Mac’n’Cheese (2011) – short film that deals with the panic

Plot:

When you find yourself running scared and running out of energy, there’s only a few options left to outrun your opponent through the southern desert. Stopping at nothing, watch these two guys wear each other out and rip through boundaries hitherto unbroken. Enjoy the ride! This two minute animation took about five months to make!

Short film Mac’n’Cheese (2011) – Stylish and Technically Stunning Movie

Somehow somebody has managed to write a plot summary for this film’s IMDb page which spills over into 3 or 4 lines, which even puts windbag like me to shame since there is barely enough plot here to even get a few words together. Basically a very skinny guy is being chased by a massive brute of a guy and their chase takes them over the roofs of vehicles, through tunnels and all manner of obstacles as their superhuman pursuit takes place. See – no real plot to speak of and the film throws us right into the middle of this chase. It is very cartoony in tone since the characters are indestructible and, with the aid of a poorly judged moment of drug use in the film, they have superhuman speed too. There is an aspect of the narrative that works well right at the end, where you get some understanding of what is going on – I found this amusing and perfectly fine, but really this is all that there is in terms of plot. It really doesn’t matter though because most of the film is really about the animation – and not just the technical aspect of ‘look what we can do, professor’ but also the really impressive style and delivery of it. The delivery of the two characters is done with great technical resources but the style in which they are shown is what won me over – with good movement but also nice touches of style in how they are shown. It ends with a nice little joke that continues into the credits and I thought was a nice touch, but ultimately this is a film to show off animation ability and style, and in that regard it works well. – bob the moo

Winner of UPC Animation Prize at the Netherlands Online Film Festival 2011 (NOFF), Best National Student Award at Playgrounds Festival 2011 and Best Chase Scene Award at Couchfest 2011.

Directed by Tom Hankins, Gijs van Kooten, Guido Puijk and Roy Nieterau (Utrecht School of Arts in the Netherlands)