Here I am back again, ghosts and ghouls! Alright, I’ll be honest with you. Most of the time when I review a film/short, I do no research beforehand. I think I’ve told you this information before. Needless to say, when you come across a film called DON’T THINK OF A PINK ELEPHANT…what the hell do you think that’s about?
Well LET ME TELL YOU. This was NOT what I was expecting (because really I couldn’t have expected much from a name like that, even my assumptions didn’t make a lot of sense) but I was pleasantly surprised.
Taylor Terrible Fun Fact (say that three times fast…): I’m TERRIFIED of claymation. It all started when I saw that video from a while back, I want to say it was called THE CURIOUS STRANGER? It was something from a claymation show based on Mark Twain or something from back in the 90s if I’m not mistaken. I never saw the show, just the short clip from an episode because someone sent me a link to a YouTube video. WELL. This video was a cloaked dude with a mask on a stick for a head, who was actually a physical manifestation of the idea of Satan, who was showing kids a city being destroyed and burned to the ground and all the people in it were tortured in the disaster’s wake. Was it awesome? Absolutely. Did it give me nightmares for weeks? HELL yeah. Am I embarrassed to admit that? A little. Whatever, you go watch it.
With that being said, when I clicked the link for DON’T THINK OF A PINK ELEPHANTand a claymation girl popped up, my mind immediately said “oh hell no”. Well, I was right to think that, because this girl is fucked up in the head. Long story short, she’s obsessed with sharp objects and can’t keep visions of brutally murdering people and animals out of her head while she’s around them, so she avoids them at all costs. There are no exceptions – pizza rollers, cheese graters, you name it.
Really, that’s the premise of this short, and it’s only about 10 minutes long, so I don’t have a TON to say, other than that I was at the edge of my seat the whole time, the girl’s brother is a dick, and this girl’s got a good head on her shoulders, literally because the claymation is awesome and figuratively because she’s struggling with some kind of demon that she just can’t seem to shake, but still learns to control it. Has she killed someone or something in the past? Where did this bizarre tendency come from? So many questions! I hope that there’s a sequel or a backstory that eventually comes out about this film because I actually really enjoyed it. My only suggestion would be that it’s longer, which I NEVER say.
I thoroughly enjoyed this even though it did creep me out the same way most claymations do. It was done well, and it was definitely weird. Give it a watch if you have a few minutes on your hands and get back to me about what you think is up with this girl, and also tell me how the name plays into the story! I’m wondering if maybe this girl sees a psychologist and they address her “issue” as a pink elephant. I might be going out on a limb here. Regardless, it was pretty cool.
- [Slamdance Review] MAJNUNI - January 26, 2020
- Panic Fest Short Film Review: BROWN FISH (2017) - February 4, 2019
- Short Film Review: GOOD GIRL (2018) - December 26, 2018
