Promoting Good Animation: Mr. Carefree Butterfly

Julia Blurton-Jones
Sep 4, 2018 · 4 min read

Mr. Carefree Butterfly is an animated short created by Yonatan Tal during his fourth year at the California Institute of the Arts. Despite being a student production, and therefore not having nearly as big of a team or budget as other animated projects, this short still captivates the viewer through its uniques uses of animation, design, sound, and unique look at the subject of being in your twenties and figuring out what to do with your life.

In short, this film is about a guy, otherwise known as “Mr. Carefree Butterfly”, who goes over to his friend’s new house in the suburbs. The story is a interesting conversation about the choices people make when they're young, and deciding between going out into the world and trying new things, or settling down and starting a home. The main character learns by the end that while he’s been spending his whole life not worrying about commitments and living it up, there is actually something to the calm relaxed home lifestyle that he felt was restrictive. One of the strongest aspects of this short, that really makes this message read well, is the animation, specifically, when the animator chooses the exaggerate, or mess with the reality of the world to portray the feelings and memories of the characters. One prime example of this is towards the beginning, when the main character is just waking up after a crazy night before. The features on his face are completely shifted around until he rubs his face and they fall back into place. The character’s twisted face in this scene fully shows the feeling of being groggy and hungover in a unique way, instead of something direct and obvious. Another example of twisting and over exaggerating the characters and settings to show the feelings of the characters is later on, when the main character learns that his friend is planning on spending thirty years in the new house he just bought. When he realizes this, the entire layout of the house shrinks around him, showing the claustrophobia that makes the main character feel. These are just two of the many examples of the artist successfully using this move.

completely shifting the positioning of the character’s face , and shrinking down the size of the room to reflect the character’s feelings

This film is also very reflects the characters attitudes in it’s use of color. in this short, most of the scenes fall into blue and purple or orange and yellow color schemes, with most of the cooler toned scenes being those that take place in the city, and the warmer tones being seen in the suburbs and the wedding scene. These colors reflect the moods of each place, as well as the characters from them. The main character, whose personality and life choices reflect the fast paced and loud style of the city, mostly wears blue. Meanwhile his friend, who has been more studious and striving towards a suburban lifestyle, is wearing orange. This use of complimentary color schemes, reflects the different atmospheres of the different locations, as well as the attitudes of the characters from them.

the blue and purple tones of the city versus the yellow and orange tones of the suburbs

This work also has a strong audio component that really ties the whole thing together. The voice acting is strong, and the dialogue really conveys the familiarity between the two characters, and the eventual fight that the listener can tell has been coming for a long time. The accompaniment and folly work in the background are also solid, and the film does a good job of choosing when to include music, and when not to. For example, During the party at the beginning, the background music is rapid and fast paced, continuing to speed up until it suddenly cuts short on a frame showing a dead battery. This building up of music and suddenly cutting it short helps create the illusion of being at a high energy party, followed by an abrupt crash that most would feel after a crazy time such as that.

left: the moment where the music speeds up; Right: when it cuts short

Overall, this short does an amazing job in captivating an audience, and telling a story that feels personal, yet something that plenty of people can relate to. Whether from the perspective of someone who is soon going to be in that place, and wondering what to do in their young adulthood, or having gone through it already, the idea of living free or finding happiness in the home is a difficult question that this film tries to answer. But ultimately, this short shows how happiness is ultimately found in things that you put time into, and things that last, rather than fleeting moments.

BetweenTheFrames

Animated analysis from UMBC's Intro to Animation class

Julia Blurton-Jones

Written by

BetweenTheFrames

Animated analysis from UMBC's Intro to Animation class

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