Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The question is whom to copy? A father and son's choices make the difference in Daniel Martínez Lara and Rafa Cano Méndez's animated film, Alike.
It is human nature to emulate our peers or heroes. All our learning starts by copying others. And as we evolve we determine who is best to copy. Sometimes we do find our own paths, but even then, we look to someone who inspires us down that road. In the end, it's all about the copy/paste.
Alike taps into this concept when we are introduced to Copi and Paste, a father and son going about their daily routine, dad to work and son to school. The city they live in is all white. The only spot of color is in a small patch of grass in the center of town …show more content…
It's difficult to tell what Copi is disappointed about. Is it that Paste drew the violinist and not him, or is it that Paste didn't do his schoolwork. Either way, his father's lack of approval starts to get to him, and soon Paste succumbs to his teacher's insistence to conform. As he does so, his color fades from a bright orange to a pale yellow, as sadness overtakes him. He is no longer motivated. Life isn't fun anymore.
This pains Copi. He always enjoys his time spent with his son, and shedding the gray that weighed him down all day. Now that Paste is fading, Copi is forced to make his own life change to save Paste from eternal blandness, he must copy something else.
No words are spoken in the entire film. We only get to understand through facial expressions, which are beautifully conveyed by the large-eyed characters. Nothing is exaggerated, except for the color of the environment. The grays, the whites all paint a picture of sameness with Copi and Paste standing out as unique beings from the rest.
Alike has won numerous awards including a National Audience Award at the 2015 3D Wire Film Festival, and Best Animation Short Film at the 2016 California International Shorts Festival.
Daniel Martínez Lara is a teacher at the Pepe School Land 3D animation school in Barcelona Spain. His former students worked as animators on the
It is human nature to emulate our peers or heroes. All our learning starts by copying others. And as we evolve we determine who is best to copy. Sometimes we do find our own paths, but even then, we look to someone who inspires us down that road. In the end, it's all about the copy/paste.
Alike taps into this concept when we are introduced to Copi and Paste, a father and son going about their daily routine, dad to work and son to school. The city they live in is all white. The only spot of color is in a small patch of grass in the center of town …show more content…
It's difficult to tell what Copi is disappointed about. Is it that Paste drew the violinist and not him, or is it that Paste didn't do his schoolwork. Either way, his father's lack of approval starts to get to him, and soon Paste succumbs to his teacher's insistence to conform. As he does so, his color fades from a bright orange to a pale yellow, as sadness overtakes him. He is no longer motivated. Life isn't fun anymore.
This pains Copi. He always enjoys his time spent with his son, and shedding the gray that weighed him down all day. Now that Paste is fading, Copi is forced to make his own life change to save Paste from eternal blandness, he must copy something else.
No words are spoken in the entire film. We only get to understand through facial expressions, which are beautifully conveyed by the large-eyed characters. Nothing is exaggerated, except for the color of the environment. The grays, the whites all paint a picture of sameness with Copi and Paste standing out as unique beings from the rest.
Alike has won numerous awards including a National Audience Award at the 2015 3D Wire Film Festival, and Best Animation Short Film at the 2016 California International Shorts Festival.
Daniel Martínez Lara is a teacher at the Pepe School Land 3D animation school in Barcelona Spain. His former students worked as animators on the