Robert Reynolds This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:Granny O'Grimm is wound a little tightly and has some serious problems, to say the least. Her granddaughter is in bed on a stormy night, starting at noise and wide awake. This is unfortunate, because Granny comes in to tell her a bedtime story. The kid, no doubt having experienced this "charming" event before, pretends to be asleep, but Granny doesn't buy it and the poor kid has to listen to her take on Sleeping Beauty.The animation for the fairy tale itself is different from the animation for the framing device. Granny obviously has trouble separating her own personal frustrations and disappointments from the fairy tale. The fairy tale is largely recognizable as the familiar story, but Granny takes the opportunity to vent her frustrations through the fairy tale she's assaulting her granddaughter with, to the child's growing anxiety. Granny needs to take a chill pill, as she grows more hysterical and aggravated. Just as her anger reaches a crescendo, she realizes where she is and breaks off the story at a most inopportune point for the little girl, who may never fall asleep again.This short is available for viewing and download at iTunes and is well worth watching. Most recommended.

jaredmobarak Ever wonder what might happen to your beloved childhood bedtime stories if they were told to you by your bitter, disgruntled grandmother? Wonder no more because director Nicky Phelan has brought the world the experience with her animated version of writer Kathleen O'Rourke's character in Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty. There is nothing like a theatrical old woman telling a story, doing her best to draw out strong emotions while her own get the better of her. The short film's granddaughter just wants to go to bed with her stuffed animal, but Granny will have none of it, plopping down to tell one of her famous bedtime tales—starting sweet and normal, yet soon devolving into vengeful diatribe.You don't really know what to expect at the start, somewhat disoriented by the fear you see on the young girl's face once Grandma enters the room. This is not the first time she's stopped by for the nightly ritual, that's for sure. The name 'Grimm' itself should prepare you for the fact that the fantasy won't be a Disney-fied version, but I can't say I anticipated the direction it finally ends up going. Granny definitely has some pent-up rage hidden beneath her sweet, bifocal wearing exterior, ready to be unleashed on all those frowning upon her disintegrating, walker-dependent body. All those pretty little bimbos walking around oblivious to their future of gravity will have their comeuppance, even if it's only within the constraints of a fairy tale romance—funnily devoid of that one trait the actual Sleeping Beauty is known for.Rather then watch as Sleeping Beauty grows up and becomes enchanted in slumber until a handsome Prince can rescue her, Granny tells of an elderly fairy not invited to the young one's party. In her anger she crashes the scene and makes her displeasure known, cursing those in attendance and cackling profusely. The granddaughter desperately tries to shield herself from the scary visage sitting at the side of her bed, hoping for the chance of a happy ending to maybe let her wide eyes find solace in even a wink of sleep that night.The true success really lies in the performance of O'Rourke in portraying Granny O'Grimm as the two-faced Irish woman. People have thrown fairy tales on their heads before, using them for fright rather than hope, so nothing in that regard is new and original. No, the over-the-top theatrics trump the piece's artistry and story due to its sheer hilarity as the woman goes from soft dulcet tones to loud anger-laced screams—even doing her own foreboding echo to add a little pizazz. Not to say the animation is bad; it's actually really good. The use of both computer-generated 3D work for the 'real world' and 2D perspective for the fantasy is handled successfully. I also loved the blurred reflection of our two leads in the mirror across the room from the bed. It is a beautiful rendering of depth in the room and a nice detail.Perhaps the series will expand with more tales we know and love, altered to cause Granny's little girl to grow up jaded and paranoid—especially if the poster is to be believed, talking about 26 x 11 minute episodes. Will they work now that the premise is revealed? I'm not so sure. That surprise of tonal shift really did it for me. I don't quite know if the freshness can continue to be sustained on subsequent entries.

Gordon-11 This Oscar nominated animated short is about a grandmother who tells a bedtime story to her grandchild, which is a scary version of Sleeping Beauty."Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" is technically great, with cute characters, nice 3D animation of the bedroom and also visually pleasing 2D animation of the fairyland. The contrast of the dark and eerie bedroom and the delightful fairyland is interesting, as the colour schemes do not fit in the mood of the subplots. However, the plot itself is rather flat. We only see the grandmother telling a scary story which makes the grandchild frightened. There is nothing else on offer. No ups or downs, no things to learn from. I am left to wonder what the point of the short is.

elsinefilo Granny O'Grimm is apparently a cute old lady and her granddaughter is a terrified little buddy waiting for her grandma for her bedtime story. Even before the story begins she is already too scared to enjoy the story. I assumer she already knows what kind of a story teller her grandma is. According to what I have read on the net, the character Granny is inspired by a character in Irish writer Kathleen O'Rourke's stand-up comedy show. The granny has such long and upright hair, a style looks like Marge's blue beehive hairstyle in Simpsons. Though she looks calm,sweet and non-cantankerous she shows her real face when she starts reading "Sleeping Beauty" in her version. She creates her own world of fairies where they are badgered by an old woman who was forgotten long ago. The animation looks pretty artistic though you may need a bit of knowledge about Kathleen O'Rourke's writing and Grimm fairy tales. The granny's bursting out the story in her own bitterness and resentment doesn't really look pleasing either. If you are not into dark short movies you won't like it.