Three of Cups
2025 · 2m
Directed by Madeline Shaw
Genres: animation, comedy, fantasy
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic, whimsical
Three vampires go on a hunt to recover their cups from a museum, but first they must evade an overzealous security guard.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A heist comedy where the criminals are vampires after their own stolen chalices—it's the kind of premise that sounds ridiculous until you realize it's *supposed* to, and Shaw leans into that absurdity without winking. Most scouts would pass on the genre mashup; Felix is already in.
Shaw demonstrates formal control in a deceptively simple format: the animation style is consistent, the pacing deliberate, and the security guard conflict operates as a clean dramatic engine that recalls the best of theatrical slapstick tradition. It's a craft-aware comic short that knows exactly what it is.
The entire film hinges on the decision to make the security guard the actual obstacle rather than background noise—that one character choice transforms what could've been a forgettable supernatural romp into something with real comic tension, and Shaw executes it with the kind of economy that only comes from knowing exactly where to spend her attention.