Shark Suit: The Musical
The animator and director Brad Bird famously said he felt like punching anyone who called animation a genre rather than an art form in its own right. New York University’s Stephen Neary clearly demonstrates that respect for animation in his loving tribute to animated musicals Shark Suit: The Musical.
Mainstream animation is becoming less and less about telling compelling stories, but more about falling back on pop culture references and ironic self-awareness. After the last hurrah of hand-drawn, 2D animation in the 90s, 3D computer animation is now king, but (with the notable exception of the Pixar films) it seems like many animators today are content to let CGI make their jobs easier, rather than crafting something original with the new technology. In the case of some studios, computer animation has just made the churning out of product that much more efficient (I’m looking at you Happy Feet and Surf’s Up). Where are the dazzling new visuals and storytelling techniques computer animation promised? Well, in Pixar of course, but also in Neary’s student film, which seems to be absolutely in love with the art form itself.
In Neary’s words “Shark Suit is about a guy who wears a shark suit, and he becomes really attached to wearing the shark suit.” Basically, that’s all there is on a plot level. The key lies in the execution. Neary chooses to tell his story of Ethan, the love-struck butcher-shop employee whose obsession over wearing his shark suit may prevent him from being with his true love Daphne, almost entirely in song. “In my Shark Suit I have no cares / In my shark suit I don’t wear underwear!” Ethan sings with glee. What’s amazing is that Neary didn’t just write, direct, and animate the film, but he also co-wrote the music and lyrics. I challenge anyone to watch this film even once and not have that song embedded in your brain forever.
Neary very carefully chooses specific colors to represent the psychological conflict of his characters. When Ethan is first singing about his shark suit, he swings past a fantasy tie-dye backdrop full of pastel pink and orange, indicating his exuberance and love for his suit. When Tai Chan sings about the pain that his own obsession has brought him, Neary uses bold colors (particularly red) to render the butcher’s inner pain over his missed opportunities. And when Daphne sings about her loneliness, not only is her song slowed down relative to the other characters, but she sings against a minimalist, black backdrop conveying her loneliness and isolation. In that moment we realize that a small psychological block can become a big obsession that could threaten everybody’s happiness.
Neary picked up two awards at last month’s College Television Awards in LA: Best Animated Film (for Shark Suit) and the Ruckus Award. It’s well-deserved. The levels of emotional conflict at work in Shark Suit certainly make this film about more than just “a guy who wears a shark suit.” The great thing about Neary is that he doesn’t tell you to look for deeper meaning. He lets you discover it for yourself.
