''The Sandman'' is a 1991
stop-motion animation film, animated and directed by
Paul Berry (1961–2001) and nominated for an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for
Best Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...
in 1993. The storyline is inspired by the
E.T.A. Hoffmann's version of the European legend of
The Sandman.
Plot
Late on a moonlit evening, a young boy is sent up to bed by his mother. He walks through the darkened hallway of his house and ascends the long, narrow flights of stairs alone, becoming increasingly paranoid that something is following him, until he reaches the safety of his bedroom. As he's drifting off to sleep, he sees a face appear in the crescent
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
outside his window.
At the bottom of the stairs, a monstrous, bird-like man appears, looking like the face the boy saw. It begins to clamber upstairs, slamming doors and creaking floorboards all the way to let the boy know of its impending presence. Frightened, the boy accidentally knocks over his oil lamp—alerting the monster to exactly what room he's in. The boy hides under the covers, as a figure opens the door and approaches his bed. It's revealed to be his mother, who retrieves the broken lamp and tucks him in for the night. As he falls asleep, feeling safe once more, the monster appears in his room and begins to make noise, trying to rouse him. When the boy finally opens his eyes, the monster blows sand in them and takes something from him, before departing through the bedroom window.
The monster returns to its nest on the Moon, where its hungry children are waiting. The monster gets out the boy's eyes, which it plucked out, and feeds its young with them.
In the
post-credits scene
A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
, the boy, now blind, walks helplessly among a crowd of children who've been victimized.
Style and influence
The art direction of ''The Sandman'' was highly influenced by
German Expressionism
German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
.
The Sandman (1992) – Short Film Review
/ref>
See also
* In 2000, the Brothers Quay
Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They were also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ...
made a film, also called '' The Sandman'', which follows a similar plot.
References
External links
*
*
''The Sandman'' on Vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandman, The
1991 animated films
1991 films
1990s animated short films
British animated short films
Sandman in film
Cosgrove Hall Films films
Films based on The Sandman (short story)
Films scored by Colin Towns
Animated horror films
1990s British films