Bilby

Voices of: Dee Bradley Baker, David P. Smith
Directed by: Pierre Perifel, JP Sans, Liron Topaz
Rating: G
Genre: Short, Animation, Action
Length: 8 minutes
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A marsupial reluctantly saves a helpless chick from predators and has to go to increasing lengths to keep it from harm.

Review:

Tim: I have to say, I've never been a huge fan of short films. The bad ones make even their short run times feel too long and the great ones always feel too short. Although I've seen 111 short films, it's mostly opportunistic, as I rarely intentionally seek them out. I say all this because I may have to reconsider that approach. Bilby is representative of the best that short films can offer. I was amazed that this film could tell such a powerful self-contained story that has stuck with me long after watching the short.

The story is pretty incredible. Like the best shorts, the story is straightforward, but it also has layers of complexity that you can peel back. For the younger viewers, Bilby is the story of a bilby who goes to great lengths to protect a chick. It's funny to see how much effort that requires and how he continually puts himself in harm's way to save the chick. It's exciting, a bit scary, but ultimately heartwarming. The story is entertaining. There's another level to all this, though. I have to believe that some of the story relates to being a parent- to being thrust into the protector role and doing whatever it takes to keep a harmless baby safe. Any parent can relate to some of these themes and the exhausting toll it takes to protect someone from harm. I loved that you are able to watch this film through either lens and it holds up.

The animation is gorgeous. The animals, the Australian landscape- everything is so vivid and beautiful. I loved how this short film looked. I read that the short used characters from a cancelled feature-length film. That's a shame, because the characters and how they (and the landscape) are depicted are stunning.

I'm not sure I have a whole lot more to say about Dreamworks' outstanding short film. It might be a little too intense for very young viewers, but older kids will undoubtedly love it. It features cute, relatable animals. There's humor in this wordless short and it's entertaining from the first frame to the last. It moves so quick that 8 minutes just flies by. It left me wanting to see much, much more. This is one of the best short films I've seen in a long, long time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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