A giant builds a wall to keep children out of his garden, but then winter sets in permanently.A giant builds a wall to keep children out of his garden, but then winter sets in permanently.A giant builds a wall to keep children out of his garden, but then winter sets in permanently.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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"Building a wall that will break your heart"
Oscar Wilde wrote several fairy tales and they all tended to be bittersweet, and filled with a longing for a genuine, and all-encompassing love. To know something about Wilde's history is to know a little about where that love longing came from. The Selfish Giant is one of the finest stories he ever wrote and the creators of this short film gave it loving treatment. It's like a beautiful storybook magically come to life, and enhanced with truly haunting, memorable music and thoughtful lyrics. The animation/art direction is simple, subdued and effective, and clearly a lot of care was put into making this project beautiful in a simple way that doesn't overshadow the story. Too bad more projects aren't created with this kind of sincerity.
The Selfish Giant owns a garden where the local children like to play in his absence. When he returns home and sees the children in his garden he builds a wall to keep them out. The garden, lacking the love of the children, goes to sleep. The elements of winter, personified in beautiful, mischievous (but never evil) characters, decide this garden would be a perfect place for them to live year round. The giant is forced to confront the reality that he has built a wall that keeps love not only out of his garden, but out of his heart. However, he proves that redemption of one's character, though it may take hard work, is not impossible and never too late. The ending is overtly Christian in tone, offering salvation as a reward for those who are willing or able to serve others for a greater good, but even without the religious overtones the simple message works, is deeply effective and emotional.
What never ceases to intrigue me is that few people ever acknowledge the fact that such a sensitive, beautiful and morally rich story for children and adults was created by an unrepentant homosexual. It makes me wonder if the people who believe the Selfish Giant went to heaven believe Oscar Wilde went to hell.
The Selfish Giant owns a garden where the local children like to play in his absence. When he returns home and sees the children in his garden he builds a wall to keep them out. The garden, lacking the love of the children, goes to sleep. The elements of winter, personified in beautiful, mischievous (but never evil) characters, decide this garden would be a perfect place for them to live year round. The giant is forced to confront the reality that he has built a wall that keeps love not only out of his garden, but out of his heart. However, he proves that redemption of one's character, though it may take hard work, is not impossible and never too late. The ending is overtly Christian in tone, offering salvation as a reward for those who are willing or able to serve others for a greater good, but even without the religious overtones the simple message works, is deeply effective and emotional.
What never ceases to intrigue me is that few people ever acknowledge the fact that such a sensitive, beautiful and morally rich story for children and adults was created by an unrepentant homosexual. It makes me wonder if the people who believe the Selfish Giant went to heaven believe Oscar Wilde went to hell.
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- TonyDood
- May 10, 2005
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- Der selbstsüchtige Riese
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