Summer Camp Island (Julia Pott, 2016): USA

Summer camp Island an animated short by Julia Pott. This animated film is a depiction of what being “home sick” means. I was able to relate to the main plot because when you move out of college, you experience feelings of missing home, your parents, friends, etc. In this situation, Oscar goes off to summer camp and he is seen calling his parents the first day of camp, a very comedic representation of his feelings away from home. He becomes friends with Hedgehog. They both plan a sleepover, but Oscar is not aware that this sleepover will not go as planned. Max was invited to the party, he was a person Oscar was not very fond off because he wanted to spend his evening alone with Hedgehog, his best friend. As the film develops we see how Oscar truly feels towards Hedgehog and we experience a sense of insecurity that we have all felt at one point when we like somebody. Everything in this film show us the innocence and grand imagination kids their age experience. I enjoyed this short because it was welcoming to the audience including conflict, a climax and a result to their actions. It deals with the story of meeting new friends and the idea of being comfortable without your parents, outside of your comfort zone.

Reviewed by Maria Vera