Selfshness, Universal Empathy, and Your 20s

IF ANYTHING Short Film, Big ImpactHAPPENS, written by Viktoria Popovska graphic by Emily Snisarenko designed by Emily Snisarenko I LOVE YOU

Tears streamed down my face as my eyes stayed glued to my computer screen with its brightness on full blast. I usually pride myself on being able to keep it together after watching a movie, but this was just way too hard.

I frst learned about If Anything Happens I Love You while lying on my couch during winter break doom-scrolling on TikTok, and I saw a video of a girl reacting to the animated short flm. I wasn’t aware at the time that this TikTok would become a catalyst for my descent into the world of animated short flms.

The girl in the video challenged her viewers to watch the short flm without crying—she said it was virtually impossible. That’s when I pulled out my laptop, clicked onto Netfix, typed in the movie title and hit play.

For 12 minutes, my eyes stayed glued to the screen and my heart was overwhelmed with so many different emotions in such a short span of time. And clearly, I defnitely lost the TikToker’s no-crying challenge.

The flm, written and directed by Michael Govier and Will McCormack, was originally shown at a private screening at the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills in March before being released to the public last November.

The flm follows two grieving parents who are having a diffcult time coping with the death of their daughter who was killed in a school shooting. The 12-minute flm documents the process of dealing with grief and pain that can take a lifetime.

The short’s plot works in reverse. The beginning shows the couple struggle with grief, and in the last few minutes of the flm, the source of their pain is revealed. In this way, the audience is forced to share the mother and father’s depression and distress until the fnal revelation of their daughter’s death due to gun violence.

One of the most unique aspects of the short flm is that it truly embodies the idea that “less is more” through the simplicity of its drawings, which seem scribbled and roughly sketched with their minimal use of colors— mostly black, gray or earthy hues. This choice in animation style adds to the dark hollowness that the parents are feeling in their journey with grief.

In regards to the animation’s message about school shootings and gun violence, the simplicity of the animation heavily contrasts the complex topic it represents. It seems that the short is made not to teach explicitly, but to make viewers feel a range of emotions and then use those emotions as a call to action.

Now, unsurprisingly, If Anything Happens I Love You jumped to #2 on Netfix worldwide only a week after its release on the streaming platform. Part of this skyrocketed success is due to that same TikTok challenge that introduced me to the short.

Videos tagged #Ifanythinghappensiloveyou range from people sobbing in front of their phone screens to “manly” men wiping away tears pretending to be unmoved by the story. The hashtag has more than 66 million views on TikTok.

In a Q&A with RogerEbert.com, the directors said they were moved by the TikTok community’s vulnerability in posting reaction videos. They were also surprised by the success of the flm, since it is a stand-alone 2-D animation.

“Normally, if a short flm actually becomes successful, it precedes a blockbuster,” the director said. “Our flm is a stand-alone 2-D animated story about grief. Our little flm has been number one in 14 countries on Netfix’s Top Ten. In addition, the flm has been in the Top Ten on Netfix in 67 countries. It has been an emphatic declaration that audiences want to feel.”

The directors’ surprise surrounding their flm’s success is warranted. An Atlantic article from 2016 discussed the challenges short flms face from their own industry as well as the lack of large audience draw they get in the mainstream.

Hollywood tends to view short flms as a second tier medium and ignore their standalone creative potential. As for audiences, it can be diffcult to actually watch shorts because according to Richard Brody of the New Yorker, “There’s almost no theatrical or home-video showcase for short flms.”

The success of this short can also be credited to the fact that it was picked up by Netfix and is a part of Netfix’s new goal to produce more animated shorts. In an interview with Variety co-CEO Ted Sarandon, Netfix plans to release six animated features a year as a way for the streaming giant to embrace the short animated storytelling form.

Among their frst set of three animated shorts, which includes If Anything Happens I Love You, Netfix also released Canvas and Cops and Robbers.

Canvas was initially released on December 11, 2020 and tells the story of a grandfather grieving the death of his wife and struggling to fnd the inspiration to reclaim his passion for painting. The short was written and directed by Frank E. Abney III and greatly contrasts If Anything Happens I Love You because of its brighter, more Pixar-esque animation style.

Cops and Robbers takes a sharply different animation approach. Initially released on December 28, 2020, the short was directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware. Ware also starred in the short which mixes classic animation styles with live-action shots to tell a spoken-word story about police brutality and racial injustice.

All three shorts touch upon some important themes such as grief, gun violence, and racial injustice, which is refective of society’s continuing increased consumption of media that discusses big topics.

This idea of impactful shorts is on par with what Gregg Taylor, Netfix’s director of animated features, said about the new shorts: “Animated storytelling is most compelling when it can transport, entertain, and start conversations; and all three of these short flms are beautiful examples of that. While each flm is deeply personal and uses very different animation styles, all of them are equally powerful.”

Before watching If Anything Happens I Love You, the only animated short flms I had seen were the ones that would play in theaters before new Disney movies––all of which are available on Disney+. I now have a new appreciation for short flms and the work that goes into creating them.

Here are some short flms––ranging from topics like clashing cultures to disability awareness––that I have enjoyed. • Cops and Robbers - Racial activism • Canvas - Grief • Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle -

Mindbender • Sitara: Let Girls Dream –– Child

Marriage • Hair Love –– Black Girl Magic • The Coin –– Chinese Traditions • Purl –– Women in Business • Loop –– Autism Awareness • Float –– Accepting Differences • Sanjay’s Super Team –– Culture Clash • Kitbull –– Unlikely Friendship