Atama-yama (2003)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Japanese film received an Oscar-nomination for Best Animated Short and in my opinion it should have won. We meet an elderly miser who is so cheap that he prefers to fill up his house with various garbage he can get for free in the streets. One day he picks up a bunch of cherries and decides to eat the pits since he doesn't want to get rid of something free. Soon a tree begins to grow from the top of his head. The idea of a tree growing from someone's head is silly but this film is so incredibly smart and well-drawn that you'll overlook that minor plot detail. I was really surprised at how effective this film was and the majority of the credit has to go to director Yamamura who really adds some great stuff. Having the start of the film being shown from the point-of-view of the man was a great touch as was one of the final scenes in the film where we see the same image just repeating itself to great effect. It should go without saying that this short is 100% Japanese with its look and style. It's doubtful American kids would know what to make of the images here but some of them are very dark and moody, which will sit a lot better with adults.