User Reviews

Ever wonder what might happen to your beloved childhood bedtime stories if they were told to you by your bitter, disgruntled grandmother? Wonder no more because director Nicky Phelan has brought the world the experience with her animated version of writer Kathleen O'Rourke's character in Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty. There is nothing like a theatrical old woman telling a story, doing her best to draw out strong emotions while her own get the better of her. The short film's granddaughter just wants to go to bed with her stuffed animal, but Granny will have none of it, plopping down to tell one of her famous bedtime tales—starting sweet and normal, yet soon devolving into vengeful diatribe.

You don't really know what to expect at the start, somewhat disoriented by the fear you see on the young girl's face once Grandma enters the room. This is not the first time she's stopped by for the nightly ritual, that's for sure. The name 'Grimm' itself should prepare you for the fact that the fantasy won't be a Disney-fied version, but I can't say I anticipated the direction it finally ends up going. Granny definitely has some pent-up rage hidden beneath her sweet, bifocal wearing exterior, ready to be unleashed on all those frowning upon her disintegrating, walker-dependent body. All those pretty little bimbos walking around oblivious to their future of gravity will have their comeuppance, even if it's only within the constraints of a fairy tale romance—funnily devoid of that one trait the actual Sleeping Beauty is known for.

Rather then watch as Sleeping Beauty grows up and becomes enchanted in slumber until a handsome Prince can rescue her, Granny tells of an elderly fairy not invited to the young one's party. In her anger she crashes the scene and makes her displeasure known, cursing those in attendance and cackling profusely. The granddaughter desperately tries to shield herself from the scary visage sitting at the side of her bed, hoping for the chance of a happy ending to maybe let her wide eyes find solace in even a wink of sleep that night.

The true success really lies in the performance of O'Rourke in portraying Granny O'Grimm as the two-faced Irish woman. People have thrown fairy tales on their heads before, using them for fright rather than hope, so nothing in that regard is new and original. No, the over-the-top theatrics trump the piece's artistry and story due to its sheer hilarity as the woman goes from soft dulcet tones to loud anger-laced screams—even doing her own foreboding echo to add a little pizazz. Not to say the animation is bad; it's actually really good. The use of both computer-generated 3D work for the 'real world' and 2D perspective for the fantasy is handled successfully. I also loved the blurred reflection of our two leads in the mirror across the room from the bed. It is a beautiful rendering of depth in the room and a nice detail.

Perhaps the series will expand with more tales we know and love, altered to cause Granny's little girl to grow up jaded and paranoid—especially if the poster is to be believed, talking about 26 x 11 minute episodes. Will they work now that the premise is revealed? I'm not so sure. That surprise of tonal shift really did it for me. I don't quite know if the freshness can continue to be sustained on subsequent entries.

This 6-minute short film from Irish director Nicky Phelan was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010, but lost out to Logorama. All in all it's decent one, solid in every area, but not really a standout in regards to anything. It starts with a little kid with a massive 'fro in bed obviously scared in the dark. But no worries, her beloved Grandma (with an even more impressive haircut) is ready to save the day and enters the room to chase away all the kid's fears. Or is she?

The animation is all in all fine. It features two different styles, which both didn't exactly blow me away, but I thought the little kid was nicely designed and I also loved the reaction when Granny asks her whether she wants to hear a nighttime-story. The story is okay and mostly interesting, because it's different than the usual, while the ending came a bit as a surprise, although it probably shouldn't looking at the tone of the film from early on. It's an okay little movie, sometimes struggling to find the right balance between comedy and horror, but if spooky animation films like Coraline are your preferred choice, this one deserves a watch.

I watched this on youtube and I thought it was very funny.

It shows what would happen if a slightly deranged Granny used a bedtime storytelling of Sleeping Beauty to reveal her anger at the mistreatment of older people by society! It's funnier that it sounds.And less than seven minutes long. The animation is excellent. There are two styles used. One for the sequences with the Granny and the terrified grandchild and a more basic style for the Sleeping Beauty story. Kathleen O'Rourke wrote the script and does the voice of Granny. Great to see Irish films being nominated for Oscars in both the feature and short animated film category this year. I understand most of the filmmakers involved in both films (and one involved in Avatar) studied at the animation course at Ballyfermot College in Dublin. Congrats to all involved.

