Log Driver's Waltz
1979 · 3m · Canada
Directed by John Weldon
Genres: animation, family, musical
Tones: humorous, tender, whimsical
A young woman who loves to dance chooses to marry a log driver over wealthier suitors, in an animated short set to Wade Hemsworth's song.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
It's a straightforward heartwarming fable wrapped in animation—exactly the kind of consensus-pleaser that makes me want to scream. Though I'll admit Weldon's refusal to make the log driver a punchline and the song's genuine melancholy suggest someone smarter than the premise lets on.
Weldon's mastery of movement and timing within the NFB's animation tradition is evident in every frame; the waltz itself becomes the film's argument about desire and choice, elegantly resolving through pure formal design rather than plot. It's a film that knows precisely what it inherits and what it adds.
The genius move is trusting the song's rhythm to *be* the edit—Weldon locks the animation to Wade Hemsworth's melody with such precision that you stop noticing the technique and just feel the character's joy, which is exactly when the work disappears into the emotion.