In a Heartbeat
Over the few classes that we have had in animation, a topic that has really stuck with me would be the fact that animation has been considered a "kid" form of entertainment, due to the many cartoons that are aimed at child-like audiences. Last year, an animated short film came out on youtube that has become an instant viral trend for all ages, and also chose to show a topic that not many "mainstream" animated films may display. The short film that I am talking about is called "In a Heartbeat" by Beth David and Esteban Bravo. The reason this film became so viral is because it featured a closeted teenage boy as the protagonist and followed his "heart's" journey to show another teenage boy that he has a crush on him. This film shows the topic of gay teenagers and the difficulties of coming out to peers in such a brilliant way, which is why using animation. Animation allows there to be more freedom in the movement of the characters, and even allowed the protagonist's heart to have its own face and eyes, giving it a personality.
After being posted on Youtube, this film has quickly become number 9 in the most viral
Youtube videos of 2017, and has made a huge impact on a variety of ages because of it's heartfelt message. Relating this back to our class and how animation is seen more as a "child-geared" genre, I feel as if this film defied that rule. The filmmakers used animation in such a way to project emotion onto an audience, and get a mass audience engaged, rather than just children. Seeing as it became one of the most viral videos of 2017, I think that getting a mass audience engaged instead of children definitely worked.
After being posted on Youtube, this film has quickly become number 9 in the most viral
Youtube videos of 2017, and has made a huge impact on a variety of ages because of it's heartfelt message. Relating this back to our class and how animation is seen more as a "child-geared" genre, I feel as if this film defied that rule. The filmmakers used animation in such a way to project emotion onto an audience, and get a mass audience engaged, rather than just children. Seeing as it became one of the most viral videos of 2017, I think that getting a mass audience engaged instead of children definitely worked.
I remember seeing this shared on Facebook and thinking how it was interesting that this animation quickly became popular with so many people from different ages/backgrounds. I agree with what you were saying about how animation gives artists a certain flexibility that live action does not. Complex ideas and emotions are able to be expressed in this short without the use of dialogue, which makes it feel universal.
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