Even a kiwi has a dream
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Apparently I’m really late, considering this video, entitled “Kiwi!” already has more than 13 million views on YouTube, but you know what they say about late and never. And every time I think YouTube is just a repository for pirated TV clips (yes, I have been guilty of posting them) and wacked-out nutters, something like this comes across my radar.
Created by animator and YouTube user Madyeti47 (real name=Dony Permudi), this bittersweet little gem of film has completely captivated me. Poor little kiwi bird, so desperate to do that one thing it cannot ever do. I don’t know if it’s the big eyes, the pudgy belly, the tiny useless wings … the poignant music by Tim Cassell, which starts from a low baritone (is that a French horn? It’s a little too high to be a tuba) while the kiwi is building the path to his dream, and ends with the jeweled celestina-like tones of a slowly winding-down music box, sure adds to this short film’s sweetly sad quality. I think I’ve watched this video 50 times in the past 2 days. It’s amazing that an animated video with no dialogue can carry so much emotion in it, and affect so many people (there are thousands and thousands of comments on YouTube from people who have been deeply touched by watching this). Take a 3-minute break and see if you don’t feel the same way.
The tears at -0:49 (+2:20 if you’re viewing it direct on YouTube; ) just break my heart. He knows this is the end, poor thing. I hope he went happy.