Netflix brings three touching animated shorts to streaming

A great story can be any size, shape or length. Having launched several successful animated series and feature films, Netflix will introduce three new animated shorts in the coming months: If something happens I love you, Canvas e Guards and thieves, each with a unique story and a different animation technique.

“Our goal is to offer our members the best animations in all kinds of formats: features, series, adult animation, anime and abbreviations,” said Gregg Taylor, Netflix Director of Animated Features. “Animated storytelling is most compelling when it can carry, entertain and initiate conversations; and all three of these shorts are beautiful examples. While each film is deeply personal and uses very different animation styles, all are equally powerful. ”

If something happens, I love you it is an elegy on pain. Writers / directors Will McCormack and Michael Govier bring a beautifully illustrated animated short that takes us on an exciting journey of two parents struggling to overcome the pain left by a tragic event that leaves their family forever changed.

The film is a story that juxtaposes the pain that can be felt with the resilience of the human spirit.

Laura Dern executive produced the short, produced by Maryann Garger, Gary Gilbert, Gerald Chamales and Govier. More than half of the team behind If something happens, I love you she is a woman, including the animation director, composer, producer and an all-female animation team. Gilbert Films financed the short film and also produced alongside Oh Good Productions.

According to McCormack and Govier, "If something happens, I love you it was created for those lost and for those left behind ”.

Will McCormack and Michael Govier are producers, writers, actors and directors, who make their animation directorial debut with If something happens, I love you. McCormack wrote Toy Story 4 e Celeste and Jesse Forever. Govier has written several short films, plays and has performed on TV and in commercials.

Directed by Frank E. Abney III and produced by Paige Johnstone, Fabric tells the story of a grandfather who, after suffering a devastating loss, is sent into a downward spiral and loses his inspiration to create. Years later, he decides to revisit the easel and pick up the brush… but he can't do it alone.

An original creation by an experienced animator whose credits include Toy Story 4 Coco e The boss baby, this story is something we can all relate to. Sometimes things happen in life that make it hard for you to keep fighting for what you love. It is not so much a question of ability, but rather a testimony of the will of the human spirit. We can all find strength and creativity in the most surprising places, and this story exemplifies that.

Fabric was produced over the course of five years by a passionate team of artists working overtime on three continents. The show's black leadership focused on creating a multicultural production team, which took on the challenge of simultaneously producing 2D and CG animation sequences.

“We owe it to ourselves and our ancestors to use our gifts to uplift and inspire those around us,” Abney said. "Fabric is my message to those who have suffered a loss and are looking for a way out. In a world where my community often has to ignore the processing of their own tragedies, this film shows that we don't have to do it alone ”.

Frank E. Abney III is a California native who grew up with a passion for storytelling, drawing and film. After graduating from the Art Institute of California - San Francisco, he began working as an animator in game, film and TV projects such as Tomb Raider, Disney Oscar winner Frozen e Great hero 6and DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 3 e The boss baby. He then joined the Pixar team, where he collaborated Coco, The Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4 and his upcoming film, Anima. Abney most recently executive produced Sony Picture Animation's Oscar-winning short Love for hair with Issa Rae, and is currently directing an animated film on Netflix.

Guards and thieves is directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware-Hill, and written and starred by Ware-Hill in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a video of which first appeared on May 5, 2020. Manor was inspired to create a animated version of Ware - Hill's poem, which led to their collaboration.

Guards and thieves is produced by Lawrence Bender, Manor and Ware-Hill, and produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, Neishaw Ali and Janet Jeffries. More than 30 individual artists, students and special effects companies from around the world collaborated, each to create a short segment of the poem with their own visual interpretation of the subject and individual animation technique. Over half of the animators Guards and thieves they are black artists.

The short film features part of the Negro Spiritual “Soon I Will Be Done,” starring Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes.

The result is a powerful message aimed at raising awareness of systemic violence, racist killings and ongoing police brutality against black Americans.

Ware-Hill and Manor said they made this film "for all the men, women and children of color who have been victims of racial profiling, police violence, loss of life and other injustices just to be themselves."

Arnon manor is an independent director, writer, producer and director. His recent credits include producing and directing the independent web series Monday. Manor grew up in Europe, where he began his career as a CG animator and VFX artist, then moved to the United States where he went on to create and supervise the visual effects of countless films as an artist, supervisor, producer and studio executive. His range of VFX credits includes comedies such as This is the end, the interview e 21 Jump Street, action movie Captain Phillips, Fury, The Equalizerand hybrid CG animated films such as Stuart Little 2, Garfield e Peter Rabbit.

Timothy Ware-Hill is originally from Montgomery, AL, where he earned a BA in Theater Arts from Alabama State University. From there, he was accepted into UCLA's MFA acting program. Most of his career has been as an actor in film, TV and Broadway. He recently received an MFA in Screenplay from the National University. Ware-Hill is a second place winner in the 2020 CineStory Foundation Feature Fellowship and a semifinalist in the 2020 Academy Nicholl's Fellowship, for his screenplay Tyrone and the mirror.