Feast (2014 film)

Feast is a 2014 American 2D animated romantic comedy short film written and directed by Patrick Osborne from a story of Raymond S. Persi and Nicole Mitchell, and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It made its world premiere on June 10, 2014, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and debuted in theaters with Big Hero 6 on November 7, 2014.[5] The short is about a Boston Terrier named Winston, his experiences bonding with his owner, James, over the food they share and his owner's relationship with a waitress named Kirby.

Feast
Poster illustrated by Jeff Turley
Directed byPatrick Osborne
Written byPatrick Osborne
Story by
Produced byKristina Reed
Executive Producer:
John Lasseter
Starring
Edited byJeff Draheim
Music byAlex Ebert[1][2]
Animation byBrian Scott (head of animation) [3]
Production
companies
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • June 10, 2014 (2014-06-10) (Annecy)
  • November 7, 2014 (2014-11-07) (with Big Hero 6)
Running time
6 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The short won both an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards, and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 42nd Annie Awards.

Plot

While licking at discarded fast food wrappers, a stray male Boston Terrier puppy[6] spots a French fry dropped on the ground and eats it. James, the man who dropped the fry, offers a second one to the puppy and decides to adopt him as his pet. James names him Winston and begins feeding him portions of his own meals and junk food in addition to regular kibble.

One day, James begins a relationship with Kirby, a waitress at a local restaurant. She persuades him to take up a healthier diet and lifestyle, but the change upsets Winston as the leftovers James slips to him now consist of vegetables, which disgust him. However, the couple break up after an argument, sending James into a deep depression and causing him to revert to his old eating habits. Winston is initially excited to eat junk food again, but he soon recognizes James's low spirits. Seeing a piece of parsley that has reminded James of Kirby and the meals they used to prepare together, Winston decides to bring them back together and steals it, leading to a chase as he brings it to Kirby and overcomes several temptations of delicious food. James follows Winston to the restaurant, where he reconciles with Kirby, and the two marry soon afterward. Winston, relieved that his master is happy again, is initially content to eat normal dog food.

Some time after the couple have moved into a new house, Winston spots a couple of meatballs that have rolled across the kitchen floor and eats them. Following the trail of sauce they have left behind, he reaches the base of a high chair occupied by the couple's infant child, who happily throws another meatball to him. As the film ends, Winston has once again begun feasting on his owner's leftovers, gleefully devouring cupcakes at James and Kirby's baby's first birthday party.

Voice cast

Production

Development
Director Patrick Osborne and producer Kristina Reed premiered the short at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Prior to working on Feast, Patrick Osborne was co-head of animation on Big Hero 6.[8] The idea for the short film started from an app called 1secondeveryday, which allows a user to record 1-second-long video snippets each day and cut them into a movie.[9] Osborne used the app to create a film of dinners he ate in 2012, which he thought could form the basis for a nice short film.[9][10]

Following the previous Walt Disney Animation Studios short films Paperman and Get a Horse!, the studio decided to formalize a program for pitching shorts. Pixar had long had a steady system for producing short films to accompany theatrical releases, but it was something that Disney Animation no longer generally did.[9][10] The program was open to pitches from any Walt Disney Animation Studios employee.[11] Osborne pitched his idea to tell a story about a family from the perspective of their dog through the meals they eat.[9] The project was green-lit in October 2013, with a deadline of June 10, 2014, for premiere at Annecy; Feast was completed three days before the festival.[10] Feast was the first film that Osborne has directed.[7]

Animation and style

Feast was animated using the Meander system developed for Paperman, and was the first time the tool was used in color.[9][11] Feast was rendered using Hyperion, the rendering system built for Big Hero 6.[11][12]

The characters and environment feature a line-free style with solid blocks of color.[13] The camera focused on Winston and the food while leaving the human characters generally out of focus. Because the film consists of a series of very brief scenes cut together, the foods portrayed had to be appetizing and recognizable at first glance.[14]

Winston was made a Boston Terrier for three main reasons. The filmmakers wanted a breed that does not appear in any prior Disney film. The breed is small so that he can be shown being promoted to a chair at the table and demoted back to the floor. Because of the flat style of the film, a breed with distinct markings like the Boston Terrier helps cue the audience to subtle movements.[11]

