Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

MartinHafer This short film from Don Hertzfeldt is a very sadistic film indeed and seems to possibly be inspired (in a negative way) by the "classic" French short film, THE RED BALLOON. Because Hertzfeldt is a very bizarre person with a sick sense of humor, the red balloon in this film is a nasty piece of work--spending the entire film either pummeling the poor kid or dropping him from extreme heights again and again. There certainly isn't anything deep or philosophical here--just stick figure-like beings getting the crap knocked out of them by Satanic balloons.This film is highly recommended for teens, sick and twisted adults and,...um...that's all. As for artsy folks out there, DON'T see this under any circumstances. It will offend you and taint your opinions of THE RED BALLOON!

tedg This is a replacement comment. The original bothered a diligent reader, so I have made some expansion.Animation is like any film type: artists ally to certain philosophies, perhaps without realizing it. In the case of animation, it bumps up against that great American invention, noir. That's the notion that there is a world in the movie that is manipulated by forces unseen. Hapless characters are the manipulated and the fact that we are on the scene influences that manipulation somehow.With animation, its all about how objects act, how the environment conspires or not. Not all animators deal with objects the same way.In my original comment, I made two assertions. One was that the Czech animator Jan Svankmajer was sort of an icon for and a teacher of one school of philosophy so far as this cinematic religion. It has nothing at all to do with darkness, or political statements, or humor — that is all applied superficially. Its about how the strings behind the world are connected; what objects MEAN and how we sit on some of those strings. I say that Hertzfeldt is in this tradition and that he changes it not a whit. Does that make him less of an artist? That's up to you. He masters the philosophy without changing it, but his mastery is more engaging. Its the difference between the guy who writes the movie and the actor, between the composer and the fiddler. You decide.The second point I made was that I supposed Hertzfeldt saw a rough version of "pad" that was being circulated in film schools at the time. The stories there and here are similar. I am NOT saying he plagiarized, but to me the influence is clear.Having restated these two points, I can say that 1) this is fun.2) this is not important in my mind. He's done stuff that is, and I would like you to see it instead. It is not personal, nor unique, nor valuable watching like some of Hertzfeldts stuff can be. Pass on this unless you don't want to explore better stuff.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

rbverhoef 'Billy's Balloon' is sort of brilliant. It is also quite sadistic, but the more sadistic it gets the more you will probably laugh. Just do not take it too seriously. It shows how a balloon is hurting a child, Billy I guess, by lifting him up and dropping him to the floor. You might think this joke will grow old in about a minute, but this animated short, around five minutes long, invents new little things to keep us laughing.The simple looking animation is perfect. It makes the sadistic events a little colder but at the same time it helps you realize easier that it is just an animated short. Animator Don Hertzfeldt has done a terrific job here. For something a little more disturbing, but equally good, I can recommend his 'Rejected'.

the dude-3 Animation in all its glory! As an animation student myself, and having made quite a few short stick-figure deaths and such to amuse myself during class, I can fully appreciate the brilliance of "Billy's Balloon." Luckily, I hadn't read anything about what was going to happen and was pleasantly surprised as the mayhem of Billy's balloon started and every time I thought the joke was getting old, a whole other element was thrown in. A great short film which I will hopefully find again someday.