Directed by Laurent Wiltz and Alexandre Espigares, Mr. Hublot (2013) is a 11-minute French short film that won the 2014 Oscar for Best Animated Short. It is the simple story of a man with OCD who works from home while spending his days making sure the photos on his walls are placed properly, watching TV and turning his lights on and off a certain number of times. Mr. Hublot doesn’t seem to go out or have any other interests. However, he does seem happy.
One day, he hears brakes screeching outside of his apartment. He goes to his balcony and finds a robot dog left on the sidewalk across the street. He initially shows little concern for the dog before going back to his daily routine. He turns to look outside once more and sees the dog hiding in a cardboard box from the storm.
The next morning, he hears a sound outside and becomes horrified to see the trash collectors loading many cardboard boxes into the back of the truck, where they would be crushed. He rushes to the street, but it’s too late as the trash truck has already left, and all of the boxes are crushed. He thought the dog was also crushed along with the other boxes. However, the dog is still alive and Hublot takes him to this apartment.
The rest of the film shows how the robot dog fits into Mr. Hublot’s life and apartment. When Hublot adopted the dog, he was just a small puppy. However, as he starts to feed him, the dog grows bigger and bigger. This creates a range of problems within the limited space in which they live. After a point, it was chaos and Mr. Hublot is left with little choice but to make a choice regarding the dog’s future.
Without even a single word, the film itself speaks a lot about the life of Mr. Hublot. His character is very well crafted and his OCD tendencies are also handled effectively throughout the film. One will definitely fall for the robot dog.
The film’s music and character designs work together brilliantly. One might find the film a bit slow-paced. However, the animation is amazing, with wonderful colours and a tone that is both artistic and genuine. The film indeed is worth your 11 minutes.
