Well, there's a little over two hours left in the day, and no sign of more entries, so here we go!
First off: Wow!
The creativity and talent of brickfilmers continues to amaze me. Great job to one and all! I'm so glad that so many of you participated and thanks for liking the theme!
Anywho, here we go:
AwesomePants - Way to get on the ball with the first entry! The masking is a bit rough, though I love the fun with the horse flinging him up.
Tiny World - I like the little realistic touches like his arm swinging before the horse's forward lurch and the leaning forward before springing back motion of the "landing." Also, great job making due without a horse piece.
Ozone - Choosing to balance the line between "normal" and "zany" seemed to work in your favor. The timing of the jump/mount works great, but that slight pause between the turn and the jump strikes me as a bit jerky in the first one. In that case, it's not an animation flaw, only a personal and stylistic preference. I like both arms swinging in the second one, but it doesn't quite have the life and vigor of a couple of the others.
NTN - Taking a more sedentary and normal route than the others instantly set yours apart. It's smooth and simple, but the sudden stopping of his arms at the end spoils the otherwise impressive animation.
And now for the top three:
3rd Place: Raytistic - Yours carried a lot of "character" to it. I love the motion blur, but more movement with his arms as he settles into the saddle would have really sold the action.
2nd Place: LAF - I love the clouds in the sky, as well as the bright and cheerful atmosphere. The animation is great, and I love the slower paced beginning. Yours slightly edged out NTN's as the best "nomral" one, but not by much. Both are excellent examples of "normal" mounting. BUT, I've been told riders are not really supposed to mount a horse from the right.
1st Place: Lotsatoast - Haha! Some people have the ability to endow their animations with an extra special dash of character and energy...It seems you are one of those blessed people! Great job! I love the bouncing on the horse's back at the end!
Again, thank you for entering, and great job to everyone!
Lotsatoast, you're up!