Horst in Translation ([email protected]) Oh yes I did. "LOU" is a 7-minute animated short film from this year and it is certainly already now among the most seen and most successful short films of 2017. This has to do with the fact that it is another collaboration between Disney and Pixar and as such a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the Best Animated Short Film category at the Oscars 2018. The writer and director is Dave Mullins and he has worked in the animation department of quite a few Pixar films already, but this here is the moment of truth for him as the man in charge. Voice actor Jack Bright is also not new to the Pixar universe. Now the story here takes place at a school yard and we have the kids having fun until they are disturbed by a bully. The title character though is once again for Pixar not human, but the lost and found boy standing nearby that seems to possess some kind of spirit or artificial intelligence inside as the contents in there keep becoming all kinds of creatures in leading the bully kid back to the path of kindness. The inclusion of his favorite stuffed animal when he was way younger is where Pixar delivers emotionally as always, even if it may go a bit over the top eventually with the idea of self-sacrifice for the good cause. And the first 2-3 minutes also did not impress me at all. But luckily, there is a great deal of improvement in the second half of this little movie. And finally, yes it is Disney and Pixar and yes we sure expect the animation and character design to be really as good as it gets, but we should still not take it for granted that it is in fact on a very high level visually again. Overall, this should be a surefire for an Oscar nomination, but I am not entirely sold on it to win. Same for me personally. I think it will end up on my list of favorite animated short films from 2017, but I cannot really see it reaching the top spot, maybe not even the podium. But of course, it is definitely worth checking out if you love (modern) animation. I give it a thumbs-up.

Gordon-11 This short animated film tells the story of a playground bully in a school, who snatches toys away from other children. A mysterious being teaches him a lesson on how to behave appropriately with his peers in school.It is a sweet animation, and the children are very cute. However, it is not as heartwarming or touching as I expected. It is a good animation, but it falls short of the Pixar's very high standards.

TheLittleSongbird Being a big fan of Pixar since forever, both their feature films and short films, of course expectations for 'LOU' were high. Luckily, those high expectations were not just met, in some ways they were exceeded.'LOU' is not quite among Pixar's best short films like 'Presto', 'One Man Band', 'Knick Knack', 'Piper' and 'Geri's Game'. However, it is one of the biggest examples of the short film being much better than the feature film. Didn't care for 'Cars 3', finding that despite the great animation that it never really got into gear and was highly suggestive of the 'Cars' franchise running out of gas, but loved 'LOU' and that it alone is worth the admission. The premise could have been potentially goofy, but was a long way from that. It's not exactly unique but is incredibly well handled that that is insignificant.The animation is fantastic, one of Pixar's best-looking later short films and perhaps overall, some of its fluidity, colour and detail being among Pixar's overall best perhaps. Which is huge praise, considering that even in their lesser efforts like 'The Good Dinosaur' and 'Cars 2 and 3' for features and 'Mater and the Gaslight' and 'Lava' for shorts (this said, as blasphemous as this may sound, 'Cars 3' is the only one that didn't do much for me) the animation is always one of the best assets. The music score has whimsical energy and a suitably understated quality at points, not using a repetitive song to make an impression and is never ham-fisted or intrusive.What stood out about 'LOU' was its mood, how one really connects with it and how well it did with its idea. Story-wise it is slight and not much of one, but that didn't matter too much and the short duration flies by and makes one wish for more actually. Watching 'LOU' was such an uplifting and heartfelt experience for me, parts are amusing but not in an overt way and it is hard not to be touched too. The mix of gentle (and in other efforts of theirs riotous) humour and heart-wrenching pathos was always a strength with Pixar, 'LOU' is not an exception by any stretch of the imagination.It also has charm by the bucket-loads and it was incredibly cute without being too sickly or sugary. It even prompts some thought-provoking questions and thoughts. The characters are appealing and engage you, even the bully (which usually would be an impossible feat).Overall, captivating and 7 short minutes of joy and beauty. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . could be persuaded to have a change-of-heart, and totally Reform?" LOU opens with the proverbial playground tyrant stealing other kids' stuff on his elementary school playground, and otherwise tormenting them, with NO adult supervision in sight. It is unlikely, of course, that any perceptive U.S. Citizen will be able to watch these Deplorable outrages without being immediately put in mind of Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin and his Puppet, Rump. Fortunately for the children at this particular location, Putin's U.S. Secretary of Miseducation--Billionaire Fat Cat Betsey "Amway Calling" DeVos--has not yet turned it into one of her For-Profit Charter Brainwashing Shacks (which she has used to destroy the Detroit School System, so that virtually no polling place workers will have the skills to tally legal votes in that True Blue Loyal Union Label Stronghold in coming years). A magic Lost and Found Box gives LOU his comeuppance as this animated short concludes. Hopefully, Putin and Rump will open a similarly benign Pandora's Box BEFORE the outbreak of Armageddon.