This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.
Stuttgart, Germany-based filmmaker Daniel Nocke crafts an animated reality show, seen peeking into a confrontation between four roommates. Only thing is that the foursome is a wildebeest, rhino, hippo and crocodile. Helen the wildebeest, Roger the rhino and Armin the hippo wait for the late Gerold the crocodile. The trio have lost their patience with Gerold whose food left in the kitchen may be upsetting to Helen.
The juxtaposition of a common human experience with animals is very common in animation. Aardman's CREATURE COMFORTS and Matthew Walker's JOHN AND KAREN are two excellent examples of the great irony that can be created. NO ROOM FOR GEROLD has some of the nice irony of those films, but for the most part the tension between the characters is closer to a well-done sitcom. The CG design is intricate from the details of the room to the smash zooms and blurry pans that perfectly simulate a handheld style. However, the character animation could have been more fluid, which would have brought more vitality to the material. As it is, the characters often seem like humans wearing oversized animal masks. But despite its flaws, the character dynamics work and the idea contains enough humorous irony to make the short very entertaining.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
