Nosferatu Tango (2002) Online

This short blew me away when I first saw it because the 'twist' is so good. This is a very well made animation. It doesn't really seem to make sense until the end, then it all becomes clear.

It follows a mosquito through various settings as it falls in love with a vampire.

It's hard to say what's so good about this without giving anything away.

I saw it at the Kinofilm festival a couple of years ago, I don't know where you would be able to see this, but it's definitely worth looking for.

The trials and tribulations of a hapless vampire: his love, his loneliness...

Nosferatu Tango is a love song to the German expressionism of the original silent film, while adding a sweet quirky humor to its colorful visuals. The end gimmick that also justifies the otherworldly visuals is a triumph in its own right and the mix of European languages in the narration make it accessible to all while adding a layer of authenticity to it. It isn't often an animator can successfully craft something slightly expressionist and Gothic without reminding us of Tim Burton, and Horvarth should be applauded for this feat alone.

I first witnessed this intriguing curiosity of a film at the university in Switzerland, uncertain what to expect from a local animator. Any negative prejudice was brushed aside by "Nosferatu Tango".

Zoltan Horvarth has marked himself as a talent to watch in animation. Whether you enjoy fairy tales, vampires, design or just being plain entertained, "Nosferatu Tango" is a little gem you shouldn't miss.

I'll have to admit, throughout most of the movie I was thinking to myself, "Why's the mosquito in 3D when the rest is 2 1/2 D?" And then I got my answer, and I have to admit--good play, sirs.

This beautifully animated Nosferatu-inspired film is pretty much all about visual treats--storybook pop-ups, fantasy worldbuilding, labyrinthine twists of perspective, frames of reference. At first it seems odd to see the story of Nosferatu, one of cinema's favorite icons, from the perspective of a mosquito, but once its finished, it couldn't be better.

It's interesting because stuff like pop-up books are now sort of regarded in academia in terms of "pre-cinematic" expressions of moving imagery or image-building. So this movie is sort of all about that, using the latest in digital animation to tell it. This movie sort of encompasses the history of animation as its so far been written.

It's also fun to listen to the soundtrack. Don't worry about missing subtitles, English speakers--they mix like five different languages together! --PolarisDiB