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Paperman

 Paperman
type
TVTItem
 Paperman
label
Paperman
 Paperman
page
Paperman
 Paperman
comment
Paperman is an animated short film made by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was released on November 2, 2012, in front of Wreck-It Ralph. The short is about a romance between two strangers, made possible by papers carried by the wind. It is notable for its use of experimental techniques, being Black-and-White, and using a combination of 2D and 3D animation. It won the Oscar for 2013's Best Short Animated Feature, beating out Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare".The story features a man (named George, who's voiced by director John Kahrs) and a woman (named Meg, who's voiced by Kari Wahlgren) who meet at a train platform as they go to work, after a gust of wind slaps a leaf of paper he was carrying on her face (imprinting it with her lipstick, the only bit of color in the entire film). They barely have any time to get to know each other, however, as Meg boards a train before he can work up the nerve to speak to her.To George's surprise, he soon sees Meg again from the window of his office building! It turns out she's interviewing in the building across the street! He tries to catch her attention with paper airplanes, but finds it very challenging to do. Will budding love triumph in such circumstances?
 Paperman
fetched
2023-07-09T05:30:18Z
 Paperman
parsed
2023-07-09T05:30:18Z
 Paperman
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Paperman / int_127fc252
type
Creator Cameo
 Paperman / int_127fc252
comment
Creator Cameo: Director John Kahrs provides George's vocal effects.
 Paperman / int_127fc252
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_127fc252
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_127fc252
 Paperman / int_17ce80aa
type
All There in the Manual
 Paperman / int_17ce80aa
comment
All There in the Manual: George and Meg's names re only present in the short's model sheets.
 Paperman / int_17ce80aa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_17ce80aa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_17ce80aa
 Paperman / int_2196fad8
type
Signed with a Kiss
 Paperman / int_2196fad8
comment
Signed with a Kiss: Played with. When the George and Meg meet, one of George's papers flies into Meg's face, leaving an imprint of her lipstick on it. Later, George spots Meg in the building across the street and tries to get her attention with paper airplanes, including one made from the paper with her lipstick. The paper planes fail to reach her, but later, when George is leaving, the planes start moving on their own and push George and Meg together; Meg specifically gets the lipstick plane, clueing her in on what's happening.
 Paperman / int_2196fad8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_2196fad8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_2196fad8
 Paperman / int_21e5b9c7
type
Failed a Spot Check
 Paperman / int_21e5b9c7
comment
Failed a Spot Check: Granted, he's in a building on the other side of the street, but if Meg had just turned her head slightly and looked out the window at any point during her interview it would have saved George a lot of grief. George, in turn, ends up in a sulk towards the end about failing in his attempts to get Meg to notice him, and so doesn't notice that there's something a bit strange about the way the paper planes seem to be following him trying to get his attention until they're piling on top of him and forcing him through the streets.
 Paperman / int_21e5b9c7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_21e5b9c7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_21e5b9c7
 Paperman / int_2311e2de
type
Accidental Aiming Skills
 Paperman / int_2311e2de
comment
Accidental Aiming Skills: George pulls off some improbable shots except the one that counts.
 Paperman / int_2311e2de
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_2311e2de
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_2311e2de
 Paperman / int_3fca462c
type
Deus ex Machina
 Paperman / int_3fca462c
comment
Deus ex Machina: Once George's quaint lovelorn pursuit runs into a dead end, his failed paper airplanes tap into The Power of Love and come to life, reuniting him with Meg.
 Paperman / int_3fca462c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_3fca462c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_3fca462c
 Paperman / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 Paperman / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: The short begins with George and Meg at a train station, the latter chasing a piece of paper. At the end, Meg chases the lipsticked paper airplane back to the train station and finds George there. Also, if one pays attention, Meg pushes back a lock of her hair nervously both times she meets George.
 Paperman / int_5313c266
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_5313c266
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_5313c266
 Paperman / int_5473668f
type
Logo Joke
 Paperman / int_5473668f
comment
Logo Joke: The end Disney logo is in this short's style, with a paper airplane providing the over-the-castle arc.
 Paperman / int_5473668f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_5473668f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_5473668f
 Paperman / int_688d3a5b
type
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon
 Paperman / int_688d3a5b
comment
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: There is no dialogue in the short, and even the sound effects are somewhat minimal. Mickey Mousing is heavily utilized throughout instead.
 Paperman / int_688d3a5b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_688d3a5b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_688d3a5b
 Paperman / int_6a696742
type
The Power of Love
 Paperman / int_6a696742
comment
The Power of Love: George's determination to be with Meg apparently ends up animating the paper airplanes he threw to guarantee that George gets a chance to ask Meg out.
