Lido Sim
2015 · United Kingdom
Directed by Milo Targett
Genres: animation, comedy, experimental
Tones: absurdist, humorous, whimsical
An animated swimmer just wants to take a dip in a pool, but an unseen creator wielding a mouse cursor keeps warping the shape of his world to thwart him. A post-modern, simulation-style riff on the long tradition of animators tormenting their own creations.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Finally, someone weaponizes the animator-torments-creation bit by actually *showing* the cursor—turning a tired meta joke into a genuine simulation horror-comedy where the gag IS the glitch, not a wink at the audience. Most shorts would bury this premise in cute irony; Targett makes the cruelty feel systemic.
While the execution owes clear debts to experimental animation and digital art practice, the reliance on After Effects expression aesthetics risks dating itself; the conceptual framework lands more securely than the formal restraint that would elevate it beyond a clever technical exercise.
The decision to leave the cursor *visible* and active as a character unto itself—reshaping geometry in real time rather than cutting between states—is the entire film, and it's a perfect choice that transforms what could've been a gimmick into pure physical comedy with an existential edge.
Reviews
The short's protagonist attempts to take a simple dip in a pool but is constantly thwarted by the machinations of an unseen creator who uses his mouse to change the shape of the protagonist's world.