Cartoonish (Short)
Watching “Cartoonish” unfold is an example of why I enjoy watching short films, and screener requests, so much- unburdened by mega-million budgets, and the pressures that come with them, filmmakers can be more adventurous, and take chances in telling their stories. Ken Cohen’s “Cartoonish” takes a mighty big chance, and it succeeds with its dark, subversive perspective about what happens when an animator (Andy Levingood) walks into the house of a 10-year-old (Jack Delyra), whose parents aren’t home, and earns his trust. No, it doesn’t result in pedophilia- just a little bribery so that the animator can use his dad’s gun. Once the subject of the gun is introduced, we can figure out, quite plainly, where the story is going to go from there, but where it ends up, I have a hard time believing anyone could figure out. Cohen’s film goes to some dark places, with a smile on its face, and it’s a delightfully perverse journey getting there.
