Paperman
2012 · Directed by John Kahrs
Original language: English
- animation
- family
- romance
- comedy
- fantasy
The story
An urban office worker finds that paper airplanes are instrumental in meeting a girl in ways he never expected.
What it’s like
Soft, hand-drawn black and white with a painterly gray wash, as if the frames were pencil and ink on heavy paper. Paperman is a short animated film set in a 1940s-style Manhattan office tower, and its world is all stacked windows, crisp desks, and the bright glare of skyscraper daylight thinning into a gentle gleam. The camera holds on the city's grids and then moves with quick, graceful swoops whenever a paper airplane takes flight, so the motion feels light and playful against the still, formal office. Sound is minimal: a warm orchestral score, some soft ambient city hum, and a few small sounds of paper and footsteps. The pacing is brisk but unhurried, running only about seven minutes, and the emotional register is wistful, hopeful, and sweetly comic. It suits a quiet afternoon, a short break, or a comfort watch with a cup of tea, and it is gentle throughout with no violence, no gore, and no frightening content. It is for people who want a tender, romantic little story with a dreamy, old-fashioned look and no heavy stakes.
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