Screen Squinty's "Lullaby for a Princess" Review.

 ("Lullaby for a Princess" Screen Shot, Property of WarpOut.)

Short: Lullaby for a Princess.
Directed by: WarpOut (Hanssen Steven).
Released: 2015.
Running time: 7 minutes.

There is not a big trend for reviews of fan made material outside of the fan communities that inspire them, but this particular piece, Lullabye for a Princess, a 3 year production by PonyPhonic, deserves some attention.

This is an animated musical short featuring the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, from the television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as she sings to her imprisoned sister in the moon, thinking back on their personal history together and the conflict that arose between them.

This is quite simply gorgeous in every aspect of its presentation. The colours are rich, the animation smooth with the character designs original enough without falling to far from the character design from the show. There is this sense of stark light and shadow that highlights not only the depth of the scenes, but the emotion as well.

This short places the spectator within Celestia’s personal perspective brilliantly, and illicit the sympathy and empathy that the show has not quite achieved in regards to this particular character with viewers. This short provides the character with faults that those watching can relate to which the show itself could perhaps take a cue from in regards to this character, even if she is only a secondary character in cannon. The battle sequence between the sisters in particular is where the sheer feels that Celestia invokes, the agony of her decision, as she banishes her sister is stellar.

The visual style of the animation looks akin to a saturated acrylic art piece, though this is a hand drawn animation combined with computer effects. You can see the care and attention that went into it, and the style went well with the action sequences.

The song, the element that carries the short, is the big shining moment, with original music and lyrics composed by PonyPhonic (Dane Larson), and sung by the talented Christina Ellis. It is one of those songs that could rival any big franchise animation company like Walt Disney, and become memorable, indeed having been viewed already by over 4 million viewers on Youtube alone who seem to also recognize talent when they see it as well.

Well done!

To view this short, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7PQ9IO-7fU For other animated short reviews go to Film Shorts Reviews.

 

Original post: https://screensquinty.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/lullaby-for-a-princess-a-review/
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