About a week ago, an animated short film called "In A Heartbeat" premiered on YouTube. This short started as the college thesis of the two students who put it out there, Beth David and Esteban Bravo. At the time of this writing, the film has been watched 24.2 million times directly and garnered millions more in indirect views through reaction videos posted by popular YouTubers. If you combine this with the state of the like/dislike bar (so many people have liked it that there's no red on it at all), you can see that the reaction is something like what David and Bravo would've been hoping for. Below is a look at why I think this four-minute movie is worth the hype.
1. It tells a very specific story with no dialogue.
The ability of the animators to make the audience understand and be moved by this beautiful story, without having to say a single word, is something to be admired. I haven't seen a single person who had a hard time deciphering the story in it, and that kind of clarity can be harder to achieve without having dialogue to rely on.
2. The smaller details.
As pointed out in several places that I've looked for commentary about the film, it looks like something Pixar could've put out. The art is beautiful. The music was chosen well and does a good job of nudging the audience into rooting for the main character without telling them outright what to feel. Even the way lighting was used lends itself to the story.
3. Representation.
It goes without saying that a film like this would be really important for young people who find themselves in the same situation as the main character. I can imagine that some might be concerned about their children somehow being influenced by pieces of media like this one, and I know I've seen comments that wonder why you have to "bring the kids into this". To these concerns, I'd like to say:
A) That's not how it works, someone that is straight isn't going to be influenced by things like this any more than LGBT people are influenced by straight media.
B) This is just an innocent film about a grade school crush. If content like this is shocking to you, you are the reason we need it.
4. It's relatable.
Whether you can relate to the full extent or not, we've all had a crush that we've embarrassed ourselves in front of, which is something at the center of this film.
5. It's charming.
There are quite a few moments where the more over the top theme allows for some comedy. However, the animators also don't shy away from heart warming moments either.
In short, I thought the film was really well done, and I'm really glad that Beth David and Esteban Bravo decided to share it with the world.
