After a struggling artist realizes he has the ability to capture the beauty of nature within jars, these items prove to be of great interest and he begins to travel the world and become rich off of his unique projects. However, one day the man notices the lack of color in the sky and has to decide what the true importance of art means.
Within a very short run time, “Vandals” is able to tell an engaging tale of a troubled artist finding success, and learning the price success pays to artistic expression. The production does this through finding the perfect mix of style, sound design and structure to craft a bright and romantic tale, making it important to break down the successful components that went into this animated gem.
The animation style, despite being simplistic, captures a lot of the beauty told through the narrative, largely in movements that are slow, but easy to read in the dialogue free story. Complimenting the character's calm demeanor, the film uses a pastel dominate pallet, mimicking the calm and vibrant nature of its subject. This also makes the slow depletion of bright tints in the landscape seem that much more void of warmth. Overall, the film transitions smoothly in and out of a world of color coinciding with the artists' experience, making the serenity of the opening sequence come full circle as he rediscovers the art which made him fall in love with the process in the first place.
With the short taking the approach of not using dialogue to tell the story, the rest of the sound design becomes key in creating a memorable experience, and thanks to the music score by Emily Wong and sound design of Kang, the film definitely leaves an impact in its soundscape. The score, which is a mix of ambient/classical inspired pieces, blends well with the sounds of nature and mild utterances from the people.
I would like to think that “Vandals” is meant to be a statement on the importance of humbleness and ingenuity that goes into creating great art, presenting a cycle of an artist drawn in through popularity, then brought back to his origins through an innocent and kind gesture. However, the film may just be a wonderful series of serene moments captured within a vibrant art style, since a dialogue free story is always bound to favor self interpretation in audiences. Regardless of Suzi Kang's intent with her work, the end product is a beautiful and poetic short animated film.
