Watch: ‘The Boy Who Cheated Death’ Animated Short with Many Styles

Watch: ‘The Boy Who Cheated Death’ Animated Short with Many Styles

by Alex Billington
December 27, 2024
Source: YouTube

No matter how hard you might try to delay and/or hold off death, you can never stop or slow down time. It marches on without ever slowing down. Always… This lovely, mesmerizing animated short film called The Boy Who Cheated Death is about a young boy confronting the reality of death. The 5-minute animated short is created by a Vietnamese filmmaker named Pipou Phuong Nguyen who lives and works in France. This short features a handful of different animation styles – starting out with conventional hand-drawn 2D with various stop-motion vignettes, utilizing papercraft, fabric, felt, and more. It tells the story of a little boy who tries to hide his mother from Death – taking him on a journey across space and time, interacting with animals and nature. The point is not to leave people feeling sad, rather the film “invites you to embrace the fragility of life.” Featuring original music by Antoine Duchêne. So maybe this boy can’t really cheat death (can anyone?), but it seems like he does come to understand it better by the end of this story. Watch below.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this one. Brief intro from YouTube: “In a world blurring reality & imagination, Syd, a little 8-year-old boy tries to hide his mother from Death. They embark on a hide-and-seek game as creatures of earth, Death being their predator. Finally, Death becomes the ultimate predator: Time.” The Boy Who Cheated Death is an animated short written and directed and designed by Vietnamese animation filmmaker Pipou Phuong Nguyen based in Pairs – you can see more of her work on her Vimeo page or follow her on IG @pipou.png. Made by Brunch Studio and Eddy Animation, plus Studio Manuel Cam. With art direction & character design by Olga Serdyukova. Plus cinematography by Simon Gesrel. She sets up the idea: “I wanted to make a film about death, through the eyes of a little boy who is about to lose his mother… As I also watch a lot of BBC Earth, I wanted to create a character who can deeply sympathize with the lives of animals.” For more info, visit Pipou’s IG or SOTW. To discover more short films click here.

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