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Very well executed

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

"Balance" is a 1989 Academy award winning animated short film by the Lauenstein twins when they were in their 20s. We witness a group of men with numbers on their backs standing on a platform, which is apparently hanging in the air. They all have fishing rods with them and end up with a chest, possibly a treasure. Early on, they cooperate nicely and get closer to finding out about the contents. However, they have to be careful to keep the platform in balance as the chest and one person needs to be on one side and the other fishermen on the other side in order to attain balance.However, their greed to be the only one to get the treasure becomes bigger and bigger, so one after the other keeps falling / is pushed down from the platform until only one is left. However, his fate now is not only that he cannot get to the chest, but that he basically cannot move or leave his side at all as it would instantly mean the treasure falling down and him right afterward possibly. Decent little final twist, but apart from that a forgettable short film with mediocre animation. Not too surprised to see the Lauensteins did not have a great career in the last 25 years.

If one wants to understand the directors' vision of the short film Balance, he/she would have to possess great knowledge of German history or be prepared to delve into the subject. The leading political parties in those days may have (and I use 'may' because I'm not entirely surely) curtailed the freedom of expression, which including films by censoring direct references or attacks against the government. Unless we have lived in those times or are as curious as Leo Tolstoy about World history, we may not understand many elements in Balance: the numbers on the… (What should I call them?) daunting figures, why these figures looked identical, and what the musical box represented etc, since they are represented symbolically.But one can grasp a general idea about the film- some say it is about corruptive power, some feel the movie castigates materialism while a few reviewers with good historical knowledge talk about fascism and related topics. After a couple of watches, I observed one small detail that cleared some concepts in my mind- the person who was sitting on the box while the platform kept tilting left and right managed to eliminate most of his companions, and while at first he does this accidentally, by the end his deed is deliberate and cruel.This made me think of the box as some form of throne or title. Before it arrives, the five work in perfect harmony till the contents of the box are heard by the characters. Then one decides to do away with the box (he possible prefers harmony) and tries to create an imbalance to knock off the foreign object. But he is stopped by another as the rest witness the action, baffled. When one begins to dance to the music playing from within the box, another applies pressure on the platform to bring the box towards him. This causes the performer to sit on the box to prevent falling, while the rest move hurriedly in a state of panic and confusion. The guy on top of the box doesn't push the first guy intentionally and we can make this out by the look on his face. The second person too is kicked accidentally, but when the man had an option to save his last mate, he decided not to.Now understand this situation using this context: the man on the box or the throne inevitably acquires power. The first few times people close to him suffer unintentionally by him or the power he has (the weight of the box) and he can be exonerated for those crimes. But when the person realizes that the box is the source of dominance, he cuts off any others' reach by killing them intentionally and deviously. No one is left to question him, and he seems to be satisfied in the ending. But he doesn't realize how lonely his position at the top is and how far he is from 'power' in metaphorical terms (he doesn't get the fruits of power).Everyone should see Balance at least once for the various messages it sends across. But make sure about the kind of film you are in the mood for: this isn't your Pixar, happy, all's-well-that-ends-well treat.

This short won an Oscar for Animated Short and was most deserving of the honor. This has got to be the most disturbing and thought-provoking animated short I've ever seen in all of my life. I kept thinking about the ending for several days. It reminds me of a three part Chinese curse: 1) May you live in interesting times 2) May people in high places take notice of you and 3) May you get everything you wish for. A sad commentary on human nature. This is in print on The World's Greatest Animation and is worth getting, not just for Balance, but for practically everything on it, as it's all worth seeing and most is outstanding! Most highly recommended.

By far the greatest short I have ever seen. The style of animation in this short is very interesting and a little dark, but appropriate for the story. The moral of the short, the need for cooperation in society and what could happen without it, comes through clearly and is well done. It won the Oscar for Best Short Film in 1990, and it certainly deserved it. Check this out!10/10