| Runaway | |
| Director: | Cordell Barker |
| Producer: | Michael Scott Derek Mazur |
| Music: | Benoît Charest |
| Studio: | National Film Board of Canada |
| Distributor: | National Film Board of Canada |
| Runtime: | 9 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
Runaway is a 2009 short animated comedy film by Canadian animator Cordell Barker. It received a special jury award for short films at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and was named the best animated short film at the 2010 Genie Awards.[1] [2] In 2010, the film won the Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Award for Best Animation.[3]
The film was also selected for the Sundance Film Festival and was short-listed, though not nominated, for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[4] It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows.
The film's story takes place aboard an out-of-control train. Barker intended the film to be a parable about life, and how the ruling class tries in vain to insulate itself from the fate suffered by the lower classes:[5]
The film was produced in Winnipeg by Michael Scott and Derek Mazur for the National Film Board of Canada.[6] The musical score for the film was composed by Benoît Charest, known for composing the film score for the animated film The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville).[2]
Runaway took Barker eight years to complete. The entire film was made with hand-drawn animation, with the exception of some more visually complex scenes: