The Top Nine Unusual Cartoons You Should Watch

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We all know cartoons are not just for kids. In fact, animators from all over the world prove their work deserves public attention. Therefore, if you are a designer or, simply, an animation admirer, these are the top nine unusual cartoons you should watch.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rIBbhymIzw&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=3&t=1s” title=”#1 When the Day Breaks (1999)”][vc_column_text]Two decades ago, directors Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby joined forces to create this 9 minutes 40 seconds long masterpiece. In fact, many considered it ahead of its time. Creators used pencil and paint on photocopies to achieve a textured look suggestive of a lithograph or a flickering newsreel.

Awards and recognition

The film has won over 40 awards, including the Genie Award for Best Animated Short, the Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also a nominee for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Synopsis: After witnessing the accidental death of a stranger, Ruby, the humanoid pig, seeks comfort in her everyday routines.

When the Day Breaks shows how simple yet unpredictable life can be. It awakens concern but brings hope.

It is a multi-layered piece that revives every emotion while reminding us that hope is what keeps us alive.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl6hNj1uOkY&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=8″ title=”#2 Doll Face (2005)”][vc_column_text]Doll Face is a 3D animated short horror movie by Andrew Huang. A machine with a doll face tries to build its own identity by mimicking images from a television screen. Eventually, it self-destructs, frustrated with the result.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOOynE1F4P4&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=9″ title=”#3 Cubic Tragedy (2005)”][vc_column_text]Cubic Tragedy is an award-winning short by Ming-Yuan Chuan. The film was a great success, and it was especially popular among 3D animators. 

The film shows a woman in a 3D world trying to achieve a perfect look but she ends up unsatisfied with the result. Cubic Tragedy has won the People’s Choice Award in the 2005 SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01GY7zYN-ps&list=PL5RN01TSgvkZ_ReqOo05aFqoUHBYjvUpe” title=”#4 One Man Band (2005)”][vc_column_text]One Man Band is a Pixar computer-animated short musical comedy film by Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews. Instead of dialogs, creators used pantomime and music to tell the story.

The film premiered at the 29th Annecy International Animated Film Festival in Annecy (France). It won the Platinum Grand Prize at the Future Film Festival in Bologna (Italy).

When Music Tells a Story

Bass is a street performer, playing a routine tune on his wind and percussion instruments in an Italian village square. Soon, he spots Tippy; a girl determined to throw a coin in the plaza fountain. The musician, eager to catch the girl’s attention, starts playing an impromptu piece. All of a sudden, another musician appears and tries to ‘steal’ Tippy’s attention.

Music plays a significant role in the film, so it is important to mention that Michael Giacchino wrote the score.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGyLP6R4HTE&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=4″ title=”#5 Madame Tutli-Putli (2007)”][vc_column_text]Madame Tutli-Putli is an award-winning stop motion animated short film by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. The duo is also known as part of Clyde Henry Productions.

Fun Facts

What’s interesting is that Chris and Maciek spent two weeks living on a train. They also spent four years on stop motion animation. For the sake of the movie, portrait artist Jason Walker developed the technique of adding composited human eyes to the stop motion puppets.

Madame Tutli-Putli boards the Night Train carrying all of her possessions and ghosts from the past. Ready or not, she faces her demons somewhere between the real and imaginary world.

The film received the “Best of the Festival” award at the Melbourne International Animation Festival and the Canal + Grand Prize for best short film at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Dnm6dkOVI&list=RD01GY7zYN-ps&start_radio=1″ title=”#6 Presto (2008)”][vc_column_text]Presto is a Pixar computer-animated film by Doug Sweetland. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award and Annie Award and was part of the 2008 Animation Show of Shows.

Synopsis: The short follows a magician trying to perform the act, but his rabbit, Alec, refuses to collaborate because the magician didn’t give him a carrot. Presto presents a gag-filled homage to classics such as Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=5″ title=”#7 MAN (2012)”][vc_column_text]MAN is a 2012 animated short by Steve Cutts, an illustrator, and animator famous for his satirical approach. Cutts made a film to spread awareness regarding animal rights and environmental issues. 

Although it is over a decade old, the film is still relevant. In fact, it is more relevant now than it was ten years ago.

As of May 2021, the movie has over 50 million views on YouTube.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUngLgGRJpo&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=11″ title=”#8 Nuggets (2014)”][vc_column_text]Nuggets is an animated short film by Andreas Hykade. The Federal Film Board funded the film, and since October 2014, it is available on the Filmbilder & Friends YouTube channel.

The creator, Andreas Hykade, signs the script, animation, and direction. Angela Steffen worked on the film’s artwork and animation, while Heiko Maile was in charge of the film’s music and sound design.

Black & White and Goldish Yellow

Using black strokes and lines, Andreas created a kiwi, the main and only character. The only color used in the film is goldish yellow.

The film follows a kiwi walking down a path and finding nuggets. Once it eats a nugget, the kiwi experiences a blissful high and feels like flying. With each nugget consumed, its flights become shorter, and the kiwi is not as excited as it was initially. We see the kiwi struggling as the background becomes darker.

Although there are no explicit references to drugs, many critics consider it an allegory for the different stages of addiction.

At the same time, nuggets can be a metaphor for a drug.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9dZQelULDk&list=PLlV35YthqDdyyUHB_JiEy9ro6ewM2oct5&index=13″ title=”#9 Happiness (2017)”][vc_column_text]Happiness is another short animated short film with a strong message. The film depicts life in the contemporary world. Humans or, as presented in the movie, rats are in a constant search for happiness. Unfortunately, they are looking for it in the most meaningless places, such as shopping malls.

The film also shows alcohol and drug abuse as common shortcuts people use in their search for happiness. Steve Cutts’s film reveals what we already know but don’t want to admit — people have become faceless parts of the unstable machine called irrational consumerism, and we don’t know how to get out of it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]