Top 10 Films of 2010 – Henry’s Picks #8

January 21st, 2011 | POSTED BY Henry McComas

#8 …Not the Tom Cruise flick.

The next slot in my top ten of twenty-ten list is reserved for a very special film—but before we dive into the movie, I’d like to spend a sentence or two or six talking about the house that built the flick… Pixar by far is my favorite production company. The house is very story-oriented; I’d go so far to say that they have mastered the art of storytelling. I, personally, have witnessed an audience of adults cry like a ward of infants within the first seven minutes of a feature length Pixar film. That means an emotional bond was created between the characters and the crowd within the first two minutes; everything after that initial introduction was icing on the cake. I’ve seen films longer than two hours that weren’t able to connect with their audiences. Granted, most of them were starring Kevin Costner. Since Pixar understands the craft and has developed the ability to implement the power of a feature into a very short period of time, I only find it fitting to put their soon-to-be Oscar-winning short Day and Night in my top ten.

Day and Night (not to be mistaken with the horrible Cruise and Diaz rom-com Knight and Day) is a short tale about… umm…uh…rolly-poly humanoid things and the wide range of feelings they have about the things that go on inside of them. Why not. The characters Day and Night are two-dimensional outlines containing vivid three-dimensional events, appropriating to the hours of the day—inside their bellies. Essentially, the characters are animated windows, and the most important things about them are what they hold inside, get it? Day has rainbows and beach parties in his being, Night has casinos, starry skies, and fireworks. Much like the narrative points of The Social Network, jealousy, anger and greed start to stir, as pride turns to insecurities when the two characters want what they can’t get. The film ends on a goose-bumpy bright note when our characters see themselves in each other.

The technical aspects were brilliantly executed; the traditional hand-drawn animation corresponded with the 3D masks flawlessly. The score by Michael Giacchino (UP) accented the visuals and added to the emotional gain. Opting for the heart-rending recording of Dr. Dyer instead of using dialogue made the film that much more memorable and timeless. The short prefaced Toy Story 3, but I was content before it began; Toy Story was good but Day and Night was great. Great for eight.

Day and Night, Kevin Costner, Knight and Day, Michael Giacchino, Pixar Animation Studios, Tom Cruise