Liquid Sunshine

"What's sad is...my fondest memory is of a girl throwing a dead rabbit at my head. That's just depressing. But when you've got so few memories, you really can't afford to be picky."

A short film by Jon to tide us over between the debut of Yeti & Squidworth's Halloween Nightmare and his 40-minute epic Ringworld, Liquid Sunshine is the most bittersweet four minutes ever put to 3DMM. If you're not staring at the screen in awe at the end, it's because you're automatically moving your hand to the frame slider to watch it a second time. I've seen it seven times already...it's just amazing. The entirety of Liquid Sunshine is more brilliantly scripted, directed, and acted, and ultimately more captivating than any four minutes from any other film released this year.

To reveal the plot of the movie this close to it's release would be sacrilege, but to not discuss the main character's worldview and how it relates to the title would be even worse. We're given a short, sweet, and sad little story through narration of his childhood; the dialogue, presumably written by Beth, is equally bizarre and inspired, giving us a complete character package in just a few minutes time. Jon's voice acting is absolutely stellar -- Jaymond, you no longer occupy the throne by yourself, and you're the one sitting in JON'S lap. Coupled with the utterly surreal theme (Flower of Carnage by Meiko Kaji, and I'm searching for the mp3 as we speak), the narration conveys a unique, fragmented perspective with a world-weary sense of humor about the position the character is in. It's off-center and heartwarming in the way that Igby should have been.

The animation definitely doesn't skimp on its duties. Jon has used a character style similar to what we saw in Tom Saville's Knights of Camelot, though his lean more toward the realistic than the repeated palette of cartoony expressions seen there. And they're definitely a lot more detailed -- take a look at the way the main character snarls, widens his eyes, smiles at some distant memory, frowns almost sadly in contemplation...the list goes on. There are actions and expressions here that are so realistically done that I wince in sympathy at the sheer amount of time it must have taken to animate them. The environments are all very slick, well angled and constructed, and with brilliantly chosen colors. I did most of the sun effects for the film, and I have to say Jon knew exactly what he wanted, even if I wasn't sure how I liked a few of them at the time.

Did I mention that it's hilarious? Some of the best sight gags ever made in any movie can be found right here, and the use of the narrative to enhance the action of the flashbacks is sharp and powerfully funny. The barbeque scene alone is worth the download. But the thing that makes them into more than just the dirty 11-year-old boy moments the main character mentions is the way the onscreen action and expressions are choreographed with the voiceover. The sequences taking place in the present and the flashbacks blend in an extremely surreal way as we see him as a child in the memory scenes, acting out what's being described in the voiceover, but animated and spoken with just a touch of wry embarrassment. You get the impression that he's relived his life so many times that he's starting to insert his adult self into his childhood memories. It's hard to explain, and it's so subtle I probably shouldn't even mention it, but it's powerful and really adds to both the comedy and drama elements.

In the end, Jon has crafted a lilting, bittersweet film where the style of direction match the message of the movie step for step. And no title has ever been more appropriately chosen once you consider how one boy's fragmented memories of childhood experiences affect his worldview like rays of sunlight filtered through a bag of water.

Critical Score: 95/100.
Personal Score: 100/100.