Loving Laughing: A tiny story about a penguin & a polar bear

John and Karen
by trescourt

You know the kind of laughing that comes busting out when you least expect it? A giggling fit that, just when you think you’ve got it under control, spills out of you for another round? Any humor that triggers this reaction in me, I just love. Just as funny as the thing you’re laughing at is how you just can’t seem to keep yourself collected, no matter how hard you try.

I found myself laughing like this the other day when my husband and I went to see the compilation of this year’s Oscar-nominated animated shorts. I had to share the one short – John and Karen, a U.K. film directed by Matthew Walker – that got me in this silly mood, short-lived as it was since this particular short film is all of about four minutes long. It’s perfectly timed. Click on the screen above to watch.

The giggles began when Karen opened the door. Something about how small she was in comparison to John, maybe. Or their their British accented-voices. I don’t know, all of it. It just got me, and it only got better as it went on.

By the way, the rest of the shorts were, overall, pretty good. A couple definitely didn’t resonate with me, but the animation is quite impressive. My second favorite, which I couldn’t find online, but if you have the chance to check out absolutely do: LE MAISON EN PETITS CUBES, directerd by Kunio Kato. Best of all, these were showing at The State Theatre, the fantastic volunteer-run movie house I’ve written about previously here. This was our first volunteer experience at The State – I had way too much fun saying “Enjoy the show!” as I collected tickets – and we’ve now signed on to be regulars.

Long live the movie - and animated short - that makes you smile and laugh. Really laugh.