Lorenzo

Voices of: N/A
Directed by: Mike Gabriel
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy
Length: 5 minutes
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A self-centered cat becomes cursed when his tail develops a mind of its own.

Review:

Tim: I'm honestly pretty shocked that Disney's short, Lorenzo was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. I'm glad it didn't win, because I did not particularly care for this film. It felt forgettable, odd, and wasn't especially enjoyable at all. Maybe 2004 was a weak year for animated shorts?

I suppose the basic idea is a solid one- a cat's tail develops a mind of its own. This is kind of a cute idea, but in this short, the cat resorts to incredible means of violence to stop his tail. It felt very strange for a G rated movie. Some of the violent acts include electrocuting his tail, running it over with a train, and drowning it. And this is a kid's movie. None of those compare to the climax, where the cat debates cutting his tail off with a butcher knife. Seriously, and this kid's film was nominated for an Academy Award. I just don't get it. I'm not saying all kids movie need to be sunshine and rainbows, but this felt extremely dark and violent, especially for a movie that was rated G. Was there no less violent way to handle an uncontrollable tail? It just felt so bizarre to me.

I thought the animation was okay, but it didn't really impress me. It was dark and creepy and felt too mature for a G rated children's short. It didn't pull me into the story. It felt aligned with the dark story, sure, but I can't claim to have loved it.

I suppose the one good thing is at least this film didn't win an Oscar. I can't say I enjoyed it very much. Apparently critics saw something I didn't see, because this felt like a pretty bad short.

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



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