Modest Heroes (Hiromasa Yonebayashi/Yoshiyuki Momose/Akihiko Yamashita)

[Philip J. Fry]

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[Philip J. Fry]

My thoughts of each of the three shorts:



Kanini & Kanino (Hiromasa Yonebayashi): A story of two tadpol-tiny humanoid siblings living in a stream, it's a cute little story which draws most of it's tension from seeing very little people trying to survive against aquatic life which might look normal for us,but for them they are monsters. Extra points to Yonebayashi for telling the story with no dialogue.

Life Ain't Gonna Lose (Yoshiyuke Momose): The story of a little kid lethally allergic to eggs and his single-mother. Probably the short with the most potential to be extended to a full-length film, thanks to a premise which I'm sure is super relatable for every single parent, specially with a sick child. Couldn't help feeling a good deal of empathy for the resilient kid and his mother.

Invisible (Akihiko Yamashita): A salaryman who's invisible literally and metaphorically speaking and also so light, he needs the help of heavy objects to not float away. It's probably the best of the three shorts and it's easy to empathize to this guy's feelings of isolation.

Overall, the strength of this presentation is how gorgeous each short looks, with detailed backgrounds, popping colors and a nice use of light. Very Ghibli-esque. Let's hope Studio Ponoc can keep doing more work, specially meatier films.