Indie animation legend Bill Plympton’s latest short film, directed by Emmy-winning actor Daniel Neiden and starring Bruce Vilanch, tells the emotional and uplifting story of an aging widower, a school volunteer, working with a young selective mute boy, who connect through a written journal and the true legend of the ‘loneliest’ whale.
In the Christian Bible’s Old Testament chapter of 1 Kings, King Solomon asks God to “Give me the gift of a listening heart.” It’s a surprising quote to include at the end of a short film spotlighting LGBTQIA+ topics.But it’s also fitting, since the film is all about listening, even when no words are spoken.
, the latest animated short from Bill Plympton’s Plymptoons Studio, is directed by Emmy-winning actor and Drama League-winning theater director Daniel Neiden and co-written by Neiden and award-winning screenwriter and educator Edward Jordon.
The 2D animated short, now up for Oscar consideration for Best Animated Short, follows a silently grieving 80-year-old school volunteer assigned to work with Enam, a selectively mute third-grader.
When the man decides to buy Enam a journal to write in, Enam asks the volunteer – through his writing in the journal – if he has ever heard of “Whale 52.” Also referred to as 52 Blue, this single whale has never been sighted or identified.But its call has been detected through hydrophones since the late 1980s in a pattern that matches the migration of the blue whale and the fin whale.Described as the “world's loneliest whale,” it appeared to be the only individual whale emitting a 52-hertz frequency call.
As the two characters talk about speculation surrounding the whale’s potential “crying due to lack of being understood,” slowly but surely Enam and the volunteer, named Kaufman, start to share secrets and, to both of their surprise, begin to feel understood by each other. Check out the trailer: While Kaufman and Enam are fictional characters, the legend of Whale 52 is very real.The film was also based on Jordon’s personal life as a once-closeted gay man using the arts to reach students who were selectively mute.And the picture of the man with the cello that sits on top of the piano Kaufman plays, is Jordon’s former partner who passed away. “When I'm not making movies, I’m an educator,” shares Jordon.
“And this is a kind of synthesis of some of those magical moments that can happen between a student and a teacher.I guess I’m the real part and Bill’s the magic.” Plympton, who is known for his Academy Award – nominated animated short , and his iconic, signature pencil sketch style – with exaggerated character features, lots of scribbles, and imperfect lines and proportions – was the perfect fit for a film about individuals feeling they’re abnormal, who find their people and finally feel understood.“You can see the mistakes and I like the mistakes,” says Plympton.
“It looks like someone was sitting at home like, ‘Oh, I think I'll make a film.’ And it fits in with the story.The story is really personal.And there are problems in the relationships.
And that's what I wanted to get across.” Plympton’s chaotic line work and illustrations in the film, coupled with the original music “suite for man, boy, and whale” composed by Scott Li and Qiujiang Levi Lu and performed by the composers along with Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey and Broadway conductor Charles Czarnecki on piano, really heightens the emotional arcs.The characters’ eyes are uncomfortably zeroed-in, deliberately designed to elicit palpable discomfort.When Enam finally speaks, the emotional release is also very tangible, conveyed through visuals more smoothly in-sync rather than fighting against each other. “We had a lot of conversations about having something in you aching to get out and being lucky enough to find someone who has a ‘listening heart’ and will help draw that thing out,” says Neiden.
“For kids with gender dysphoria, and for anyone with gender dysphoria, it’s a lonely process.You feel like Whale 52 where you can’t communicate because you’re on a whole other level of frequency that it feels like nobody can hear.That’s what leads to feeling discomfort and feeling alone.” Jordon adds, “It’s not a political film.
We’re not activists.The film is about human connection.My friend is a social worker, but she never calls herself a social worker.
She calls herself ‘a safe adult.’ And it’s nice when anyone of any age can find a safe adult who will listen with an open heart.” The serious and poetic tone of the film was hugely attractive to Plympton, whose art and illustrative style lean heavily towards the accentuated and abstract.But the chance to animate a whale as a main character was also intriguing for the indie legend.“I love drawing whales,” says Plympton.
“They are some of my favorite animals.And just the concept of the whale being part of this couple really intrigued me.There are also some really wonderful visuals with the whale jumping through the table and stuff like that.
I really wanted to treat this film with a different, more poetic look.It’s one of my more serious films.I’ve seen audiences crying in screenings and that alone makes this worth it.” The poetry woven into also caught the attention of Bruce Vilanch, American comedy writer, songwriter, and actor who voices for Kaufman.
“I was first attracted to the character of Kaufman because of his bright red glasses and bright red lipstick and bright red nails,” says Vilanch.“But also because a person of his age was only allowed to be so gay.The red nails and things were emblems of identity and resistance.
You were telling people who got it that you were not like everyone else.And for Kaufman to have experienced the loss that so many gay people experienced in the 80s was brutal, and it was expressed so beautifully in the film.” He adds, “Robert Anderson wrote a play called .And one of the great lines in there is, ‘Death ends a life.
It does not end a relationship.’ And here it is.Here it is in this movie.So, I'm very proud to be a part of it.” According to Plympton, short films are extremely difficult projects that rarely prove lucrative.
So, making was, in his words, a work of love and commitment. “I think we made a good film,” says Plympton.“And I think it's a really fascinating film.It’s a special thing and I hope people can watch this 10 years from now and feel the same way.” It should be noted that a significant portion of the proceeds from are earmarked for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention in youth.
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.
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