Xylophone
2016 · 9m · United States
Directed by Jennifer Levonian
Genres: animation, comedy, family
Tones: absurdist, humorous, whimsical
A pregnant woman impulsively steals a goat from a petting zoo, turning her morning routine into a madcap neighborhood romp.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Pregnant woman steals a goat—okay, sure, the premise tickles, but it's fundamentally a sitcom with better animation; Levonian plays it too straight for genuine subversion, too safe for the chaos it promises.
A sprightly animated comedy that understands the lineage of absurdist family fare without elevating itself; competent craft, but it doesn't interrogate its own whimsy or justify the formal choices with the rigor that would make it linger.
The sound design—that particular squelch-and-bleat orchestration of goat bleats layered under the woman's internal monologue—is what transforms this from a cute premise into something genuinely alive; it's the singular choice that makes a half-absurd romp feel grounded.
Reviews
Made with paper, watercolors and what must have been boatloads of patience, it's a short about the ridiculousness that can go down when you're an expecting Mom who just wants to entertain her bored kid on a hot summer's day. Funny, sweet and slightly off, "Xylophone" is a delightful testament to the handmade charm of DIY stop-motion animation.
Festivals
- Ann Arbor Film Festival 2017, Ken Burns Best of Festival