by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea with Animation Celebration is to take a look at some underseen gems — so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
We’ve been keeping things too happy lately. It just feels like it’s time to take a detour into the depressing.
Enter, When the Wind Blows, which tells the oh so happy tale of an elderly British couple (Dame Peggy Ashcroft and Sir John Mills) dealing with the preparation and repercussions of what would happen if the Cold War’s threat of nuclear destruction came home to roost to the British countryside.
Based on the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, this was the second work of his to be adapted and animated by Jimmy Murakami, who also co-directed the previous Briggs adaptation, The Snowman. That project earned an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film, Animated. It was also a reteaming with one of the production companies that produce the short, TVC, which helped produce other animated works like Yellow Submarine and Heavy Metal. Like the previous TVC projects, there are some odd moments that go into the trippy, but largely it focuses on the harsh events that unfold.
Bringing this harrowing alternative timeline to life are Ashcroft (who won an Oscar for A Passage to India) and Mills (an Oscar winner himself for his supporting role in Ryan’s Daughter). They very much feel like an old couple you’d recognize and they add a certain charm to the performances. There are arguments about the old days aplenty and odd bits of nostalgia for the blackouts, bomb shelters, and “heroes” like Joseph Stalin. The couple each continuously even confuse the figures of World War II for the more modern leader now in place, and the repeated mantra of “doing the correct thing” seems to be a stand in from a previous time encouraging people to “keep calm and carry on.”
While the priorities of the characters seem odd and naïve, it’s somehow in a way that comes off charming, despite them acting as our protagonists’ tragic flaw. They can’t use the “good cushions” for the fallout shelter or getting paint they’re trying to apply to protect from the flash on the curtain. The seemingly trivial concerns continue in the aftermath of the bomb. Dirty plates, not being able to go to the bathroom as normal, or the fact that the electronics don’t work seem more front-of-mind than the actual atomic threat that the bomb poses. If you can’t actually see the fallout, like a cartoon cloud of green gas, is it really happening? The desire to view things through rose-colored glasses is made even the more tragic with how things end.
The animation is fascinating, though. It’s mostly hand-drawn, but the background looks like stop motion where perspective shifts like there’s an actual camera on set. With the setting being so limited, you really get a sense of the whole house. The watercolor style feels very much like a children’s book, though the subject matter is obviously much more adult. Once the bomb hits, I love how the animation shifts from the colorful art style of a children’s book to a more charcoal feel, with shades of black, gray, red, orange, and a shade of green that is more fittingly cartoonishly radioactive than natural. Everything takes on a nightmarish quality, including a shift in the music adds a sense of horror to proceedings.
Additionally, the film’s music also has surprising star power behind it. It’s done by Roger Waters, one of the co-founders of Pink Floyd. He’s not the only musical royalty involved, though: The film starts with a title track from David Bowie that was made for the soundtrack, another reteaming from The Snowman short film. Bowie himself was supposed to take the helm for the music in the film, but had to pull out due to work on his own album.
Released during the Cold War, though not at the height of its tension, When the Wind Blows is a time capsule of when the fear of mutually assured destruction (referenced during the film) was very real. It even starts off live action with actual footage from the conflict. You can’t help but thing how ridiculous all the “protections” seem in hindsight, as things keep getting crammed into a rather tight shelters, with different agencies seeming contradicting themselves.
It’s hard not to compare When the Wind Blows to Grave of the Fireflies, given the subject matter. Though it is certainly dark, there’s a sardonic tone that somehow keeps it from feeling like a constant march deeper into depression. However, the efforts to keep up a somewhat cheery disposition as the world’s gone to hell has its own depressing aspect in and of itself. The irony of the quotes and actions somewhat insulates where we know we’re going, though watching the slow, inevitable decline is still a gut punch.
All told, When the Wind Blows is a harrowing snapshot from history, told powerfully and with a creative flair. After watching this heart-wrenching, creative piece of antiwar animation, I’ve definitely got these creatives’ previous short on my watchlist. Though, I definitely need a mental break before diving in, if they’re going to try to put me through the emotional wringer like this again.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, I’m thinking about taking a mythical detour. Hope to see you then.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd