This is just too wonderful. A technical mess which by all measures should be a flop, yet it is profound in its wonderfulness. My heart wants to laugh and cry. At the same time.
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.
Positives: A lovely shot - full of life; those people who feel that photography is about sharpness should have this offered up as reference material. The muted colours and noise/grain certainly adds rather than detracts from the effectiveness of the image. On top of all that the topic matter is simply charming.
Critical stuff: nothing really.
Overall: Excellent shot that is more than the sum of its parts.