Fox and the Whale (2016) User Reviews

Beautiful Animation, But.......

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 20 March 2019]

I was caught up in the sheer beauty of this little film. There are amazing tableaus all the way through. But I never got the story. Other than encounters with obstructions, there doesn't seem to be much of a plot. Granted, a piece of art doesn't have to have a traditional structure, but there has to be something to keep us riding along. Good work/Not great.

Bestial

[mihai_alexandru_chindris · 7/10 · 16 April 2018]

Many beautiful emotions rushed my soul while watching this. The simplicity and purity of this short can relax you in unimaginable ways. The story of the fox is impressive and eye catching, while its relation with the whale is even more profound. It gives you feelings of sorrow and happiness at the same time. The sceneries were crystal clear, thing that made this little masterpiece more intriguing.

Feels rushed, but overall a good film.

[tomthundergadget · 6/10 · 28 February 2018]

Oh, I'm not talking about effort level when I say "rushed". The animation is nothing short of beautiful, creating an atmosphere that is quite entrancing -- a large achievement for an unfunded, self-produced film. The musical score is a bit weak in some places, but the rest of the soundscape is almost magical.

Its main problem is the story. The story is what has been rushed through. Oh, its simplicity isn't the issue -- it actually meshes very well with the atmosphere. But it feels hurried; crammed in to meet a time limit. The fox's dream sequences are quick and seemingly inconsequential, and once they end, we are rushed right back to the real world with little transition. For a film whose strength lies in atmosphere and mood, these abrupt transitions take away from the film's serene beauty. The story rushes through its exposition and gets left without a firm backbone to unite the protagonist and the theme the film is trying to convey.

I'm sure we've all been where that fox stood. We dream our entire lives about something, but when we finally arrive at our destination, all we find are dead bones.

But this film doesn't quite nearly hammer that home, and the climax is left vague rather than touching.

The vibrant palette and the soothing sound make this worth watching though. Despite its lack of substance, its atmosphere is bewitching.

the atmosphere

[Kirpianuscus · 10 February 2018]

...is the basic virtue of a film who seems have not a story. the second good thing - the music. not the last - the difference between the fox and the realistic drawings. the whale - short presence, more a symbol, interesting as suggestion for a film with desire to be poetic. the basic virtue - the story is made by public. small suggestions using, admiring admirable skill , meeting lovely symbols and bones of a kind of dream. so, a beautiful film. not the expecting one, confuse in many aspects, simple and, maybe, pretext for the art demonstration.

Perplexing, but mesmerizing

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 27 March 2024]

This has some rather gorgeous visuals, particularly in its depiction of natural sceneries.

The wonderful animation, combined the mysterious atmosphere manage to give the short a very captivating quality, despite the opaque nature of the plot.

And in all honesty, I must confess I simply have no idea of what the story is supposed to mean, ot what it is the message here. Perhaps there isn't any intended message here to begin with.

Was pretty interesting to watch anyway. I particularly liked the way in which the main character was depicted, in a much more simplistic manner than the other animals, which were given a semi-realistic appearence.

The animation alone carries the whole short and makes it worth-watching.

7.5/10.

A beautiful wrapping with very little inside sadly

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 1 February 2018]

"Fox and the Whale" is a Canadian 12-minute animated short film that got writer and director Robin Joseph a solid deal of awards recognition after he released this back in 2016 and even if he is known for working in the art department of several Hollywood animated blockbuster movies, this is his only work in the two fields I just mentioned and well from what I saw here I'm not too curious about more if he doesn't step things up a bit. Admittedly, the film is visually stunning to look at, but these days that alone simply is not enough anymore. I also felt though that (title) character animation did not really fit the animation of everything else, but that is just subjective perception of course. What I found the most disappointing here was the story though. The film loses itself in unsuccessfully atmospheric takes while almost giving us nothing of a plot or character development. It did feel a bit pretentious at times I cannot deny and (despite the running time) it also dragged a bit occasionally. A bit of a pity as I think there was potential for more here than the outcome delivered. Even the music/score was underwhelming and really felt rushed in at the end, almost shoved in our ears in a desperate attempt to make an impact. The lack of words and dialogues was not a problem for me I guess, but that's also for everybody to decide themselves. The good news is that you won't need subtitles regardless of which languages you (don't) speak. Not enough though. I give this one a thumbs-down as a whole. Even me as an animated films fan, it could not win over. Or especially me? Watch something else instead.