Wonderful character development!

How sad is this?

Blistering performances.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I watched this film for the first time today and it was not by chance. I knew of this film as I have seen some other films made using the open source Blender software and I was aware that this film was not only made using that tool but that the whole film is open to be used and changed by anyone who wishes to do so. The irony of this is that currently the film has been removed by YouTube due to a copyright claim by Sony that the film somehow violates their property, a situation that tells me Sony used part of the film (music or otherwise) and are now claiming it as their own, thus entirely missing the point of what this film and others like it are trying to do.Hopefully this will be resolved although it is depressing to see that even the suggestion of infraction from a corporation sees the project removed. Anyway, in terms of the film itself, away from such controversy, the narrative sees a young woman travelling alone deep into the mountain and into danger. An encounter with a bandit leaves her injured but rescued by an old man, to whom she relates the reason for her journey – a journey which begins with her finding an injured baby dragon some time before.The headlines all relate to the technical aspects of this film so it is worth saying that the narrative engages too. It is a solid tale that draws you in but is built on darkness. It is a combination that doesn't totally work and although I applaud the ending for going in the direction it did, it is brutally harsh just to drop that on a viewer. Technically the film is very well made, the animation is great and it is hard to believe that it was made outside of a large studio – not only is this cheering but it actually works and looks great throughout.Sintel represents another step forward in the idea of the creative commons being a positive and collaborative idea and Blender in particular being something about moving forward; however this is not to say that this is where its value comes from because really the short stands up on its own, looking great and having a brutal but memorably brave narrative too. If there was ever a greater example of the need to support such projects, it is the fact that Sony have challenged it for taking their property.

A ginger girl makes her way through a snow mountain pass when she is suddenly attacked by a stranger. She manages to kill him with her spear, but collapses shortly afterward from exhaustion. We see her wake up in a shack where she tells the old man who found her the story of her special connection to a dragon baby she found with an injured wing and managed to heal it. However, when she was about to release it into freedom, it got caught by a fully-grown dragon and abducted. Since then, she was on the lookout traveling places everywhere to find and free her little dragon.This flashback is finished around the seven-minute mark, when half of the film is over. Sintel recovers in the stranger's shack and moves on with her destination shortly afterward. Finally, she enters a cave where she finds the large and the small dragon. But things are not what they appear to be. I quite enjoyed this short film. The animation is very video game-like and the highlight of the film. The story is sweet and sad at the same time. My favorite scene was when she found the baby dragon for the first time and how she got it to trust her until they finally built a strong bond. I'd love to see Lodewijk and Levy reunite one day for a full feature, maybe even starring Sintel. Very much recommended. One of the best animated short films of the 21st century.

This film was beautiful in almost every way. The animation, the music, and the story was well. This short film shows how powerful the Blender application is with hard work and determination. With more work, more workers, and more money, this could have been a feature-length production. I was pretty surprised that the actual making of the film (modeling, lighting, and animating) was done by not that large of a crew. That is because it isn't feature length, but th quality is on par with that of animations by Disney and pixar. This film should have won an Oscar for best animated short. I hope the Blender foundation continues to work on amazing films like these.

"Sintel" impressed me. Not only for the amazing quality of the animation (With a high level of realism in what concerns to the textures and effects, not to mention the expressiveness of the characters and the outstanding level of detail) but also for the way in which it deconstruct several common clichés and archetypes from several fantasy and adventure histories, giving a very tragic turn to the classical plot of the hero's "Journey". In many ways, the main character is the classic archetype of a "hero" in a fantasy history, being fiery and determined to don't give up; the fact that her intentions are pretty good and understandable made the twist at the ending something even more tragic, but I do think that this short has a valid point, even if it is very harsh: Having a noble intention and being brave (at least in the traditional sense of the word in fantasy stories) is not always a guarantee of good results or success.However, even when the ending is incredibly sad and heartbreaking (With only a very little glimpse of hope) the overall experience of "Sintel"is something very rewarding and enjoyable, being exciting and entertaining to watch. I highly recommend this short to anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure epics.