The Violinist

Oscar-nominated animated short from 1959. Harry is a violinist who loves to play, but without feeling. When he is told that he plays terribly he tries to change how he plays, learning a very important lesson.

"Harry" is a regular fellow who is competent enough on the violin. His neighbours are all long tired of his playing, though - even the bus driver hates it! That's not fair - he's not that bad! Then he meets "Felix" - a small dog who does actually likes his playing and tries too encourage "Harry" to play with some sense of feeling and warmth. He's technically sound but it's just lacking that je ne sais quoi! He decides to find a coach and so alights on the renowned "Andreas Fillinger" to try and impart some clues as to how he can impassion his playing, but that doesn't work either. Frustrated, he stops eating, drinking, even shaving and then, on the very verge of despair, he picks up his instrument and... Thing is, his appearance and his smell are now just as off-putting as his music used to be. A no-win scenario so he might as well be, well, himself! The animation is basic, but quickly paced and I'll confess that I couldn't tell the difference between the emotional and the emotionless music! Maybe the best thing is just to play your way, to be yourself - and hang the other folks! That appears to the moral here, anyway.