WORTH WATCHING

Watch: German Animated Short 'Ding' About a Creepy Little Creature

by Alex Billington
March 1, 2023
Source: YouTube

What a freaky little thing!! This animated short is titled Ding, which is German for Thing, and it's made by an animation filmmaker named Malte Stein. The short played at numerous festivals throughout 2021 and 2022, after first premiering at the Fantoche Animation Film Festival in Switzerland. Here's the nice & short synopsis: "Haunted by a little thing, a man gets driven to the edge." In my opinion it's a clear reference, not even a metaphor, to a fear of children. There's a shot where he imagines this little thing eating something and, um, that's when this gets extra scary. Stein's intentions seem to be to stir up some thoughts, and not make a film about how kids can be freaky creatures. Ding is meant to make us think about "how ridiculous our impulsive aggression and fears can be." This imagery definitely amplifies those fears, I'll say that much.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this. Very brief intro from YouTube: "Haunted by a little thing, a man gets driven to the edge." Ding, also known as Thing in English, is directed by Berlin-based animation filmmaker Malte Stein - you can see more of his work on his Vimeo or visit his official site or follow him on IG @malte.stein.animation.film. The short is written by, produced, designed, and animated by Malte Stein. Featuring sound mixing by Michał Krajczok. Stein describes his new creation as "'a symbol of how ridiculous our impulsive aggression and fears can be', an expression of his own fear of violence, a representation of humanity's tendency to take advantage of weaker people and [also it is] a 'kind of persiflage of the classic monster film.'" For more info, visit SOTW or Stein's site. To view more shorts, click here. Was that creepy?

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