An aging carousel horse
carver tries to remain hopeful on his last
day of work at the shop which is being forced
to close during the trying time of the Great
Depression. Using the stop motion animation
technique, 'Last Time Around' travels back
in time to portray the struggles of factory
workers in the early 20th century America
and their artisanship in wooden carousel
horses carving. The story was inspired by
actual historical events and research done
on carousel manufacturing industry of the
Western New York in Buffalo area.
The fall
of the Golden Age of American carousel industry
is often blamed on the harsh economic condition
during the Great Depression among other causes
such as emergence of newer amusement rides
and the World War I. In this film, the filmmaker
uses puppets and miniature wooden carousel
figures as characters and shows the dedication
and the passion that the carvers had on their
work, and captures the whimsical nature of
the carousels and the arts associated with
them. The set, prop and costumes were referenced
from archival photographs provided by the
Herschell Carousel Factory Museum and other
pictures from that period for more accurate
depiction of the era.
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