Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A Disappointing Continuation

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The first must-see film of the year.

This film is a very short film--even for an animated short. Despite only being about five minutes long, it was nominated for the Oscar for this category in 2006, though it lost to THE DANISH POET. The film is very simple and consists of a robotic arm that applies makeup, provides drinks and completely takes care of a cute little bird. You don't exactly know why all this is occurring but it all makes sense at the end of the film.Now for the first few minutes of the short, I thought to myself that the CG animation was decent but not especially eye-popping compared to many of the shorts that are out there. This isn't just referring to Pixar, Fox and Dreamworks, but even to some of the smaller studios such as Blur Studio (who made the wonderful A GENTLEMEN'S DUEL). However, I am glad I didn't give up on the film, as the punchline was well worth the wait and very, very clever.This film is one of the bonus shorts included with the wonderful DVD "A Collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films"--a must have for fans of the genre.

This short film has two things going for it, and makes the best of both: one, it uses it's clock motif to constantly change the angles, making every moment seem fresh and original while the cuckoo and his attachment make preparations, and two, the clockwork and timing itself rhymes with a constantly changing lighting set-up that gives a lot of life to the short even during times when the angle becomes awkward or something gets in the way.I think timing is the best thing about this film, in every respect. Where the "camera" is at any one point, what it reveals, what we see, and how the field widens as we get closer to the revelation at the end. Then the lighting at the end helps underline said revelation, resulting in the best audience reaction I've seen in years: a pause while the moment is understood, and then hysterical reaction. This short is incredibly creative, even if it really is just a gag with a single punchline.--PolarisDiB

This is funny, well-crafted, computer-animated short film that'll give you a good laugh if you watch it. You can find it for free online (and legally) by searching for it at the "Portable Film Festival".The fact I'm giving the film a 6 does not at all mean that I disliked it - as another user said, the film moves in a very deliberate way to a funny conclusion that you the viewer will probably not expect. It's definitely worth a look.The thing is, that's all there is to it. The film sets its target low and does a great job of achieving it, but it's still a low target. I'm not sure that it has enough in it to deserve an Oscar nomination (especially when exemplary artistic masterpieces such as Aleksandr Petrov's "My Love" were left out of the list). It's a fine film that's worth watching, but it's still only based around a rather short, simple joke and doesn't aim for anything higher.

This short animated film shows a great performer preparing to take to the stage in the last few minutes before the curtain rises. With the help of a mechanical arm, a feathered "Maestro" is groomed and exercises his voice. "The Maestro" was directed by The Hungarian film maker Géza M. Tóth and it competed in over 40 international animation competitions and gained a nomination for an Academy Award. The Maestro is well-animated slowly builds for its five minute run up to one fantastic joke. The animation is solid and the technique of having the camera circle three-hundred-sixty degrees around the characters helps build the suspense towards its funny finale. The sound is well dubbed and matches the tone of the images being presented. Overall, "The Maestro" is a short of great quality.