User Reviews

"The Village" is a British animated short film from 1993, so this one has its 25th anniversary this year and the writer and director is Mark Baker. It was another good success for him as this one marks his second of 3 Oscar nominations from the 1990s and that time he lost out to Nick Park. The film runs for 14 minutes, slightly over, and shows us the life in and inhabitants of a little village where everybody has something to hide, everybody wants to know everybody else's secret and everybody is suspicious of everybody. The townsfolk are characterized through greed, disrespect and everything that comes with moral decay. As a decent human being you have 2 options: leave the place as soon as possible or be thrown in jail and humiliated by everybody including the local priest. So two people getting out eventually may be the closest we get to a happy ending here. This place cannot be cured, it can only be left behind. There may be a deeper reference that sometimes saving simply isn't possible and you may need to do what's best for you instead. The animation may look a bit simple here, but actually this is only true when it comes to the characters and still their looks fit in nicely with tone and atmosphere. There is some nice attention to detail when it comes to sceneries and location though and it is nice to see this one got some great awards recognition and I'd have been perfectly fine with it taking the Oscar. We'll see if Baker ever gets another shot. As for this one here, it is very much worth seeing and I give it a big thumbs-up. One of the best short films from its year, animated or not, and it also doesn't get much worse on rewatch as this is the second or probably third time I've seen it already andit's still class. Don't miss out here.

This is often considered the best animation made by Mark Baker, and for a good reason, being his most mature, darker work.

When I saw it as a kid many years ago, some stuff totally went over my head, but even then its pessimistic view on humanity caused a big impression on me, without even needing to be too explicit on its content.

I like a lot the minimalistic, but stylish art used here, both for the characters and the backgrounds, contrasting its charming simplicity with the somber plot.

A shame Baker doesn't make this kind of stuff anymore, focusing only in shows aimed at very little kids, such as Peppa Pig. But to each his own, I guess.

At least I can say the nomination for best animated short was more than well deserved.