Week 4

Norman McLaren-Neightbours (1952)

I love the animated short Neighbours. Right when the flower first dances at 1:20, the viewer can see what this short is all about. The way in which the flower dances beckoning the two men is great. The narrative maintains symmetry throughout which I found both interesting and compelling. The symmetry levels the playing field so to speak with both characters. Neither man is better then the other or deserves the flower more.

The flower causes the two neighbors to almost go on a trip, the flower is euphoric to them. This is magically displayed by the use of stop motion. The characters become quite strange and trippy, hovering in the air and gliding across the ground. McLaren does a good job showing the drunkiness effect of the flower. I loved the part in 4:18 when the character are putting up and tearing down the fence. The fence plays an important role in the remainder of the short and it was interesting to see how they introduced it. The obvious message of the piece was to display greed and that if people indulge or are selfish about something good in their life they will lose it. As the universal message states in the final credits "love you neighbor!"