Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Ziggy's Gift" is an animated television special from 1982, so this one has its 35th anniversary this year. It runs for 25 minutes and was directed by Richard Williams, who was already an Oscar winner at that point and is way into his 80s today. The story and script are by Tom Wilson, his only credit sadly as Ziggy never returned to the screen despite the strong reception here. This one won an Emmy and rightfully so. To me, there is something really charming to this one in terms of animation, comedy and the spirit. First of all, you really can't not like Ziggy and the supporting characters are all great fun to watch, like the police officer, the turkey salesman, the other Santa etc. There are hilarious moments on several occasions, most of all the one when Ziggy gets pulled away near the end while holding on to his magic bag and pulling the other Santa with him. The animals in this scene provide additional hilarity that culminates when the police guy sees what's going on before everybody starts singing a Christmas song, so the film delivers in terms of the music too. Speaking of animals, the turkey release scene was a nice one for an animal lover like myself, even if the life in the city may not suit them. But at the very core, it was really effective and I also like how the turkeys are not depicted as cute little birdies or anything. It's not a cringeworthy sob story or anything. The realistic comedy element is never left out of sight. All in all, an amazing watch and a definite contender for one of the best short films I've seen in all 2017. Highly recommended, especially during the season.