The Little Throwback That Could-THE BRAVE LOCOMOTIVE at HollyShorts Film Festival

By William J. Hammon, ActuallyPaid.com

In a world where CGI is overused so much that so-called “live action” films are essentially 90% cartoon (or more), it’s hard to believe there was a time where the style was new and innovative, blending in as a supplemental tool for animators, providing a grander sense of scale and movement within traditional hand-drawn fare. Films like The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King used this technology to great effect, taking their fleshed-out characters and surrounding them with an almost otherworldly digital environment, allowing the audience to see the unfolding scene from an almost first-person perspective.

Animator Andrew Chesworth expertly delivers that same sense of visual wonder with his short, The Brave Locomotive, which blends traditional hand-drawn work with computer-generated environments and camera movements. However, that’s not the only bit of nostalgia this peppy project gives its viewers. While the art style evokes memories of the 80s and 90s, the story, tone, and presentation is straight out of the 1940s, giving us a charming entry that would feel right at home in Disney’s old Silly Symphony series.

Something of an old west musical, the seven-minute story focuses on Linus, a small coal-powered train with big, expressive eyes and a metal canopy that looks like an engineer’s hat. Speaking of engineers, his human counterpart is Henry, who lives a happy life ferrying three cars’ worth of passengers over a mountain pass from day to day.

Things change however when the railroad baron (Drew Jansen), decides that it’s time to modernize the railroad with a new automated unit, the hulking Samson. What Samson has in power and speed, he lacks in finesse, and eventually his bulky weight puts everyone in danger as a canyon bridge nears collapse. It’s then up to Linus to perform a daring rescue at great risk to himself.

It is impossible to watch this without a smile on your face. The design on the characters, both human and train, is exceptional. There’s just the right amount of exaggeration to give you that classic Disney feel (and Chesworth should know, having worked on several award-winning features and shorts for the House of Mouse), including giving Samson an actual cigar as part of his imposing façade. The vibrant, colorful backgrounds and very thin outlines only aid this motif.

Accompanying the visuals is a story song by Tom Hambleton, performed with gusto by a group called The Dollys (Kari Shaw Akers, Morgana Hasil, and Andra Suchy) in the style of The Andrews Sisters (themselves Disney veterans, having performed in the films Make Mine Music and Melody Time), who receive a special thanks from Chesworth in the credits. The song not only provides the plot line and exposition, but basically eliminates the need for dialogue, as the Baron sings his lines as a sort of interlude.

Rounding out the old school portfolio are a couple of oddly dark jokes. I won’t spoil them here, but when they show up, it’s just the right amount of surprise, because when you watch these older shorts and cartoons now, it’s kind of amazing what they got away with. Cartoons these days are thought of as safe entertainment for the smallest of children, but back in the day, a little hint of the macabre was quite commonplace in the kid stuff.

All of these elements, from the artistic to the narrative, speak to the idea of resilience and the importance of keeping things simple. Innovation is good, and necessary, but there’s something pure that can be lost if the focus is on rendering all that came before as obsolete, a lesson the entire film industry would do well to learn. But even on a personal level, this ethos shines through, as Chesworth has been working on this film since 2009, having to shelve the project numerous times to prioritize his other work. Well, the passion project is finally done, and it’s fantastic. Anything is possible when you’re determined, and both Chesworth and his sweet train are living proof.

Originally published at https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on August 21, 2023.