I watched this a little while ago for the first time in almost twenty years, and it was even more finely animated and moving than I had remembered. To start with, I love all the daydream imagination sequences that begin whenever Granpa starts to tell Emily the stories, they're all so different, and are all so fun and wonderful to watch. And the powerful yet whimsical use of the grand operatic music scores are so engaging and make each of the tale segments very different from each other. It's really clever and fantastic how they're portrayed, you never exactly know where the imagination of the little girl ends and fantasy begins... I think they brilliantly captured just how the imagination works when you're at the tender age where you believe with all your heart the sweet fables loved ones tell you, and she just hangs on his every word. I still remember the feeling of when I was little and my mother would read to me before I went to sleep, and you really do kind of visualise it that way! Amazing. My favourite daydream is the one with the whale named Monstro because it's so thrilling and hilarious! I thought that a better choice than the jungle one for the final tale would have been the one with the dragon and the knights, seeing as it already had a strong sense of slowing and winding down to it that was much more fitting. I think it's just plain tragic how little known this is. My guess is that the extremely deep and somber themes it contains perhaps render it a little unpalatable for most folks. It's easily the equal of both the Snowman and Father Christmas animations. Although the Snowman has a very well deserved place etched in many people's hearts and their joy of the Christmas spirit, I think Granpa surpasses it greatly in terms of emotional impact and themes of mortality, and more than deserves the kind of glory and praise that classic has received. I think the emotions in this are more real and relatable because they have a far deeper resonance within the human soul. This short film has a special kind of fragile beauty and joy to it. The subtle build up, and the way everything culminates in the final scene is perfectly done. It just gets right to the heart of the matter and immediately tugs at the heart strings, with the little girl's confusion, the terribly lonely empty chair, and the old dog that outlives his master. Although I did vaguely remember it from before, I am not at all ashamed to say that the ending completely broke me down, and I don't cry as a rule, but I certainly did that time. It actually felt good, I was honoured that such a fine animation could have the power to move me so much. I don't believe I could ever see that ending without feeling the temptation to weep. The sadness is that of loss, but to me it's also a profound and beautiful kind of sadness-everything must eventually pass and fade, it is the way of things... And in those masterful final scenes I don't think that's his spirit that you're seeing, you just see the ghost of what he was when he was most happy and free as a boy in his own childhood, echoed in his beloved granddaughter as she runs through wild fields where the wind blows... In my opinion, this film is nothing short of a little masterpiece. It's powerful, bittersweet and perhaps even painful song will stay with you for a long time...cherish it.
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