Cuties
2021 · 5m · UK
Directed by Theo W. Scott
Genres: animation, dark comedy
Tones: absurdist, contemplative, darkly comic
A hand-drawn animation following featureless blob-like creatures called 'the Cuties' through the entirety of human history — from crawling out of the sea through organized religion, industrialization, and a digital future — only to reveal the epic tale is a bedroom game.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Featureless blobs through all of human history rendered in hand-drawn, painted, pixel, and Mandelbulb. Five minutes of formal layering for an idea that's mostly a vibe — I'll forgive it for the Bayeux Tapestry citation.
Scott's expressionless blobs through human history — combining hand-drawn 2D, pixel art, and Mandelbulb rendering, inspired by the anonymous figures of the Bayeux Tapestry. The formal mixture is ambitious; the philosophical reach genuine.
Combining hand-drawn 2D, painted backgrounds, pixel art, and 3D Mandelbulb rendering with characters as featureless blobs inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry — that multi-material approach mapped to all of human history at 5:33 is hugely ambitious. Whether the bedroom-game reveal earns it is the question.
Reviews
The simple character design contrasts perfectly with some of the horrors it portrays, and visually, it also creates an interesting clash with the intricate hand-painted backgrounds. Though only five-minutes long and a surprisingly entertaining watch, all of these aforementioned elements accumulate to make for a short with unexpected depth.
A Horrifying Tour of Humanity Raises Questions of Free Will
Festivals
- Sitges Film Festival 2021
- Manchester Animation Festival 2021
- Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2022
- London Short Film Festival 2022
- Leeds International Film Festival 2021
- Dublin International Film Festival 2022
- British Short Film Awards 2022, Best Animated Film