WORTH WATCHING

Watch: Puppet Animated Short Film 'Frank's Joke' About Overthinking

by Alex Billington
July 20, 2021
Source: YouTube

"If only we could choose to forget… So many memories that keep coming back. One's that just stick with you!" How often do we end up overthinking and over-analyzing everything that happens to us? All the time, right? Frank's Joke is an amusing, one-of-a-kind comedy short film made with both puppet animation + 2D animation, and a few live-action shots. Made by British filmmaker Ed Bulmer, this first premiered in 2018 commissioned by the BBC and BFI as part of Animation 2018, and is now available online to watch. Frank told a joke at his new place of work. Nobody laughed. Now at 3AM he's unable to sleep as he obsesses and ruminates over this social faux-pas, leading him to ponder on the nature of memory itself. He becomes trapped in a loop, a self-imposed purgatory for what seems like an age as the clock ticks by. With the voice of Spencer Brown as Frank. I dig the mix of animation styles, but it's also a good thought-provoking film.

Thanks to Short of the Week for debuting this online. Brief description from YouTube: "Frank told a joke at work. Nobody laughed. Now at 3.00am he's unable to sleep as he obsesses and ruminates over this social faux-pas, leading him to ponder on the nature of memory itself." Frank's Joke is directed by London-based animation filmmaker Ed Bulmer (aka Edward Bulmer) - you can see more of his work on Vimeo or visit his official website or follow him on Instagram @edwardbulmer. He's also known for his other animated short film Hedgehog. Frank's Joke is produced by Shereen Ali, with a screenplay written by Andrew Eu. Featuring music composed by Pablo Scopinaro, as well as cinematography by Bertrand Rocourt. The short film was commissioned by the BBC and BFI as part of Animation 2018, and it was originally broadcast on BBC4. For more info on this film, visit SOTW or Ed's site. To discover more shorts, click here. Your thoughts on this?

Find more posts: Animation, Short Film, To Watch