The Sandman (1991 Film)
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''The Sandman'' is a 1991
stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...
short film, animated and directed by Paul Berry and nominated for an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
for
Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...
in 1993. The storyline is inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann's version of the European legend of The Sandman.


Plot

Late on a moonlit evening, a young boy is sent up to bed by his mother. He walks through the darkened hallway of his house and ascends the long, narrow flights of stairs alone, becoming increasingly paranoid that something is following him, until he reaches the safety of his bedroom. As he's drifting off to sleep, he sees a face appear in the crescent
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
outside his window. At the bottom of the stairs, the
Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...
, a monstrous bird-like creature, appears, looking like the face the boy saw. He begins to clamber upstairs, slamming doors and creaking floorboards all the way to let the boy know of its impending presence. Frightened, the boy accidentally knocks over his
oil lamp An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. The ...
— alerting the monster to exactly what room he is in. The boy hides under the covers, as a figure opens the door and approaches his bed. It is revealed to be his mother, who retrieves the broken lamp and tucks him in for the night. As he falls asleep, feeling safe once more, the Sandman appears in his room and begins to make noise, trying to rouse him. When the boy finally opens his eyes, the monster blows sand in them and takes something from him, before departing through the bedroom window. The Sandman returns to his nest on the Moon, where his hungry children are waiting. The Sandman gets out the boy's eyes, which he plucked out, and feeds his young with them. In the
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually ...
, the eyeless boy, wanders around bumping into unseen people and waving at them. He then looks at the camera, and then it shows that there were others like him, also looking at the camera.


Style and influence

The art direction of ''The Sandman'' was highly influenced by
German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...
.The Sandman (1992) – Short Film Review
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See also

* In 2000, the
Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for t ...
made a film, also called '' The Sandman'', which follows a similar plot.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandman, The 1991 films 1991 animated short films British animated short films Sandman in film Cosgrove Hall Films films Films based on The Sandman (short story) Films scored by Colin Towns British animated horror films 1990s British films Animated films based on works by E. T. A. Hoffmann