The beginnings of comics?

Film commentary: Head

In the first images, Head sets the scene and introduces his character (a sort of half-child robot with a dinosaur tail) in a rather classical way, in an atmosphere vaguely reminiscent of the universe of early manga. But we quickly realise that something is wrong with the action. This one, centred on the robot, accumulates without explanation the spectacle of transformation processes (ingesting, evacuating, blowing, distilling...), which are repeated or answered in echoes, accentuating the idea of circularity, until the last images loop on those of the beginning. It is therefore a kind of choreography, repetitive to the point of being almost hypnotic, whose symbol could be the traditional sign of American barbers (exported to Japan, where it is found a lot), as it is shown in the film: the spiral cylinder.

If this choreography is not immediately perceptible, it is because Head is teeming with small details that attract attention and testify to the pleasure of the authors in creating a hybrid drawn universe, imbued with the inventiveness of the beginnings of comics. One could almost say that Head is a cross between the abstract comic trips of George Herriman and the manga of Osamu Tezuka - Krazy Kat meets Astro the little robot. In addition to these references, Head is a mixture of hand-drawn animation (claimed from the opening credits) and digital animation. Soft objects and sharp shapes, organic and mechanical, in colour or black and white, divide and cross each other and create a whimsical and playful universe.
Head is indeed a graphic game, but not a closed one: it is one of those games that communicate the possibility of renewed invention in drawing.

Discover another animated short film by the directors

Big Bang Dog

Question the film: Head

Understand the story, the theme, express your sensibility and exercise your critical mind.

A very original short film with colourful, strange and surreal graphics.
The magic doors that allow the hero to teleport will make children dream.
A dreamlike universe and many messages whose meaning is hidden, to be compared with surrealist pictorial works such as those of Salvator Dali, Max Ernst, or René Magritte.
The surrealists, in search of new aesthetic universes, drew from their unconscious and their dreams the sources of a new imaginary and dreamlike world without trying to interpret them.
The film could be an opportunity to explore these dreamlike universes without necessarily trying to explain them. An introduction to dreaming and creation.

1 Who is the main character?
A dog.
2 What places does he go through?
A black empty space, a door and then a ladder that leads through the clouds to a diving board.
The dog dives into a bowl of soup and lands on a table in a Japanese restaurant. Chopsticks, sushi, edamame (Japanese soya beans) are the elements that make it clear that this is a Japanese restaurant.
On a plane and then back into the restaurant. A rocket in space and then a Japanese train (you can see the text on the train).
Shibuya station (one of the biggest stations in Tokyo).
Buildings, certainly in Tokyo, and then the inside of a flat.A street.
3 How does the main character get around?
He teleports from door to door.
4 Imagine what happens next.What will be the next imaginary world?
Open answer / debate

Download in PDF the pedagogical activities of the film

Created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC.
Viewing of the film with the family, pedagogical activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.
Circular poem (French) (Cycle 3)
Pedagogical activities proposed by Bruno Pellier based on the film Head.

Discover other pedagogical cards created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC...

Theme

Robot

Genre and keywords

Surreal, dog, door, ladder, diving board

Recommended age

7 years

Duration

3 min 45 s

Title

Head

Director

M. Vigliano & D. Zaballa

Music

Aimar Molero

Sound design