Harvie Krumpet
| Year: | 2004 |
| Director: | Adam Elliot |
| Writer: | Adam Elliot |
| Cast: | Geoffrey Rush |
Yes, it's cute and entertaining and deserves success. Call me unpatriotic, but I think it only attracted the attention of the Academy Awards because it had Geoffrey Rush narrating it, and everyone thinks it's so fabulous now because it won in 2004. Oherwise it'd be just another of the cacophony of short film projects being churned out every year by Australian film students.
But at the risk of sounding negative, everything about it well executed, especially the writing. As with a good live action film, the writing drives the story, not someone's self-interested desire to showcase their animation (or special effects, musical, costuming etc) skills.
Harvie is a Polish-born immigrant in Victoria who has so many things go wrong in his life - both in his immediate environment and his health - you can't help feel sorry for him even while the film pokes good natured fun (and occasionally real sadness).
He's one of the unseen crowd, the opposite to the sort of person who becomes an adored, rich movie star, and if Harvie Krumpet has a point, it's that those people are special and deserve love and happiness too (it's even evident in his name, which - like 'Mr Bean', 'Basil Fawlty' or 'Ted Bullpitt', is the antithesis of a hot, young, go-getting name).
Despite his many trials, Harvie does lead a rich life because of the unconventional circumstances in which he and his loved one live it, and it ends up as satisfying as a Hollywood love story.
But at the risk of sounding negative, everything about it well executed, especially the writing. As with a good live action film, the writing drives the story, not someone's self-interested desire to showcase their animation (or special effects, musical, costuming etc) skills.
Harvie is a Polish-born immigrant in Victoria who has so many things go wrong in his life - both in his immediate environment and his health - you can't help feel sorry for him even while the film pokes good natured fun (and occasionally real sadness).
He's one of the unseen crowd, the opposite to the sort of person who becomes an adored, rich movie star, and if Harvie Krumpet has a point, it's that those people are special and deserve love and happiness too (it's even evident in his name, which - like 'Mr Bean', 'Basil Fawlty' or 'Ted Bullpitt', is the antithesis of a hot, young, go-getting name).
Despite his many trials, Harvie does lead a rich life because of the unconventional circumstances in which he and his loved one live it, and it ends up as satisfying as a Hollywood love story.