wabbits

Below are two animated videos from two very different animation teams, both using motion-capture, both involving the theme of war, but with very different plots and very different tones (although both videos seem to agree there's something inherently strange/funny/off about the concept of warrior rabbits):




The French adjective poilu means "hairy." The title Poilus (don't pronounce the "s") uses the plural form of the word as a noun, so it's like saying "Furries," which is very cutesy and doesn't at all match the serious tone of the story. Un homme poilu is "a hairy man." If a Frenchman asks his lady to get à poil ("down to the fur"), he's asking her to get naked. A poil is a body hair; it's hair anywhere except for on your scalp. Scalp hair is un cheveu in the singular and (des/les) cheveux in the plural. Poilu ("hairy, furry") is pronounced "pwah-lü."

I was sorry that the first short film, "Cat Shit One," didn't do anything with the jokiness of the title. I was sure I'd see cats at some point. I did, however, like the way the action scenes were directed. It all felt very Hollywoodish, which in this case is a good thing. Whether it was racist to use camels to portray evil Middle Easterners is a question I leave to you. The animation team was Japanese, so I doubt racial sensitivity factored into their storytelling. Does anyone else think the more heroic American soldier sounds like Keanu Reeves?