Suzume no Oyado

The Sparrow's Lodge is an interesting detour in the history of the evolution of the Japanese animated artform. It is authentically Japanese in style and substance. The art is very reminiscent of traditional minimalistic painting style forms of a classical background and the story is an old Japanese folk tale about greed involving interactions between humans and anthropomorphic animals in the vein of Aesop's fables.

The art director's choice to make the sparrows be tiny humans dressed in sparrow costume seems to be borrowed from the Noh and Kyogen theatrical styles and inspired by how such a folk tale would be enacted out on a stage ... play. I found that choice to be a very interesting one that added layers to a short that would otherwise be a pretty run of the mill adaptation of the folk tale.

The story ends with all the events of the story actually being a nightmare and allowing for the redemption of the grandmother. I wonder how much of that was the artist's own choice and how much was the constraints of the certification authority considering that the short was primarily directed at kids. Either way, the decision allows for a surreal veneer to hang over the entire story.