Thesis Premises

RUDY’S DOG

Rudy’s mundane, drab life drives him to a psychiatrist. The therapist remarks that he could try getting a companion, such as a cat or a dog. The idea clicks with Rudy and he goes off to the pet store to browse.

After looking through a selection of adorable puppies, Rudy comes across a medium-sized yellow dog. The dog carries a constant expression of complete non-amusement. Rudy picks it out, names it Nico, pays for it, and then they both go head out to do activities, such as going to a theme park, paddle-boating, or eating ice cream. Rudy is overjoyed, but Nico carries the same, ominous frown the entire time.

After the pair return home, a stare-off occurs between the two; as Nico stares his same, blank expression into his owner’s eyes, Rudy becomes nervous. There’s something very nerve-wrecking about Nico’s look.

Later on, Rudy’s trying to sleep, while Nico lies at the foot of the bed. However, Rudy notices that Nico continues to stare at him; his eyes just won’t close.

Scared, Rudy heads out his home to escape from Nico, trying to convince himself that there’s nothing to be afraid of.  As he continues to walk about aimlessly, he notices Nico everywhere around him, but in far-off distances. He then imagines his face everywhere, from murals to statues to the people around him…

I’m not quite sure how to finish this one, but I do like the idea of this story, mainly because I have a design for the dog that I’ve always wanted to use, and that would also fit the role of a sinister-looking animal.

THE HIGH FIVE APPRENTICE

This film deals with the appreciation of simple gestures.

Chet, a man in his 30’s, sits at a bus stop while speaking on the phone to his wife; he’s just been fired from his job as an accountant at a firm, and his spouse is considering a divorce. He’s drawn in black and white, with charcoal-like backgrounds. A colored alley cat sits close by, cleaning himself.

Deflated, Chet sits defeated on the bench until someone yells ‘HIGH FIVE!’. It turns out it’s the alley cat, Blotto. Chet convinces himself that he’s seeing/hearing things out of a depression-induced stupor. Blotto further claims that he’s the God of High Fives (in the preferred form of a cat), and wants to give Chet a newfound appreciation of small gestures. Upon Chet’s refusal of the high-five and the denial of Blotto’s existence, the cat whisks him away into the world of the High Five, where he gives Chet a history of the high five. Part of this sequence kind of turns into a trippy journey reminiscent of the tunnel scene from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

 Chet, trying to take in everything, asks why Blotto is showing him this. Blotto reveals that he’s been watching him for months, and decided that Chet is the ideal model for spreading the joy of small gestures. He explains how technology has ruined everyone’s way of communicating, and how something as simple as a high five can mean a lot more than an email or telephone call. Chet, after some thought, takes on Blotto’s request and, with a high five, is sent back to the bus stop.

An old woman sits at the bus stop. Chet makes his way to her and offers her a high five. She punches him and calls him a creep, before a bus comes by and picks her up. When Chet sits up, a little girl is standing in front of him, saying that she’ll take the high five. Happily, they do so. The camera pans up into the sky, where Blotto appears. He fives the camera, which cuts to black.

It sounds like a silly idea, and it started out a lot more serious and a lot darker. I almost dropped the whole thing. However, I liked the concept of small gestures and how they affect us. Also, I drew a cat that I really liked… so, that might have something to do with it. If I end up picking this one, I'll try to rework the story in order to add a little more conflict.

THE KING HAS FALLEN

This is quite a personal story.

I have a lot of family who reside in Brazil, and, on occasion, we go to visit them; the head honcho of that extension of my family is my Great Uncle Stefan; since my mum’s father was dead by the time I was born, I’ve always considered his brother Stefan to be a grandfather figure.

Every time we’d visit, me and Stefan, on occasion, would have a game of chess and, being the competitive person that he is, Stefan would usually defeat me swiftly, without remorse. The last game I had with him however, had a somewhat different turnout; we visited him in 2008. He was in his mid-80’s, and in not as good health as he used to be in. We started playing our game of Chess and in 10 minutes, I had taken his Queen. After a pause, Stefan, with a depressing look, slumped and tipped over his king, declaring that he didn’t want to play anymore. I was shocked, and would have never expected him to react that way. After all these years, I had almost enjoyed losing to him, because I always looked up to him.

The animation would basically be the relationship between a boy and his grandfather over the years, portrayed through their chess matches. The grandfather would always win, but as he grows older, he loses his edge, and is eventually defeated by his grandson. Even though the boy wins, his reaction is pretty much the one I had.