Name That Short Film
As far back as the early nineties, England’s Channel 4 would occasionally air an animated short which looked like it was animated by the designer of the Red Bull commercials. It was last aired by the channel in 1999. For years, I tried to find it online (so that I could learn more about who made it and why) but to no avail. There’s not even any info on the twentieth century version of the internet (a.k.a. Usenet). It feels like I’m the only one who’s seen it. I decided that, if I became famous, I’d contact Channel 4 to see if they can find out more about it. If I get the opportunity to upgrade my software (I’m a busy man), I will transfer the short from tape to computer so I can upload it on YouTube.
The short didn’t have a title (or even any credits) but it had a caption which appeared at the end — Life is like a film. Without one of us, it is another film. This would influence the way that I think about my life and people’s lives in general. Because the short was shown at Christmas, it’s easy to perceive it as being like It’s a Wonderful Life. When I saw it, I got the impression that it has more in common with Sliding Doors (which came out when the short had aired for the final time). There’s even a similar (although radically different) scene involving the difference between what happens in a subway. In one reality, a woman attempts to commit suicide but is saved by Superman. The most amusing difference is that the ginger-haired male is touched by an effeminate gay guy in a cinema.
The narrative of the short is about what happens in the alternate lives of a male. In one life, he becomes a father. The narrative emphasis is then placed on his son. In the other life, his father is dead after being attacked by a cat (which caused him to fall through a window). After we see what happens in the first life, the animated short rewinds with the sound of a tape. This redefines the definition of a music video because the short has music but no dialogue. It reminds me of the music video (Aqua’s Turn Back Time) which advertised Sliding Doors. The short ends with a bird being squashed by a helicopter.
