Stephen P. Neary's Dr. Breakfast (2011)
Dr. Breakfast isn't exactly normal, but it is straightforward, mixing a crisp, traditionally cartoony style, an easy-to-follow narrative and a sense of humour that's alternately manic and deadpan.
NOTE: This Monday short was originally posted on January 29, 2018. We are re-uploading Peter Hemminger's original Monday Shorts until further notice.
A lot of the films we try to highlight at Quickdraw fall on the more experimental side of animation, but sometimes you just want some silly, lighthearted fun. Stephen P. Neary's Dr. Breakfast isn't exactly normal, but it is straightforward, mixing a crisp, traditionally cartoony style, an easy-to-follow narrative and a sense of humour that's alternately manic and deadpan.
I don't want to spoil much about the film, so I'll stick to what's in the brief synopsis. One day at breakfast, a man's soul bursts out of his eyeball, and starts feasting on everything in sight. That somehow leads to a blend of absurd sight gags and a surprisingly touching statement on friendship, all done with perfect cartoon timing.
It's especially impressive considering Neary mostly animated it on his daily commute, drawing it by hand with a portable light table and adding colour on his laptop. Given that actually finding time to animate is one of the hardest parts of filmmaking, maybe a long, dull commute is a blessing in disguise.
dir. Stephen P. Neary
syn: One day at breakfast, a man's soul bursts out of his eyeball. While the soul roams the earth eating everything in sight, two wild deer bathe and dress the man's catatonic body.
A surreal meditation on the quirky but rejuvenating nature of friendship.
2011