The use of the frosted frame in this film was fantastic - it gave the animation a very misty feeling to it, and gave the colored pencil a soft, fuzzy texture. The texture of the animation helped give the story a feeling of magic and misty mystery. As said in the story, many believed the fast growth of the forest was made by some miracle of nature, and that no one man could create a whole forest. And so it is a wonder that one man could plant all of those trees, that someone so incredible must have had magic. And it is this sense of magic that Elzéard Bouffier was almost a force of nature or a spirit of nature himself, and also gave in a visual sense, perhaps how mysterious and wonderful the experiences of the narrator felt. And the fuzzy texture, almost gave the film a dream-like feeling just like how some memories feel like when recalling them.
Another thing I really appreciated about this film, were the sweeping landscape pans.
They really helped give a grand sense of scale. Since the land was so important, seeing so much of it and its growth was key to the story. And often, like in other films, dramatic pans help give a feeling of awe to landscapes, and these dramatic pans combined with the fuzzy animation give a fantasy, children's-story feel. Another thing to consider in just the overall order we watched the films in, in which case the peacefulness and, in a way, pureness seemed even stronger when contrasted by the other films.
One thing that I'm not sure if I have a problem with or not, was the fact that there was no real enemy, or enemy-related climax. The closest I felt that there was a climax in the story was when the forest began to become noticed by others, and benefited the land and those who lived there, which really, was more visually overwhelming than anything else. But maybe this was ok; I'm partially not sure, because once again the films we had watched prior. After watching some dark films prior, The Man Who Planted Trees was refreshingly peaceful.
Overall, I come away with this film feeling that I liked it, and it was indeed incredibly beautiful and well animated. The humble beauty, story, and message brings a fresh peace to mind and tastes of child's tale. But because of these things, or rather a lack in too many negative aspects, in a way it was hard to speak about. But that's just me.
SYDNEY BREAK:
Disclaimer: I was inspired by Sydney's post and so here where the jokes roll in.
Planting trees: The butt trees using the magical---
Which will someday grow into a booty-full forest~~~
Aaaaaaaannnnnnnddddd
Goodnight~
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