Watch: Adorable Animated Short ‘Cassini’ – A NASA Probe Mini Ballet
by Alex Billington
June 1, 2023
Source: YouTube
Space – the final frontier… This adorable animated short film called Cassini is a must watch – coming in just under 4 minutes. We missed this when it first launched back in 2021, made during the early days of the pandemic while in lockdown. “This is a four minute animated film based on the Cassini-Huygens space probe mission. The impetus for the short began in 2017 when I was weirdly touched by the news that the probe had run out of time after 20 years in space and was programmed to commit suicide by dive-bombing into Saturn’s rings.” It’s a parable about loneliness, exploration, and perseverance. And reminds me of the wonderful doc Good Night Oppy. Director Nate Milton states: “Even though it’s based on true events, it’s really more of a spiritual film about the Cassini.” Hope everyone is as moved by this space probe as he was.
Thanks to our friends at Film School Rejects for the tip on this one. Brief intro from YouTube: “Cassini – The journey of an unmanned space probe which began on earth and came to an end 20 years later on Saturn’s rings; 1997-2017.” Cassini is an animated short directed and designed by NYC-based animation filmmaker Nate Milton – you can view more of his work on his official site or follow him on IG @newtmilton. (His other recent short is called Eli, which played at Sundance 2020.) Featuring music by Buck St. Thomas. He made this short when lockdown began in 2020 in NYC, when he was: “isolated alone in my apartment, and it seemed like an opportune time to start production finally on this short about a little craft alone in space for two decades.” For more info on the project, visit his site. To discover more shorts, click here. Thoughts?