Home media

Feast made its home media debut on the Blu-ray and DVD releases of Big Hero 6 on February 24, 2015.[15] Feast is also included with the digital iTunes release of Big Hero 6.[16] Feast was released on the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection Blu-ray on August 18, 2015.[17]

Reception

Critical response

Writing for Variety, critic Peter Debruge described the audience reaction at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, saying that "to call 'Feast' a hit with that crowd would be an understatement".[13] As the credits rolled, the audience clapped loudly and stomped their feet on the bleacher seating.[13]

Accolades

Feast won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 42nd Annie Awards[18] and the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards.[19]

List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient Result Ref(s)
6th 3D Creative Arts Awards January 28, 2015 Best 3D Animated Short/Narrative Won [20]
87th Academy Awards February 22, 2015 Best Animated Short Film Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed[21] Won [22]
42nd Annie Awards January 31, 2015 Best Animated Short Subject Won

Parody

Feast is parodied at the beginning of the episode "Friend with Benefit" of the twenty-seventh season of the animated series The Simpsons.

References
  1. Tapley, Kristopher (November 29, 2014). "Composer Alex Ebert infuses synth and American dream angst with 'A Most Violent Year'". HitFix. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  2. Niles, Jon (December 23, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Songwriter Alex Ebert Talks Scoring J.C. Chandor's 2014 Movie 'A Most Violent Year,' Balancing Music Career With Film Composing, And More!". Music Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  3. King, Susan (February 18, 2015). "'Feast': A doggie tale built around the dinner table". LA Times. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  4. Alexander, Bryan (August 26, 2014). "Disney's 'Feast' feeds on food-loving dog Winston". USA Today. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  5. "Walt Disney Animation Studios' 'Feast' to Premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival". Disney Post. April 24, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. Alexander, Bryan (November 16, 2014). "Watch: The real dog stars behind Disney's 'Feast'". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2014. Disney animators needed some help creating the Boston terrier Winston in the short film Feast.
  7. Gallagher, Brian (October 16, 2014). "Disney's 'Feast' Preview Introduces Winston the Dog". MovieWeb. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  8. "Feast: Patrick Osborne". Disney. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  9. Mori, Larissa (October 9, 2014). "The making of Disney's new animated short: 'Feast'". 3D Artist. Imagine Publishing. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  10. Vary, Adam B. (November 8, 2014). "The Story Behind Disney's Adorable New Short Film "Feast"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  11. Wolfe, Jennifer (November 13, 2014). "A Chat with Kristina Reed: Creating Winston and Disney's 'Feast'". Animation World Network. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  12. Seymour, Mike (October 13, 2014). "Disney's new Production Renderer 'Hyperion' – Yes, Disney!". fxguide.com. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  13. Debruge, Peter (June 10, 2014). "Disney's Food-Focused 'Feast' Short Gets Stomping Ovation at Annecy". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  14. Radish, Christina (2014). "Director Patrick Osborne Talks FEAST, the Process of Pitching, Developing, and Producing a Short Film at Disney, Working with John Lasseter, and More". Collider. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  15. Gallagher, Brian (January 6, 2015). "'Big Hero 6' Is Coming to DVD and Blu-ray This February". Movieweb. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  16. iTunes - Movies - Big Hero 6. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  17. Doty, Meriah (June 4, 2015). "'Frozen Fever' (and Easter Eggs!) Coming Soon on Disney Shorts Blu-ray (Exclusive)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  18. Pedersen, Erik (January 31, 2015). "'How To Train Your Dragon 2′ Wins Annie Awards' Top Honor". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  19. "OSCARS 2015: THE WINNERS OF THE 87TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS". IGN. February 22, 2015. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  20. "International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society Bestows 23 Honors at 6th Annual Awards Ceremony at Warner Bros. Studios". Business Wire. Business Wire. January 29, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  21. Hipes, Patrick (January 15, 2015). "Oscar Nominations: 'Grand Budapest Hotel' & 'Birdman' Lead Way With 9 Noms; 'Imitation Game' Scores 8". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  22. "Feast (2014) Awards". imdb.com. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
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