or at least I find the voodoo dolls cute. I'm sure others will as well. It almost makes me feel sorry for all the dead ones that this crazy dude comes and kills with long pins, that he sticks through them. It's kind of shuttering because you see the voodoo doll expressing, and moving, trying not to bare what's coming. Towards the end of the film, the creeps own voodoo doll escapes the hooks that all of them hang on in this shed or basement type environment. The voodoo doll ends up committing suicide to save his friends little voodoo lives. It's actually quite sad and done really well. I really liked the animation and the dark artwork involved in this film. I would definitely recommend this short film to dark movie lovers anywhere.

"Sebastian's Voodoo" is a 3-minute short film from 7 years ago and it is a solid watch in terms of every aspect I must say. No surprise it won all these awards and was also nominated at the Annies. A smart idea, good execution of that idea and finally decent animation as well. When you think about voodoo, you usually only think about the people that the dolls are supposed to represent and not about the dolls themselves. Now, if the dolls live, does that mean that you could actually make a doll of a doll? Never mind, that takes it a bit too far. This was the second short film written and directed by Joaquin Baldwin and he was only in his mid-20s here. Since then, he made one more short movie and worked on several pretty famous animation films such as Oscar winner "Frozen", "Feast" and "Big Hero 6". I wonder if he will ever get the chance to make his own film. With "Sebastian's Voodoo", he shows us that he may have the talent although that's always a bit difficult to say from such a short work. Still, this got me curious about his work and I recommend watching it.

Finding a short film that tells a complete story without jumping or missing important plot points is hard to find. It's even harder to find that in a 4 minute film. This one does just that. Hands down, some of the best writing I've seen in a short. All coming from a Student? Wow. This kid has a bright future ahead of him. I can't wait to see what else he puts out there. Amazing CGI, a perfectly attached score, and phenomenal writing. Really, this is what short film making is all about. The attention to detail and the quality result in the end has made this short a rare find indeed.

*SPOILERS*Roughly-hewn fabric dolls. They hang on a meat rack...tortured souls in the darkness of a sadist's voodoo workshop. One of them manages to free himself, but steadfastly refuses to leave his suffering comrades to their grisly fate. In an ultimate act of courage, he faces off against the evil antagonist, losing his life so that the others may be spared. An impressive short CGI project, SEBASTIAN'S VOODOO tell's a moving and moral story of good versus evil and self-sacrifice in less time than it takes to microwave a hot dog. Bravo to the young filmmaker of this project...your future looks very bright, indeed.6.5/10