Mammoth: Adventures in Gnomeman’s Land: A Must Watch For Animation Aficionados!

This Matt Check creation at 23:37-minute is simply a wonderfully crafted animation that binds themes of surrealism, otherworldly entities and existential crisis together, whilst offering subtle lessons in introspection, friendship and courage. A very well made film, clearly already reminiscent of a pre-AI era, Mammoth: Adventures in Gnomeman’s Land, is an absolute delight to be added to your animated shorts’ collection.

Mammoth and his companions Violet, Phil and Peyote are enslaved and bound by none other than our tiny Gnomes (crew: Sarah Stapperfenne, Nadia Racaniello and Matt Check), who in turn remain subservient to their King Gnome (Keith Hadad). But, when Peyote, a cactus, understandably breaks free, the remaining follow suit only for all hell to break loose. As the gnomes scatter around, panicstricken, Mammoth and his companions are in loss of direction themselves. When their freedom soon binds them to another mishap that strikes the Gnome-kingdom, morals are questioned, decisions are reconsidered and unspoken deeds from the past come to haunt.

Check has a daunting task at hand–to underplay the significance of all the overarching themes already running through the film with very obviously borrowed inspirations from the likes of Gulliver’s Travels, Jack & The Beanstalk, Popeye to name a few, to not undermine his own creativity. And, he surpasses the yardstick set with ease, for this one is a labour of love. The detailing is too thought over for it to not have been. The motifs, be it symbolic or anthropomorphic are finely tuned to blend in seamlessly with the storyline to offer rich subtexts.

The moral compass isn’t aligned even as we see our captives turn into saviours, for the dilemma persists as actions are soon questioned and challenges raised that pose to threaten the very essence of the unity between our otherworldlies. Without giving away spoilers, Mammoth: Adventures in Gnomeman’s Land elicits several questions, leaves open-ended answers and certainly promises a sequel. What makes this non-dialogue driven animation stand out in its category is the heavy reliance of subtext, visual storytelling and symbolic motifs used throughout. It’s subtle and yet quite not. The beauty of it lies in the viewer’s discretion.

The floating landscape, the whimsical buffoonery, the allegorical undertones aren’t lost to the keen eye. Instead, in its own unique way Mammoth: Adventures in Gnomeman’s Land lives up to its title– its promising, psychedelic and spirited, leaving enough to ponder over, long after the credits roll.

Watch Mammoth: Adventures in Gnomeman’s Land Animated Short Film