 Paperman / int_6a696742
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_6a696742
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_6a696742
 Paperman / int_6b05b601
type
Jerkass Has a Point
 Paperman / int_6b05b601
comment
Jerkass Has a Point: Sure, George's boss is clearly an incredibly cold, severe and humorless man, and working for him is clearly as far along the diametrically opposed side of the scale from 'fun' as it's possible to get. But from his perspective, George is spending his work day dicking around with paper planes and wasting all his paperwork when he should be doing his job.
 Paperman / int_6b05b601
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_6b05b601
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_6b05b601
 Paperman / int_78c895c8
type
Amusing Injuries
 Paperman / int_78c895c8
comment
Amusing Injuries: Poor George gets dragged around helplessly by several paper airplanes, while Meg only has to chase a paper airplane whimsically. Justified in that the paper airplanes only started assaulting George because he wouldn't follow them whereas Meg didn't need any convincing.
 Paperman / int_78c895c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_78c895c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_78c895c8
 Paperman / int_7bc076de
type
Hartman Hips
 Paperman / int_7bc076de
comment
Hartman Hips: Meg's upper torso and waist are noticeably thin compared to her hips.
 Paperman / int_7bc076de
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_7bc076de
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_7bc076de
 Paperman / int_81a1960f
type
Silence Is Golden
 Paperman / int_81a1960f
comment
Silence Is Golden: This short film showed Disney going back to their roots, with the only sounds being grunts, giggles, and sighs from the characters.
 Paperman / int_81a1960f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_81a1960f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_81a1960f
 Paperman / int_90507020
type
TheForties
 Paperman / int_90507020
comment
The '40s / The '50s: Judging from the architecture, fashions and cars, there's a very mid-20th Century feel to the whole thing.
 Paperman / int_90507020
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_90507020
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_90507020
 Paperman / int_91c001
type
Cute Mute
 Paperman / int_91c001
comment
Cute Mute: Both protagonists say nothing throughout the whole short.
 Paperman / int_91c001
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_91c001
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_91c001
 Paperman / int_985795ab
type
Medium Blending
 Paperman / int_985795ab
comment
Medium Blending: CGI carefully tailored to capture the look of hand-drawn animation. How carefully? Disney created an entire suite of new technology to achieve the look and intricacies of hand drawn animation. One can find a short about the technology on the web.
 Paperman / int_985795ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_985795ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_985795ab
 Paperman / int_9af54b9d
type
Double Take
 Paperman / int_9af54b9d
comment
Double Take: George does this the first time he catches a glimpse of Meg. Meg in turn does this when she realizes the paper plane that's landed next to her is the same sheet of paper she accidentally kissed that morning.
 Paperman / int_9af54b9d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_9af54b9d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_9af54b9d
 Paperman / int_9c92c96d
type
Painted CGI
 Paperman / int_9c92c96d
comment
Painted CGI: The short looks almost as if it were cel-shaded, but noticeably different; the animation looks traditional, but it is also akin to a CG film. The animators actually drew lines by hand on top of the CG models to achieve this look.
 Paperman / int_9c92c96d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_9c92c96d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_9c92c96d
 Paperman / int_9e224dd5
type
Object-Tracking Shot
 Paperman / int_9e224dd5
comment
Object-Tracking Shot: Following the lipstick stained paper-plane.
 Paperman / int_9e224dd5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_9e224dd5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_9e224dd5
 Paperman / int_a10775b7
type
Mean Boss
 Paperman / int_a10775b7
comment
Mean Boss: George works for one, a cold, ultra-serious frowning man, who is constantly giving him paperwork. In the boss's defense, while his mien is cold and severe, his actions are all about trying to get George to focus on his work. His sole reaction to George's having launched his entire stack of forms out the window is not to fire him or even berate him, but simply to give him more forms.
 Paperman / int_a10775b7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a10775b7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a10775b7
 Paperman / int_a280f130
type
Take This Job and Shove It
 Paperman / int_a280f130
comment
Take This Job and Shove It: Pretty much George, when Meg leaves the other building and the boss appears with a new stack of paper.
 Paperman / int_a280f130
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a280f130
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a280f130
 Paperman / int_a6049c20
type
Disturbed Doves
 Paperman / int_a6049c20
comment
Disturbed Doves: When George and Meg meet again. Except they are not doves but... paper airplanes? And prior to this, one of George's planes manages to peg a pigeon mid-flight.
 Paperman / int_a6049c20
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a6049c20
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a6049c20
 Paperman / int_a73cfb7f
type
Animate Inanimate Object
 Paperman / int_a73cfb7f
comment
Animate Inanimate Object: All the paper airplanes come to life to lead George to Meg, while the one with her lipstick does the same for her.
