Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Recently, on Netflix, I started watching the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Film Collection and well, I thought that this was an opportune time to bring back what is possibly my favorite thing to do on A Look at Disney.
Now some of the shorts on here such as the first short, John Henry and Tangled Ever After are shorts that I have already reviewed but I've decided to go through and review all of the other shorts. Some that I haven't seen since seeing them in the theaters and some that I've never seen at all. With that out of the way, we begin Lorenzo.
Look
The style of this short is beyond amazing. This is most beautiful looking shorts from Disney that I have ever seen.
Just look at the detail oozing out of this image. I seriously got lost in the animation here and it's not hard to see why, the simple colors and minimal background make it easy to get lost in the detail of this short. I've not laid my eyes upon anything this gorgeous in the longest time, I can't recall the last time that I gushed about the animation of a short on Classic Shorts Showcase. It was probably the John Henry review and while I still love that short, this style knocks the animation of John Henry out of the park.
The Plot
It's interesting as this short has no dialogue and instead relies on visuals and music to tell it's story, I ended up getting a Fantasia vibe from this short and come to find out that it was meant for the never made Fantasia 2006 that would've been a follow up to Fantasia 2000.
The short intended to be one of the segments for the proposed but never completed Fantasia 2006.
That certainly makes a lot of sense as it has a very Fantasia esque vibe. The plot is a bit simple as we are introduced to Lorenzo, a fat lazy cat that lives a cushioned life and mocks the poor homeless cat outside his pet store window.
But then he mocks one cat, a black cat that has no tail but this black cat has some magic as he puts a curse on Lorenzo that brings his tail to life as he is forced to Tango with his tail. And the short becomes Lorenzo trying to find any way to get his tail to stop from having it run over by a train or taping it to a wall. But none of this seems to work as the tail now has a personality of it's own.
And at the very last moment, that same black cat returns with a knife and it seems that the only way for Lorenzo to be free of his torture is to cut off his tail and he attempts resistance at first but then he realizes that he has no choice but the tail turns on him and starts to attack him with the very same knife but in the end, Lorenzo is forced to cut off his beloved tail.
This short is a lot of fun. It's silly and has an out there premise but they sell it and boy do they sell it well. I had never seen this short before watching it on Netflix as it wasn't until last year that this short got it's first official release and that's a shame as more people need to see this short as it really shows how good dialogue free story-lines can be told in a short amount of time.
Characters
Lorenzo
Lorenzo is a jerk and the short does a good job of setting that up and he deserves the punishment that he gets in this short for his actions at the beginning but this short does a good job of making him a likable jerk as while the short still punishes hims for his actions, it also makes you feel bad for him during the whole Tango, if you aren't laughing your side silly like I was. This short finds the right balance of making him a jerk but also making him sympathetic.
Lorenzo's Tail
Lorenzo's tail is one of the funniest things that I've seen in a Disney short after it comes to life and becomes it's own being. This tail is really into the dance number and for Lorenzo, there is no escaping his new dance partner as you might say that they're attached. I'll show myself out. The tail just makes this short all that much more fun, when he comes to life and it is so clear that the animators had a blast animating the dance numbers with Lorenzo and the tail as they went all in.
My Final Thoughts
This short is really good. I cannot recommend this short enough. Seriously, if you get a chance to track down the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection, check this short out as you will not be disappointed. It is really worth a watch and I cannot suggest it enough. Join me next time as we look at...
The Little Match Girl
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