Kid Movie Critic Reviews “Paperman”

Perry’s Previews Movie Review & Director Interview: “Paperman,” A Flight of Imagination

Have you ever looked at a total stranger and imagined what it would be like to spend a life with that person?  That is the story first-time Disney director John Kahrs is trying to tell through his delightful short film, “Paperman,” which plays before the “Wreck-it Ralph” feature that opens on November 2, 2012.

The story starts out when an attractive young woman Meg catches the eye of a sad-looking young man George, both waiting at a New York tram station.  As Meg gets onto the tram, she looked at George in a way that Kahrs described in a panel discussion at the 2012 Platform International Animation Festival as “we could have made a great couple.” Unexpectedly, George spots her again in the highrise building where he works, and makes a daring attempt using paper airplanes to catch her attention.

“Paperman” is an incredible film, the best animation short I have seen this year!  The art is a seamless bend between CG and 2D animation, retaining the feel of fluid hand-drawn movements.  The film is done in black and white, conveying the time period of the 1900s.  The color gives it a nostalgic feel, but not enough to distract from the main story.  The characters are shown with great detail using the lighting, movements, and evocative music that changes with the mood of the story, from melancholy to light-hearted moments.  George has a dark color scheme and looks bored and depressed, while Meg is more lightly colored.  Finally, the film conveys a deep story with underlying themes of love, fate, and connections.

I had the great honor to interview director John Kahrs at the Platform Animation Festival, and gave him a drawing I did from the film.  He told me that he was inspired by a time when he lived in New York City.  During his commute, he saw that “everybody is looking to make a connection out there”, and he had the idea to make a film about connections.  John got started doing animation by making flip books out of his mother’s romance novels when he was my age.  Making these books really taught him a lot about the principles of drawing.  Later, he got a camera and began to make his own short films.  His best advice for aspiring animators is to “know how to move the characters and when to stop moving the characters.  “You have to find the balance between the two,” he explains, “because that’s what life is like.”

I noticed that a man would do anything to get a woman’s attention.  The only flaw in the film is that George and Meg took completely different trams even though they worked right next to each other.  Meg got onto the tram while George stayed for the next one, and when they both returned from work, they arrived at the station from trams of opposite directions.  When I pointed out the flaw during my interview, director Kahrs acknowledged that “this is a giant plot hole, and you are the first person to ask it.”  But I told him that the story more than makes up for it.

The director kindly autographed a collectable booklet on the art of “Paperman” and drew me a scene from the film on my now famous animation sketchbook (with original drawings from Pixar director Brad Bird of “Ratatouille” and “The Incredibles,” Disney director John Musker of “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid,”  directors William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg of the Oscar-winning short “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone, my animation collaborator Bill Plympton, and many more).  Director Kahrs said he is working on a “secret” project right now.  I look forward to seeing his next masterpiece.

Moral: Everyone longs for love and connection.  With persistence, destiny will take flight.
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Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning film/ entertainment critic & animator, artist, speaker, and entertainment personality. He started writing movie reviews at 8 using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, under the guidance of his mom Dr. Zhu Shen and his 3rd grade teacher Ms. Harris. Perry’s debut on the CBS Evening News in 2009 made him a national sensation. He has been featured extensively on local, national, and international media, including NPR, Fox, CNN, NBC, The Guardian, The China Press, and many more. He has interviewed prominent filmmakers at film festivals, red carpet premieres, and press junkets. He won a prestigious “Excellence in Journalism Award” at the San Diego Press Club in 2010 as its youngest member. Perry currently writes movie reviews for the Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews website with a combined readership of over 2 million worldwide.  Perry and his family live in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego.

Dr. Zhu Shen’s love for the movies started when she was a young girl, growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution where watching movies was the only entertainment available to the masses. Her journey to become a filmmaker took a convoluted path. She studied medicine at Peking Union Medical College before coming to the US and earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Colorado, and then an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School. She is a producer of the upcoming documentary feature “Average Joe on the Raw,” about journey into raw food and health. Dr. Shen is also an award-winning biotech executive, author, speaker, China business expert featured on national and trade media including CBS, Fox, Business Week, Pharmaceutical Executive, and more. She has worked at IBM, Bayer, Chiron, Immusol, and is the CEO of BioForesight, consulting on cross-Pacific life science business. *Photos of Perry Chen and Zhu Shen by Brian Bostrom.