Badgered

Basically the story of a Badger who is interrupted while trying to get some sleep, this film has one or two moments of slight amusement, but is not much better than any typical Saturday morning cartoon. The animation appears to have been drawn by a fifth-grader of average talent, and it is surprising that this film has received an Oscar nomination. It is difficult to tell if the denouement is intended to be thought-provoking at a political level or just another homage to the wiser and infinitely better Road Runner cartoons. The only redeeming value this film has is its short running time. To be fair, the sound and music effects are adequate, but animation has as part of its nature the ability to transcend the every-day. This film not only doesn't transcend the level of a second level children's book, it appears to be just that--and Reading Rainbow did a better job of creating the effect of animation with the static pages of books than this film does with animation as its primary medium.