Issue: April 1, 2002

Stone-age stubble and romance

CHICAGO - Stubble Trouble, the animated short film produced by Calabash Animation (www.calabashanimation.com) and directed by animator Joe Meredith, garnered a nomination for this year's Academy Awards. It is the story of a man's journey to understand himself while fighting a losing battle against his hyperactive beard and pursuing love in the Stone Age.

This is the first film to be completed under Calabash's "Animated Shorts Program" in which Calabash animators submit story concepts and the company chooses one to produce. The film won second place at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Short Film. The hand-drawn pictures were composited in USAmination and painted in Commotion. Maya was used to create the man's beard.