In 1999, brit-rock band Blur released their smash hit Coffee and TV where the protagonist, a milk carton, left home and went round town to find the man on the box who was supposedly missing from home. The theme of the music video was treated in a narrative and playful way, not being as dramatic as it sounds when you hear about missing kids on milk cartons. In 2017, Jae Bae comes with ‘Flipped Out’, a short animation that is, in our opinion a very nice tribute to what Blur did at the end of the 90’s.

 

An old flip phone finds itself one day replaced by a brand new smart phone, and coping with this idea seems unbearable. The only way to deal with this issue is revenge. One night, the old mobile phone sneaks out of the drawer and starts hunting the smart phone in a way we’ve seen only in horror and thriller movies. Everything starts when the symbolic heart of the owner (a key chain that was initially on the old phone) is transferred on the new phone, causing critical emotional damage to the electronic device. The animation is brilliant and deals with a genuine subject that is prone to break every major festival by being one of the most professional and sensitive animations. Yes, it deals with technology and robots to a certain extent, but it is not a violent movie; it is in fact on the same page as Coffee and TV having the same narrative structure and the same ease of telling a story in such a short time period but in great detail.

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As far as we’re concerned, ‘Flipped Out' is one short that no one (doesn’t matter the age group) should miss! Bright, smart & sophisticated – those should be the three main characteristics this animation should be known by!

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Written by Vlad A. G