Paperman (2013): Critical Images

Every movie or TV show has a critical image that we can all relate to. In the Paperman(2013) there were a lot of critical images to choose from.

Paperman (2013) is a great short created by Disney depicting a meeting between a boy and a girl. For those of you who have never seen it I highly recommend it. In just 6 minutes and 30 seconds the story is told to us in an endearing and relatable way.

It is completely silent except for background music. A boy and girl is show at a train station and a miscellaneous paper in the boy’s hand slips and hits the girl in the face, where she accidentally leaves a kiss stain. As he notices it, the girl leaves to go on the train. Later on at work the boy sees that she is in the opposite building and try’s to communicate with her via paper airplanes. Countless of planes are launched until he is left with the faithful reminder of their meeting, the paper with the kiss mark.

Disney-Paperman

This brings us to the image on the right. I found this to be the most powerful image of the short video. The boy is about to launch his last paper plane. This is all or nothing for him. The look on his face is one of hope and determination. To me, I found this as a reminder of the leap of faith everyone has to take at some point in his or her life. It may not be about a girl but it could be about anything. This single moment captured show how by investing in a little hope and determination you can achieve what you want.

 

The story continues on to show that a burst of wind carries of the plane before he could throw it. He chases after it but eventually gives up hope. At this point the Disney magic kicks in. All the planes come to life and lead the boy and girl together.

Its easy to write off a lot as Disney magic, however, it is the underlying message that we need to focus on.  Small meetings can be lead up to fate but if you don’t take a risk if you don’t launch that last paper plane you never know what might happen.

One thought on “Paperman (2013): Critical Images

  1. betmanuel says:

    Dhruv, I wonder if your first line (“Every movie or TV show has a critical image that we can all relate to”) doesn’t undercut the exercise at hand (as you’ll see, we all related to different images). But also, what do you mean by a “critical image”? I wish you’d explained that further though you do a great job of outlining how this one in particular spoke to you, especially after framing the short and its story for your reader.

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