The Sand Castle (1977)
This short animated film features the sandman and the creatures he sculpts out of sand. These lively creatures build a castle and celebrate the completion of their new home, only to be interrupted by an uninvited guest. Cleverly constructed with nuance, the film leaves interpretation open to the viewer. The film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.
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Reviews
Over the last several decades, the National Film Board of Canada has sponsored many short films--many of which have received Oscars or nominations for Best Animated Short. This film is yet another of these excellent films.While the story itself is pretty simple, the way it was handled it indeed exceptional. It's all about an odd looking creature and his odd friends who all appear to be made from sand and come up from beneath the sandy surface of their world. For 1977, the stop motion animation in this film is of exceptional quality. It's cute, fun to watch and a good choice for the Academy Award.
You're really going to like this one. It sounds very strange, and it is, a creature crawls out of the sand, fashions other creatures, and they make a castle out of the sand for themselves. But for me it is a parable of diversity, inclusivity, and working together. It is also about the transitory nature of existence. It's incredibly fun, and it made me smile even though I'm sad at the moment. The soundtrack is well done too. The wry, humoured look on the first creature's face makes me giggle a bit, and I'm very serious.Oh yeah, it won an Oscar for Best Animated Short, and I'm sure the team behind it were richly deserving.
This is an absolutely marvellous animated short, with the most unusual cast of characters that I've seen in quite some time. It's also about as apt an example of the old line by Robert Burns, "The best laid plans of mice and men..." . The short is quite bittersweet in its ending. Very much worth more than one viewing. Most highly recommended.