Director: Tyrone Patrick
Writer: Tyrone Patrick
Cast: Tyrone Patrick
Running time: 8mins
Written, illustrated and read by Tyrone Patrick, Nag van die Dimensie Trol takes the form of CBeebies’ famous Bedtime Stories slot. But aside from assuredly putting viewers to sleep, it is largely unsuccessful in its emulation.
The story begins on a dark and stormy night, with its protagonist Willie tucked up safely in bed. Perched next to him is a pile of magazines titled Ruimte (Space), priming us for an out-of-this-world adventure inspired by the flashing lightning outside. As expected, after another crash of thunder, a portal appears at the foot of Willie’s bed, and through it bounds an interdimensional being, looking to raise some hell.
As the troll rampages through Willie’s house – playing tricks the child will be blamed for when his parents wake in the morning – we observe events through a series of stationary pencil sketches, accompanied by Patrick’s warm, if slightly dreary narration.
I’m not sure if this final form of the project is what he always had in mind – I suspect he might have intended to use these drawings as a storyboard for a fully-realised animation, before time and budgetary restraints got the best of him. What I can be sure of, is whether or not that was the case, images without animation need not doom a project to such a total lack of dynamism. As shown by the wordless narrative short Vestige, which I reviewed earlier this year, a still image can still burst with life, and brim with emotional meaning that can drive a story forward.
Delivering on that front requires a huge commitment on the part of the artist, though, and it does not seem as though Patrick is able to live up to those demands. Exemplifying this are the expressions of Willie himself.
When telling a story for kids about the adventures of another child, you should probably make an effort to emphasise your lead character’s emotional state at every possible juncture – because you’re asking someone who hasn’t developed a comprehensive understanding of the human experience to empathise with a stranger. But aside from one moment of anger at being woken by the troll (during which Willie resembles an angry Louis van Gaal), the protagonist’s expression fades to the background in the half-developed – possibly rushed – sketches that tell the bulk of the tale. So much so that in one moment, it seems like more importance has been tied to the horse of a knight who comes to Willie’s rescue, than Willie himself.
The knight, who sprang forth from the same dimensional gateway as the troll, has a well-worn, wizened face that suits his character well – but again fades to the background in important moments, such as they are. In particular, there is a moment when Willie and the knight defend his baby sister from the troll – the knight handing his tiny companion a bow and asking him to shoot the troll perilously close to a sleeping infant.
When Willie inevitably misses the troll and narrowly avoids skewering his sister, there are a flurry of emotional beats which Patrick could riff on, but ultimately seems disinterested in. Disappointment or fear on the part of Willie – sheer panic on the part of the grown man who comes to his senses only after handing a child a lethal weapon, aimed in the direction of a newborn’s crib. These could be beats which resonate with children, and add a moment to check some of the weary cynicism adults invariably aim at the saccharine bedtime stories their kids subject them to. But instead, Patrick just invents a reason why this is just fine – without priming us beforehand, suddenly his arrow just provides the cot with a golden bubble of protection instead.
The film’s amorphous exposition also becomes something of a narrative drag. Twice, we break from the action for the knight to fill in blanks for us that aren’t really that important – or interesting – relating to the troll’s origin. But aside from the likelihood that kids know what a troll is from other stories they’ve already heard, he’s already demonstrating how he’s bad. He wakes Willie, flushes his blanket down the toilet, and threatens his sister. So, a long segment where we are told about a great society of trolls which collapsed thanks to greed of this particular troll, when he stole a sacred gemstone, is a little redundant – except that it helps to explain more invented MacGuffin that the knight deploys to save the day. Something to do with only being able to activate true power by believing in yourself, or being pure of heart… you know, the trite clichés writers would usually avoid putting in fiction for adults, but for some reason see it as good enough for children.
You don’t need to be Pixar to hold a kid’s attention, however much movement and colour you put in your film. But Nag van die Dimensie Trol lacks the heart and humour that are required to ensure that kind of engagement; while a lack of visual polish, and a bedtime narration that would benefit from a double-shot espresso mean while this one-man show might have been cheap, it is not all that cheerful.