Bottle George

What is Bottle George? Some kind of sea creature? An old, battered toy somehow magically possessed of life? Or, perhaps, something else entirely? Even he doesn’t seem to remember. He sits in a bottle on the shelf, watching events unfold in the tiny house as if from a distance. Sometimes, when the scraggly, bearded man who lives there is slamming into the furniture, he tumbles to the floor, where he was to watch out for an angry cat. Sometimes the little girl who lives there too picks him up, clings to him, looks to him for comfort as she curls up in a corner and sobs.

If only Bottle George could remember, and pull his constituent parts together, perhaps he could save her.

Japan has several animated shorts on this year’s Oscar shortlist, all of them highly distinctive in style, and this is one of the best. Directed by Tsutsumi ‘Dice’ Daisuke, it brings together traditional French artistic styles with stop-motion animation to create beguiling characters who live in a fantastically constructed little town on a hill. The proud, mean-tempered cat, the melancholy yet perpetually hopeful girl and the befuddled George fit together with the logic of childhood, of things only half understood. There’s a dreamlike quality to their adventures which conceals a deeper point, and everything is richly layered with meaning.

Supported by Takagi Hajime’s evocative sound design, this persistently inventive little film creates a thoroughly lived-in world with hints of a maritime past and an uncertain future. It’s richly coloured and shot, for the most part, from an angle that puts us right there in the thick of it with its small characters. There’s a sentimental ending but it feels earned. A natural starting point for talking about difficult issues which all too many kids have to deal with, Bottle George is a real charmer.