"Cavallette" or "Grasshoppers" is an 8.5-minute movie from Italy. It is animated and got director and writer Bruno Bozzetto his only Academy Award nomination 25 years ago. To me personally, the animation style did not appeal too much. It looked like taken right out of a comic book and could have been much older also judging from the visual aspects of the film. But there are positive things too. First of all, this certainly makes a great watch for everybody with an interest in global political history. And the music is really great as well, a worth addition. These two factors make it worth the watch. Bozzetto lost the Oscar to Nick Park, who was nominated for 2 films that year and I think it's fine that Park won, but this little movie here is also not bad at all. Thumbs up. Oh yeah and there is no spoken language in here, so you won't need to be able to understand Italian to enjoy this.
4 Reviews
What a great little film!
planktonrules29 October 2008
This is a very clever cartoon that manages to tell the story of mankind from its inception until today! Considering it only takes about 9 minutes, I was quite impressed--especially since I am a world history teacher. In fact, the film does such a great job that I am thinking about showing it to my students to review what we learn each year.
The cartoon is very simply animated and the biggest reason I liked it was its kooky sensibilities. Instead of focusing on the great moments of human endeavor, it chooses instead to basically show people killing each other again and again and again through the ages. Usually, it was all very funny to watch, but behind all this was a great cynical message about the stupidity of our species! Clever, insightful and inspired--this is an exceptional short.
The cartoon is very simply animated and the biggest reason I liked it was its kooky sensibilities. Instead of focusing on the great moments of human endeavor, it chooses instead to basically show people killing each other again and again and again through the ages. Usually, it was all very funny to watch, but behind all this was a great cynical message about the stupidity of our species! Clever, insightful and inspired--this is an exceptional short.
A wry and telling commentary on mankind and it's history.
llltdesq23 March 2002
This short, nominated for the Academy Award, is a sardonic look at history and effectively makes a few points about the ultimate realities and who the victors really are. Very well done and well worth the effort to get. Fortunately in print currently. Most highly recommended.
Superb Historical Piece
Hitchcoc25 October 2021
This is an 8 1/2 minute short that captures the violent interactions that have demolished civilizations for centuries, from the cave people to modern warfare. It is done at a breathtaking pace, showing no matter how great we think we are, we all end up under that grass. This is where true piece lies.
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