Utilizing stop-motion animation and a cast of zaftig plush characters, Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels' short film, Oh Willy… waxes oedipal in its deconstruction of the male identity and maternal relations.
As such, despite its seemingly child-friendly animated veneer, it's the sort of text better appreciated by adults that aren't limited by socially imposed hang-ups about the human body, seeing as the majority of this short takes place in a nudist colony.
The titular Willy visits his mother on her deathbed. Presumably having left some time ago after rejecting the nudist lifestyle, his entire world unravels following her death.
Unable to readjust to his previous existence, he explores the woods and nature, eventually taking the monstrous concept of male maternal replacement and eternal infancy to a very literal and disturbing place.
It's surprisingly complex material for a short animated film, but given the light-hearted, albeit pointed and astute, tone of it all, the Freudian supposition works. In fact, the cutesy veneer even adds an element of subversion to the text, melding childhood fantasy with adult sexuality in a way that reiterates the dominant male psychological disposition.
(Beast Animation)As such, despite its seemingly child-friendly animated veneer, it's the sort of text better appreciated by adults that aren't limited by socially imposed hang-ups about the human body, seeing as the majority of this short takes place in a nudist colony.
The titular Willy visits his mother on her deathbed. Presumably having left some time ago after rejecting the nudist lifestyle, his entire world unravels following her death.
Unable to readjust to his previous existence, he explores the woods and nature, eventually taking the monstrous concept of male maternal replacement and eternal infancy to a very literal and disturbing place.
It's surprisingly complex material for a short animated film, but given the light-hearted, albeit pointed and astute, tone of it all, the Freudian supposition works. In fact, the cutesy veneer even adds an element of subversion to the text, melding childhood fantasy with adult sexuality in a way that reiterates the dominant male psychological disposition.
