Balloon (1991) Online

I first saw this animation late one night when animations were on TV a lot (Before they cut the budget) and it was amazing. The black background, the simple sounds of the characters to convey their emotions and the girl's love of the balloon was so beautiful that I wanted to see it again there and then. (Luckily for me it was repeated some years later)I have seen a lot of animations and made some myself and I still think this is one of the best. It captures something dark and menacing and yet the age old message of good triumphing over evil works wonderfully in its simplicity. I used to have dreams about this animation and hoped that when I die I would get to dance in the field of flowers with the red balloon like the girl. I'm not mad, I just simply LOVE this animation, it is a fantastic piece of work.

This is a brilliantly imaginative film, with characters who you care about (despite the fact one is a balloon), highly skilled animation, and engaging storyline. I like the way he has combined drawn and 3d animation, i think it works really well - there is no doubt that the evil character is the same even though it is portrayed in two different ways. Ken Lidster uses the bare minimum in his sets, achieving an incredibly sinister and atmospheric piece. I loved it, and i wish compilations of short animated films were available in the shops, because how else are they going to be seen? Eventually film deteriorates and then they will be lost forever.

This is a very artistic film, so if you don't appreciate that in animation then you probably wont appreciate the pure genius of this piece!! I thought it a very powerful piece of storytelling, managing to play upon our understanding of childish innocence and sense of 'cute' (ie the balloons familiar whining/screeching noise used here as it's screaming) to create a really uncomfortable to watch but mesmerising animated piece none the less. There is a graffiti artist who goes by the name of 'Banksy', and one of his works features a little girl who had lost grasp of her beloved red balloon and who's outstretched arm and tearful face created such a powerful image it is now one of his best known works, and it for me has strong links with this film. Incidentally, Banksy is also a fantastic artist in his use of imagery to create powerful messages, a skill which is prevalent in this animators film. The film is well worth seeing, highly recommended, but not for younger viewers (may give them nightmares, it did me!)

A little girl plays with her bright red balloon, spinning and playing with it in a dark field of flowers. When it floats slightly out of her reach, a strange figure appears to try and get the balloon from her, whether by bribery, flattery or, if need be, by force. Although she loves it, he needs it to give him structure and form.

Looking back on this short film now, it is possible to dismiss it and not see the recognition it received at the time. Made by Ken Lidster while he was still at the NFT, this film sees childhood innocence stolen by a weird "child-snatcher" sort of character, before she is able to counter him. As a story it is surprisingly too long for even the short running time it has to fill, but this is more down to it not having a real core than it is to my short attention span. The story is interesting but I never felt like I cared about the girl, or knew who the balloon man was, far less cared about him or disliked him. Without this hook I was just watching the short rather than being involved or engaged by it.

The animation is basic but interesting, mixing inventive images with animation styles and different backgrounds. Some elements of it show an unique eye for style but others just feel empty and lacking – rather like the white space was a budget limitation rather than a design choice. It is interesting but not as stylish or inventive as I would have liked. Overall this is an average animation with some things to recommend it for but nothing specific to justify hunting it out.