This film portrays three generations of sheep and the impact of humans or animals representing humans on the sheep family, using the Little Red Riding Hood story as a takeoff point.
Even without dialogue, the story is very easy to follow. The use of a zoetrope (optical disk) is very cleverly incorporated into the film. The protagonists conduct their lives in five separate zoetrope. The representations of animal demise is cleverly done and thought provoking at same time. The animation is excellent, although there are some specks on the video that make it look as if it's an old film print. As the various story threads progress, the viewer descends into each of the circles and thus has a feeling of overseeing each character's purpose in the story. The characters are all well imagined and drawn and the costumes they wear help clearly identify their individual roles. It's set in a forest with remote huts, which helps support the Little Red Riding Hood theme. The background music works very well in setting the pace and enhancing the emotions. The main characters are sheep and the generational gap between them is clearly and easily denoted. The main human's purpose and impact on their lives is very well shown. A dog serves as the park ranger; his role is both as protector and possibly a threat at same time, which is a clever use of the character traits. The film certainly makes the viewer interested in the concept of zoetropes and wanting to know more about them plus it brings up the question of using animals as food.
The message of the film is about the impact of humans using animals for food. It does contain acts of violence and, while the violence is implied by a blank screen, it is an important part of the story. One character has a knife and another has a gun, both of which are implied as the implements of death. Also, we see the resultant sausages, presumably made from one of the animals.
I give The Sausage Run 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. While the subject and content could be upsetting to some people, the beautiful nature of the animation and the different concept of zoetrope is very interesting and many people will enjoy that unique aspect of this film.
Reviewed by Richard L., KIDS FIRST!
This film portrays three generations of sheep and the impact of humans or animals representing humans on the sheep family, using the Little Red Riding Hood story as a takeoff point.
Even without dialogue, the story is very easy to follow. The use of a zoetrope (optical disk) is very cleverly incorporated into the film. The protagonists conduct their lives in five separate zoetrope. The representations of animal demise is cleverly done and thought provoking at same time. The animation is excellent, although there are some specks on the video that make it look as if it's an old film print. As the various story threads progress, the viewer descends into each of the circles and thus has a feeling of overseeing each character's purpose in the story. The characters are all well imagined and drawn and the costumes they wear help clearly identify their individual roles. It's set in a forest with remote huts, which helps support the Little Red Riding Hood theme. The background music works very well in setting the pace and enhancing the emotions. The main characters are sheep and the generational gap between them is clearly and easily denoted. The main human's purpose and impact on their lives is very well shown. A dog serves as the park ranger; his role is both as protector and possibly a threat at same time, which is a clever use of the character traits. The film certainly makes the viewer interested in the concept of zoetropes and wanting to know more about them plus it brings up the question of using animals as food.
The message of the film is about the impact of humans using animals for food. It does contain acts of violence and, while the violence is implied by a blank screen, it is an important part of the story. One character has a knife and another has a gun, both of which are implied as the implements of death. Also, we see the resultant sausages, presumably made from one of the animals.
I give The Sausage Run 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. While the subject and content could be upsetting to some people, the beautiful nature of the animation and the different concept of zoetrope is very interesting and many people will enjoy that unique aspect of this film.
Reviewed by Richard L., KIDS FIRST!
The Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale provides the main storyline. However, the roles of the humans and animals are exchanged: the human characters in the film are depicted as anthropomorphous animals. The animal in the story, the big bad wolf, is here a human being.
Little Red Riding Hood's family consists of the mother sheep, the lamb (Little Red Riding Hood) and a grandfather sheep. The forester and his wife are dogs with a soft spot for sausages. The wolf, a butcher, is a man with a serious problem - he has run out of meat.
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