A team of recent Asians in Animation Immersive Lab participants spent 9 days crafting a 2-minute 2D short about a young girl on a quest to honor her late grandfather by tracking down his favorite fruit… with the aid of some unexpected visitors.Nine days, more than 40 artists, and one film., or, is a two-minute, award-winning, 2D-animated short produced by Asians in Animation (AIA), a non-profit organization dedicated to elevating Asian stories and storytellers in the animation industry.
Through AIA’s Asians in Animation Immersive Lab, applicants accepted to the 2024 training program created a story about a determined young girl who embarks on a heartfelt quest to honor her late grandfather by tracking down his favorite fruit.Along the way, she is joined by a few unexpected and extraordinary companions, turning her journey into a magical and unforgettable adventure.Now available to watch below and on YouTube, the film – supported by mentors from studios like DreamWorks, Disney, Netflix and others – took a total of nine days to produce.
Enjoy the short, then read more about the production and organization: “Honing in on the story took a few weeks, but once we got started crafting the visuals, storyboards, animation, compositing, all of that took just a little over a week,” shares Ivan Gozali, head of story on known for working on a myriad of projects such as Guillermo Del Toro's series, Paul McCartney's , and Lauren Faust's .“The animation industry has been rough,” he continues.“And before AIA’s call went out, I had gotten laid off from my last union job.
I had a hard time finding consistent work for a couple years.So, when AIA’s call went out, it was really intriguing and I applied hoping for a leadership role.I’d never had that kind of role before.” Gozali was joined by five other leads – producer Tracy Liu, production designer Yusra Shahid, character designer Florence (“Flo”) Young, head of animation Thy Vo, and editor Noël Wiggins–to craft the story.
Some, besides being first-time production leads, had never worked on an authentically Asian animation story before this project. “I was at a point in my career where I just wanted to work on something that meant a lot to me,” notes Young, who had worked on projects published by Ubisoft, Warner Brothers, Nelvana, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, and Dungeon Masters Guild.“That was always a life goal, not just a career goal.I've worked on samurai versus zombie type of shows before and other projects that touched on Asian culture, but in more of a fantasy-like setting.
But this one was steeped in Vietnamese culture, and I was just so excited to work on something like that.” The story has its roots in Vo’s own family, who live in Binh Dai near the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. “When we were first brainstorming story ideas, one of mine was actually about a grandfather and a dog,” says Vo, previously an animator for clients at Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and PBS Kids.“It was based on my grandfather.We have a lot of outdoor dogs on our farm in Vietnam, but he only gave a collar and a name to one dog.
And when my grandpa passed away, this dog stayed by his altar and his tomb for two weeks.That's what I always heard.He never left my grandpa’s side.
So, the first idea was based on that relationship.And then eventually we evolved it into something a bit more relatable, about a girl honoring the death anniversary of her grandfather and mourning his loss by collecting memorabilia of him, including his favorite fruit, to create a shrine for him.” She adds, “The girl’s character design was based on me as a kid as well.I believe there was a photo of me with a bowl cut circulating around with the team.
I shared some behind the scenes of the animation with my family and some cousins came to me and they were like, ‘This is us when we were like seven.’” Vo’s family farm was also the main source of background art and landscape inspiration. “We started a mural board and Thy gave us a plethora of references from her farmhouse in Vietnam and from her family members as well,” says Young.“A lot of the characters were designed off of actual family members from Thy's family.And Yusra already had this wonderful, beautiful sense for colors and a whimsical style to her background art.
I had taken one of her demo backgrounds and just drew my characters on top of her backgrounds, just to see if the styles match.And it fit perfectly.” Shahid, one of last year’s spotlighted creators for Women in Animation (WIA)’s Stories x Women, has worked on shows like Nickelodeon’s and Apple TV’s among others, and is currently developing her own ghostly fantasy children’s series called .Her illustrative style is extremely colorful and has an ethereal feel.