 Paperman / int_a73cfb7f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a73cfb7f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a73cfb7f
 Paperman / int_a82ff02f
type
Meet Cute
 Paperman / int_a82ff02f
comment
Meet Cute: George and Meg meet at a train station after a gust of wind blows one of the papers she's carrying into his arm, and another gust of wind blows one of the papers he's carrying into her face.
 Paperman / int_a82ff02f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a82ff02f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a82ff02f
 Paperman / int_a8dcb1d7
type
Love at First Sight
 Paperman / int_a8dcb1d7
comment
Love at First Sight: Although they don't actually speak, both George and Meg seem pretty smitten with each other within seconds of first meeting.
 Paperman / int_a8dcb1d7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_a8dcb1d7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_a8dcb1d7
 Paperman / int_b2b16a23
type
Holding in Laughter
 Paperman / int_b2b16a23
comment
Holding In Laughter: When one of the pages in George's hand is blown from the stack onto Meg's face, he retrieves it, looking mildly embarrassed. Meg looks at him a moment, then notices that her lipstick left a kiss mark on the page, and briefly stifles a laugh, leaving an adorable crooked smile on her face.
 Paperman / int_b2b16a23
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_b2b16a23
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1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_b2b16a23
 Paperman / int_b97c2cfb
type
Maybe Ever After
 Paperman / int_b97c2cfb
comment
Maybe Ever After: Technically, the short ends with no concrete resolution of how George and Meg's relationship develops. Given the increasingly flirtatious nature of the shots of the two of them in the coffee shop, however, the viewer can make a pretty good guess...
 Paperman / int_b97c2cfb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_b97c2cfb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_b97c2cfb
 Paperman / int_bbb3a5a0
type
Splash of Color
 Paperman / int_bbb3a5a0
comment
Splash of Color: Meg's red lipstick and red kissmark on the paper.
 Paperman / int_bbb3a5a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_bbb3a5a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_bbb3a5a0
 Paperman / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Paperman / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: When the papers first become animated, they move like the brooms in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
 Paperman / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_c75df49a
 Paperman / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 Paperman / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: Not in the actual film, but the model sheets do reveal the girl's name is Meg and the guy's is George.
 Paperman / int_ca87e3ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_ca87e3ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_ca87e3ec
 Paperman / int_cb8880a5
type
Soul-Crushing Desk Job
 Paperman / int_cb8880a5
comment
Soul-Crushing Desk Job: George is clearly unhappy with the stacks of paperwork he has to deal with at his job. It would explain why he has no problems abandoning it just for a shot at meeting Meg again.
 Paperman / int_cb8880a5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_cb8880a5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_cb8880a5
 Paperman / int_d028ca10
type
Deliberately Monochrome
 Paperman / int_d028ca10
comment
Deliberately Monochrome: In keeping with the overall "throwback" vibe of the short, it's animated almost entirely in black and white, with the only exception being the red used to represent Meg's lipstick on the "main" paper plane.
 Paperman / int_d028ca10
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_d028ca10
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_d028ca10
 Paperman / int_e5421161
type
Expy
 Paperman / int_e5421161
comment
Expy: George is essentially Roger with darker, messier hair. Many people like to think that George and Meg are loosely based off of Jim and Pam from The Office (US).
 Paperman / int_e5421161
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_e5421161
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
hasFeature
Paperman / int_e5421161
 Paperman / int_e6ab61d
type
Magic Realism
 Paperman / int_e6ab61d
comment
Magic Realism: The short starts off as a down-to-earth romantic comedy about an everyman trying to get the attention of a woman in a building on the other side of the street by making and throwing paper planes at her. And then, when he fails in doing so, the paper planes come to life without explanation to help him out...
 Paperman / int_e6ab61d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_e6ab61d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paperman
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Paperman / int_e6ab61d
 Paperman / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 Paperman / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: Poor George gets dragged through the city like a rag doll to meet Meg. It pays off and he totally deserved it.
 Paperman / int_f64a9cf7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Paperman / int_f64a9cf7
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Paperman / int_f64a9cf7
 Paperman / int_name
type
ItemName
 Paperman / int_name
comment
 Paperman / int_name
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1.0
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Paperman / int_name
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Paperman

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Frozen / Disney
seeAlso
Paperman
 Wreck-It Ralph / Disney
seeAlso
Paperman
 Paperman
hasFeature
Accidental Aiming Skills / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
All Animation Is Disney / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
All There in the Script / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Dancing Bear / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Holding in Laughter / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Magic Realism / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
No Flow in CGI / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Painted CGI / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Short Film / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Signed with a Kiss / int_869e463a
 Paperman
hasFeature
Splash of Color / int_869e463a