The Magic Canvas (1948) watch online HD

Animation. And music. A sort of ballet after careful lines. And a story to abstract to be more than chain of metaphors and colors and delicate ballet who propose a message who remains to the viewer to define it. Sure, a beautiful short film, giving more the right picture of its birth period than the expected universal lesson about essence of humankind. Fight and freedom, happiness and hard struggles are few words for define the meaning of ballet and for define it as happy meeting between music and abstract animation.

How can I meaningfully comment on this Halas-Batchelor cartoon when it combines two forms of art that I dislike heartily? By making sure that the reader of this piece is aware of my issues. This nine-minute cartoon is an abstract ballet set to a piece of late-Romantic program music. Therein lies the basis of my opinion. I don't like late-Romantic program music and abstracts violate my sense that the artist is doing a job of work. It feels lazy and frequently ugly.

Not, I hasten to add, that those two adjectives apply to this piece. The difficult music is well performed by the -- to me -- appropriately named Blech String Quartet and the visuals are handled in the Halas-Batchelor's usual fine style. I do find that there is insufficient material to sustain a nine-minute cartoon and will snidely remark that any piece of art that must be preceded, as this one is, by an explanation of what it is and an order to relax and enjoy it, clearly has misjudged its intended audience.

While this piece might have worked had it been shorter, there is far too little substance to sustain a nine-minute work.