“The Undertaker and the Dog” by Shin Hashimoto

Among the gems discovered this year in Ottawa was Shin Hashimoto‘s The Undertaker and the Dog, a student short made at Tokyo’s Tama Art University. The story, which incorporates elements of Snow White, turns fairly weird by the end. I particularly like its flowing ink animation style that transitions smoothly from scene to scene, as well as all the idiosyncratic and humorous touches that seemingly come out of nowhere (the flies being scared off the princess, the turtle who is being beaten, the dog tits). The tags on his YouTube video give us an idea of his artistic influences: Caroline Leaf, Gianluigi Toccafondo, Ryan Larkin, and David Shrigley.