BeanBoy
2023 · 6m · Denmark
Directed by Emily Hanning
Genres: animation, comedy, family
Tones: humorous, tender, whimsical
When a rabbit's fears get in the way of summer fun with friends, Beanboy pops in to help. A reminder for kids and grownups alike to live in the present, love without shame, and have fun — because we're all gonna croak someday.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A memento mori pep talk dressed up in pastel rabbit suits—the subversive bones are there (telling kids we're all gonna die as a cheerleading tactic), but the execution plays it so safe and earnest that the premise's actual weirdness gets completely domesticated.
Hanning demonstrates control over tone and visual warmth, working within a lineage of therapeutic animation that stretches back through shows like Craig of the Creek, though the film doesn't quite earn the emotional weight it's reaching for—the craft is assured but the voice still feels in formation.
The decision to make anxiety physical and solvable through a costumed helper character could've landed as patronizing, but there's a specific gentleness in how the animation lets the rabbit just *be present* with the kid's fear rather than magicking it away—that choice, repeated across a tight six minutes, is what makes this work.