“From the beginning, the six of us knew we wanted to tell a story that felt sentimental and emotionally grounded, so leaning into a softer, dreamlike watercolor style felt fitting,” shares Shahid.“Not only is that the usual style I go for in my personal art, but it is also such a big part of traditional Asian art.I wanted the visuals to mirror the delicate subject matter and for the art and message to support each other in an organic way.
It was fun including in the design details like the fruits and foods Thy grew up eating and sprinkle in those personal references like family photos to make the world feel lived in and authentic.” Gozali adds, “This is why Yusra’s design is brilliant.The background art alone tells a lot of story already, which is fascinating.” For viewers, and especially artistic minds, Gozali recommends watching the film a couple times over and pausing the short at various points to observe all the details placed into each frame of the film. “There were so many more family scenes we wanted to include but we just couldn’t make a longer short,” explains Liu, formerly a producer at Nickelodeon.“But because everyone loved those storyboards showing all of the family scenes, the team had the brilliant idea of just slapping them into the credits so that they could still live in the film.
It adds a rich layer to the film, too, so you see it's not just the girl and her grandpa, but there's this whole family that's there as well that you see at the end.” Production for moved incredibly fast, even by short film standards.But it helped that the team also became fast friends, especially since there was no designated director and all six leads had to work together to form the mind-meld of one director. “I'll keep it real,” shares editor Wiggins, who has experience writing, directing, and editing animated web series such as, , and .“I joined this project because I wanted friends.
Out of this whole group, I'm the one that's located in Texas.So, I wanted to break into the industry and get to know people more.And after we all pitched our ideas, we started to figure out the recurring themes that were popping up between all of our stories.
This story is a lot of Thy, but it also honors our family members, Asian culture, and food we grew up with.” In fact, there’s an illustration of a little kid next to Wiggin’s name, placed in the credits as one of the main character’s cousins.However, the design was based on Wiggins as a child. “I remember seeing that and being like, ‘Wait a minute, is that supposed to be me?’” shares Wiggins.“And then everyone was like, ‘Yeah, pretty much.’” During its festival run, garnered half a dozen awards, including Ottumwa International Film Festival’s Best Short Film, Asian Talent International Film Festival’s Best Animated Film, Tigertail Asian Film Festival’s Best Animation, BIPOC PoP Animation Festival’s Special Jury Prize, and more. If given the chance to work together on another project, all six leads say they’d be more than interested in joining forces.
“It was one of those very special, unique situations that, if it were to be replicated, I would love to do it,” shares Vo.Shahid adds, “I honestly wasn't expecting for the six of us to bond the way we did - but I think it was such a unique experience with some tough challenges that ultimately brought us together.We had this little world that we had shut ourselves in and immersed ourselves in for a month, where we handled ups and downs together, so it was really special to have walked away feeling like we had gained a family.” Wiggins chimes in, “I've told everyone here that I'm at phase with them where, if you need me, just call and you'll have my sword… or my mouse and keyboard.” It was an unexpected, unlikely but unmatched fellowship of creatives that banded together to create two minutes of powerhouse animation.
And, whether or not they get the chance to work together again, the impact they’ve made with is a great achievement. “With the six of us, the chemistry was there and the passion was there because I know a few of us worked many more hours than we had to and even by day 8 we were ready to go,” says Gozali.“Truthfully, I did not realize what we had until I showed the film to my wife.She cried her eyes out.
That’s when it started registering how special this film was and how special this team was.” Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime.She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment.Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com. Demon Slayers and Hunters: The Asian Animated Hits of 2025 Julia Morizawa’s ‘Dragonfly’ to Premiere at 39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival WEBTOON Launches ‘Illuminated’ to Spotlight Asian Women in Entertainment 3 New Netflix Animated Projects Spotlight Asian American Creators ‘Awakening’ #StopAsianHate PSA Honors Asian Americans in Animation
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