Synopsis
Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
2005 Directed by Anthony Lucas
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Alternative Title
The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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AustraliaPG
Releases by Country
Australia
19 Jan 2005
- TheatricalPG
Popular reviews
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Totally scrumptious animation with a great shadowpuppet style and an awesome gothic steampunk take on Lovecraft. A must watch.
I'm deducting half a star because the promised sequels never appeared. -
[Discovered through an interest in Joel Edgerton's career (he voices the titular protagonist)]
Available to watch on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXjHz5iip9I
Despicably only available in 240p :(
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aka Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship.
I saw this Academy Award nominated Animated Short Film years ago (presumably on Channel 4?) and remember really liking it, although I couldn't actually recall the plot. I was therefore excited to find the whole thing on YouTube (it's only 26 minutes) and on getting reacquainted I'm glad to say it was even better this time around.
The story follows disgraced navigator Jasper Morello who is given a chance to both redeem himself, and escape the plague ridden floating industrial city of Gothia, when The Authority orders him on a voyage...
The thing that stuck in my head all these years is the approach to the animation. The Gothic/Steampunk world of Jasper (his…
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Compelling if haphazard steampunk CG shadow puppet aesthetics have seemingly very little relationship with the generic, barely conceived adventure narrative. Joel Edgerton voices the main guy, and he seems awake.
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The look is very steampunk meets Lotte Reiniger, and I loved every single frame. The story is a drag, though, and it goes on for too long.
Part of my effort to watch at least one short film per day. Here is the list I am currently working through, with a random number generator determining the film each day. I will take recommendations for everything that's 40 minutes max.
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Steampunky story and character archetypes are highly generic (although it helps that I seem to have a similar taste for the disparate derivative elements cobbled together here, we'd probably get on well), but the style, mood and scope of the silhouette animation carries this through enough to justify itself. Like Harvie Krumpet, this had mainstream recognition locally at the time due to it being a rare Oscar nomination in the animated short category, but I think this mixed bag will date a little more quickly. It feels every bit a teaser for possible future features, but just lacks the requisite sparkle of a little story originality.
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Pastiche is an apt word to describe The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, but passion project seems equally apt.
The animated short, which most closely resembles a shadow theatre in terms of style, chronicles the travels of the titular Jasper Morello, a once respected navigator whose distant homeland–and his wife–is slowly succumbing to an incurable plague.
Whereas the initial, industrial heavy setting is left largely unexplored, as the airship interior isn’t all that different from a regular ship, the change of scenery is probably for the best since this particular art style could easily outstay its welcome after a while.
Anthony Lucas’ short film is like a love letter to Victorian fiction and many of its great fascinations: a…
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Holy fucking shit, that was dark!
It was incredibly tense and the animation was stellar, especially for 2005. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer. -
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A sumptuous steampunk Gothic animation by Australian director Anthony Lucas.
A mysterious plague is ravaging the city and navigator Jasper Morello overcomes his intense anxiety and PTSD to navigate a dirigible to search out a new world or cure to aid his wife and all those on the surface.
Influenced by the works of Jules Verne, Poe and the illustrative techniques of people such as Gustave Doré The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello exists in Lucas’ Shadowlands, a visual world that earlier films such as Holding Your Breath also inhabited.
Sadly this film was the last in the Shadowlands sequence. I would have happily invested myself in Lucas’ dreamlike animations for a long form series.
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