SSF: “Ray’s Big Idea”

Today’s short comes from the visual and story-telling  geniuses at Aardman Animations, whose virtues I’ve been extolling since some of my earliest days on the InterWebs, and who deserve pretty much every nice thing anyone has ever said about them. (Interestingly, their shorts tend to be a tiny bit meaner than their features. That’s not a criticism, though. Just an observation.)

“A plucky, pioneering pre-historic fish, has a ground-breaking plan to improve his life”

Ray’s Big Idea is a stunning three minute animated short film, about a fed-up fish’s desire to escape his overcrowded primordial ocean and be the first fish to walk on the land. Risking life and limb, he embarks on a treacherous journey out of the monochromatic watery deep, up into the glorious Technicolor of an undiscovered prehistoric world. Evolving along the way, he encounters jeopardy, euphoria, evolution, a mischievous fly, the fickleness of fame and legs. Even if the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side, Ray’s spirit and enthusiasm cannot be diminished!

Attribution(s): Images and stills are the property of Aardman Animations Ltd. and other respective creators, producers, and distributors.