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Curious
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How ironic that in a world full of incendiary nuclear threats, restrictions on LGBT rights, and investigations into government corruption, the only thing anyone can talk about is a childhood crush.
“In a Heartbeat” is the name of a four-minute animated film that was posted to YouTube last Monday. Since then, the refreshing story has been viewed almost 24 million times and has given its creators, two recent graduates from Ringling College of Art and Design, the attention of some major animation studios. (Hello, Disney!)
“It’s mind-blowing to me,” Beth David, who created the film with Esteban Bravo for their senior thesis, told the New York Times. David also said the film’s popularity is due to the fact that audiences want to see gay stories “in a positive light.”
“In a Heartbeat” tells the story of Sherwin, a shy middle school boy who has a crush on Jonathan, the most popular boy in school. If Sherwin is shy, his heart is not: it quite literally leaps out of his chest in order to chase down Jonathan one morning at school, much to Sherwin’s embarrassment. I won’t tell you what happens next. Just go watch the film. All you need is four minutes and something to wipe away all the tears.
“We’re just glad that we’re getting to release it right now because I feel, and we both said, it’ll help change some people’s perspectives around the amount of controversy and hatred that’s been going around lately,” Bravo said to the New York Times. “We just hope that this helps to change, or begin changing, what people think about people in this community and try to understand them better.”
While it’s yet to be seen if “In a Heartbeat” can save the steaming mess that is currently 2017, the film is definitely a quiet reminder to focus on vulnerability and love in a time of fear. Also, that animated heart is so cute!
