If building something is this much fun, is it really a tragedy if you have to do it all again?
Sand as an artistic medium must be incredibly difficult to work with. It must be especially hard to create a stop-motion animation with, since its fragile and ever-shifting nature runs counter to the absolute control required to create such fare. It's all the more impressive, then, that this short film is as fluid, believable and energetic as it is. 'The Sand Castle (1977)' truly is a delight. It's a whimsical and warm-hearted affair about a group of sand creatures who first create each other out of the very environment they call home and then set about building the eponymous abode seemingly because it is enjoyable to do so. The short is about teamwork and finding joy in your vocation, with some subtler themes of the harshness of the environment and the way in which the earth reclaims us all in the end. It's a charming and effective experience right the way through, even if it is a tad long and ends on a perhaps counter-intuitive note of melancholy. It's wonderful. 8/10.