This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:

Granny O'Grimm is wound a little tightly and has some serious problems, to say the least. Her granddaughter is in bed on a stormy night, starting at noise and wide awake. This is unfortunate, because Granny comes in to tell her a bedtime story. The kid, no doubt having experienced this "charming" event before, pretends to be asleep, but Granny doesn't buy it and the poor kid has to listen to her take on Sleeping Beauty.

The animation for the fairy tale itself is different from the animation for the framing device. Granny obviously has trouble separating her own personal frustrations and disappointments from the fairy tale. The fairy tale is largely recognizable as the familiar story, but Granny takes the opportunity to vent her frustrations through the fairy tale she's assaulting her granddaughter with, to the child's growing anxiety. Granny needs to take a chill pill, as she grows more hysterical and aggravated. Just as her anger reaches a crescendo, she realizes where she is and breaks off the story at a most inopportune point for the little girl, who may never fall asleep again.

This short is available for viewing and download at iTunes and is well worth watching. Most recommended.

I bet I'm one of the few to ever watch this hilariously mean-spirited short animation who actually felt slightly sorry for Granny 'O Grimm, because to me you've gotta think that she was only acting that way because she couldn't get something that she wanted, and she was missing out. Still, it was very mean and downright cruel of her to sound-off on her innocent little granddaughter and vent her frustrations via her own 'special' versions of classic fairy tales in a ritual that was clearly so scary and traumatic to the poor thing that it could even be considered by the more conscientious to be borderline abuse! This was such a funny gem, I loved when she had her fleeting moments of lucidity mid-rant and almost comes to her senses and realises that she just might possibly be behaving a wee bit irrationally..but then she flies right back off the handle once again! The voicing by the actress was excellent. She was just insane! I liked the way her hair looked a bit like the Bride of Frankenstein's. At the end when she's about to leave the room she just can't resist giving the child one last scare! I thought that both the animation styles were very well done, and I just enjoyed how much wit was put into it. It was humorous but I also found something poignant in it, because of how sometimes old people can sadly grow very bitter and angry out of loneliness and all the things they can't do anymore. My own granma got a bit like that now and then, a little childish and petty, but she was a good person, never hurt anyone in her life. We should try to make time for the elderly and be patient with them, because they're only what we're all gonna be like someday down the road, if we're 'lucky' enough to live that long.. So try to appreciate your granny and her stubborn ways, 'cause you'll miss them when she's gone. It's true, oldsters aren't just being colourful when they say that! Anyway to me it's a lovely little winner of a short, and I like it a lot, thank you. To Mabel.

Tonight I went to the annual showing of the Oscar-nominated animated shorts at a local theater. They have been doing this for several years in the weeks before the Oscar winner is named. While I really, really enjoyed this film, however, I think it's probably not going to win the Oscar--partly because two other films are clearly better (LOGORAMA and THE OLD LADY AND THE REAPER) and partly because I am sure some will not like the way the film ended--though I adored it.

The film begins in computer generated animation though parts of it are done in what appears to be a simple traditional style of animation. The grandmother and her grandchild are in CGI, the story she tells is traditional animation.

The grandmother tells a very scared looking child HER version of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of the very traditional way, she paints the bad witch as the victim and ends the story with a horrible and violent ending--so much so that the child is probably traumatized for life. Because it ends so abruptly and strangely, I am sure it will put off some, but I found myself laughing out loud.

The quality of the film is generally very, very good. The CGI is great though I must say the traditional animation was only fair. Still, it all worked very well and I can't wait to see more from the clever folks who made this.

Granny O'Grimm is apparently a cute old lady and her granddaughter is a terrified little buddy waiting for her grandma for her bedtime story. Even before the story begins she is already too scared to enjoy the story. I assumer she already knows what kind of a story teller her grandma is. According to what I have read on the net, the character Granny is inspired by a character in Irish writer Kathleen O'Rourke's stand-up comedy show. The granny has such long and upright hair, a style looks like Marge's blue beehive hairstyle in Simpsons. Though she looks calm,sweet and non-cantankerous she shows her real face when she starts reading "Sleeping Beauty" in her version. She creates her own world of fairies where they are badgered by an old woman who was forgotten long ago. The animation looks pretty artistic though you may need a bit of knowledge about Kathleen O'Rourke's writing and Grimm fairy tales. The granny's bursting out the story in her own bitterness and resentment doesn't really look pleasing either. If you are not into dark short movies you won't like it.