• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.23
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• pp.1-17
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• 2011

The paper analyzed the metaphoric expressions appeared in whose cinematic quality has been subjectively recognized on the global stage by winning the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Many contents and visual effects of the film were expressed with metaphor. Story and sequence were analyzed through the language system-based 'Conceptual Metaphor Analysis Framework'. In addition, characters have been analyzed through the 'Visual Metaphor Analysis Framework'. The framework is to analyze visual dimensions which are derived when concepts are structuredin animation. This paper has attempted to investigate and reveal patterns how animation self-organizes or how animation self-realizes through linguistic objectives. That is, it is to reveal how animation communicates with the audience from the metaphoric perspective among many conventional ones. In an animated film, metaphor is a fundamental means to connect fragmented images, produce a holistic view and therefore induce creative communication with the audience. The essential motive of metaphor which is expressed in various styles in is modern people's feeling of loss and sense of missing something. Train, bottle top, food, lost-and-found center, in-between space and lost items have significance across the movie. According to an analysis, metaphor offers simplicity and freshness as an aesthetic function. In addition, the metaphor expresses lengthy contents and various meanings implicitly, delivering an economic function. With a creative function, metaphor is a tool to generate new meanings. In other words, an animated film is a medium to inspire and move the general public as a means of communication and thinking, not just an entertainment for young generations. After all, metaphoric expressions have been used to deliver diverse and deep meanings in animated films.