Huasteco. Como llegó el conejo a la luna
2016 · 2m · México
Directed by Gabriela Badillo
Genres: animation, family, fantasy
Tones: contemplative, mythic, whimsical
According to tradition, thanks to a rabbit mankind was saved from the flood, and for its curiosity we can remember it every night when we look at the moon, in this animated Huasteco tale.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
A indigenous origin myth animated straight—no deconstruction, no ironic distance, no subversion of the form. It's almost *too* respectful of its source material, which is either wisdom or a missed opportunity to really provoke.
Badillo's formal restraint in adapting Huasteco cosmology into animation demonstrates the kind of curatorial sensitivity that honors both tradition and medium; the 2-minute architecture trusts mythic resonance over exposition, placing it squarely in a lineage of respectful ethnographic animation.
The decision to hold on the rabbit's expression at the moment of sacrifice—letting animation's stillness do what live-action couldn't—transforms a folk tale into something tactile and immediate.