In honor of World Wildlife Day we're posting this incredibly gorgeous short film, made for the World Wildlife Fund and presented by National Geographic, with origami art and stunning paper animation, that beautifully and artistically highlights the message of Wildlife Conservation.
The film's title and message is 'We Are All Connected':
Different miniature paper animals move across the various landscapes of an office environment, underscoring what was affected for each supply, telling their stories as they go, and showing us how they are all connected to us. It isn't too much of a stretch to see a folktale connection of storytelling and animals fables, with stunning use of origami, folding itself out of ordinary lined and colored work papers, coming to life and racing away.
From the description on YouTube:
Paper predators and prey spring to life in this visually stunning short from directors Dávid Ringeisen & László Ruska. An ordinary desk and typical office supplies are the backdrop for this micro-universe that carries the macro-message of wildlife conservation. While humans are left out of the piece, their impact is still present in a discarded cigarette butt that sparks an imaginary forest fire and an overflowing wastebasket that pollutes a fantastical rolling-chair river. This piece is part of the filmmakers' MOME thesis project, the animation department at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Hungary and was created for WWF Hungary. Dávid Ringeisen & László Ruska: https://www.facebook.com/paperworldfilm/WWF Hungary: http://wwf.hu/en/wwf-hungary
Simply gorgeous. It's no surprise it's the winner of multiple notable awards!
We just saw this and are pretty thrilled to see a Miyazaki-like story coming to Netflix as live action. While it has nothing to do with Studio Ghibli (that we can find), you can see the influence in the trailer.
Here's the synopsis:
“Okja” tells the story of a girl who travels from Korea to Manhattan to prevent Swinton, head of a sinister multinational meat company looking for a revolutionary product, from kidnapping her best friend, a massive animal named Okja, with some help from a (less extreme) PETA-like organization. The cast includes Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal.
It looks like a somewhat-edgy family film, except that Ms. Swinton does use the F-word in the trailer, so more information is needed on the final rating/age appropriateness.
Take a look (we are smitten with Okja!):
It's clearly another fairy tale-like, fantasy/action film, mirroring the eco-warrior trend of the 80's but with a, very relevant, 2017 twist, and perhaps a little Princess Mononoke thrown in. In some ways it reminds us of Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (remember that little gem, that was also much more violent than you remember?!) except that Okja is a GMO super-pig in serious peril.
Under some controversy at Cannes, due to being backed by Netflix (ie not a traditional/'real' film), Okja is one of two Netflix movies chosen to compete at Cannes. Director, Bong Joon-ho couldn't have been happier with this arrangement though, and his statement makes it easy to see why:
“Netflix guaranteed my complete freedom in terms of putting together my team and the final cut privilege, which only godlike filmmakers such as Spielberg get,” he said. (Variety)
We can hear indie filmmakers getting their proposals in order as we type! In fact, with the current conversations about the representation of fairy tales in films, this sounds like a great option to pursue if none of the big studios seem to be getting on board with a fairy tale vision.
With a lot of Beauty and the Beast themed and inspired fashion hitting stores this month, it's not surprise to see an sophisticated designer releasing something as well. The nice surprise about this collection is that there has been a sincere effort to make it both upmarket and eco-conscious, mirroring Emma Watson's perspective on fashion (she's made a conscious choice for all the clothes she wears on the red carpet, at least, to be eco-conscious, sustainable fashion).
There's an interesting approach to the fashion shoot - a largely Chiaroscuro approach, possibly as an ode to Cocteau's classic. We haven't seen a proper presentation/ book of these, though, which you would expect with this heavily stylized shoot, but perhaps that will appear on March 16, when the collection is officially released.
It's also nice to hear a little about the designer's approach to both the fairy tale and Disney's movie.
Avoiding a literal interpretation of the source material, Kane’s collection focuses on the film’s motifs rather than attempting to replicate the character’s wardrobe. Drawn to Belle’s every-girl charm, the collection focuses on clothes with real-world appeal—biker jackets and transparent blouses as opposed to oversize ball gowns. “I liked that she wasn’t a princess,” said Kane. “I know that now everyone now considers her a princess, but to me she was just a normal girl who went off and had an adventure. She dreamed of more for herself and had aspirations.”
Though the movie’s motifs make their way onto multiple pieces, don’t expect any dresses akin to the one Belle wears for her famous dance scene. “I didn’t want to do the yellow dress. I think people were expecting that and to me it just seems too obvious,” said Kane. “I don’t think it’s necessarily something that should be taken out of the world of the film.”
Kane’s signatures also make an appearance with colorful lace skirts and unorthodox florals providing visual interest. Reworking the magical rose that signals the time left before the Beast’s transformation becomes permanent, Kane added a spooky twist befitting the dark side of fairy tales. “It’s one of the great symbols of the film and we wanted to play with it,” says Kane. “I like making flowers a little scary, so we have the oversize creeping rose.” Wound across lacy tops or covered in Swarovski crystals on sweatshirts, the emblem is feminine and foreboding. Even the humorous side of the film gets a tribute with necklaces and brooches covered in miniature teapots and saucers. “There’s just something very whimsical about the idea of wearing a tiny tea set as jewelry.”
Even with all attention to detail, the collection’s defining feature may be its commitment to the environment. A collaboration with sustainable brand consultancy Eco-Age to use ethical sourcing, sustainable materials, and local artisans on two looks the final product represents luxury at its most conscious.
With a few more details about the sustainability aspect from UK FashionNetwork:
This marks the first time that Disney and Christopher Kane have collaborated with Eco-Age, a consulting firm specialised in business sustainability. The goal: to prove that ethics and aesthetics can go hand in hand, and that brands can create narratives by highlighting their choice of materials and manufacturing techniques.
