Cinema Crazed

2007

Rated: Unrated

Genre: Short Animation Fantasy Adventure

Directed By: Zach A. Parrish

Running Time: 4 Minutes

Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.

Review Date: 4/18/08

CARRIED AWAY

Pure whimsy through and through Zach Parrish’s adventure fantasy short is one of those classic tales of serendipity that allows the audience to take with them a bigger moral when the film is over. “Carried Away” is a silent short animation film about a young boy blowing bubbles in his backyard, and in an overzealous funk blows a bubble so large he steps into it and it begins to carry him off.

The picture here could only have been created featuring children, because while the menace is there with risks of falling to his death, crashing into power lines, and being killed by birds, the young boy just prefers to gaze in awe and discover the world outside the backyard. The animation by Parrish is utterly fantastic with some of the best wide shots I’ve seen in an indie animated film.

The sky and clouds all look wonderfully brilliant, while the bubble physics applied by the animation look beautiful. The score also induces the feeling of fantasy and imagination leading into an unusual bit of coincidence and happenstance that further sells the allegory for the youth only being able to really savor the adventure taking place. The final shot of the bubble bottle is a great little wink insisting that in spite of the potentially lethal circumstances, never be afraid to stop exploring and testing the limits.

Someone get Parrish to a major animation studio, this man knows how to create a damn good animated film, and I can't wait to see what he can do with a larger running time, and more resources at his finger tips. Git 'er done!

For more information on "Carried Away" and other projects from director Parrish, visit the official website.

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