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Manipulation (1991) Online

Manipulation (1991) Online
1991 Daniel Greaves
Original Title :
Manipulation
Genre :
Movie / Animation / Short / Comedy / Fantasy
Year :
1991
Directror :
Daniel Greaves
Writer :
Daniel Greaves
Type :
Movie
Time :
7min
Rating :
6.8/10

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Manipulation (1991) Online

An unseen and indecisive cartoonist working at his desk starts off by drawing a rough sketch of a man's head, and after a while, he draws a matching body. Nevertheless, being unhappy with the outcome of his effort, the picky artist wipes his sketches away. But then, unexpectedly, as the discarded and incomplete character comes to life, trying his creator's patience with a smudge of red ink, before long, the animator takes over, and then, the real fun begins.

Academy Award Winner 1992, Best Animated Short Film.


User reviews

Moonshaper

Moonshaper

This short won the Academy Award and faced some stiff competition from two shorts produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Any of the three could have won, but it's easy to see why Manipulation did. It's a simply drawn short, but the animation is incredible! The interaction here is great and is also very funny and fun to watch. This was on Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation Volume 2 and is well worth hunting for. Most Highly Recommended.
Anyshoun

Anyshoun

"Manipulation" is a 6-minute animated short film from 25 years ago and the first filmmaking effort by Daniel Greaves. I refuse to believe this one here really won an Oscar, but the good thing is that absolutely everybody can win one, or at least could back then. This was a pretty weak film in terms of both animation, looks a lot older than 1990s, and story. Not an engaging watch at all and I couldn't care less what the character would do next. Not surprised at all that Greaves did not manage a great career in feature films after his triumph for this one. Honestly, you cannot start your career in a better way than by winning an Oscar. Also shows that this little movie was not deserving at all. Do not watch, this one is closer to a */***** than to a ***/*****.
Kamick

Kamick

Just watched this Oscar-winning animated short by Daniel Greaves on YouTube. It begins in animated live action (basically using still photos and flipping them with movements seeming a little stilted) before we see a hand drawing a man with spilled red paint coming on him. Then that paint comes off him. We also see this drawn man getting crumbled, going through a hole in one sheet to land on another, occasionally getting flattened, and being put on strings in order to be controlled like a stringed puppet. This seems to be a throwback not just to Chuck Jones' Duck Amuck but also to Max Fleischer's role in the Koko the Clown adventures from the silent era. Having not seen the other two entries, I do not know if this was indeed the best of the year it was nominated for an Academy Award in but I do highly recommend Manipulation.
ladushka

ladushka

MANIPULATION is a very simple cartoon with the simplest of animations and a rather straight forward story. Like some of the old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck shorts, there is an animator (in gloves) who spends the short manipulating a simple little stick figure man. Eventually, the stick man jumps off the paper and this is when the cartoon started to get interesting--at about the same time it ended.

While this was decent enough entertainment, the 1991 Oscars didn't seem to have a clear winner when I watched all three nominees one after the other. While all showed merit, none seemed all that distinguished--though of the three, MANIPULATION was actually my least favorite. Not a great year for the genre.

UPDATE 9/09--I just saw one of director Daniel Greaves' other films, FLAT WORLD. It was absolutely brilliant! Oddly, despite being one of the best and most creative animated films I've ever seen, it did NOT get an Oscar!! So, MANIPULATION did and the infinitely superior didn't! What sort of message is this?! See FLAT WORLD!! It is truly Greaves at his finest.