100 Greatest Animated Shorts / Cosmic Zoom / Eva Szasz
Canada / 1969
This is a simple but fascinating science based short which travels to the farthest known point in the infinity of the universe and back to the smallest particle. Starting with live action film of a boy rowing a boat, the frame freezes and changes to accurate science style drawings as the camera slowly zooms out until we see the lake, North America, planet earth, the moon, the solar system , the milky way and the galaxy. From distant space the camera then moves back in to the boy in the boat again and keeps going closer until we see a mosquito on his hand, then the insects head, down through the skin to the sub atomic level, before coming back out to the boy on the boat who continues rowing across the lake.
The film, like many others on this list, is made by the awesomely animatastic National Film Board of Canada, who’s government funded films, shown at random moments on TV, were a great inspiration to me (and I’m sure many others) when I was a lad. The animated zoom is pretty smooth and could probably not be much improved by CGI. Based on the 1957 book ‘Cosmic View’ by Kees Boeke (also revised in 1982 and 1994), Cosmic Zoom is one of those shorts that captures the imagination and sticks in the mind of everyone that sees it, especially children and late night student crowds, providing a mindblowing mental map of the entire Universe.
Strangely, another similarly great little film was made from the same subject matter in the same year, ‘Powers of Ten’, directed by designers Ray and Charles Eames. This starts on a picnic scene ten metres square and zooms out, in scales of ten to the power of one, ten to the power of two etc etc. This film is possibly better known than ‘Cosmic Zoom’ as it is made by famous American designers. Another similar film was made for IMAX cinemas in 1996 entitled ‘Cosmic Voyage’, which although made with high definition CGI, lacks the hand crafted charm of the originals.
Since I first mentioned this film online and in my book several people have contacted me saying that like myself, they had seen it on late night TV as teenagers and never forgotten it, tried repeatedly to track it down and how it had been the beginnings of a life long interest in animation (Jez) and responsible for a conversion to Buddhism (!) (Andrew). So, glad to be of service Jez and Andrew. And for the rest of you who have never seen it prepare to possibly have your minds blown.
Note: The 100 greatest animated shorts is an list of opinions and not an order of value from best to worst. All suggestions, comments and outrage are welcome but please don’t shoot us, it’s only a list!