Dominoes
2006 · 10m · Canada
Directed by Daniel Schorr
Genres: animation, family, musical
Tones: contemplative, tender, whimsical
An oddly shaped domino struggles to fit in with the other tiles in a cut-out animated game. Set to chorinho-inspired music, the short turns the domino theory into a lesson about openness, flexibility, and cooperation.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A dominoes parable with a message so tidy it practically gift-wraps itself—animation about acceptance that never risks looking ugly or strange, just pleasantly quirky enough to avoid the hard questions.
Schorr demonstrates assured command of the form: the geometric precision of stop-motion paired with a thoughtful score creates a gentle meditation on conformity that sits comfortably in the lineage of European animation fables.
The odd-shaped domino itself is the film's genius move—that single design choice transforms what could've been a forgettable PSA into something that *looks* like it doesn't belong, making the metaphor inseparable from the image.