The collection was also created to respect the GCC Principles of Sustainable Excellence, meaning it was ethically sourced and manufactured.
Why the emphasis on sustainable fashion? Here's what the designer and partner had to say (from
The designer partnered with Eco-Age and Disney on a capsule collection that he describes as "don't mess with me" pretty.
Speaking to Firth and Kane, it's clear that they believe this is just the beginning of making sustainability in fashion the norm. "The red carpet is the most powerful communication arm that exists," says Firth. "It's not about, 'What are you wearing?' It's 'Who are you wearing?' What are the hands behind your clothes? What stories [do you want to tell]?" On a larger scale, it's about making your voice heard and standing up for what you care about. "We all need to be more vocal and radical these days and be creative in how we think, as well as how we design." To that, we say: Be our guest.
We also found this interview with Kane which asked some great and fun questions, both about movie inspired fashion and his thoughts on Belle and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Here are some excerpts from Elle.com:
Disney does tons of fashion collaborations... I think they've earned it. Where would we be, as fashion people, without fantasy? We fuel our whole industry on it. And for most of us—definitely for me—Disney was one of the first places to give us images of fantasy. They run on dreams, and daydreams, don't they? So do we.
If you lived in the Beast's castle, what household item would you be? I would be a bed. Actually, I would be a duvet. I would be a nice cashmere blanket. I could be cozy and in bed all the time. And it could be cashmere from our collection so everyone would know it was me.
You haven't done a cashmere blanket for this collection, but you did make a skirt out of blue rubber bows. Because when you think of every Disney heroine—Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine—they're all wearing blue! It's a thing. "Disney Blue." So I wanted to capture that element, but then also, that's a piece from my archive. And I like that it looks like armor, even though it's made of bows, which I think is really quite sweet, because obviously, Belle is very guarded. She's got her walls up.
She's all about roses, too, and those have thorns. Exactly! And also, in Beauty and the Beast, the rose is kind of a symbol of judging people before you should, isn't it? The falling petals are kind of the countdown on his curse, and I always think it's so sad in the film because when you see the rose, you're reminded of how sad people can be with their judgments. It's a good reminder to give things a chance.
Nice to read some insightful thoughts! You can see more pieces, especially the casual items, from the collection HERE.
It's due to such enduring fairy tales as The Little Mermaid that campaigns such as these have a truly personal and emotional impact.
Unlike just seeing 'pretty pictures' of fantasy creatures and objects created out of trash to promote awareness of waste and environmental danger, beloved fairy tales access the emotions of those who have loved the tales. The many versions of the fairy tale in books and film (and, yes, Disney) have already stirred the imaginations of people, especially young people, around the globe. They relate to the plight of The Little Mermaid - her wish to be part of the world, to not be segregated, to have a voice and so much more, and once connected, they remain so.
After tale familiarity, it only takes an image alluding to a beloved fairy tale character for an important message such as this one to get through, and that's what photographer and visual artist, Benjamin Von Wong, harnesses very effectively.
Frankly we encourage using fairy tales and fairy tale imagery to galvanize people to action here, as the urgency of this issue is such that marine biologists and other scientists around the world are now predicting that bird and marine life will be decimated within three decades because of plastic in our oceans!
Discussing the problem in Australia alone, The Boomerang Alliance (Australia's prime campaign group on waste and recycling) lists multiple, serious issues to the eco-system and wildlife, but if that's not reason enough to take the issue seriously, they add that "every time you eat seafood you’re potentially ingesting these same indestructible plastic particles into your own body".
By the year 2050 there will be more plastic rubbish floating in our oceans than fish unless we make some drastic changes to the way use and dispose of plastic materials.
To raise awareness of the ocean’s urgent plight, Benjamin Von Wong, a renowned Canadian conceptual photographer and conservationist, has developed an epic visual movement called #mermaidshateplastic, which he hopes will draw the world’s attention to the grave threat plastic waste poses to the world’s oceans.
Using his signature hyper-realistic art style, Von Wong photographed models transformed into ‘mermaids’ ‘swimming’ amid 10,000 discarded plastic bottles he used to represent the sea. The ambitious shoot took place in a Montreal warehouse where Von Wong staged each of his scenes and photographed from above.
Currently in Australia, Von Wong spoke to news.com.au about the #mermaidshateplastic campaign, which launched globally last week.
“To me, the ocean is … like space but on our own planet and it’s something I find really fascinating,” Von Wong says. “But, virtually every single piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists on the planet today and if we do nothing, by 2050 there will be more plastics than fish in the sea and that’s terrifying.”
As an artist, Von Wong says that while he isn’t able to find the tangible solution to this problem, he’s chosen to apply his creative skills to draw the world’s attention to the ocean’s urgent plight. “I’m not a plastics engineer, I can’t create a new material, I can’t impact policy but what I can do, hopefully, is drive awareness,” Von Wong explains.
Take a look at the creation process, which, by the way, uses collected beach and recycling waste for materials:
You can read the whole article HERE, along with ideas on how to halt the cycle of waste in easy ways every day, help the process of cleanup with just seconds of action, and, ultimately, stop plastic from not just being part of our world, but destroying it.
Paper predators and prey spring to life in this visually stunning short from directors Dávid Ringeisen & László Ruska. An ordinary desk and typical office supplies are the backdrop for this micro-universe that carries the macro-message of wildlife conservation. While humans are left out of the piece, their impact is still present in a discarded cigarette butt that sparks an imaginary forest fire and an overflowing wastebasket that pollutes a fantastical rolling-chair river. This piece is part of the filmmakers' MOME thesis project, the animation department at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Hungary and was created for WWF Hungary.
