6 videos about animation and creativity

You don't have to watch them all. But by the end, you might want to.

So I wanted to make a post full of short little videos I love. Like a mini-YouTube feed, except it’s not endless and it’s curated by a real human with feelings.

I didn’t have a theme in mind. But as I played with possible combinations of videos, I realized most of the videos had something to do with animation. Which honestly makes sense. I love animation: Steven Universe, Ghibli movies, camera menu icons.

So I figured, why not lean into it? What follows is a selection of short videos (each well under 5 minutes) that are animated or otherwise related to animation.

(A good number are also related to gadgets. Which also makes sense. I love gadgets.)

Each video is accompanied by the delightful commentary of yours truly. It’s up to you if you decide to watch all the videos, or some, or none. Follow your heart! I’m not the boss of you.

(But just remember: You might actually enjoy watching some of these.)

Let’s dive in.

The “my first Sony” Animation Computer

I originally dreamed up this post primarily as an excuse to share this video.

It’s about an animation-making gadget that Sony made for kids circa 1990. As far as I’m aware, the way you make animations with this machine follows no conventions for how animations are normally made.

I’m obsessed with this gadget. But I am perhaps even more obsessed with the adorable, inventive, minimalist animations that the presenter actually made using this machine.

F.O.O.F.

I went two entire posts without mentioning Frankie Cosmos, and that streak has now thankfully come to an end.

This is a stop-motion music video for one of their songs. The animator’s name is Cole Montminy. He animated the video out of fuzz.

Fuzz.

How the fuzz did he do that?!

Assemble with Care

Assemble with Care is one of my favorite video games ever. I mean, it has gorgeous illustrations and retro gadgets, which are the two most important food groups.

This video lets you hear straight from the team at Ustwo Games and watch the game come together.

I don’t know if this game truly counts as animation. But it’s my blog and I make the rules, so I’m saying it does. It’s interesting. Half of each level actually has static, though beautiful, illustrations that you flip through like a storybook. Through the voice acting and detailed sound effects, you can imagine each scene in motion.

But half of each level has you repairing objects yourself. The objects and gadgets reveal, and advance, the characters’ stories. This blog post details all the strategies, some beyond my comprehension, that make these interactive, 3D-modeled segments look as if they are being hand-painted and animated before your very eyes.

You should play this game. And you know what? I think this calls for my first-ever Substack button.

SpongeBob SquarePants, “Help Wanted”

(Earworm alert: This video includes an annoying song that will get stuck in your head. You’ve been warned.)

(Also, the part of the video I’m trying to show you ends at 1 minute, 2 seconds. You can skip the last 20-ish seconds if you like.)

Who knew early SpongeBob episodes are absolute works of art?

This is a delightful montage from the pilot, “Help Wanted.” My favorite part is SpongeBob gallivanting across the nozzles of the ketchup, mustard, and mayo dispensers. (As one does.)

Share Your Gifts

I realize this is an Apple commercial. And I realize Apple is somewhere between morally ambiguous and morally bankrupt.

The problem is, unfortunately, I am an Apple fanboy. And this commercial is one of the most beautiful animated short films I can think of.

The backgrounds are so detailed and so warm, I had to pause on practically every frame to stare at them.

The story feels like a love letter to everyone who has ever been shy, or overwhelmed, or a perfectionist. To everyone who has ever been afraid to share their art with the world, or afraid to share their authentic, happy, silly self with the world. To everyone who has ever been afraid to make art in the first place. I relate to all of the above.

And the short film is set to a stunning original song by one of my favorite artists, Billie Eilish. It’s called “come out and play.”

With all this beauty, I can forgive the MacBook product placement. (Oh, who am I kidding. I love the MacBook product placement. You can even briefly see the Touch Bar…)

Ice Water

And finally, this is an animation about the life of an animator.

Some backstory: Rebecca Sugar is the creator of Steven Universe, an animated show that helped me accept my queerness, served as my refuge during middle and high school, and remains my favorite show of all time.

Sugar has since released their own original music on an EP, Spiral Bound, and an album, Lonely Magic. This is the music video for one of the songs from Lonely Magic, called “Ice Water.” Sugar directed and storyboarded the video.

There are a few more 1-minute videos that give context to this song and the entire album. Sugar tells us their story of being in art school, falling in love, and then having to be long-distance. They also made delightfully nerdy explanations of the “Lonely Magic angels,” the three winged characters in the video who are named for different parts of the creative process: Epiphany, Rationale, and Ache. I promise watching all these videos is worth the extra 5 minutes.

When I first heard this song and this album, it evoked complicated feelings for me. Which is a story for another day. But a few nights ago, listening again, I realized I have changed, and my life has changed, and this song means something new to me. In that moment, I felt the kind of euphoria that Sugar sings about, running through ice-cold puddles and feeling like the whole world is right.

And I’m lucky that I’ve felt that feeling pretty often lately.

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Which of these videos did you watch? What did they make you feel, or think about? Let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to subscribe:

See you next time.