Las Nogas

It is a post-apocalyptic world and there is trouble during an important operation which requires the help of an expert. A stop-motion animated film with bizarre characters and an effort to save the world.

 

The story takes place in a future where humans have put an end to their own existence due to their constant destruction of the environment and animals (and insects) are the ones left to try and maintain life on Earth. The characters are anthropomorphised (apart from the human characters), wearing clothing, speaking and using machinery.

 

A female potion expert named Alma, whose appearance resembles a turkey, receives a frantic letter from Hitch, a nearby scientist who has a similar appearance. The scientist informs her that the large device that is supposed to create rain has failed due to the humanlike entities who are referred to as 'Homeys', whose blood is utilised in order to create rain. Alma must quickly find a way to resolve the situation and save everyone.

 

The messages of this short are obvious and important. It is the third and final installment in an short animated trilogy that concerns global warming and this apparent in the story. With a plot that involves a race-against-the-clock-to-prevent-a-disaster scenario, the film touches on themes that involve the consequences of damaging the environemnt such as illness, allergy and the lack of that substance that is so important to life: water. Although it is an animated film, it is a rather serious one due to the subject matter and some scenes are upsetting, such as the Homies becoming ill and having their blood inserted into a vast machine via tubes. Therefore, it should be mentioned that it probably wouldn't be appropriate for young children, instead more mature viewers who understand important environmental issues. The story itself is dark as it is set in a world where humanity has destroyed itself, and the remains of humans were harvested in order to create the Homeys.

 

Moving to the visuals now, the stop-motion and claymstion is impressive. The characters themselves are basically puppets and although they look like what they are supposed to be, the creativity that was applied to them is not The Nightmare Before Christmas standards and it is unclear whether that was intentional. They just do not look appealing. The characters include the two birds mentioned above, a beaver as a climatologist, humanlike bees (rather big ones actually) and the Homeys ones, some of which have two faces. The surroundings gives the impression of a place that is suffering from the effects of environmental catastrophies, as the place looks like a desert.

 

Was it mentioned that this short is also a musical? It is to an extent as it does include two amusing numbers in its twenty-minute duration and Antoni Mairate deserves credit for the entertaining and dramatic score.

 

This short was clearly not made with the main intention to amuse people, but rather to raise awareness of the damage that is being done to Earth by people's inconsiderate actions. With this in mind, it is a viewing that should be recognised significantly.